Chapter 437: Establishing The Commercial Law ( 2 )

Hearing the merchant’s words, the guards gestured to their comrades to check the goods. The carts were filled with a lot of merchandise, so it took them a long time to check everything.

Only when they were sure that there was no threat did they check the merchants’ travel permits and introduction letters. When they were done, they went to inform their leader about the caravans.

2 hours later, the guards finally received an order to let the merchants in.

As they opened the gate, one of the guards reminded them, "When you enter the city, make sure to guard your goods. We won’t be responsible if your goods are stolen."

The merchants already knew the risks and thanked him gratefully.

They knew that coming here to sell their goods at this time was not ideal. But wealth favors the bold. They had to seize the first opportunity before others.

They believed that the high-ranking officials in this city wouldn’t refuse them if they wanted to help rebuild the city. After all, the amount of money needed was immeasurable, and the best way to generate income was through taxes.

The merchants had to pay a commercial tax if they did business here. So, this was a win-win situation for both the merchants and the local government.

As they had guessed, there were 2 soldiers escorting them to the inn.

Along the way to the inn, the merchants were surprised by the situation in the city.

They had expected a chaotic situation and damaged roads and buildings before they came. But now that they were here, the situation was much better than they had imagined.

While there were still some buildings that were damaged beyond recognition, the roads had been repaired, and most of the buildings were being rebuilt.

There was no trace of battle at all. The air was filled with a muddy scent due to the reconstruction process, but there was no scent of rotten flesh or blood.

Seeing how fast the city had recovered from the battle, the merchants nodded in satisfaction. As long as the local government knew how to govern the city, its opportunities to make money would be endless.

When they arrived at the inn, the merchants looked at the three-story building and noticed that, despite looking old, it was clean and well-maintained.

"All of you wait here. I will go call the innkeeper," one of the guards said.

The merchants nodded and waited in silence. They didn’t know the situation in the city yet, so they made sure to keep their thoughts to themselves.

Soon after, the guard returned with a man. Judging from his demeanor, he looked like a scholar. Despite wearing coarse clothes, his gentlemanly aura was still evident. Unfortunately, he was limping.

The man cupped his fists and greeted them with a smile.

"Greetings, everyone. My surname is Gu. Welcome to Yueguang Pavilion. How many rooms do you need?"

The merchants returned his greetings, and one of them replied, "Innkeeper Gu, we want to book the entire inn."

Hearing this, Gu Haosheng’s eyes lit up. He gestured for them to follow him to the counter.

He took out a ledger, pointed at the wooden boards hanging on the wall behind him, and said, "Sir, the fee is 50 wen per night, including hot water but no food. If you want to order food, you can check the price list first."

The merchants had already prepared themselves to pay a high price. After all, the city had suffered for more than 2 years under the barbarians’ oppression and had recently gone through a major war.

With food and water shortages, it was normal for prices to be high. But when they saw the menu, they were taken aback. The prices were actually not as high as they had expected.

While the merchants discussed what to eat, Gu Haosheng ordered the servants to light the stoves and prepare more hot water. At the same time, he walked over to the guard and said, "Brother, thank you for leading them here."

As he spoke, he handed the guard several pancakes wrapped in clean leaves. The guards did not refuse and left after reminding him about several precautions.

"Innkeeper Gu, please prepare 2 pancakes, a bowl of porridge, and a plate of stir-fried vegetables for each of us. Also, send them to our rooms."

Gu Haosheng nodded and took a set of keys from the drawer.

"Sir, let me show you the rooms. This way, please."

The merchants were tired and wished to have a good bath before doing anything else, so they followed him. They were not picky about the accommodations since the rooms were clean and all looked more or less the same.

After showing them their rooms, Gu Haosheng handed them the keys and asked, "Sir, when do you want the hot water?"

The merchant nodded and said, "Please send it as soon as possible. I want to take a bath."

"Alright."

After he left the guests to rest, Gu Haosheng went to the kitchen and gave the order.

"Everyone, send a tub of water and two buckets of hot water to each room. Our guests want to take a bath." Then, he turned to the cooks and said, "They also want 2 pancakes, a bowl of porridge, and a plate of stir-fried vegetables. Prepare 27 portions."

Hearing this, everyone nodded and replied in unison, "Understood."

This was the first guest they received after they regained their freedom. They must serve the guests well so they will spread the word and attract more guests to their inn!

While the merchants were resting at the inn, news of the caravan’s arrival had already reached Lu Qianxuan and Xue Ya’er.

Inside the General’s tent, Lu Qianxuan put down the report in his hand and looked at his wife.

"Wife, it seems that the merchants have already smelled an opportunity," he said with a faint smile.

Xue Ya’er was not surprised by this development. She took a sip of her tea and smiled.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.