Chapter 252 A Box of New Seeds
By this time, the rain had stopped.
Gu Xixi stood up calmly and said, "We agreed to sell another batch of grain to Shopkeeper Liao. I really don't have time to go to the city recently, so let him come and get it himself."
There were five large carts lined up outside the house, all of them pulled by tall and strong mules, a worthy sight for a grain store.
Apart from the coachman, Manager Liao only brought an accountant.
Seeing the host coming out to greet him, he smiled and took two steps forward, bowed his hands, and said, "The car got stuck in a mud pit on the small road, so I'm late. Please forgive me, Mr. Gu."
The drivers were wearing straw hats and raincoats. Manager Liao was holding an umbrella in his hand. His clothes were wet and the hems were covered with mud, which showed that they had indeed come in the rain.
Gu Xixi returned the greeting and said, "It's okay. It's inconvenient to transport grain on rainy days. It's rare that Manager Liao came as promised."
Shopkeeper Liao said, "If I can't do basic things like keep my word, how can I be worthy of Boss Gu's trust?"
He looked up at the sky and laughed, "Even God is helping us. Now that the rain has stopped, there will be no delays."
Gu Xixi invites the guests in.
Although he said he came to buy food, Shopkeeper Liao asked the drivers to wait outside and only brought the accountant, Lao Ma, in.
He Jinglan asked Gu Xixi in a low voice, "Aren't they going to the backyard to move the food?"
Gu Xixi said, "No hurry, let's talk about more important things first."
In the main room, Gu Xixi did not invite the guests to sit on the kang, but sat them around the table next to it.
Shopkeeper Liao placed a palm-sized wooden box on the table and said, "In the next three years, I, Liao Ji, will have the first priority to purchase the grain grown by Boss Gu. The price will fluctuate according to the market price of that year."
"This is what Boss Gu wants in return."
Gu Xixi took it without hesitation and opened the lid.
He Jinglan looked over curiously and found that the box was filled with dark brown beans.
She felt that this thing looked familiar and frowned in thought.
At the same time, Gu Xixi had already reached out and stirred the box a few times, then picked up a few pills at random and spread them in the palm of her hand.
Smell the scent, observe it against the light, and finally use a knife to split a small bean and take a closer look.
He Jinglan suddenly remembered, "Grapes! These are grape seeds!!"
She ate grapes once.
This is what the grape seeds inside the raisins sent as tribute from the Western Regions to the capital looked like!
At this time, Gu Xixi had also finished the inspection.
She threw the remaining grape seeds back into the box. "Yes, these seeds are new from last year. They have been well preserved and most of them are still active."
Shopkeeper Liao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "As long as you are satisfied. To be honest with you, Boss Gu, this thing is really hard to find. I used my connections to get this little bit."
Gu Xixi closed the box and said with a smile, "If it were an easy thing, I wouldn't ask Manager Liao for help. Thank you very much."
Don’t underestimate the fact that Manager Liao only opened a grain shop in Qingtian County.
The Northwest is not as prosperous as the rice-producing south of the Yangtze River, and Qingtian County is adjacent to the border, so it is bound to deal with trade coming from the south and the north, and the rule of the Northwest Army is extremely strict.
To do grain business in this area, you need connections, sources of goods, and access.
Even if Manager Liao is not a wealthy businessman, he probably knows quite a few foreigners who are related to the agricultural business.
Gu Xixi had predicted this and that’s why she made the deal with Shopkeeper Liao.
In the end, she got what she wanted.
Aunt Zhang came in and served tea to the guests, then left with Shi Tou and Xiao Hua.
Shopkeeper Liao reached out to take the teacup, felt it was a little hot, and put it down again.
He rubbed his hands and hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to speak openly.
"Boss Gu, since you are satisfied with the grape seeds, I have already prepared the engagement letter and brought it with me."
Gu Xixi said readily, "I've read it and it's fine, let's sign it."
Shopkeeper Liao was overjoyed.
Thinking that he had brought a great gift to Boss Gu, if he could help him accomplish this, his grain shop would no longer have to worry about the supply in the future. He would have plenty of high-quality goods, and it would not be a problem for him to open a branch shop.
Shopkeeper Liao could hardly control the smile on his face, and he kept asking the accountant to bring out the deed.
As Gu Xixi's temporary accountant, He Jinglan has also taken out her own four treasures of the study and a piece of red clay.
The pledge is made in duplicate.
Gu Xixi took it and looked at it first, then handed it to He Jinglan.
He Jinglan watched for two full cups of tea before confirming, "No problem."
Although the priority right to purchase grain within three years was agreed upon, part of the pricing power was still in the hands of Gu Xixi.
Using the market price of that day as a reference is a restriction for both parties.
Gu Xixi cannot raise the price arbitrarily, and Manager Liao cannot lower the price unscrupulously.
After hearing what He Jinglan said, Gu Xixi took it without looking at it any more and signed and put her fingerprints neatly.
Shopkeeper Liao was a little surprised when he saw this scene. "So Miss He is a female accountant?"
"Disrespect, disrespect."
He Jinglan smiled slightly, "No."
In fact, even if there was no accountant, Manager Liao would not hide anything fishy in the deed.
Being exposed in front of him, the cooperation ended. It is better to play the long game and follow Gu Xixi so that he can eat as much as he wants and even eat until he is full.
Manager Liao can still distinguish the pros and cons.
When everyone put away their deeds, Shopkeeper Liao felt his heart burning with anxiety, as if he saw countless copper coins and grains flying towards him.
So he didn't even bother to drink tea, and urged:
"Old Ma, why don't you show the list you wrote to Boss Gu and Miss He!"
Ma Zhangfang took out a piece of origami from his sleeve and carefully unfolded and flattened it.
Then he handed it to Gu Xixi with both hands, "Boss Gu, please."
The two women leaned together to look at a full page of paper, which was clearly classified and listed.
"In the north of Qingtian County... there are ten acres of good farmland, farmland, and fifteen acres of irrigation fields..."
He Jinglan suddenly looked up at Gu Xixi and asked, "You want to buy land?"
Gu Xixi smiled, "Yeah."
Each village is a relatively closed small society.
The residents and land have been fixed for a long time.
It is impossible to buy land around Huachidu Village.
So after some thought, Gu Xixi turned her attention to the surrounding areas of the county town.
I asked Manager Liao to inquire about whether there were any fields for sale in or outside the county.
Shopkeeper Liao buys grain everywhere, and he knows very well where the grain-producing land is.
After several days of hard work, I really gained something.
Shopkeeper Liao said, "Boss Gu's timing is truly amazing!"
Listening to his detailed account of the whole incident, I learned that since the war began, the people who reacted the most were not the ordinary people, but the wealthy families with extensive land.
Some people are not optimistic about the Northwest, believing that in the long run, the Northwest Army will definitely be short of money and food, and civil unrest may even break out. They are afraid that the general will squeeze them out of their money by then.
Or they may have connections with some wealthy families in the capital, and they are afraid of being retaliated against by the general in the future.
These people left with their families one after another. They could take their money and valuables with them, but they could not take their land with them.
Shopkeeper Liao's face was filled with joy, and he looked even happier than Gu Xixi herself.
“Although not every family is in a hurry to sell their land for cash.”
"But what we want is to take advantage of the situation!"
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