"what happened?"
Wei Chen frowned and waited for Sheng Wei to continue.
Sheng Wei said bitterly: "Yesterday someone came from the governor's office and told me that amber wine has been included in the tribute list of Jiangnan Province! Starting from this year, every October, one hundred bottles of the original wine will be escorted to the governor's office and bought. .”
Of course Wei Chen knew that the so-called Hemai meant trading goods according to the quantity and price specified by the government. But judging from Sheng Wei's ugly face, it was clear that Hemai was not a good person this time.
"How much price will the government give?" Wei Chen asked hurriedly.
"Three taels."
"Three liang?"
Wei Chen's eyes widened: "A jar of raw wine is six hundred jins, and the cost alone costs five taels of silver. One hundred jars is sixty thousand jins. The income could have been tens of thousands taels, but now it is a loss of two hundred taels. Besides, How much amber wine can our winery make in a year?”
"Last year, it was more than 80,000 kilograms..." Sheng Wei said harshly: "Anyway, we can't survive it. There is less than a month left before the date of purchase. How can we make it in time?"
"Didn't uncle make it clear to the people coming from the Yamen?" Wei Chen stared at Sheng Wei and said angrily: "This is not asking for wine, this is asking for life!"
"Of course I did." Sheng Wei sighed: "But the man said that he was under the orders of the governor's Yamen and could not tolerate bargaining."
"What about the Shanda people in Yangzhou?"
"I've written a letter, Hongdi said... He said that now is the critical moment for him to be promoted to a capital official, and he can't add any extraneous matters. Besides, the other party is the governor's yamen and he can't afford to offend him. He advised me to endure this tone and take care of the family property. There are so many, at worst, it’s as if there has never been a wine shop like this..."
At this point, Sheng Wei couldn't help but blush.
"Just pretend that you have never been to this winery before," Sheng Hong said lightly, but how could he understand how much effort Sheng Wei put into the winery?
Sheng Wei was also frustrated with his cousin and had no other options, so he came to Wei Chen for discussion, hoping that Wei Chen could give him some advice.
Sheng Wei said in frustration: "I used to think that paying tribute was out of reach, so why did we have to do it?"
Wei Chen calmed down and became more calm than Sheng Wei: "People are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of getting strong. When they are fattened, they will naturally be slaughtered. It has been like this in all dynasties. It is not unusual at all. I just didn't expect..., ha."
When Wei Chen said this, the look of ridicule and disdain on his face flashed away.
I didn’t expect that Sheng Hong would be so unreliable!
The reason why he chose Shengwei to cooperate in operating amber wine was because he valued Shengwei's business ability and the official background behind Shengwei.
Sheng Wei was Sheng Hong's cousin, and the Sheng Family Trading Company was headed by Sheng Hong, the general magistrate of Yangzhou. This was well known in Jiangnan Province.
Therefore, no matter the yamen or other business houses, they would give Sheng Wei three points of favor when doing things.
Unexpectedly, now that the real thing is coming, Sheng Wei is still running around looking for a solution to the situation, but his backer Sheng Hong is the first to shrink back.
"The mountains that support you will fall, and everyone who relies on you will grow old. In the end, you can only rely on yourself!"
Wei Chen sighed, completely disappointed with Sheng Hong. He closed his eyes and concentrated, thinking about how to deal with it.
After a long time, Wei Chen opened his eyes and asked, "Uncle, you said someone from the governor's office wanted to buy it with me. Do you have any official documents?"
Sheng Wei shook his head and said: "There is no official document. I just show the seal and the person informs me orally. But the Master Huang who came to deliver the message is indeed someone close to Mr. Futai, and he is usually trusted by Mr. Futai. He said that I Go back and make preparations first, and when the day of fortune comes, there will be an official document issued."
"Not even an official document?"
Wei Chen narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and said firmly: "Uncle, I think there is probably a ghost here!"
"You mean, that person falsely conveyed Master Futai's orders?"
Sheng Wei was taken aback, then hesitantly said: "Then Master Huang is so brave? Isn't he afraid of being exposed? Besides, he bears the seal of Master Futai, which cannot be faked!"
Wei Chen's eyes were cold as he said: "It is still unknown whether Futai's order is fake or not, but the content of the official document is not difficult to know. The list of tributes was all set by the capital, and the governor's yamen only handled it. What exactly is it? Ask someone to go to Beijing and find out."
"Oh, that's all."
Sheng Wei hesitated for a moment, but agreed to Wei Chen's method. At least if he did as Wei Chen said, there would still be hope, right?
…
That evening, Shen Du, the prefect of Jiangning, cordially received Wei Chen in his private residence.
In front of this senior brother, Wei Chen had nothing to hide, so he went straight to the point and told Shen Du the whole story.
After hearing this, Shen Du twisted his beard and said, "I have indeed seen the name of amber wine in this year's tribute list."
"How much tribute are we asked to pay in the list?" Wei Chen asked hurriedly.
"That's not true."
Shen Du considered the words and said slowly: "There are some secrets here. Public announcements generally do not mention the specific number and price. Only officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs and local authorities know."
"only……"
Shen Du paused and then said: "The list of court tributes changes from time to time, but for the first time such a tribute is included, the amount will not be too large at first, and then it will be added year by year depending on the situation. It will be like this all at once Too much, it’s really unreasonable.”
Shen Du has been an official for many years and knows many hidden rules in tributes. However, he is worried that Wei Chen is too young and has no experience in the world, so he does not explain everything in detail, but only reveals a little bit about it.
After listening to Shen Du's words, Wei Chen became more and more convinced that there was something fishy about this so-called Hemai, so he shamelessly pestered Shen Du and said: "Brother, you must have many familiar fellow villagers, classmates, and colleagues in Beijing. Can you Can you help me find out?"
"You boy!"
Shen Du didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but finally nodded and said: "For the sake of the teacher, I will put some effort into asking someone from the same year in Beijing to ask. Speaking of which, I happen to have a good friend in the household department."
"Very good!"
Wei Chen was excited when he heard Shen Du agreed.
Shen Du always acted vigorously and resolutely, so he immediately ordered someone to submit pen and ink, preparing to revise the book and send it to the capital as soon as possible.
Shen Du dipped his pen in the ink and was about to put it down. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something and slowly put the pen down again.
"It takes at least half a month to send a message to Beijing and back. Maybe it doesn't have to be so troublesome."
Wei Chen was slightly startled: "Senior brother, do you have any good ideas?"
Shen Du pondered: "I have worked with the Governor for more than two years, and I think I know him somewhat. Although our Governor Liu has some shortcomings in private, he has always cherished his reputation the most. Logically speaking, he would not be like this for no reason. Those who exploit the people.”
Wei Chen said in surprise: "Senior brother, you mean that the problem is not with Governor Liu?"
Shen Du nodded slowly: "You said earlier, what is the name of the person who passed on Governor Liu's password?"
"The surname is Huang, he is the master of the governor's Yamen."
"There are many masters in the governor's office. Hmm, your surname is Huang? There seems to be some impression... I understand, it turns out to be him!"
Shen Du gently raised his hand, turned to look at Wei Chen and smiled lightly: "There is no need to send people to Beijing, I will take care of this for you tomorrow."
