I was a charlatan in India

The sun has risen.

The two didn't go to too many places.

They only selected a few wealthy Vaishyas who were also devout worshippers, and a small number of Shudras whose professions involved dissemination and propagation.

For example, a back-rubbing worker is someone who comes into contact with all sorts of customers.

As for construction laborers, there is absolutely no need to visit them.

They didn't have much time to chat, let alone form public opinion.

Incidentally, the Shudra caste corresponds to the service profession, that is, working for someone else.

Brahmanism, Kshatriya military and political system, Vaishya merchants, Shudra laborers, Dalits doing dirty work.

This is a general understanding of caste.

The interviewees were all carefully selected by Shenhe to minimize unnecessary workload.

The main concern is Arti's health; we can't let the child stay up too late.

But she was still so excited that she stayed up very late, and is still snoring in bed now.

For Arti, playing the role of a divine messenger was somewhat novel, and the trembling expressions of those adults and lords excited her even more.

I don't even feel so bad about wasting small snacks anymore.

This was a new way of playing introduced by Brother Da Tian, ​​so even as she lay on the big bed, she was still secretly savoring it.

Fortunately, she doesn't have to go to school, so even if she gets up late...

Ok……

This won't do; we need to arrange a study plan for her.

Shenhe silently plotted Arti's nightmare.

Shenhe wasn't the only one worried about these rumors.

There is also the head of the Nabu family, "Dana," and the Kshatriya young master, "Suriye," who is preparing to steal food.

Dana is a man of action.

After reaching an agreement with Vasudiv, he immediately made arrangements to purchase a large quantity of raw materials.

These items are temporarily sourced from nearby trade routes or city-states. They are relatively expensive, but the advantage is that they arrive quickly, taking only about a week to arrive.

The remaining week was enough for him to arrange for people to process the goods in batches, making them suitable products, and then take advantage of the hype surrounding the Holy Wedding to make a fortune.

In this way, they can take a break from business for two or three years and then look for better opportunities.

The reason for closing down was not due to Dana's laziness.

The main reason was that after King Ashoka promoted Buddhism, various new taxes skyrocketed.

As long as you're in business, all sorts of miscellaneous taxes will follow.

Not only can tax officials collect taxes, but even when monk soldiers come, you have to hand over several copies.

The name doesn't matter, the amount doesn't matter, just pay it.

If this really escalates to the local officials, they are a noble Buddhist community.

You're just a Vaishya, that's enough.

Therefore, if you do business honestly, you might still lose some money.

Even small businesses like restaurants that sell labor can lose money; there must be something wrong with this land.

It's all about speculation.

This is also a microcosm of many businessmen of that era.

Of course, the Kshatriyas did not want this to happen.

Damn it, these lowly businessmen only know how to take crooked paths and evade taxes, they have no gratitude whatsoever!

Damn it!

You'll still be a Vaishya in your next life!

This is why young Master Surrey is so sensitive about this matter.

Those who still dare to do business now are like slippery fish.

They make a quick buck and run, making it increasingly difficult to collect taxes.

Of course, these situations mainly apply to Vaishyas. If a merchant is protected by a high caste, there will be far fewer problems.

After all, if you can mess with me, I can mess with you too. We're all busy fighting and end up getting angry, but nobody's finances are any better. It's not worth it.

It's more reasonable to bully those without connections.

Dana wanted to cooperate with the Brahmins for this reason, which was somewhat out of necessity.

For example, trouble has come knocking right now.

The servant ran into the house, panting.

"Master, something's not right. The river defense team has returned the gifts... this..."

Dana was startled.

He had given prior notice.

Sending gifts to the river defense force was mainly to ensure that they wouldn't obstruct the entry of their goods into the port; otherwise, having to pull strings later would cause delays.

If goods are allowed to enter the port openly, workers will soon band together and demand exorbitant prices.

Anyone who's even slightly quick-witted will easily realize that they urgently need more people.

They are just poor, not stupid.

Even if we could gather a group of labor swindlers eager to work, it would be very unstable.

They might suddenly go on strike one day, or even take their materials and flee into the shack to offset their wages.

Dana, who frequently interacts with the lower classes, knows all too well that while the caste system brings a certain degree of stability, it also leads to serious de-responsibility.

The Shudras and Dalits had no hope for the future, so they simply gave up completely.

In this way, the contract cannot be guaranteed.

What's even more troublesome is the competition; if they discover our scheme, they might all want a piece of the pie.

If things really get to that point, not only will there be very little profit left, but you'll also have to pay taxes.

We absolutely cannot let this happen. Even if we earn less, we cannot become such a conspicuous target.

Dana made a decision quickly.

The most important thing right now is to determine the situation, whether it's just our family being targeted, or whether all the river defenses are taking big actions, and why the other party returned the gifts they brought.

Is it because they feel they are not giving enough, or is it due to other pressures?

His fat twitched slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and gave orders to his servants.

"Send someone to check the news and see if other merchants have been turned away with their gifts recently."

"If there are other merchants who have also had their goods returned, find out the categories of their goods, and if possible, find out about the families behind them."

The servants hurried off to do it.

The Nabu family generally inherited the habits and behaviors of their patriarch, Dana, and were efficient and never procrastinated.

Of course, this is also thanks to the family's clear system of rewards and punishments; those who do well are truly rewarded.

If you mess things up, there won't be any punishment, but next time something happens, you won't be the one to take responsibility.

Therefore, most of Dana's close associates are trustworthy.

After making the basic preparations, Dana stood up and paced around the expensively carpeted hall, his thick fingers constantly twirling the string of gemstones in his palm.

He quickly stopped, summoned a trusted aide, and gave him instructions.

"Send someone to Shangdao to request that the goods be delivered in batches to reduce the target volume. Each batch only needs to meet two days of production, and we will cover the shipping costs."

"And don't take the entire river route. Try using livestock to carry the cargo. It may be slower, but it's better than piling everything up in one place."

"Also, try to negotiate a short-term rental of the nearby commercial area, and if necessary, hire some people to work on the commercial area."

"That's all, hurry up!"

Dana gave orders at an extremely fast pace, his heart bleeding with each one he uttered.

The cost of shipping in batches will at least triple, and the losses and delays caused by using land routes are even more difficult to estimate.

As for short-term processing services, there are also issues with quality control.

But for now, these are the only contingency plans he can think of: reduce the target size and maintain secrecy at all costs.

What's done is done, and I, Nabu, accept all the losses.

But the goods must be able to move around silently!

Although the reason for the river defense's rejection of the gifts is still unclear, it is nothing more than feeling that the money was too little, or based on some decision made by the higher authorities.

No, think about it calmly, the probability of someone complaining about the amount of money is not high.

Even if we need to increase the stakes, we'll usually give them a reason to talk about it.

For example, nonsense like "This is difficult to handle".

If I were to be sensible and raise the price, this trouble would be over.

The fact that they have retreated without a word is most likely due to pressure from above.

Of course, for Dana, these are all speculations and still need to be verified.

These aren't the worst things. If the gifts are too small, he can make up for it. As for the higher-ups... nothing stays secret forever, and he'll find out soon enough.

What I fear most is that my competitors and workers might have ulterior motives.

To those above or at the river defense point, he was considered a fat sheep; they wouldn't completely wipe him out, and at least they wouldn't let him be crippled.

But rivals are enemies. Given the chance, there will inevitably be those who are greedy and eager to grab the meat, and there will also be quite a few who do things that harm others without benefiting themselves.

We need to deal with this quickly.

Dana's small eyes flashed with a cold light. After a moment's thought, he quickly put on his clothes and headed straight for the riverbank.