The two of them traveled through the Tang Dynasty to open a supermarket, and the little Sizi was sup

Chapter 275 Branch of the Money Exchange!

Seeing the little princess's condition, Xiao Ran and Li Lizhi were relieved.

Li Lizhi prepared a small dish of vinegar for the little princess, as the little girl liked to dip her food in vinegar.

It's nice to cook and eat it fresh every time.

Feeling that it was about right, Xiao Ran picked up a slotted spoon, scooped it out, and placed it on a plate.

Li Lizhi placed two small bowls in front of the little princess, saying, "Be careful, it's hot, little one."

"Hmmmm~"

"A few nests~"

"Huff~" the little princess blew gently.

Knowing that the little princess likes dumplings, Xiangcao got up early to prepare them, and the dumplings she made were rather small.

"Changle, you eat too. The second batch will be ready soon."

"Okay, sure!" Li Lizhi picked one up.

The little princess took a small bite, squinted her eyes, and said, "Good!"

"Again, seven~"

"Woof woof woof!" The dog thought it was being called and responded to the little princess.

"Shh!" Xiao Ran glanced at the dog; the others were still sleeping.

"The filling made with vanilla is very fragrant; it's pure meat," Li Lizhi smiled.

Knowing that the little princess likes to eat meat, I prepared pure meat.

“Little Princess, you’re so cute~” The little princess looked at Xiao Ran.

"Okay!" Xiao Ran wasn't actually hungry; it was too early.

But I still picked up my chopsticks and tried one.

"Isn't Little Nang Jun very good, Qi Ya~"

"Yes, that's really good."

"Hee hee~"

Watching the little princess eat, Xiao Ran's lips curled up slightly.

By the time the little princess finished eating, it was almost dawn.

The others also got up one after another. Princess Xiao Ruoying, along with Princess Chengyang and Princess Gaoyang, came down.

Let's check on the little princess's condition first.

Princess Yuzhang touched her forehead. "Hmm, the fever has gone down. I'm fine now."

"Hmmmm~"

Xiao Ruoying touched it too, "That's good, it's alright now."

"Hee hee~"

Princess Chengyang and Princess Gaoyang were not to be outdone and wanted to touch it as well.

The little princess was very cooperative.

“Sizi, I’ll eat too.” Princess Chengyang looked at the dumplings.

There aren't many left that are properly packaged.

"Is there any more meat filling?" Princess Yuzhang asked, also wanting to eat dumplings.

"Your Highness, there's still plenty left; it's enough for breakfast," Yu Shu said as she came out of the kitchen.

"Then bring it over, let's all wrap it together!" Li Lizhi said.

"It's Your Highness!"

The three little princesses also love making dumplings.

The little princess was full and didn't eat anymore, but she wanted to make dumplings.

As for Xiao Ran, he could only silently cook dumplings; it seemed he couldn't do anything else.

After wrapping everything up, Xiao Ran realized that the group couldn't finish it all. He glanced at it and said, "This won't taste good in a bit. Let's send it to His Majesty."

“Okay, Grandpa should be having his meal around this time too.” Li Lizhi smiled. Xiao Ran picked up the remaining large plate of dumplings. “Sizi, let’s go!”

Li Lizhi and the two little princesses quickly followed, all wanting to go together.

"Hmm, that's quite early!" Li Shimin said with a smile upon seeing the group.

"Grandpa~ Seven cents~"

"it is good!"

Xiao Ran put down the dumplings, and Li Shimin noticed that the dumplings on the plate were all different sizes and shapes. "Did Sizi Erniang also make some for Seventeen?"

"Yes, I'm awesome!" the little princess exclaimed, hands on her hips.

"Grandpa, this is the one I wrapped." Princess Gaoyang pointed to one of the more unusual ones.

"Alright, alright, Grandpa will have a taste." Li Shimin picked up a dumpling.

Given Li Shimin's appetite, he could easily have an extra plate after finishing his meal.

After the three little princesses finished eating, they didn't join in the fun and took the dog out of the Lizheng Hall to play.

"Sizi had a slight fever yesterday afternoon and went to bed early. She didn't eat dinner." Xiao Ran told Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun about the situation.

The two were initially a little worried, but were relieved to hear that everything was alright.

"It's good that you're alright. It's good that you're alright." Li Shimin also noticed that the three little princesses were wearing significantly more clothes.

After finishing the dumplings, Li Shimin put down his chopsticks, quite satisfied.

"It's farming season now, and most places have had a bumper harvest this year, so the grain in the granaries should increase considerably," Li Shimin remarked.

The Tang Dynasty is now thriving and getting better and better, and Li Shimin is very proud of his achievements.

"Yicang." Xiao Ran didn't say anything more.

"What? Is there a problem?"

“Your Majesty, although these granaries have different names, they have existed for a long time, as you know. They existed as early as the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty, and even further back, during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han. You have read more history books than I have, so you know more about these things than I do. You also know what happened to them later.”

Li Shimin nodded, "Of course I know. The Tang Dynasty's system is different; it's been improved a lot. This is to provide a guarantee for the people during years of famine."

"His Majesty and the court's original intentions were certainly good, but such things inevitably become distorted later on, and the Tang Dynasty is no exception. In fact, it has become a disguised form of tax, which increases the burden on the people. If the grain from these public granaries were used by the country where it is needed, that would be fine, but the problem is that a lot of it has been embezzled."

Li Shimin frowned. "Still like this?"

"During the Zhenguan era, especially now, no one would dare to do this, but things will be different later. My suggestion is to abolish this charitable granary when His Majesty passes away."

Li Shimin was speechless for a moment. "You little brat, what are you saying?"

“I’m telling the truth. With His Majesty around, we can better ensure political integrity and reduce corruption. Now that you’re gone, the next emperor won’t have the same influence. It will do more harm than good to the people. If it’s really for their benefit, it would be better to abolish it.”

Li Shimin remained silent. "Isn't there any way to solve these problems?"

"This kind of thing has happened before, it happens now, and it will happen again in the future. That's just human nature. There's nothing we can do about it. It's like how no matter how rich and powerful a dynasty was in the past, it couldn't change its fate of destruction."

"It seems that once potatoes and corn are widely available, the public granaries should be abolished!" Li Shimin did not want them to become a means of exploiting the people in the future.

During the Zhenguan era, taxes and levies were light, and the tax burden on the people was not as heavy as in other periods.

"Xiao Ran, there are no more public granaries in your time, are there?"

"Don't call it a charity warehouse, call it an insurance company!"

Li Shimin roughly understood the meaning of those two words.

It wasn't about handing over grain anymore, but it was pretty much the same thing.

It's simply about buying insurance for future disasters.

"Why are there still more?" Li Shimin asked.

"It existed in the Han Dynasty, it existed in the Tang Dynasty, so why can't it exist in our time?"

Li Shimin was at a loss for words.

"Let's talk about the money exchange," Li Shimin said, changing the subject. "I'm thinking of opening one in the Western Regions to facilitate transactions for merchants."

"Then the money exchange can make a profit."

"Tell me about it." Li Shimin became interested. If the money shops made money, the imperial court could borrow more money.

"Withdrawing money in another city definitely requires a commission. This can reduce a lot of risk. Merchants exchange money for paper money in Chang'an and return to the Western Regions to save trouble. Naturally, they have to pay a price. How about five percent?"

(End of this chapter)