Pulling his beard, Zhou Wei was shaking with anger, his face was red and his neck was thick, and he almost lost his temper.
After all, he was a dignified official of the court, but he was fooled like this. He felt that his dignity had been trampled under his feet.
The cold wind howled, making Zhou Wei's heart feel even colder.
"Hey, blame me for not making it clear."
The clerk shook his head and said with a smile: "Although the food is in Tongzhou, your Majesty has considered that Tongzhou is far away from the capital. Now the autumn wind is blowing and it is difficult for people and horses to travel, so he simply thought of a good idea."
As he spoke, he took out a stack of paper from the box on the side.
Its surface is exquisite, with a winding Great Wall and mountains and valleys carved on the front. In the middle, there is a stone written on it.
There are ant-like numbers printed on the bottom: Shaowu three-year system.
The most conspicuous ones are the large official seal of the Ministry of Revenue in the lower right corner and the private seal of Jiang Yueguang, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
One big and one small, very intimidating.
On the back, there are towering granaries. There are a large number of grain ships docked near the dock, as well as many workers transporting them. A wide river is very conspicuous.
There is a line printed on the top: Food stamps from the Ministry of Household Affairs, which can be redeemed immediately upon presentation of the stamps.
The bottom line is: If there is any forgery, it will be punished as treason.
It feels smooth and delicate, but when you rub it carefully, it turns out to be uneven and textured.
"Look -" The man saw its appearance, picked up the food stamp and pointed it towards the sun. A relatively transparent peony flower immediately appeared on it.
The watermark is operated synchronously during paper manufacturing, so that the density of the pulp deposited in the watermark area is different, thus forming different graphic effects.
It was born as early as the 13th century, and was applied to anti-counterfeiting in the 18th and 19th centuries. It became the mainstay during the British Empire.
"Hey, who can imitate this thing?"
"This looks pretty good!"
Zhou Wei nodded, then his face turned pale and his lips trembled: "Is this a treasure note?"
He felt that these food stamps were extremely hot to touch at this time, and he wished he could throw them eight hundred steps away and never see them again.
No wonder he thought so. The Jiaozi of the Song Dynasty, and the treasures of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties all made the people want to die, and they harvested them without mercy.
The imperial court only distributed money but did not collect it. It devalued money like crazy and was criticized for being too tough.
The treasure banknotes of the Ming Dynasty were made of mulberry paper, and the pulp of discarded official paper was used as ingredients. This kind of paper is relatively thick, wear-resistant, has strong tensile strength, has good water absorption, can be written on without soaking, is not easy to fade, and is not eaten by insects.
Technology costs are extremely high.
In fact, there is no need for anti-counterfeiting at all. Anyone who imitates will go bankrupt, and it is not cost-effective.
During the Ming Dynasty, they were particularly fond of using treasure money to exchange salary, which deceived many officials. Later, it became a common practice.
So when he saw this thing, even though it was called food stamps, in his eyes, it was just a deceptive treasure.
"No, absolutely not."
The clerk explained decisively: "With this food stamp, you can go directly to the granary to redeem food without any delay."
As he spoke, he said directly: "Your monthly salary is ten yuan, and now the market price is one penny and a penny. You should have received nine shi and a dou, but now your majesty has given you ten shi."
After saying that, he handed over ten food stamps directly.
One silver yuan is equal to one thousand penny, one silver yuan is equal to ten silver cents, and one silver cent is equal to ten copper yuan.
A piece of paper is worth more than one yuan, Zhou Wei couldn't believe it.
Zhou Wei held the food stamps tremblingly and said in disbelief: "Can it really be exchanged for food?"
"The Tianjin warehouse and the Tongzhou warehouse can redeem the money, so why do you need to deceive you?"
The clerk waved his hand and said: "The food in the Ministry of Revenue is piled up like a mountain, how can I defraud you of this small amount of food?"
Zhou Wei was dubious and then left.
"Dad, where's the food?"
"There is no food, only this!"
"Treasure money?"
The son was shocked and his face changed drastically. He was even uglier than his dead father.
"It's food stamps."
Zhou Wei emphasized, then dragged him and led the donkey cart out: "We have worked hard and went to Tongzhou for a trip. If the Ministry of Revenue dares to deceive me, I will, I will..."
After a few words, he really had no good way to deal with it. He could only sigh: "Let's go, if you can get something, it's better."
The cold wind was biting, but it was not as cold as his heart.
Unexpectedly, as soon as their father and son left, a few businessmen-looking people came over:
"Did you two receive food stamps?"
"How did you know?" Zhou Wei frowned and looked at his cunning appearance carefully, showing a hint of caution.
"Hey, I'm here to get food stamps today."
The man laughed, and then said: "Let's open the skylight and talk openly. I'll cover all the food stamps in your hand and give them to you at the market price."
"Really?" The son beside him was surprised.
"Of course!" The businessman showed a smile: "It's just that the food stamps have to be discounted by 50%."
"I have thirteen food stamps, how many can you give me?"
Zhou Wei squinted his eyes and probed.
"One stone of grain is now about one yuan, and half price is only five yuan for me."
As he spoke, the businessman took out his money bag from his arms without thinking. The loud and clear sound was extremely pleasant, and he took out five silver coins:
"Pay the money with one hand and deliver the goods with the other hand. You can't deceive anyone. You are an official, so I don't dare to deceive you."
The white silver coins were right in front of me, and my son's eyes widened.
"father--"
"Sorry, the price is too low!" Zhou Wei rolled his eyes and turned away.
"It's easy to negotiate, easy to negotiate, how about 55%? 60%? 70%, that's the best price——"
But as the price got higher and higher, Zhou Wei's pace became faster and faster.
"Dad, those are white silver coins!"
The son looked at his father who was getting stronger and stronger, and couldn't help scratching his head: "Your grandson is still waiting to buy cucurbits!"
"Shit!" Zhou Wei swore and said directly: "You kid is easily fooled. If you change, you will suffer big losses."
As he said this, he stopped and lectured: "There is no businessman, no treacherous person. If he is willing to pay 70% to buy it, he will definitely be able to sell it for 80% or 90%. How can one or two silver coins be decided at will?"
"Dad, you mean, this treasure banknote is worth something?"
"These are food stamps, food stamps."
As he spoke, Zhou Wei narrowed his eyes, stroked his goatee and said:
"Tomorrow you take some food stamps and go to Tongzhou to see if you can redeem them for food. If you can redeem them, you can exchange two dan back first and take care of our family's food."
"There's no rush for the rest."
Soon, when the father and son came home and asked about it, they found out that there were rumors that food stamps could be exchanged or even used as money, and they were worth eight or nine cents!
Peace of mind.
"Mom, there are too many profiteers at the emperor's feet today. I almost lost all my money today..."
In the palace, Wu Bangfu, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, reported: "Your Majesty, there are thirty-seven people redeeming food stamps, totaling three hundred and ten stones."
"You did well."
Zhu Yixi praised him.
Everything must be done with trust.
As long as the food stamps can be exchanged for food in time, their value is equivalent to money.
Unlike treasure banknotes, which are linked to the reputation of the court, food stamps are linked to grain, which is more reassuring than gold and silver and gives people natural confidence.
This kind of counterfeit banknotes can create a time difference, allowing the court to have enough food to survive the financial crisis.
Throwing away your precious money is a wise move.
This is just an emergency supplement to the finances.