jdhmnovel Chapter 407 My brother-in-law doesn't seem very bright?
Chapter 407 My brother-in-law doesn't seem very bright?
The west gate of the market was divided into two passages, and the merchants lined up in two rows at the entrances of the passages on both sides.
Zhu Biao looked at it carefully, then suddenly said with a bewildered expression, "That's not right."
Yang Shaofeng asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhu Biao gestured to the merchants in line and said, "Brother-in-law, didn't you say before that merchants should count their goods before issuing invoices when they bring them into the market?"
Yang Shaofeng nodded and said, "That's right, aren't there many merchants queuing up with their goods?"
Zhu Biao frowned slightly and said, "Then that's even more wrong."
"How many merchants are carrying goods?"
"There must be over two hundred merchants here in Ximen, right?"
"There were only a dozen or so merchants with goods; the rest were all empty-handed."
Now Yang Shaofeng can finally confirm one thing: his brother-in-law is somewhat dim-witted.
"The merchants arranged by the Court of State Ceremonial, as well as the merchants from various vassal states, all have a large quantity of goods. If we let them inspect them here, I'm afraid they won't be able to finish by nightfall."
"Therefore, their goods have already been delivered to the transshipment warehouse, and storage certificates have been issued to them."
"After they enter the venue, all they need to do is take their entry pass to the transfer warehouse to retrieve the goods they need."
“The tax department will issue them invoices for the amount of goods they move out of the transshipment warehouse each day.”
"As for those queuing up with goods, they are all small merchants trying their luck."
“These people don’t have a large quantity of goods, so renting a transshipment warehouse is not cost-effective.”
That's why we're queuing here.
"..."
After giving Zhu Biao a brief explanation, Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "A market can be set up in Dengzhou Prefecture, and it can also be set up in other places."
"To put it bluntly, the border markets in Dengzhou were mainly for vassal states."
“The border markets in other places can be set up to target Ming merchants and ordinary people.”
"Even if we can't open a big market, we can open a small one."
“A county town is big, and a commune is small.”
"The common people can buy everything they need by going to the market."
"In this way, it saves trouble for the common people, it saves trouble for the merchants, and it also saves trouble for the government to collect commercial taxes."
Zhu Biao was immediately tempted.
It seems, or perhaps, that this method of playing is highly feasible?
Seeing Zhu Biao's eager expression, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but laugh.
“Your Highness, you could simply set up a separate department within the Ministry of Revenue, or even a separate office, specifically to handle this business.”
“For example, there is a small market in Penglai County, and its goods and invoices are provided by the large market in Dengzhou Prefecture.”
"Once the goods in this small market are sold, the invoice must be submitted to the large market in Dengzhou Prefecture."
“The large market of Dengzhou Prefecture can come to the small market from time to time to take inventory of the stock.”
"The General Trade Office in the capital can certainly come to Dengzhou Prefecture to take inventory of the stock."
"We can even think about it further."
"The goods in the Dengzhou Prefecture Grand Market were procured, transported, and distributed by the General Market Office in the capital."
Zhu Biao's eyes immediately lit up.
This is a good idea!
This not only confirms what my brother-in-law said before, about the problem of interdependence between different provinces.
It can also largely prevent tax evasion.
Even if it can't be completely stopped, stopping it only partially is better than doing nothing!
Seeing Zhu Biao's eyes light up, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but imagine how Zhu Biao would get a good beating from Old Zhu after returning to Beijing.
Tsk tsk, you foolish brother-in-law, you've caused me no end of trouble lately. It's not too much for me to dig a pit for you, is it?
After all, is it something you can handle, like a nationwide chain department store?
Just as Yang Shaofeng was pondering what other pits would be suitable for burying Zhu Biao, the merchants at the west gate of the market had already lined up to enter the market.
Yang Shaofeng suppressed the jumbled thoughts in his mind, gestured with his hand, and said to Zhu Biao, "Your Highness, please."
Upon entering the market again, Zhu Biao's eyes widened in surprise.
Even though only one night had passed, the bustling merchants and the sounds of bargaining made Zhu Biao feel somewhat unfamiliar.
What Zhu Biao found even more unfamiliar was the price at the market.
It's clearly a top-quality mink pelt, but the price tag is only a few hundred coins?
But an iron pot costs 1,800 coins, and a blue and white porcelain plate costs 6,200 coins.
No, are all the prices I saw in the capital fake?
Or are these merchants who came to the border market all fools who don't know to transport their goods to Jiangnan to sell?
"Transport them to Jiangnan to sell?"
Yang Shaofeng asked, "If they don't sell at low prices in the market, how can they transport their other goods to Jiangnan?"
Do not make jokes.
Who would dare to transport their goods?
Who would dare rent their shop to them?
It's possible to cooperate with the gentry in Jiangnan, but the question is, how high a price can they offer, given the risks involved?
Therefore, it was certain that they would lose money in the market, but it was precisely because they lost money in the market that they had the opportunity to make it back elsewhere.
Otherwise, do you really think Park Deok-hwan, Park Sung-sung, and Du Shunqin are all fools?
After explaining a few words to Zhu Biao, Yang Shaofeng took Zhu Biao to the border market office.
Upon entering the border market office, Zhu Biao heard the clattering sound of abacuses.
Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "They are checking the outbound shipments and invoices from this morning."
Zhu Biao nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Yang Shaofeng continued, "In addition to checking it once in the morning and once in the evening, we also need to check it again every half month and every full month."
"And the people checking the data are different each time."
Zhu Biao felt that he had really learned something new today.
Especially at night, Zhu Biao would stare blankly at the day's reports.
Three thousand one hundred and fifty-eight strings of cash.
The commercial tax for just one day amounted to 3,158 strings of cash.
This number may not seem like much, but behind it lies a huge volume of transactions, with large amounts of gold, silver and grain flowing into the Ming Dynasty!
More importantly, these three thousand strings of cash belong to the Ming Dynasty's national treasury and do not belong to Dengzhou Prefecture!
Zhu Biao examined the report carefully, and finally couldn't help but look up at Yang Shaofeng expectantly and ask, "Brother-in-law, will the market be able to earn this much every day from now on?"
Ok?
You seem to be dreaming!
Yang Shaofeng said, "Your Highness, please don't forget that today is the first day the market is open. It's normal for there to be more people buying and selling goods. There may not be as many people tomorrow."
Zhu Biao couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.
But Yang Shaofeng continued, "However, as the roads connecting the border markets to various places gradually become more connected, more and more merchants will come with their goods in the future."
"So, I might earn even more in the future."
Zhu Biao nodded slightly, then asked with great curiosity, "By the way, brother-in-law, I have a question that I've been thinking about for a long time, but I still can't figure it out."
"So, all the commercial taxes collected at the border markets go to the national treasury, and what benefit does Dengzhou Prefecture get from it?"