Chapter 278 Can I Take It Away?
These 20,000 dan of grain may sound like a lot, but they are actually not enough to eat.
Houcheng used to be a large county with more than 10,000 households. Due to years of war, many people fled here with their families. Currently, there are more than 5,600 households, and some people who fled famine before are also returning.
Not counting these, even if the daily food consumption of these more than 5,600 households is about 30,000 catties, plus the consumption of the Houcheng military camp, 50,000 catties is the normal consumption limit. If the people are frugal, the consumption of 30,000 catties for the entire Houcheng is inevitable.
And Liaodong Commandery has eighteen counties...
As the chief clerk of Houcheng, Xue Xu is well aware of the situation in Houcheng. By analogy, he also knows how much grain the entire Liaodong County consumes and how big the grain gap is on the market.
Xue Xu gave his friend a dissatisfied look and asked, "Why did you only bring 20,000 stones?"
Ji Wuyin glared back at him unhappily. Is twenty thousand shi not enough?
This was his first time in Liaodong County, and taking 20,000 dan of grain with him without knowing if the deal would be successful was a bold move. Furthermore, since this was his first transaction, he had to be cautious.
Besides, had he forgotten that he was just a merchant? When he did business with others before, the bulk transactions were about the same. This old man thought that 20,000 dan of grain was not enough. He didn't expect to feed the people of the entire county through himself, did he?
"I wonder when this batch of grain will arrive in Liaodong County?"
"Just two days."
In other words, settlement is imminent.
"I wonder if Mr. Ji is interested in the medicinal herbs in Liaodong County?" Lu Songli asked.
Ji Wuyin nodded.
Lu Songli clapped his hands, and the people below brought in a batch of boxes, which were lined up in the open space. When they were opened, they were all filled with medicinal samples.
Lu Songli looked at Ji Wuyin and made a gesture of invitation.
"Madam Qin Liu, I am not very proficient in medicinal herbs. Can you ask someone to come up and help me identify them?" Ji Wuyin asked.
"Can."
With a look from Ji Wuyin, his men went down, and after a while, they came up with an old master.
Whenever the old master passed by, he carried a scent of medicine with him.
Lu Songli picked up the tea and took two sips. They were all smart people, well prepared. As expected, Ji Wuyin had done such a big business, so he must have some skills and could predict the development of events.
The old master squatted in front of the medicinal material sample box, picked up the medicinal materials and checked them one by one.
After the old master finished his inspection, he stood up and nodded slightly to Ji Wuyin.
"The medicinal herbs in your Liaodong County are good, but I don't want to exchange all the food I brought for medicinal herbs." He is not in the medicinal herbs business!
Lu Songli understood, so she said to him, "Then take a look at what herbs you need and how much do you need?"
Ji Wuyin nodded and agreed with her suggestion.
These medicinal materials were purchased in the name of the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce, which was founded by Lu Songli. It was purchased for the government by officials and businessmen who had passed through the Ming Road.
There was no money in the public account of Houcheng. After her father took over as the mayor of Houcheng, he took over the treasury of the mayor's mansion as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, Liaodong County was really not rich, and the governor Shi Tao was a loyal emperor. Except for the rations reserved for the army and soldiers, the rest of the taxes paid by the people were transported back to Chang'an by him, leaving almost no extra for local officials.
In theory, stabilizing grain prices is also what the court should do.
In later generations, state-owned enterprises such as China National Grain and Oils Corporation were responsible for participating in the regulation of grain prices, and there were also Changping warehouses in ancient times.
Changping granaries originated in the Han Dynasty. As the saying goes, "before troops move, food and fodder must be sent ahead." The Han Dynasty's powerful military required excellent logistical support. However, due to the long distances between border counties, transporting grain from the central government was prohibitively expensive, so grain was stored locally in these counties. While the Changping granaries were primarily established to reduce their own costs and losses, they also participated in the purchase and sale of grain.
There was a Changping granary in Dali Border County, and there was one in Pingzhou, which was located in Liaoxi County. This was also the reason why the Inspectorate was located in Liaoxi County.
However, due to various reasons, the storage in the Changping Warehouse in the northeast was difficult to maintain, and the court had no policy to support grain and fodder from the central government to local Changping Warehouses.
Pingzhou is even more so because of its geographical location, where neither its father nor its mother loves it, which is why the grain prices are soaring.
While the personnel of both sides were counting the medicinal materials, Lu Songli, Ji Wuyin and Xue Xu were drinking tea.
"Mr. Ji, Houcheng is planning to expand. Are you interested in opening a few shops there? The business taxes and other things are all good. Selling some southern goods in the shops should be very popular."
"Madam Qin Liu, how do we expand Houcheng?"
"The current city walls will remain as the inner city, and an outer city will be built later." Lu Songli thought it would be a good idea to build Houcheng into a city within a city. "The outer city will be divided into four functional areas. The first to be built will be the industrial park in the western suburbs. This will become the commercial core of Houcheng and even the entire Liaodong County."
Ji Wuyin said, "I need to think about this matter." He wanted to wait until the deal was settled before making any decision.
Lu Songli nodded, "Actually, I have another suggestion."
"What suggestions?"
"If Mr. Ji isn't interested in our standardized shops, I can persuade my father to grant you a piece of land in the western suburbs so you can build a commercial building with your family or personal emblem. I sincerely suggest that Mr. Ji consider it. Only a building like this can truly demonstrate your strength."
Lu Songli tried hard to persuade him to contribute to the construction of Houcheng West Suburb Industrial Park.
Ji Wuyin: ...What a great way to borrow chickens to lay eggs! Use his money to help her build things.
"Before this, Mr. Ji only had to pay a commercial land fee to qualify."
Ji Wuyin's eyelids twitched. "Then I have to ask, after this commercial building with my Ji family's emblem is completed, will it belong to me?"
"The government will issue you a twenty-year license," Lu Songli said, evasively. "When the twenty-year period expires, you have priority to renew the contract."
Ji Wuyin was almost laughing at the shameless words. He used his money to buy the land and build the commercial building, but in the end he only had the right to use it for twenty years! How shameless!
But the heartbeat is also the real heartbeat.
After all, it has now been decided to move the county magistrate's office to Houcheng, which is the seat of Liaodong County. Its popularity and commercial value have been greatly improved.
In addition, it is really an honor to own a commercial building with the Ji family emblem in the core area of Houcheng, a capital city.
Ji Wuyin is now worried. Can he take away the money he earned from selling grain?
Xue Xu laughed secretly on the side, he was worthy of being the lord he had chosen, he was really plucking feathers from passing geese, even flies had to show one leg and dance before they could leave.
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