Chapter 209

Chapter 209

The day after the wedding banquet, the entire Xiao family gathered at the Duke’s residence to watch Xiao Ye and Yan Mingxiu serve tea to the elder.

Tong Sui and her two sisters-in-law also drank the tea that Yan Mingxiu offered them and each gave the new bride a welcome gift. The gifts had been discussed in advance among the three sisters-in-law, and their values were roughly the same.

When Madam He presented Yan Mingxiu with a gold hairpin, she sighed, "I must say, among all our daughters-in-law, Mingxiu is the most fortunate. When Aman and the others joined the family, we couldn’t afford such fine things. By the time Mingxiu came into our family, everyone was giving gold and jade. Three years ago, I couldn’t even dream we’d have such wealth."

Yan Mingxiu smiled with her eyes lowered.

Xiao Yuchan scolded, "Mother, why bring up those old stories? Are you trying to remind Fourth Sister-in-law of our family's past struggles?"

Madam He replied, "I was just saying a few words. Mingxiu married into our family for Fourth Brother’s good looks, not for our wealth."

Xiao Ye said, "It’s rare for Second Aunt to praise me. I owe it all to the new bride."

Yan Mingxiu’s face turned red again from her husband’s teasing.

Xiao Yan interjected, "This has nothing to do with Fourth Brother. This marriage was made possible by Second Sister-in-law and Ningfang’s efforts. Otherwise, Fourth Brother wouldn’t have had the chance to meet his bride."

Xiao Ye tugged at his new wife’s sleeve, and when the red-cheeked Yan Mingxiu looked up, he pointed at Xiao Yan and said, "You just arrived, so let me introduce you again. This is Third Brother. His face might be hard to remember, but in the future, just listen for the one who likes to drop crude remarks—that’ll be Third Brother."

Xiao Yan: "..."

Yan Mingxiu: "..."

Elder Xiao Mu said, "Enough, you’re all acting so improperly. Aren’t you ashamed?"

After breakfast, the elder took his sons and grandsons to the Southern Camp for duty. Xiao Ye’s wedding used his Mid-Autumn holiday, and he could take another three days of marriage leave. With the lovely autumn weather, Xiao Ye and Yan Mingxiu sat together for a quarter of an hour at the Duke’s residence before heading out to tour the garden.

Tong Sui and Liu Chu didn’t rush to leave.

Curious, Madam He asked, "For Fourth Brother’s wedding, how much silver was spent on the banquet?"

Although the two estates had separated and managed their own accounts, for Xiao Ye’s wedding, the elder allocated three thousand taels from his funds to the Marquis’s residence, covering betrothal gifts and banquet expenses. Additionally, he allocated another three thousand taels to the Duke’s public account, specifically for Xiao She’s future wedding. Both branches of the family had grand wedding ceremonies, which was very fair.

Tong Sui replied, "I haven’t checked the detailed accounts yet, but just the wine, meat, and dishes alone are estimated to cost one thousand taels."

Madam He thought to herself, "That’s enough for me to live on in the countryside for a lifetime, but it was all eaten up in one day of wedding banquets here?"

Lin Ningfang added, "That’s with our limited relatives and only twenty-some tables. If we were a family with connections throughout Luoyang, the banquet expenses would be several thousand taels more."

Madam He said, "The elder has money because of the military merits he earned last year, which were rewarded by the emperor. But where do these noble families get their money? The elder is now a first-rank military officer, earning only one thousand eight hundred taels of silver a year. Even with many officials in aristocratic families, they couldn’t support a banquet costing several thousand taels just from their salaries."

Lin Ningfang smiled and said, "Aristocratic families are large clans that have been passed down for hundreds of years. The wealth that has been built up by their ancestors over generations is naturally incomparable to ordinary wealthy households."

Fearing that Madam He might spread rumors outside, Lin Ningfang did not explain too much.

Back in Wei County, Tong Sui had heard Lin Ningfang mention how noble families, owning thousands of hectares of land—a hundred hectares of good land equaled ten thousand acres—did not have to pay land taxes due to their noble status. Even after giving fifty percent of the land’s produce to tenants, the remaining fifty percent, when converted to silver, would still amount to five thousand taels. With numerous shops and various tributes collected from subordinates, how could noble families worry about lacking silver?

——

On the day Xiao Ye accompanied Yan Mingxiu for her return visit to her parents' home, Tong Sui, after completing her morning routine and reading, still had half an hour before noon. She had the housekeeper bring her the household accounts for the month and sat in the study, slowly going through them.

The Marquis’s residence now had more than sixty servants, and their monthly stipends and living costs were a fixed sum. Thanks to the large amount of military merit silver Tong Sui had earned the previous year, and with the couple now receiving two hundred taels of monthly salary together, they no longer had to worry about these fixed expenses.

Tong Sui read slowly, checking each item—from pork prices to fish prices, coarse cloth costs to fine cloth costs. Sometimes, she flipped back to compare the prices of meat and vegetables from the previous month.

She stayed composed, but the housekeeper’s brow began to glisten with sweat.

The procurement staff got their money from her. The steward knew her lady master was a formidable figure who had been to battle. Since she had only been serving the Xiao family for a short time, she didn’t dare to keep false accounts to profit from them. But while she could control herself, she couldn’t control the procurement staff who went out to make purchases. Take pork, for example; regular pork might cost thirty-five wen per jin, and superior quality pork forty wen. If the buyer was good at bargaining, they might lower the price a bit. This was when the procurers could earn some difference through their negotiating skills. How could the steward possibly control that?

If she watched them too closely, it would breed resentment and make them less diligent in their duties.

The steward was afraid that her lady would want to scrutinize everything, making things difficult for her.

But Tong Sui knew better than to micromanage. Too much scrutiny could drive people away.

In the afternoon, Tong Sui spent half an hour reading and another half practicing calligraphy. Then she chatted with her two sisters-in-law before changing into a set of fine cloth garments and heading out with A Fu.

Qinghua Fang was just a three-li walk from the North Market. With the weather being nice, the mistress and her maid walked there.

The South Market in Luoyang was the most prosperous, occupying two entire wards, while the North Market took up one. Yet it was filled with all kinds of shops and was quite lively.

Silk shops, jewelry stores, teahouses, taverns, butcher shops, and fish markets—Tong Sui visited each one, spending a few wen here and there, asking the shop clerks about various things.

Passing by the Zhou family’s clinic, Tong Sui went in to sit for a while.

Zhou Jingchun was the first to see her granddaughter and hurriedly asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Tong Sui smiled and said, “No, I just got tired from reading and came out for a walk. I passed by and came to check on you.”

Zhou Jingchun said, “If you miss me, just wait in the ward. This clinic is full of sick people. You should come less often to avoid catching any illness.”

As they were talking, Tong Sui asked, “Grandfather, after deducting the cost of medicine, the wages of the staff, and various expenses, how much does the clinic actually earn?”

Zhou Jingchun replied, “Our clinic is small. There are three practicing physicians—me, your uncle, and your cousin. We make around ten taels a month.”

Tong Sui asked again, “And if I were to hire all three of you, how much would the wages be each month?”

Zhou Jingchun smiled and said, “I’ll give you a family discount. The three of us would cost six taels.”

The more skilled a doctor, the higher the hiring price. Zhou Jingchun’s own hiring price would be at least five taels.

Tong Sui concluded, “So the clinic’s net profit is only four taels.”

Zhou Jingchun nodded. “You could say that. If you want to earn more, you could charge higher consultation fees, but then many common people wouldn’t be able to afford to see a doctor.”

The Zhou family’s clinic, whether in Wei County or Luoyang, charged the most affordable consultation fees.

Tong Sui then asked, “How much business tax do you have to pay for running the clinic?”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jingchun finally understood what his granddaughter was pondering. Ever since she started working with Grandfather in the military, her curiosity had broadened.

Since he had the time, Zhou Jingchun explained in detail to his granddaughter, “When you buy or rent a shop, you pay a 1% tax on the purchase price to the market office. After that initial payment, business taxes are collected every six months, calculated at a rate of one tael for every twenty taels earned. So, if you make thirty taels in a year, you’d pay one and a half taels in taxes.”

Tong Sui said, “So business tax and land tax are similar, both at a rate of twenty to one.”

Zhou Jingchun replied, “The law stipulates the same rate, but land taxes are measured by the government based on actual crop yields. Commercial income, however, is different. For our clinic, we report honestly and say we earn four taels a month, but if someone is dishonest and claims they only earned one tael, what can the government do? They can’t verify it.”

After a pause, Tong Sui asked, “When you ran the clinic in Wei County, the land tax rose to forty percent. Did the business tax change?”

Zhou Jingchun replied, “No, it remained at one in twenty. At most, corrupt officials might invent new fees or team up with local thugs to squeeze more money out of people.”

Tong Sui wondered, “It’s strange. The court is so short of silver. Why don’t they increase business taxes?”

Zhou Jingchun chuckled. “That, I don’t know. You’d have to ask…”

At that moment, Zhou Xian knocked on the door from outside and said, “Grandfather, Prime Minister Wei is here.”

Tong Sui: "..."

Zhou Jingchun explained to her, "Prime Minister Wei has a chronic issue with his shoulder and neck. He received acupuncture from me a few times when we were marching south, and even after entering the capital, he still comes for a visit once or twice a month. It just so happens you encountered him today."

After finishing, he went outside to greet Wei Qi.

Tong Sui remained seated. At that moment, she was just the granddaughter of a clinic's doctor, and Wei Qi was merely a patient coming for treatment. It was normal for her grandfather to go and welcome him. If she went out, it would draw the attention of other patients, who might turn private matters into big issues.

Shortly after, Zhou Jingchun led Wei Qi inside.

Wei Qi, dressed in plain clothes, was raising one hand to pinch his left shoulder as he entered, an ungraceful posture. He froze when he saw Tong Sui sitting inside but quickly hid his embarrassment.

Tong Sui rose from her seat and bowed to Wei Qi. "I came to visit my grandfather and didn’t expect to meet you, Prime Minister Wei."

Wei Qi gave a wry smile. "What honor is that? I wish I didn't have to come to Grandfather Zhou."

Tong Sui hurriedly said, "I misspoke."

Zhou Jingchun said, "I need to perform acupuncture on Prime Minister Wei. Aman, would you go outside?"

This was a treatment room with two beds, separated by a curtain in the middle.

With a slightly tired look, Wei Qi watched as Tong Sui drew the curtain. She sat on a stool next to the other bed, facing away from them, and softly said, "Please go ahead with your work. I happen to have some questions I'd like to ask Prime Minister Wei."

Wei Qi: "..."

Zhou Jingchun shook his head helplessly, preparing the acupuncture needles while explaining to Wei Qi what had gotten into his granddaughter. "She's just a young girl, but she's become curious about these matters."

Wei Qi had initially been somewhat displeased with Tong Sui's lack of formality, but after hearing Zhou Jingchun's words, he felt a sense of relief and said through the curtain, "Miss, it's a rare quality to see the bigger picture from small details. If only officials had your sharpness and insight."

Tong Sui said, "Then may I ask Prime Minister Wei to enlighten me? Why did the previous dynasty keep increasing land taxes, while commercial taxes remained unchanged even though merchants are wealthier than farmers?"

Wei Qi replied, "Actually, during the diligent reign of Emperor Wuzong, Prime Minister Lin proposed an increase in commercial taxes. However, as soon as the proposal was made, it was met with opposition from civil and military officials. There were even incidents in local areas where peddlers assaulted tax collectors. To maintain stability in the court, Emperor Wuzong and Prime Minister Lin had to abandon the commercial tax reform for the time being."

Tong Sui asked, "This was a good way to increase national treasury income. Why did civil and military officials oppose it?"

Wei Qi sneered, "Because merchants are shrewd. Every year, they offer silver to officials. Even when scholars pass the imperial examinations to become scholar candidates or advanced scholars, merchants financially support them. Once these scholars become officials, they naturally find ways to repay the favor. Over time, officials, especially civil officials, have aligned themselves with merchants. Raising commercial taxes would hurt merchants' interests, which would, in turn, harm the civil officials' interests."

Tong Sui fell silent again.

Zhou Jingchun focused on performing acupuncture on Wei Qi and took the opportunity to ask, "Prime Minister, despite your heavy workload, acupuncture can only treat the symptoms. You still need to exercise."

Wei Qi: "..."

Too busy and too lazy, and the Five Animals Exercise is too complex. He would forget the moves after practicing a couple of times.

Tong Sui asked again, "Prime Minister Wei, do you think it's possible for our Great Yu Dynasty to reform commercial taxes now?"

Wei Qi glanced outside and sighed deeply. "The empire is still unstable; there's no time to address that."

Even if we have time in the future, not every emperor would dare to offend the civil officials.