The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 414 - 403

Chapter 414: 403

In Luojiang County, no matter how business declined, there were always two places that were guaranteed to have people, and never lacked for customers.

One was the sundry shop that sold salt; the other was this grain shop.

When Bai Shanbao and his companions arrived, there were only three other customers in the grain shop, but the shop assistant only lifted an eyelid to glance at them before asking, "What would you like to purchase?"

Bai Shanbao said, "We’ll just have a look."

The shop assistant nodded, "Feel free to look around, and ask me for the prices once you’ve decided."

While they were speaking, a customer beside them asked, "Why is the rice still fifty wen per dou? I saw that the wheat in the fields outside has already been harvested."

"That bit of winter wheat is just barely enough for the rural folks to consume themselves—who’s selling it?" the shop assistant said. "Right now, our grains are still being imported at high costs from outside. This price isn’t high. If you want to wait for the grain prices to drop, you’d have to wait until the summer harvest, or maybe even after the autumn harvest."

The three customers who were hesitating about whether to buy or not could only say helplessly, "Then measure a dou for me."

With at least one and a half months to go before the summer harvest, who could wait with an empty stomach until then?

However, they didn’t buy much either. Unlike last year during the disaster, they no longer believed that grain prices would only decrease and wouldn’t rise again.

So, they preferred to make several trips, buying only one dou at a time, rather than waste that bit of extra money.

Yang Heshu watched the shop assistant measuring the grains and asked the three children, "Before last year, how much was the rice price here?"

Bai Shanbao indicated that he did not know, and Bai Erlang knew even less.

Manbao said, "My Second Brother brought it from home to sell in the town at eight wen per dou of grain, and I heard that the grain shop sold it for ten wen."

Yang Heshu frowned—that was a huge difference, wasn’t it?

He picked up a handful of grains and asked another shop assistant, "How much are you selling these grains for now?"

"Thirty wen per dou."

"How about before?"

The shop assistant smiled and asked, "Which ’before’ are you referring to?"

Yang Heshu’s interest piqued, "Any time before, I seem to have never seen grains as expensive as this outside."

"Oh my, that means you haven’t seen it. To say nothing of earlier, but just at the start of spring, these grains were forty-eight wen per dou. And if we go back further, last May, right after the rain stopped but when the roads had collapsed and no grains could come through, you couldn’t even buy it for sixty wen per dou."

Manbao was stunned, thinking to herself: If her system had had that much wheat back then, she would have definitely tried to convert it into money.

But alas, there were no ifs.

Yang Heshu nonchalantly asked, "And even further back than that?"

"Well, beyond that it was before the disaster struck. Actually, the grain price changes every month, even every ten days, but it doesn’t vary too much. The highest it ever was, was fifteen wen per dou, usually during the lean period between harvests," the shop assistant said. "At its lowest, it was ten wen, or even nine wen per dou, frequently just after the autumn harvest when there was plenty of new grain. Some old grain would indeed be sold at eight wen per dou."

Yang Heshu sighed. It seemed that last year’s flood had a great impact on Luojiang County. The grain prices fluctuated dramatically, like immortals riding clouds, rising and falling sharply.

However, the shop assistant thought differently, "Don’t complain about our high grain prices. I heard from the boss that it’s even worse in Yizhou. The grain prices there are also thirty to forty wen now, but that’s because the imperial court is suppressing them. The grain shops there hardly put out any grains for sale, and there’s a shortage every day."

Yang Heshu hadn’t realized the situation in Yizhou was as such and couldn’t help but ask, "Don’t the common people get angry when they don’t have enough food?"

"Angry? They just sell it quietly on the side. Fifty wen, sixty wen per dou, those grain merchants are secretly selling, and the common folk, afraid that even these would not be available, dare not make any fuss."

Yang Heshu looked at him skeptically, "How do you know this?"

Manbao, Bai Shanbao, and Bai Erlang stopped looking at grains and all crowded around with a burning gaze, indeed, indeed, how do you know?

Under the scrutiny of their round, attentive eyes, the assistant grew uneasy. He glanced around and, realizing that only they were left in the shop, finally mustered the courage to say in a low voice, "My boss also wanted to transport grain to Yizhou to make a profit, but he didn’t have the connections. He ended up being excluded by the local grain merchants and barely managed to break even on his return."

So, frustrated, he couldn’t help cursing in the backyard, and that’s how I came to know, isn’t it?

Manbao and the others suddenly realized: So this one is also a profiteer!

Manbao asked, "Doesn’t Yizhou grow winter wheat?"

"Oh my, isn’t that why they’re unlucky? Last year, their good fields were directly washed away, and there were still puddles into the winter, let alone that the fertile soil was all washed away. It would have been odd if they could plant anything."

However, Yang Heshu could consider the situation more comprehensively. He feared that even if the land were capable of being cultivated, there would be no one to till it.

When the Qianwei Weir breached last year, he was at the Hanlin Academy, responsible for transcribing the official documents coming and going. Reportedly, at that time, the entire population of Yizhou that had survived was fleeing.

After the disaster relief, it was uncertain if the people would even be willing to return to their homeland. Without people, even fertile land available for cultivation would lay fallow.

For example, there were quite a few refugees from Yizhou still remaining in Luojiang County.

Upon this realization, a thought struck Yang Heshu: since the situation in Yizhou was so dire, why should he persuade the refugees to leave?

It would be better to settle them locally, or even better, if they could return and bring the rest of their families here.

Yang Heshu’s eyes shone with insight. When he came back to his senses, he saw the three children and the shop assistant looking at him oddly.

He couldn’t help but give a light cough and asked, "What’s the matter?"

All four shook their heads; Manbao thought: Lord Yang must be thinking of something delicious, otherwise, why would he look as if he’s drooling? But Keke always said that speaking too much truth could make one disliked, so sometimes we must learn to remain silent.

Bai Shanbao asked the shop assistant for the price of wheat and grains again, then casually inquired, "Does your grain shop purchase grains too?"

The assistant’s eyes lit up, and he said with a smile, "Of course, we do. Does the young master have grains at home he wants to sell?"

"How much per dou are you paying for wheat?"

"We buy it at thirty wen per dou."

Yang Heshu couldn’t help but frown. "We just asked for the price a moment ago, and your white flour is ninety wen per dou."

"Yes, milling wheat into white flour involves some loss."

But surely not a loss of three times the amount?

The shop assistant said, "Our prices are fair. If you don’t believe me, feel free to ask around other shops; most places only pay twenty-eight or twenty-nine wen per dou."

Manbao then pointed to the golden grains in the corner and asked, "What about that, how much for those?"

"Those are seeds for planting wheat, even more expensive. They’re priced by weight, not by dou—twelve wen per catty."

A dou is roughly twelve catties, so one dou would be...

Manbao did a quick calculation and said in astonishment, "That would be one hundred forty-four wen per dou."

Bai Shanbao also noticed the wheat seeds in the corner, and his eyes sparkled. He turned to look at Manbao, and she happened to be looking at him, too. They couldn’t help but grin broadly at each other.