Oxen carts were walking on the bluestone road, cart after cart carrying grain, which was constantly filling the rice warehouses in the town.
"stop!"
After giving the order, Wang Xu stopped a carriage, walked up with Liu Quan, grabbed a handful from the carriage, and asked: "How many carts of corn have been sent?"
Food in the Confucian world does not refer to rice, but to millet, which we often call millet.
"There are already a thousand cars."
Liu Quan held the bill in his hand and said: "The cattle we use for the cart are all cross-bred and have some blood of monsters. It is not a problem to pull five thousand kilograms. One thousand carts is five million kilograms of corn.
Enough to feed 100,000 people for a month."
"Not enough!"
Wang Xu shook his head slightly. It had been three days since he returned to Jiuquan Town, and the victims had changed from being sparse at the beginning to being in groups.
But right now, hundreds of thousands of victims have gathered within a hundred miles of Jiuquan Town, and more victims are coming in a steady stream.
These disaster victims ate everything they could eat around them, except for people.
If you don’t believe me, go out and see what’s left of the grass roots in the ground, the leaves on the trees, and the fish and shrimp in the river.
If we don't provide disaster relief, the tragedy of Yi Zi cannibalism will happen, and it will really be a hell on earth.
"How much food do we have?"
"There are about 250,000 jins, of which 15 million jins are this year's autumn grain, 5 million jins are old grains collected from below, and the remaining 5 million jins are leftovers from previous years."
The Wang family has 30,000 acres of land, and every year they ask Xiucai Gong to write an autumn harvest memorial. With the blessing of literary spirit, the yield per mu reaches about 700 kilograms.
However, Wang Xu was not happy at all. Twenty-five million kilograms of grain could feed 100,000 people for five months and one hundred and fifty days at most.
There are currently hundreds of thousands of disaster victims. Once the subsequent victims arrive, at least a million people will be able to squeeze in within a hundred miles of Jiuquan Town.
For so many people, one catty of grain per day is equivalent to one million catties. Twenty-five million catties of grain can only last for a month at most. If people are fed to full capacity, they will be without food for half a month.
"Jiuquan Town is, after all, so big. It's similar to a modern county. It's the limit to squeeze in one million victims. No more is possible. It's December now, and there are still three months before the Spring Equinox. Calculated in terms of millions of victims,
There is still at least a shortfall of 50 million catties of grain."
Wang Xu now finally knew why Xue Mushan asked him if he really wanted to help the victims.
Before the disaster, a pound of corn cost 7 cents, and a restaurant clerk's salary was 800 cents, which could be exchanged for 120 jins of corn, which was enough for a family of three.
Up to now, a pound of corn has increased to 24 cents, which is more than three times the previous price.
Twenty-five million catties of corn is equivalent to 600,000 taels of silver. With so much food, the Wang family could have made a fortune, but because he wanted to provide disaster relief, not to mention making a fortune, he had to lose all of the Wang family's capital.
However, disaster relief still has to be provided. No matter how good the money is, it is still useless in your hands.
Only in exchange for fame can we build a ladder for him and send him straight up.
Before the main body left, he left him various elixirs, books, and one million taels of gold for emergencies.
If that doesn't work, just use the one million taels of gold to buy grain. I believe that those big landowners with vast hectares of fertile land can easily buy one million tons of grain.
Of course, this is just a bad idea. The Wang family is just a small rural landowner, and they can live without three to five million taels of silver.
Spending such a large amount of money is difficult to hide from the attention of interested people. It is difficult to say whether it is a blessing or a curse.
"Xu'er, are you in trouble?"
While Wang Xu was thinking about this, Mrs. Wang, accompanied by her maid, got out of the carriage at the residence.
Seeing Mrs. Wang coming, Wang Xu rushed to greet her and said, "Mother, why are you here?"
"Can I not come? Your father told me that you want to take advantage of this famine and spend money to buy fame. You..."
Before Mrs. Wang could finish speaking, Wang Xu quickly took her arm and whispered: "Mom, you just need to know this and don't talk about it outside. We are just providing disaster relief, not for fame or profit.
The truth is vulgar."
"Mom, you all know that you have to study and learn in the future. No matter how much money you spend, even if you bring down the Wang family, it won't be as important as your fame. It doesn't need to be more, as long as your trick really works, you will be able to earn the title of a civil servant in the future.
Once the fame comes back, even if the Wang family is bankrupt today, it won't be a big deal."
Mrs. Wang is a complete official fanatic. Mr. Wang still has concerns about spending money to buy fame and feels sorry for the family fortune. Mrs. Wang is 100% supportive.
Otherwise, even if Wang Xu invites Xue Mushan back, Mr. Wang may not have the courage to let him risk his ancestral family fortune.
After all, if a bad guy loses, the Wang family will be ruined.
"Xu'er, tell your mother, if you spend all your family wealth and do all you can to provide disaster relief, can you really be that kind of example of a gentry?" Mrs. Wang doesn't care about money, she only cares about status, her eyes are shining.
looked at Wang Xu.
Wang Xu couldn't laugh or cry: "Mom, don't worry, the severe drought in the north is affecting the south now, and I don't know how many people are watching. My master is a contemporary scholar, and no one can take my credit. As long as my deeds are regarded as a model,
Go up there, no matter how stingy the big guys in the court are, the rewards you deserve will not be less, otherwise you won't be able to explain it to the world."
Although Wang Xu wants to provide disaster relief, his starting point is not to sacrifice his family for everyone, but to be willing to give up, and he will get something if he gives up. He will not do anything without reward.
The reward can be divided into two aspects. One is invisible and intangible, but real fame, which is equivalent to giving oneself a golden body.
On the other hand, after setting an example, the reaction from the court and even the southern state capital was a real reward.
According to Xue Mushan's estimation, the reward from the state government should be ten years of tax exemption, as well as some literal awards.
It's hard to say what kind of rewards will be given in the court. If it works properly, it is possible for Long Yan to be delighted and directly grant an eighth-grade official status to Mr. Wang.
Don't underestimate the eighth-rank officials. You must know that in some poor counties, the county masters are only eighth-rank officials.
Even if Mr. Wang has no fame and is unable to really take charge of a county, having an eighth-grade official is enough for the Wang family to leave the countryside and become a new noble in the county.
Of course, this is well done.
If it is not done well, disaster relief will not be successful, but it will trigger civil unrest, and the investment will be in vain.
Throughout the ages, many local wealthy families who have provided disaster relief have failed within a few years after the disaster. This is because they did not grasp the balance between disaster relief and reward. In the end, they did not eat the mutton, but instead made themselves smelly.
"My mother is relieved with your words. You have been a smart child since you were a child. Mother does not expect you to be like Gan Luo, who became prime minister at the age of twelve. I only hope that you can carry forward the Wang family and make me worthy of my ancestors."
Zong.”
When Mrs. Wang said this, she called the housekeeper Liu Quan again and warned: "Liu Quan, if there is anything that the young master doesn't understand, you should help me more. You are also an old man of my Wang family. You should understand what it means to be prosperous and prosperous.
If one loses, both will suffer. In the future, when Xuer becomes famous and prosperous, you will be able to follow suit, right?"
"What Madam is saying is that the young master has been extraordinary since he was a child. Now he has become a disciple of a great scholar of the time. In the future, he will inevitably be promoted to an official position. I, Liu Quan, have sold my life to the Wang family a long time ago."
Liu Quan answered simply. He was an old man of the Wang family for many years, and the whole family was on the Wang family's chariot.
To be honest, no one wants the Wang family to be better than him. Only when the Wang family is well can he be well and the whole family can rely on him.
"I'm relieved because of your words. You can continue your work. I won't delay you any longer." After a few words of explanation, Mrs. Wang got into the carriage with her maid and headed back home.
Wang Xu watched the carriage leave and took a deep breath.
After a while, he came back to his senses and realized that more and more victims were gathering now. Some things should be arranged, so he said: "Liu Quan, call together the villagers in the town, as well as the heads of the major families and the shop owners in the town.
Shopkeeper, I want to make a three-part agreement with everyone."
"Yes, Master."
Liu Quan agreed and asked in a low voice, "Master, do you want to invite the third elder to come over?"
"Three elders?"
The Third Elder is the most virtuous and respected person in Jiuquan Town, and holds the right to worship ancestors.
If we have the support of the three elders, we can be more confident about disaster relief, and at least no one can speak against us.
But Wang Xu thought about it for a while and shook his head: "I won't invite you for the time being. The third elder is old and conservative, so I'm afraid he won't agree to provide disaster relief. Later, I will ask the master to come forward to appease the third elder. Don't invite me now.
To avoid trouble."
"Yes, young master." Liu Quan turned around and stepped back to invite the decent people in the town.
Wang Xu stood there, looking at the granary behind him, and whispered: "It's about to begin!"