Chapter 1294 - 1259: Friends Have Changed
Although nominally not belonging to Zhao Hanzhang, Zhao Hanzhang’s mother still provided the people with a lot of confidence. Those who came to buy grain were no longer so anxious, and the atmosphere in the queue lightened considerably as the clerk continued measuring out grain for them.
Someone quietly slipped away from the queue and quickly ran to a small door. After entering, he turned and headed to the front, "Master, I found out. It’s the business of the Great General’s mother, Mrs. Wang. I’ve heard they’ve brought in a lot of grain, with bags piled up to the ceiling."
The middle-aged man was delighted upon hearing this and repeatedly asked, "Are you sure? Is it truly the business of the Great General’s mother?"
"Most likely it is. I even saw soldiers in uniform standing by."
"Good, good," the middle-aged man said joyfully, "Open the doors, lower all the grain prices, and adopt a purchase limit like theirs, quick!"
The clerk responded happily, "Should we still use the larger measuring container?"
The middle-aged man patted him on the head and laughed, "Do you want me to go bankrupt? Use the regular one."
The clerk went and replaced the larger container with a normal one.
This area was heavily impacted by the flood, and unlike Luoyang, a big city, grain prices soared even more wildly.
The Fang family is a well-known local landowner and grain merchant. During the Xiongnu raids, they fled from their hometown and only returned after Zhao Hanzhang reclaimed the land.
Because they left late and returned early, most of their land wasn’t reclaimed by the state, and coupled with their savings, they quickly amassed capital again.
Mr. Fang often told his son, "We’ve benefited from the Great General and received forbearance from the villagers, which is why we were able to preserve the family business, and we should repay this."
So Mr. Fang was very enthusiastic about donating money to build bridges and roads, and dredging water channels. When hints of the flood disaster appeared in the February gazette, and most people still didn’t believe it, he began preparing.
He spent money to procure a large supply of grain from outside and persuaded the villagers to store more surplus grain, avoiding selling just because the current prices were high.
He initially planned to sell at a normal price in the event of a real disaster to stabilize market prices. If Guo Pu’s prediction was wrong and there was no disaster, he would sell at a low price during the lean season, at worst losing two to three tenths, which he could endure with his family’s wealth.
However, he hadn’t anticipated that other wealthy families in the county were unwilling to stabilize prices. Backed by high-ranking officials in the Governor’s Mansion, the merchants, led by the Fang family, could not contend with them.
If prices differed, they would send people to create disturbances or even have officials arrange meetings. Merchants who had agreed with Mr. Fang to sell at a normal price couldn’t withstand the pressure and had to set their prices the same as theirs.
Mr. Fang, with two fists against four legs, could only console himself with "As long as the green hills last, there will be wood to burn," and quietly replaced the container with a bigger one.
When people came to buy grain, using the larger container could measure out an extra two liters.
For the same price, more grain could be bought at the Fang Family Grain Shop, and the people were no fools. They vaguely sensed something amiss and tacitly concealed the matter together.
After grain prices soared, the Fang Family Grain Shop’s business was the best among the few. Although other homes felt indignant, they did not suspect anything. After all, the Fang Family Grain Shop was an old brand in the county, and the people trusted them as being normal.
They never thought someone wouldn’t profit when they could, selling one and two-tenths liters of grain for the price of one liter.
When the government’s disaster relief grain arrived, it didn’t affect them much, because the households eligible to receive disaster relief grain typically couldn’t afford their grain anyway.
The newly opened grain shop, however, was effectively snatching customers from their hands, which was infuriating.
But since the clerks selling grain in the store claimed it was the business of the Great General’s mother, and with soldiers nearby, they dared not act rashly, so they sent someone to investigate.
For matters like this, you could just ask the yamen directly, "That shop is rented, just for two months, very cheap."
"What, let the landlord evict them?" The clerk said, "If it were an ordinary household, they might be evicted, but this is the Great General’s mother, who would dare?"
"We’ve already confirmed it is indeed hers, and," the clerk lowered his voice, "Grand Tutor Xun is also here. He’s the imperial envoy. With such a big commotion from the newly opened grain shop, if it suddenly closes, we won’t be able to hide our affairs."
The clerk advised, "You’ve made quite a profit during this period, and there’s not much grain left in hand, right? Why not sell at a normal price?"
"It’s precisely because there’s not much left that we want to sell at a high price. Why couldn’t they open later?"
If they had opened half a month later, the grain in their hands could have been sold at a high price by then, but now...