Seeing the two people walking away together, Xie Xun silently put down his hand. He should have known that if these two people walked together, there would be no place for him.

When Yu Zhong came over, he glanced at Xie Xun and asked, "Sir, aren't you going with us?"

Isn't it said in the capital that these people are very good friends and have a very harmonious relationship?

Xie Xun looked disdainful, "How can I, a man, hang out with these girls?"

Yu Zhong smiled without saying anything and walked inside. His mouth was probably the toughest of all.

Xie Xun punched and kicked Yu Zhong's back, cursing: What the hell are you laughing at! You have a big ass and you dare to laugh at me, big ass, big ass!

After the matter in He County was dealt with, the group followed Prefect Zeng to Xuzhou Prefecture, and were worried about what they saw along the way.

The situation in Xuzhou was the most serious. Prefect Zeng sighed, "We had already opened the warehouses to release grain, but there was not enough food. Now the rice merchants who have stored grain have raised the price by more than ten times. Ordinary people can't afford it at all and can only starve. They used to be able to drink soup and water, but after the outbreak, there is a shortage of medicine, so they really dare not drink it."

They had originally hoped to purchase food and build some wooden sheds for the victims to live in after the relief money arrived, but now they can only live on the streets.

Yu Zhong consoled him, "The relief money sent by the imperial court is on the way. We will be able to purchase food and medicinal materials soon, and then we can build a few more porridge stalls."

After hearing this, Prefect Zeng sighed and said, "I hope everything goes well."

The people of Xuzhou really can't stand it anymore.

Su Juan and Liu Miaoqing looked at each other and knew what Governor Zeng was worried about.

The flood this time was severe, the grain fields were submerged, and the theft of relief silver delayed the relief for a long time. Now the epidemic is serious, and I am afraid that after the relief money arrives, the situation will not improve even if we provide porridge for a period of time. The price of grain is so high, after all, money is limited. If this continues, sooner or later we will run out of money.

What Prefect Zeng was worried about was that after the disaster, the situation in Xuzhou would not improve.

On that day, Yu Zhong took his subordinates to look for clues, while Su Juan and Liu Miaoqing stayed behind to discuss with Prefect Zeng how to deal with and resettle the victims after a new sum of disaster relief funds arrived in the next two days.

Liu Miaoqing said slowly, "I think distributing grain and porridge is not a long-term solution. We still need to lower the grain price. Otherwise, ordinary people won't be able to eat, and even those who have some money at home won't be able to eat."

Prefect Zeng sighed, "I thought the same thing. I have approached the rice merchants several times before, but it was useless. When I went again later, they wouldn't even let me in. They said the person was not in the house."

When the flood first hit, the price of rice had not yet risen completely, but these rice merchants invested a lot of money to hoard grain. When the people had no food to eat and were starving, they sold the grain at a high price, hoping to take advantage of the disaster to make more money.

Liu Miaoqing frowned, "They are really rich but unkind. Is there nothing we can do about these people?"

Prefect Zeng shook his head. There was really nothing he could do. In fact, apart from Xuzhou, other places had also suffered from floods and famines in previous years. Driving up the price of rice was a common occurrence and it was impossible to stop it.

Su Juan rubbed her thumb and index finger repeatedly. Seeing that Zeng Zhifu and Liu Miaoqing were silent, she slowly said, "I do have an idea. Maybe I can let them lower the price of rice themselves."

The two looked at each other and then at Su Juan. Prefect Zeng was particularly eager, "Master Su, please speak."

Su Juan pursed her lips and said, "This plan is dangerous, Master Zeng, if you want this to succeed, the key lies in you."

Prefect Zeng was stunned. "Me?"

Liu Miaoqing was immediately curious, "Ajuan, please tell me what the method is."

Su Juan smiled and said, "Don't worry, let me tell you in detail."

When Yu Zhong and others came back, they happened to meet Prefect Zeng who had ordered his subordinates to deliver invitations to rice merchants in various prefectures, inviting them to meet the next day to discuss ways to make money.

At this time, Prefect Zeng was obviously in a very happy mood and did not look as worried as he did yesterday.

&t;div tentadv>Seeing Yu Zhong, he couldn't hide his smile, and praised everyone he met, "Master Yu, you don't know, this Miss Su is really very wise."

Yu Zhong was puzzled, "Master Zeng?"

Xie Xun, who was busy running around with Yu Zhong, pricked up his ears immediately when he heard Su Juan's name, "What did she do again?"

Prefect Zeng smiled and said, "Miss Su suggested that we stop distributing grain and porridge, and anonymously purchase the remaining grain from rice merchants. We also need to distribute a portion of the disaster relief funds to the people and disaster victims to buy rice from rice shops, and encourage rice merchants to transport grain from other places."

As he spoke, he suddenly slapped his head and said, "By the way, this government must hurry up and keep an eye on it and clear out the granaries that store grain."

Zeng Zhifu ran away in a hurry. Xie Xun scratched his ears and said, "Did I hear it right? The grain price is so high now, and they still want to buy rice from those rice merchants. Are they crazy?"

Isn't this just giving money to those rich and heartless rice merchants? !

If all the relief funds were squandered, how would I explain to the emperor when I return to Beijing?

Yu Zhong was silent for a moment, "Maybe he has other plans."

After spending some time with Su Juan, he discovered that Su Juan was actually a very opinionated person who had her own considerations for everything.

He believed that Su Juan would not bring up these things for no reason, and there must be other intentions behind it.

However, Xie Xun found some sense of self-identity in Yu Zhong, because he felt that he was not the only one in the world who did not understand Su Juan's things.

The next day, Prefect Zeng went to meet with merchants from all over Xuzhou Prefecture, hinting that the disaster in Xuzhou was serious, the court's disaster relief funds had been robbed, and there was not much food left. This situation might last for two to three years.

As he spoke, he sighed, worried that he would be blamed by his superiors and that he might lose his official robe. He hinted to the dozen or so richest businessmen in Xuzhou in front of him that they wanted a stable old age with no worries about food and clothing.

These merchants were not stupid people, so they naturally understood what Governor Zeng meant. He wanted them to show their filial piety!

But this prefect Zeng had one attitude before, but now he has another attitude, which is really strange. No one dared to believe it, and everyone turned a blind eye to it.

Prefect Zeng was not in a hurry and left after his meal, leaving the merchants looking at each other, each of them full of doubts.

"Can you believe what he says?"

“I’m afraid it’s a fraud”

"Maybe he's just afraid that he won't be able to be the prefect anymore, so he wants to get some money from us so that he can spend his old age in peace?"

Having said that, I still don’t dare to believe it.

At this moment, one of the rice merchants' subordinates hurried in, panting, "Master! The government didn't release grain or porridge today! They said that the relief fund was robbed and the granary was out of grain! Now the people are rushing to buy grain!"

"Many people are afraid of running out of food in the future, so they bought all the rice in our rice shop!"

More than a dozen people stood up with delighted expressions, "Really?!"

Zeng is serious! This is great news!

"Quick! Double the price again!"

"Let's release all the food we have stored before! If it's not enough, send people to other places to collect food. It has to be quick!"

For a moment, everyone rushed to run, fearing that if they were a step behind, the money would go into the pocket of their "opponent".

Kneeling in various ways: I’m begging for votes from my dears. I’m really going crazy because of the lack of votes.