In the west of Linzi City, a young girl wearing linen clothes hung washed clothes on a hemp rope. There were patches on her arms and skirt, her cheeks were slightly sunken, and her clothes seemed empty.

An old woman was sitting under the eaves of the door, mending a torn piece of clothing in her hands.

She kept thinking for a while, and when her eyes couldn't bear it anymore, she raised her head and looked at the girl standing not far away.

"Take a break." The old woman sighed, "I don't know when this day will end."

The girl stopped what she was doing, paused for a moment, and then continued to dry the crops. She said calmly, "The grain officer will be here today."

The old woman hesitated for a moment, and could not help but said, "If it really doesn't work, I will take you back to my hometown in the countryside. There are fields there, and you will never starve to death."

After the girl hung up the last piece of clothing, she shook her head and said, "If we can't survive in Linzi, what's the point of returning to the countryside? If we really stayed on the land, we wouldn't starve to death, and there wouldn't be so many people abandoning everything and rushing to Linzi."

People with a little wealth from all over the country rushed to Linzi with their families, preferring to build thatched huts outside the city than to stay in their hometowns where they had been running the business for generations.

The old woman let out a long sigh.

Her husband died early and the family property he left behind was not much, so she had not had a hard time raising her three children.

After all, they still had fields and slaves in the countryside. Although they could not support their boys to study, it was not difficult for them to just fill their stomachs and live a good life with the output from the fields.

But now, they have no surplus food. After the grain officials take away the output from the fields, what is left is only enough for the slaves to barely survive.

They wanted to sell the slaves, but no merchants were willing to buy them.

If they don't sell them, they can't just watch them starve to death. Besides, even if they are cruel enough to watch them starve to death, they won't dare to do so. Otherwise, the slaves will starve to death and won't listen to reason with them.

"Maybe the news is true?" The old woman murmured with some hope, "Maybe... I can really get money this time?"

The people don’t believe that they can buy food at a low price, but they still hold on to a glimmer of hope, maybe?

The young girl did not answer, for she was afraid that if she opened her mouth she would shatter her mother's only remaining hope.

In the city of Linzi today, if an adult male can still find hard labor work, although it is tiring and hard, at least there is some income. If he is lucky, the employer can even provide him with a meal.

But women could only find work in washing and mending clothes. Such work paid even less. They would probably work from morning to night and only earn enough to fill their stomachs. Such work was not available every day and women from all over the west of the city would often come together to scramble for the work.

Washing clothes is more tiring than mending. Although the girl herself was almost thin, she still took on the heaviest work and only asked the old woman to mend some clothes that were not difficult to mend.

After hanging up this batch of clothes, the girl brought in another bucket of dirty clothes.

When things were good at home, she had never done such work. Even when she was washing clothes, she only did one or two pieces at most.

But now these clothes are extremely dirty, and they smell of sweat and stench, which is suffocating even if they are placed far away.

But now she has gotten used to it and no longer finds the smell unbearable.

In just a few months, her hands had become like an old woman's. The skin on her hands was wrinkled and so ugly that she herself didn't want to look closely.

The poor and busy life has smoothed out all their edges. All they think about every day is whether they can find a job tomorrow, whether they can earn some money, and whether the price of food will go up again.

"The grain officer is here!" Someone hurried past, shouting as he ran, "The grain officer is here to collect the grain!"

Those who have grain have to pay it, and those who don’t have grain have to pay money. The people have become accustomed to it.

But when they suddenly heard the news, they were still frightened and wished they could hide away at this moment.

But if hiding was useful, they wouldn't find life difficult.

The young girl pursed her lips and walked to open the door - anyway, things couldn't get any worse, how could ordinary people like them go against the king?

They didn't know how long they waited, but the grain officer still didn't come to their door, and they didn't even hear any crying or shouting.

In the past, whenever the grain official came to their house, the neighbors would cry and scream. I don’t know whether they were hoping to express the official’s sympathy or to vent their emotions on their own.

The old woman could no longer sew clothes, and the girl could no longer wash clothes. They just stared at the door, waiting for the grain official to bring them the bad news. Whether they stretched their heads out or shrank their heads, they would be cut by the sword. So let the sword fall sooner.

Now that it's fallen, I feel relieved.

Someone is coming! The old woman and the girl stood up and walked towards the door. They just leaned over to look and heard a sound before they saw anyone. It was the sound of coins colliding. The iron coins used by the Chen State today would make a constant sound when they were shaken in a purse.

The voice slowly approached them, and the grain officer's face, which they were familiar with and hated, actually had a smile on it.

Behind the grain officer were six soldiers, working in pairs, carrying a box that was obviously filled with iron coins.

Further behind were a dozen soldiers, all wearing leather armor and holding long spears.

The old woman grabbed the clothes on her chest in fear and her body leaned backward. If her daughter had not quickly supported her, she would have fallen to her death.

As soon as the grain official reached the door, the old woman immediately knelt down in front of him. She pulled her daughter to kneel with her, crying and shouting, "Master, there is no money at home, really no money! Really no money!"

The grain official had seen this scene countless times along the way. He smiled and said, "Auntie, I'm not here to take money from you today, I'm here to give you money!"

"The Lord has already issued an order that the grain we collect this time must be purchased with money."

The grain official said: "One bushel of grain costs ten coins."

As soon as these words came out, the old woman really stopped crying. She looked at the grain official blankly, tears still on her face, her mouth slightly open, looking a little funny. She murmured, "Could the rumor be true?"

But she was still worried, and asked in a trembling voice: "What about the grain price..."

She was afraid that a bushel of grain would be sold for ten coins when it was harvested, and when she went to buy grain with the money, she would be sold for twenty coins a bushel.

If that's the case, then no matter how much money the grain officer gives her, it will be useless.

The grain official smiled and said, "Your Majesty has already informed all the grain shops in the city that they will only sell a bushel of grain for one penny."

"One penny?!" the young girl couldn't help but exclaim.

As far as she could remember, the price of grain had never been below five cents. She only heard her parents say when she was young that the State of Chen was once powerful. When it was at its most powerful, the State of Chen did not have to send grain to any other country. The domestic price of grain was one cent, and even two dou. At that time, the people of Chen, even the common people, were extremely rich.

Countless people from other countries have racked their brains to become Chen people.

Her parents said it was from her grandfather's grandfather's generation.

It happened eight lifetimes ago.

But even now, people still enjoy talking about that time.

But people also know that the State of Chen was only strong for a few short decades. For a longer period of time, the State of Chen was always weak.

As a small country, there is neither a famous person who is famous all over the world nor a wise ruler who can turn the tide.

There weren't even any well-known treacherous officials, corrupt officials, or tyrants or incompetent rulers.

Everything in the State of Chen was so mediocre, so mediocre that even the people of Chen could not say what was commendable about their country.

After the young girl exclaimed, she looked at the grain officer with an expectant look.

The grain officer nodded, looking particularly proud: "This is all thanks to your majesty's wisdom!"

The old woman and the girl nodded together: "Your Majesty is wise!"

The old woman's "no food" turned into "still a little bit". The mother and daughter went down to the cellar together and took out their only remaining rations - two buckets of millet.

And who knows how long the grain has been there. When I opened it, I could even see little black bugs crawling out of it.

During this period, they relied on the worm-infested yellow rice to fill their stomachs and support their family of four.

After seeing clearly, the grain officer sighed leisurely.

Along the way, all he saw and heard was this scene.

Although he was a grain official, he was not a high-ranking official in the State of Chen. He could not attend court meetings and had no real power. When his superiors issued an order to collect grain, he would bring his men to force the people to hand over the grain.

The grain official was not from a noble family. He was able to hold such a small position only because of the influence of his ancestors and his father's long-term gift-giving and bribery to his superiors, which enabled him to inherit his father's business.

But he was still a commoner. Although he did not live in the west of the city, his family was not rich either.

Because he had a good relationship with his wife and had children one after another, he had to support his parents and raise six children. His family was often short of food. He could understand the suffering of these people, but he could do nothing.

Therefore, when he received this news, he was truly happy for himself and the people.

After they moved out the grain, the grain officer asked the soldiers behind him to take out the buckets.

The dou looks very much like a funnel, but the shape is slightly different. The size of the dou is different in every country, and even in every grain shop.

Therefore, grain shops often buy grain using large measures and sell grain using small measures.

But this time, the king asked the craftsmen to make a batch of identical buckets, and the grain officials could only use this kind of buckets to collect grain.

After relaxing for a while, the soldier opened the wooden box and asked the mother and daughter to go home to find something to store the money.

Before they left, the grain official told them: "If you want to buy grain, go to the east of the city. There is a strange house there. You will know when you see it. Grain is sold at the door of that house."

"But if you want to go today, you'd better go now, otherwise there will be more and more people and I'm afraid you won't be able to squeeze in."

After the grain officer finished speaking, he immediately rushed to the next house.

After the grain official left, the mother and daughter remained in a daze, staring blankly at the iron coins in the wooden frame. After taking a deep breath, the young girl said, "I'll go find my brother! I'll go buy grain with them!"

Her two younger brothers worked as laborers for businessmen. They earned money by selling their labor and could earn a few dollars every day.

Now that we have this money, we can put the hard labor work aside for now. Buying food is the most important thing! Don't go too late and there will be no food, then this money will be useless!

The old woman also knew that she would only be a hindrance if she went there, so she closed the door, found some cloth to cover the money, and then let her daughter go out through the back door - to prevent the idle people around from seeing them get the money and blocking them outside.

Although they didn't dare to rob openly, they had no way to refuse when several strong men came to them to "borrow money".

The girl quietly came out from the back door, holding a cloth bag in her arms. The iron coins were not light, but she had never felt so strong before. She could even run with the heavy bag of money in her arms. She ran very fast and her forehead was soon covered with sweat.

Fortunately, her two younger brothers were working in the east of the city, and she found them soon.

When she arrived, her two younger brothers were shirtless, unloading goods for the merchants.

Her two younger brothers are not very old, one is seventeen and the other fifteen. She is the eldest sister, but she is happier than her two younger brothers because when she was young, the family situation was not so bad and she had a few years of good life.

"Erlang! Sanlang!" The girl waved at her brothers, "Come here quickly!"

The younger brothers could only stop, look at their eldest sister, and then look at the steward standing next to them.

Their current job is similar to that of a temporary worker. They can only get a day's wages if they finish the work. If they leave now, all their previous work will be wasted.

But then they heard the eldest sister shouting, "Come here! It's urgent!"

The younger brothers had no choice but to put down the goods in their hands and run towards their eldest sister.

The younger brother rushed over and asked before he could even stand still: "What's the matter?! It's my mother who has an accident..."

Before he could say anything, the elder sister stuffed the purse in her arms into the eldest brother's pocket, and then whispered to the younger brothers: "Talk while walking, let's go!"

When she didn't respond to them, she took the lead and walked in front. The two brothers looked at each other and could only jog to catch up.

On the way to the east of the city, the eldest sister told her two younger brothers what had happened that day.

The more she spoke, the brighter the two brothers' eyes became. When she said that they were going to buy food, the two brothers' steps were already faster than hers. They were obviously walking, but they walked with the momentum of sliding on flat ground, as if they wished they could grow a pair of wings.

There were already quite a few people on the road to the east of the city, and they all seemed to be hiding a cloth bag.

The sound of iron coins colliding could be heard all along the road.

When they finally reached their destination, even though they had prepared themselves mentally, they were still stunned by the scene before them.

Countless people were crowded together. There was almost no place to stand on the road. People were packed close to each other. There had never been such a scene in Linzi City.

They can't even see what's ahead.

Fortunately, this scene did not last long.

Soldiers came from the direction of the city, holding long spears in their hands, and drove the people to line up. The chaotic east of the city finally had order.

Although the three siblings were anxious, they did not dare to squeeze forward and could only follow the team and move forward slowly.

They saw with their own eyes that people returning from the front were carrying bags bulging with things, and their eyes became redder and redder because they knew that the things in the bags must be food.

Those who came back carrying food also had excited smiles on their faces.

Some people even said to their children while carrying food on their backs: "Let's go home and your dad will cook for you!"

"I will make sure you are well fed!"

The three siblings could only continue to look ahead eagerly.

Finally, there were fewer and fewer people in front of them, and they finally got to the front before the sun was about to set.

The eldest brother quickly put the cloth bag in his arms on the table. They were not even in the mood to look at the novelty building behind the stall. In their hearts, at this moment, only the word "food" could touch their hearts.

The stall was not big, just a long table with a bucket on it, and behind the table were large bags of grain.

There was only yellow rice and millet in it. There were both men and women among the people who distributed the food to them. There were quite a few of them and they didn't even talk to each other.

After opening the cloth bag, the woman who counted the iron money asked them after counting: "Do you want to use up all the money?"

The eldest sister nodded repeatedly: "Buy it, buy it."

Woman: "It's too much. Can you carry it back?"

The woman added, "Don't worry. We will always sell grain here. It's not like we will stop selling it today."

The woman's voice was a little hoarse. She didn't know how many times she had said the same thing. Because it was too noisy, she had to shout everything she said. It was estimated that after today, she wouldn't be able to say a word tomorrow.

The eldest sister said: "I can carry it back. I can definitely carry it back."

The woman also knew that it was useless for her to say anything. She had said it so many times, but no one believed her.

Ordinary people all feel that they are getting a bargain, but things like getting a bargain should definitely not be delayed. If you get it today, it is yours, but you don’t know what you will get tomorrow.

The woman sighed and said to the man next to her, "One hundred and eighty buckets."

The man silently took the bucket and served them food.

In addition to their row, there are three rows of people next to them, and in front of them there is also a grain distributor who is counting money and holding grain.

When the three siblings heard the number of 180 buckets, their whole bodies were shaking. They were so excited that they couldn't speak and watched the man concentrate on serving them food.

The man did not smooth the surface of the bucket, but scooped out a small tip and put it into their bag.

They had never seen that bag before, but they were not curious at all. After all, no matter how big the bag was, it was not as important as the food.

The aroma of rice lingered in everyone's nose. People kept leaving with food on their backs, and more people kept joining the queue.

The three siblings waited for a while and finally got their food.

They didn't say anything, and even forgot to say thank you, and helped each other carry the food.

Before leaving, they thanked the people who delivered the food.

But there are already new people lining up, and I don’t know if the person who delivered the food heard it.

·

Cao'er didn't want to talk anymore in her life. She had no time to rest, not even time to go to the toilet. Sarah wanted to help take over the shift, but her appearance didn't allow it. Even if she wanted to, Ye Zhou wouldn't let her go out.

All of these grains were purchased by Ye Zhou in the system. As for the agricultural and sideline products and daily life products in the system, as long as they can be bought in Ye Zhou's plane, the prices are the same as those in his plane.

Collecting grain was Ye Zhou's idea for Lord Chen. What he was worried about at first was that if he sent grain or sold it at a low price, the fragile economic ecology of the State of Chen would collapse instantly. But if he used this method, it would mean that Lord Chen was paying money to subsidize the people.

Marquis Chen gave money to the people and compensated Ye Zhou for the difference. In this way, a world where only Marquis Chen was injured was achieved.

However, it was not that Chen Hou could not afford the money. He even sold his throne and soon fell in love with this activity of exchanging inanimate objects for money.

He sold almost all the valuables in the palace. The princes of various fiefdoms would pay tribute to Marquis Chen every year. Although most of them were just for show, there were always a few valuable things among the many things they sent.

Originally, Marquis Chen had not thought of touching these things. After all, he also needed things to reward officials and royal families. In the past, he would give away the gifts from these royal families, but now he was not going to do so.

It’s better to sell than to give it away!

He sold things to Ye Zhou, then bought low-priced grain from Ye Zhou and distributed money to the people.

As long as the value of food is stable, the prices of many things, including salt and needles, will fall and stabilize.

This means that Marquis Chen relies on himself to support the people of the entire Linzi city.

When Ye Zhou gave this idea to Lord Chen, he also reminded him that although doing so could temporarily solve the people's problems, once the grain price could not be stabilized, Linzi would collapse.

If the situation is to be truly stable, then the Marquis of Chen cannot collect land tax or grain tax after the autumn harvest.

This problem could be completely solved only when the people had surplus grain and could sell it to the grain shops themselves, and the State of Chen no longer lacked grain.

After much deliberation, Lord Chen finally accepted the proposal. He was also prepared to confront Zhao and Lu after the autumn harvest.

However, Ye Zhou felt that since Marquis Chen did not provide food, the possibility of Zhao and Lu causing trouble for him was actually not great.

Because after the last battle, although Zhao and Lu seemed to have stopped fighting and were unwilling to fight again, there were still many frictions at the border.

Both Zhao and Lu wanted Chen's granary. When there were others eyeing it covetously, they certainly didn't want to push Chen into the arms of the other side.

Only when big countries compete with each other can small countries have room to survive.

But this is still a gamble, and it is a gamble with the fate of the country, so the Duke of Chen has been focusing on farming and warfare in recent times.

The officials recommended to him by Ye Zhou have now become Chen Hou's confidants.

Especially the scholar of the Jiang family, Jiang Jin.

Jiang Jin had talked with Ye Zhouchang before, and many of his ideas were influenced by Ye Zhou. And unlike the other scholar, he was not a radical, and he did not think that the changes that Chen State wanted could be achieved overnight.

He even advised the Duke of Chen that if Chen wanted to become strong, ten years was already too short, and twenty years would be a blessing from heaven.

With this person by the side of Lord Chen, Ye Zhou felt relieved.

Cao'er was exhausted when she returned to the supermarket, so Chen Shu took over her place. It was already dark, but the people in Linzi city were not afraid of not being able to see the road clearly. They continued to line up with torches in their hands. Judging from their attitude, they would even line up until dawn as long as it was not their turn.

The common people could hold on, but the supermarket employees and the soldiers who were there to maintain order could hardly hold on any longer.

Ye Zhou could only say to Cao'er, "Take a rest for a while, and ask your mother to make some sour plum soup for the people outside."

Cao'er nodded. She said weakly, "The Immortal... is too tired."

Ye Zhou, who was not usually close to his employees, looked at her with a look of being about to fly away in the next second. He walked over and patted her shoulder for the first time, comforting her: "You are tired these few days, I will give you a raise."

Cao'er: "!!!"

She is not tired anymore!