Chapter 107 - 103: That Scoop of Yours Could Be Worth Hundreds of Millions
Chapter 107: Chapter 103: That Scoop of Yours Could Be Worth Hundreds of Millions
For lunch, there was omurice and stir-fried fish maw.
Yuan Ju and Jiang Fei once again proved how incredible Shu Yao’s cooking was by cleaning their plates.
After the meal, Yuan Ju discussed something with Shu Yao. With her consent, he had someone deliver ten pounds of fresh tea leaves.
Shu Yao gave him a live demonstration, letting him observe the entire process of fermenting and pan-firing the tea leaves.
Yuan Ju took notes diligently, asking questions whenever he didn’t understand something.
The ten pounds of fresh leaves yielded only about three pounds of finished tea.
Still, three pounds of tea would last for quite a while.
Properly sealed and stored, the finished tea could be kept for a long time. The fresh leaves were a different story; once they were past their prime, they would start to spoil and mold.
While waiting for the tea to ferment, Shu Yao used eggs, fresh milk, and the pitifully small amount of leftover tea to make a dessert.
When he saw her put the tea leaves into a small grinder and turn them into a fine powder, Yuan Ju’s heart ached so much he could barely breathe.
But after eating the cake Shu Yao made with the matcha powder, he instantly felt that his life was complete. He even felt her "wastefulness" was completely worth it.
Yuan Ju said, "Ignoring the cost of the technique and other factors, these three pounds of finished tea cost as much as the ten pounds of fresh leaves."
And the value of a single bite of that matcha cake was simply immeasurable!
Shu Yao agreed. "The price isn’t exactly consumer-friendly."
In truth, she couldn’t understand why the price of tea was so absurdly high.
As if sensing her confusion, Yuan Ju explained:
"Actually, there are many places in the Outer Star System suitable for growing tea. My family owns several tea plantations. The annual yield from these plantations is quite substantial. However, to transport the tea—the fresh leaves, that is—to the Federation, you have to pay exorbitant import tariffs.
"It’s not just tea, either. The import tariffs on almost everything from the Outer Star System are extremely high, often exceeding the value of the goods themselves. To recoup that expense, merchants have no choice but to raise their prices."
If this were to happen in any other star system, it would be considered completely outrageous.
But the Interstellar Federation has a population of over four billion, making it a massive market.
As long as there’s demand here, shrewd merchants aren’t worried about being unable to make back the money they pay in tariffs.
Yuan Ju continued, "The Empress controls the Imperial Family’s finances. She personally decides the tariff policies. Many merchants involved in foreign trade are furious but dare not speak out.
"However, each district has the authority to implement preferential policies in this area. But to curry favor with the Empress, all the districts have set their tariffs very high.
"Only Shu District Chief is an exception. He’s a maverick. Not only does he refuse to cater to the Empress, he publicly impeaches her at the national assembly every year."
Shu Yao couldn’t help but smile. "My eldest uncle is really... headstrong, daring to clash with the Empress like that."
"Your uncles probably wouldn’t tell you these things, but I think you should know." Yuan Ju could see that Shu Yao was not the type of woman to be kept in a gilded cage. "Although the Fourth District is a central district of the Federation, in the eyes of people like us, the Fourth District under Shu District Chief’s management is the only one that can even be compared to Zone One. Not even Zone 2 or the Third District qualify."
’My eldest uncle is so awesome!’
"The Empress has used countless schemes to deal with the Shu District Chief. You name it, she’s tried it—both imaginable and unimaginable—but the Shu District Chief’s position in the Fourth District remains unshakable.
"Jiang Fei’s father, Vice District Chief Jiang, was handpicked by the Empress and planted in the Fourth District to be her eyes and ears. But less than half a year after taking office, the Shu District Chief had turned him into a close friend with whom he could talk about anything.
"The policies in the Fourth District are very favorable, but that doesn’t mean just anyone can come here to do business or settle down. The Shu District Chief highly respects and protects the native residents here, as well as merchants like us who have become ’natives’ ourselves.
"Foreign merchants who want to come here must first get the approval of people at our level. The Shu District Chief has granted us many favors but never accepts any kickbacks. The only exception is on some special holidays, when he’ll accept the small gifts we send."
That’s why the Empress has never been able to find any dirt on Shu Guohua when it comes to bribery.
"This place where you’re living now," Yuan Ju added. "This whole area is a new residential complex jointly developed by the Fourth District’s business circle. To give you and your son a comfortable place to live, the Shu District Chief sold the apartment he’d lived in for decades. Then he called in a favor with us to buy this place at an internal price, one that was even lower than the ’friends-and-family’ rate."
Shu Yao never imagined that, without her knowing, her eldest uncle had silently done so much for her and Xiao Juzi.
"And you can’t even imagine the web of connections the Shu District Chief built just to find you. Our Yuan Family is just one part of it."
Shu Yao’s chest tightened instantly.