Traveling to an ancient peasant family: I got rich by doing business

The Minister of Revenue, Huang Shangshu, has been in a bad mood these days.

At the beginning of the month, King Hui was put under house arrest because of a fight with the crown prince in the court, and he has not been released to this day.

King Hui could not do anything, but those who followed him were not affected.

Minister Huang then turned his attention to making money.

He owns several gambling houses, which are the main source of his income. In addition to the gambling houses, there are other shops.

Some of them were his wife's dowry, and the rest were given to him as a gift from his subordinates.

Unlike other mansions, where the woman was in charge of the interior and the man was in charge of the exterior, the shop owner usually managed the income of the shop, and then handed the account book to the mistress of the house to manage it. But in the residence of the Minister of Revenue, Minister Huang liked to read the account book more than Mrs. Huang.

It’s not that he likes to be busy, but he likes to see the money in the account book increase.

However, in the account books delivered these days, the income of two shops was reduced by half.

*

One of them was a teahouse in the inner city. It usually sold tea and snacks. Because of its nice environment, it was loved by the ladies of various families. It was also because of this that the teahouse was an important place for him to collect information from various families.

The other one was a candied fruit shop, which was his wife's dowry, located in the outer city. The shop was not good, the location was a bit remote, and it only earned two or three hundred taels of silver a year, which was not enough for him to buy a famous painting.

In fact, the reduction in the shop's profits was not a big deal, because no business could always make money. But the profits of these two shops dropped so much that he had to take notice.

Minister Huang was dissatisfied and threw the account book to the ground, asking what was going on and whether they were lazy when doing business.

The teahouse owner and the preserves shop owner looked at each other and fell to their knees. "Master, please understand. It's not that we did a bad job, but the new milk tea shop in the inner city took away our business."

"Yes, sir, that shop sells sugar-roasted hawthorns and sugar-roasted chestnuts. The girls in the city love them. We can't do anything about it."

The veins on Minister Huang's forehead jumped, "Milk tea shop?"

"Yes, you don't know, those ladies come to that store every day to buy milk tea, and they don't stop when they come to the door of our store."

How could Minister Huang not know about the milk tea shop? His wife was drinking it this morning.

*

Turning his hands behind his back twice, Minister Huang asked, "Who opened that milk tea shop? Have you checked?"

The two shopkeepers shook their heads: "We checked, but found nothing. The owner of the milk tea shop never showed up. Only the shopkeeper and the waiter were in the shop."

Huang Shangshu: "...You can't even find this little information. I really wasted my time raising you."

The two of them lowered their heads quickly and did not dare to talk back.

Huang Shangshu turned around twice more and said, "Do you know how milk tea is made?"

Teahouse owner: "It's probably made by boiling tea and sugar together."

Huang Shangshu stared: "If it's so simple, why don't you arrange for this to be sold in the teahouse?"

The teahouse owner was worried: "Master, I asked the chef in the building to try it, but for some reason, the tea they made was not as delicious as the one in the Dongxue Milk Tea Shop."

Huang Shangshu kicked him in the heart: "What a waste!"

The teahouse owner felt pain in his heart but didn't dare to groan.

Minister Huang sat back in his chair heavily. "When we go back today, let the chef research the food in the milk tea shop. From now on, we will sell whatever the milk tea shop sells."

"But I don't have a recipe..." The shopkeeper of the preserved fruit shop said weakly, "I'm afraid it won't be made in a short time."

Huang Shangshu was almost furious: "Are you idiots? Why don't you bribe the guy at the milk tea shop?"

The two shopkeepers said: "We have tried it, and the guy at the milk tea shop didn't take the bait at all."

Minister Huang casually picked up a teacup and threw it at the face of the preserve shop owner, "Waste, waste! Get out of here!"

*

The two shopkeepers left in a hurry.

Minister Huang sat in his chair, getting angrier the more he thought about it.

The candied fruit shop is fine, but the teahouse must be managed well. It is a place for collecting information and will be of great use to King Hui.

Minister Huang wanted to hit someone again.

At this time, the servant delivered the message that Ji Shuo had arrived.

Ji Shuo is now in the Ministry of War. As he has married the second daughter of the Huang family and has the support of Minister Huang, he has been living a very comfortable life in the Ministry of War as a newcomer in the past few months.

Walking into the house, Ji Shuo bowed respectfully to Minister Huang, "Father-in-law."

Shangshu Huang liked Ji Shuo very much, especially after his eldest son Huang Xiangru got into trouble, Ji Shuo became his right-hand man.

Ji Shuo can not only help him obtain more information from the Ministry of War, but he is also a smart and capable person. There are some things that are inconvenient for him to do, and Ji Shuo can help him accomplish them.

The anger on his face faded a little, and Minister Huang asked, "Why are you here today?"

"My wife missed her father-in-law and mother-in-law, so I came back with her to see them." Ji Shuo said, "Just now I saw two shop owners outside, and they didn't look very well. What happened?"

Minister Huang told the story of the shop in an annoyed manner.

Ji Shuo listened and felt that Shangshu Huang had something wrong with his brain. He was the Minister of Revenue, a high-ranking official in the imperial court. It would be easy for him to deal with a milk tea shop, but he was sulking here.

If he is really old, he will have to take over the position of Minister Huang in the future.

Thinking this in his heart, Ji Shuo's attitude remained respectful: "So it's this matter. The business of that milk tea shop has been too prosperous in recent days. But don't worry, father-in-law. I can help you deal with this matter."

Huang Shangshu raised his eyelids and asked, "What do you want to do?"

Ji Shuo: "I have many ways to do this. Father-in-law, please rest assured that by the end of the month, the store will either close or become ours."

He made a solemn promise, and Huang Shangshu's mood suddenly improved. "Then it's up to you. Remember one thing, be careful and don't involve me and King Hui."

Ji Shuo bowed: "I understand, father-in-law, just wait for good news from me."

*

Late at night, in a dilapidated house in the outer city, two people stood there talking in low voices.

One of them was Ji Shuo.

He handed a heavy purse to the ragged man opposite him and said, "Tomorrow morning, you must spread rumors in the city, saying that people have died from eating the food in the milk tea shop. Do you understand? Especially in the inner city, you must spread the rumors for two more hours. When you get the job done, I will give you the remaining money."

The person opposite held the silver and nodded repeatedly: "Remember, we will definitely do a good job, don't worry."

Ji Shuo pulled up his black mask and walked away with disgust.

People in the inner city are very particular about what they eat. As long as they say that the food in a milk tea shop is not clean, the business of the shop can at least be reduced by half.

He has this confidence.

*

Ji Shuo returned home, waiting to hear bad rumors about the milk tea shop the next day. However, after the bad news came out as he wished, not long after, the milk tea shop suddenly received a plaque awarded by the royal family.