Traveling through time and space to become a child, supporting the family by catching fish and shrim

Venting out anger won't change the situation. After his father calmed down, Min Qingshu continued, "Dad, things have come to this point. What we need to do is think about the next way out."

Min Tianxing sat on the chair, tapping his forehead repeatedly: "Master Ye said that if we want to postpone the delivery, we need to follow the normal process, which means submitting a written application."

"But that's the problem. Once you submit a written application, you can no longer hide it."

"Even though the Lai family has retreated, if they knew we were going to delay the delivery, they might come back and attack us. It would be impossible to repel them again."

Min Qingshu said, "There's nothing we can do about it. If we can't solve Fangzi's problem, whether we lose to the Lai family or are held accountable by the court, the result will be the same."

"Uncle Jian, Fang Zi's problem is now in your hands. No matter what the cost, you must solve this matter."

Jian Zhong lowered his head and did not answer.

Min Qingshu frowned: "Uncle Jian, did you hear me?"

Jian Zhong suddenly looked up and said, "Master, what did you say?"

Min Qingshu repeated his request.

Jian Zhong nodded, but he didn't seem very confident. After hesitating for a long time, he said, "Master, I have an idea..."

Min Qingshu asked, "What?"

Jian Zhong said, "After we were awarded the title of Imperial Merchant, most of the cloth merchants in the county either partnered with the Lai family or us. Only the Tang family steadfastly chose the Xu family cloth shop, which was eliminated."

"Over the past few days, the Tang family's large ships have been frequently traveling between Linshui, Guangling Prefecture, and Qinzhou Prefecture. The raw materials they have brought in alone must have weighed several thousand kilograms."

"How can we really use so much material just to make a cheongsam?"

Min Tianxing's face turned pale and he said, "Old Jian, just say what you want to say. Don't beat around the bush."

Jian Zhong swallowed his saliva and said, "The Tang family's financial resources are average and they can't afford so many goods, so these goods are most likely wanted by Xu's Cloth Shop."

"The Xu Cloth Shop doesn't even have the qualifications of an imperial merchant, yet they've inexplicably imported so much goods. Are they just waiting for something to happen to us?"

The expressions of everyone in the room changed at this moment.

An indescribable feeling of suffocation enveloped the entire side hall. After a long moment, Min Qingshu said, "We can't rule out this possibility, but we can't scare ourselves."

"After all, this sounds too... far-fetched. Whether it's Chen Lang or Xu Mengru, I don't believe they have the foresight to be wary of us stealing from the moment they developed the formula."

Min Tianxing said: "And with so many goods, the cost is huge. We can't support this expense for long relying on the income from Hongyanzui."

"If we delay the delivery for a little longer, we might even bring Chen Lang down."

Min Qingshu smiled bitterly, "Dad, you're wrong. We have no way of financially bankrupting Chen Lang."

Min Tianxing said: "What do you mean?"

Min Qingshu said: "As far as I know, in addition to Hongyanzui, Chen Lang also invented a kind of wine called beer."

"Hongyanzui and beer are both very popular among the Liao people. Chen Lang can obtain a steady stream of funds through this channel. Even if this batch of several thousand kilograms of cloth raw materials all fell into his hands, he only needs to brew beer for another month to make up for the deficit."

"It won't even take a month, half a month... ten days..."

Having said that, an extremely bitter smile appeared on Min Qingshu's face.

Min Tianxing waved his hand and said, "That's enough. There's no point in talking about this now. It will only make us lose our composure."

"Everyone go back and have a good sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, go all out to solve this problem."

"I'll go negotiate with the weaving and dyeing factory myself. They'll buy us back at least a month."

When everyone had dispersed, Min Tianxing stopped his son and said, "By the way, stop communicating with those two people from Xu's Cloth Shop."

"If all this is really Chen Lang's conspiracy, then he must also know about the existence of Rui Xin and others."

"We can't continue to irritate him at this juncture. It's time to cut it off."

Min Qingshu nodded: "Dad, I understand."

……

The capital, the palace, the imperial study.

The eunuch, carrying a bowl of bird's nest, tiptoed to the desk and whispered, "Your Majesty, Scholar Xiao is outside the study, requesting an audience."

The emperor put down his imperial pen and said, "Announce."

"Announce, Grand Secretary Xiao Yu of Wenyuan Pavilion is here to see you!"

A moment later, Xiao Yu walked into the imperial study and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I, Xiao Yu, pay my respects to you. Long live the emperor."

The emperor raised his head and said, "My dear minister, please excuse me. Come, please take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xiao Yu said.

The emperor asked, "My dear minister, why do you come to see me?"

Xiao Yu said, "Your Majesty, the Jurchen leader of the Liaodong region, Wanyan Aguda... has died."

"The name of the founding of the country, gold."

"The Liao Kingdom sent Xiao Huaiyi with an army of 200,000 to suppress the rebellion."

"Today we received a letter from Empress Dowager Xiao. For the first time, it clearly stated that the annual tribute would be reduced to 250,000 next year, the annual cloth would be reduced to 80,000, and the porcelain would also be reduced to 80,000."

"I only ask that you use this condition to make Dayan not recognize the status of the Jin Kingdom."

The emperor said indifferently, "Have the Jurchens sent any letters?"

"According to rumors, there is, but the Honglu Temple has not received it yet." Xiao Yu said.

The emperor asked, "My dear Xiao, how do you think I should respond to the Liao Kingdom?"

Xiao Yu said, "The Liao Kingdom doesn't want us to recognize the Jin Kingdom's status. They are even more afraid that we will unite with the Jin Kingdom and attack from both sides."

"I believe we should seize this opportunity to demand more benefits from the Liao Kingdom."

"It would be great if we could reduce the annual tribute to 150,000, or even 100,000."

The emperor slowly stood up and said, "My dear Xiao, do you think I can take this opportunity to recapture Youyun?"

Xiao Yu said: "Your Majesty... absolutely not."

"The Youyun region's troops have not been transferred, and their number has remained around 150,000."

"Our dynasty has just gone through the process of recovering Xiazhou and suppressing a rebellion. Not only is the treasury empty, but the people are also very tired of war. Forcing a war now will not only fail to retake Youzhou, but may also cause domestic unrest."

The emperor was somewhat unwilling to give in. "But such a great opportunity is missed... I am unwilling to accept it."

Xiao Yu thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, we can try another approach."

The emperor said: "What?"

Xiao Yu pondered and said, "Didn't the Liao Kingdom want to cut down on its annual cloth? We can send the extra cloth by sea to the Jin Kingdom."

"When our cloth arrives at the Jin Kingdom, Liaodong will be at its coldest time of the year. With these cloths to keep warm, the Jin Kingdom's fighting power will undoubtedly increase significantly."

"If the Liao Kingdom suffers one or two defeats, they might mobilize troops from the Youyun region to assist them. At that time, if we send troops again, our chances of victory will be much greater."

The emperor pondered for a long time and said, "I agree in principle. Let the cabinet work out the details."