Chapter 118

  Exempting 70% of business tax? This is really a lion's mouth! Now Pingyuan County has implemented a policy of exempting 30% of business tax, which is already a big concession. How can Fan's family still be dissatisfied and want to exempt 70%, this is too much!

  Moreover, Fan Min is exaggerating. Pingyuan County used to be chaotic, but the situation has greatly improved now. The barbarian troops have been suppressed, and the population that was lost is rapidly recovering. How can doing business in Pingyuan County not be profitable? Furthermore, what merchants value most is profit. If it's certain to lose money, only a fool would invest. Since Fan's family has grown their business so big, they're naturally not fools. By saying this, Fan Min is essentially calling the county governor a fool.

  "Ah! Tang Yin suppressed his anger, still smiling on his face, and said: "Since the Fan family is willing to help me restore Pingyuan County's prosperity, they shouldn't ask for returns, should they?! Now reducing three-tenths of commercial tax is to stimulate those ordinary merchants, but your Fan family is big and prosperous, I think you don't need these so-called preferential treatments!"

  Fan Min never expected Tang Yan to give her such a response, not only did she not accept her conditions, but also wanted to collect the full tax from the Fan family. Her face changed slightly, and her smile became stiff, as she said in a low voice: "Sir, you're not joking, are you?"

  "Of course not." Tang Yin slowly took a sip of tea and said: "Such a big thing, how can it be joked about?"

  "So you're saying that adults are bullying me, Fan family?" Fan Min's face completely fell, staring at Tang Yin.

  Tang Yin smiled and retorted: "If your Fan family didn't bully me to the top of my head, how could I have bullied you?"

  Fan Min was taken aback and asked in doubt: "When did we offend you, sir? I hope you will speak clearly!"

  Tang Yin said: "It's now! You Fan family have already opened a teahouse in Heng City, and every night the tea guests are endless. Now you come to me to complain about losing money? Are you taking me for a fool? I can tell you clearly that if your Fan family wants to open tea houses, wine houses and other shops in Pingyuan County, I welcome them all. But if you want to rely on the wealth of the Fan family to bully me and force me to make concessions, then sorry, I will make it difficult for your Fan family to take a single step in Pingyuan County!"

  Fan Min was secretly surprised, she had not publicly announced her opening of a tea house in Heng City, how did Tang Yan know? Moreover, how did he know that the tea house business was good?

  Seeing the surprise on her face, Tang Yin smiled leisurely and said: "I know more than that, the plays performed in your Fan family teahouse are also very lively! Of course, this is your way of attracting tea customers and soliciting business, I won't restrict it. I'm saying this just to let you understand, don't take me for a fool who knows nothing and only knows how to lead troops and fight battles!"

  Fan Min took a deep breath, although she had only exchanged a few words with Tang Yin, her attitude was no longer daring to show any disdain. Tang Yin was much more difficult to deal with than she had imagined. She said in a low voice: "Since Mr. Tang is an intelligent person, he should understand the relationship between our Fan family and the noble Wang Ting. Offending us, I think it won't be beneficial for Mr. Tang's official career either!"

  Tang Yan looked up and smiled lightly, saying proudly: "If I really cared about these things, really feared the Fan family, I wouldn't have said those words just now, would I?"

  Fan Min stared at Tang Yin, speechless. His soft and hard tactics didn't work on her, and she was also helpless, as after reporting her family background, the other party was not affected in any way. Fan Min had never met such a person before.

  Seeing her momentum being suppressed by herself, Tang Yin's heart felt a little more comfortable. He glanced at Fan Min sitting on the chair in a daze and said slowly: "I still say that if the Fan family comes to Pingyuan County to do business, I absolutely welcome it, give appropriate tax cuts, and I can also consider it, but it is impossible to be as much as you said."

  Tang Yin's tone softened, and Fan Min's spirits lifted greatly. He hastily asked: "Lord Tang, how much of the commercial tax can you waive for my family at most?"

  "No more than 40%!" Tang Yin replied succinctly.

  Before Fan Wei could speak, he continued: "Exempting 40% of the business tax is my current limit. Since I'm willing to make such a big concession and help the Fan family, I hope the Fan family can also help me!"

  Oh! Fan Min heard this and sneered in his heart, he's speaking for his own benefit!

  I thought Tang Yin was a big shot, speaking so strongly and eloquently, but it turns out he's just a greedy person. She smiled sarcastically and said bluntly: "Tang sir wants to get what benefits, just say it straight, as long as it's something my Fan family can accept, I'll definitely satisfy Tang sir!"

  Tang Yin knew that Fan Min had misunderstood his meaning, but he didn't explain. He stood up straight and walked out while saying: "Miss Fan Min, please follow me!"

  I don't know what he's up to, but Fan Min curiously followed behind Tang Yin and asked, "Where are you taking me, sir?"

  "You'll know when the time comes." Tang Yin replied without turning his head.

  Tang Yin took Fan Min directly to the silver warehouse. There were not a few things sealed from Wang Meng's house, and he was racking his brains for how to deal with these things. It just so happened that Fan Min came to him, and he couldn't help but take advantage of this opportunity.

  Tang Yin took himself to the county guard's silver warehouse, and Fan Min was even more puzzled, unable to figure out what trick he was playing.

  Upon entering the silver storehouse, Tang Yin casually opened one of the stacked boxes and said: "These are all sorts of antiques, brocades, and fabrics that have been hoarded in my hands with no use whatsoever. I'd like to sell them off but can't find a suitable buyer. Miss Fan, would you be so kind as to help me out by taking all these things? With the numerous businesses your family has, it should be easy for you to dispose of these items."

  Fan Min first looked at the many items in the box, then raised his head suspiciously and asked Tang Yin: "Is it that, sir wants me to help with this?"

  Tang Yin smiled and asked in return: "What else?"

  Fan Minyu's face turned red, and he thought Tang Yin was hinting that he should give him some benefits. It turned out that the other party had no such intention at all, and he himself was measuring others' hearts with his own mean heart.

  She took a deep breath and re-examined the items in the box. As a member of a wealthy merchant family, her ability to identify goods was naturally exceptional. Just by looking at these items in the box, she could tell that they were extremely valuable.

  "Is that all?"

  Tang Yin shook his head and said: "These boxes are all twenty-two in total."

  So many! The Fan family's shops are numerous and spread all over the Wind Country, selling these goods is not difficult, but the twenty-two boxes of goods need to be calculated one by one, it's not something that can be done in a short time. She thought for a moment and said: "Alright! I can take all of Mr. Tang's goods and will arrange for someone to come and count and collect them!"

  "Good!" Tang Yin was overjoyed and said: "Then all the shops of your Fan family in Pingyuan County can be exempt from 40% of business tax!"

  Exempting only 40% of the business tax is far from the goal that Fan Min had set when he came, but Tang Yin is too unpredictable and difficult to deal with. Being able to get him to relent and exempt 40% of the business tax is already quite an achievement.

  Fan Min felt a mix of joy and worry in her heart, after making an appointment with Tang Yan, she didn't linger at the county government office any longer. She exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Tang Yan before standing up to bid farewell.

  After Fan Mian left, the two Shangguan brothers who were accompanying Tang Yin said in unison: "Sir, this Miss Fan is too arrogant, you shouldn't have given in to her."

  Tang Yin shrugged his shoulders, let out a light sigh and said: "If I were alone, I would naturally do as I please, but now, we should prioritize the bigger picture and maintain good relations with the Fan family. It will not only speed up the recovery of Pingyuan County, but also help us digest the spoils of war in the future."

  "Ah!" The two brothers listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion, but they felt that Tang Yin must have his reasons for saying so, after all, he was much smarter than the two of them.

  Fan Min did not go back on his word and sent someone to accept those twenty-two boxes of goods from Tang Yin the next day.

  Tang Yin was not good at settling accounts for goods and had no interest in it, so he fully entrusted the handling of the matter to Shangguan Yuanyu.

  It's almost the same as what Shangguan Yuanyi estimated earlier. After clearing up all 22 boxes of goods, they were worth over 100,000 taels of silver. At this time, the Fan family showed their true colors as wealthy and generous merchants. The over 100,000 taels of silver was delivered to the county government within two days, and they also took away all the goods.

  Fan Min said and did, Tang Yin naturally would not fail to keep his promise. He ordered that all the various shops opened by the Fan family in Pingyuan County be exempt from four-tenths of commercial tax. If the Fan family was only doing small business, the difference between one-tenth more or less commercial tax would not be great, but the Fan family had many businesses and their scale was also large, so reducing one-tenth of commercial tax increased their monthly income by a lot.

  The next few days were very peaceful in Pingyuan County, but the officials were on tenterhooks.

  The Dark Arrows were like hunting dogs, searching for corrupt officials throughout the county. Their scope was not limited to Heng City, but also secretly infiltrated other towns to investigate illegal officials. They actually caught a large number of corrupt and bribed officials, increasing the county's revenue significantly.

  The Dark Arrow's actions caused the officials of Pingyuan County to be in a state of panic, but it also had a powerful deterrent effect. As a result, no official dared to accept bribes or engage in corrupt activities again, and the atmosphere of the government was greatly improved. This directly benefited the common people, making Pingyuan County more attractive and accelerating its prosperity.

  Recently, Tang Yin has been idle. With Shangguan Yuanji handling government affairs and Qiu Zhen handling military matters, this county governor's job is quite easy-going.

  However, he has recently been particularly fond of strolling around Fan's teahouse, with the intention of watching more plays in the teahouse.

  The drama of Fan's teahouse is very popular and directly reflects the voice of the people. Tang Yin can use it to understand what the common people in the county want and what they are dissatisfied with, and then he will consult with Magistrate Ouyang Yuanji to make corrections and improvements.

  Fan Mian is currently staying in the teahouse. Before, she didn't know Tang Yin, but now she does. At first, seeing Tang Yin come and go a few times didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary, but as it kept happening, it started to feel strange. She even wondered if Tang Yin was interested in her at one point, but quickly dismissed the idea because every time Tang Yin came to the teahouse, he wasn't there to see her or look for her, just to watch plays, always dressed casually with only two or three attendants by his side, never staying long.