Qing Yao

Chapter 148 Lord Zhao, You're an Unregistered Resident
Think of a solution?

There must be a way!

Zhao An definitely wanted as many salt permits as possible, because these permits needed to be submitted to the salt permit inspection station in the salt-producing area.

The amount of salt received corresponds to the amount of permits paid.

Since we've decided to sell salt through legal channels, we must follow the relevant procedures to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Therefore, he tactfully suggested that Manager Wu have a meal at a restaurant.

Work-related matters are best discussed over a meal.

I also need to understand the entire salt-selling process, which organizations I need to deal with, and which people I need to feed.

When the supervisor invited him to dinner, Director Wu naturally had to give him face, because he not only wanted to get some benefits from Supervisor Zhao, but also wanted to ask Supervisor Zhao for help.

The restaurant is the one that Fuxue has designated as its location.

The officials who came to observe the final ceremony at the prefectural school last time had lunch there; the food was quite good.

Zhao An then remembered that there seemed to be several children of salt officials studying at the prefectural school, so he thought of asking Wu, the head of the salt administration, to invite these students' parents to dinner on his behalf. However, he then thought that this was his first "interaction" with Wu, and there were some things that were not convenient to say in front of outsiders.

Ideally, we should establish a good business relationship with Director Wu before setting up a Salt Bureau, thereby achieving a "linkage" between the education sector and the Salt Industry Corporation.

Dinner was scheduled for the evening. After leaving the Salt Administration Office, Zhao An hired a carriage to go to the Sihai Inn, which he had booked for his two henchmen, Bao and Yang.

After asking the innkeeper which room the two of them were staying in, they went straight to knock on the door.

"Who is it? Didn't I tell you not to call me 'girl'? Why are you asking again? Aren't you all annoying?"

The sound coming from behind the door startled Zhao An. He subconsciously looked down at the crack in the door, but there was no familiar card.

When the door opened, Bao Dawei's utterly astonished face came into view.

"An Ge is back!"

Bao Dawei jumped up excitedly, almost hitting his head, realizing what had happened.

"Who's back? Ah, it's Uncle An!"

Yang Xiaoshuan, who was lying in bed bored, heard a noise, rolled out of bed, and found that it was Brother An standing at the door. He was so happy that he ran over without even putting on his shoes.

"Brother An, we were so worried about you! Why were you gone for so long?"

The two friends each pulled Zhao An inside with one hand, as if afraid he would fly away.

"I was a bit delayed because of a lot of things. How are you two doing in Yangzhou?"

Zhao An sat on the edge of the bed with a smile, looking at Bao and Yang. He noticed that the two of them had gotten a bit fatter than before, especially Bao Dawei, who had developed a little belly.

Yang Xiaoshuan grinned foolishly: "It's a habit, it's just that Brother An, you never come back, and we have nothing to do, we're almost bored to death."

"What are you doing, you've already slept with every girl in the neighborhood!"

Bao Dawei chuckled and began to complain, "Brother An, most of the money you left us was spent by Xiao Shuan on prostitutes. Now people come over every day asking if we want girls. It's so annoying."

"What's the big deal? Didn't you do it too? Brother An, don't listen to Dawei's nonsense. I only went a few times, and it didn't cost much."

Yang Xiaoshuan blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed by what Bao Dawei said.

"It's okay, money is meant to be spent. If you can spend money, you can make money."

Zhao An chuckled and patted the bedside, gesturing for his two friends to sit down. As soon as they sat down, Bao Dawei eagerly asked, "Brother An, you wrote to us asking us to come to Yangzhou to work. What do you want us to do?"

"Yes, as soon as we received Brother An's letter, Dawei and I borrowed money from our families to come here."

Yang Xiaoshuan also looked curious, wondering what Zhao An wanted them to do.

"I want you to do things, but not for others, but for me."

Zhao An's smile faded, replaced by a serious expression: "I want the two of you to open a salt shop and sell salt from now on."

"Salt bar?"

Bao Dawei was stunned. "Those who run salt shops are all great people. How could the two of us do that?"

Yang Xiaoshuan shook his head and said, "Yes, Brother An, opening a salt shop costs a lot of money. I heard you also need to have connections with the government, otherwise they won't allow you to sell. If you sell secretly, you'll be arrested and thrown in jail."

"I told you to open a salt shop, so you can open one. I'll handle things with the government. By the way, I've changed my name to Zhao Youlu. In front of outsiders, you can call me Lord Zhao, but in private, you can call me Brother An."

After saying that, Zhao An added, "Remember, don't tell anyone that my name is Zhao An, and you absolutely cannot say that we are from Xinghua."

"what?"

Bao and Yang were both stunned: How did Brother An become an adult?

Zhao An nodded: "I am now an inspector of education appointed by the imperial court, and also a professor at the prefectural school in Yangzhou, a seventh-rank official."

"what?!"

One of the two friends stood up in surprise, while the other stared at Zhao An in disbelief.

"Brother An, you've become an official? Really? Are you kidding us?"

Bao Dawei looked incredulous, unable to understand how An Ge, who had been stealing chickens and fighting with the two of them, could become an official.

Yang Xiaoshuan was so shocked his eyes almost popped out: How could someone like Brother An become an official?
"I'll tell you about my official career later. Now, you two take this bank note to the money exchange and get a thousand taels of silver. After that, rent a larger storefront in the city, and then go to the tax office to get a business license. We'll call it Xinglong Firm."

As Zhao An spoke, he took out a thousand-tael silver note and stuffed it into Bao Dawei's hand, instructing him, "Use your name, Dawei, for this business. From now on, you and Xiaoshuan will be the head manager and second manager of Xinglong Company."

"."

Looking at the thousand taels of silver in his hand and seeing An Ge's serious expression, Bao Dawei had no choice but to believe it.

Where would Brother An get so much money if he didn't become an official?

“Brother An wants us to be the managers, so we will. But we don’t know how to do business. We don’t want to ruin Brother An’s business.”

Yang Xiaoshuan accepted the fact that An Ge had become an official, but he really didn't know anything about doing business, and he looked troubled.

"Who is born knowing how to do business? Don't worry, I'll find someone else to help you."

Zhao An stood up and patted his two friends on the shoulder. "Go and exchange the silver now and find a shop. After that, go to the tax office in Ganquan County to register. I have some things to take care of here. I'll come back to find you in a couple of days."

Without waiting for his two friends to process the information, Zhao An set off for his next destination—Hengli Money Exchange.

Because he was dressed in casual clothes, the clerk at the counter didn't recognize him when he arrived. Once they learned that he was Lord Zhao from the Prefectural School, they quickly invited the shopkeeper out.

"Lord Zhao, you said you'd lend me money, but you can't come after me with trouble! Please, sir, return the money. I truly dare not do business with you again."
Even if you don't pay the interest, sir! As for the money I took, I'll make up for it myself. If you need to borrow money in the future, please go elsewhere. This place is not for you!

Looking at Zhao An, who was smiling at him, Manager Shi looked like he wanted to cry.

(End of this chapter)