Chapter 744 - 746: Holding Breath in the Heart
For now, Jiang Yichun’s identity was not public yet and only a few people knew about it. Bai Ruozhu indeed had reservations about using the title of "Mrs. Jiang", especially due to its association with the previous Mrs. Jiang, Chen Family’s lady. Thus, Bai Ruozhu felt some disdain for the title.
Fortunately, in Danliang Country, women were allowed to partake in business using their own names, instead of necessarily adopting their husbands’ surname.
"My husband is tied up with other official affairs, hence, I cannot ascertain the specific time. Please convey my apologies to Master Xue. I am truly sorry," Bai Ruozhu continued.
The servant, upon hearing this, knew he could not insist further. He left after delivering the invitation card.
Bai Ruozhu did not touch the invitation card on the table, but her curiosity was piqued about why Master Xue was so insistent on inviting her. She felt it necessary to better understand the situation of the various families in the Capital. She quickly delegated this task, as she was confident that the Commerce Association would certainly have the information about the major families in the Capital, and Jianqi could get hold of it.
By evening, the information was in her hands. It included a number of the major families in the Capital. Bai Ruozhu skimmed through the information - there were many royals married into other families like Wang Family, princes, dukes, generals, Marquis and so on. Apart from these, there were noble families related to the Imperial Chancellor and Emperor’s Tutors. The sheer amount of these families left her head spinning - the Capital surely had a mind-boggling number of officials.
After some searching, she found the family of Xue. There wasn’t much information available, just that Xue was a cheerful person who liked to make friends. His original wife, Mrs. Liu, had passed away due to illness over a decade ago, leaving behind their eldest son, Xue Wenqian. Eight years ago, Xue took a second wife, Mrs. Gai, who bore him another son, who was currently seven. Xue himself was healthy, leading to uncertainty over who would inherit his title in the future.
Bai Ruozhu speculated that Xue Wenqian’s life was probably getting harder, with his financial resources being affected, hence the attempt to make friends outside and perhaps even venture into business partnerships?
Having been taken advantage of by Du Zhongshu once, she was not keen to collaborate with sons of noble families. Moreover, she definitely didn’t want to get entangled in their internal conflicts. So, she quietly made up her mind to avoid Master Xue.
The next morning, Bai Ruozhu left Dengdeng with La Mei, and went to attend the Commerce Association meeting with her master.
Many elder men and middle-aged men were present at the meeting. There were a few older men accompanied by younger men. Clearly, like Elder Lin, they had brought their disciples with them.
Bai Ruozhu discreetly observed the two young men. They looked like they were in their early twenties. One of them was as handsome as a refined scholar from a noble family, not stereotypically like the son of a merchant. The other had a slightly darker complexion, and looked slightly hostile as he swept his eyes towards Bai Ruozhu, exuding a lot of arrogance.
Bai Ruozhu ignored him. Any man who wears his heart on his sleeve, and shows arrogance without any real achievement probably didn’t have much capability.
The old managers and elders arriving for the meeting were also assessing the three young people. But it was fairly apparent that everyone’s attention was more on the two young men, particularly the handsome young man. A quick glance at Bai Ruozhu seemed to suggest that they were not taking her very seriously.
Bai Ruozhu pursed her lips inwardly. Was it because she was a woman? She hadn’t given this meeting much thought initially, and had planned to just offer an acceptable suggestion to not embarrass her master. But now, she was determined to show them that women were no less than men!
Lin Zhenghui was exchanging greetings with a few familiar elders and introducing Bai Ruozhu to them. After paying her respects, she stood aside and listened to her master conversing with others.
The arrogant young man glanced at Bai Ruozhu again, looking as though he was looking down on her even more now.
Soon, the head of the Commerce Association, Han Weizhuang, arrived. After greeting everyone, he announced the start of the meeting.
"Today, our primary agenda is to discuss the new initiatives for the second half of this year, and improvements to the existing ones. Everyone here can express their views. Especially the three young newcomers, don’t hesitate to speak up boldly. Let’s inject some fresh blood into our Association," said Han Weizhuang.
Immediately after he finished, one of the elders spoke, "I suggest raising the Association’s taxes by 10% in the latter half of the year to increase our revenue."
Han Weizhuang frowned, "We just raised it by 10 percent last year. The merchants already have to pay taxes to the Imperial Court. If we increase it faster than the Court, wouldn’t it look bad?"
Bai Ruozhu nodded in silent agreement. The tax the Imperial Court extracted was mandatory, whereas the Association was meant to coordinate and protect the merchants, and couldn’t be overly coercive. Frequently raising the trade tax could easily undermine the Association’s position.
Immediately, everyone started voicing out their opinions. Suggestions for other improvements were also brought up. However, none of the suggestions were substantive, and most people’s opinions were either in support or against those suggestions, but not many came up with brilliant ideas.
"I have a proposition," said the slightly dark-skinned, previously arrogant, young man, Li Dan.
All eyes turned towards him. Even though he was not good-looking, his bright black eyes radiated shrewdness.
"Currently, we are charging a fixed tax amount. For instance, we charge the same business tax for restaurants in a given area, irrespective of whether the restaurant is a small one or a big one like the Welcome Inn. If we raise taxes uniformly, small restaurants will certainly be affected, but for large restaurants, it would be a drop in the ocean. Therefore, I propose a tiered tax system. Bigger, more flourishing businesses obviously require more attention from us, so it’s only fair that they pay more taxes," said Li Dan, visibly proud of his idea. He completely disregarded Bai Ruozhu this time, making it quite apparent that he considered her no competition.
"Not a bad suggestion, seems more reasonable as well," chimed in Han Weizhuang.
The praise for Li Dan’s idea poured in. Li Dan graciously acknowledged the compliments from the crowd, looking triumphant and satisfied.
"Ha! Old man Wei sure knows how to support his disciple. Why does he act so pleased with an idea that’s not even his?" grumbled Lin Zhenghui quietly.
Bai Ruozhu held back a giggle. It seemed that the idea Li Dan broached was most likely the collaboration of his master, Elder Wei, and others, to make Li Dan shine.
"Well, since Li Dan has raised a good point, our two younger members should also share their thoughts," prompted Han Weizhuang.
All eyes turned to Bai Ruozhu and the handsome young man. The latter bowed to Han Weizhuang and said, "Chairman, I lack a good suggestion. I came today simply to learn from my seniors, lest I appear too ignorant."
A wave of disappointment washed over many present. They felt that the good-looking young man did not live up to his looks or maybe was too cautious. Bai Ruozhu gave him another glance, thinking to herself that this young man was indeed not simple.
The Chairman didn’t say much and shifted his gaze to Bai Ruozhu, asking, "I heard that the concept of a buffet restaurant trending in the Capital was your creation, Bai Ruozhu. Do you have any innovative ideas for today?"