Wei and Jin Cooks

Although she was not Zhao Hanzhang’s mother in name, Zhao Hanzhang’s mother could give the people a lot of confidence. The people who came to buy food were finally less anxious, the atmosphere in the team was much more relaxed, and the waiters continued to measure food for them.

Someone in the team retreated quietly, and soon ran into a small door, turned around and went to the front, "My boss, I found out after asking, it is the business of the general's mother, Mrs. Wang. I heard that a lot of grain was shipped. The bags are stacked to the roof.”

The middle-aged man was happy when he heard this and asked repeatedly: "Are you sure? Is this really the business of the general's mother?"

“It’s probably true. I see there are people in military uniforms standing by.”

“Okay, okay,” the middle-aged man said happily: “Open the door, lower all food prices, and follow their example to limit purchases, hurry up!”

The guy responded happily, "Then do we still have a big fight?"

 The middle-aged man patted him on the head, smiled and cursed: "Do you want me to die? Change it to a normal one."

The guy went and replaced the larger bucket with the larger one and took out the normal one.

This is a flood-stricken area, and it is not a big city like Luoyang, so food prices have risen even more outrageously.

The Fang family was a well-known local landowner and grain merchant. When the Huns were raging, they retreated from their hometown and fled for their lives. They did not return until Zhao Hanzhang recovered the lost land.

 Because they left late and returned early, most of their fields were not included in the country's resumption, and their family had savings, so they quickly accumulated capital.

Mr. Fang often said to his son, "We have received benefits from the general and have the support of the villagers. Only in this way can we keep the family business and we should repay the favor."

Therefore, Mr. Fang is very keen on donating money to build bridges, pave roads, and dig for water conservancy. The flood disaster just came out in the Di newspaper in February, and when most people didn't believe it, he started to make preparations.

  Spend money to purchase a large amount of grain from outside, and persuade the villagers to save more surplus grain, and try not to sell it just because the price of grain is relatively high now.

He originally thought that if there was a disaster, he would sell it at a low price to stabilize the price. If Guo Pu's prediction was wrong and there would be no natural disaster, he would sell it at a low price during the lean period. The maximum loss would be 20 to 30%. With his family's financial resources, he would grit his teeth and sell it. It passed.

But he didn't expect that other large families in the county were unwilling to stabilize prices, and they were backed by high-ranking officials in the county governor's office. Several merchants led by the Fang family were unable to resist at all.

If the prices on both sides were different, they would send people to harass and even have officials come to negotiate. Several merchants who had agreed with Mr. Fang to sell grain at a fair price could not withstand the pressure and had to set the same price as them.

Mr. Fang couldn't beat his four legs with his fists, so he could only comfort himself that he would not be afraid of running out of firewood, and then quietly changed the bucket to a larger one.

 Common people come to buy grain. A bucket of grain can be used to measure two liters more.

At the same price, you can buy more grain at the Fang Family Grain Store. The people are not fools either. They vaguely noticed something and tacitly concealed the matter together.

After the price of grain soared, the business of the Fang's Grain Store was the best among several families. Although the other families were not angry, they did not doubt it. After all, the Fang's Grain Store was considered a time-honored brand in the county, and the people believed that his family was also normal. of.

They never thought that some people would let their money go without making a profit, but a dou of grain would be sold for one dou or two liters.

 The arrival of the court's disaster relief food actually did not have a great impact on them, because the families restricted by the court to receive disaster relief food could not afford to buy their food.

 The newly opened grain store is equivalent to taking food directly from them, which is abominable.

But the clerk who sold grain in the store claimed that it was the business of the general's mother, and there were soldiers nearby, so they didn't dare to move for a while, so they had to ask people to check.

For this kind of thing, just go to the Yamen directly and ask, "That shop is rented. I only rented it for these two months. It's very cheap."

"What, let the landlord evict people?" The clerk said: "If it were an ordinary family, they would evict them. This is the general's mother. Who dares to evict them?"

"I've asked clearly, that's right, and," the clerk lowered his voice, "Teacher Xun is also here. He is the imperial envoy. The newly opened grain store made so much noise and was suddenly locked up. There is no way we can hide our affairs. "

The clerk advised: "You have made almost enough money during this period, and you don't have much food on hand. It's better to sell it at a fair price."

“It’s precisely because there’s not much left that they have to pay a higher price. Why can’t they open later?”

 If it comes a month and a half later, all the food they have will be sold at a high price. Now...

 When they calculated the money they would lose, they felt as if their hearts had been ripped out.

"Okay, let's stay away from it for the time being. If she wants to sell it, sell it to her. We close the door. When they sell out all the food in their hands, others will have no choice but to come back to us."

Just after making the decision, Jie Feng walked over quickly and said eagerly: "The Fang family's grain store has opened, and the price of grain has also been pushed down."

Zheng Zhi was furious when he heard this, "I have always disliked him as a flatterer. I invited him several times, but he always excused himself because he had something to do, but he turned out to have such lofty ambitions and went directly to flatter Zhao Hanzhang's mother."

Zheng Zhi spat, stood up and said, "I'm going to find my brother-in-law. I can't seal the Wang family's shop. How can I not seal the Fang family's shop?"

Zheng Zhi rushed to the governor's house, but Yu Hong was not there. He and Xun Fan went to provide disaster relief, so Zheng Zhi could only visit a few nephews and nieces first.

In the evening, Yu Hong and Xun Fan came back exhausted. They talked while walking, "...we should also release some volunteers to clean up the mud and repair the roads, and provide work in exchange for relief. It does not need to be long, it will only take about ten days."

Before he finished speaking, when he saw Zheng Zhi, Xun Fan stopped talking in a tacit agreement, nodded with Yu Hong and said with a smile: "I'll go wash up first, and we'll talk later."

Yu Hong agreed with a smile, and Zheng Zhi also saluted with a respectful and gentle look. After watching Xunfan leave, he said: "Brother-in-law, you are dirty and tired. I asked the kitchen to stew soup. You have a bowl first." Warm your stomach…”

"No need, I still have a lot of official business to deal with. Just tell me what you want to see me for."

Zheng Zhi complained in a low voice, "The Fang family relies on the local wealthy family to control prices and crowd out other grain stores. You can't ignore it."

Yu Hong frowned slightly, "I will ask someone to talk to Fang Zheng, but you don't have much time. Now that the disaster relief grain from the court has arrived, and there is a new grain store opened by the Zhao family, let me tell you, the money you earn There is enough, so while the food prices are still good now, let’s lower them quickly and sell out all the food.”

Zheng Zhi: "We paid a high price when we bought it. The cost of food transportation is high. I think this is a reasonable price. If we don't sell it at this price, we will only lose money."

He said: "We are not like the Fang family. They are local snakes. They buy food locally and there is no shipping fee at all. Brother-in-law, I also earn this money for my nephew and niece. The nephew will go to Luoyang to study in two years. We are all from the sidelines. To avoid being looked down upon by others, we can only bring more money. We also have a niece who is going to be married. If there is a generous dowry, maybe we can marry the Wang family or even the Zhao family..."

"Okay, okay, I understand," Yu Hong was silent for a moment and then said, "I'll let someone handle it, but I can't force them to do it. I'll let them close for a few days at most. Hurry up and get out all the food you have." .”

Zheng Zhi agreed and left happily. Yu Hong sighed, turned around and was about to go back to the house when he saw a person standing in the shadow of the corridor. Yu Hong was startled and staggered back two steps, his eyes widening.

Xunfan walked out of the shadows expressionlessly and stood under the lantern.

When he saw clearly that it was Xun Fan, his violently beating heart slowly calmed down, and he was a little annoyed, "Tai Jian, why didn't you say anything? You scared me."

Xunfan: "If you don't do anything bad, how can you be afraid of ghosts?"

Yu Hong's face felt hot and he was very embarrassed. Fortunately, no one could see him in the dark night, so he calmed his voice and said, "You misunderstood. My brother-in-law bought some grain, but he always followed the market price." But, the Fang family is a local gangster, very powerful, and they have to ask for the food price to be determined by them, so there are some conflicts between them."

"I know the Fang family," Xun Fan said in a deep voice, "Before, you said that the county governor wanted to borrow food from each family to provide relief, but the Fang family refused."

"Yes, it was the Fang family who took the lead in refusing to agree. He excused himself by saying that he was a grain merchant who only sold grain and did not donate grain."

Xunfan looked at him quietly for a while, then turned and left.

Yu Hong was stunned for a moment and quickly chased after him, "Tai Jian, what do you mean?"

"I went to see the Fang family. The head of the Fang family, Fang Zheng, was indeed unwilling to donate food, but was willing to donate money for disaster relief. He said that if the food went to the Yamen, it might not reach the victims. At that time, he also made a strange request. , said that even if he donated money, he would also donate the money to the county under his jurisdiction, and the county magistrate would receive the money. He also said that if he had to donate food, the county magistrate under his jurisdiction would have to find it in person, and it would have to be the general's recruitment examination. Only with the county magistrate who came out of the school."

Xunfan stopped and turned to look at him, "I've always wondered why he made such a request, and now I know."

Yu Hong remained silent.

Xun Fan's eyes turned red and he turned around and left.

When he reached the guest house, Xun Fan turned around and scolded in a low voice: "Don't follow me again!"

Yu Hong sighed and said in a low voice: "Do you think I will embezzle the money and food for disaster relief? My brother-in-law is just following the crowd. You have also been a local official. You should know how powerful the local powerful families are. We outside officials It’s a difficult step…”

"But this is after the war!" Xun Fan said angrily: "Most people moved back after fleeing, and many of them were newly settled families. Most of the so-called local wealthy families were wiped out in the war, or their power was greatly damaged. It’s simply impossible to cover the sky with one hand!”

"Otherwise, after the war calmed down, why did Zhao Hanzhang just keep sending troops to suppress the bandits? Because as long as there are no bandits in the place and no one has weapons, there will be no force that can dominate one side in the short term." Xunfan was very sad, "I I know that some local officials are working like dogs just for personal gain, but I didn’t expect that you are one of them!"

Yu Hong held back his anger and said: "Based on the few words you heard, do you doubt me so much? We have been friends for more than ten years..."

"After five years of not seeing each other, it's hard for me to tell whether it has changed. Now I don't have the time and energy to tell, so I will ask Yuan Li to come over and let him check whether it is right or wrong."

Yu Hong's eyes widened and he shuddered. Seeing Xun Fan pushing the door open and about to close it after entering the house, he quickly took two steps forward to stop him and looked at him in disbelief, "You, you actually want to invite Yuan Li Come here? Are you crazy? He is a cruel official, a cruel official!"

Xun Fan looked serious, "He is a cruel official, but he will not wrong others."

Yu Hong's chest heaved, "Did you know that he won't surrender? And if I walk through his hands again, can I still be intact?"

Xunfan: "I would never have done this in the past, but now he does not dare to torture innocent people. Don't worry, he will not dare to torture you without any evidence."

Yu Hong: ...But, his body is not that clean.

Xunfan looked at the silent man, understood, and tried to close the door with a strong movement of his hand.

Yu Hong resisted with all his strength and said in a deep voice: "Tai Jian, you should know that when the water is clear, there will be no fish."

"If the water is extremely clear, there will be no fish, but if the water is too turbid, the fish will be poisoned to death." Xunfan said, "You can take care of yourself."

Yu Hong wanted to speak again, but Xun Fan couldn't bear it anymore and shouted loudly: "Feng Bi!"

The long follower who had been standing silently not far away immediately stepped forward and bowed: "Master Yu, my husband has rested. Please come back."

Being blocked by Xun Fan's servants, all Yu Hong's words were stuck in his throat. He could only let go of his hand and watch Xun Fan slam the door.

Yu Hong turned around and left. When he returned to the main courtyard, he found that his back was wet. He looked a little pale and called the servants: "Go, quickly find Zheng Zhi and ask him to sell all the grain at a fair price immediately. No, not allowed." The price is higher than that of Zhao’s and Fang’s.”

The servant responded and left, but Yu Hong stopped him again and said through gritted teeth: "Tell him that Yuan Li is coming."

Zheng Zhi was originally unhappy with Yu Hong's order. When he heard that Yuan Li was coming here, his face immediately turned pale and he asked, "There is already an angel here, why is he still here?"

 “I don’t know.”

Zheng Zhi was so anxious that the people who formed an alliance with him happened to be here to hear the news. They were a little frightened at this time and whispered, "Did he hear some rumors?"

 That would be even more terrifying.

He placed the noodles in front of Xun Fan and said, "Master Sir, you have worked hard all day. Eat something first and then think about it."

Xunfan took the chopsticks and took a handful of noodles. Looking at the gray-white noodles, he felt depressed, "I only thought he was honest and poor, so his family was in trouble, but I didn't expect that all this was just an illusion."

Fengbi: "To be disrespectful, except for those new officials who have just come out of the school, there are no officials who have difficulties in meeting their families, especially the old officials who have been left behind."

Xunfan looked at him and said, "So you also think it is better for the general to rule?"

“The servants don’t know the great principles of the gentlemen. They only know that after the general came to power, the morals of the people gradually improved, with benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom, trust, and courage. Unlike before, the common people had to avoid people and quietly scold the king and bureaucrats.”

Xunfan: "Now, everyone is scolding me in front of my face."

Fengbi smiled honestly: "The general said that as long as it is not an unreasonable insult, it is considered a suggestion, and officials are not allowed to stop it."

 Two chapters and one chapter of cooperation, see you tomorrow