leonardwarren #271 - Small profits in good years, big profits in bad years
#271 - Small profits in good years, big profits in bad years
"Immortal Master."
"We have matters to discuss."
Before long, the gathering in the front yard dispersed.
Grain, the villages certainly can't scrape together enough.
So, it was decided, when in doubt, ask White Maiden.
The Maiden's Temple isn't built yet, so they came to ask Immortal Master Xu first.
Master Zhang brought Song Fangwu and the others, respectfully seeking an audience outside the courtyard gate.
Song Fangwu is, besides Song Dayou and Song Yun'er, one of the people in Song Family Village who can make decisions.
He is also the one the able-bodied younger generation of Song Family Village listens to.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he should be the next village head of Song Family Village.
Behind the two of them were several young people.
All of them were promising juniors from their respective villages, and also the two young women that Xu Chengxian had sent a voice transmission to see.
"Come in," Xu Chengxian said from inside the courtyard.
As soon as he finished speaking, the courtyard door creaked open.
"Immortal Master, greetings, Immortal Master."
A group of people entered and bowed respectfully to Xu Chengxian.
"Yes, no need for so much ceremony," Xu Chengxian waved his hand. "I already know why you've come. How many days of food do you have left?"
"If we eat sparingly..." Master Zhang began.
"We can't eat sparingly," Xu Chengxian interrupted him before he could finish.
These commoners are too weak, both mentally and physically.
They won't be able to do anything if they aren't properly nourished for a while.
They have been eating cured meat, mixed grains, and wild vegetables for half a month, and it's already showing results, especially the young children, who are visibly healthier.
How could they give up halfway?
Hearing him say this, Song Fangwu and the others behind Master Zhang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Who wouldn't want to eat their fill?
"Also, Old Zhang, make a little more of the flatbread you bake at night and give each family one to take back and eat," Xu Chengxian added. "Don't send the game Zhang Wan hunts from the mountains to me, you all eat it."
It's all ordinary game, not only small but also without any spiritual energy.
The largest is only a few hundred pounds of wild boar.
Not to mention him, even Xu Xiaobai could swallow it in one gulp.
It's not enough to fill him up, and the taste isn't great either, just enough to taste.
"This... Immortal Master, this is not..." Master Zhang was about to say something, but Xu Chengxian raised his hand and said, "Alright, once it's cooked, just send some to the Maiden as an offering."
He has quite a few Bigu Pills on hand, enough to last for a while.
But he needs to find a way to inquire about the nearest sect.
Ling Yunzi said that many sects raise spiritual beasts.
It's always good to be prepared.
"It's better for you to have more fat in your bellies, the Maiden doesn't like weak believers."
After he said that, he looked at the faces of everyone present.
He saw that they were all smiling.
Listening to everyone's thoughts, not a single person was thinking crookedly.
He couldn't help but nod.
Then, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Because the little girl at the back was already listing dishes.
She was also muttering in her heart that it would be great if the White Maiden liked to eat fat, big-eared people.
Then she could just go and eat the wealthy people in the city.
"I heard that Master Xue, who is the fattest, weighs more than three hundred pounds, even fatter than the wild boar that Sister Wan'er hunted!"
No matter how much they eat, they can't catch up.
Before, they would eat their fill and then secretly take a little home.
They didn't dare to take too much.
They would leave some of the flatbread uneaten at night, take half of it back, and break it into pieces for the elderly and children who couldn't come, and cook it in wild vegetable soup.
So that they could have a little grain to eat for the day.
Now that Immortal Master Xu has spoken, not only will there be flatbread, but also meat to eat?
Immediately, someone wanted to kneel down and kowtow, but Xu Chengxian stopped them.
"No need to kneel to me, it's all the Maiden's instructions."
He was getting more and more fluent in saying this.
And Master Zhang was even more skilled, as soon as he said the words, he immediately turned his head and knelt down facing the east wing, prostrating himself on the ground.
He shouted loudly, "Thank you, White Maiden! White Maiden is merciful!"
Song Fangwu and the others behind him, of course, followed suit, and shouted even louder than him.
And they were even more sincere.
After all, they had received more benefits.
Master Zhang was the one who was bleeding.
However, after the thanks, the problem was still not solved.
There wasn't enough grain!
"Immortal Master, I just took them to see, if we eat and drink like this, the grain in the granary is probably only enough for five or six days," Master Zhang had to bring up the old topic again.
"Oh! That's right!" Xu Chengxian slapped his thigh and, in Master Zhang's delighted gaze, said, "I remembered something. While you're building a temple for the Maiden, build a granary as well."
"See if the nearby villages are willing to store their grain here."
He smiled at Master Zhang's dumbfounded expression, "With the Maiden watching over you, and our family's Cat Immortal, you're guaranteed to have no mice, and no thieves either."
"...Im... Immortal Master," Master Zhang was roaring in his heart, Immortal Master Xu, would you like to listen to what you're saying?
I'm here talking to you about the lack of grain, but you're telling me to build a granary?
What are we going to put in the built granary?
The old slave's loyal heart!
And your family has a Cat Immortal, why not say your family also has a Rat Treasure Immortal?
"Old Zhang, don't be anxious," Xu Chengxian couldn't help but laugh, "Your anxiety is useless, I can't conjure up grain."
"..."
"..."
Immortal Master, we know you can't conjure it, but isn't it not very good to say it so bluntly?
"Immortal Master, my family still has some spare money, I can take people to Lingzhou to buy grain," Master Zhang closed his eyes, then opened them and said quickly.
"Then go buy it," Xu Chengxian said.
"It's just... it's just that I'm afraid the money won't be enough," Master Zhang thought, it would be great if it were that easy.
There is grain in Lingzhou.
But who has that grain in their hands?
Grain merchants, wealthy families, gangs, and aristocratic families.
Which of these people doesn't take advantage of the harvest to hoard grain, and then raise the price of grain during the lean months to make a big profit?
Small profits in good years, big profits in disaster years.
"I'm afraid Lingzhou and the surrounding areas have suffered disasters this year, and they have already raised the price of grain early on. Now, it will only be higher," Master Zhang was very certain about this.
This is a great opportunity to make money.
How could those people let it go?
"Old Zhang, how is your information so well-informed?" Xu Chengxian asked in surprise.
He had already been around and seen that Lingzhou and the surrounding county towns bordering several neighboring prefectures had indeed suffered disasters.
Most of them were poison disasters, as well as droughts, floods, and insect plagues.
Anyway, no matter what the disaster, if left unattended, this prefecture will definitely have no harvest this year.
The other prefectures and counties have also been affected.
So the price of grain has been rising all the way, which is almost certain.
"Immortal Master, how could I have such well-informed information? I know the virtue of that bunch of bastards!" Master Zhang sighed greatly upon hearing Xu Chengxian's words.
"Immortal Master, for so many years, that bunch of bastards has been eating human food but not producing human waste, speaking human words but not doing human affairs!"
People don't even hide it from others.
Because even if you see through it, you can't break the situation.
The local powerhouses have power and influence, and the common people have no room to fight back in front of them.
Every year, the food dug out of the soil has to be scraped away for the most part!
Can studying poetry and cultivating the land for generations accumulate into an aristocratic family?
What a load of crap!
"Tell me, the surrounding areas have suffered disasters, how did you foresee this?" Xu Chengxian was very interested in this.
Master Zhang shouldn't have the strength to raise an intelligence system.
He certainly doesn't have his own ability to travel everywhere overnight.
"Immortal Master, these people used to transport grain to Xuzhou to sell in the spring and autumn," Master Zhang said, "But this year, they haven't come once."
He can't be said to know the movements of the grain merchants in Lingzhou like the back of his hand, but he must know more than a little.
After all, his cooperation with Song Family Village in robbing mainly targets these grain merchants.
Speaking of this, he looked at Xu Chengxian.
Song Fangwu also nodded, "Immortal Master, they haven't come, no one transporting grain has come this spring."
"I understand." Xu Chengxian understood what was going on at a glance.
The target of the cooperation between Song Family Village and Zhang Residence is these grain merchant teams.
People make a living from this, how could they not know?