Chapter 460 A Bountiful Harvest
Southland, Li people
The tribesmen bundled the dried and sorted paper, put it into baskets woven with vines, and placed the baskets on both sides of the elephant.
After all the goods were arranged, Xian Yi set off with a few smart young men from the Li ethnic group. They drove the herd of elephants carrying the goods outside.
The tribesmen watched them go out with smiles on their faces.
"This time we shipped over 12,000 kilograms."
Every time they shipped goods, they brought the elephants with them, so they didn't feel tired.
"I heard that the three southern counties really like our two types of paper. The ones we sent are not enough to sell."
"Who wouldn't like it? It's cheap and easy to use."
Toilet paper costs three cents a bundle, and one bundle is one coin, which is one hundred sheets. A sheet of toilet paper is very thick, so you can usually just take one sheet of toilet paper after going to the bathroom.
In addition to toilet paper, there is also green knife paper. Green knife paper is for women to use during those days. Because it is boiled with herbs, it is one penny more expensive than toilet paper.
"Our lives are getting better and better."
"It's good that Second Uncle has taken refuge with this master."
"Indeed." Sugarcane can only be harvested at the end of the year and made into sugar to sell for money. It takes too long from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, so the second uncle gave them this livelihood.
They produced these two types of paper two months ago, and they made a lot of money by selling toilet paper and green knife paper.
Then they used the money to exchange for a lot of daily necessities in the city, and the lives of the tribe have been greatly improved.
It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. They like this, earning money by working with their own hands, which is very down-to-earth.
"The last time Amin came back, he seemed to have made great progress and felt very different from before. I really hope that next time the chief sends people to Pingzhou again, my Lei Zi can be selected." The woman who spoke had a longing look on her face.
"Haha, that's what I thought too."
The chief was strolling around with his hands behind his back when he heard the tribesmen talking. He stopped and did not continue forward. Instead, he turned and continued strolling along another road.
Xian Yi brought his tribesmen and elephants to the designated trading point. They did not go into the city and had been trading outside the city for two or three months.
At this time, the buyer Li San was already waiting there.
Li San was a small vendor who owned a grocery store in the city. Ever since the floods last year, business had been slow. He was just worrying about how to boost his business when he overheard a mother and daughter complaining about the lack of toilet paper and sanitary tissue in the south. They explained that many people in neighboring Yangzhou had them, but they couldn't find them in the south.
He paid attention to it at that time.
Later, he went to Yangzhou to inquire about these two types of paper and bought some. He took some home and sold the rest in his shop. To his surprise, his family praised the two types of paper, and they quickly sold out. People kept asking him when he could get more toilet paper and sanitary tissue.
Li San, who had used toilet paper before, understood the thinking of these people. It was just a matter of eating two or three fewer eggs a month, but it made things more convenient for the whole family.
He was both happy and worried at the time. He wanted goods, and he wanted a lot of them! But if he went to Yangzhou to buy them, the cost would be high, and the other party wouldn't be able to supply the quantity he wanted.
Just then, he discovered that someone in the South was selling these two kinds of paper on the street, and he was immediately overjoyed!
The two sides have been cooperating ever since. The Li people produce an average of over 10,000 kilograms of goods every day, all of which are consumed by him.
After a few months, he made a lot of money.
After Li San had his men count the goods, he settled the bill with Xian Yi, handing them the supplies they had specifically requested first and then settling the rest with cash.
“When will the next batch of goods be delivered?”
"It's hard to say. When the goods are available, I will ask someone to inform you in advance." Xian Yi did not give a definite answer.
When the clan members brought them the papermaking method from Pingzhou, they hinted to them that they should start this business as soon as possible, as it might be difficult to do business after the autumn harvest.
"Okay."
After both parties settled the payment, they left with their backs to each other.
At this time, Xie Nan also arrived at the Lu family paper mill. After entering, he went straight to the master chef.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I approached, I heard a few young chefs complaining to the master chef.
“The people above actually asked us to make toilet paper?”
"Not only that, didn't you also ask me to make the toilet paper that women used those days?"
"It's totally disgraceful!" Their paper mill only produces high-end paper like silver-luster paper. How could it be so cheap?
"Then toilet paper is selling for three cents a piece. How can you make money at such a low price?"
Hearing this, Xie Nan couldn't bear it anymore, "You guys take a look at this first!" As he said, he slapped the paper in his hand on the table next to him.
The master chef took the paper nonchalantly, but the more he looked at it, the more wrong his expression seemed.
Xie Nan admired the changes in their expressions. Before, when they suggested that Lu's Paper Mill produce these two types of paper, the master chef and the other workers were not happy.
Now that they see that this thing they look down upon is making so much money, the master chef shut up.
Xie Nan felt relieved. Are these people still so noble?
Pingzhou
The autumn weather is clear and crisp. Throughout Pingzhou, the rice in the fields has all bent down and turned golden, and it is time to harvest.
During this autumn harvest, the soldiers in the military camp also came to help.
Almost the entire Pingzhou, except for the elderly, the weak, women and children, participated in it. Many people picked up new-style sickles and waved them, causing a large area of crops to fall down.
Then came the foot-operated threshers, two or three at a time, which were stomped on by these men until sparks flew.
The threshed millet was quickly transported to the dam and spread out on the ground to dry.
The diligent women tied the rice stalks into scarecrows and placed them on the ground to dry.
The Xianbei naturally knew about the big commotion in Pingzhou.
Many people were ready to make a move, but were suppressed by others. "Wait a little longer, until they dry the food for us."
"Yes."
During the autumn harvest, Lu Desheng personally talked to the people about taxation.
Upon hearing that they would have to pay an additional 2.7 jin (approximately 2.5 kg) in tax per acre, the common people, trusting Lü Desheng, had no objections. This was mainly because Pingzhou had a bountiful harvest this year, yielding significantly more grain per acre. Lord Lü had suggested paying more to the court, so they did.
Lu Desheng looked at the faces of the common people looking up at him, each of them showing their trust in him, and he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.
Ordinary people made their living from farming, and every household had land, so twenty or thirty mu was not much. If the tax was based on a yield of 400 catties per mu, a family with ten mu would have to pay an extra 27 catties of grain.
In years of disaster, these twenty or thirty kilograms of food could not only save a person's life, but sometimes even buy him a wife.
But the plan must go on.
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