Beer Mountain Village became an instant hit in Zhoucun, and the cascading effect was that the merchants in Zhoucun soared rapidly, and the number of merchants increased by one-third in less than a month. According to the usual practice, the number www.biquge.info of merchants dropped sharply in December every year, and this year it was the opposite, and the merchants did not fall but rose. In less than half a year, the number of inns in Zhoucun increased by 4, the number of restaurants increased by more than 20, the foreign population increased by about 10,000, and the business and trade activities became more and more prosperous.

Don't look at the small Zhou Village, there are many people in the Hidden Dragon and Crouching Tiger. At this time, the house of Lin Zuren, the shopkeeper of the money bank, was shrouded in a strange atmosphere. The subordinate said: "Master, Ge Yunfei doesn't look young, he is indeed not an idle person. As soon as he appeared, he strangled the Liuzi Gang to avoid tax evasion and want to get away with it. Ming Xiu plank road secretly crossed Chen Cang, no one expected that he would take Zhou Xincheng in one fell swoop. "Zhou Xincheng is to blame, who let him have something to do with the Liuzi Gang, Ge Yunfei's nose is very sharp, I am worried that Zhoucun is no longer a safe haven."

"Sir, no! No one in your background Zhou Village knows, what is there to worry about? "Don't you know, the master is very worried about Lafayette's body, he said that Lafayette's state is not as good as day by day, and his spirit is also worse day by day." "Master, it's not that Lafayette is terminally ill." "It's not to that point, but the master is by Lafayette's side, so he naturally knows better than outsiders. The master already had a premonition of this, and once Lafayette returned to the West, he was ready to settle in Qingdao in his later years. ”

Lin Zuren's face was gloomy and he continued: "Recently, a batch of goods has been shipped from the capital, you have to be extra careful!" "Don't worry, sir! Subordinates know what is important. "After all, Ge Yunfei is young, and his edge is too exposed, he will be burned."

"Master, there are rumors in the market that Ge Yunfei is going to raise taxes in the coming year, I don't know if it's true or not?" "If I'm not mistaken, eighty percent of it is the prefect's initiative! The former prefect Xie Liancheng regarded himself as high and did not sell his accounts, and was forced to become a minister. I'm afraid this trick will be used on Ge Yunfei, this old fox is a goose plucking, and he won't let go of profitable things! "Master, what shall we do?" "It may be good for us to wait and see what happens, and maybe it will be good for us to make a fuss. The master repeatedly warned that he must be careful not to set himself on fire. ”

In the middle of winter, Yan Jiakang ushered in another happy event. At the end of November, Qiu Ying gave birth to a girl, the mother and son were safe, and the girl was named Ge Fangfei. After a few days of commotion, the county government finally quieted down. That night, Yan Jiakang had a drink with Shan Feng and Hu Boyong. "Brother Ge, today I went to Nanjiao Town, Guo Binghui and Zhang Yaowu bowed to you. The brothers are very motivated and have already started recruiting students. The brothers patted their chests and guaranteed that the Southern Suburbs Lecture Hall would open during the Spring Festival next year. Shan Feng was a little unimpressed.

Hu Boyong was puzzled: "My lord, opening a martial arts hall is not in line with your identity, do you want to learn from Yuan Shikai's small station to train soldiers?" "Mr. Hu, take precautions. At present, the imperial court is unstable, and one day the world will be in turmoil, and we must have the ability to protect ourselves. Taking a step back, it can be regarded as cultivating military talents for the Qing Dynasty and making a modest effort. "Your Excellency is far-sighted, even if these people are not needed for the time being, they will be loyal to you in the future." Hu Boyong seemed to think of something and said: "My lord, there have been rumors that the tax will be doubled next year, which is not a good phenomenon!" ”

Yan Jiakang said with a smile: "There are always people who fan the yin wind and light ghost fires, lest the world be chaotic." In fact, it is not surprising that this situation occurred, and the official made a military order in front of the governor, and by June next year, the taxes of Zhou Village would be doubled. I guess people with ulterior motives have already leaked this news. "Not many people know about such secrets, and if they leak them, they are high-level people. From the perspective of their own interests, the officials in Jinan are not expected to do this, so it seems that only Zibo side! Hu Boyong pondered. How so? "Yan Jiakang is alert.

"My lord, Tong Wannian has been in the Zibo prefect for 10 years, as far as I know, Zhoucun has formed a scale of commerce and trade before the opening of the port, and none of the previous prefects of the county have died well, they are all forced to give office, which is very revealing. Last year, Tong Wannian increased the tax revenue of Zhou Village on the grounds of opening the port, and I judged that at least half of the silver went into his pocket. Now that the adults are highly valued by the governor, and their abilities are very strong, Tong Wannian will not let you take root in Zhou Village in peace. "Your analysis is not unreasonable, there is a saying that evil does not prevail over good, Tong Wannian, this old fox is cunning, but he has encountered a real hunter!"

Seeing that Yan Jiakang was full of confidence, Hu Boyong wondered: "Could it be that the adults already have a good plan?" "You can't talk about good policies, you can do the opposite. Tong Wannian expected that in order to complete the tax, I must increase the tax. On the contrary, I want to cut my taxes, and I will reduce my taxes by 30% at a time. Hu Boyong was shocked and said: "Could it be that you want to use other silver to make up for the shortfall, this is definitely not a long-term plan?" Yan Jiakang said with a smile: "Mr. Hu has lived in officialdom for a long time, is sophisticated, and is familiar with the rules of officialdom, but he lacks business transactions. Let me ask you, in the six months since this official took office in Zhoucun, how much has the number of foreign merchants from Zhoucun increased? ”

"According to the old man's observation, it has doubled." "Mr. Hu, what is the sale? It's trading. We levy taxes on the basis of transaction value. Although the tax on each transaction amount is less than 30%, the increase in the number of transactions is self-evident. For example, the occupancy rate of an inn used to be 30 percent per day, but now the occupancy rate is 60 percent. If the occupancy rate of this inn reaches 100%, our tax revenue can be nearly doubled by 9%. ”

"Master Ge, I didn't expect you to be so proficient in business transactions, the old man admires you!" ", it's a numbers game, there's nothing mysterious. In the past two months, the number of inns in Zhoucun has increased by 4, and the number of restaurants has increased by 20, and other buying and selling activities are not counted. I estimate that in the spring of next year, there will be a blowout of tax revenue in Zhoucun. If there were no fluctuations, our tax revenues would have increased by at least 5 times. If the desired goal is achieved, I will reduce or exempt all agricultural taxes in Zhoucun County. Hu Boyong gasped when he heard this.

"My lord, the questions you can think of are so difficult that you can't think of them?" This is the mediocrity of the imperial court, the agricultural tax of the Qing Dynasty is the focus, and the commercial tax has never been paid attention to, let alone the mystery. The amount of taxes to be paid in Zhou Village as a whole will not change, which is why I dare to make a military order in front of the governor. "My lord, your reduction or exemption of county-level agricultural taxes will inevitably shake the government and the opposition, congratulations!" "Shaking the government and the opposition, am I not an idiot?" "The old man is stupid, and the gun shoots the first bird, and I am overjoyed."

"Even if the agricultural tax is reduced, it cannot be publicized, even if the official thinks about the people. Even if commercial taxes are used to make up for agricultural taxes, it must not be conspicuous. "My lord is shrewd, and there will be too many enemies if he announces it publicly, and I will arrange this matter more securely in the future." "Let's not talk about this, Mr. Hu, Zhou Xincheng, the largest household in Zhou Village, it is impossible to cause trouble anymore, what do you know about the others?" Hu Boyong said: "There is one person worth paying attention to," "Who?" "Lin Zuren, the shopkeeper of the money bank." "What's wrong with him?"

Hu Boyong pondered: "According to my side understanding, Lin Zuren came to Zhoucun from the capital in the 20th year of Guangxu to open a money bank. In less than two years, Lin Zuren became the largest money bank in Zhou Village. It seems that he is not as prominent as Zhou Xincheng, but in fact, he is the richest man in Zhou Village. "What do you mean by that?" Lin Zuren's house covers an area of 50 acres, and there are more than 150 people and families. According to Chen Jun's private statement, Lin Zuren has tens of thousands of acres of land in Sili and Eight Townships, and it is said that Qingdao also has a sale, as for what kind of business is unknown! ”

"Brother Ge, what Mr. Hu said is not wrong. Lin Zuren has a silver betting team, about 50 people. Once, I saw that his team members were all very strong, and from my observations, they all knew how to do martial arts. I heard that Lin Zuren recently purchased a batch of rifles to equip the silver team. According to the officials, Lin Zuren's silver team rarely travels during the day, and even if they go out, they go out at night and return at night, and outsiders rarely see their true faces, so this Lin Zuren is worth paying attention to! "He is from the capital, and there are a lot of strange things about him, and there must be a story. Single-peak, spy on this person! ”

In the middle of winter, a group of people work on the river on the west side of Zhou Village. Even though it is the middle of winter, the temperature in Zhou Village is above zero during the day. The southern part of the river flows through Zhoucun into the north of the filial piety river, the river is a seasonal river, and the river water is like a small stream bubbling in winter. On the west side of the river, there is a large tidal flat, and the county government labor reform brigade is working. The labor camp consisted of prisoners in custody, smokers and gamblers in the government officials, and thugs in tobacco bars and casinos after Zhoucun was seized. Zhou Xincheng and several of his subordinates were sentenced to three years in prison and were also undergoing reform in the labor camp.

"Brother Ge, there are currently 308 people in the labor reform brigade, divided into 6 teams." Shan Feng accompanied Yan Jiakang to inspect and introduce. "Report to Lord Ge, Wang Erniu, the first squad leader of the detective team, who is here to carry out a detention mission, please give me advice!" Wang Erniu ran forward and raised his hand in salute. "Wang Erniu, this official is here to come and continue to carry out the task!" "Yes!" Yan Jiakang and Shan Feng patrolled side by side and accidentally saw Zhou Xincheng. "The criminal knocks on Lord Ge!" Zhou Xincheng fell to his knees. Yan Jiakang smiled: "Zhou Xincheng, how are you here?" ”

"Lord Ge enforces the law impartially, and he is grateful to Dade. There is no killing of the guilty body, no raiding the house, no Zhulian Nine Clans, and the guilty body is originally repaid by cattle and horses! "You just know the guilt, and the official will not kill him." If you behave well, I will commute your crimes! "Zhou Xincheng thanks again! Yan Jiakang's treatment of Zhou Xincheng can be described as unprecedented in history, and it has caused a huge repercussion in Zhou Village, so far, Yan Jiakang's prestige has soared again.

"Brother Ge, I don't understand the use of building a dam here and enclosing this tidal flat?" "Growing rice?" "Who will plant rice!" "I plan to let my predecessor, Xie Liancheng, the county magistrate, plant rice!" Shan Feng smiled: "What are you kidding, the former magistrate came to plant rice, how could it be?" "Brother Shan, anything is possible, I believe that things are man-made." "Interesting, I want to see how the former magistrate grew rice."