Transmigrated To Ancient Time: Thrive With An Auction System!

Chapter 443: Tiered Business Permit ( 2 )

During this time, Xi Yi observed them and made notes in her mind. Three hours later, the dishes were ready. She tasted them one by one and savored the flavors carefully.

After she was done, she divided their tasks.

Those who had good knife skills would be responsible for processing ingredients. Those with good dough-kneading skills would be responsible for making noodles and steamed buns.

Those who were good at making pastries would be responsible for that work, and those who were good at cooking would become the cooks.

When she finished assigning their tasks, she said, “Everyone, although you were bought by me, I’m not your Master.”

“When the time is right, you will be able to meet our Master. As long as you work hard and remain loyal, our Master will never mistreat you.”

“After the shop opens, you will receive a monthly stipend of 300 wen. If the shop does well, you will receive a bonus. So, I hope that before the shop opens, all of you will master your skills.”

The moment the servants heard her words, their eyes lit up.

Although they had also received monthly stipends while working for their previous masters, it was only 100 wen. Only high-ranking servants could receive higher stipends and rewards.

Now that they finally saw hope, everyone worked very hard.

“We will work hard and won’t let you down, Manager Xi.”

Satisfied with their determination, Xi Yi nodded and returned to her room.

After she learned about the special traits of the ingredients from her Master, she no longer used them for daily consumption and instead bought ingredients from the town.

So, even if the dishes and pastries made by these servants were not up to standard, she wouldn’t feel heartache. Those dishes and pastries would be distributed to the workers later to avoid wasting food.

Now that all the preparations were ready, she had to finish tallying the ledger. The initial investment had used a lot of money, but she was sure that she would be able to earn more than tenfold in the future.

Just like this, another busy yet fulfilling day had passed.

Back in the Northeast City, a group of merchants had been waiting outside the Magistrate’s office even before dawn. Although it was the 7th month, the morning air was still cold.

There was only the Yueguang Pavilion that opened for business so early, so they could only order some steamed buns and hot water to fill their stomachs.

As the sun rose on the eastern horizon, the temperature finally warmed up.

At 8 o’clock in the morning, Wu Dashu arrived at the office. Since he had promised to open the office at 9 o’clock, he had to prepare the papers, ink, and documents needed for issuing business permits.

Unlike before, today he hired 10 scholars to help him write the documents.

Yesterday, he had seen the number of merchants knocking on the gate. If he did everything by himself, his wrist would break from writing so many documents.

Each of the scholars would receive 50 wen for every business permit they wrote. He decided to pay a high wage to ensure that the scholars wouldn’t waste time and would work faster.

Even with so many scholars, if their writing speed were like snails, it would take them days to finish.

What’s more, the money used to pay them was coming from the government treasury. Since he didn’t have to use his own money, he was generous.

He first showed the template of the business permit to the scholars and explained the steps and documents needed to obtain it. Then, he also provided a price list for the permits.

At 9 o’clock, the gate of the Magistrate’s office was finally opened. The merchants quickly rushed over, but the guards stopped them.

With their blades blocking the way, no one dared to force their way in.

“Everyone, line up properly! Sir Wu has an announcement to make.”

Soon after, Wu Dashu came out and stood at the entrance. With his hands cupped, he greeted them. “Greetings, everyone.”

Seeing how polite he was, the merchants quickly returned his greeting. “Greetings, Sir Wu.”

After glancing at everyone, Wu Dashu cleared his throat and said, “Everyone, today I will announce the rules and requirements for obtaining a business permit. I believe that everyone is familiar with the process, but the General issued new regulations yesterday.”

His words were meant to clear himself from any blame in the future. If they had any complaints, they should go find the General.

He paused for a moment and continued, “To obtain a business permit, if you are local, you have to provide your household registration and your family’s genealogy book. If you are non-local, you need to provide an introduction letter on top of that.”

The moment he finished his words, the merchants broke into hushed discussions.

After a while, one of them asked, “Sir, what if the one handling the business permit is not the owner?”

Shaking his head, Wu Dashu replied, “The new regulations state that if you want to obtain a business permit, you must come personally.”

“Sir, my Master is very busy. I’m the head steward and can represent him. At other places, it is never a problem for me to obtain a business permit. Why must you make it difficult for us here?”

Hearing this, Wu Dashu said, “As I said before, the new regulations were established by the General. If you have any complaints, you can go ask him.”

“The business permit issued by the Northeast City requires the business owner’s fingerprint. Before we issue the permit, we also need to verify the owner’s personal information. Therefore, it will take 5 to 20 days before you can receive your permit.”

Even though he noticed everyone’s unhappiness, Wu Dashu continued his speech, “Besides that, the business permits issued by the Magistrate’s office will be divided into several tiers. The price you need to pay for the permit will also vary.”