Yi Xuan had little experience in shop operation, so he asked Mapo: "Fifty percent of the tax burden sounds a bit much, but it won't be impossible to operate, right?"

Mapo smiled bitterly: "It's not just a lot, it's just that there is no way to live! This sea beast business seems to be lucrative, but in fact it is extremely risky, and the slightest carelessness will bankrupt the family." I'm not bragging, it's not easy to make sure that I have a surplus over the course of the year like me, and if I hand over half of my profits, wouldn't it be in vain to work for the island owner! We just worked hard in the beast tide, but the island owner took a salary from the bottom of the kettle, which is really unbearable!"

Nie Yongwang didn't care: "Hey, that's it, why can't you look at it, Lao Ma? There are countless islands in this misty sea like mountains and islands, and we won't end it if we change islands to do business!"

Mapo glanced at Nie Yong: "What do you know? To open a shop and do business, you must pay attention to personal familiarity and ease of work! I have lived here for more than 10 years, and all the merchants on the island are familiar with each other, and the fleets that come and go are also known, and the supply of goods is also guaranteed! If we change to open a store elsewhere, it will be a waste of at least a year just to re-familiarize ourselves with these relationships. And I've already invested a lot of money in the reconstruction and decoration of my current shop, and if I give up, I'll spend a lot of spirit stones in vain......"

Yi Xuan felt that this matter was strange, and asked, "Lao Ma, who are you listening to?"

"That's what the steward said when I handled the relevant deed on the island's mansion!"

"Did you mention my name?"

"Surely! This deed is your name, so you should tell the monk in charge!"

"Hey, I understand! I guess most of this fifty percent policy is only aimed at us and others, all because of the trouble caused by my refusal to be the chief housekeeper at the beginning, and there were many difficulties when I was a guest secretary before, but I didn't think there would be twists and turns now!" Yi Xuan said his guess.

Nie Yongwang slapped his thigh and said hatefully: "In this way, it must be the big housekeeper who deliberately pulled me back, it's really too deceitful!

Yi Xuan grabbed him and said, "Old Nie, don't be so impulsive! Instead, you fell for someone else's design!" Then he thought about it and said to Mapo: "You start doing this tomorrow, see how the big housekeeper copes!"

On the second day, there was a vivid rumor in Shanxi Daofang City, saying that the beast tide seemed to be passing smoothly, but due to the activation of the defense array, all the spiritual stone reserves on the island had been exhausted, and in order to earn enough spiritual stones as soon as possible, the island owner was about to promulgate a new policy, and all business income should be handed over to the island owner's mansion. For a time, rumors spread on the island, all the merchants had no intention of operating and asked around to see if the news was conclusive, and the passing merchant ships were too frightened to dock, for fear of being deducted from heavy taxes, and even the residents of the island were panicked, rushing to buy firewood, rice, oil and salt everywhere for fear of rising prices.

In a mansion outside the island owner's mansion, the chief butler was reprimanding and roaring, and a dozen deacons stood opposite him shuddering.

"Say, who is spreading rumors? Today, the old man was called by the owner of the island to preach for a long time, and he must find out the culprit!"

The deacons shook their heads to indicate that it had nothing to do with it. Only a trembling voice came from the corner: "Great steward, I may know who did it." A few days ago, Mapo, who operates a sea beast business in the market, came to apply for a store, and I saw that the shopkeeper wrote Yi Xuan's name, and I thought of the explanation of the big housekeeper before, so I deliberately told that Mapo would hand over fifty percent of the profits. Within a few days, similar rumors came out, and I wondered, will it be ......"

"Waste! Causing so much trouble to the old man with such clumsy means! What could it be, it must be that Mapo has a grudge and spreads rumors everywhere. Come on, hurry up and escort that Mapo to the island lord's mansion to wait for the fate!"

The deacons were about to go out to arrest people, but the chief butler said again: "Wait, there is no conclusive evidence to go like this, I think that Mapo and Yi Xuan must deny it in every way, it is better to wait for the opening of their shop, you wait to act according to the plan, and the old man must make them look good!

The next day, in various conspicuous places on Shanxi Island, there were notices released by the island owner's mansion, and there were also several deacons, who repeatedly explained the situation to nearby businesses, and everyone gradually calmed down, and everything on the island returned to calm.

On this day, it was Yi Xuan and Nie Yongwang's turn to be on duty, and this time the task assigned was to escort a merchant ship that came to the island to trade away, this merchant ship belonged to the Kaiping Island caravan far from the North Pole of Shanxi Island, and it would go to Changguang Island, a medium-sized island in the east, as long as the two of them arrived safely, they could return, but because they needed to take a merchant ship together, even if there was no delay on the way, it would take about ten days to come and go.

Yi Xuan calculated the time, fortunately, he could catch up with the opening of his shop, talk to Mapo, and come to the dock with Nie Yongwang, find the caravan ship of Yunlang Island, and prepare to board the ship. This merchant ship is similar in size to the Qiulang Island merchant ship that Yi Xuan took when he came, but the style is completely different, and the belly in the middle of the two pointed ends is extremely bloated, which is obviously for the purpose of storing and transporting more goods.

Explain the situation to one of the boatmen, and lead the two to a middle-aged man with gray hair and a ruddy complexion.

"The next surname is Kong Ming'an, who is the steward of this merchant ship, and the two must be the protectors sent by the owner of Shanxi Island, and they have to rely on the two of them to bother a lot these days!"

Yi Xuan didn't dare to slack off, and returned the salute: "Steward Kong is polite! My name is Yi Xuan, this is my partner Nie Yongwang, our brothers are bothering a lot on the boat, please take care of it!"

Kong An warmly grabbed Yi Xuan's right hand, and said as he walked towards the cabin: "Brother Yi, you don't have to be polite, our merchant ships come and go everywhere thanks to the monks of each island to take care of each other!

After the three of them walked into the cabin together, a private room was arranged in the corner of the spacious hall, and the three monks were sitting around a square table drinking tea.

"I wonder what the steward is doing?" asked a monk in a blue civilian robe.

"Brother Zhuo, Brother Quan, and Brother Cheng happen to be all here, so I don't have to look for them separately. This is the Dharma Protector Monk who was arranged by the owner of this island to escort us, the older one is called Nie Yongwang, and the younger one is named Yi Xuan, everyone has to be affectionate, and we have to rely on you to join hands on this way!"

"It's easy to say, I'm Cheng Jinghui, a rough person, remember to find me to drink when you're not on duty, haha!" The rough man on the left was very hearty.

Nie Yongwang was overjoyed when he heard this, and hugged Cheng Jinghui's arm and responded: "It turns out that Brother Cheng is also a person who loves wine, so I am not lonely along the way!