The big bandit in the Red Mansion robbed Lin Daiyu at the beginning

"And he planted in dangerous places for me and paid hundreds of thousands of taels of salt tax for me in advance!"

As he said this, he put down the gift book in his hand, smiled and bowed to everyone,

"This is entirely thanks to the prefect and all his colleagues, gentry, and merchants! I must report this truthfully to the court, outlining the achievements of you, the gentry, and merchants of Yangzhou!"

After hearing Lin Ruhai's words,

Many people's expressions changed.

Li Kui's eyes twitched fiercely, and he cursed Lin Ruhai in his heart as this old fox!

Seeing that the atmosphere suddenly became quiet and you could hear a pin drop, Li Kui laughed it off.

"Haha! Lord Lin is right!"

"Taxes are the foundation of a nation. Paying taxes according to the law is the responsibility of this official and the gentry and merchants of Yangzhou. This is a trivial matter, so why bother your Majesty?"

As he spoke, he winked at a green-robed official sitting at the same table.

The official quickly stood up, bowed to Lin Ruhai, and changed the subject.

"Master Lin, I'd like to ask you about the contract you just mentioned in order to obtain the method for refining refined salt. I'm wondering how to sign this contract?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally deserted scene became lively again.

"Yes! Lord Lin, how should we sign it?"

"I hope Master Lin will be willing to give me some advice!"

"Master Lin, our lives and property are all in this contract. I hope Master Lin will give us a warning!"

"..."

Listening to the eager voices of the people asking for advice,

Lin Ruhai sneered in his heart.

A bunch of profit-seeking villains!

He had no hesitation in giving the bandits a 10% profit, but was this the case when paying taxes according to the law?

Fortunately, he had a backup plan when he discussed it with Li Qingfeng, so he didn't have to worry about the salt merchants not complying.

Then he smiled and waved his hand and said,

"There's no need for you all to do this! Contract matters are not for me to handle!"

"But tomorrow, you can go out on the streets and see for yourself!"

After hearing this, many people had doubts in their hearts, but they had to suppress them.

Lin Ruhai chuckled and played with the wine glass in his hand.

"Everyone, I just don't know about this year's salt tax..."

Before Lin Ruhai could finish his words.

Wan Xing, the president of the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce, stood up and bowed to Lin Ruhai.

"As salt merchants from Yangzhou, we have received great favors from the imperial court for generations. We should be generous and magnanimous."

"This year's salt tax, we will do our utmost to relieve the court's worries!"

Lin Ruhai naturally heard that this was just a perfunctory response.

But still laughed,

He bowed to the crowd and said,

"I would like to thank President Wan and all the gentlemen and businessmen for their strong support! Now, I would like to thank you all again!"

As he spoke, he raised his glass.

The salt merchants all had different expressions, but they still raised their glasses in response.

"I don't deserve it! I'm waiting for Master Jinglin!"

After putting down the wine glass,

Lin Ruhai's eyes swept across the faces of everyone present.

He smiled and cupped his hands.

"I am a little drunk, so I have to excuse myself!"

Having said that, he stood up and left the table. After taking two steps, he thought of something and turned around to bow to Li Kui.

"I hope the prefect will forgive me!"

Li Kui waved his hand generously.

"Master Lin, please!"

"Thank you for your forgiveness, sir!"

Lin Ruhai smiled and bowed. He took two steps and suddenly stopped, facing the people in the hall who were watching him. He patted his head as if he remembered something and said,

"Oh, right!"

"I remember now. The contract seems to have a deadline, every year."

"Anyone who hasn't signed a contract by the end of this month won't be able to make another one this year! It's hard to say what will happen then, so everyone should hurry up!"

Hearing this, many people felt a pang of shock in their hearts.

It is almost mid-month now, and there are only about twenty days left until the end of the month.

To reach such a large-scale cooperation in such a short period of time, not to mention the huge amount of money required for circulation, it would also take a lot of time.

Just how to get in touch with Qingfeng Village is a problem.

But Lin Ruhai said that everyone will know tomorrow.

I think Lin Ruhai is just taking advantage of the power of Qingfeng Village to collect salt tax.

Therefore, facing Lin Ruhai's verbal threats, no one reacted much.