Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 325 Blinded
After Guo Xiong left, Guo Chuan immediately disembarked. He didn't dare tell his elder brother that he had long been in contact with the spice merchants. He could tell that his elder brother had only agreed to his request reluctantly. If he knew the inside story, he might have changed his mind.

Guo Chuan never thought about making a lot of money; his mind was entirely on his second wife. Before meeting her, he could still do some work honestly, but after meeting her, his mindset completely changed.

He felt guilty towards his elder brother at one moment, and at the other moment he felt that his elder brother did not care about him and his stepmother.

My older brother isn't married yet, so he doesn't understand these things.

Thinking this, Guo Chuan arrived at a courtyard, gently knocked on the door, and soon an old servant came to lead him in.

Guo Chuan looked around. The courtyard was simply furnished, and the furnishings were no different from those of an ordinary home. These spice merchants were forced to take the risk of using water transport because the government demanded too much money from them. In the end, it was a last resort.

Guo Chuan had met Zhao Kun a few times and knew him somewhat. After spending more time together, he understood each other's difficulties and decided to help each other out.

Zhao Kun quickly found him and apologized repeatedly: "Go out and find out some information on the streets to see how the sales are this year."

"How is it?" Guo Chuan asked immediately.

Zhao Kun shook his head: "The merchants in the city are driving down prices again. They just don't want us outsiders to make money. Everyone says that business will be easier after the market opens up, but that's business for the powerful and wealthy. If it were us..."

He just sighed as he spoke.

Guo Chuan asked, "Brother Zhao, do you still have spices that haven't been sold?"

“There are plenty,” Zhao Kun said. “I’ve used up all my savings to make this trip. If I lose everything, I won’t have the face to go back home.”

Guo Chuan immediately felt that the two were in the same boat, both having left their hometowns and suffered suppression after arriving in Bianjing, so he asked with concern, "How could you have lost everything?"

Zhao Kun said, "The fees for the levies have gone up again. Ordinary spices are subject to a 20% levy. The spices I bring are not expensive, but if I go through the government channels, they will all be subject to a 30% levy."

Guo Chuan exclaimed in surprise: "There's such a thing?"

“I didn’t know before that Bianjing was such a deep place,” Zhao Kun said with deep regret. “If one more person sells spices, it means one more person competing with them for business. Naturally, they are not happy about it, so they collude with the government officials to leave us with no way out.”

"If I had known earlier, I would never have made this trip."

Guo Chuan said, "I remember before the New Year, Brother Zhao's spices were selling very well."

Zhao Kun looked regretful: "I only made this second trip because I had made money before the New Year. Little did I know it was a trap waiting for us to fall into."

Guo Chuan hurriedly asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Kun carefully explained to Guo Chuan: "At first, everyone was just testing the waters by selling, and they didn't transport much goods. Seeing that this business was profitable, they all invested their capital and worked hard to get the goods to Bianjing. But then the situation changed, and the government's tax on goods increased directly."

"To put it bluntly, the merchants in the capital are colluding with the government, just waiting for us to come to them. Anyway, we've already spent the capital and the cost of transportation. If we transport it to other places, the price will be even higher, and it will be even harder to sell it."

"Now there are only two paths to take: either sell at a loss, or transfer the spices to a big merchant in Bianjing."

Guo Chuan followed up angrily: "Wouldn't that just be letting them get away with it for nothing?"

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Zhao Kun said. “They just want you to send it all the way here to teach you a lesson and show you that you can’t do business in the capital.”

"After this incident, no one dared to touch this business again."

Guo Chuan frowned, sensing Zhao Kun's mood.

After a long silence, Zhao Kun looked at Guo Chuan and said, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked you to bring the spices into the city. I really had no other choice."

Guo Chuan nodded: "I never knew you were going through such a difficult time, brother." After saying this, Guo Chuan pursed his lips: "How much cargo do you still have, brother?"

Zhao Kun looked at Guo Chuan and understood his meaning. He was immediately delighted: "Brother Guo, are you willing to help me transport goods again? If that's the case, I certainly won't treat you unfairly. How about I give you 10% of the profits?"

Guo Chuan didn't know how much one-tenth would be, so Zhao Kun took out his counting rods and showed them to him on the spot: "Once you've transported it all, I'll give you eighty strings of cash."

Previously, I only brought a small amount, which cost 200 coins. This time, because I brought more, the price went up directly.

Eighty strings of cash is a lot. He would have to work hard to earn it for a year. Adding the seventy strings that he and his brother had saved up before, they would have more than one hundred strings in total.

If all else fails, we can sell the boat we have, and then there will be hope for Second Aunt's situation.

Guo Chuan immediately nodded: "I'll help you transport the spices."

Zhao Kun was naturally delighted, but he immediately thought of Guo Xiong: "Would your older brother agree?"

“Yes,” Guo Chuan said. “I persuaded my elder brother for a long time, and he finally nodded. We brothers will only do it this once, and we will never touch it again.”

Zhao Kun also said, "Now that this matter is settled, I will go home and never come to Bianjing again."

This way, both of them can feel at ease.

Zhao Kun said, "Let's each make our own preparations. You can come to pick up the goods in two days."

Guo Chuan readily agreed, and Zhao Kun had his old servant weigh out one and a half taels of silver and hand it to Guo Chuan as a deposit.

Guo Chuan was hesitant to accept so much money before even starting to transport the goods.

Zhao Kun said, "We can't put out a written agreement, but giving a deposit will put everyone at ease."

Guo Chuan then happily pocketed the money and left.

Back home, after enduring it for a day, Guo Chuan told everyone about finding the goods the next day, and also recounted Zhao Kun's ordeal in detail.

“Brother Zhao doesn’t want to make more money, he just wants to get his money back,” Guo Chuan said. “Don’t be fooled by his spice business, he’s just like us. If it weren’t for Second Aunt’s matter, you might have helped him directly.”

Guo Xiong looked at Guo Chuan: "Eighty strings of cash aren't enough, what are you going to do?"

Guo Chuan stammered, "Sell...sell the boat. When Second Aunt comes back, we'll work together to pay back the money to Big Brother."

Guo Xiong remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was extremely disappointed in Guo Chuan. It wasn't that Feng Erniang shouldn't have been saved, but she shouldn't have been completely blinded by that and disregarded everything else.

Perhaps because they had witnessed Feng Erniang's suffering firsthand, no man could bear to see it. Thinking of this, Guo Xiong was even more alarmed. Could it be that torturing Feng Erniang was also a deliberate act for their benefit?

After arriving in Bianjing, they openly searched for the Feng siblings, and also asked servants to inquire about their whereabouts. Anyone who paid close attention would have found out.

Zhao Kun was right about one thing: those high-ranking officials used the punishment of them to warn others that if they wanted to make money on the Bian River, they had to get their approval first.

Guo Xiong said, "Now that we've received the deposit, we'll deliver the goods on time."

Guo Chuan was overjoyed and went to arrange manpower with a smile.

Watching his younger brother's retreating figure, Guo Xiong frowned. After being reminded, it wouldn't be difficult to avoid the situation. The real challenge was whether Feng Erniang would be in danger if things were exposed.