pdf-ebookys Chapter 955: Lord of Nanhe
Chapter 955: Lord of Nanhe
Wu Jiang said: "Master, you don't have to worry too much. Not all the big families in the north are out of work. Many of them are still recruiting people. Besides, can the Nanhe government just watch these people have no seeds and can't farm?"
Zhou Guo skipped the topic and asked, "How is the county town down there? How is the grain store?"
Speaking of this, Wu Jiang had something to say, with an undisguised excitement on his face, "According to what you said, after the war, the grain prices at various grain shops went up. Even though the government was in charge, they couldn't stop the grain prices from rising day by day. Later, a pound of brown rice rose to 16 cents per pound, and a pound of black flour also rose to 14 cents. Not to mention refined rice and white flour. Few people could afford it."
"After the bald man came with the grain, I thought that I couldn't recruit many workers anyway, so I picked a few counties and started selling grain. When our grain shop opened, the price was half of that of other grain shops. Other grain shops had no business. Then, two days later, a lot of people suddenly came in to buy large quantities of our grain, taking as much as we could!
We realized something was wrong and started to limit the quantity. We managed to hold on for more than a month, but we couldn't hold on any longer. The autumn harvest in the north has come! We are no longer afraid, even if the other side buys all our food. These days, all the grain shops have started to lower their prices. Today, the grain prices in these counties have finally stabilized."
Zhou Guo asked, "With such a big move, didn't anyone cause trouble for you?"
Wu Jiang said, "Does it count if these grain merchants are working together to buy our grain? Apart from this, we haven't seen them come to provoke us, and none of our people have been harmed."
Zhou Guo pondered and said, "No one came to cause trouble for such a big move. Could it be that someone behind the scenes gave us a heads-up?"
Food prices are related to people's livelihood and cannot be easily changed. Even if she asked to lower the price, no one would even come to say hello. I'm afraid it's not that simple.
She thought that before going south, she might have to visit the Lord of Nanhe?
I don’t know where this Lord came from, or whether he knows her.
Wu Jiang looked at her and asked, "Master, are you going to visit the Lord of the Mansion?"
Zhou Guo slapped the table lightly and said, "Go, the people of Nanhe are having a hard time this year. We don't know where to get the seeds next spring. If we want to sell the fertilizer next spring, we don't have the ability to do it on our own. We must cooperate with the government. If we can get the support of the Lord of Nanhe, we will get twice the result with half the effort."
Although life in the north has been better in recent years, there have been wars in the front line for years, and they have to support the territories that have just been conquered. Even if they have mountains of gold and silver, they cannot resist spending them in this way.
These places still have to be self-sustaining.
In her hand, she still had the letter from Lord Chengding. She had also asked for a copy from Nanhe. Lord Chengding was puzzled at first, "Nanhe, you've been there before, why do you still need my letter?"
Zhou Guo chuckled, "Although I have been to Nanhe, I have never dealt with the Nanhe government. If I rashly go to their door for business, they might kick me out. With your gift, it will be different. You have much more face than me."
The Lord of the Mansion laughed on the spot, "You are wrong. My reputation is not as good as yours."
Anyway, she still got the souvenir.
Wu Jiang took the souvenir and went out.
He came back half an hour later and said, "Master, they said that the Lord will be waiting for you at the government office at the beginning of the morning at si."
Zhou Guo nodded, "I understand."
After breakfast the next day, she sat with the old man in the back garden for a while, then got up and went out.
Lord Nanhe was already standing at the door.
Zhou Guo strode forward, threw up his robe and was about to kneel down, "I greet you, sir."
Before he even knelt down, he was lifted up by a big hand. A gentle voice rang out, "Excuse me, Mr. Zhou's name is well-known to me even though I'm in Nanhe. Today I finally get to see him. He is indeed a rare talent!"
He had heard of the name Zhou Guo before he took office. It was only good and no bad for Yu Nanhe to be told to give others whatever they asked for.
In the past few months, no one has come to his door, so he began to wonder, is it because the person is so capable that he doesn't need help anymore?
However, the Zhou family was really capable. They took over almost half of the refugees, and gave them both money and grain. At this time, they did not raise the grain prices like other grain merchants did, but instead took the initiative to lower them, making the price half as low as that of other families.
I guess there is no other person like him in the whole world. No wonder the higher-ups give him whatever he wants. Just based on these two things, he really deserves it.
Zhou Guo looked up at the Lord of the Mansion. He had a beard and was estimated to be around fifty years old. He was smiling and looked very kind.
She was not surprised that he knew her, and smiled, "Thank you for your compliment, sir. However, I am afraid I am not worthy of such a title. Thank you for your kindness, sir."
"Hey, how can you not be worthy of it? If you are not worthy of it, there are not many people in this world who can be worthy of it. Come in and sit down."
The two sat down and exchanged a few words.
The Lord of the Mansion could not wait any longer and said first: "Mr. Zhou must have come here for no reason. Tell me what you want me to do."
"Uh..." Zhou Guo hadn't finished speaking when he heard him speak again.
"You don't know how difficult it is for us in Nanhe now. Although it is rich, the King of Chu has been fighting wars for years. The people of Nanhe have been fleeced layer by layer. In recent years, almost all the people have left. When the King of Chu left, he took away all the valuables, and burned the things that could not be taken away. There is not a single grain in the granaries of various government offices. Not to mention the grain for next year, even the grain for disaster relief cannot be taken out. Oh, the people of Nanhe are suffering..."
As he talked about it, his eyes actually became red.
Zhou Guo's mouth twitched. Was he crying poor in front of her?
She didn't say anything either. The prince complained for half an hour. Later, he had nothing to say and suddenly remembered that Zhou Guo was still there.
He asked, "By the way, why did Mr. Zhou come here?"
Zhou Guo said, "Sir, I want to ask the government to help me sell the fertilizer. With the fertilizer next spring, everyone's fields will produce more grain and their lives will be better. The Nanhe River is so big that if we rely on ourselves, it will take many years for everyone to use the fertilizer."
The Lord of the Mansion frowned, "Ah, you know, our government doesn't have any seeds right now, and we can't afford to buy farm tools. What kind of food will they produce in the spring?"
Zhou Guo said, "With this winter, they will be able to save some money in the spring next year. Even if they can't afford the farm tools, they can still afford the seeds. If they really don't have enough, I will give them credit and they can pay me back after they harvest the grain. But as for the farm tools and oxen, sir, I can't do anything about it."