"Okay, thank you, Shopkeeper Li. Goodbye."
"Brother Li, take care. Don't come to Qingshui County for the next few days to avoid any accidents."
Ye Ming's sudden display of so much white porcelain, coupled with his inquiry about the shop purchase, gave Li Youde a rough idea.
"I believe Brother Ye has mastered the production of white porcelain by now."
"This is a big business. We must tell our boss to find a way to get a piece of the action."
Taking over the business was impossible, as Li Youde knew that Ye Ming had done a favor for the Prince of Ping'an's palace.
Furthermore, his boss's family had served under the Prince of Ping'an, making it unrealistic.
Therefore, choosing to help Ye Ming and get a piece of the action was the best option at this time.
While their boss wasn't the biggest player in Qingshui County, having Ye Ming as their backer would save him a lot of trouble.
Ye Ming would surely be very happy with it.
"Brother Ming, how is it?"
"I sold everything. I made two hundred taels of silver,"
Ye Ming confessed without hiding anything.
"How can these bowls and bottles bring in so much money?"
"This is just the first batch. White porcelain will be worthless when it's in stock later."
"Let's go to the pawnshop to buy a shop."
"Brother Ming, I'm not going. I need to buy supplies for production. We'll meet at the city gate at noon."
Ye Ming nodded and agreed. Liu Qiang then left alone.
"Yang Xiong, come with me to the pawnshop."
"Yes, benefactor."
On the way to the pawnshop, Ye Ming couldn't stop thinking.
If the new county magistrate couldn't resolve the refugee issue, would his business still be viable?
Would Qingshi Village be affected?
The thought made him feel a little irritated.
They'd finally resolved Wang Dajiao's issue, and now the environment was in trouble again.
..
Wu's pawnshop.
"Hey, gentlemen, are you buying slaves or a yard?"
Ye Ming's thoughts were interrupted by the voice, and he glanced at the servant in coarse linen.
"I want to buy a shop."
"Very well, sir."
The servant, not even slightly dismissive, took Ye Ming to explore the available shops.
"Sir, I wonder how much you're budgeting for? You know, although Qingshui County isn't huge, shops aren't cheap either."
Some shops, only a little over thirty square meters in a good location, cost more than even a small courtyard.
"My budget is about one hundred and fifty taels. The location doesn't have to be great, just a big enough space."
Upon learning of Ye Ming's request, the servant immediately led the two men to a shop in the west of the city.
"Sir, the location of this shop isn't too bad. It's not far from Huang's Restaurant, which is quite nice."
"Most importantly, it's big, and it's cheap. Only one hundred taels. This used to be a bookshelf, and they cleaned it up after the owner left."
With that, the servant opened the door. As Ye Ming entered, he could smell the lingering scent of ink.
He took a quick look at the shop. It was indeed large, probably fifty or sixty square meters.
And there was a thirty-square-meter backyard.
More than enough for selling white porcelain.
"Okay, I'll take the shop!"
The servant's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected this plainly dressed man to be such a big customer.
"Okay, sir, please follow me back and I'll get you the deed."
...
"Sir, keep it, it's your deed."
"Oh, by the way, if you want to open a shop, it's best to register with the government office first."
"Everyone at the government office is here these days, so it'll be easier to get things done."
Ye Ming put the deed away and gave the servant a fifty-cent tip before leaving.
"Yang Xiong, we should leave."
Yang Xiong was staring at the slaves in the pawnshop in a daze. If it weren't for Ye Ming's rescue yesterday, his daughter, if she had survived, would probably have been taken to the pawnshop for selection.
"Thank you, benefactor."
Qingshui County Government.
At this moment, the newly appointed County Magistrate, Cui Xian, was fretting over the earthquake.
"I simply refused Minister Cao's marriage proposal, and yet you transferred me to Qingshui County to take over this mess."
"The relief grain provided by the court isn't enough. What should I do now?"
Cui Xian, a newly minted Jinshi last year, had previously held a comfortable position as a minor official in the capital.
When he said he wanted to be an official, he also wanted to go to the wealthy counties in the south of the Yangtze River.
But just a few days before he was to take office, Prime Minister Cao came to his house and said he wanted to marry his niece to him.
At the end of his three-year term, he would guarantee him the position of Minister of Rites.
But Cui Xian was an upright scholar, and Prime Minister Cao was a corrupt official.
So he refused, and was later thrown into Qingshui County to take over this mess. Now he lost his beautiful wife, his official position, and was transferred to Qingshui County to clean up this mess.
If the disaster relief was not done well, the whole family would be killed.
"Stop, who are you?"
Outside the Qingshui County government office, Ye Ming was stopped by two yamen runners.
"Your Excellency, I want to open a shop and report it."
The two yamen runners were about to refuse when Ye Ming stuffed silver into their mouths.
"The county magistrate is busy now, but this matter is under the jurisdiction of County Magistrate Zhang."
"County Magistrate Zhang is free now, you can go over now."
Ye Ming bowed.
"Thank you, my lords."
"Yang Xiong, wait for me here."
"Okay, benefactor."
After that, Ye Ming was taken by one of the yamen runners to the place where Zhang Xiancheng was handling official business.
"Go in, Zhang Xiancheng is inside."
Originally, Ye Ming was worried that he would be difficult to deal with, but when he saw the man in the door, he was instantly delighted.
Isn't this the old yamen runner with gray hair who had followed Sun Haoyu before?
"Who are you? If you can't do anything today, come back tomorrow."
"It's me, Brother Zhang. I'm Ye Ming. We've met before."
County Magistrate Zhang looked up and saw it was indeed Ye Ming.
The man even the former County Magistrate treated with courtesy. He owed his position as County Magistrate to him.
"So it's Brother Ye. What brings you here?"
"No big deal. I'm looking to do business in Qingshui County and need to register with the government."
County Magistrate Zhang nodded slightly, no big deal.
"I'm wondering what business you're in, Brother Ye?"
"I sell ceramics, usually bowls and such."
"Okay, show me the deed and I'll register it for you."
It's no secret that having someone you know is convenient; Ye Ming had it registered in less than half an incense stick of time.
"Brother Ye, keep this document."
"You'll need it to pay taxes later, as not many people in our county sell your property. I'll give you the lowest tax rate of thirty percent."
Ye Ming had never heard of this tax, but he thought County Magistrate Zhang wouldn't cheat him.
It wasn't that high.
"Okay, then thank you, County Magistrate Yang. I'll treat you to a drink another day."
"No need to thank me, young man Ye. If anyone needs to thank me, it's me. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to become the County Magistrate."
It was rare to have an acquaintance who had a say in Qingshui County, so Ye Ming planned to chat and get closer to him.
"County Magistrate Zhang, I saw that you looked bitter just now, but what difficulties did you encounter?"
"Alas, it's still the disaster relief. The relief grain from the court is not enough, and the county magistrate has not found a way to solve it."
"The grain price in this city is getting higher day by day. I'm afraid that I will have to hand over my position as County Magistrate before I even get comfortable."
It turned out to be disaster relief. Ye Ming actually has a solution for this.
"County Magistrate Zhang, I might have a solution."