Chapter 51

The Yushan warehouse was completely burned down by a fire.Right now, Yuanzhou government has to rely on Bingshan warehouse to help the refugees.

"So," Bai Zeqing looked sideways at Huo Yuncheng, "Is there any food in the Bingshan warehouse?"

"Yes." Huo Yuncheng tapped unconsciously on the tea table with his fingertips.

"It can't be moldy rice, right?" Bai Zeqing looked at Huo Yuncheng's meaningful expression, feeling completely at a loss.

"That's not true." Huo Yuncheng said.

……

The time goes back to the previous day's Bingshan warehouse.

When Huo Yuncheng hurried to the warehouse gate, Lu Yu and Wen Jinnuo were still arguing with the supervisor of the warehouse gate.

The two weak scholars were blocked by several cangbing soldiers, and the yamen servants who followed did not dare to fight with the cangbing soldiers, so the two were in such a stalemate, one refused to let in, and the other refused to retreat.

The supervisor said that Mr. Wang, the supervisor of the warehouse factory, was checking the warehouse, and no one was allowed to enter.No matter who it is, if you want to check the warehouse and inspect the grain, you need to wait for the warehouse to finish.

Huo Yuncheng got off his horse and didn't listen to the explanation at all. With a wave of his hand, the guards rushed over and tied up the warehouse gate supervisor and several warehouse soldiers regardless of the situation.

Therefore, Huo Yuncheng went first, followed by Banxia, ​​Lu Yu supported Wen Jinnuo and followed in a daze, followed by a group of guards, swaggering towards the warehouse.

As soon as he stepped into the compartment of the C-size warehouse, he heard someone talking inside, as well as the sound of rustling rice in full swing. Huo Yuncheng raised his hand to signal everyone not to act rashly.

A large group of people stood in the corner of the cubicle in such an aboveboard manner.

Huo Yuncheng covered his mouth and nose with a damp cloth, leaned slightly, pushed open the inner warehouse door, and looked in from among the mountains of rice sacks.

I saw at least a few hundred catties of white rice piled up on the big wooden board in the center of the warehouse. Several coolies were pouring bags of limestone into the rice, and then some coolies took shovels to mix the limestone and white rice evenly. Next to it, there are warehouse soldiers holding a water basin and sprinkling some water on it from time to time to make the mixed fake rice more realistic. Then there are a few coolies who put the mixed rice into sackcloth rice bags, and then resist it into the grain pile.

What a picture of fervent work.

Standing beside Huo Yuncheng, Wen Jinnuo was furious and was about to go in when Lu Yu grabbed him and motioned him to look at the other side half blocked by the rice bag.

Master Wang, the supervisor of the warehouse factory, and two cronies, Cang Bing, were sitting on a four-corner table next to them, eating peanuts.

On the left side of Supervisor Wang, there was a man who looked like a shopkeeper of a food store. He was holding a ledger while keeping accounts and fiddling with the abacus.

Then I heard the shopkeeper say: "Let me tell you, Lord Wang, in the past we mixed sand, water and lime into this official rice, so that even the official rice bought cheaply in Yuanzhou City could not pick out [-]% good rice. If anyone wants to eat good rice here, they have to go to our private grain store to buy high-priced rice. But these rice,” the shopkeeper pointed to the fake rice on the big wooden board, “are all going to the porridge factory for disaster relief. Do you just do useless work? You see, so many people are paid a lot of money."

Supervisor Wang threw a peanut into his mouth, rolled his eyes at him, and said, "If it weren't for relying on us to risk our heads and adulterate this official rice, the price of rice in your grain store could start from [-] yuan. A bucket of rice has risen to eighty yuan a bucket? How do you get rich in the grain business?"

The shopkeeper hurriedly agreed with a "yes, yes": "Hey, there has never been any good rice that is not adulterated in this official warehouse." Then he wondered: "My lord, but this is adulterated rice for disaster relief." Cooking porridge, I'm afraid many refugees will starve to death, aren't we afraid of making things worse?"

Supervisor Wang threw the peanuts in his hand to the shopkeeper's face, and scolded: "Don't I know? Ah, don't I know? But a few years ago, the good rice that was adulterated and worth [-] catties entered your grain store. , Now half of our warehouses here are empty, not adulterated? How many days can we be fooled without adulteration? When the imperial envoy comes to investigate, they will all die!"

As he spoke, he spread out his palm towards the supervisor and said, "Seriously, have you brought the bank note?"

The shopkeeper hurriedly took out a handful of bank notes from his pocket and handed them over, smiling apologetically, "I've brought it with me, it's 600 taels."

Supervisor Wang took the bank note, tapped it carefully, put it in his arms, and then said: "To tell you the truth, the 600 taels are not for nothing. In the future, this matter will be settled. In the second half of the year, the warehouse will be settled." All the good rice will be sold by you."

The shopkeeper laughed so hard that he couldn't see his eyes, and hurriedly said: "Hey, good. But this money?"

"This money is to go to the food store outside Yuanzhou City to buy food for emergency." Supervisor Wang tapped his fist on the table with his right hand and said, "Whoever let you down, six of the grain stores in Yuanzhou's ten middle schools are The Huo family. Our adults have supported you for many years, and you only occupy less than four floors, and your little food storage is not even enough at all."

"Master Wang, you are joking, how can our small businesses compare with the Huo family."

Supervisor Wang threw another peanut into his mouth and said, "Speaking of which, you go back and tell them, let them find a way to pay more."

The shopkeeper showed a look of distress, and said, "My lord, this..."

Supervisor Wang raised his finger and pointed at him, and said: "Passing this test, the future will be brighter, Master Yin will not treat you badly, when the time comes, everyone will have a better time."

The shopkeeper was still waiting to speak, but Huo Yuncheng was choked by the dust and coughed.

The people inside immediately panicked and called out, "Who?"

Huo Yuncheng was too lazy to talk nonsense with them, and lightly ordered: "Catch all the adulterated and cheating warehouse coolies, and don't let any one go."

The sound of the guards rushing in, kicking and tying people was accompanied by the shouts of the warehouse soldiers and coolies.

"We are wronged"

"We are not adulterated"

"Sir, forgive me"

"My lord, we are just porters hired to carry grain sacks, we don't know anything..."

More than ten warehouse soldiers and more than two dozen labor coolies are all crying for grievances.

Huo Yuncheng ordered the guards to go to the Huojia grain store in the city and bring a few more shopkeepers to the Bingshan warehouse to count and record the stored grain one by one.See how much good rice is available.

With Lu Yu's support, Wen Jinnuo walked past the group of bound people, listening to their cries of grievances, and observing their appearance, expressions, and movements.

Wen Jinnuo couldn't help but stop when someone passed by.

The man faced honestly, with a sad expression, a strong figure, wearing tattered coolie clothes, and a pair of cloth shoes on his feet with holes, sitting in a corner, not saying a word.

Wen Jinnuo looked him up and down, and asked him, "Why don't you complain?"

The man said in a low voice: "My lord, you plead guilty, you don't need to cry for injustice."

Wen Jinnuo frowned slightly, and asked, "I want to ask you, is the person who called for injustice really wronged?"

The man looked up at Wen Jinnuo, and after a while he said, "Your Excellency, do you want to tell the truth?"

Wen Jinnuo said seriously: "Of course we must listen to the truth!"

The man suddenly laughed.

Wen Jinnuo asked, "Why are you laughing?"

Although the man laughed, his expression became more sorrowful, and he said: "In this Yuanzhou mansion, there is actually a master official who listens to the truth? Do you think it's funny or not?"

Wen Jinnuo just looked at him indifferently, and after he finished laughing, he said: "I will be the butt of this joke today, and listen to the truth. How dare you say it?"

The man raised his head and stared into Wen Jinnuo's eyes, and said, "Why don't you dare? If my lord dares to listen, I dare to speak."

"But it doesn't matter."

(End of this chapter)

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