Chapter 282 Affordable Food
Lu Songli invested 10,000 dan of grain in five counties and towns, which was like a drop of water falling into a frying pan, causing an uproar.
Everyone took their household registration books and lined up at the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce grain and oil store in the town or county.
Nowadays, a household registration book often lists more than ten people, unlike later generations, when single-family households often had only four or five members. Therefore, even though each person was limited to purchasing three kilograms of grain, with a maximum purchase of thirty-six kilograms, many people still managed to buy enough food.
The Liaodong Chamber of Commerce Grain and Oil Store sold affordable grain for the first time. Wu Ren was in charge personally, starting the sales at noon and working until the evening.
Those who bought food came out of the store with dozens of kilograms of food, and went home with their families, chatting and laughing while protecting the food.
Wu Ren saw that there was not much food left in the grain jar and there were still many people queuing outside. After thinking for a while, he walked out, counted the first five people and came to the sixth person. "Uncle, the food is almost sold out. Those of you behind me don't need to queue up anymore. Go home."
Those who arrived late and didn't buy anything were already anxious, and after hearing Wu Ren's words, they felt a little unbearable.
"Why is it sold out? I haven't bought it yet." The old man who spoke felt very guilty. It was all his fault for walking too slowly.
Some who were less able to bear the pressure burst into tears, "Yes, we are almost out of food at home, and we are counting on buying some cheap food to take back."
Someone begged Wu Ren, "Young man, can you ask the store to add some more food?" They had seen that this was a conscientious merchant and the food they sold was all good food. The food next door cost fifteen cents per pound.
The shopkeeper next door has come out to check four, five or six times this afternoon, with a frown on his face.
Wu Ren also noticed this scene, but he was not afraid of him. What was the background of their Liaodong Chamber of Commerce?
Furthermore, regarding the issue of grain prices, Lord Lu had also asked Lord Guo Chunsheng to talk to the grain merchants, asking them to set prices lower and, ideally, occasionally offer some discounted grain to the poor. However, these profiteers cried out that they were not making any money and would rather close their shops if prices were to be lowered.
This forced his master to work hard to find ways to get food for Liaodong County.
Facing the people's hopeful eyes, Wu Ren could only smile bitterly and bow, "Dear uncles and aunts, our store has really run out of food today."
The master told them to distribute these 10,000 dan of grain, 1.2 million jin, in three batches.
Today is the first day of the release of affordable grain. Houcheng has contributed one thousand shi, which is 120,000 jin. The other four counties have contributed a little less, which is 70,000 jin.
He was currently in Gaoxian County, which consisted of eight townships. Each township had a store, and each store was allocated less than 10,000 kilograms of grain.
They sold out in one afternoon and their staff were all exhausted.
Wu Ren's words caused an uproar among those who had not yet bought food.
Wu Ren quickly added, "Listen to me, everyone. If you didn't buy anything today, you can come tomorrow. It will still be on sale at 5 p.m. tomorrow."
Someone immediately asked him, "Hey, brother, can you close your store and we stay here?" They had to continue queuing, otherwise if they went back, they would miss the queue tomorrow. What would they do?
Wu Ren thought for a moment and said, "How about this, those of you who are lining up, I'll have someone register you and give you a number. When you arrive tomorrow, you can line up according to your number, okay?"
Some people think his method is feasible, while others think it is safer to stay and queue.
The grain was indeed sold out very quickly. The staff of the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce Gaoxian County Grain and Oil Branch were busy doing the finishing work and preparing for proofing.
The people who had been queuing earlier hadn't left either. Now that their grain was sold out, they weren't anxious anymore and were more relaxed chatting. The last two people to leave with their grain were a pair of brothers, and they were stopped by people from the same village.
"Uncle Zhang, have you separated your households?" Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to buy so much food. The two bags of food must weigh more than 36 kilograms in total.
"Yes, the households have been divided, and food is the most important thing."
"There are 21 people in our Zhang family, and even if we divide them into different households, we can only buy 30 kilograms of food, which is not enough to eat."
The Zhang brothers replied one by one. After that, seeing that it was getting dark, they hurriedly said goodbye to their fellow villagers.
The division of the Zhang family made many people present think about it. In addition, so many people had not bought food today, which aggravated their anxiety and they also wanted to divide the household.
Wu Ren saw this scene and laughed secretly. He thought that his master's trick was really effective. The division of households could not be forced, but had to be bribed.
The next afternoon, Wu Ren noticed that there were still many people queuing up to buy food.
On the third day, people from other counties even lined up. However, according to regulations, grain sent to Gaoxian County could only be purchased by the people of Gaoxian County first.
Wu Ren has been in charge of this store for three consecutive days. He has a young face and smiles at everyone he meets. He looks very friendly and makes people like him very much.
The old men and women, feeling that they had become familiar with him, could not help but try to get close to him.
"Shopkeeper Wu, who opened this Liaodong Chamber of Commerce grain and oil store? Who is the owner?"
"Yeah, I've never heard of this grain and oil store before."
"Our Liaodong Chamber of Commerce is a new company." Seeing that they were still confused, Wu Ren continued to explain, "Actually, it's similar to the Ji family company. You've heard of the Ji family company, right?"
"I've heard of it."
Wu Ren continued, "Our Liaodong Chamber of Commerce was specially approved by the county governor, and specializes in selling high-quality and low-priced goods."
The old man nodded and said, "The food you sold this time is of good quality and low price."
"Haha, thank you for the compliment, old man. In the future, our Liaodong Chamber of Commerce will carry more types of goods, so please look forward to it."
"Yes, otherwise the food prices would be so high that it would drive people to death."
"Yes, this food is good, but there are purchase restrictions. There is too little to buy, and many people haven't been able to buy it."
Wu Ren smiled. In fact, the purchase limit was calculated by them. In these three days, it would basically allow 5,000 households to buy food, covering 80% of the population.
"We can't help it. The entire Liaodong County is short of food. In fact, it's not just Liaodong County. The south is suffering from severe floods, and there is a food shortage everywhere."
An old man with a mustache nearby shrugged and said, "You guys in Gaoxian County are still enjoying such affordable food, so you can just laugh it off. We in Liaodui County don't even have that."
The young man next to him immediately said, "We don't have any in Xiandu County either."
The people of Gaoxian County were stunned when they heard this. They thought that every county and town had affordable grain for sale.
Then they started talking at once.
"Don't you have any in Liaodui County?"
"You don't have Xiandu County?"
"No, no!" the young man replied.
God knows, when they learned that the neighboring Wuliu and Liaoyang counties had affordable grain for sale, but Xiandu County had none, they almost burst into tears. Who could understand the feeling of grievance?
"How could this be?"
The old man with the mustache said in a flat voice, "This time, Houcheng received the most grain at a fair price. The residents there were limited to buying five kilograms each, and they've basically bought everything. Other counties and towns like Wangping, Wuliu, Gaoxian, and Liaoyang were limited to buying three kilograms each, and most families have also managed to buy."
"Manager Wu, what's going on?"
Wu Ren was in no hurry to explain. He waited until the old man with the mustache finished speaking and the others came to ask him questions before he said, "Everyone, please be quiet. I will explain to you all."
"First of all, our Liaodong Chamber of Commerce is independently operated. We will cooperate with government policies when appropriate, but we are not subject to government control."
"Secondly, the amount of food our Liaodong Chamber of Commerce has obtained this time is not enough to cover all eighteen counties in Liaodong County. I ask for your forgiveness, fellow villagers."
"Then, Houcheng is the location of the new county governor's office, and the four counties of Wangping, Wuliu, Liaoyang and others are adjacent to the Xianbei grassland. A lot of food was stolen last year, and the people in these counties have a very hard life. Not to mention, they are still serving in the army to build roads." More people-friendly policies are needed to appease and attract the people who have left to return.
"The final reason is that possessing a treasure is a crime. There are too many bandit dens in Liaodong County, both large and small. If the grain is distributed, who knows which village might be caught off guard and then fall into the hands of the bandits. Therefore, the distribution of affordable grain is temporarily limited to the counties and towns where the bandits have been eliminated."
"That's not right. What about Gaoxian County? It doesn't border the Xianbei." Someone raised doubts.
"Gaoxian County was able to receive affordable grain because it happened to have some to spare. It's incredibly lucky. Furthermore, Gaoxian County is already assisting the army in suppressing bandits."
When Wu Ren's words spread, the people of Houcheng were very proud. Other counties, such as Wangping and Pingping, also felt proud, while the people of the other thirteen counties were bitter.
They can also do labor service to build roads or support the army in fighting bandits, and they promise to be obedient.
Mr. County Magistrate, the owner of the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce, you cannot favor one over the other.
Wu Ren finally soothed them, "But please rest assured, our boss is already doing his best to purchase food. In the future, affordable food will also be available in the other fifteen counties. Please be patient and wait."
After saying that, he wanted to go back to the store, but was stopped by the woman next to him. "Shopkeeper Wu, will all the goodies from your Liaodong Chamber of Commerce be limited to purchases like this time?"
"Yes, it is required to purchase with a household registration book, and each household registration book also has a limit."
Just as he finished speaking, he was stopped by another lady, "Manager Wu, are you hiring? My eldest son is tall and strong, he can help you carry the goods." It would be great to be able to work in this store. Regardless of whether they would get paid or not, he would also be able to know in advance if they have good things to sell in the future.
"Yes. But Auntie, our Liaodong Chamber of Commerce is quite strict in recruiting people. Basically, you have to be literate. The specific recruitment requirements will be posted, so everyone should pay attention to it."
Many of the current members of the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce were recruited from Tianshui Village, the original team.
The old lady let go of his hand only after hearing what he said.
As they spoke, the others listened intently, taking Wu Ren's words to heart. When Wu Ren said they needed literate people for their recruitment, some were happy, others worried. But without exception, everyone realized the importance of reading and literacy.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
