Chapter 923, too much food is also a worry (supplement)
"What's the fuss about?"
At this time, a person walked out of the grain store, and he looked like the owner of the grain store.
Yuan Kai looked around, and soon his eyes were fixed on Chen Xin. There were some farmers around him, and he knew at a glance that the Chen Xin in front of him was definitely not a farmer.
"Your Excellency, Yuan Kai, is the owner of this grain store. Do you know your surname?"
As a businessman, Yuan Kai still has a keen eye, and his principle is not to offend others easily, so he asked Chen Xin politely.
"Chen Xin!"
Chen Xin nodded slightly, and then said calmly.
"I wonder what kind of advice Mr. Chen comes to our store for?"
Yuan Kai thought about it carefully and did not associate Chen Xin with the chief envoy of Liaodong. After all, he was just a small grain merchant and did not have access to a frontier official like Chen Xin.
"I ask you, why do you grain merchants keep the price of grain so low? Five stones of grain only sell for one tael of silver. I have never heard of such a price."
Chen Xin asked unceremoniously.
"I think your husband is also a noble man. He must read newspapers often."
When questioned by Chen Xin, Yuan Kai did not panic and asked instead.
“Watch it every day.”
Chen Xin nodded and replied.
"The noble man must also know that this year our Ming Dynasty is not only ushering in a great harvest in Liaodong, our Ming Dynasty is ushering in a great harvest year in the east, west, north, south, overseas and at home."
"Liaodong, Nanyang, Henan, Beizhili, Shandong, Jiangnan, and even Guangdong and Guangxi have had great harvests. There is so much food in every place that they can't eat it all. Can the price of food not be low?"
"Five stones of wheat cost one tael of silver. This is definitely not because we grain merchants deliberately lower the price, but this is the price in the market. This is our wheat from Liaodong. Only the best wheat can be sold at this price."
"If you grow sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn and other coarse grains from the Golden Continent, ten dan can be sold for less than one tael of silver. Nowadays, these things are everywhere and you can't finish them all. Many places are used to feed pigs.
"
Yuan Kai ordered someone to take out several newspapers, then pointed to some places on the newspapers and said: "Here, please look here. This report is about the Nanyang region."
"As mentioned in detail above, in the provinces of Jiaozhi, Xianglin, and Nanyang in Nanyang, there will be a bumper rice harvest this year, and the yield is very high. Here in Nanyang, one tael of silver can buy almost seven shi of rice."
"Because the price of grains is so low, many plantation owners have said that they will reduce rice planting next year and expand sugarcane planting. Although the price of sugarcane has dropped this year, it is still cheaper than planting rice.
It’s still more cost-effective.”
"There is also this report about the Western Region and the Hezhong Region. Although this is the first year of immigration to the Western Region and the Hezhong Region, these two places have still cultivated a large amount of fields and ushered in a bumper harvest."
"The above report said that the food grown in the Western Regions and Hezhong areas is enough to last for five years. Not only do they no longer need to transport food from our customs, they even have enough food to go and fight with those herdsmen.
Exchange cattle, sheep and horses.”
"This is a report about Ryukyu Island and Qiongzhou Island. Qiongzhou Island used to be a miasma-ridden place with very little food production. But now, Qiongzhou Island not only has a large amount of food take-out, but also a large amount of food in winter.
The local government wants to promote Qiongzhou through the Ming Dynasty Morning Post and attract businessmen to go to Qiongzhou to buy vegetables, fruits and grain."
Yuan Kai flipped through the reports in the newspaper and introduced in detail the situation of this year's bumper grain harvest in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty.
In the fifteenth year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty, the weather was good and there was a bumper harvest of grain everywhere. Now the grain of the Ming Dynasty is too much, too much, and it is impossible to eat it all.
Food prices continue to fall, which has become a normal phenomenon.
"So, you are not deliberately lowering the price?"
Chen Xin listened carefully and read the contents of the newspaper. He had read them all, but before, he only looked at them casually and did not pay too careful attention.
Yuan Kai and others are grain merchants, so they are naturally most concerned about grain reports. Through the Ming Dynasty Morning Post, they can also roughly know the grain output of the entire Ming Dynasty.
"Of course~"
"In the past few years, our Ming Dynasty has continued to expand externally, and a large amount of fertile land has been included in our Ming Dynasty's territory. The imperial court has continued to immigrate, moving a large number of people to Liaodong, Nanyang, the Western Regions, Australia, Golden Island and other places.
"
"At the same time, a large number of cattle and horses were used in agriculture, and a large amount of land was reclaimed."
"In addition, the imperial court promoted high-yielding crops from the Golden Continent across the country. This also caused the grain output of our Ming Dynasty to soar year by year, getting higher and higher year by year. This year has ushered in a big explosion. The grain production of the entire Ming Dynasty has
The output is probably several times that of last year.”
"The wheat we produce in Liaodong is considered to be the best wheat. It is refined grain and can be valuable. Those who grow coarse grains such as sweet potatoes and corn cannot be sold at all. They can only be eaten by themselves or fed to pigs."
Yuan Kai nodded solemnly and said.
"But this price is too low. Five shi of grain sells for one tael of silver. It's too low. We have worked hard to cultivate the land for a year, but in the end, the grain is worthless. Isn't this year's hard work in vain?
"
After hearing this, Chen Xin nodded slightly, accepting Yuan Kai's explanation. The Ming Dynasty had a bumper harvest, and it was normal for food prices to fall.
"It's considered good to be able to sell it at this price. That's because our Liaodong area is close to the Beijing-Tianjin area. We can reach Tianjin Port just across the Bohai Sea. The Beijing-Tianjin area has a large population and a large food consumption."
"If you were elsewhere, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to sell it at this price."
"What's more, what we harvest is wheat, and we have to shell it and grind it into powder before we can sell it."
Yuan Kai shook his head and said.
The surrounding farmers were dumbfounded when they heard that the grain was worthless. There was grain everywhere, and every household had endless amounts of grain. It seemed natural that it was worthless.
“That’s the price~”
"If you are willing to sell it, then sell it. If you are not willing, you can keep it. As this brother said, if you have enough food at home, you can actually raise pigs or something."
"Pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks and geese are now selling very well here in the capital. The demand is very strong and the prices are quite considerable. Breeding is also very profitable."
"Either we should learn from the landowners here in Beizhili. Here in Beizhili, the landowners' fields are no longer cultivated, so they plant a lot of cotton, vegetables, and fruits. Aren't they all mentioned in the newspapers?
After all, it’s much more cost-effective than food, and the price of cotton has risen sharply this year.”
"The prices of vegetables and fruits are also constantly rising. We in Liaodong are close to Beijing and Tianjin, and there are sea routes, so travel is convenient. I am planning to do business in this area in the future."
"We don't make any money from this grain business either."
Yuan Kai looked at the farmers around him and shook his head helplessly.
He is a businessman, reads newspapers every day, knows many things, and speaks the truth.
"Raising pigs?"
"Growing cotton?"
When the farmers around him heard this, they all frowned slightly.
For traditional farmers, these fields cannot be left unused. Naturally, growing food is the best, food is good, and having a full stomach is the most important thing.
But in just a few years, grain has become worthless and cannot be sold at a high price. It is said that grain should be used to raise pigs, chickens, ducks and geese, and good fields should be used to grow cotton.
Immediately, some people shook their heads.
Is the wheat no longer fragrant?
Or is this steamed bun not delicious?
We have only had a few good days, are we going to start destroying food and fields?
"I see, I was reckless~"
After listening to Yuan Kai's words, Chen Xin also apologized to Yuan Kai.
"It's okay, it's okay~"
Yuan Kai smiled and replied nonchalantly.
Chen Xin left this grain store and went to other places to understand the situation in detail with some businessmen, just as Yuan Kai said.
The entire Ming Dynasty ushered in an unprecedented bumper harvest of grain. Wheat in the north, rice in the south, and corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes were planted everywhere. There was a bumper harvest of grain, and the price of grain dropped to an unprecedented low.
The low price of grain has hurt farmers. The food that farmers have worked so hard to grow is no longer valuable.
After taking a trip, Chen Xin also obtained two important pieces of information.
Returning to his official residence, Chen Xin also took out a pen, ink, paper and inkstone and began to write a memorial on it.
"...Thanks to His Majesty's blessing and the wise men and women in the court, our Ming Dynasty will have good weather this year and usher in an unprecedented bumper harvest of grain. A bumper harvest of grain is originally a good thing, but now two big problems have arisen."
"The first problem is that in our Liaodong region, too much land has been reclaimed this year. Every household has hundreds of acres of fields. There are too many fields planted, so I am afraid that it will not be possible to complete the harvest before winter. Then there will definitely be
There is a lot of grain rotting in the fields."
"Food is hard to come by, and it is a pity if it rots in the ground. Therefore, I think that our Ming Dynasty can ask for help from North Korea. I hope that North Korea can organize more people to work as part-time workers in our Liaodong region and help us harvest in Liaodong region."
In addition to providing food, the Korean people can also receive generous rewards."
"Secondly, I have ordered someone to go to the Jingcheng Machinery Factory to purchase a steam harvester. Steam harvesters are expensive, so I would like to apply for a sum of money."
"The second problem is that the low price of grain hurts the farmers. In the Liaodong region, five stones of wheat can only be sold for one tael of silver. This price is really too low, but I can't think of any way to do this..."