Domineering Daming

Chapter 524

It snowed not long ago, but fortunately, the winter is very cold, the snow has not completely melted, the ground is hard, and walking is not difficult.

Zhu Xu and the others walked a few steps. Zhu Xu looked across the canal and vaguely saw a few leaves. His heart moved, and he asked, "Is the sweet potato planted in these open spaces?"

Liu Shimin didn't know, but Cao Bianjiao went to Shaanxi before and learned a lot. He heard the words: "Back to the emperor, due to the forced request of the Ministry of Households, many people refused. The compromise method is to plant half and half of sweet potatoes. half of wheat or rice."

Zhu Xu nodded, although it was unexpected, it was reasonable.

Just as he was about to leave, Zhu Xu's stomach suddenly growled, and his expression froze slightly. Then he remembered that he drank some porridge in the morning and didn't eat at all.

Cao Huachun was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, there is some snacks in the car..."

Zhu Xu waved his hand before he finished speaking, and said, "Go ahead and have a look."

Zhu Xu had already seen a group of people not far in front, who seemed to be eating.

Liu Shimin, Cao Bianjiao and others hurriedly followed.

When Zhu Xu approached, it really was a group of people, it looked like a family, five or six of them had dinner together.

From a distance, this group of people looked at Zhu Xu and the others. As soon as they approached, the older man, about fifty, dressed in coarse cloth and wrinkled, raised his hand to Zhu Xu and said with a smile: "Young master, you are also lost?"

Zhu Xu took a look and found that they were all porridge and rice, a few steamed buns, and the dishes were all home-cooked. He raised his hand and said with a smile: "My old man laughed. .”

The old man's family members also stood up, and the young man in his early twenties smiled and said, "Where is the young master going, I am familiar with this area."

Zhu Xu was just making an excuse. He didn't know the neighborhood well enough, so he couldn't think of a name for a while, so he had an idea: "I heard that there is a barracks nearby. We want to go and see it."

The face of the old man's family suddenly changed slightly, and they looked at Zhu Xu's group seriously, seeming to suspect that they were "bad guys", and then seemed to think they were not, then the old man said with a serious expression: "Young master, if you are just curious, I advise you not to go That's right, it's an important place for the imperial court, if you intrude indiscriminately, it will cause big trouble."

This was just an excuse, Zhu Xu laughed and said: "Don't worry, old man, we just said it casually, we don't have to really go." Just after he finished speaking, his stomach growled twice.

The old man saw that Zhu Xu was quite polite, and he didn't seem like a "fine work". He heard his stomach growling, and said with a smile: "That's good. If you don't mind, young master, let's use some together."

Zhu Xu was not polite, and said: "Then thank you, old man."

The young man could see Zhu Xu's carriage from a distance, and then looked at the clothes of a group of them. He knew that they were either rich or expensive. After sitting down, he asked directly: "Young master...is he also a big family in the capital? You know the court this year How to buy sweet potatoes and wheat? How much is the price?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man snorted coldly and said, "Eat!"

The other women looked at Zhu Xu and the others carefully, and ate their meals quickly without saying a word.

Zhu Xu sat cross-legged on a rock, looked around, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, old man. Although Xiao Ke is young, he knows the importance. However, when it comes to the purchase price, I really know a little bit."

The young man's eyes lit up, and he said, "You really know?"

Even the old man who had scolded the young man looked at Zhu Xu with anticipation in his eyes.

Zhu Xu reached out and grabbed a steamed bun, tore it open, put a few dishes in it, and said with a smile: "My family has some relationship with Huitong Commercial Bank. I was also there when they called the merchants to discuss. Last year's price was [-]% higher, and [-]% higher than the market price. But it's still tentative, and it's still early for next year's summer harvest, isn't it?"

As he said that, he took a big bite of the steamed bun, not sure if he was tired of eating the delicate dishes in the palace, or he was really hungry, this rough steamed bun gave Zhu Xu a particularly good taste.

Hearing Zhu Xu's words, the young man was extremely excited. He looked at the old man and said, "Father, if this is the case, the elder brother's dowry will be there..."

The old man took a sip of the soup, nodded slightly when he heard the words, looked at Zhu Xu and said, "Young Master's words are reasonable, and we really won't know until next year. Now the whole country is suffering from serious disasters, and food prices are rising everywhere."

Zhu Xu felt that the old man was somewhat insightful, so he asked casually while eating: "Old man, is it like this all over here? Half of the sweet potatoes, and half of the wheat or rice?"

It may be that Zhu Xu's words just now gave the old man trust, and when he was about to speak, his son, the young man smiled and said: "No, this sweet potato is a good thing, half an mu is comparable to nearly two mu of rice, raw and cooked You can eat, stir-fry and make steamed buns. The price charged by the court is the same as other things. I plan to grow sweet potatoes next year, but my father just won’t let me..."

The old man frowned and did not speak.

Zhu Xu knew what the old man was thinking, and he just wanted to be on the safe side. Zhu Xu also felt that sweet potatoes can't be used as a staple food, so he said with a smile: "I agree with the old man, be on the safe side. If the court suddenly stops accepting sweet potatoes one day, That would be a big loss."

The young man was stunned, speechless for a while.

The old man looked at Zhu Xu and said with a smile: "Young Master is well-informed, that's the reason."

The steamed buns are relatively big now, but after all, there are few dishes. Zhu Xu felt a little dry after a few mouthfuls, and he was not used to sharing a bowl of soup with others, so he had to hold the steamed buns and look at the old man, and asked casually: "Old man, what are you doing this time?" How much harvest can I have in a year, but can I still eat?"

Leaning on the tree, the old man was surprised at first, and then said: "Young master comes from a wealthy family, so it's normal that you don't know us well."

He paused, looked at the land not far away, and said with some pride: "Our family has 22 acres of land, one of which is enough to pay taxes, and the rest is our own. Worry, there is still a lot of savings. But ah, if it was five years ago, that is, Tianqi, or the Wanli period, it would be difficult, not to mention all kinds of exorbitant taxes, plus powerful bullies, at least half of them belonged to others , and other contacts, after a year, it would be good to barely have enough to eat."

Liu Shimin who was not far behind Zhu Xu nodded slightly, which was the direct result of political clarity.But this is near the capital city, at the foot of the emperor, under the eyelids of various yamen, if it is farther away, it will be hard to tell.

Zhu Xu knew in his heart that the next step he wanted to deal with was the relatively low-level officials. He clapped his hands when he heard this, and took out a bank note of Huitong Commercial Bank from his arms. Big laugh.

"Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang, have you eaten yet?"

The voice fell, a big fat man dressed in brocade silk and satin, with a cunning expression on his face, trotted over with a smile.

The old man was the Uncle Wang in the fat man's mouth. He frowned when he heard the voice, and his face was full of displeasure.

The same was true for the young man and several women, but they all restrained themselves from speaking.

Zhu Xu was quite curious and looked up.

The fat man didn't expect that outsiders were there, so he sized up Zhu Xu and the others, but he didn't care, and looked at the old man surnamed Wang, respectfully complaining at the same time: "Uncle Wang, tell me, you won't suffer from this matter, as long as you If you sell sweet potatoes and wheat to me, I will give you [-]% more than what the imperial court gave, so why are you always dissatisfied?"

The old man stretched out his hand to pick up a steamed bun, dipped it in the vegetable soup, and said in a cold tone: "We are all law-abiding ordinary people, and we are not as good as you who are the shopkeeper and just want to live in peace. Wang San, you still Find someone else."

This Wang San rolled his eyes, and smiled even more apologetically: "Uncle Wang, you just slapped me in the face, you said, you are my own third uncle and you won't sell me, how would others dare to sell me?"

The old man surnamed Wang glanced at Zhu Xu, perhaps thinking of the identity he reported just now, and said with a colder expression: "I know, if you buy our grain and then transport it to other places, the price of the grain collected by the court will Much higher, you are defrauding the court of money, I will not follow you!"

Zhu Xu frowned, glanced at the old man, and then turned to Wang San.

Wang San didn't expect that his third uncle would point it out in front of outsiders, he looked fearless, puffed up his chest, and said with a confident look: "Uncle Wang, since you said so, I won't hide it from you, like me I don’t know how many people do it, but it’s to make money anyway. You won’t lose money if you sell it to me. I did all the other things, and the government can’t find you if they want to investigate. What are you afraid of? You still have a grudge against money. I'm your nephew!"

Chapter 525

After Wang San's voice fell, the old man was just silent. If he had a cigarette pouch, it would be more fashionable if he smoked a few puffs.

The young man and the women all looked at the old man, looking quite moved.

Zhu Xu also understood, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Daming bought grain from the common people and merchants, and used it as a reserve grain to deal with droughts everywhere at any time, which was nothing in itself.It's just that the development of various parts of Daming is uneven. Jiangnan is the most developed, and the price of goods is relatively high, so the price of grain purchased is higher than other places.In addition, the transportation is relatively convenient now, and the price of transporting grain from the north or other places to Yingtian, Suzhou and Hangzhou in the south of the Yangtze River will be much higher, but the transportation cost is very low.

This kind of situation reminded Zhu Xu of Maotai in later generations. The ones in the city sold for several thousand, while those in the suburbs a few steps away cost several hundred. This is a tenfold price difference!At that time, someone poured into the city from outside the city, which caused a huge controversy.

Although the price of food is not so outrageous, if the quantity is large, the difference will be very considerable!

This is a loophole, Zhu Xu made a gesture to Liu Shimin, asking him to write it down, and then he will discuss with Fu Changzong to plug it.

Liu Shimin understood and nodded slightly.