"Old man, how many melons are there in your field?"
Looking at the young man who brought out the teapot and poured them tea, and then at the old man who picked fresh melons from the field and was busy cutting them for them to share, Jia Lian suddenly asked.
Although the old man didn't understand why Jia Lian asked this, he still replied: "About twelve or three thousand catties."
Hard-working farmers have very accurate judgments about the harvest in the fields.
Jia Lian then said: "Let's do this. If the old man is willing, I can come up with four cents per catty and buy ten thousand catties from the old man."
As soon as he said this, the old man had no reaction, but Lai Wang exploded first: "Why did the second master buy so many?"
Jia Lian ignored him.
This is actually the reason why Jia Lian is willing to go to the countryside under the sun, not just to drink a bowl of herbal tea.
However, he had never intended to buy so many. He just thought the melons here tasted good and wanted to buy a cart or two to go back to let his family members have a taste.
After listening to the old man's words, Jia Lian made a temporary decision.
It just so happens that he still needs to think of ways to improve his reputation, why not take advantage of the opportunity to show some favor and win over everyone in and outside the house?
As for whether 10,000 kilograms of watermelon can be eaten, that doesn't exist.
The Jia family has nearly a thousand people in Ning Rong and Ning Rong mansions alone. Although the other eight houses have few servants, they have many children. If one family gives some, ten thousand kilograms will definitely be consumed.
Zhaoer also hurriedly asked: "Second Master, we have to go to Yangzhou. What are we going to buy these melons for? How about we come back and buy them again?"
Zhao'er thought that the melons here were delicious and sold at such low prices. If they could get some and bring them back to the capital, they might be able to make some money. But the second master didn't look like he was in need of such money. ah?
Jia Lian smiled and said: "It's hot today. Buy it back to honor the old lady. Madam and the others, let the people outside of you also take advantage of it."
The old man opposite saw that Jia Lian was not joking and said hurriedly: "Young master, are you serious?"
Jia Lian smiled and nodded, and asked Zhao'er to take out ten taels of silver and put it on the table, and then said: "Our home is more than a hundred miles away from here, and we may not be able to transport it back for a while. I will ask our family to transport it back later." Get on the carriage and come here, no matter once or several times, until you have finished pulling the 10,000 kilograms.
These ten taels of silver are the deposit, and the remaining twenty taels will be given to them when they come to pick up the goods. Do you think this is a good deal?"
At this time, the purchasing power of one tael of silver is much greater than that of one dan (thousand coins), which can be exchanged for about 1,300 coins. Therefore, thirty taels of silver is roughly equivalent to 40,000 coins.
Seeing the cash put on the table, the old man finally couldn't control the excitement in his heart and started to tremble a little. The young man next to him also opened his eyes wide and stared at the ten-tael ingot.
"I know the young master is trying to help us, but the young master bought so much at one time and refused to let us escort him. The price of four cents is too high. Why not... let's calculate it as two cents."
When the old man heard what Jia Lian and his servants said, he didn't mean to take them to be resold, but to eat them at home...
He couldn't imagine what it was like for a family that could eat ten thousand kilograms of watermelon, so he became increasingly cautious.
After thinking again and again, I finally said this.
Although he sold it for two cents, he still didn't make much this year, but at least he didn't have to worry about the land rent, right? Besides, he was originally intended to help, so how could he deliberately make money from others?
Jia Lian shook his head and said with a smile: "At this price, it is already very fair, I don't need to say anything more.
Okay, thank you for your warm hospitality, but I still have things to do, so I won’t bother you anymore.
After the old man goes back, he can make some preparations with his family. Our fleet will come over the day after tomorrow at the latest, and then we can just pay and deliver the goods."
Even though it only took Jia Lian and the others half a day to get here from the capital, that was because they all traveled lightly and quickly.
It would take at least a day or two to catch up with the horse-drawn carriage and mule-cart to pull the goods, and it would be even slower after loading the goods.
This is also the reason why these melon farmers were clearly forced to do so but did not transport their melons to the capital to sell them.
The journey is too long!
Moreover, the market in the capital cannot be occupied by these rootless farmers...
Jia Lian stood up to leave. Although Lai Wang and others did not agree with Jia Lian's "crazy" behavior, they did not dare to object and could only follow.
The old man hadn't figured out all the joints yet, and he didn't dare to stop Jia Lian and others. He just went up to watch the two dogs, not daring to let them disturb the noble man.
Suddenly remembering something, he called Jia Lian and others: "By the way, sir, you have to be careful when someone comes to your house. That member Li is the tyrant of all the villages in this area. Besides, he has already spoken out and forbids others to follow."
If we buy melons here, if he finds out, I'm afraid he will send people to make trouble..."
The old man was a little worried as he spoke.
Zhao'er sneered and said, "Young member Li is a bastard. He's a bullshit in front of our family! He pissed off my second master and asked people to demolish his house!"
Jia Lian waved his hand to stop Zhao'er's arrogance, and smiled at the old man: "Don't worry, old man. If Mr. Li comes to trouble you, just say that the melons were sold to the Rongguo Mansion in Beijing."
After saying this, he said goodbye and took Lai Wang and others back to the original route.
"Grandpa, where is Rongguo Mansion? It sounds amazing."
After Jia Lian and others had gone away, the grandson finally couldn't help but tugged on his grandfather's sleeve and asked.
The old man lowered his head and smiled: "Grandpa, I don't know where that place is, but it's really amazing. We really met a noble person today!"
He raised his head and looked at a few villagers in the fields in the distance who were sticking their heads out to watch the excitement. The old man didn't say anything. He took his grandson and returned to the thatched cottage happily.
…
When they got to the official road, Lai Wang and others looked at each other, still not quite understanding why their second master suddenly wanted to do such a wasteful and meaningless thing.
Thirty taels of silver is neither too much nor too little.
The most important thing is how much effort it takes to transport those watermelons back to the capital!
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! If you have the time, you can still honor the old ladies by buying them directly in the capital.
Could it be that the second master is simply out of kindness and wants to help a bunch of old men?
Jia Lian didn't explain much. He glanced at everyone and called, "Wang'er."
Laiwang, hurry up and come forward.
"You untie the things from the horse and give them to them, then go back and do this yourself. After you pull the things back, tell your second grandma and ask her to think about it for herself. The elders in our house, the east house and the eighth house are all
Send some to each.
And the servants at home, please give some rewards as well, do you hear me clearly?"
After listening to Jia Lian's words, Lai Wang immediately said: "It's the same as leaving this matter to them. I'd better follow you to Yangzhou..."
Jia Lian suddenly laughed: "Follow me to Yangzhou, so that you can help your second mistress continue to monitor me?"
Lai Wang suddenly trembled with fright and opened his mouth to explain.
"Okay, you two are here from the Wang family, so it's your duty to be loyal to your second grandma, and I don't mean to blame you.
It's just that you are used to following me and understand my thoughts better than others, so I asked you to handle this matter for me to avoid mistakes."
When Lai Wang heard this, he was unwilling and did not dare to refute again.
After confirming that Jia Lian's intention could not be changed, he could only unpack the things he had prepared for the trip, hand them over to others, and then ride back to Beijing.
The others watched Lai Wang leave with deep thoughts. It seemed that Mr. Lian wanted to be romantic and happy during his trip, so he took the opportunity to send Lai Wang away so that Lai Wang would not inform Mr. Lian's wife after he returned.
Some people even secretly thought that they would definitely fall out of favor after coming to Wang. As a result, there is a shortage of people around the second master. If Jiangnan manages to please the second master this time, he might be able to follow the second master more often in the future. Of course, there is no need for such benefits.
Say more...
In fact, the reason why Jia Lian's branch is so prosperous is not because of being shady, but because he simply doesn't like to be watched by others.
Moreover, a large part of the reason why his predecessor was controlled by Wang Xifeng was that most of the people around him were controlled by Wang Xifeng. So from now on, he must deliberately cultivate some confidants who are only loyal to him, so that he can be at home and abroad.
Able to move forward and retreat freely.
Turning the horse's head, he looked towards the end of the official road.
The scorching sun was still shining, but Jia Lian had no intention of resting here much.
"Get ready to leave, find a place to eat ahead, and then continue on your way. Try to reach Yangzhou within five days!"
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly looked a little bitter, even the five nursing homes were no exception.
Jia Lian then encouraged: "Everyone has worked hard these days. If you can get to Yangzhou on time, I will give each of you a reward of ten taels of silver. Even after arriving in Yangzhou, I will give you a holiday in turn. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces suddenly turned from worry to joy.
Being rewarded with so much money and being able to take a vacation, is there anything more beautiful than this?
Therefore, everyone thanked them one after another, and they were all in high spirits, without even the slightest bit of bitterness from before.
Jia Lian smiled, tightened the reins of the horse, clamped his legs and said, "Drive!"
A group of seven riders ran south quickly.
…
However, he said that after Lai Wang rushed back to his house in the evening, Wang Xifeng immediately found out about it, so he asked him to go in and give a reply.
"Didn't you follow your father to the south? Why did you come back suddenly?"
Wang Xifeng asked after seeing Lai Wang coming in through the door curtain.
Lai Wang was very cautious and just stood at the door of the room. He thought about it for a while and decided to tell the truth.
"I originally followed you, but before we reached the border of Ping'an Province, the second master asked me to come back."
Wang Xifeng frowned: "Why did I ask you to come back?"
"Going back to Second Grandma, Second Master asked me to come back to do something for him, so..."
Laiwang therefore told Wang Xifeng everything that happened along the way.
Hearing that Jia Lian and others ran more than a hundred miles away, Wang Xifeng felt a little puzzled. When she heard that Jia Lian spent thirty taels of silver to buy 10,000 kilograms of watermelons, her eyes suddenly widened and she said in disbelief: "A
Ten thousand pounds? Is he crazy?"
"The second master said, not only to honor the old lady, but also to give some to the elders in the East Mansion and the eighth room, even..."
"If you have anything else to say, please don't hesitate and act like a mute in front of me!"
"Also, the second master said that we, the slaves outside, should also take advantage of the opportunity, and they will also have a share."
Wang Xifeng mocked: "He is quite generous, even you have considered it, but, bah, he only pretends to be generous with other people's money!"
Wang Xifeng felt very unhappy when she thought that she was working hard to make money for the benefit of her family, while Jia Lian was spending money lavishly.
Thirty taels of silver were spent just to buy a few broken melons?
Doesn't he know how much effort I usually put into getting such a small amount of money? The old lady above, she is so discerning, does she really think that her money is so good?
If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have been coaxed by his sweet words and given him so much money at once...