Chapter 47

(Being reviewed all night and not getting to rest over the weekend, the monk is seeking recommendation votes and comfort...)

As soon as he got home, Li Jian came over, and Chen Ke gave him a nod, then made a casual gesture to Chen Xiliang, saying, "Boss Li has come to pick up the koji."

"Go ahead," Chen Xiliang smiled. "He must have been anxious with you away for a few days."

"No problem, no problem," Li Jian laughed, then followed Chen Ke through the main gate toward the warehouse.

In the Song Dynasty, common people in Shu lived in stilt houses, while the wealthy lived in mansions... basically the same as the siheyuan in the north. Of course, in a small place like Qingshen, living in a mansion didn't necessarily mean you were someone important.

The Chen family lived in a three-courtyard siheyuan. Upon entering, one would see the north house, which served as the living room, with five rooms, and a row of seven small rooms for the servants. There were originally east and west wing rooms, but at Chen Ke's insistence, they were demolished to increase the courtyard's east-west length to ten zhang. The courtyard was paved with large blue stones, and stone locks, archery targets, and parallel and horizontal bars were placed in the corners for the brothers to exercise.

From the living room and the side doors, one could enter the second courtyard. This courtyard had a main hall with three rooms, each with two side rooms, a front corridor, and three rooms on each side. Generally, the third courtyard was where the main family lived, but the Chen family, consisting of five men, lived and worked in the second courtyard, which was more than enough.

The middle room of the main hall in the second courtyard served as the dining room and the place where Chen Xiliang reviewed homework. The room on the left was where Chen Xiliang, Wu Lang, and Liu Lang slept. The room on the right was where Er Lang and San Lang slept, and both side rooms were used as studies.

The three east wing rooms were mostly unused, storing only miscellaneous items. The three west wing rooms were converted into a koji warehouse, with iron bars hidden in the doors and windows. The main door was usually locked, and Chen Ke carried the key with him.

After opening the doors and windows of Warehouse C to let the air circulate for a while, Chen Ke and Li Jian entered. The room was filled with pottery jars of uniform size arranged in a square, containing koji that was about to ferment.

Actually, there was enough koji to brew any amount of alcohol, but the issue was that Qingshen's orange groves were limited. Even if all the ponkan oranges were used for brewing, the annual production would only be 100,000 pounds of original alcohol. With such a production limit, it would be better to hang oneself than to agree to the 'forced purchase' by the government.

In just three days, Li Jian had lost a lot of weight and his back was slightly hunched. He leaned on a jar and asked, "San Lang, do you have a plan?"

"Who is the monopoly wine merchant in Meizhou?" Chen Ke lifted the lid of a jar, scooped up a spoonful of the richly colored koji with a wooden ladle, and sniffed it lightly.

"Pengshan's Bi Mingjun," Li Jian replied.

"Is he not related to the Cheng family in Meishan?" Chen Ke asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Of course he is. Without the Cheng family's support, how could he have taken over the Glass Spring from its original owner?" Li Jian said matter-of-factly. "Mr. Bi is Mrs. Song's cousin." Mrs. Song is Cheng Jun's wife.

"I see..." Chen Ke nodded slowly. "How is Bi's business?"

"The best wines in the world are mostly from Shu, and competition is naturally fierce. However, the top-tier wines like Xuequ, Jian Nan Chun, and Luzhou Laojiao are in a league of their own and are not affected much. The competition is mainly among the second-tier wines like Hanzhou's Goose Yellow, Rongzhou's Amber, Meizhou's Glass Spring, Pixian's Pixian, and Linqiong's Linqiong. These five are primarily consumed by the urban population, so they use low prices to boost sales. I don't know which one sells the best, but the worst-selling is definitely Meizhou's Glass Spring!"

"Why is that?"

"Bi Mingjun is an outsider and likes to bully and mistreat workers. Few of the workers stay after their contracts end, so the quality of 'Glass Spring' keeps getting worse. If it weren't for the monopoly, it would have closed long ago." Li Jian sighed and shook his head. "What a pity, what a pity."

"How do we affect them?"

"There is some impact, but not much," Li Jian thought for a moment. "Because we don't sell through shops but sell the original alcohol to merchants in various regions, who then distribute it. With our annual production being less than 100,000 pounds, how much can be distributed to each region? It doesn't affect the monopoly merchants."

This carefully designed sales strategy by Chen Ke aimed to avoid a significant impact on the government-run wine industry in any one region, thus avoiding unnecessary trouble. Thanks to this strategy, the Huangjiao wine factory had developed smoothly until this incident occurred.

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At this point, Li Jian had some understanding and his face turned pale. "Could it be that they are the ones behind this? We haven't done anything to them!"

"An innocent man has no sin, but a man with a treasure has a sin," Chen Ke almost broke the wooden spoon, his eyes cold. "Seeing something good and getting envious is a common trait of officials' children!"

"The local tribute is decided by the high officials in the capital, does the Cheng family have that much power?"

"If the local officials don't report, how would the capital know about the Huangjiao wine in Meizhou?" Chen Ke laughed sarcastically. "Do you really think that in less than three years, Huangjiao wine has become as famous as Jian Nan Chun or Xuequ?"

"Of course not, I know that," Li Jian said. "In terms of fame, it's at most on par with Amber, Glass, and Goose Yellow."

"I asked my father, and in Bianliang, no one knows about these so-called famous wines from Shu," Chen Ke said in a low voice. "If there weren't any obstacles, how could we have 'made it to the tribute list'?"

"Ah..." Li Jian's face turned pale. "You mean the Cheng family is against us?!"

"It's just a guess," Chen Ke glared at him angrily. "Are you so easily frightened?"

"We are a small family, how can we compete with the Cheng family..." Li Jian's legs trembled.

"Who said it must be the Cheng family?"

"That's good, that's good..." Li Jian wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.

"Even if it's not the Cheng family, what difference does it make?" Chen Ke sighed. "With your attitude, how can you compete with them?"

"If it's not the Cheng family, I'm not afraid," Li Jian forced a smile. "Not just in Meizhou, but in the entire Sichuan, the Cheng family is one of the most powerful! If it were them, we would be better off just waiting to be destroyed."

Chen Ke really wanted to call him a 'liar,' but such a verbal attack would only damage their relationship and change nothing. He exhaled a long breath and said, "You still need to go to the county office and ask Magistrate Song for the official document. Remember to seal fifty taels of silver as a donation to the county!" One tael of silver equals one guan of money.

"So much money?!" Li Jian was pained. Fifty thousand yuan just to see a document was beyond what most people could accept.

"It's a test! By showing such sincerity, whether the official is corrupt or clean, they will be more accommodating," Li Jian said calmly. "If they still refuse to show it, it means there's a problem with the document, and that's our chance for survival!"

"What if they show it?"

"Even if they show it, it won't be a loss. In the future, if we want the court to reduce our burden, we will need Magistrate Song's full support. We need to build a good relationship now." Chen Ke sighed. "If you're unwilling, I'll cover the cost from my account."

"No, no, I can't use your share, let's pay from the company's funds," Li Jian waved his hands.

"There's no need to be polite. At this time, it's most important to work together through the difficulties," Chen Ke smiled.

"..." As they were about to leave, Li Jian suddenly asked, "Can we really stand up to the government?"

"If it were another dynasty, it would be impossible to even think about it," Chen Ke smiled faintly. "But this is the Song Dynasty, which, despite its darkness, is much cleaner than other dynasties."

To boost Li Jian's confidence, Chen Ke told him a story he had just heard from his elders:

"That day, when I learned about this, I thought it was a dead end... As a newcomer to the tribute list, the fastest way is to look at the precedents of the older tributes. So I asked some elders about the tributes in our Song Dynasty, and it was a relief."

"What do you mean?" Li Jian's eyes widened.

"The elders said that almost all tributes face similar 'forced purchases,' but over the years, no one has been forced to hang themselves," Chen Ke said. "The Song Dynasty does not have the habit of treating human lives lightly. If things get too big, the officials involved will face severe consequences."

"Does that mean we are the only unlucky ones?"

"Of course not," Chen Ke shook his head. "The more famous the tribute, the more severe the 'plucking of the goose.' The collection numbers are increased layer by layer, and the money collected is also siphoned off layer by layer. This can truly drive people to despair."

"Why hasn't anyone been driven to despair?"

"Because there are always officials who stand up for the people!" Chen Ke said. "The Song Dynasty has its share of corrupt officials, but it also has upright and honest ones. Once things go too far, someone will speak out for justice!"

"For example, ten years ago, the famous Duan inkstone from Duanzhou faced a similar situation, causing the craftsmen to flee. The new governor, Bao Zheng, secretly investigated and found that the palace only required ten Duan inkstones per year, and even with the 'forced purchases' by the three departments and six ministries, the number did not exceed a hundred. However, the local officials increased the number layer by layer, resulting in Duanzhou having to submit over a thousand inkstones annually. Bao Zheng, in his anger, reported the matter to the capital, and the involved officials were all dismissed. Since then, Duanzhou has been required to submit ninety Duan inkstones annually, and no one has dared to demand more!"

"San Lang, what are you planning to do?" Li Jian's forehead was sweating.

"I want to see if the Song Dynasty has only one Bao Qingtian!" Chen Ke, who was never afraid of trouble, clenched his fists tightly. "If he is the only one, I will go to the capital to file a complaint!"

Li Jian was stunned by the young man's determination and, after a long pause, said hoarsely, "San Lang, do we really have to do this?" He dared not make such a big fuss.

"Ah," Chen Ke, seeing his cowardly appearance, was furious but could only say, "Of course, we will wait until it's absolutely necessary."

"That's good, that's good..."

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Last night, I was reviewed and couldn't finish this chapter on time. I apologize, but it won't affect the evening update... I need your votes!

Thank you to the relevant leaders for reviewing the keywords. I hope this upload will meet the leaders' satisfaction.

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