“The Eldest Young Madam has been seriously ill recently, unable to get out of bed for several days. The doctor has come several times, but there seems to be no improvement. He said that if things really don’t improve, he’ll have to trouble the old lady to ask the imperial physician to come and take a look.”

“I see.” He Yanxiu narrowed his eyes.

It seems that He Yande’s first point was correct.

He used to think that the two of them were just not very affectionate, but now it seems that they were indeed at odds, and at this point, they were too lazy to even bother with pretense.

No wonder He Yande had to come up with such a backup plan.

He just didn’t know who was behind Fang Shi…

After all, coming from the family of a Fourth-Rank Master of Ceremonies in the Ministry of Rites—a rather idle post—she simply had no motive to do such things.

In the end, it was all a power struggle that caused this trouble.

He Yanxiu suddenly understood why Su Yujin, although she treated him wholeheartedly and fulfilled her duties as a servant, did not try to curry favor with him.

It seems she disliked the power struggles within these wealthy families and the constant possibility of being drawn into their vortex of influence.

Running a shop, doing business, and occasionally cooking, like her, was probably the most comfortable and pleasant life.

He wondered if he would ever be able to live that kind of life and what he would do if he couldn’t…

But thinking of Su Yujin, he missed her hot pot.

On such a chilly day, sitting around a small stove, enjoying a steaming bowl of thinly sliced ​​mutton hot pot would be such a wonderful treat.

But right now, there was no time to go to Qinghe County…

He Yanxiu couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh, his expression growing increasingly grave.

Xing’an, seeing this, was extremely worried.

Second Master must be facing an extremely difficult situation. If he could help him out…

He Yanxiu suddenly stopped and said in a deep voice, “Have the kitchen cut some mutton for hot pot and some vegetables too.”

“By the way, see if the kitchen can make handmade stuffed fish balls. If they can, make some for us too.”

Xing’an, “…”

So Second Master hesitated for a long time because he was hesitating about food?

It seemed he could indeed help Second Master out and do so quite well…

——

The affairs of the Qinghe Chamber of Commerce were proceeding smoothly.

Although Su Yujin didn’t participate much, she often heard Wu Jiantong mention many things: standardizing industry rules, helping the weak, resolving disputes, and most importantly, dealing with imperial taxes.

The imperial court levied a market tax on merchants in Qinghe County, at three percent of the price of the goods sold. On the surface, it seemed fair and reasonable, without any problems, but this regulation ignored the issue of profit.

Profit margins for gold and silver jewelry were typically 40-50%, cloth shops and restaurants 30-40%, herbal medicine shops around 30%, and general merchandise only about 20%. Rice and flour products had even lower profit margins. Such a tax system would actually increase the tax burden on lower-profit industries, hindering their development and encouraging many merchants to focus solely on higher-profit sectors, leading to cutthroat competition and severely impacting the overall business of Qinghe County.

After deliberation, the Chamber of Commerce consulted with the government to revise the market tax rules. They proposed setting corresponding market tax rates for different industries and establishing leverage based on shop size and average daily sales. The tax rate for the following year would be adjusted accordingly based on the previous year’s tax payments.

This approach would ensure the government’s tax revenue, benefit low-profit and struggling merchants, and allow for a slight increase of one or two percentage points for those with better financial standing—a win-win situation.

To appease merchants who pay more taxes, the Chamber of Commerce funded the production of ten plaques, each inscribed by the county magistrate, to be awarded to the shop that pays the most taxes each year. This was intended as a reward and to encourage other merchants to focus on their businesses and strive for similar recognition.

The Chamber of Commerce’s regulations were met with unanimous approval from all the shops. Those with larger businesses were especially eager to expand, determined to do their utmost to improve their trade.

Some families who had been merchants for generations were particularly envious of the plaques bearing the county magistrate’s inscription, even wishing they could increase their tax rates to become the highest taxpayers. Naturally, they were persuaded to stay home…

The businesses at Huibinlou and Suji remained stable, with a steady increase in revenue.

When Su Yujin felt bored at home, she would help out at Huibinlou and Suji to pass the time.

Today, Lühe had a slight cold, and Jin Gui had caught a cough, so Su Yujin and Ai Cao helped cook noodles and make wontons at Suji.

At midday, customers flocked in, making it the busiest time of the day.

A ragged little beggar called from outside the door, “Which one of you is Sister Shuangye?”

The way he called out by name so openly was likely a messenger. Seeing this, Shuangye quickly washed her hands, wiping the water droplets on her apron as she went over. “Yes, I am Sister Shuangye. Is there something you need?”

“Someone asked me to tell Sister Shuangye that Yu Xiucai was beaten up in West Third Alley on East Street. He can’t even stand up right now. Those people were quite ruthless, and someone is worried something might happen, so they sent me to find Sister Shuangye and ask her to go and stop them quickly, to prevent anything from going wrong.”

Yu Yongye was beaten up?

West Third Alley on East Street was near the county school. Was he harassed after leaving the county school?

Shuangye’s face paled, and she seemed somewhat lost.

“Sister Shuangye, hurry up! If you’re late, something bad might happen!” The little beggar was also a bit anxious. “I’ve delivered the message, and nothing else matters to me, so I won’t interfere.”

With that, he strode away.

Shuangye came to her senses, reached for her apron, and went back to ask Su Yujin for leave.

In broad daylight, a dignified xiucai had been beaten?

Su Yujin raised her slender eyebrows slightly. “The other party was so bold; they must be no pushover. It’s probably not appropriate for you to go alone. You should go to Huibinlou and call a few capable servants to go with you.”

If the other party outnumbered them, they could handle the situation.

“Call a few more.”

Su Yujin said, then, fearing Shuangye might feel embarrassed, she simply told the others to keep an eye on things, and she and Shuangye left Su Ji together.

Just as they stepped out of the shop, they were stopped by another little beggar.

“Sister Su! “

Su Yujin recognized the little beggar. “You are…”

She smiled after a moment. “Have you finished your sesame cakes?”

“My name is Hu Zi. We haven’t finished the sesame cakes Sister Su gave us yet. Thanks to Sister Su’s kindness, the four of us haven’t gone hungry these past few days.”

Hu Zi grinned, then his expression turned serious. “What did that little beggar say when he came looking for someone?”

Author’s Note: The name and rate of city taxes varied in each dynasty, drawing on some tax policies from the Song Dynasty. ~

(End of Chapter)

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