Yushancang was completely burned by a fire. Now that Yuanzhou Prefecture wants to provide relief to the refugees, it has to rely on Bingshancang.
"So," Bai Zeqing looked sideways at Huo Yuncheng, "Is there any food in the Bingshan warehouse?"
"Yes." Huo Yuncheng's fingertips tapped unconsciously on the tea table.
"It can't be a moldy rice, right?" Bai Zeqing looked at Huo Yuncheng's meaningful expression and felt unsure.
"That's not true." Huo Yuncheng said.
…
Time goes back to Bingshan Cang the day before.
When Huo Yuncheng rushed to the warehouse gate, Lu Yu and Wen Jinnuo were still arguing with the warehouse supervisor.
Two weak scholars were blocked by several warehouse soldiers, and the government servants who followed them did not dare to fight with the warehouse soldiers. So the two parties were in a stalemate, with one party refusing to let in, and the other unwilling to retreat.
The supervisor said that Mr. Wang, the warehouse supervisor, was counting the warehouses, and no one was allowed to enter. No matter who he wanted to inspect the warehouse, he had to wait until the warehouse counting was completed.
Huo Yuncheng got off his horse and didn't listen to the explanation at all. With a wave of his hand, the guards rushed over and tied up the warehouse gate supervisor and several warehouse soldiers.
So, Huo Yuncheng took the lead, followed closely by Banxia. Lu Yu supported Wen Jinnuo and followed dumbfoundedly, followed by a group of guards, swaggering towards Canglao.
As soon as he stepped into the cubicle of No. C warehouse, he heard someone talking inside and the sound of rustling rice. Huo Yuncheng raised his hand to signal everyone not to act rashly.
A large group of people stood in the cubicle and listened to the wall openly.
Huo Yuncheng covered his mouth and nose with a wet cloth, leaned forward slightly, pushed open the inner warehouse door, and looked in between the mountains of rice bags.
I saw at least several hundred kilograms of white rice piled on the big wooden board in the center of the warehouse. Several coolies were pouring bags of white lime gravel into the rice. Then several coolies took shovels to mix the white lime gravel and white rice evenly.
Next to it, there are warehouse soldiers carrying a water basin and occasionally sprinkling some water on it to make the mixed fake rice more realistic. Then a few coolies put the mixed rice into linen rice bags and then put it into the grain pile.
What a picture of work in full swing.
Wen Jinnuo stood next to Huo Yuncheng and looked furious. As he was about to go in, Lu Yu grabbed him and motioned him to look at the other side half-blocked by the rice bag.
The warehouse supervisor, Mr. Wang, and two of his close associates, the warehouse soldiers, were sitting at the four-corner table nearby, eating peanuts. From time to time, they would call out to the warehouse soldiers who were working to supervise the work.
On the left side of Supervisor Wang sat a man who looked like the manager of a grain store. He was keeping accounts with a ledger and fiddling with an abacus.
Then I heard the shopkeeper say: "Let me tell you, Mr. Wang, in the past we mixed sand, water and white ash into this official rice in order to prevent the official rice bought cheaply in Yuanzhou City from being even 30% good rice.
If you want to eat good rice, you have to go to our private grain store to buy high-priced rice. But these rice," the shopkeeper pointed to the fake rice on the big wooden board, "are all going to the porridge factory for disaster relief. We don't want to do this.
Is it just useless work? You see, the wages of so many people are huge."
Supervisor Wang threw a peanut into his mouth, rolled his eyes at him, and said, "If we hadn't risked my head by adulterating this official rice, the price of rice in your grain store would have been from twenty cents."
A bushel of rice has increased to eighty cents a bushel? How can your grain business make a fortune?"
The shopkeeper hurriedly agreed with "yes, yes, yes": "Hey, in this official warehouse, there has never been good rice that is not adulterated." He also wondered: "Master Wang, but this is adulterated rice for disaster relief.
If we cook porridge, many refugees will starve to death. Aren't we afraid of making things worse?"
Supervisor Wang threw the peanuts in his hand at the shopkeeper's face and cursed: "Don't I know? Ah, don't I know? But just two years ago, eight kilograms of good rice was adulterated and entered your grain store.
, now half of our warehouses are empty, without adulteration? How many days can we fool without adulteration? When the imperial envoy comes and investigates, they will all die!"
As he spoke, he opened his palm towards Supervisor Wang and said, "Seriously, have you brought any banknotes?"
The shopkeeper hurriedly took out a handful of banknotes from his arms and handed them over, saying with a smile: "Take it, take it, three thousand six hundred taels."
Supervisor Wang took the bank note, tapped it carefully, put it in his arms, and then said: "To tell you the truth, these 3,600 taels are not for nothing. If this matter is settled later, the warehouse will be empty in the second half of the year."
I’ll put all the good rice at your place to sell.”
The shopkeeper laughed so hard that he couldn't even see his eyebrows, and said hurriedly: "Hey, that's good. But what's the money?"
"This money is for buying food at the grain store outside Yuanzhou City for emergency use." Supervisor Wang made a fist with his right hand and knocked on the table, and said, "Who wants to disappoint you? Six out of ten grain stores in Yuanzhou are
From the Huo family. We adults have supported you for many years, but you only occupy less than four floors. With the little food you have, it’s not even enough."
"Master Wang, you are joking. How can our small business compare to the Huo family?"
Supervisor Wang threw another peanut into his mouth and said, "After all, go back and tell them and let them find a way to pay for more food."
The shopkeeper looked troubled and said, "Sir, this..."
Supervisor Wang raised his finger and pointed at him, and said: "After this level, the days ahead will be long. Master Yin will not treat you badly. When the time comes, everyone will have an easier time."
Before the shopkeeper could speak, Huo Yuncheng choked on the dust and coughed out.
The people inside immediately panicked and called out: "Who?"
Huo Yuncheng was too lazy to talk nonsense to them, and simply ordered: "Catch all the warehouse coolies who are adulterating and cheating, and don't let any of them escape."
The sound of the guards rushing in, kicking people and tying them up, was accompanied by the shouts of the coolies in the warehouse.
"We were wronged"
"We are not adulterating."
"Sir, spare my life"
"Sir, we are just porters hired to carry grain bags. We don't know anything..."
More than ten warehouse soldiers and more than twenty labor coolies were all crying and complaining.
Huo Yuncheng ordered his guards to go to the Huo Family Grain Store in the city and bring a few more shopkeepers to the Bingshan warehouse to count and record the stored grains one by one to see how much good rice was still available.
With Lu Yu's support, Wen Jinnuo walked past a group of tied people, listening to their cries of injustice and observing their appearance, expressions, and movements.
Wen Jinnuo couldn't help but stop until someone passed by.
The man had an honest face, a sad look on his face, a strong build, wearing tattered coolie clothes, and a pair of cloth shoes with holes on his feet. He sat in the corner and said nothing.
Wen Jinnuo looked him up and down, then asked him: "Why don't you cry out for injustice?"
The man said angrily: "Sir, if I plead guilty, there is no need to cry out for injustice."
Wen Jinnuo frowned slightly and asked, "I want to ask you, are the people who complain about injustice really guilty?"
The man raised his eyes and looked at Wen Jinnuo, and after a while he said, "Sir, do you want to listen to the truth?"
Wen Jinnuo said seriously: "Of course you have to listen to the truth!"
The man suddenly laughed.
Wen Jinnuo asked: "Why are you laughing?"
Although the man laughed in his mouth, his expression became more sorrowful, and he said: "In Yuanzhou Prefecture, there are actually officials who listen to the truth? Do you think it's funny or not?"
Wen Jinnuo just looked at him indifferently, and after he finished laughing, he said: "I will be the butt of this joke today. Let's hear the truth. Do you dare to say it?"
The man raised his head and stared into Wen Jinnuo's eyes and said, "Why don't you dare? If you dare to listen, I will dare to speak."
