In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 483 Desire

"Dad, I want to go to Chenjia Village."

"I want to go too."

The children's desire to eat meat outweighed their reluctance to leave their hometown, and they both expressed their willingness to go to Chenjia Village.

"Okay, let's all go to Chenjia Village."

Cao Qiang and Yin Xiaoniang exchanged a glance, their confidence in heading to Chenjia Village growing stronger.

…………

…………

"Snap, snap, snap, snap."

As dawn broke, Chenjia Village began to bustle with activity.

In the open space in front of Zheng Baolou, the opera troupe hired by Manager Wang was playing drums and gongs, while the staff of Zheng Baolou lit string after string of firecrackers. As the firecrackers exploded, the pungent smell of sulfur filled the air, attracting the attention of everyone nearby.

Is this shop about to open?

"Yes! This building is so big and beautiful. I wonder what kind of things they sell inside."

"Are there any opening discounts?"

“I see that all the important people in the village have come, including Mr. Chen.”

"..."

The gathered villagers immediately noticed Chen Dao and others standing next to Manager Wang. Both Chenjia Village and Zhengjia Village attached great importance to the opening ceremony of Zheng Baolou.

Not only did Chen Dao and village chief Chen He come, but Zheng Qing and Zheng Qiuyan from the Zheng family also came. In addition, Xu Zhiwen and Li Qingyun, the two county magistrates, also came to show their support.

"Fellow villagers."

Shopkeeper Wang clasped his hands in a fist salute to the villagers who had gathered around him and said with a beaming smile, "Zheng Bao Lou is officially open for business today! Anyone who buys goods at Zheng Bao Lou today will enjoy a 10% discount!"

"What? A 10% discount? Is that for real?"

"Really a discount?"

"Is there such a good thing?"

"..."

It's human nature to take advantage of small deals and buy discounted items, so people got excited when they heard about a 10% discount.

"Not bad!"

Manager Wang replied with a smile, "Zheng Bao Lou has everything. Rice, flour, cooking oil, spices, and all kinds of medicinal herbs can be purchased at Zheng Bao Lou. If any of you folks need to buy anything, feel free to come into Zheng Bao Lou and take a look."

As soon as Manager Wang finished speaking, another series of firecrackers went off. At the same time, Manager Wang announced loudly again, "Alright, I now declare that Chen Family Army Zheng Baolou is officially open for business!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Manager Wang opened the door to Zheng Baolou, and the villagers rushed in instantly.

"10% off, I'll go in and take a look."

"I was just thinking of buying something, and the 10% discount is great!"

"Hehe, I'll go join in the fun too."

"..."

As the villagers poured into Zheng Baolou, Chen Dao and his group also slowly walked into Zheng Baolou.

The interior of Zheng Baolou is extremely spacious, and even when hundreds of villagers flood in, it does not feel crowded at all.

Inside, the shelves were already filled with a dazzling array of goods. Just as Manager Wang had said, Zheng Baolou had everything, from rice, flour, and cooking oil to spices and cloth. The villagers who entered the building were overwhelmed by the choices and wanted to buy something of everything.

Chen Dao's gaze, however, was mainly focused on the spice shelf.

After being transported to this world and escaping poverty, Chen Dao has been searching for spices.

For Chen Dao, who had lived in China for decades in his previous life, cooking hearty dishes always felt like something was missing without adding some spices.

However, due to the scarcity and high price of spices in the Xia Kingdom, spices were rarely sold in Taiping County, so naturally, Chen Dao could not buy spices.

Unexpectedly, I saw spices in Zheng Bao Lou today.

Looking at the spices such as Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and cinnamon on the shelf, Chen Dao thought of several meat dishes.

"Young friend seems to be quite interested in these spices?"

Noticing Chen Dao's gaze, Zheng Qing asked with a smile.

"I do have some interest."

Chen Dao nodded but didn't explain further. Instead, he and Zheng Qing and his group went to the second floor of Zheng Baolou.

As soon as Chen Dao entered the second floor, a rich aroma of herbs wafted over him. Looking up, he saw a large number of medicinal herbs on the shelves. Most of the herbs had already been processed and dried, while a small portion remained fresh. He wondered how the Zheng family managed to transport the herbs here without losing their freshness.

After looking at the second floor, the group went to the third floor. However, the third floor was not much different from the second floor; it was also a place that sold medicinal herbs.

After viewing the entire Zhengbaolou, the group left Zhengbaolou and went directly to the meeting room in Chenjia Village.

After arranging for everyone to be seated and having Chen Cheng serve tea to each person, Chen Dao looked at Zheng Qing and said, "Prefect Zheng, you can now speak about what you left unsaid yesterday."

After speaking, Chen Dao picked up his teacup, took a sip, and waited for Zheng Qing to speak.

Zheng Qing glanced at Xu Zhiwen and Li Qingyun, and slowly said, "Lord Li and Lord Xu should already know about the court's additional levies?"

"Know."

Xu Zhiwen and Li Qingyun nodded. They not only knew about this matter, but had even been furious about it.

What are your thoughts on this matter?

Zheng Qing asked meaningfully.

"This is absolutely unacceptable."

Li Qingyun blurted out, "The prolonged cold snap over the years has already placed an unbearable burden on the people of Qingzhou, even..."

A hint of sadness flashed in Li Qingyun's eyes: "A large number of people are starving to death because of the heavy grain tax, and some people have become outlaws because they have nowhere else to turn. Now the court wants to increase the grain tax by another 20%. Once this decree is issued, the people of Taicang County will definitely be in uproar. At that time... I'm afraid the entire Taicang County will be full of bandits and the people will live in misery."

Xu Zhiwen nodded in agreement. The previous 50% grain tax had already caused countless people in Taicang County to starve to death. Those who were barely able to survive were only able to eat one meal a day. If the grain tax were increased by another 20%, then the people would really have no way to survive.

Zheng Qing nodded without offering any opinion. Instead, he pulled a slip of paper from his sleeve and said, "This is a message I received on the road. You may want to take a look."

As she spoke, Zheng Qing pushed the note toward Chen Dao. Chen Dao glanced at the contents of the note and a look of astonishment flashed in her eyes.

"You two should take a look too."

Chen Dao handed the note to Xu Zhiwen and Li Qingyun. The two glanced at it quickly, and a look of shock flashed across their faces.

"Lord Zheng, is this true?"

Xu Zhiwen stared at the contents of the note, his heart filled with horror.

The note contained information about the situation in Haizhou, Yuzhou, and Qiongzhou. According to the note, due to the imperial court's decree to impose additional taxes, a large number of rebels had emerged in these three prefectures. These rebel forces were attacking and looting cities, causing enormous damage to local production.