I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 53 The Grand Prize of 12,000

Chapter 53 The Grand Prize of Ten Thousand Taels (Part Two)

With the last number up, Ma Deyun squeezed the five tax invoices he had left in his hand, his heart racing and his breathing becoming difficult.

Sun Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead and said incredulously, "Only these 5 tax invoices left?"

Lin Qing glanced at Geng San not far away and gently patted Sun Feng's shoulder, "Don't worry, I think Geng San and the others only have one tax receipt left. Our chances of winning are higher than his."

Yang Shan nodded, reassuring himself, "Don't worry, we won't win the grand prize with five tax receipts, and they only have one, so they're even less likely to win."

These past few days, the two groups have had a very bad relationship because of the tax stamp dispute. Several times, they almost came to blows during their arguments. The four talented men are not ones to suffer losses, and even if they themselves don't win the big prize, they don't want Geng San's group to win it either.

Yang Shan glanced at the four people crowded at the front. Each of them held a tax receipt, just one number away from winning the grand prize. Three of them were collecting tax receipts on their own. The other one was probably lucky; he neither collected nor sold tax receipts, but kept them all to himself.

Yang Shan said, "There are only 10 tax receipts left. We have a 50% chance of winning the grand prize. Don't worry."

Geng San glanced at the four talented scholars with a smile, thinking to himself, "You bunch of idiots, you don't even know how you died. You wanted to win the lottery? The prize has already been decided." Thinking of this, he felt a chill. If Lord Wang hadn't chosen him that day, he would have ended up like the four scholars, spending thousands of taels of silver on worthless pieces of paper, without ever knowing why.

The seventh person to draw a prize reached into the wooden box. Those eager for the grand prize were on tenterhooks.

"and many more!"

At this moment, Wang Wenzhou shouted and walked over.

"Wait a moment, then take out the wooden ball again. I have a few words to say."

Ma Deyun muttered under his breath, "Wang Shazi, you bastard, what are you saying at a time like this?"

Wang Wenzhou jumped out at this moment because it was the most tense moment for the onlookers, which was the best time for advertising.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have two things to say. First, because of the increased revenue from the city entry tax, the prize distribution method will be changed starting next month. Half of the prize money will be the first prize, awarded to the winner who gets all seven numbers right. The other half of the prize money will be the second prize, divided equally among the six people who got the numbers right."

After saying that, Wang Wenzhou pointed to the four people who were standing in front, holding tax receipts and waiting for the lottery results, and said, "For example, these four people. If the lottery is drawn next month, even if their tax receipts don't match the last number, they can still receive part of the prize money because they have already matched six numbers."

This is actually quite similar to how the Double Color Ball lottery works in later generations. One person winning a huge prize certainly increases the excitement. However, because it's a single winner, it reduces participation. After all, the odds of winning are extremely low. After Wang Wenzhou changed the prize distribution rules, due to the increased population of Hanshan County, the number of huge prizes didn't decrease much, but the number of winners increased. This increases participation.

The four talented scholars were truly impressed by Wang Wenzhou. They had already considered this: regardless of whether they won the grand prize this time, they would never do the tax invoice business again. The returns were high, but the risks were far too great.

But Wang Wenzhou suddenly changed the prize money distribution method, and their thinking changed too. According to the new rules, they estimated that even if the grand prize wasn't among the five tax stamps they had, they would still receive approximately three thousand taels of silver. That way, not winning the grand prize would be a financial loss, but not so painful. And if they did win the grand prize, they would be rich!

Yang Shan said thoughtfully, "Wang Shazi is quite cunning!"

Ma Deyun frowned, sighed, and said, "He's playing us for fools! It puts us tax collectors in a difficult position. We can't accept the tax, and we can't refuse!"

Many people shared Ma Deyun's sentiment; those collecting tax receipts had spent a considerable sum that month. Having long since said goodbye to the big prize, many calmly realized that collecting tax receipts was far too risky. They decided to stick to smaller-scale gambles from now on. However, the change in the prize distribution rules immediately altered their thinking, further solidifying their resolve to collect tax receipts.

Geng San didn't quite understand Wang Feng's actions. The adults could decide who won the first prize, and that person would win. But the second prize was harder to control. Why would the adults take money from their own pockets and share it with others?

The crowd stirred for a while, then gradually quieted down.

Wang Wenzhou continued, "Now, I'd like to tell you something else. I've come from Nanjing and found the nightlife in Hanshan County to be utterly uninteresting. There's nowhere worth visiting. Therefore, I've decided to offer a prize of ten thousand taels of silver to invite top courtesans from brothels across the country to participate in a courtesan competition. Everyone can participate in the voting. The girl with the most votes will be the courtesan and win the grand prize of ten thousand taels of silver."

"Haha! Lord Wang, I support you!"

"Sir, you also have a taste for this?"

"Lord Wang, you're a true man!"

"Ten thousand taels of silver! I'll let my daughter participate tomorrow!"

"Liu Dashu, with a daughter like that, you call her a courtesan? Nobody would pay her if she were just standing on the street."

The onlookers went wild, especially the men. It's said that many heroes throughout history have been fond of women, but not all women are heroes. I may not be a hero, but my fondness for women is heroic. What normal man wouldn't want to be a hero?

A grand prize of ten thousand taels of silver! Lord Wang is practically a freeloader! He just created a grand prize of ten thousand taels of tax stamps, and now he's created a grand prize of the most beautiful courtesan. And everyone can participate by voting; even if you can't participate, just watching or sneaking a peek will make you feel incredibly happy.

Wang Wenzhou waved his hand and said, "Because there is no suitable venue in the county to hold the Flower Queen Competition, we are preparing to build a stadium. The construction of the stadium is now open for business. Interested businessmen, please contact me later."

Wang Wenzhou held the courtesan competition with a simple purpose: to attract wealthy men from other places. All men in the world love beautiful women. If he could gather beautiful women in one place, wealthy men would definitely flock there.

Although Hanshan County has a larger population now, most of them are "proletarians." While there are some outside businessmen, they are few in number. Hanshan County currently has no industry, and the vast majority of people live off tax-based welfare benefits. This is not a sustainable solution. If things continue like this, with only input and no output, and without the formation of an effective circular economic ecosystem, the economy will eventually collapse.

Wang Wenzhou also considered developing industry, but unlike other transmigrators, he wasn't a genius. They couldn't invent anything, even a "cell phone," if the plot demanded it. The reality is, the technology tree isn't so easy to climb.

With more wealthy people in Hanshan County, talented individuals will follow. Only with sufficient funds and a sufficient pool of talent will Wang Wenzhou begin to consider undertaking industrialized production that is currently achievable with technology.