coobybook Chapter 100 The Grain Price Dispute 2
Chapter 100 The Grain Price Dispute 2
Chapter 100 The Grain Price Dispute Part Two
Changping Warehouse.
Li Yinshui stared at Ma Deyun in disbelief and asked, "Young Master Ma, please say it again, how much grain do you want?"
Ma Deyun smiled slightly and asked in return, "Li, the notice says that grain from the Ever-Normal Granary can be bought at will. I brought 80,000 taels of silver, which is not much. I will just buy 80,000 shi of grain."
Li Yinshui glanced at the account book. There were still 40,000 shi of grain in the warehouse. If they were all sold out at once, what would happen to the people who had no grain to buy? He couldn't make that decision.
"Young Master Ma, you have ordered too much grain. I'll go and ask Lord Wang for permission first," Li Yinshui said, cupping his hands in greeting.
“Very well, I will wait here for Lord Wang.” Ma Deyun nodded.
Half an hour later, Wang Wenzhou arrived at Changping Granary.
"Young Master Ma, I heard you want to buy all the grain in the Changping granary?" Wang Wenzhou asked.
"Yes, sir!" This time, Ma Deyun didn't dare to mock Wang Wenzhou.
"I'm sorry, this grain is for the people. Don't think I don't know you want to buy it and resell it. That's immoral! It's fine for merchants to make money, but making money against their conscience will never end well!" Wang Wenzhou said seriously.
Ma Deyun smiled slightly, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Lord Wang. I have some other matters to attend to. Let's meet again another day. Goodbye!"
"Hmph! I knew it all along, that idiot Wang wouldn't sell us any grain!" Ma Deyun cursed.
"Haha! It's alright, we already had a plan!" Yang Shan said calmly.
"Brother Yang is truly brilliant!"
Ma Deyun and Yang Shan walked away chatting and laughing.
Changping Granary was selling grain without limit. Although the price was higher than in previous years, Hanshan had a large population, plus more than 10 refugees outside the city. The people understood the price increase, and many who came to buy grain thanked Wang Qingtian.
Sheng Liang suddenly pointed to the distance and said, "Big brother, look!"
Wang Wenzhou frowned as he looked around. Not far from the Changping granary, a temporary grain purchasing point had been set up. The sign read "Buying Grain at High Prices."
"Grain is being collected! Grain is being collected! One tael and one mace of silver per shi of grain. Don't miss out! Just buy one shi of grain from the Ever-Normal Granary and then come and sell it to us, and you'll make a pure profit of one mace of silver. Everyone, come and sell your grain!" The grain collector shouted to the people who were queuing to buy grain.
"Haha! Those four bastards are quite clever!" Wang Wenzhou laughed.
"Young master, how about I take a few constables and arrest them all?" Wang Qiang asked.
"Arrest what? Let them collect it! If I give the order now not to let them collect the grain, these people queuing up will curse me to death!" Wang Wenzhou laughed.
Wang Qiang tilted his head and saw that there were indeed people carrying the grain they had bought to the purchasing stall.
"Young Master, if the grain in the Changping granary is sold out, we won't have any grain to sell. Grain prices will definitely skyrocket!" Wang Qiang warned.
Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Of course I know! I just want grain prices to rise rapidly, so that when the government introduces policies, the people will strongly support them."
"Young Master, have you come up with another wicked idea?" Wang Qiang asked with a smile.
"How dare you! Your young master is Wang Qingtian, a man dedicated to serving the people. How could he possibly have any bad ideas? Let's go back." Wang Wenzhou said.
"By the way, the young master should also be involved in speculating on grain prices," Wang Qiang said.
"Hmm..." Wang Wenzhou frowned and asked, "Xiaoqiang, how did you know?"
"Hehe..." Wang Qiang chuckled shyly and replied, "My Tao Hua told me. Yu Han and Yang Shan are dating, and Tao Hua is closest to Yu Han. Yesterday, Yu Han casually mentioned to Tao Hua that the young master often hangs out with Yang Shan and the others."
"Hmph!" Wang Wenzhou sneered. "Let him pay if he has the money! That bastard Wang Wenhua is always thinking about seizing a title and staying in Hanshan. What's so great about fighting for a worthless title?"
“Young Master, how can you say that! The title of Earl of Xinjian is a great honor passed down from your ancestors! How can you not strive for it?” Wang Qiang retorted.
Wang Wenzhou pursed his lips, offering no reply. If he hadn't altered history, the Ming Dynasty would have had less than ten years left. What use was a mere noble title from the Ming Dynasty when it was already gone?
"Xiaoqiang, go find Li Hechen later and have him find a few thugs to beat up Wang Wenhua," Wang Wenzhou instructed.
"Young Master, just you wait and see. I guarantee I'll beat the eldest young master so badly that even the old lady won't recognize him," Wang Qiang said with a smile.
"Remember not to cause any deaths," Wang Wenzhou reminded him.
Wang Wenzhou hated his cousin so much that Wang Wenhua was always involved in everything. However, Wang Wenzhou didn't want to kill Wang Wenhua, after all, they were relatives. Besides, if things escalated, Wang Wenzhou would lose face.
The grain Wang Wenzhou purchased from Nanjing would not arrive in Hanshan County for another ten days. During these ten days, Wang Wenzhou planned to let the merchants who hoarded the grain speculate on it as much as possible.
The higher the grain price is driven up, the smoother Wang Wenzhou's subsequent plans will be implemented.
……
Evening. "Qianda Community" construction site.
Zhao Zhengxi patted the mud off his clothes and prepared to finish work.
"Hurry up, come with me!" Zhao Zhengxi's friend Qu Jiaxin said without saying a word, and pulled Zhao Zhengxi away.
"Where are we going?" Zhao Zhengxi asked, completely bewildered.
"I'll take you to make money!" Qu Jiaxin said.
"What money are you going to make? You're exhausted after a long day, where else can you go to work?" Zhao Zhengxi asked.
Qu Jiaxin whispered, "My father just came and told me to go to Changping Granary after work. There are people there who buy grain. As long as you buy grain from Changping Granary, you can sell it right away. You can earn one qian of silver for one shi of grain. Hurry up, or there won't be any grain left!"
"Ah! Is there really such a good thing?" Zhao Zhengxi asked in surprise.
"Who says otherwise! Let's go!"
The two arrived at Changpingcang, which was packed with people, even more bustling than when the lottery was being drawn.
"Line up! Don't cut in line!" Old Wu, the yamen runner, shouted.
"Okay! We'll go line up right away!" Zhao Zhengxi said ingratiatingly.
Zhao Zhengxi and his companion stood at the very back of the line, which moved slowly forward. Although the Ever-Normal Granary did not restrict the amount of grain that could be purchased, there was an unspoken rule: you could buy as much grain as you wanted, provided you could carry it all by yourself.
It is precisely because of this unspoken rule that the grain in the Changping Granary has not yet been sold out.
Qu Jiaxin said, "Since there are people buying grain, it means that grain prices will continue to rise. Why don't we buy some grain and store it?"
Zhao Zhengxi thought for a moment and said, "No need! It's already spring, and there are still six months until the autumn harvest. This year's grain price has already doubled compared to previous years. How much higher can it go? It would be bad if we were stuck with unsold grain."
Qu Jiaxin thought about it and agreed. It's better to make some small profits first. Grain prices are already very high; hoarding grain is indeed quite risky.