In the next few days, various grain stores were extremely busy. Nine thousand kilo of grain had to be unloaded, inspected, weighed, and put into storage. This could not be completed in a day or two.
The bosses of the three grain stores in Fuyang County finally showed up. The shopkeeper was in bad company, so the owner naturally had to play the bad side. After Zhou Yang and others learned about the situation, they said many good things to the grain merchants. The three of them were still in the county.
The best restaurant in the city held a banquet for three days in a row to apologize to the grain merchants. When leaving, he bought them rich new year's goods...
Although the income of the grain merchants has not increased, their injured souls have been soothed after all, and their damaged faces have also been repaired a lot. In addition, Zhou Yang and the others have indeed gone bankrupt and borrowed heavily, which makes it difficult to say anything... and it can be said quickly.
It’s the Chinese New Year, and no one wants to go home full of resentment. The attitude of grain merchants has finally softened a lot.
In the silky winter rain, Wang Xian stood on the second floor of Linhe Restaurant, watching the empty grain ships leaving the dock one after another, with a smile on his lips.
"It's great that we can avoid using official officials." Sima Qiu, who was standing aside, said happily: "Grain merchants from more than a dozen counties gathered in Fuyang, which has attracted the attention of the entire Hangzhou Prefecture and even Zhejiang Province...
It really makes people sweat." Using official officials will make people realize that there is a shadow of the government behind this matter, and then they will suspect that there is a big problem in Changpingcang. In view of the bad relationship between Xundao and Fuyang County,
There will definitely be a thorough investigation, and the truth will be exposed once the investigation is completed.
However, under Wang Xian's command, the grain merchants were performing the whole process. No matter whether it was a white face beforehand or a red face afterwards, no one from the government came forward, successfully avoiding some fatal conjectures.
Now even if the people who patrol the road come back to their senses, they are not afraid anymore, because six thousand shi of new grain has been put into Yongfeng warehouse. Looking at the warehouse full of rice with white flowers, Wei Zhixian is still eager for someone to check and help him.
To become famous...
"But the price of grain in Fuyang will probably be pushed up in the future." Sima Qiu said with some worry: "The grain merchants will definitely have to make up for it in the future."
"It's okay. I told Zhou Grain Merchant that I will go to Changsha to buy rice after the Chinese New Year." Wang Xian said softly: "Originally, it was said that 'if Suhu is ripe, the world will have enough', but now more and more farmland is being reformed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang."
Now that we have planted cotton and mulberries, we will have to buy grain from Huguang and Jiangxi in the future. I am afraid that it will be changed to 'If it is cooked in Huguang, the world will have enough'."
"You boy," Sima Qiu was already used to Wang Xian's extraordinary knowledge: "I only heard the same thing from the Hubu people in the capital. After coming to Zhejiang, you are the first to say this."
"I don't know the true face of Mount Lu, I just live in this mountain." Wang Xian smiled faintly and handed the two pieces of paper to Sima Qiu without any fuss.
Sima Qiu glanced at it and saw two land deeds. One was from Jianchang, Jiangxi Province, the hometown of Weizhi County, stating 80 acres of paddy field, and the other was from his hometown Wuxi, stating 20 acres of paddy field. The two land deeds
The number of acres, the number of blocks, and the ownership of boundary stakes are recorded in detail. The name written under the field owner column in the former one is Wei Yuan, and the name in the latter one is Sima Qiu.
Sima Qiu knew that this was a common practice for him and the magistrate of Wei this year. Because the magistrate was frugal and simple in his daily life, Wang Xian bought him land in his hometown, and he won the favor of the scholar-bureaucrats.
If you retreat, you will have the pleasure of leisurely travel.
As for Mr. Sima, he naturally had extra income. Wang Xian was able to rise rapidly, and thanks to Sima Qiu, he bought a share of land for him in Wuxi. An acre of paddy field costs about fifteen taels of silver, and twenty acres is three hundred. Two taels of silver made Mr. Sima smile from ear to ear. No wonder people say that those who become masters are always poor when they come, and then rich when they leave. I thought that I would drink the northwest wind with him as a second-hand man, but I didn't expect it. In less than a year, he became a small landowner.
Mr. Sima had never seen money before. He held a piece of land deed and looked at it again and again before carefully putting it in his arms. He looked at Wang Xiandian gratefully and said, "Thank you so much, brother."
'Ahem...' Wang Xian is so confused. Qian Bo is so proud that he just called himself 'nephew', "Sir, there is no need to thank me. This is a common practice in the yamen. I know that I am honest, so I have already It has been reduced by half compared to when Chen was magistrate of the county."
What Wang Xian said is true. Later generations have shown that the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were extremely low, so their incomes were not as good as those in the Song Dynasty. This is typical nonsense. Because local officials in the Ming Dynasty never lived on that meager salary. They relied on is the norm.
Even the famous upright official Hai Rui later took commissions from various government incomes when he was the county magistrate. He had an income of more than 2,000 taels of silver a year. Because he was the one who paid for all the non-official staff in the yamen. Wages, as well as various welcomes and deliveries... Without this income, which is more than a hundred times the official salary, he would not be able to run the entire county government.
According to convention, these incomes are reasonable and legal. After deducting expenses one by one, the accounts will be calculated at the end of the year. If there is a balance, it will not be transferred to the next year. Instead, it will go into the magistrate's eunuch and become his private income.
Therefore, the harvest of a magistrate in a year depends first on whether he scrapes hard, and secondly on whether his subordinates can budget wisely. In the name of caring for the people, magistrate Wei scrapes the people very lightly. If there is so much left at the end of the year, he must naturally be grateful. Wang Xian.
"There is also Bingjing, who is assigned to the prefect's yamen, the chief secretary, the inspection department, the patrol department, and the guard department. They are also ready." Wang Xian said a little gloomily: "Let me just relax."
"That's good, that's good." Sima Qiu patted Wang Xian on the shoulder and said: "Zhongde, you are really a natural born Sihu, you can make water without leaking at a young age!"
"Sir, that's ridiculous..." Wang Xianwei responded with a wry smile and said from the bottom of his heart that the household chores were a lucrative job, but he didn't want to do it at all. Because it was the norm for everyone at the top and bottom to follow him. He passed it in his hands. When he was fine, people called him the God of Wealth. When something happened, he was the scapegoat, such as Li Sheng...
In order not to let others take advantage of him, he had to go to great lengths to make fake accounts, just like Li Sheng did... Although with his level of making fake accounts, basically no one in the Ming Dynasty could see through it, but what was fake was fake, and what others really did was When I want to punish you, three words "unnecessary" are enough.
Not to mention tired...
But I have only been living in the house for a few months, so it is too early to move. I can only continue to work carefully for a few years before making plans. Fortunately, this job is indeed fat...
Wang Xian had only been working seriously for less than two months. At the end of the year, he got more than a hundred taels of silver. You know, when Wang Gui was working in the paper mill, he was still a foreman. Ten taels of silver is really unreasonable.
.
Back at the Yamen, Wang Xian went to sign the mortgage house and report to Weizhi County. Although he didn't know that he had gained 80 acres of fertile land, Weizhi County was still very happy. Since he had the problem of Yongfengcang, he has been restless and worried.
, I became nervous as soon as I heard the knock on the door, thinking that the incident had been exposed and that the patrolmen came to investigate the case.
Wei Zhixian has no doubt that he will go crazy if he continues like this. But now, thanks to Wang Xian, he has gone away from this serious illness, which feels relieved and refreshing!
"Zhongde, it's all your credit for my teacher being able to spend the New Year in peace and contentment this time!" Wei Zhixian twisted three strands of his long beard and said with a smile, "I can't believe that in less than ten days, my teacher can be
My heart ailment is gone!"
"The students didn't do anything." Wang Xian said humbly: "The teacher had to restrain Zhou Liangshang and others, otherwise they wouldn't be so obedient."
"Haha..." Subordinates who don't take credit are the favorites of their superiors. Weizhixian looked at his students, and the more he looked at them, the more he liked them. "The method you used is so clever. I still can't figure it out.
Why do merchants flock to us like they are possessed, and then lower their prices as if they are possessed by an evil spirit?"
"In fact, students also learn from the ancients." Wang Xian explained the "Prisoner's Dilemma" to him, so he had to change his explanation: "When Fan Wenzheng was in Hangzhou, he used this method to stabilize food prices."
"Oh?" Wei Zhixian Bo Wen remembered. When Wang Xian mentioned it, he immediately remembered that it was indeed true. In the early days of Emperor You of the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a severe drought in Hangzhou, and food was in short supply. Unscrupulous businessmen took the opportunity to hoard and raise food prices, causing the price of food to skyrocket.
However, Fan Zhongyan, then the magistrate of Hangzhou, did not take conventional measures to distribute grains to the people. Instead, he sent people to post notices along the canal, widely publicizing that the government began to purchase grains at twice the market price.
Seeing the profits, grain merchants from all over the country rushed day and night to transport grain to Hangzhou for sale. Soon, there was enough food on the market in Hangzhou. As the saying goes, things are more expensive when they are scarce. If there is more grain, the price will naturally fall. In the year of great famine,
, there is no sign of famine in Hangzhou...
"So that's it!" Wei Zhixian suddenly realized, but was deeply moved. He was familiar with the allusions, but when the problem came, he couldn't do anything. Wang Xian hadn't read for a few days, but he could always learn and apply it. It seemed that he really read and applied.
Stupid...
"It's very rare that you can think of Fan Gong's method." Wei Zhixian praised.
"It's a pity that Mr. Fan downplayed it without a trace of fireworks." Wang Xian said with a wry smile: "The student used it, but he looked like a rogue."
"Hahaha." Wei Zhixian laughed and said: "Fan Gong is a saint, how can you compare with him? Besides, historians use the Spring and Autumn style of writing for respected people. Who knows if he was like you at that time?
Put on a rogue face?"
"Hey." Wang Xian saw Wei Zhixian's rare good mood and took the opportunity to say: "The student has something I want to ask the teacher to decide."
"Speak." Wei Zhixian nodded.
"Currently there is only one student in each household, and it is very difficult every day. We are about to close the book this year, so that's all. Let's see if it's OK and come back next year to make up for the staff." Wang Xian laughed and said: "Anyway, it's the imperial court's decision.
The salary saved is not your own."
"Vulgar! A person like you will never be able to become a saint in eight lifetimes!" Wei Zhixian laughed and scolded: "Are you saving money by becoming a teacher? I am here to help you gain a firm foothold in the household!" He said with a smile: "Yes.
After one year, I will promote you to the position of clerk, so that you can be considered as the second year, which makes sense." After a pause, he said: "As for the two clerks, you can recommend one..."
The implication is that I want to do a favor to the remaining one. But giving Wang Xian a spot is already a great reward.
"Thank you, Master!" Wang Xian said with great joy.