readsfreenovel Chapter 223: The Merchant's Daughter Wants to Marry the General 20
Chapter 223: The Merchant's Daughter Wants to Marry the General 20
The next day, Gu Li went to Yongkangfang in the morning and gave instructions on the tasks to be completed that day. Thinking that the court would soon be dismissed, she returned to the back hall of the noodle shop.
However, at lunchtime, neither the prince nor Commander Zhu came, and even General Xie, who used to report in almost every day, was not there.
It was not until the evening that Lee Hyun-ji came to the noodle shop alone on horseback.
"I heard from Arong that Boss Shen wants to donate 10,000 shi of grain to the Xie family army in the border areas?"
Shen Guli sat opposite Li Xuanzhi and did not pause while making tea. "Yes."
"why?"
Shen Guli raised her head, her eyes clear but somewhat bewildered, "I am just doing my part to contribute to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives and blood on the frontier."
"Don't you want to sell Gu Xiang Gan Noodles to the imperial court and expand it to all parts of the country?"
If there is a need to fight a war on the frontier, food and fodder supplies are needed. For general minor frictions and wars, military rations will be allocated from the national treasury.
However, if the war takes too long, the front line is too long, and the national treasury is short of supplies, some grain will generally be requisitioned from counties and states near the battlefield. If there is still a shortage, it will have to be purchased from the market.
Shen Guli frowned, and the cup that had been used to pour out the first cup of tea was placed on the small table. She was a little unhappy.
"Seventh Prince, why do you always think so badly of others? Or is this just how you are born as a merchant?"
This is a bit rude to say.
Li Xuanzhi was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect Boss Shen to change his attitude suddenly.
"In fact, I have always had a doubt, and I hope His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince can help me. It is said that scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans are the lowest class, but if there were no merchants, not to mention the officials and wealthy families in the capital, could the people of the capital wear silk from the south of the Yangtze River, brocade from the Qingjiang River, and brocade from the Nanyue Mountains? Could they eat rice from the north of the Yangtze River and cherries from the red forest? Could they have spices, agates, and colored carpets from the barbarians?"
Shen Guli stared at Li Xuanzhi with burning eyes, as if she had a lot of grievances to express.
"If you want to say that merchants value profit, then who would be willing to do this if it is not profitable? The silk that was purchased at one tael of silver is sold at five taels of silver.
But why has no one taken into account the invisible increased costs during cargo transportation?
A long journey will bring many difficulties and obstacles. It will cost a lot of money to set up a caravan, including shops, labor, etc. All these expenses cost money! Won’t the price of goods go up? "
Li Xuanzhi fell silent amidst Boss Shen's chatter. He also had his own shop, but he didn't need to be involved in the management of the business. He only looked at the account book at the end of every year. He wouldn't bother himself with such a small matter.
"If some businessmen use extraordinary means to seek huge profits, they are only a minority of people, especially not including me. I am a law-abiding businessman."
Shen Guli kept calling herself a commoner girl, and now she even called herself a businessman, which made Li Xuanzhi feel hot under his face.
This Shen is not someone you can easily mess with.
"Who can say there are no scum in any profession?" Shen Guli insisted, getting more and more excited. "Isn't Minister Zhou, who was beheaded at Caishikou two days ago for embezzling a huge amount of money, a scum among officials?"
Li Xuanzhi's eyebrows quickly turned cold, "Isn't it because someone bribed him too much?"
Gu Li's smile was a little exaggerated. If Minister Zhou didn't make that offer, who else could force the officials to accept the money?
This was the first time someone spoke frankly about the corruption of the court in front of Lee Hyun-ji, and this person was a merchant girl whom he didn't take seriously.
Shen Guli saw that Li Xuanzhi was really angry, but she was not too scared, because Xie Rong's life-saving grace was in front of her. At worst, she could just move the focus of her career to Beijiang with Xie Rong!
She couldn't just swallow her anger and not fight back when the bullying came right in front of her.
However, the other party is a prince after all, so I still have to save some face. "So I found a good official like General Xie who would never accept bribes to be my backer!"
Although she had complaints in her heart, Shen Guli had no ambition to change people's deep-rooted class concepts by herself.
She is just being herself without affecting others.
Lee Hyun-ji was silent.
Being in the officialdom, how could he not know the way to survive in the officialdom? He promised Xie Rong to take proper care of Shen Guli after he left Beijing, because he knew that an outsider merchant without background would encounter many difficulties in gaining a foothold in Beijing.
Because Shen Guli knew Xie Rong in advance, she was able to smoothly sell her noodles in every grain store in Beijing.
So how did those businessmen who had no connections in Beijing gain a foothold in Beijing?
Isn't it built with money?
After letting out a breath of anger, Shen Guli regained her usual calmness and stood up, "This tea can't be drunk anymore, I'll have someone prepare a new one!"
Shen Guli gave some instructions to Lin Shu who was waiting outside the door. When she turned back, Li Xuanzhi had returned to normal.
"On behalf of the Frontier Army, I would like to thank Mr. Shen for his generosity. Just leave your wish to sell dried noodles to the army to me. Xie Rong will be leaving the day after tomorrow. He will be very busy in the next few days and may not have time to come to your noodle shop every day!"
Shen Guli performed a standard blessing ceremony respectfully, "Thank you, Seventh Prince, for your understanding!"
"You----" It can be seen that Shen Guli still has her head down and her eyebrows lowered, without any of her sharp-tongued nature just now. Li Xuanzhi suddenly felt suffocated.
This girl from the Shen family who is good at disguising herself.
Shen Guli lowered her head, and taking advantage of the angle where the prince couldn't see her, she curled her lips and gave a gloating smile.
Little did she know that what she thought was invisible was actually reflected on the surface of the clear water in the Jianzhan on the square table.
Lee Hyun-ji: -----
Forget it. No matter how sharp-tongued and good at business she is, she is still just a young girl. Why should he make things difficult for her? It would only make him look petty.
"I want to order a batch of the new instant noodles in your store." Yesterday, he and Zhu Yin came here and asked the shopkeeper to serve a bowl of instant noodles. The waiter helped to make a bowl. It was really convenient.
As long as you have hot water, you can eat it in half a cup of tea. The taste is similar to ordinary noodles, a little less chewy, but convenient! Mixed with the accompanying sauce, the taste is really amazing.
The instant noodles were just made, and the noodle shops and grain stores hadn't put out the goods yet. However, Shen Guli was not surprised at all that the prince knew about the instant noodles. How could a prince not have many eyes and ears?
"How much does your Highness want? I don't have much in stock. The instant noodles have just been developed and have not yet been mass-produced."
Once business is involved, Boss Shen immediately raises her proud head.
Li Xuanzhi laughed in his heart, "It doesn't matter if it's not much. I will first order some just for the soldiers in the vanguard."
The vanguard is usually the cavalry vanguard, they focus on speed, light riding, and cannot bring cooking utensils. They are often the most difficult and dangerous tasks, and they always eat cold and hard steamed buns.