Emperor Wanli couldn't help but stood up again after hearing this! He now feels that his outlook on life has been greatly impacted! Didn't my masters say that once you become an official, you must serve the country and the people wholeheartedly? Why would you get involved in a lowly business? This made him feel a little confused!
Liu Haojia raised his eyebrows and glanced at Emperor Wanli, guessing his current mental state, and couldn't help but said to himself: "Poor baby, you may have been deceived by your teachers!"
But this is not surprising at all, and the civil servants just relied on talking nonsense to fool the emperor, playing tricks to deceive the superiors and conceal them, so as to profit from it! In fact, at this point, there is no difference at all between civilian officials and military attachés!
But Emperor Wanli's current state is just right for him! The less Emperor Wanli knows and the more fog he uncovers, the more Emperor Wanli will trust him! What he needs most now is to establish a trusting relationship with Emperor Wanli. As for the rest, he can slowly deepen it in the future! Anyway, what he told was the truth, he just let Wanli know it a few years in advance!
At this time, Liu Haojia waved his hand again to signal Emperor Wanli to follow him. So Emperor Wanli followed him to a teahouse in a daze. This teahouse is not high, with only two floors, so Liu Haojia said directly to the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, please ask all the guests on the second floor to go out. I have reserved the second floor for the time being!"
Because it was not tea time at this time, and there happened to be no one on the second floor. So the shopkeeper was extremely happy and greeted the three Wanli Emperors. There were six guards in plain clothes who went upstairs with them. They walked around the second floor before going downstairs. As for the four servants brought by Liu Haojia who were roughly stopped on the first floor, he pretended not to see them!
The three of them found a seat by the window upstairs and as soon as they sat down, the waiter brought tea and snacks under the supervision of the guards in plain clothes. After they retreated, Liu Haojia stood up and respectfully paid homage to Emperor Wanli who had come back to his senses. He said, "The common man Liu Haojia pays homage to your majesty! I hope your majesty will forgive the common man's previous disrespect!"
At this time, Emperor Wanli had become much more awake, and when he heard what Liu Haojia said again, he knew that his identity had been exposed. However, although he is young and has little experience, this guy is a born emperor and is extremely sensitive in politics!
After thinking for a moment, he said with a gloomy face: "So, this chance encounter between me and you must have been deliberately planned by you, right?"
Liu Haojia immediately replied: "Your Majesty, it is indeed the common people who did this deliberately!"
Emperor Wanli tapped the table with his fingers, and after a moment he slowly said: "In order to see me, you have been able to do this for more than a year, which is considered hard work! But what is your intention in doing this?"
This was what Liu Haojia was waiting for, and he immediately said: "Your Majesty, Gu Ningbo's Mansion is a noble family. As a noble man, shouldn't it be right for Gu Ningbo's Mansion to move closer to Your Majesty? It's just that the Liu family was in extreme decline back then, and almost I can't even afford food, so how can I think of anything else! Now that Gu Ningbo's mansion has improved, he is naturally willing to work for His Majesty! It's just that Gu Ningbo's mansion and His Majesty are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, so he always has to find some tricks. The means are good!”
Emperor Wanli felt very benefited after hearing this, so he snorted and said, "Get up and talk!"
After Liu Haojia thanked me, he stood up and stood by the table. Seeing his respectful look, Emperor Wanli felt much better, so he waved his hand casually and said, "I am also traveling in casual clothes today, so please don't stand, please sit down!"
After Liu Haojia thanked him, he sat down and held hands with her. At this time, Emperor Wanli said: "You said that your family was originally very poor, but as a member of the nobility, how can you be so poor? Doesn't the imperial court pay you a salary every year?"
Liu Haojia said: "Your Majesty, the salary issued by the imperial court cannot support a large family at all! If nothing else, at that time there were countless relatives who came from all over the place. How much salary did it take to support these people? ? So it is understandable for each family to participate in merchant affairs! For example, in the heyday of our Gu Ningbo Mansion, there were more than a hundred relatives who came to seek refuge! Just eating for these people is a big expense!"
Emperor Wanli nodded and said: "That's true! Just like there are so many maids and eunuchs in the palace, the expenses are also huge!"
Liu Haojia echoed: "That's right. In order to maintain dignity, we have to hire some servants, and we lose money every time! I think back then, my father rented out the Earl's Mansion when Uncle Gu Ning's Mansion was at its lowest, so that he could maintain his dignity. Live!"
Emperor Wanli couldn't stop laughing when he heard this, and said, "You actually rented out the Earl's Mansion? You really lose the face of the nobles!"
Liu Haojia shrugged his shoulders and said: "Then you have to survive first! Is it possible to starve to death while guarding the Earl's Mansion? Wouldn't that lose the face of the court?"
Emperor Wanli said matter-of-factly: "That's true! But now I want to know how your Gu Ningbo Mansion turned around?"
Liu Haojia said: "The first transaction was snow candy. I found the secret recipe in the bookshelf at home!"
When Emperor Wanli heard the word snow sugar, he slapped the table and said, "It turns out it's snow sugar. I know it! It turns out this is your family's business. In the past, my mother and queen always liked to add some honey to their tea. Now, After having Xue Tang, she didn’t even add honey! The key is that the little animals made with Xue Tang are really beautiful!”
Liu Haojia said modestly: "Those are all small tricks, not worth mentioning!"
Emperor Wanli continued: "But you can't make much money from snow candy alone, right? After all, it's just a condiment, and you can't sell much in the capital in a year! Your family should have other ways of making money, right?"
Liu Haojia secretly laughed in his heart, you don’t know how much profit Xuetang makes in a year! It's just that he can't point this out! So he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is so clear-sighted! This snow candy really doesn't make much money. Now my family's most profitable business is Qingya Xiaozhu!"
Emperor Wanli thought thoughtfully and said, "I seem to have heard someone mention the name of Qingya Xiaozhu. What does it do?"
Liu Haojia simply described Qingya Xiaozhu. As a result, Emperor Wanli slapped the table again and said: "I know! This matter has been spread to the palace! The ladies should have told it to the queen when they entered the palace. The queen also said that she could not go to such an interesting place. , What a pity! By the way, I heard that men are not allowed in there, but is it true? "
Liu Haojia said: "This is mainly for the sake of the reputation of the wives and ladies of each family, so men are really not allowed in there! Let alone men, except for boys under three years old, no boys over this age are allowed. Come in! And the servants here are all women, and even the guards are chosen to be strong women who are good at martial arts!"
