The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

Xia Mianwan had a lot of things to do one after another. Xiyang's top priority was money and food. Marquis Weiwu's army was stationed at Tongyu Pass, which had a deterrent effect, but the consumption of food was also huge.

Far water cannot quench a nearby fire. She did have a lot of food stored in her space, but she didn't dare to take it out unless it was absolutely necessary.

Xia Mianwan took a pen and wrote on paper to organize his thoughts. If you want to be rich, you must first build roads. To build roads, you need money. Now Xiyang is short of money everywhere. Even the government office is so dilapidated that Pei Yanxu couldn't stand it anymore and repaired it with his own money.

The silver allocated from the national treasury is limited, and the local taxes are not even enough to fill the gaps. Pei Yanxu has decided to use the first batch of silver to purchase food and fodder for Marquis Weiwu for emergency use.

So where will the money for road construction come from? And someone has to build it. The mountain people in Xiyang are all in the mountains. If they don't come down from the mountains, who will build the road? We can't just rely on the people in the city. For a place to develop, the most important thing is people. If you want people to live, you must have an environment suitable for people to live in.

Yes, the key is still people.

In ancient times, it was not like modern times, where you could just buy a ticket if you wanted to live in a new city. People in ancient times would basically not leave their hometown unless they were fleeing famine or war. So if we want to increase the population now, we can only let the mountain people move down the mountain.

So how can the mountain people be willing to come down the mountain? Of course, the living conditions at the foot of the mountain must be better than those in the mountains.

Xia Mianwan made a note on the paper that some decrees needed to be drafted, which would require Pei Yanxu to decide after he finished his inspection in a few days.

So what can she do? The first thing Xia Mianwan thought of was to open a grocery store in Xiyang, a large supermarket similar to a modern supermarket. Xiyang is short of supplies, and opening a supermarket can centralize the sale of supplies and solve some people's employment. The most important thing is that she can also use the name of a large grocery store to take out the supplies in the space. Increasing employment and increasing the population can expand domestic demand.

The most important thing is that it can also prepare for the future opening of trade with Zhai Qiang.

It is impossible for Zhai Qiang and Da Chen to fight endlessly. The goal must be peace. Only peace is in line with development. To develop together, they must have common interests. If this large grocery store is successfully opened, it will not only attract Zhai Qiang but also some other small countries in the surrounding areas.

If Xiyang could be made into a material transit station, the interests of so many countries would be tied together, and the foundation of peace would be more solid.

Thinking of this, Xia Mianwan made another note.

If you want to do business well, you must do it yourself, and the location of the shop is very important.

After Xia Mianwan finished his lunch, he asked Si Tong to find the official dentist. There was only one dentistry in Xiyang, and the business was usually slow, and the dentistry was in a shabby state.

As soon as Si Tong arrived at the pawnshop, someone went to report to the Cen family.

The Cen family only said one thing: no matter what Xia Mianwan wanted, they would not agree to it. The broker got the idea and went to Pei Mansion empty-handed.

Sitong and Wutong were both martial artists, so how could they not know that someone had gone to report the news? After returning to Pei's residence calmly, Sitong told Xia Mianwan about the situation. Xia Mianwan raised her eyebrows slightly and waved her hand to let Sitong go first.

The broker said to Xia Mianwan with a smile on his face: "Hello, Madam. What do you need?"

Xia Mianwan said: "I need a shop."

"I wonder what requirements Madam has for the shop?" the broker asked, bending over.

Xia Mianwan said: "The bigger the better. I want it to be ten times bigger than a normal shop. A small building with several floors is also fine."

The broker said with some embarrassment: "This is a bit troublesome. There is no such a big shop in the whole Xiyang. There is a small building, but it belongs to the Cen family. You know the Cen family... I think the Cen family is unwilling to sell this shop."

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "You mean you don't have the right shop that I want?"

The broker looked embarrassed and said, "Madam, who doesn't want to make money? I really don't have any."

"Then a single shop will be fine. I see a lot of idle shops on East Street. It would be fine if we connect the shops over there." Xia Mianwan said.

The broker said awkwardly, "I'm so sorry, Madam, the shop over there also belongs to the Cen family."

Xia Mianwan raised her eyebrows slightly, "Are you saying that all the shops on this street belong to the Cen family?"

The broker nodded and said, "Madam Pei, all the shops on this street belong to the Cen family."

"What about West Street? Are there any shops with single rooms connected to the ground?" Xia Mianwan continued to ask without getting angry.

"Madam, the shop on West Street also belongs to the Cen family." The broker replied with a wry smile.

Xia Mianwan frowned slightly and brushed away the cup on the table, saying, "Are you saying that all the shops on East Street and West Street belong to the Cen family? The entire Xiyang can't belong to the Cen family, right?"

The cup fell to the ground and broke into pieces. Wu Yaren was not afraid. He said, "Madam Pei, I know you are very angry because you can't find a suitable shop, but... it is true that the shops on the east and west streets are all owned by the Cen family. Even if you beat me to death, they are still owned by the Cen family."

Xia Mianwan sneered and said, "Wu Yaren, you are not from the Cen family, are you?"

The Wuya people lowered their heads and said nothing.

Xia Mianwan looked at the stubborn Wu Ya man and said nothing more. "Wu Ya man, I won't make it difficult for you. You can take my servant to confirm each shop one by one. After confirmation, you sign and seal. I will find someone to check whether the procedures obtained by the shops on East Street and West Street are reasonable, legal, and compliant. Then you can tell the Cen family and ask the shops that are still in operation to prepare the accounts. Our master will send someone to check the accounts to confirm whether there are any problems with the business taxes."

Wu Yaren was originally feeling pleased with himself, as he thought Xia Mianwan was just an ordinary noble lady and he could just fool around with her. However, he did not expect Xia Mianwan to check not only the deeds but also the procedures and taxes, which made Wu Yaren feel a little flustered.

"Mrs. Pei, there's no need to do this, right?" Wu Yaren said gritting his teeth.

"We are just giving people a taste of their own medicine. Listen carefully, the Cen family is indeed a local tyrant, and our Pei family is not a pushover either. If the Cen family insists on not taking even the officials of the imperial court seriously, then I will teach the Pei family what it means to be a dragon even if it falls on shallow water! The red book and iron certificate are a commendation from the royal family, but they are not a golden ticket to immunity from death for everyone in the Cen family." When Xia Mianwan said this, his face was full of sarcasm and momentum, which made the people of Wuya sweat coldly.

"Mrs. Pei, please don't make things difficult for me. I cannot make the decision!" Wu Yaren said as he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Xia Mianwan said calmly: "Don't you understand what I'm saying? I didn't ask you to make the decision, but I asked you to pass on the message, so why don't you go?"

Wu Yaren became even more nervous after being scolded by Xia Mianwan. This time he realized that the person sitting at the top was the governor's wife, a legitimate wife of a second-rank official.