hsntnovel Chapter 2672 The Ultimate Spendthrift
Chapter 2672 The Ultimate Spendthrift
They use spices regularly; how could people who enjoy such pleasures eat simple meals?
So they knew what spices were available, how much to use, and for how long.
The amount of spices used by Prince Ji's residence is definitely abnormal. Even in the imperial palace, with its large number of people, it wouldn't require this much.
Even in the palace, not everyone uses spices in their meals. Ordinary maids, eunuchs, and people in the inner palace were lucky if they could even get enough to eat.
The two looked at Li Shen, hoping he could answer their questions.
However, Li Shen appeared completely calm, as if using these spices was perfectly normal.
"My two uncles, how much of these spices do you need?"
The two nodded in perfect unison.
Upon seeing this, Li Shen turned to look at the stone: "How much?"
Stone shook his head: "Not many."
“Look, Uncle Wang, it’s not too much at all,” Li Shen said, looking at the two of them.
The two remained silent. How could the servant dare to say too much?
At this moment, Li Shen spoke again:
"My two uncles, this is actually not much at all. There are so many people in the harem. From two meals a day to now three meals a day, spices are used, which consumes a lot of resources."
There are also specialty restaurants. My sister's family owns two specialty restaurants, and I own one. They are always packed with customers. They don't even have the ingredients, and they use an enormous amount of spices.
"And my Prince Ji's residence uses the most, even more than the local restaurants."
"More than restaurants?"
"How is that possible? How many people are there in the Prince Ji's residence?"
Upon hearing this, the two immediately questioned how many people were in the Prince Ji's mansion. Including the concubines, maids, and children, there were less than twenty people in total.
“The Prince Ji’s mansion has quite a few people. There are several hundred servants alone, and several hundred guards, totaling more than a thousand people.”
The spices needed for these three meals a day are enormous, otherwise…..”
"and many more!"
Before Li Shen could finish speaking, Li Boyi interrupted him:
"Does the Prince of Ji mean that the food provided to the servants, slaves, and guards in the Prince of Ji's residence should also be cooked with spices?"
"Yeah, what else?" Li Shen stared at Li Boyi with his big, watery eyes, looking completely innocent. It was as if he were asking, "Aren't you guys like that?"
Upon seeing Li Shen's state, Li Boyi and Li Fengci cursed inwardly, "What a spendthrift!"
Do you see that the food that noble families give to their servants is cooked with spices?
If salt weren't relatively cheap now, they probably wouldn't give their servants much salt to eat.
The two were, after all, top nobles of the Tang Dynasty, holding the title of Prince of the County, and their annual stipends were not small.
But they never thought of using spices to cook meals for their servants.
Which household doesn't have dozens of servants? Some even have a hundred or two.
The fact that King Ji was willing to provide spices for thousands of people explains why he needed so much money to buy spices every year.
Even at the cheapest price, it still cost more than 200,000 strings of cash to buy spices.
"Prince Ji is indeed a kind and good-hearted person." Li Boyi finally managed to utter a sentence. The word "spendthrift" seemed a bit inconvenient to say.
It should be noted that the amount used by thousands of people for one day is enough for the Ji family to last for half a year or even a year.
Just as the two were cursing Li Shen for being wasteful, Li Shen unexpectedly delivered another blow to them:
"My two uncles, besides the people in the manor, I also have three thousand guards outside the city, as well as various workshops and the medical school, all of which need spices."
Not only that, but my nephew also feeds some to the livestock at his farm outside the city, so that the meat will be more delicious.
"Even livestock need to be fed spices!" The two were dumbfounded. This couldn't just be described as wasteful; this was clearly a sign of mental illness, and a serious one at that.
Prince Ji doesn't value money at all. They thought they had seen the extent of Prince Ji's extravagance, but now they realize it was just the tip of the iceberg, a drop in the ocean.
"Uncle Wang, let me tell you, the meat of these animals tastes amazing after they eat spices. Not only can you feed them spices, but you can also feed them some Chinese medicinal herbs, such as ginseng and angelica."
"You two uncles can go back and try it; the soup you make is incredibly delicious."
Li Shen became interested and began to introduce the two of them with great interest.
The two men's eyelids twitched upon hearing this. Not only were you feeding them spices, but also precious medicinal herbs. Did you want to become an immortal?
“Then it seems that two million strings of cash for spices is not much,” Li Fengci echoed. “They have so many people, three thousand guards outside the city, as well as a medical school and workshops.”
He felt that even two million strings of cash might not be enough.
Li Boyi, who was standing to the side, suddenly had a bright idea in his eyes.
"His Highness Prince Ji said it's half commission, so wouldn't two million strings of cash mean a commission of one hundred thousand strings of cash?"
Upon hearing Li Boyi's words, Li Fengci realized his mistake. Giving the two men a 50% commission meant that two million strings of cash would amount to a commission of one hundred thousand strings of cash.
If the two of them each received half, they would each have 50,000 strings of cash. That's 50,000 strings of cash! How many years would it take them to accumulate 50,000 strings of cash?
And so wealth and glory will come your way.
Knowing this number, the two forgot all their previous doubts. Fifty thousand strings of cash was enough to make them take risks and filter out any concerns.
Seeing this, Li Shen smiled and added fuel to the fire:
“This is the minimum. If you can obtain more spices, my two uncles, I will certainly not be stingy.”
Listen to my father, you grew up with him since you were little, and you are as close as brothers. He treats you like his own elder brothers.
He would often tell us sons that the two uncles were like our own uncles, and that we should take good care of them.
To be honest, I originally wanted to ask my uncles, the Prince of Hejian and the Prince of Jiangxia, about this matter, since I'm familiar with them.
Remembering my father's teachings, that's why I sought help from you two uncles. Consider this money my way of showing my respect to you.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"I didn't expect His Majesty still remembers us~~~~"
The two were deeply moved by Li Shen's fabricated story, never expecting that His Majesty still cherished their childhood friendship.
No wonder His Majesty treats them so well and helps them out from time to time; it turns out His Majesty hasn't forgotten them.
With tears streaming down their faces, the two bowed in the direction of the palace, and then bowed to Li Shen.
Li Shen hurriedly stood up to return the greeting, respecting the proper order of seniority. Although these two were spoiled brats, they were still his father's cousins, his uncles, and his second grandfather's sons.
"We are deeply grateful for Your Majesty's grace and for not abandoning us. However, we have failed Your Majesty's expectations, accomplishing nothing and unable to share your burdens."
I am sorry for Your Majesty's kindness, and I am even more ashamed of my ancestors. I am truly unfilial.
"We will soon enter the palace to meet the Emperor, kneel and thank him for his great favor. From this day forward, we will certainly repent and reform, and will not bring shame upon the Li Tang imperial family."
"Don't be like that... cough~~ what my nephew meant was that you two uncles don't need to do this. We are all of the same lineage, and Father is only doing this for your own good."
However, my father is the emperor, and I can never bring myself to talk about matters of love and affection.
Why don't you two royal uncles do something to prove yourselves to your father? That way you won't let him down, will you?
(Young people who want to turn over quickly should sleep on their side.)
If you can't figure something out, give yourself some time; you'll forget about it in a few days.
You should go out more often when you have time, otherwise you won't know how comfortable it is to stay at home.