Chapter 67: Locked Up Tightly

Zhao Yulin originally wanted to help the Wang family restore the Litchi Green Distillery, but he didn't expect that the occupancy rate of their one-room inn was so high that there was no need to engage in a smoky and fiery business.
Ma Ling laughed and said that he really fell down and became a stupid brother.
You can go and see, it's a back street, quiet, but you are not allowed to stay there.
He also told Fan Zheng to keep good guard over it.
Zhao Yulin thought: It's just a small inn, why should I join in the fun? Just when he was about to refute her, why couldn't he do that? The guard came in and said that a guest had arrived, and the envoy of the King of Zhennan in Dali wanted to see him.
Zhao Yulin was a little confused.
The envoy of Dali Kingdom wants to see him?
We should go to the other side of the river to find the prefect or the county magistrate.
Zhao Yulin asked the guard to go out and reply: He was only the county lieutenant of Yibin. If you came for private matters, he would welcome you. If you wanted official business, please go to the county government or the provincial government in Jiangbei, and he would be there soon.
Later, the guards led the messenger in.
Zhao Yulin had no choice but to go to the reception room, where he met the dignified Duan Xingming, the special envoy of the Prince of Zhennan.
After the maid served tea, the special envoy first made a series of pretentious pleasantries, and then pointed out that the tax distribution in the new town was unreasonable, and that the Duan family suffered too much loss, so he demanded adjustments and a private settlement.
Zhao Yulin was mentally prepared through the previous feedback and the intelligence he had obtained from Shunfeng, so he watched his performance calmly.
Seeing that he did not respond, the envoy started talking about how Zhenwu Mountain had always been the northern gate of Dali State, and continued to analyze the huge sales and tax revenues of all the workshops in Xinshi Town. Zhao Yulin listened very seriously and patiently for half an hour, but did not speak.
Finally, he became anxious and said that Dali meant that the two families should share the taxes of the new town equally.
Only then did Zhao Yulin speak.
He said that China was one family, and Dali was no exception. When the Shenwei Army built houses there, there was no place called Xinshi. Xinshi Town and the places further south were all taken over by the tribes on their own initiative, not by the Shenwei Army.

Now let's not talk about the ownership of the new town. In previous years, Dali Kingdom probably didn't have any tax revenue in that area. Why did they ask for more after taking 20%? If it wasn't for Duan Xiaolin's name, he would have only given 10% at the beginning.
Speaking of this, the Dali envoy became excited.
He said that the fourth young lady of the Zhao family did not care about her friendship with his young master at all. She lowered the price of the goods imported by the Duan family every time there was a battle, and lowered the price again after another battle.
Currently, the prices of goods exported from Dali to Xinshi Town, except for fresh fruits, have been reduced by 20%. How can this business be done?
If provoked, Dali would not hesitate to fight with the whole country.
Zhao Yulin then realized that his sister was really targeting the matter and not the person, and together with Fenghuang, she had pushed the Dali Kingdom into a corner.
He said, "What friendship is there when a war breaks out? It's you who caused the trouble. If you don't harass us, can't we all live peacefully?"
Zhao Yulin thought for a while and said, let’s do this, since everything started in Xinshi, let’s go there and discuss it in detail.
The special envoy said he would not leave and that they would talk to him here as only he could solve the problem.
Oops, I’m still relying on you.
Zhao Yulin said, "Let's wait until tomorrow, it's getting dark. That's it for today."
Just as he sent the Dali envoy away, Ma Linger came in and whispered to him that Zhao Sihan had returned and was waiting for him in the office at the city gate.
The two of them immediately went out to find his sister.
In the office, Zhao Sihan saw his brother coming, and suddenly rushed over to hug Zhao Yulin and started crying. Zhao Yulin helped his sister to sit on the chair. The girl then said that recently Dali's spies, assassins, and disguised soldiers came to cause trouble every now and then, which was very annoying. She had not slept well.
So angry.
Zhao Yulin asked with a smile, "Is it that serious?"
Her sister said seriously that Sister Phoenix's eyes were red from staying up all night, just like a rabbit's, and she was not lying to you.
Zhao Yulin said that he knew all that. Soldiers from Dali had come in disguised as local soldiers, but they didn't gain any advantage. It didn't matter. We were training our troops there.
He asked Sihan why she kept lowering the price.
"I'm the one who makes the decision about the business you're talking about. Can't I lower the price? " Zhao Sihan said confidently.
Zhao Yulin just remembered that he had said this and was speechless. He couldn't argue with his sister, and looking at her naughty look, he thought that this little girl was not just rushing back to tell him the news, right?
Why not let this sister fight the Dali envoy? It's a good opportunity for her to practice.
Zhao Yulin suddenly had an idea...
In the Dali Palace, the young emperor was chatting with his brother, the Prince of Zhennan.
Prince Zhennan said he didn't know whether his brother's trip was successful or not?
The young emperor said that his brother had nothing to worry about, as he wanted to go on his own. It was just a trivial matter and not worth mentioning.
Prince Zhennan said that it was Xiao Linzi who caused the trouble.
The little emperor said that we didn't really defend the land of Mahujiang, so it's not Xiao Linzi's fault. If you count carefully, Xiao Lin still has merits. Since the new town was built, how much silver have we distributed in the past six months?
How much grain and fresh fruit were sold?
It's all hard-earned money.
"Ah." The Prince of Zhennan sighed and said that everything was fine, but it was the Gao family who was making trouble. Everything was going to be ruined, and so many soldiers lost their lives in vain.
The reason why the little emperor said he was young was because he was a separatist emperor in Yunnan. In fact, he was a little old. He said that the prince's younger brother was going to ascend the throne, so why not be indecisive, let them play with some small matters, and we can control the overall situation.
Prince Zhennan came up with an idea and said goodbye and returned home.
Duan Xingming wandered around Sanjiangkou for a long time, his eyes full of amazement, especially the thatched hut on the main street. Apart from the fact that it was not made of gold, it seemed that even the things under his feet were precious, which was simply a gift from heaven. The fragrance of orchids filling the street made him feel like he was back in his hometown of Dali.

Under the guidance of his guards, he went to the bamboo forest in Jiangbei to eat beggar chicken. That was Duan Xiaolin, his nephew used to be the shopkeeper. Although the Dali Palace was not allowed to discuss this, everyone in the Duan family knew about it.
The special envoy ate authentic beggar's chicken in the bamboo forest with gusto, and drank happily. When he woke up the next day, the sun was already shining brightly on the earth. He hurriedly dressed and went to look for Zhao Yulin.
When I entered the living room, I saw Ma Ling and Zhao Sihan sitting there.
Envoy Duan asked angrily, "Where is Zhao Yulin? Where is your brother? We agreed to talk today."
Zhao Sihan said with a smile that she came back last night. Her brother had said long ago that she would be the one in charge of the new town, and that if there was anything, she could just tell him directly. She could make the decision, and whoever was in our Shenwei Army would have the final say.
"How do we negotiate? Return the land to Dali?" the envoy asked her.
Zhao Sihan said to him: "Dream on. You know it's impossible."
"The tax rate must be fifty-fifty, no less." The envoy said affirmatively.
"My brother didn't agree yesterday." Zhao Sihan said and then picked up the teacup to sip the tea like an old scholar.
"If it doesn't work, then we'll split it 40% and 60%; this is Dali's bottom line." The envoy gave in.
Zhao Sihan still disagreed, saying that his brother would definitely not like it.
The envoy became anxious and asked her to name a price.
"Maintain the original profit sharing and restore the purchase price." Zhao Sihan said. The previous price reduction was the Shenwei Army's response to Dali's provocation, and the two families would not pursue it after they reconciled.
Duan Xingming was furious, saying that the situation remained unchanged and there was no sincerity in negotiation. How could he go back with nothing?
Then he pointed at Zhao Sihan and said that she was still Duan Xiaolin's wife-to-be, but she was a member of the Duan family. If she turned her elbow out, she wouldn't be afraid that he would go back and lock Xiaolin up and not let him go out.
Zhao Sihan heard this and covered her eyes. Fortunately, her sister-in-law Ma Linger was beside her and called her. The little girl put down her hands and said, "So my brother wants to do business in a fair manner."
Then she said, "She will make some concessions for the sake of Xiao Linzi. Her sister-in-law is pregnant and needs some delicious food to nourish her. She will ask Dali to send two royal chefs to cook some Dali specialties. Starting next year, she can increase her share of taxes by half, to 25 percent."
Duan Xingming saw that she finally gave in, and the future uncle immediately asked her in surprise: "Really? Fourth Miss."
What Zhao Sihan said was of course true, on the condition that Dali could not use military force within a hundred miles south of Xinshi Town, and the two families could coexist peacefully.
"Deal." Duan Xingming breathed a sigh of relief.
He felt that this negotiation was too tiring and too stressful, and it would be better to just fight in the ring. Anyway, he had to get a guarantee of a 50% price increase. He was afraid that Zhao Sihan would go back on his word, so he agreed immediately.
Zhao Sihan was also straightforward and said that she would return to Xinshi Town tomorrow and fulfill the agreement when she arrived.
At noon, Zhao Yulin returned from the military camp, and the Dali envoy had already gone back.
Zhao Sihan said that she only increased their taxes by half according to her brother's agreement, and the envoy was happy. He said that as long as our sister was happy, it was fine.
The girl pulled Ma Ling'er and said that she was so lucky. In order to hire two cooks from Dali, she had to give up half of her taxes. How could she thank them?
This concession was actually an excuse Zhao Yulin made to get Dali to stop fighting. The tax was saved by Dali, so it didn't matter if it was 10% more or 10% less. Stability was what was most needed at the moment.
Ma Ling'er said she had nothing, so what could she give as a token of thanks?
Zhao Sihan insisted, saying what his brother had said, that the two sisters-in-law are the same and she can make the decisions on all matters big and small at home, so why can't he bear to use a bottle of perfume to coax her?
Zhao Yulin nodded at Ma Ling and told someone to get some for his aunt.
Ma Ling'er smiled and told the maid to do it.
Zhao Sihan was very happy when he got the new perfume. He opened the bottle and sprinkled it on his brother.
Zhao Yulin no longer makes it, and Chen Xiaomin's maid leads people to do it. The perfumes made by the women according to their own usage and preferences are more practical and have a long-lasting fragrance. The sales of Cuiping Mountain's perfumes are increasing.
Zhao Sihan told him the story of Sister Phoenix, saying that the Fire Phoenix was very cruel. Dali's soldiers had sneaked in several times and were caught and killed by her. The surrounding tribes all listened to Sister Phoenix.
Her patrol team went out, with a squadron in front, a squadron behind, and some people watching and reporting back. Those Dali soldiers were not very good, and they set up traps to ambush the patrol team, but they didn't expect that the team behind them would counter-encircle and lock up these bad guys.

Jun 21, 2024
心意萌龙
Jun 21, 2024
穿越与反穿越
Jun 21, 2024
秀丽江山4·朱雀卷
Jun 21, 2024
富贵逼人
Jun 21, 2024
绝品家丁