After the car drove out of the street in front of Cheng Mansion, Qin Da sat on the car frame, opened the curtain and said:
"Sir, should we go back home directly, or go to the vegetable shop?"
Qin Ming sat in the car and thought for a while, then said:
"Go to the shop first and have a look."
Qin Avenue:
"Yes, sir."
After saying that, he lowered the curtain and drove the carriage towards Dongshi.
Half an hour later, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the Huaxia Vegetable Shop. It was just noon.
Qin Ming got out of the car. The shop was not as deserted as yesterday. There was a table in front of the shop.
There was a long queue in front of the table.
Qin Ming stopped in front of the queue and listened to the people chatting in the queue.
"Hey, so-and-so went out early today. Unexpectedly, when I got here, the vegetables were sold out again. If I had known so-and-so, I would have gone out earlier. If I went back soon, I would have been scolded again."
"It's not the same thing, but fortunately, today this shop can be reserved in advance. After a while, I can only go back with the reservation receipt and deal with the owner of the house. I hope the owner will not blame me."
"Yeah, yesterday this store was sold out at noon. I don't know why it's so early today."
At this time, a man with a sly eyebrow heard the conversation between the two and quietly walked up to him and said:
"You don't know this. Today, all the major families in Chang'an City have sent their stewards to come here to make purchases.
I heard that each family bought at least several hundred kilograms. "
"So this is ah."
When the people around him heard this, they all looked like they were suddenly enlightened.
Qin Ming frowned after hearing this.
Looking at the long queue,
"It seems that reservation alone is not enough. There are too many people queuing up to make reservations.
It definitely won't work if it continues like this, or I haven't thought carefully enough.
We underestimated the purchasing power of the rich and powerful, so it seems we have to restrict purchases. Otherwise there will be trouble. "
Thinking of this, Qin Ming took Qin Da into the store.
He saw Uncle Huang face to face. Qin Ming stepped forward, pulled Uncle Huang to the backyard, and then asked:
"Uncle Huang, is there anyone making trouble again today?"
Uncle Huang pondered for a moment and said:
"I put a sign at the door according to the idea you said yesterday, Master."
"Customers who didn't buy vegetables are queuing up to order vegetables for tomorrow."
"But there are just too many people wanting to buy groceries. I'm afraid there are too many people making reservations today and we won't be able to deliver them."
Qin Ming also saw the problem from the number of people who had just queued up for reservations. He thought for a while and said:
"Well, in this way, Uncle Huang will wait until the people who queue up at noon have finished booking. You can calculate the total number of bookings and send someone back to your house. I will arrange for someone to deliver it."
"At worst, I have to deliver all the ordered dishes twice a day."
"In addition, we will put up a sign tomorrow saying that our store has a limited supply of vegetables. A family can only buy a maximum of 100 kilograms at a time."
"This can also prevent a few nobles from selling out all the dishes in the store at once."
Uncle Huang nodded when he heard this and said:
"Okay, okay, I will arrange for someone to write the sign and hang it out in a moment."
.....
At noon, Chang'an City, Taiji Palace, Ganlu Palace
At this time, in the Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin was looking at Lu Guogong Cheng Zhijie standing in the center of the hall with a half-smile.
Cheng Yaojin was also puzzled. He didn't know why His Majesty summoned him alone after coming to court.
Originally, he was thinking of going to Qin's second brother and Niu Jinda to talk about cooperating in a brewery after going to court.
As a result, as soon as he left the main hall, he was sent a message by Eunuch Wuji, saying that his majesty had summoned him. However, when he came to the back of Ganlu Hall, his majesty just looked at me and didn't say what he was looking for. He just sat there and looked at me.
This made Lao Cheng murmur in his heart. I, Lao Cheng, don't seem to have done anything wrong recently.
Thinking about it, he recalled that during today's court meeting, when His Majesty was discussing the issue of the refugee gathering place outside Chang'an City, His Majesty looked at him frequently.
Suddenly he had an idea, as if he was talking about alcohol, His Majesty glanced at him.
Could it be that His Majesty has planted spies in my house and already knows that I am going to partner with Qin Ming to make alcohol?
Thinking of this, he coughed dryly and said in a hoarse voice:
"Your Majesty, you have asked me to come here. Do you have anything you want me to do?"
Li Shimin saw that the beating was almost done, so he said in a low voice:
"Zhijie, don't you have anything to report to me?"
Cheng Yaojin glanced at Li Shimin pretending to be confused, then pretended to suddenly realize it, and said:
"Hey, please forgive me, Your Majesty. I suddenly remembered that I really have something to report to Your Majesty."
Li Shimin glanced at Lu Guogong narrowly and said:
"Oh? What is it? Aiqing, let me hear it."
Cheng Yaojin was basically sure at this time that His Majesty must have known about the alcohol, so Cheng Yaojin adjusted his clothes, bowed his head, and said in a hoarse voice:
"I know the truth, congratulations to Your Majesty. I learned the news yesterday. It is said that alcohol can not only eliminate viruses, but also effectively treat wounded soldiers."
"If the Tang Dynasty can obtain this thing, all our soldiers from the Tang Dynasty will be invincible on the battlefield."
"Every battle is invincible and every attack is invincible. I congratulate Your Majesty and congratulate the Tang Dynasty."
When Li Shimin heard this, he laughed and felt relieved.
He looked at Duke Lu who was kneeling on the ground, stood up, walked down the steps, came to Duke Lu, patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Okay, I won't tease you anymore, come sit down."
After saying that, he pulled Cheng Yaojin, who was full of doubts, and sat on a chair in the hall.
Li Shimin asked directly:
"Zhijie, tell me, what did Qin Ming say when he visited your house yesterday? How do you plan to open the brewery?"
Cheng Yaojin became even more confused after hearing this? Doesn’t Your Majesty already know? Why even ask?
Li Shimin looked at Cheng Yaojin's eyes and knew that he was thinking wrong, so he laughed and cursed:
"I have known Qin Ming for a long time. Yesterday he told me personally that he would go to your house to talk to you about the brewery."
Cheng Yaojin was stunned when he heard this, and after recalling Qin Ming's words yesterday, he had a guess in his mind:
"Your Majesty, are you the Uncle Li that Qin Ming said? Doesn't he know your identity?"
Li Shimin smiled and nodded.
When Cheng Yaojin heard this, his heart dropped. Just now he thought that there were spies arranged by His Majesty in the house.
After thinking about it, Cheng Yaojin told Qin Ming how he discussed the brewery. During the process, he kept observing the changes in Li Shimin's expression, for fear that he would arouse Li Shimin's suspicion.
Of course, Cheng Yaojin was not stupid, and he naturally expressed Qin Ming's idea of recruiting several more people to join the gang.
That's why he proposed to bring in Qin Qiong, Niu Jinda and the prince of Hejian County.
Li Shimin originally thought about letting a few more generals come in to share the benefits. Qin Ming's idea can be said to be exactly what Li Shimin wanted.
But there was one more thing that he needed to explain to Cheng Zhijie in advance, so he said:
"Well, I agree to this matter. But do I have two conditions?"
Cheng Yaojin was overjoyed when he heard this. Ever since he told the story, he had been worried that His Majesty would stop him from doing this business with Qin Ming after knowing about it.
As long as His Majesty can agree, not to mention two conditions, he can meet ten conditions.
So he said in a hoarse voice:
"Your Majesty, what do you say?"
Li Shimin looked at Lu Guogong and said:
"First, you cannot reveal my identity in front of Qin Ming."
"Second, we will not intervene in the specific revenue sharing of the winery. Let Qin Ming decide how to divide it."
Lu Guogong thought about it and realized that there was no harm in this matter for him. Besides, only Qin Ming and Sun Daozhang knew how to deal with alcohol. It was fair to let Qin Ming decide how to distribute the benefits.
As for helping His Majesty conceal his identity, there is no problem. He also wants to know what Qin Ming's expression will be when he learns His Majesty's identity in the future.
So he said:
"Well, I have no objection to this."
