Chapter 28
Chapter 28
The fact that Luoan's soldiers came to ask for food would sooner or later lead them to the Xie family. Old Madam Xie called the two of them over and asked them what they thought.
Before Wen Shuse expressed his opinion, the eldest lady interrupted and firmly disagreed, "My Xie family has built more than a dozen porridge stalls in Fengcheng, and we are paying money every day to do charity. It's okay for the people of Fengcheng, but the soldiers and horses on the battlefield of Dongzhou are under the jurisdiction of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Isn't it funny that they come to us to ask for food? The battlefield is a bottomless pit. Who knows how long it will take? Our donations are just a drop in the bucket. It can't solve the problem. We still have to rely on the court to get food and fodder in place."
These were the exact words that Uncle Xie had someone bring back to the first lady. Uncle Xie said the same thing in front of Madam Zhou and the soldier.
Fengcheng is just a Jiedu Prefecture. Qingzhou is already suffering from drought, and the prince has not returned from disaster relief yet, so where can he get the money to support the battlefield?
The soldiers who came said their surname was Wei.
He was a military commander in Dongzhou, a minor official of the eighth rank.
He knew that he was not right, but he was desperate. The soldiers fighting in front of him could not go without food. He knelt down to Madam Zhou and said, "I came here today because of the urgent situation. It was really abrupt. I hope Madam will forgive me. But with the enemy at hand, the soldiers of Dafeng are still fighting for their lives on the battlefield. If Madam can think of a way to get some food and grass, I will be very grateful."
Madam Zhou hurriedly asked him to get up, but she had the same concerns as Mr. Xie. Dongzhou was the prince's territory, and Qingzhou in Zhongzhou had suffered a natural disaster. They could not take care of themselves, so how could they have any surplus food to provide foreign aid?
But since the person had come to him to ask for help, he couldn't just give him nothing. "Take half of the food in my house."
Nowadays, food is hard to come by in Fengcheng, and everyone in the palace needs to eat every day. Being able to give half of it is already a kindness from Madam Zhou.
Seeing Mrs. Zhou say this, Mr. Xie, a large grain farmer, was immediately put on the fire. After thinking for a while, he also promised, "My Xie family will pay ten days."
Mrs. Zhou narrowed her eyes slightly.
Of course she knew that the Xie family was hoarding grain. She heard that the third grandmother mortgaged the shops of the Xie and Wen families and used all the money to buy grain.
At first she was worried that she would disrupt Fengcheng, but over the past ten days, she had not transported the grain out of the city, and had not let the people starve.
Not only did they not let the people starve, they also set up free porridge stalls. Except for the fact that the people could not buy food, Fengcheng was no different from before. After Prince Jing took charge of Zhongzhou, he promoted trade and always advocated freedom of trade. As long as Fengcheng was not disrupted, she had no reason to pursue it.
As for how much Mr. Xie wants to donate, that is the Xie family’s own food and she has no right to interfere.
Both of them seemed to have given support to the best of their ability, but these really had no effect on the battlefield.
Madam Zhou saw the dilemma that Wei Dujian was in, so she said, "How about this, if you can find a way to get the people to donate grain, I won't interfere."
Wei Dujian bowed and thanked the emperor. After leaving the palace, he immediately took his men and squatted at the city gate to beg for food from the people.
The eldest lady finally talked to the old lady and Wen Shuse, but they refused to give her a single grain. When she received the news from Master Xie, it was like being cut by a knife. How much money would ten grains of grain sell for at the current market price? She felt distressed for a while, but since Master Xie had already promised to give it, she had no choice but to agree.
Wen Shuse had no objection. He had someone carry out ten dan of rice and he followed them to the city gate.
When they arrived at the city gate, they saw from afar a lot of people gathered in front of them. The road was completely blocked. Wen Shuse had the carriage parked in the alley and opened the window to look out.
The crowd was noisy and noisy.
"We don't even have rice in Fengcheng."
"Of course, there is nothing to donate..."
"I know you are all in a difficult situation." The voice of a man in front of the crowd was loud and excited, "But the soldiers of my Dafeng are now defending their country in the front line, shedding blood and sweat. We can't let them go to the battlefield on an empty stomach to fight the enemy. No matter how many there are, we will not refuse. I, Wei, would like to kneel down and thank all the elders and fellow villagers." After speaking, he really knelt down with a "thump".
The crowd was not as moved as he expected. Everyone retreated with their necks shrunk.
Wen Shuse didn't look at him again and lowered the car curtain. He suddenly felt a little disappointed.
After Prince Jing came to govern Zhongzhou, he put his heart into the people. Over the years, he worked for the benefit of Fengcheng, making himself poor while enriching the people. Every kid on the street was chubby, and there were a lot of pot-bellied masters in the teahouses and taverns.
Although Gyeongju suffered from a drought, Fengcheng did not. After spring, the rice was planted and within a few months, there would be another bumper harvest in autumn. Who doesn't have some food stored at home?
Take the porridge stall for example. There were many people there in the first two days after it was set up, but fewer and fewer people came later. After eating plain porridge for a few days, people couldn't stand it anymore and decided to go home and enjoy their own delicious food and wine.
The price of grain has soared to its current level only because the grain is being hoarded and deliberately inflated. If it were really to be sold, how many people would buy it?
Wen Shuse asked someone to deliver the food, and he got off the car with Xiangyun.
Because of this food war, Wen Shuse became famous in Fengcheng, and the people privately nicknamed her "Miss Rice".
Wen Shuse squeezed through the crowd. Many of the people present recognized her and made way for her.
Wei Dujian was still kneeling on the ground. The sky was slowly getting darker and the sky was covered with a layer of dust. The vitality and vigor on the faces of the young soldiers eventually dimmed. They were feeling disappointed, but suddenly they saw a beautiful young lady full of energy. They looked a little dazed.
"Get up. Even if you kowtow to them, they won't give you anything. Why bother damaging the integrity of your generals and soldiers?" Wen Shuse asked the servant behind him to help the man up. He turned around and pointed at a carriage behind him and said to him, "I'm here to bring you food."
Seeing that he didn't respond for a long time, I looked up and found that he was already standing there.
He was so happy that he was silly. Wen Shu called him, "Soldier?"
Wei Dujian suddenly came to his senses, and hurriedly bowed his hands to apologize, "Thank you, young lady. I don't know what your name is." Fearing that it might cause misunderstanding, he quickly explained, "I will keep it in mind and let the soldiers remember your kindness."
Before Wen Shuse could answer, a commoner beside him answered first, "She is our Lady Mi from Fengcheng."
"If you want food, go find her."
"The Third Grandma of the Xie Family, all the food in Fengcheng is in her hands."
Wei Dujian looked shocked.
After standing here for an entire afternoon, he naturally heard from the common people that all the food in the city had been hoarded by the third grandmother of Deputy Envoy Xie's family. He had thought it would be an older woman, but he did not expect it to be such a young lady.
Seeing that the people had signed up for her, Wen Shuse was too lazy to speak again, "Soldiers, there is no need to thank me. Today, I would like to thank the Deputy Envoy for promising to give the soldiers ten days of food. It is all here."
The ten tons of grain was just a drop in the bucket for the Xie family, who had been hoarding grain.
But Deputy Envoy Xie had already made his attitude clear to him and was unwilling to give more, so he could not force him.
Wei Dujian thanked him again, but Wen Shuse was in no hurry to leave. After letting Xiangyun disperse the people around him, he glanced at the empty back and asked curiously, "You didn't receive a single grain of rice?"
It had been several hours since I left the palace, and it was almost dark, but I still hadn't begged for a single grain of rice.
Wei Dujian looked ashamed and said, "It's my fault for coming too abruptly. Don't blame anyone."
Wen Shuse was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "What position do soldiers hold in the army?"
Wei Dujian was stunned, and saw the young lady opposite him looking at him expectantly, with a look of wanting to cling to the rich and powerful in her eyes, and her snobbishness was obvious. But unlike other girls, she seemed to be more openly snobbish, not disgusting or annoying at all, but instead made people feel inferior and guilty, ashamed of her official position and unable to speak out.
Wei Dujian avoided her gaze and said with his head down, "I am the Dujian of Zhongzhou, an eighth-rank official."
The young lady was indeed disappointed. She stayed still for a moment, then looked away from his face and said in a soft voice, "Oh..."
The drawn-out tone was filled with disappointment, which pierced people's hearts. Wei Dujian was anxious and said inexplicably, "However, my grandfather was the general of the Zhenjun Army, the current General Yang."
In the past, he hated it most that others attributed his efforts to his family relationship, so he did not stay in Dongdu, but went to Luo'an, Dongzhou, and never mentioned his identity in front of others, including in front of Madam Zhou just now, he used the title of the general, not his grandfather. Now, knowing that the young lady in front of him wanted to cling to the powerful, he was willing to reveal his family background.
As expected, the young lady's eyes lit up again, "What rank?"
Wei Dujian smiled and said, "Second rank."
The young lady was also a straightforward person, "I still have a lot of food."
Wei Dujian's expression became serious. "If you can help the soldiers out of their urgent need, the army will be grateful. On the day of our triumphant return, I will report this to the court and remember your contribution."
"Really?" Wen Shuse was not polite at all, "Does your words work?"
Wei Dujian understood the meaning of her words and said solemnly, "I am Wei Mo, the eldest son of the Wei family in Dongdu. If you deny it one day, you can come to my house."
Being able to be remembered for merit is an unexpected gain. Let's take care of the present first. Wen Shuse said, "Although the grain is mine, this is the fiefdom of Prince Jing, Fengcheng. If the Wei soldiers want to transport the grain, they have to follow me to find Madam Zhou. Don't worry, the two states of Zhongdong are originally one family. They are all mountains and rivers of Dafeng. The prince is dedicated to the people and will not let the soldiers be trapped on the battlefield because of grain."
More than an hour later, Wen Shuse left the palace.
It was already dark. Wen Shuse sat in the carriage and spread out three official documents. He read them word by word under the sheep-horn lamp and became more and more satisfied as he read more.
Xiangyun was illiterate. Seeing his wife's mouth almost split to her ears, he also laughed and couldn't help sighing, "The two ladies always said that the family couldn't do without an official, and they were afraid that we wouldn't be able to protect the family assets in the future. Little did they know that the money could be exchanged for an official position. Now, my wife has three wives. We won't rely on anyone in the future. We can be officials and make our own decisions. When the Second Master and the Third Master come back this time, we won't have to go to Fuzhou anymore."
A piece of rice paper, with a few words added and a red seal stamped on it, becomes completely different.
When Master Wen's appointment letter came down, the eldest wife hid it like a treasure and didn't even let her take a look at it. She even blamed him for being stingy, but now she can understand.
Isn't it rare?
In the past ten days, Wen Shuse was not as calm as he seemed. Every day was thrilling. Now that everything was as he wished, his heart flew to the clouds and he asked Xiangyun, "Do you think they will like it?"
"Second Master and Third Master will definitely like it." But the son-in-law... Xiangyun is not sure about the son-in-law's personality, but it doesn't matter, "Who doesn't like to be an official? The son-in-law will like it too."
Wen Shuse was not too worried about Xie San. She had asked Mrs. Xie beforehand, and Mrs. Xie said, "Why don't you like him? Look at him, he's busy all day long, never touching the ground. Isn't he the material for being an official?"
However, my father and third brother both have their interests and hobbies in the sea water, and they are wild in nature. I don’t know if they are willing to stay in Fengcheng and not go anywhere.
My grandmother is old, and my uncle's family has gone to the Eastern Capital. They can't leave this time when they come back. It would be good for them to get an official position and stay in Fengcheng steadily.
The carriage was passing through a busy city. The Bridge Market was the most lively at night. The bright lights from the upper floors occasionally shone into the carriage. A bunch of literati and scholars were sitting in the teahouses and taverns.
Suddenly a fragrance wafted in, and Wen Shuse couldn't help swallowing his saliva.
Xiangyun also smelled it, "It seems to be the smell of fried clams. Are you hungry, my lady? I'll go buy some. My lady loves to eat it most..."
It would be fine if I didn't mention it, but as soon as I mentioned Wen Shuse, my tongue felt bland.
Xiangyun pushed open the window and just as she lifted the curtain to ask the coachman to stop, Wen Shuse grabbed her arm in time and said weakly, "We are penniless and cannot afford these."
Xiangyun turned around, his eyes showing sympathy, "Madam, you are really amazing."
How could my wife be bankrupt?
Others don’t know, but Xiangyun has been following Wen Shuse these days and knows very well that his wife doesn’t spend much money at all.
The grain that was initially purchased from the shop had not yet had time to rise in price, so my wife bought it all at a uniform price of one hundred coins, regardless of whether it was new rice or old rice.
Later, Mrs. Mi from the Cui family did not give cash, but used the shops and teahouses of the Xie and Wen families as collateral.
The most dazzling thing is that the price of grain rose later. The few batches of rice that my wife bought increased to the current price of 600 coins, which increased six times, not to mention wheat.
No one knew at what price she bought or how much she bought.
In fact, my wife buys very little.
After the first round of price increases, no one sold their grain. On the third and fourth days, seeing the price soaring, some people could not help it and tried to sell some. My wife bought all of them at the price at that time. After buying them, she immediately raised the price again. Several farmers learned that the price had increased by thirty cents just after they sold them. They regretted it so much that gradually no one sold anymore.
The grain that was carried into the mansion was just moved from one warehouse to another. While my wife was speculating on the price of grain, she was also raising the inventory cost in the warehouse.
In the end, apart from the ten thousand taels of silver that were initially used to buy rice for the shop, the only losses were from the Wen and Xie families' shops and teahouses.
Ten thousand taels of silver plus a teahouse in exchange for three official positions, how could it not be worth it?
The shop and teahouse are in the hands of the Wen and Xie families, and they are the hope of a few blood-sucking worms. Rather than being corrupted by them, it is better to buy yourself an official position.
Today, my wife gave Aunt Qing a bag containing 500,000 taels of cash. She can go to Dongdu to buy a few properties and make a steady profit in the future. Isn't it better than a teahouse or shop?
But I will have to put up with my wife's mouth from now on.
Xiangyun felt sorry for his master, "I don't know why these people eat so much at this time of night. They might get fatter tomorrow."
Wen Shuse:......
"Close the window."
When Mrs. Xie learned that Wen Shuse went to the palace after delivering the food, her heart felt like a fire was lit, and she was constantly tormented and unable to sleep.
"What do you think she did at the palace?"
"Mrs. Zhou won't force it, will she?"
"No, you should go to the palace and see what's going on..."
Mr. Xie had been exhausted these days. Hearing her nagging, he got angry. "Why are you so anxious? She is such a grown-up. The shops and teahouses of both the Wen and Xie families were mortgaged to her. How could she be taken advantage of by others?"
That's true.
But the eldest lady was still worried, so she asked Biyun to hold a lantern and wait at the door herself. After waiting for half an incense stick, she was pacing in front of the screen wall when she heard some noise in the alley.
Biyun was standing on the steps and saw the lights first. She turned back and reported, "Madam, the people are back."
The eldest lady walked out of the door and saw a large group of people and horses walking towards her from afar. When they got close, she could see clearly that the soldiers from Prince Jing's Mansion recognized her, but the ones in armor were very unfamiliar to her.
The eldest lady's heart suddenly rose to her throat. When Wen Shuse got off the carriage, she immediately stepped forward and grabbed her and asked, "What happened?"
Wen Shu smiled and said, "All the food has been sold."
The eldest lady was stunned.
Wen Shuse ignored her and turned around to call out to Supervisor Wei and the staff of the palace behind him, "There is too much food, it's all in the palace, please go in and move it yourself."
Seeing a group of people entering the mansion to carry grain, the eldest lady felt very unhappy and blamed Wen Shuse for not discussing it with her and the master in advance and actually went to find Madam Zhou without permission.
But it had already been sold, and it was too late to say anything, so I continued to ask, "What was the price?"
After thinking for a while, Wen Shuse said, "It's a sky-high price." Three official positions, isn't that a sky-high price?
When the price of grain went up, the eldest lady realized that the only people in Fengcheng who could afford to buy the grain were Madam Zhou, besides the Cui family.
The word "sky-high price" did make her feel better. Looking at the empty alley behind her, she began to wonder, "When will the money be paid?"
“I have already paid.”
Based on today's grain prices, selling this much grain would earn at least a dozen horse-drawn carriages worth of silver.
The eldest lady was puzzled for a moment, wondering if they were afraid of moving back too late. She turned around and wanted to ask more questions, but saw that Wen Shuse had already gone up the corridor and did not follow him. She hurried back to the house to discuss with Master Xie how to distribute the money. If Master had not protected the food for Madam Zhou this time, how could she have kept it? Now that the food has been sold and the money earned, she can't just give them a house in Dongdu, she should at least share some of it.
There was so much food that Wen Shuse called the servants in the mansion to help move it, and all the usable carriages in the mansion were taken out.
The palace's carriages also arrived at the gate one after another. After more than an hour, all the food was loaded onto the carriages.
Wen Shuse escorted Wei Dujian out of the door and pointed to the carriage in front. "I see that you and the soldiers haven't eaten for a day, so I put some food and water in it. You can eat on the road later. People need to fill their stomachs."
Giving timely assistance is far more important than adding icing on the cake, and it can also move people's hearts more. If it weren't for the young lady in front of him, not only would he return empty-handed, but he and these soldiers would probably have to starve.
Supervisor Wei's face was solemn, and he bowed to her. "I will never forget your kindness to me. If you have any difficulties in the future, please come to me."
After becoming an official, he suddenly cared about his reputation. Wen Shuse straightened his chest and said, "Wei soldiers, there is no need to thank us. When the country is in trouble, every citizen has a duty. This is what we should do."
After the issue of reducing the power of the feudal lords was settled, Zhou Kuang also left the city a few days ago to meet up with Xie Shao and Pei Qing, and just returned today.
As the three men rode into the city, they saw that the city gate was brightly lit. Carriages loaded with food were lined up in a long queue, occupying the entire passage.
Madam Zhou was also there, standing next to the carriage in front, talking to Supervisor Wei, "You are actually the nephew of Concubine Yang Shufei, why didn't you tell me earlier..."
The attitude was much more enthusiastic than that at noon.
Wei Mo had not expected that Madam Zhou and his aunt, Concubine Yang Shufei, were old acquaintances. "This time, it is all thanks to Madam Zhou's care."
The babies are coming~
Xie Shao: What did my virtuous and beautiful wife do?
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