I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 44 Bun Shop

Chapter 44 Steamed Bun Shop

Geng San straightened his clothes, picked up the gifts, and walked into Zuihualou.

This wasn't Geng San's first time at Zuihualou; he used to come occasionally for a bit of fun. But ever since Wang Wenzhou booked the entire brothel, Geng San hadn't been back. That evening, Geng San accepted Wang Wenzhou's invitation and went to keep the appointment.

"Greetings, Young Master Qiang!" Geng San greeted Wang Qiang with a smile and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Geng San, you're here. Wait a moment, the young master is chatting with Old Zhang. I'll go and ask him to come down," Wang Qiang said.

"No!" Geng San quickly waved his hand and said respectfully, "How could I possibly be worthy of troubling you, sir! I'll just wait here. I can come down after you're done!"

Wang Qiang smiled and said, "My young master said that from now on, anyone he invites to Zuihualou is a guest. How can we keep our guests waiting? I'll be right back!"

Geng San was deeply moved. The official was so approachable! Geng San knew his place well; he was just a nobody in Hanshan County. The other day, he had done the official a small favor—though it wasn't really a favor, just running errands—and the official had invited him to dinner at Zuihualou. How could he refuse? This was a golden opportunity to get closer to the official!

Wang Wenzhou put his arm around Old Zhang's shoulder as they went downstairs and said, "Geng San, I'm sorry, I was chatting with that old swindler and forgot about our appointment."

"Sir! You're too kind!" Geng San quickly stood up and bowed.

"Xiaoqiang, go tell Lanlan that the food is ready. Also, find a few more girls to come and keep her company while she drinks," Wang Wenzhou instructed.

"Okay, Master."

“Brother Geng, please sit down. I must thank you for your help that day,” Wang Wenzhou said.

"Sir, I haven't been of any help to you at all. You even invited me to dinner, I'm really embarrassed. This is just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it." Geng San presented the gift with both hands.

"You don't need to bring gifts next time you come," Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, thinking to himself that he hadn't misjudged Geng San; Geng San was very sensible and understanding.

"It's just some local specialties, nothing fancy, but please don't mind, sir." Geng San is short on cash right now. He uses all his money to collect tax invoices. In order to compete with the Four Great Talents for tax invoices, Geng San and his partners sold all the houses and land they could, and each of them is now heavily in debt.

"The food is here!" Sheng Lan and a few girls brought over the dishes.

"Nianxia, ​​don't leave, come and eat with us. It's not as enjoyable to drink without girls to keep you company." Wang Wenzhou smiled and pulled Sheng Lan to sit on his lap.

"Ahem..." Old Zhang coughed awkwardly. "My dear son-in-law! No wonder Jiaojiao calls you a lecher all the time. It's not very nice of you to act like this in front of your old man!"

“Old swindler, are you still being so polite with me? Nianxia, ​​come on, sit on the old swindler’s lap. The old swindler is still shy in front of me. He’s such an old man, I don’t believe he’s never been to a brothel.” Wang Wenzhou said with a smile.

Old Zhang blushed to his neck. "I may have frequented brothels, but you're my grandson-in-law! You're great in every way, except you're always so irresponsible."

Wang Qiang didn't stand on ceremony; he pulled his beloved close and made her sit on his lap.

“Mr. Zhang, don’t you recognize Nianxia?” Nianxia asked, sitting on Mr. Zhang’s lap.

"Cough cough..." Old Zhang was too embarrassed to speak.

"Yuhan, go keep Brother Geng company!" Wang Wenzhou said, pointing to a girl.

"Young Master Geng, I'd like to offer you a toast." Yu Han raised her wine cup.

Geng San had slept with Yu Han before, but the current Yu Han was simply too beautiful. Her tight black uniform showed off her perfect figure. She was completely different from her former self; now she was a fairy, but before she was just an ordinary mortal woman.

Damn it! Wang Wenzhou was a little embarrassed. What's going on? Didn't men in ancient times often visit brothels? Why are they all acting like shy boys now?

"Come on! Let's drink this first!" Wang Wenzhou picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

After a few drinks, the initial awkwardness dissipated. Even the shy Old Zhang began to let his hands wander over Nianxia's body from time to time.

Wang Wenzhou asked, "Brother Geng, I heard you're collecting tax invoices?"

"Yes, yes! We still have to rely on you, sir. If it weren't for the city entry tax you introduced, I wouldn't have thought of doing this business." Geng San nodded and answered respectfully.

"How much did you spend? How many tax invoices did you receive?" Wang Wenzhou asked.

"My brothers and I have spent about two thousand taels of silver in the past few days," Geng San replied.

"Damn!" Wang Wenzhou laughed, "I didn't expect you to be so rich!"

Geng San smiled wryly and said, "Sir, you are joking. I have no choice. Who knew that the population of Hanshan County would increase so much, and the tax receipts would also increase. We have already invested a lot of money. If we give up now, we will have fewer tax receipts and our chances of winning the big prize will be smaller. In order to win this big prize, I and more than a dozen partners have no choice but to sell everything we own and grit our teeth and go for it."

"Since you're an honest person and helped me this time, I'll tell you the truth. Whoever I want to win this big prize, they will win. No matter how rich you are, even if you collect 99% of the tax receipts, I only have one tax receipt, and I can still win the big prize!" Wang Wenzhou took a sip of his drink and sneered.

"Thump!" Geng San fell to his knees on the ground, pleading, "Sir, please show us a way out! I and a dozen brothers have gambled away our entire savings! If we don't win the lottery, we'll never be able to pay off our debts in our lifetime!"

"Ah!" Old Zhang was stunned. "Xianxu, I never expected you to be so ruthless!"

Wang Wenzhou laughed and said, "Geng San, stand up. Don't kneel in front of me all the time. It annoys me! If a man kneels too much, he won't be able to stand up straight. We're kind of destined to meet. You've helped me before, so I can't just watch you die."

"Thank you, sir! You are my second parents!" Geng San said obsequiously.

“Go open a steamed bun shop. You can continue collecting tax invoices. All the profits from the steamed bun shop should be used to collect tax invoices. This month’s grand prize is yours. Next month, you should still collect tax invoices, but you don’t have to fight over them like before. Half of the profits from the steamed bun shop should be used to collect tax invoices, and the other half can be kept for yourselves,” Wang Wenzhou said.

"Steamed buns?" Geng San didn't understand what steamed buns were.

"Baozi are meat-filled steamed buns and vegetable-filled steamed buns," Wang Wenzhou explained.

"Can a steamed bun shop really make big money?" Sheng Lan frowned and asked.

“Of course! There are over 20,000 people from other places in Hanshan County now. Their families don’t live in Hanshan, so they need to eat, right? They only earn one copper coin per bun. Thirty thousand buns would earn them twenty taels of silver. I’ve roughly calculated that they can earn at least thirty to fifty taels of silver a day. That’s a thousand taels of silver a month, and that’s still small change,” Wang Wenzhou said.

“Geng San has spent over two thousand taels of silver collecting tax receipts in the past ten days. A thousand taels of silver is hardly enough,” Sheng Lan said, picking up some food and feeding it to Wang Wenzhou.

Sheng Lan knew that the adults wanted to help Geng San, so she spoke up for Geng San, which could be considered as making a good connection.

"I was just saying that the steamed bun shop can earn a thousand taels of silver a month for now. In the future, there will be more and more people in Hanshan County. Of course, the steamed bun shop will earn more money. I won't let Geng San lose money! This month's grand prize is his!" Wang Wenzhou said with a smile.

Geng San immediately knelt down and kowtowed, "My lord, I will never forget your kindness in saving my life!"