Time Travel: The Useless Prince, First Destroy the Princess

Liu Zhao and Chu Lan just listened to a few words casually, and these complaints were completely useless.

He took Chu Lan into a small restaurant.

This small restaurant is much smaller than the inn we stayed at yesterday.

Of course, there are no private rooms.

The total area is just enough to fit a few small tables.

There were some people sitting in twos and threes.

"Would you two like to eat?"

The boss came over and asked politely, nodding and bowing.

"Of course!"

"Sit, sit, sit!"

The boss greeted us hurriedly and sat down.

"What would you like to eat, both of you?"

“Just fry a few according to your specialty!”

Liu Zhao was too lazy to order food and didn’t know what to eat!

"Okay!" said the boss, and hurried to the kitchen to prepare.

Soon, the sound of cooking could be heard from inside, and the boss came out with water and poured it for the two of them.

“How much tax will your store pay in the second half of the year?”

Liu Zhao asked casually while the boss was pouring water.

"Oh! Don't mention it, ten strings of cash!"

"Ten strings of copper coins, so high?"

Liu Zhao thought that the profit of such a small shop should not be high, only ten strings of cash in half a year, which is almost equivalent to ten taels of silver.

"That's right! We can't live like this anymore!"

The boss simply sat down, shook his head and sighed.

“How is this tax calculated?”

Liu Zhao really didn't understand.

"It's set by the government, one tenth of the tax!"

"One tenth of the tax, that means your income for half a year is a hundred strings of cash?"

Liu Zhao also felt that the tax was not too high!

"If I had that much, I'd wake up laughing in my dreams!" the boss sighed. "It was raining the day the mayor sent someone to check taxes, so the shop was packed. They said I could make a hundred strings of cash in half a year!"

"Using one day's business to determine the tax?"

"That's right, most of them are just trying to avoid the rain. I can't make a hundred coins in two years!"

"Then didn't you explain to the other party?" Liu Zhao asked again.

Chu Lan stared at Liu Zhao intently. Why did he ask so many detailed questions?

"I'm just a commoner. How dare I bargain with them? Besides, I'm not the only one here. I'll just endure it one day at a time!"

After the boss finished speaking, he stood up and went into the kitchen.

Liu Zhao smiled inwardly.

This is what ordinary people do. First of all, they turn a blind eye to things that do not concern them!

Secondly, as long as I can still survive, I will never force myself to stand out.

Again, as long as you are not very rich, you will not have any unnecessary messy thoughts about the future.

Finally, as long as you are not bullied too badly, just swallow your anger and bear it.

Therefore, such people are easy to manage!

In these times, as long as they don't go too far, there are still very few unruly people.

Liu Zhao thought that he would inherit the throne in the future, and this was really a good condition!

While she was thinking, the boss brought the dishes and Chu Lan carefully handed the chopsticks to Liu Zhao.

Liu Zhao hesitated for a moment and wanted to take out the silver needle from his body, but there were so many people around!

Isn't it obvious that you are afraid of being poisoned?

It’s not that I’m worried about being embarrassed by other people’s eyes, but it’s like admitting it myself.

Most of the people who come here are ordinary people. Doesn’t that mean there is something wrong with their origins?

Chu Lan noticed Liu Zhao's hesitation and asked quietly, "Are you worried about problems?"

Liu Zhao smiled and said, Chu Lan is very smart.

"I'll eat first!"

Chu Lan didn't hesitate this time and quickly picked up some dishes to eat!

This made Liu Zhao feel a little embarrassed and hesitant.

In total, there were two dishes and a soup. Chu Lan ate some before saying, "It should be fine!"

"Okay!" Liu Zhao didn't want to say thank you. In fact, tasting like this could only test for strong poisons. If the amount of poison was not enough, or it was a chronic poison, tasting like this would have no effect.

"Eat it! It's okay!"

Liu Zhao picked up the chopsticks and started eating.

It seems there is no need to be so cautious!

It's totally okay to relax a little.

Damn it, it’s all because I’ve experienced too many intrigues and deceptions in modern society, so I have to be very careful!

Chu Lan filled a bowl of rice and handed it to Liu Zhao. At this time, four people came in from the door.

Seeing this, the boss hurriedly asked the four people to sit down.

"Sir, what would you like to eat?"

It's rare to see so many people, and the boss has a big smile on his face.

"Good wine and good food, bring it up!"

A bearded man spoke loudly, and then threw a silver ingot to the boss.

The boss saw that this was a rich man!

This amount of silver is at least five taels, and you can eat as much as you want in a small shop like this!

"Brother Zigang, you must have gained a lot from coming from Shu this time!"

A fat middle-aged man stroked his long beard and smiled.

"Brother Wen, don't even mention it. We've been living in fear and exposure all the way. When we get to Luojing, we'll be exploited by the government again. There's not much left!"

The bearded man who had just given the silver said with a bitter face.

"Why?"

Another person then asked.

"Brother Yunhe, the journey from Western Shu to here is over 3,000 miles. You three brothers should know that the cost of the escort alone is this much!"

Zigang said this and raised his hand.

The other three nodded and said, "Although the world is peaceful now, bandits are still everywhere. If there is no protection, I am afraid that the Shu brocade will change hands before it leaves Shu!"

"You three are the ones who understand me best!" Zigang picked up the teacup and cupped his hands.

"Even if we spent a huge amount of money on the security, the value of this batch of Shu brocade should increase a hundredfold when it arrives in Luojing. Brother Zigang, you'll still make a lot of money, right?"

Yunhe asked again.

"If it were the same as last year, the profits would have been good, but unfortunately, the business tax has gone up this year!"

"It's increased?" the three of them said in unison.

"Yes, last year it was five percent tax, but this year it's two percent! I've already paid the tax, and now I'm struggling!"

Zigang sighed.

"So high! Why?" The three of them seemed a little unconvinced.

"How dare I ask!" Zigang sighed. "When we got to the East Market, the price of this batch of goods was even lowered. I finally managed to sell it, but I'm so lucky that I didn't lose anything, let alone make a profit!"

"In this world, merchants have no way to survive. They'd better focus on farming!" said a square-faced man who had been silent the whole time.

"Brother Benyu, what you said makes sense!" Zigang nodded. "When I return to Western Shu this time, I have decided to give up business and take up farming to support my family!"

"Alas! The world is like this. It's hard for Zigang to start a business, and the three of us are poor, so it's the same for us!"

Yunhe said.

At this time, the boss quickly brought the dishes up, and of course, a full pot of wine.

Zigang quickly poured wine for everyone, then picked up the bowl first and said, "Brothers, I, Meng Zigang, drink it. Thank you for your care over the years!"

The three of them raised their bowls and said, "You're too polite, Zigang. If it weren't for Zigang's support over the years, the three of us would have been left with no books to read!"

"Done!"

After the four of them finished speaking, they all drank a bowl.

Liu Zhao took a look and could tell from the conversation.

Meng Zigang is a businessman from far away.

The other three were scholars, but they looked quite old, at least over thirty years old.

The four of them ate a little, and Meng Zigang continued, "I envy you three brothers. You're so knowledgeable and talented at governing a country! Unlike me, my father named me Wen, with the courtesy name Zigang, but I never knew I had anything to do with the word 'wen'!"

"Alas!" Yun He sighed. "Speaking of which, my father named me Shun, originally Ruan Shun. Who knew it wasn't auspicious at all? Though I'm brimming with knowledge, I can barely afford three meals a day. So, I should change my name to Ruan Ku, with the character for 'unshun' (不顺)! So, the better the name, the worse the fate. Song Wenchang, don't you agree?"

"Brother Yunhe, my name is Hua, with the courtesy name Wenchang. Brother Zhang's name is Shi, with the courtesy name Benyu. These are just nicknames. What does it have to do with names? Don't let them make you sad!"

Song Hua explained seriously.

"Hahaha!" Ruan Shun laughed. "As far as I know, you and I were all ranked low-end this year. Our future is still hopeless. And you still say that this has nothing to do with fame?"

"Yunhe, don't talk too much about this recommendation, lest you get into trouble. Drink, drink!"

Zhang Shi, with a square face, hurried to dissuade him.

"Ah! I won't say anything!" Ruan Shun looked around. "Let's not talk about anything else today. Let's just give Zigang a farewell party and have a good drink!"

"Yes, yes! Let's drink!"

Meng Wen picked up the bowl, clinked it with a few people, and then drank another bowl.

After eating something, I was already in a drunken mood.

A few of them started telling some dirty jokes, but fortunately the store was crowded and noisy, so not many people cared.

Liu Zhao couldn't believe that some seemingly gentle scholars would like to tell such dirty jokes. When they had almost finished their meal, he and Chu Lan got up and walked out.