—There was no firewood to burn in the city, so the scattered people who burned charcoal entered the city before dawn and had to leave before dark.
Many people were able to enter the city because of the coal, which allowed them to buy some food for the winter. They tried to buy the coal at a price three coins per pound, but few people were willing to sell it.
Moreover, many merchants have established long-term and stable partnerships with charcoal burners, so charcoal burners naturally give priority to supplying large merchants.
Just as Zhixing was hesitating about whether to give up and not take the risk, the situation in the prefectural city changed rapidly.
Outside the city, someone was buying up charcoal on a large scale at a price five coins per pound lower than the market price.
They don't ask where the charcoal comes from or care about its quality; they buy it all at a price five wen per jin lower than the market price.
Many refugees who couldn't get into the city turned their attention to the charcoal burners in the surrounding villages, causing quite a bit of trouble.
Many civilians and refugees died during the conflict.
The prefectural government had no choice but to send constables to settle the matter and provide relief to the surrounding people.
Seizing the opportune moment, he personally led a group to collect charcoal from door to door at the homes of charcoal burners, still maintaining the market price of three coins per pound.
To be honest, you won't make much money at this price; on the contrary, you'll likely lose some.
After all, the cost of living and rent in the city center are far greater than in the small towns at the foot of the mountain.
But Zhixing was determined to take a gamble, betting that the snow wouldn't melt, temperatures would continue to drop, and coal prices would continue to surge.
He won his bet.
Other merchants in the city reacted quickly, targeting the charcoal market and continuing their efforts.
What interested Zhixing the most was the owner of a charcoal-making workshop.
This person reacted quickly and took action on the very day that Zhixing came to buy the goods, but unfortunately he was only willing to offer a price five coins per catty lower than the market price.
After buying up all the coal from an entire village at this price, he continued to lower the purchase price, causing the villagers in the surrounding villages who relied on this for their livelihood to no longer sell coal to him and instead choose to cooperate with Zhixing.
A few days after the coal was harvested, the heavy snow continued, and the price of coal continued to rise, even exceeding twenty coins per catty.
People everywhere were filled with sorrow and resentment. The refugees outside the prefectural city repeatedly caused trouble, but they were all driven back by the prefectural soldiers and constables.
Besides collecting charcoal, Zhixing also maintained his relationship with the managers of several households, and quietly promoted the use of kang (heated brick beds) and braziers in their homes.
After the manager tried it out and found it satisfactory, he promoted it to his superiors and colleagues, which allowed Zhixing and his group to earn another round of money.
Ye Wenxue's bean sprouts were limited in quantity, so Zhixing did not sell them openly, but instead sold them discreetly to friends he had met after entering the prefectural city.
Of all the sources of income, the most profitable were bean sprouts, bamboo charcoal, and heated brick beds.
Walnut charcoal was purchased by an official at a high price and supplied to the royal palace, while bamboo charcoal gradually became popular among the upper class.
However, the quantity of walnut charcoal was ultimately too small to compare with the profits from bamboo charcoal and well-made charcoal.
The charcoal business is proceeding smoothly.
Until this day, the snow stopped, and a somber atmosphere pervaded the city of Longxing.
While inspecting his business, Zhixing unexpectedly saw a child crying loudly outside the charcoal workshop.
This child is about the same size as Yuanyuan, the daughter of Master Ye, but is much thinner than Yuanyuan.
She was being held by a woman and was crying loudly for some reason.
A man with dark circles under his eyes was repeatedly grabbing and shoving the woman, cursing under his breath.
"What are you crying for? I'm not dead yet!"
“Suibao insists on seeing his father, and he cries when he can’t see him. I can’t do anything about it. Please move aside, I’ll go find his father.”
The man slapped the woman across the face: "I know Father gave you an ounce of silver. Give me the silver, or you'll be in big trouble!"
Among the onlookers, Zhixing frowned.
Even as the woman was knocked to the ground, she held tightly to the child in her arms.
"No, Father instructed that the money is for buying goat milk for Suibao, you can't use it to gamble!"
"I almost made it back! Give me the money now!"
Ignoring the onlookers, the man rushed forward and tried to rob the woman of her money by searching her pockets.
Zhi Xing couldn't stand it any longer, so he asked Wang Jin to step forward and lend a hand.
Wang Jin rushed forward, grabbed the man, and threw him far away.
Zhixing helped the dazed woman to her feet: "Let's go."
The woman hesitated for a long time, and when she saw the man getting up cursing, she quickly hid in the charcoal workshop.
Having failed to steal the silver, the man gritted his teeth in resentment and pointed at Zhixing's nose, ready to unleash a torrent of abuse.
Wang Jin stood in front of him with a stern face: "What do you want to do?"
The man glanced at Wang Jin's burly frame, swallowed his harsh words, glared at Zhi Xing, uttered a threat, and ran away.
Zhixing shook his head, looking at the snow that had finally stopped, and for some reason suddenly remembered the steward's reminder from that day.
"Such a big thing happened in the prefectural city, and the news has spread far and wide."
Zhi Xing's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he pulled Wang Jin quickly toward the market.
After leaving the crowd, Zhixing whispered, "Tell the brothers to lower the price of charcoal and sell it all as soon as possible."
Wang Jin was puzzled, but seeing Zhi Xing's grim face, he quickly ran to order the collection of charcoal to be stopped, and all kinds of charcoal to be sold at a price one or two coins lower.
Don't underestimate a penny or two; every penny saved can be a family's hope for survival.
While everyone else was raising prices, Zhixing lowered its coal prices, leaving many people puzzled, including the manager who had advised him.
In order not to affect the high price of charcoal, many merchants hoarded some of the charcoal in Zhixing's hands, and privately mocked him more than once for being young, impatient, and incapable of doing business.
But Zhixing didn't explain. He hurriedly sold all the charcoal he had stockpiled, and sold all the remaining charcoal ash at one coin per pound. Then he prepared to pack his bags and return to the mountain village.
However, while the group was still packing their luggage, thousands of soldiers arrived outside Longxing Prefecture.
The leader led the troops into the prefectural city, first visiting the seriously injured prince, and then drastically reforming the grain and charcoal prices within the city.
The authorities confiscated the homes of many corrupt officials and merchants, and sold the confiscated grain and charcoal at low prices, which affected the prices of grain and charcoal in the prefectural city and even several surrounding villages and towns.
Many merchants who hoarded and sold grain and charcoal at high prices were also implicated, and some even went bankrupt.
Zhi Xing had dealings with one of the officials, so he was summoned for investigation.
Fortunately, he always set the price of coal according to the market price and never raised the price too high to harm the people. He even donated rice and grain to provide free porridge to the refugees outside the city on many occasions.
Unlike some unscrupulous merchants who sell even charcoal ash at exorbitant prices, they don't do that.
When he built kang (heated brick beds) for the people, he charged very low prices, which earned him high praise from many.
Therefore, they were spared.
After receiving the news that he could leave the city, Zhixing packed his bags overnight and arrived at the city gate before dawn the next day.
The city gate was crowded with ordinary people.
Unlike the usual wanted posters, a separate imperial edict was posted at the city gate.
Zhi Xing overheard something, and it seemed to be about how the Huo family had raised an army, indiscriminately killing prisoners and causing disasters that killed countless people. The emperor had ordered the entire Huo family to be executed, with the men beheaded and the women exiled.
Wang Jin scratched his head, furious: "So it was just that damned Huo family who brought this natural disaster upon us. They deserved to be beheaded!"
Zhi Xing slapped him on the head: "Be careful what you say."
Wang Jin shut his mouth and followed behind the main force, escorting several carts of rice and grain away from Longxing Prefecture City, but he did not notice a pair of eyes hidden in the shadows.
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