Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Liang Jia comes.
The next day, Ji Xu continued to sell his wares in Shengchangli, still charging the original price of five cents for meat and three cents for vegetables.
Sun Linlang was also hawking his wares, but he raised the price by one cent. When he met someone who thought he was selling too high, he chased after him and said,
"Go to the grocery store and ask around; the price of flour has gone up! I'm only giving you a penny more!"
Ji Zhi also came today. She coaxed Jin Shi, saying that she knew a rich family in Shengchangli and could buy cheaper white flour there. She asked Jin Shi to give her the money to buy it. In fact, she paid ten coins herself and bought half a hu of flour to make coins.
Now that she saw that Ji Xu did not raise the price, she gritted her teeth and did not raise the price at all. As a result, her business was better than Sun Linlang's, and she sold all her goods.
Ji Xu sold out all fifty preserved eggs thanks to their reasonable prices and unique taste. When he was about to go to the market to meet Zhuang Huiniang, he saw a line of ox carts heading towards Shengchangli. The drivers all wore scarves and dark grey winter robes. The one in the lead was the chief. He was empty-handed and looked much more noble. His robe and shoes were all newer than those of the others.
"The grain merchants are coming! The grain merchants from other places are coming!"
There were children shouting and yelling.
"Where are you from?"
"From Guandong? The grain merchant from Guandong is here!"
The children ran after him, their voices spreading like a message.
Shengchangli has the most farmland in the whole village, and the land is fertile. After paying taxes, every household still has some surplus to sell. Now that they see the grain merchants coming, some people rush over to ask for prices.
"Forty coins! The grain shop owner only charged me thirty coins per hu, but the price has increased by ten coins! It's a good thing I didn't sell it to the grain shop cheaply before."
Low grain prices hurt farmers. For those who grow crops and sell grain, the higher the price, the better.
For people like Ji Xu who want to buy grain, grain merchants now charge forty coins per dou of grain. Wouldn't grain shops that buy grain and sell it sell it at an even higher price?
She simply called Zhuang Hui Niang and bought the food from the villagers in Shengchangli, saving the price difference at the grain store, which was more cost-effective. She hurried to the rural market.
Zhuang Huiniang had also sold all her coins and was anxiously pacing around the door of the grain store. When she saw her, she came forward and said,
"It's already gone up by ten coins. You need fifty coins to buy a bushel of rice. It's gone up so much in the blink of an eye."
She had just gone into the grain store to inquire, and the shopkeeper said that no matter which grain store, even in the county, the price would be the same, and the price increase was allowed by the market clerk. This made Zhuang Hui Niang very anxious.
Her son Chen Da had contracted leukorrhea last year. The joints on his feet were swollen as big as eggs and the pain was severe during the rainy season. He had previously asked a pharmacist to treat him, but the condition did not improve. He was left with a limp and could not do heavy work in the kiln. The family's savings were all gone.
There are seven people in her family, four adults and three children. The personal expenses in September this year will cost more than 500 yuan.
Fortunately, the harvest was good, and one acre of land could produce four hu of rice. Her family had seven and a half acres of thin land, and six acres were planted with rice. At that time, in order to raise money to pay the family's head tax, they sold sixteen hu of rice after the harvest. In addition to paying the land tax, they also ate some of it later. Now they only have five hu left, and six hu of beans.
Even if an adult only eats half full for breakfast and dinner every day, he can still consume at least two hu of grain per month. What's more, there are four such adults in her family, a teenage boy, and two six-year-old children.
These grains will definitely not be eaten until the next autumn harvest. The family had no choice but to sell so much of them. They had originally thought of tightening their belts, adding water to cook porridge and eating them frugally.
Those who would go to the grain market to buy grain included people like Ji Xu who had no land, or those who planted mulberry and hemp at home, raised fish in ponds, and made money from other things like silkworm farmers and vendors. The grain they grew was not enough for their families to eat, so farmers could only sell it to the market and rarely bought it out.
Fortunately, the Chen family had two sources of income in the past two months, so they could live a more comfortable life. Thinking that they would have to buy grain sooner or later, and fearing that the price would go up in the future, they bought some in advance and kept it in storage.
But who would have thought that it had actually risen by ten cents, enough to buy a pound of good meat.
Zhuang Huiniang couldn't help but feel troubled. Should she buy the rice?
"Let's go to Shengchangli to buy it. They have grain merchants there to collect it. Many families have surplus grain to sell and don't go to the grain store."
Ji Xu and Zhuang Hui Niang returned to Shengchangli. Every family pulled out a wheelbarrow and surrounded the grain merchants. From a distance, they saw Wang Dianji in this bustling place, chatting with the head of the grain merchants.
As the Gan family was a large landowner, they naturally had grain to sell. Niu Dianji was in charge of the accounts for the forests and fields, so it was natural that he was responsible for counting the rice and settling the accounts after it was shipped out.
But now Wang Dianji is quite favored by Mrs. Bai, so she specifically asks this old guy to help the young people sell the grain stored in the Gan family's autumn harvest.
Because they heard that the Gan family had a lot of grain, a team of grain merchants came to collect it in person. In order to steal the limelight from Niu Dianji, Wang Dianji brought a group of boys and came here in a grand manner to lead the way.
In addition, the villagers joined in the fun, asking questions to the grain merchants and chattering so much that the road was blocked.
"Xiao Lang, how long will you stay here? How much food can you eat?"
"After you finish collecting the Gan family's goods, come to my house! I have rice and wild rice, not a single empty shell. They are all of excellent quality. Just give me a good price!"
Ji Xu was blocked outside and could not speak to Wang Dianji for a while, so he asked the people from Shengchangli who were also watching nearby:
"Old man, are you selling grain? I'm looking to buy some. Why don't you give me a good price so we can do business and avoid having to crowd each other here?"
The old man heard this and said:
"How much do you want? My rice is all harvested from top-quality fields. It's worth forty-five coins per dou."
Zhuang Huiniang, who was standing by, heard the price and couldn't help but say, "You only sell grain to the grain merchants from Guandong for 40 coins per hu, why are you selling it to us at a higher price?"
"You think this is too expensive? Then go to the grocery store and buy one that costs fifty cents." The old man said, tucking his sleeves.
Because he had just heard the head of the grain merchants tell the villagers that they should just bring whatever they had at home, and as long as the quality was good, they would buy it all, and they would not have to worry about not having a market. Seeing that someone like Ji Xu wanted to buy, he simply raised the price.
I asked several people in a row, and they all raised the price like this. The arrival of grain merchants from other places has made rice in short supply, which has given the price a reason to rise.
It was Wang Dianji who saw that she was blocked outside and sent a servant to ask her why she was crowded there.
Hearing that Ji Xu also wanted to buy grain, Wang Dianji took the opportunity to come out to find her and said in a low voice:
"If you want me to keep it for you, tell me the amount, and I'll pay you less than I would give you to the grain merchant."
Zhuang Huiniang was delighted when she heard this, and Ji Xu then told her the amount they had agreed on beforehand:
"I want twenty hu, and my aunt wants six hu."
Wang Dian said, "Okay, since we are friends, I'll give you 90% of the price. I'm busy as hell now, and the Gan family can't do without me. Come back the next day to get it, and I'll keep the money for you."
The aunt and nephew felt reassured, thanked him and went home.
All the way, Zhuang Huiniang covered her chest and said excitedly:
"Thanks to the communication between Ms. Xu and Wang Dianji, ninety percent... that's thirty-six coins per dou. My family saved dozens of coins buying these!
How much use can it have? If I buy it at a grocery store outside, I won’t get such a good price.”
Zhuang Huiniang told this to Lu Mu, who was also delighted. She immediately prepared the money, knowing that it was all thanks to Ji Xu. She said:
"She is weak, and there is no one in the family who can do the heavy lifting. If she were to carry the grain bit by bit by herself, I don't know how many times she would have to go. Tomorrow, your father-in-law and I will go and fetch the grain. We will help her carry back the twenty hu, so she won't have to worry about it."
After saying this, the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law went to prepare the shoulder poles, baskets, sacks and other things that would be used the next day.
The Cui family had been complaining all day. Ji Xu was on his way home when he overheard Liao's voice:
"That damn grain merchant! He didn't come earlier or later, but he just happened to come today when we sold our rice at a low price yesterday!"
There were more than one wave of grain merchants, and grain collection teams came to every village and town to buy up the autumn harvest. However, the Cui family sold all the grain except for their own food and kept the silver in their hands. This resulted in a considerable loss.
When Ji Xu was on his way home, he ran into a line of ox carts carrying some grain. The men driving the carts spoke with a Guandong accent.
Benguli was not as wealthy as Shengchangli, which had much surplus grain. After paying taxes, most families had only some food left for food, and few families had anything left to sell.
Of course, there are also some families who are short of money. Seeing that the grain price is good this year, they grit their teeth and sell their food rations for money.
This is the case with the Wang family.
Wang Li was seen jumping up and down in front of the thatched cottage, waving, "Grain merchant! Grain merchant, come to my house!"
His sister, Wang Mian, who was not even three years old, also toddled to the door and mimicked the words, "The grain merchant is coming! Come!"
The brother and sister both had runny noses due to the cold north wind. Wang Li always wiped the runny noses on his philtrum with his sleeves. After wearing this single piece of clothing for a long time, a layer of hard crust formed on the cuffs.
My sister's face was flushed and her big eyes looked at Ji Xu curiously.
"What are you doing?" Ji Xu asked as he passed by.
Wang Li said happily, "I heard that the price of rice is better this year than last year. My family wants to sell the rice to get some cheap beans."
Inside the courtyard, the door to the west room was open. Wang Mazi and his wife were seen, one opening a sack, and the other using a ladle to scoop rice from the wooden warehouse into the sack, and then carrying it outside to wait for the ox cart team in the distance.
Cao also smiled. "It's a rare good price. I might as well sell them all for some money. It'll be enough to eat bean rice. Will you come back from Shengchangli?"
Ji Xu nodded and said, "Since my aunt's family is selling it for money, why not do it later?"
"I heard that the grain merchant is only here for two days. If you miss it, you won't get such a good price again."
Besides, the local grain stores buy rice differently from the rice from other places. They charge a higher price and pick out any bad rice. The rice from other places buys in large quantities and is not picky.
That was why Cao was so busy packing it up, and now she was just waiting for the grain merchant to pass by and take it in.
Ji Xu thought about it and told her some of his true feelings.
Wang Mazi saw that the two bags of rice he had just taken out were brought back by Cao, so he asked, "Why are they brought back again?"
"I won't sell it for now,"
Cao said, "Miss Xu is right. Let's wait and see for a while. Maybe the price will go up in the future."
On the Feng family side,
They were all silent, and the Feng brothers didn't know whether they should move.
Feng Fuzhen snorted, "Just because she says the price will go up, it will go up? The world's granaries aren't hers, why should we trust her?"
It turned out that just now Bao Yu followed Xu's instructions and went to look for the grain merchant. He happened to find him near Wang Mazi's house. He saw that the grain merchant clearly saw him and waved to go to Wang's house. Suddenly, the family said they didn't want to sell it anymore and were cursing. Cao apologized to them.
After asking Ji Xu, who had just come out of his house, he found out the reason.
Now I learned to say, "After the autumn harvest, the Price Stabilization Office came to collect public grain, and now the big grain merchants are aggressively collecting private grain. If all the grain is in the hands of the big grain merchants, I think the price of grain will inevitably rise again. Now the grain shops are selling it for fifty coins a dou."
"Mom, let's follow Wang Mazi's example and wait and see." He added.
After thinking for a while, Aunt Xu said, "I don't think it will go up. It's a rare good price all year round. If we don't seize the opportunity and wait for the price to fall, we will lose a lot of money in vain."
Bao Yu asked again, "Have you left enough food at home? We still have a long way to go until next autumn harvest."
"Don't worry, I've saved enough food. I'll buy food for the New Year in December and entertain relatives in January. Next spring, Yun Lang will have to pay a tuition fee to the Jingshe. All of this will cover expenses. While the price is right, selling the food will also bring in some income."
"Why don't we wait a little longer? We can't trust the foreign grain merchant completely. He said the price won't be the same today. Maybe it will go up. We can earn more."
Bao Yu advised that Ji Xuxiang had helped her before, and she felt from the bottom of her heart that this man was reliable, and she believed what he said.
Xu's face fell. "Have you been bewitched by Xu Nu? You've repeatedly refuted my words for her. Ultimately, I'm the one who makes the final decision on this house. I'm selling it today!"
After saying that, he directed the Feng brothers to continue packing the bags and loading the truck.
It is said that when Ji Xu returned home, his two younger sisters came back from watching the neighbors selling grain. They talked about how much each household had sold and how much money they got.
After some thought, Ji Xu went to Chen's house again and told Aunt Lu about the current situation of grain merchants from other places buying up grain in a big way. He said:
"If all the grain is in the hands of the big grain merchants, the price of grain will inevitably rise again. Mother, do you think you should remind the villagers in Benguli to wait and see and not rush to sell. Maybe the price will rise again.
Because I see that many families are short of money and have even sold their grain. If the price goes up in the future, all the profits will go to the grain merchants, and the villagers who work hard on the land will suffer."
Aunt Lu nodded and said, "Your words make sense, but we are both insignificant, and I'm afraid no one will believe us if we go and speak to the village headman. If he speaks, everyone will feel that his words carry weight. So, the better to do this sooner rather than later, I'll call your grandfather Chen and go find the village headman right away."
The village headman was the head of the village and lived in Xiaoshunli. The old couple Chen led the way and took Ji Xu to Xiaoshunli.
Speaking of which, this was Ji Xu's first time to set foot here. Xiaoshunli was not as wealthy as Shengchangli, but overall it was better than Benguli.
Willows hang down on the river bank, chickens and ducks roam the ground, and occasionally you can see old and young people in front of the house, a scene of contented life.
Especially when passing by the courtyard of the bookstore, the sound of reading is loud and peaceful.
They went to the village treasurer's residence. His wife was sweeping the yard, and two children were secretly playing in the water. After hearing the purpose of their visit, his wife said through the low wall:
"My husband is not at home. He went to the county early this morning. He should be in the village pavilion now. Go and look for him there."
The township pavilion is not far from here. It is located at the entrance of the township road near Xiaoshunli. The pavilion gate is tall, and its two sides are connected to the cliffs of Niupi Mountain. This township road is winding and shaped like a snake. It is called Sleeping Snake Valley. It is the only passage in and out of Niupi Township. The pavilion gate is opened and closed by the pavilion master every morning and evening to manage the entry and exit of the population.
There is a courtyard surrounding the pavilion gate, and the towering corner tower in the courtyard can be seen from afar. When you get closer, you can see a stone wall outside the courtyard. The writing on it has faded and blurred, but you can still vaguely make out that it is the "Tax Notice" after the autumn harvest.
Notices from the county government are usually posted there, sometimes on cloth, and sometimes written directly on the stone wall. They are very eye-catching for passers-by.
After explaining the purpose of the visit, the gatekeeper pointed to one of the houses and said, "He's inside, talking to the head of the pavilion."
There was a row of ox carts parked in the yard, their bulging sacks piled high on the carts. The men were unloading the shafts and leading the oxen to the stables at the back to feed them with grass. Ji Xu asked Tingfu one more question:
"Are these all cars owned by grain merchants from other places?"
There are houses, kitchens and toilets in the village pavilion, which not only receive officials but also provide paid accommodation for civilians who are away from home.
The father who still had to clean said:
"That's right. We won't leave until tomorrow. Look at all the cow dung on the ground."
Liang Zhao, the village headman, was a middle-aged man of medium height, with a beard, and an old scarf covering his hair. He wore an old grey robe with a right-side opening. He seemed very friendly. After listening to what Ji Xu said, he said:
"I know you mean well, but you're still too young, and a young woman lacks experience. Do you know that the price stabilization law is in effect now?"
The so-called price stabilization law means that some necessities of life, such as grain, have official price standards, which are called "market prices". If the market price is lower than the standard, then they can be bought and sold freely.
If the market price is higher than the standard, the government will use inventory to stabilize the price.
Liang Zhao stroked his beard and said, "This year is a good year, and the county granaries are full. If the price of rice is higher than the market price, we will naturally open the granaries to sell grain to the market to stabilize the price. If there are merchants with evil intentions selling grain at high prices, just report it to me and the market officer will take care of it."
Old Mr. Chen, a somewhat rough-mannered man, immediately raised his hands and said anxiously, "It's already gone up by ten coins. The grain shops in the rural market are selling rice for fifty coins a dou, and flour has gone up even more, to eighty coins a dou."
"Flour is in short supply because of the drought in Guandong. The wheat harvest there was completely wiped out, and the government granaries couldn't supply it. That's why the price here has also gone up.
As for local rice, fifty coins is the government's average market price, and it's right around the mark right now. I guarantee it won't go above that!"
Liang Zhao couldn't help but shake his head when he saw that this old man was persuaded by his children to come here and say such unfounded pessimistic words.
"He's a legitimate grain merchant from Guandong. The county has checked his documents. I went to the county for this matter. Otherwise, I would have opened the gates and let him in for nothing. Low grain prices hurt farmers. Now that we can sell it for a good price, everyone is overjoyed. But you, a woman, are trying to dissuade me from doing so.
"Do you think the market clerk in charge of prices is just eating for free? Don't worry! The price of rice will definitely not go up! After this critical moment, it may even fall! It's the most appropriate time for the villagers to sell their grain!" Liang Zhaoding said, flicking his sleeves and going into the house.
The village headman was right about one thing. As the head of the village, he could not follow her advice and say something that was completely unfounded based on his personal suspicions. Instead, it would make people panic. It seemed inappropriate to ask the village headman for help.
This was all Ji Xu could do. He hoped that as the village head had said, the price of grain would no longer rise, and the villagers could earn more by selling grain at this time. That would naturally be the best.
The next morning, the grain dealers had left and Shengchang was deserted. A dozen or so strangers came one after another. They were frail and dressed in thin and ragged clothes. Most of them held a wooden bowl and shivered in the north wind as they went from house to house begging for food.
"Where are you from?"
Some villagers felt sorry for him and brought some rice from their homes for breakfast, poured it into a wooden bowl, and asked.
"I came all the way from Kanto to beg for food."
The young man grabbed the food with his hands and stuffed it into his mouthfuls. His face was covered in dust and his original skin color could no longer be seen.
"It's so pitiful. I heard that there is a drought in your area, right?" asked the villagers.
The beggar nodded. An old man standing next to him, who spoke with a foreign accent, came over with a cane and asked him:
"Where are you from? How did you get so far away? Didn't the authorities stop you?"
Nowadays, all travel requires "transmission". Checkpoints in various places will check and the superiors must clearly state where you came from and where you are going.
The young man choked and pounded his chest, saying, "Some places didn't have strict inspections, so we slipped through. Some people were allowed through because of a group of people causing trouble outside the checkpoints. In places where the security was stricter, we took the long, detour over the mountains. That's how we got here.
"Back home, grain is only three hundred coins per bushel! I'm starving to death. I can't stay here any longer. If I escape, there's still a chance of survival."
Some of them were unfamiliar faces, spoke with foreign accents, and were somewhat resentful:
"Why did Tingfu let them in so early in the morning? My yard is full of clothes drying, but how can they leave? Tell them to get away."
In fact, they did not enter the village through the pavilion gate from the Woshe Valley. They crossed the Niupi Mountain at night and entered the village early in the morning.
"I don't have any extra food at home, go ask someone else for it!"
In Benguli, Ji Yuanfang waved his hand to drive away a refugee, and then saw Jin coming back with a gloomy face.
"The price of rice has gone up." Jin said after sitting in silence for half a day.
"What? Another five cents increase?"
When Liao heard Cui Da talk about the news of the village grain store, she gnashed her teeth in regret and scolded Cui Da.
"Look, the price keeps going up. I told you to wait a couple of days until you've saved up some eggs at home and sell them all, but you insisted you'd sell them early and live peacefully. What peace of mind are you living? Calculate how much money you've lost!"
Cui Da also sat silently on the edge of the bed, scratching his hair so hard that the scarf he had wrapped fell off.
"Please be kind."
There happened to be refugees outside begging for food. Liao said angrily:
"No food! Don't come to my house!"
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