Chapter 312: Generous Rewards
Xue Xu was not surprised at all that Zhu Changnian came back.
Turning back again, Zhu Changnian's eyes were bright and his aura was awe-inspiring, and his whole body was like a burning flame.
As soon as he sat down, he asked directly, "Mr. Xue, who is the mastermind behind this?"
"Thank you, Zhan."
"It's him? It's actually him!" Zhu Changnian was very surprised. He thought it was Chen Jiaye's. "But my Zhu family has no grudges against him in recent times or in the past. Why would he plot against my Zhu family?" Could it be that he was instructed by Chen Jiaye?
"In short, you're blocking his way."
Zhu Changnian was puzzled. They? This meant that besides the Zhu family, there were others who were blocking his way.
"What are you blocking?" Although he asked the question, Zhu Changnian vaguely guessed something.
"The South is like a piece of fertile land. The six great families each occupied a piece of it and planted fruit trees. The six great families are like forest rangers, guarding their own orchards."
"The six great families combined, plus the Ji family, occupy at least eighty to ninety percent of the land in the South. The remaining land is where small merchants and wealthy farmers survive. Against this backdrop, Xie Zhan wants to lead the Xie clan to rise and gain a foothold in the South. What can he do?"
"Xie Zhan can only use a trick to cause a melee among the forest rangers. It would be best if he could kill a few of them, and then go and grab the territory himself and become the forest ranger."
It was just as he had thought! Zhu Changnian asked again, "Did he also design the deaths of Chen Jiaye and others?"
Xue Xu smiled but said nothing.
Zhu Changnian understood, "Xie Zhan is really amazing." It was not unfair for their Zhu family to lose.
"Xue Guangxian, who is your current master?" Zhu Changnian looked at him with burning eyes, "and what is your purpose?"
Xie Zhan used the Chen family to set up this scheme, which was quite impressive. However, the person behind Xue Guangxian saw through it all early on and was even more powerful than Xie Zhan.
"That's irrelevant. The purpose is, of course, to gain profit."
Zhu Changnian didn't know Xue Xu's current situation as well as the Chen family did. He didn't even know that Xue Xu was currently serving in Liaodong County. He just thought Xue Xu was Xue Guangxian who had disappeared for three years and then reappeared.
Hearing Xue Xu's words "no comment," Zhu Changnian nodded, feeling rather regretful. He feared he would never have the chance to meet such a formidable figure.
"Let's be frank. I have some descendants of the Zhu family that I want to entrust to you."
Zhu Changnian thought to himself that when he learned that the Zhu family was being plotted against, his premonition was correct. None of his relatives and old friends were suitable candidates to entrust his son to. If the Southland became chaotic, they would inevitably be dragged into it.
"How many people are there?" Xue Xu asked.
"About ten people?" Zhu Changnian said uncertainly.
"Master Zhu, you need to strictly screen this candidate and don't push unsuitable people in. At the critical moment of life and death, you should not be too selfish." Xue Xu reminded.
Zhu Changnian nodded. He trusted his brother Zhu Changning and hadn't wanted to check the list again. But after hearing Xue Xu's words, he decided to recheck the selections. He couldn't rely on luck. Those who weren't suitable should be crossed out. Those who were too stupid should also be crossed out! This would prevent the rest from being implicated.
Xue Xu smiled and said, "Master Zhu, you should know how much it costs for us to protect these descendants of your Zhu family and raise them to adulthood." His meaning was very clear.
Zhu Changnian snorted, "My family takes care of our people, we don't need you to do the same! Also, since our family has troubled you, there will naturally be a generous reward!"
He knew that Xue Guangxian was targeting the Zhu family simply because of their food. The Zhu family didn't have much else, but food was the most.
"I will give you two large warehouses of grain in secret. Both warehouses are top-quality grain. There is only one condition: you raise them up as much as possible. If possible, give them a sum of money that they can use to make a living after they grow up." Zhu Changnian's voice became very low as he spoke.
Zhu Changnian knew very well that since the Zhu family had been targeted, their visible property could not be touched. It would be meaningless to use their visible property to entrust the orphan to someone else.
After listening to this, Xue Xu quickly calculated in his mind.
It is a common convention that one warehouse contains 50,000 shi of grain, a large warehouse contains 100,000 shi of grain, and two large warehouses contain 200,000 shi of grain!
In a non-disaster year, the normal value of the grain in these two warehouses is around 200,000 taels. The current value is around 480,000 taels, not to mention that he said the quality of this grain is top-notch, and the value will only go up.
It's rich! These two large warehouses of grain can solve the problem of feeding so many people. After the conscription, the soldiers will no longer have to worry about not having enough to eat.
The Zhu family was indeed one of the six great families in the South, specializing in grain. They had 500,000 dan of grain on the books, but they also secretly had two large warehouses! The key was that they still didn't know if the Zhu family had more grain hidden behind these two warehouses!
"The head of the Zhu family is generous." Xue Xu praised.
"No need to flatter me. What I want to know now is how can you guarantee that you won't take the benefits but not do the work?" Zhu Changnian stared at him and asked.
"At this point, you can only trust me, right?"
"Yes, but your words and actions will also affect my decision. My Zhu family has plenty of food, both openly and secretly. I can give you more or less, it all depends on my will."
At this time, Zhu Changnian was extremely calm. As the head of the Zhu family, one of the six major families, he was smart and wise.
Xue Xu's eyes flashed, and he smiled, "Please rest assured, Master Zhu, my master and I, Xue, are not people who go back on our word. However, my master often says that the customer is the old Buddha, and of course we must pay attention to the old Buddha's needs."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Changnian muttered to himself, what does this mean? It sounds like his master is a businessman?
"Master Qin Liu, come in!"
Qin Sheng, who was guarding outside, pushed the door open and walked in. He had sharp senses and heard the conversation between the three of them just now.
"This is our Sixth Master Qin Sheng, the youngest son of Qin Yue, Marquis of Zhenbei. Sixth Master, this is the head of the Zhu family." Xue Xu introduced to Zhu Changnian.
When Zhu Changnian heard Qin Sheng’s identity, his eyes widened. Wasn’t the Zhenbei Marquis’ family exiled to Pingzhou?
Qin Sheng nodded at him and said, "I've heard a lot about you."
Zhu Changnian replied, "Nice to meet you."
Qin Sheng clasped his fists towards Ji Wuyin again, "Please don't blame me, Mr. Ji."
The last time Ji Wuyin went to Liaodong County, Qin Sheng was out suppressing bandits, so they had no chance to meet.
He hadn't expected that the young man before him was actually Lü Songli's husband. He had been pretending to be Xue Xu's bodyguard for so long in the Southland, never revealing his true identity. He was truly patient.
"Mr. Xue, I have sensed your sincerity. I will give you a large warehouse of grain as a token of my loyalty as the head of the Zhu family. Please arrange for someone to follow my trusted aides to collect the grain."
Zhu Changnian knew very well that if anything happened to the Zhu family, it would be the emperor who would take action.
Qin Sheng's appearance in the South was against the emperor's order, and the Zhu family's secret transfer of some blood was also against the emperor's order.
From now on, they will be on the same front and everyone will be the same.
In addition, the Qin family had a good reputation, so he believed them.
If Xue Xu knew what he was thinking, he would definitely say that these people didn't know that his master had a good reputation.
Xue Xu affirmed his approach, "Master Zhu, you are right. The fewer people who know about some things, the better."
Xue Xu's words made Zhu Changnian understand that he had guessed that he was planning to use this large warehouse of grain to entrust it to relatives and friends.
Zhu Changnian smiled and didn't respond. Instead, he turned to Ji Wuyin and said, "I'll mortgage two more warehouses of grain to you and loan you 180,000 taels of silver. The mortgage period is one day. Do you dare?"
"What is there for me to be afraid of?" Ji Wuyin is no pushover to become the richest man in the South.
The price of grain fluctuates day by day. Currently, the value of the grain in the Zhu family's two warehouses is more than 180,000 taels. Zhu Changnian is actually selling the grain to him at a low price.
"If you dare, then let's make a contract."
Zhu Changnian knew very well that Xie Zhan's schemes were mostly aimed at the Zhu family's grain. So he decided to exchange as much grain as possible!
At this time, Xue Xu said, "I, Xue Guangxian, also give you, Master Zhu, a promise. If what we speculated does not happen, we will return all the grain."
Ji Wuyin also expressed his opinion, "Old Zhu, I'm the same way. If nothing happens to your Zhu family this time, I will return the two warehouses of grain in full without charging any interest."
Zhu Changnian smiled indifferently. He certainly hoped that their speculation was wrong, but the intuition he had developed over the years told him that there was little hope.
Next, they worked all night, gathering all the available manpower, and even borrowed people from the Cao Gang, before they managed to take away a large granary of grain.
The granary was located in a remote area but close to the dock, which saved a lot of effort.
Xue Xu and his companions anticipated this situation and brought a lot of wheelbarrows with them.
The other large warehouse of grain could only be left untouched for the time being. Fortunately, this was the Zhu family's hidden grain, stored in a secret location, so it wouldn't be a problem to leave it there for a short period of time.
Ji Wuyin couldn't help smacking his lips as he watched Xue Xu and Qin Sheng win the first battle. Sure enough, the market rewards those who are foresighted handsomely.
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