Maowu tapped the table with his fingers and thought about it for a moment, then said to Zhao Cheng: "Then please wait a moment." As he said that, he took out three pieces of broken silver from his arms, about the size of three taels, and placed them beside the table.
"I'll come as soon as I go." Maowu picked up a silver cake, weighed it, walked out of the small hall on the first floor, and went straight into the Qinghe County Government Office.
Due to Bai Jingtao's special status and his stay in Qinghe County for many days, Maowu, Bai Jingtao's long-term follower, went in and out of the Qinghe County government office just like he left the Xifeng Inn.
The gatekeeper smiled before he said anything, and hurriedly raised his hands and said, "Hello, Master Mao!"
These gatekeepers have already received orders from the county magistrate and the chief registrar. Bai Jingtao or a few close people around him are not allowed to stop him from coming to the county government office at any time.
Therefore, the government officials were polite and considerate.
Maowu had a sullen face and didn't answer. He just nodded slightly, lifted up his robe, stepped into the tall threshold, walked through the lobby and went straight to the second hall.
Because of the floating official system, an official needs to move constantly within the territory ruled by the dynasty, so the county government is divided into two areas: office and home.
The same is true for the Qinghe County Government Office. After entering the government office, there are three gate towers, and then there is the lobby with an upright and bright plaque, which is where cases are heard.
On both sides of the corridor in front of the lobby, there are the official, household, and ceremonial rooms in the east, and the Bing, Xing, and Gong rooms in the west. This is the office of subordinate officials.
There are two side doors at the back of the lobby, and there is still a courtyard behind it. On the east and west sides are the offices of the county captain's registrar. The front is where the case is pre-trial, and it is also a place for reflection and rest during the trial in the lobby, also called the second hall.
When cases are not being tried, the county magistrate, county lieutenant and other officials usually work here, and Mao Wu came to see them.
Because there was no major matter in the county, the county magistrate went on a trip to the mountains. Only the chief clerk was guarding the yamen. When he saw Mao Wu coming in, he hurriedly put down the official document he was copying and went to greet him: "Brother Mao, where are you from?"
The chief registrar is an official with a salary from the imperial court, and serves as an assistant to the county magistrate in the county, so he is also called an assistant official, which is equivalent to the position of deputy county magistrate.
But even a formal official of the imperial court, such as the chief secretary, still had to grovel when faced with a long-term leader beside Bai Jingtao.
Mao Wuyi pulled the sleeve of the bookkeeper, went into the house with him, and showed the twenty taels of silver cake: "Master He, please help me find out which house this silver comes from, and whether there has been any theft recently." Something like robbing?”
Master He knew the meaning of Mao Wu as soon as he heard this. He just wanted to ask if the silver would be hot to hold, so he took it and looked through it. He saw that there was "Shunke Yin, Taihe Nineteenth Year, Qinghe Huihao" on the silver. The mark with the words "" is immediately clear.
"There should be no problem. In Qinghe County, all molten silver needs to be melted in the official treasury and cannot be made privately. If I remember correctly, this "Shunke Silver" should be the silver of Dashunzhai."
"Dashunzhai?" Maowu came to Beijing and didn't understand the affairs of these places. In addition, Dashunzhai had been dying for a year, so it was natural that he had never heard of it.
The head clerk smiled and said: "Dashunzhai is a restaurant, just opposite Hong Shengde."
When it comes to Hong Shengde, Maowu naturally knows that Qinghe County's leading restaurant has really good food, but compared to Shangjing, it is still far behind.
"That means there's no problem?" Maowu felt relieved after he was sure that there wouldn't be any trouble involving Bai Jingtao.
The chief clerk said: "Brother Mao, don't worry, I can be your guarantee."
Maowu smiled and said, "Okay, thank you very much, Brother He. I'll treat Brother He to a drink some other day."
Master He looked happy and nodded repeatedly.
Mao Wu's words came and went quickly. Zhao Cheng had just finished two cups of tea when Mao Wu came back. He took out the IOU from his arms and handed it to Zhao Cheng: "Mr. Bai may have something else to ask you. Don't leave recently." Qinghe County.”
Zhao Cheng just pretended that he couldn't hear it, picked up the cloth bag and said, "Now that the matter is over, let's leave."
After he settled the matter, he still had a lot of things to do, so he had no time to talk to Mao Wu here.
Zhang Dashun signed a contract with him and needed to exclusively supply MSG to Dashunzhai. Moreover, this old man was ruthless enough. In order to tie up Zhao Cheng, he directly gave 30% of the shares to not just one but all Dashunzhai restaurants. Thirty percent dry shares.
As long as Dashunzhai can surpass Hong Shengde, Zhao Cheng is confident that Dashunzhai will open a second branch within a year.
The current Dashunzhai is in the old city, and the consumption power of Qinghe County is enough to support the opening of another branch in the new city. The revenue-generating scope of the two restaurants is enough to cover the entire city.
In this case, Zhao Cheng feels that with these financial supports, he will be able to enter a situation where he has no worries about food and clothing. At that time, whether you want to obtain fame or continue to plan your business, you can handle it calmly.
After coming out of Xifeng Inn, Zhao Cheng did not go to the south of the city, but went to Yaji.
Yashi is an intermediary in ancient times. It is a trading house or middleman that negotiates deals for buyers and sellers in the market, introduces transactions, and collects commissions.
Because Yaqi played the role of "evaluating prices" and "dealing with merchants" and replacing the government in controlling the market and managing commerce, these middlemen obtained the monopoly rights granted by the government, hence the name "Yaqi".
It was almost late autumn. In a few days, the weather would get cooler day by day. Zhao Cheng must buy a house in Qinghe County as soon as possible.
In addition to solving the housing problem, the subsequent production of MSG is also a big problem, because special bacterial fermentation is required to produce glutamic acid, which is the most critical first step.
The fermentation process must require a certain temperature. After winter, it is obviously not feasible to make MSG outdoors. In order for Dashunzhai’s MSG consumption to be replenished and supplied in a timely manner, the manufacturing site must be moved indoors.
Therefore, buying a house as soon as possible has become a top priority.
In the Qinghe County government office, Chief Hong saw Mao Wu coming and leaving in a hurry. He wanted to go up and say hello, but felt that he couldn't reach him.
Chief Secretary He was an official official of the Chen Dynasty. He was looked down upon by Mao Wu, let alone a lowly servant.
When Mr. Hong was thinking about how to get close to him, Mr. He had already come to see him.
"Lao Hong, there is something you should pay attention to recently."
Mr. Hong quickly poured a cup of tea for Chief He: "Sir, please speak."
"A batch of silver has recently leaked out of Dashunzhai, which is a batch of silver cakes melted in the 19th year of Taihe. If there is any case involved, please don't make it public for now."
Hong Captou naturally nodded in agreement and watched Master He leave, doubts rising in his heart.
"What does Master He mean by this? Do you want to protect Dashunzhai? Or did you hear some rumors first?"
His Hong Shengde Restaurant has been very prosperous recently, and it has been a long time since he noticed this opponent who was about to be squeezed out by him. Master He's words made him focus his attention on Dashun Zhai again.
