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Wang Shouzhe wiped a drop of cold sweat, thinking about those hungry commoners. What would they do to survive when they can't even buy food with Qian Gold? Sell their children? Sell their houses?
"This means that the more grain the noble families hold in their hands this time, the more they can control the situation. They can make up for their losses through other means and make the family even stronger." Qiaan Xue'an, indeed an excellent businessman, explained the aftermath of this disaster concisely.
"Will the Daqian Government Office and the Purple Mansion Academy transport grains from other counties?" Wang Shouzhe, being a modern Earth person who traveled here, couldn't bear to see the commoners suffer.
"They will. But the grain needs to be gathered from various counties, then transported and sold at fair prices." Qiaan Xue'an seriously said, "In fact, the Purple Mansion Academy and the Government Office have already started disaster relief today, but it's nearly impossible to rescue the entire Longzuo County in a short period, especially since our Changning Guard is in a remote location..."
Seeing Wang Shouzhe frowning, he advised, "Younger brother, I know you are kind-hearted. So am I, but with our limited ability, it's good enough if we manage to take care of ourselves in such times."
"Brother Qian is right. I was being a bit sentimental," Wang Shouzhe acknowledged, "So according to Brother's suggestion, should I accept triple the contract price from the trading company?"
"You need to understand, younger brother. Even with triple compensation, Qiaan's Trading Company only breaches the contract as a last resort. No business would want to ruin its reputation." Qiaan Xue'an winked, "Let me give you a number. Insist on ten thousand Qian Gold and grains worth three thousand Qian Gold before agreeing to cancel the contract."
"What?"
Wang Shouzhe's eye twitched; Qiaan Xue'an was indeed more ruthless than him. Initially, he thought doubling the price to reclaim the contract would already be satisfactory.
This price exceeds the triple compensation, with grains worth an additional three thousand Qian Gold, which is even more valuable.
"You've already offended the current shopkeeper of Qiaan's Trading Company, so might as well go all the way." Qiaan Xue'an chuckled, "Moreover, even at this price, Qiaan's won't be at a loss and can still make a profit."
Although Qiaan Xue'an's reasoning was sound, was it really right to push his own family into such a position?
Seemingly seeing through Wang Shouzhe's thoughts, Qiaan Xue'an sincerely explained, "Firstly, the Qiaan Family is enormously big, so a mere ten or twenty thousand Qian Gold in compensation is a drop in the ocean. Secondly, I'm just a minor son, and without your help, I'd never climb up the ranks in this life; consider this a small favor in return. Thirdly, I genuinely hope younger brother Shouzhe becomes stronger. Your strength benefits our alliance."
"Alright, let's do it." With such great benefits, Wang Shouzhe couldn't refuse. The Wang Race was too poor now, and this sum of money could be a chance for their rise.
"That being the case, let me, Qian, handle this matter for you, younger brother." Qiaan Xue'an seemed to have a plan in mind, "I'll report to the shopkeeper, deliberately raising the price by another 30%, then negotiate a discount to give him some comfort. Additionally, younger brother Shouzhe, you must swear not to spread this around; Qiaan's Trading Company can't afford such a loss of face."
Naturally, keeping quiet and reaping the rewards in silence is the best option.
Wang Shouzhe stood up and cupped his hands, "In that case, I'll leave it to you, Brother. One more condition: the Insecticide Powder must not be sold to the Ping'an Zhao Family and the Ping'an Liu Family." For Wang Shouzhe, strengthening oneself was good, but weakening the enemy was even better.
"Even without this condition, I would have considered it," Qiaan Xue'an replied with a smile, "Moreover, during this disaster, the demand for Insecticide Powder vastly outstrips the supply. The Ping'an Zhao Family and the Ping'an Liu Family are just lower-rank noble families and it's already extremely difficult for them to secure a share of the Insecticide Powder. Congratulations, younger brother!"
In the Ping'an Wang Family's eyes, the Liu Family and the Zhao Family were formidable adversaries, but in Qiaan's Trading Company's eyes, they were just two ordinary small clans.
"Congratulations to you too."
Both of them laughed as their negotiation was concluded.
Immediately, Qiaan Xue'an smashed his cup to the ground, roaring as he left: "Wang Shouzhe, you've gone too far, do you think our Qiaan's Trading Company is to be trifled with? Just wait and see..."
He then stormed off, with the two frightened guards outside following him.
Wang Shouzhe was quite satisfied with Qiaan Xue'an's reaction and tactics. It seemed he hadn't chosen the wrong ally.
Just then, his second elder brother Wang Shouyi walked in anxiously, "Shouzhe, that Steward Qiaan has come looking for you several times these past two days. Has something happened?"
The present Wang Race couldn't withstand much turbulence.
"Don't worry, second brother. It's good for the family," Wang Shouzhe replied with a smile, then changed the subject, "By the way, how's the research on live fish equipment going these past two days?"
At the mention of this, Wang Shouyi brightened up, "I must say, Shouzhe, your idea is unique and brilliant. The methods of spraying to increase oxygen and changing water with a suction pump alone can transform the whole aquaculture storage and transportation industry. I've tested it initially, and the effects are excellent. Next, we need to modify the water buckets in the carriages and the ponds in the shop."
"So, second brother, you must speed up the progress and build more ponds in the backyard," Wang Shouzhe laughed, "Otherwise, Uncle Six will come to scold you."
"That's right. Uncle Six has more and more live fish these two days..." Wang Shouyi cupped his hands, "Fourth brother, I must take my leave now." Then he hurriedly ran out.
Haha, Wang Shouyi's initiative had indeed increased, which was a good thing. No wonder, the family's improving prospects boosted the clan's morale.
Wang Shouzhe placed great importance on the fishing team and fish market, two clan industries. Previously, these two ventures combined brought in a net profit of just four to five hundred Qian Gold annually. However, with his suggestions and adjustments, net profits exceeding a thousand were easily achievable.
He was even confident that by the following year, the fishing team and fish market's profits would surpass those of the three big farms combined.
Profiting greatly from speculating on Insecticide Powder was something worth celebrating. However, the development of the clan industry was the true foundation of a family's strength.
Additionally, the stockpile of grains worth three thousand Qian Gold mentioned by Qiaan Xue'an gave Wang Shouzhe a bit of a headache. In a year of disaster, holding grain meant holding the advantage, no doubt about that.
But what kind of concept is three thousand Qian Gold in grain? Given current grain prices, that's enough to feed two million people for a year!
Bear in mind, the total population of Ping'an Town was less than thirty thousand.
Such a massive quantity of grain presented significant challenges in terms of transportation and storage. Naturally, the major farms of the Ping'an Wang Family were equipped with granaries, but they were already nearly full with last year's old grain and this year's harvest. At most, they could squeeze in another ten to twenty thousand Du.
But solutions are always created by people.
When Ancestor Zhou Xuan established the main residence, he considered the family's future development. He built fifty courtyards for important clan members and, all told, the house included hundreds of rooms.
The majority of them were empty, and with some tidying up, storing tens of thousands of Du of grain was easy. In a disaster year, the safest place was the noble family's main residence.
Each noble family's main residence was built on terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, with the strongest defensive forces. Storing grain there put everyone at ease.
Earlier it was mentioned that Wang's main residence was built by the mountains and beside a lake.
The mountain was part of Liping Mountain's outlying ranges, and the lake was a small body of water called Zhuwei Lake. This lake was named personally by Ancestor Zhou Xuan after his most beloved daughter Wang Zhuwei, using her maiden name.
Zhuwei Lake wasn't large, covering barely ten thousand acres of water, but it was the natural shield and back garden of Wang's main residence.
Most importantly, it had a natural river route later improved by human hands. This river, a few miles forward, branched off to connect, besides the Silkworm Manor, the other two major farms.
Fenggu Farm's main river connects meanderingly with Zhuwei Lake, a total distance of over twenty miles.
And upstream of Fenggu Farm's river is the sluice gate Ancestor Zhou Xuan built back then, called Fenggu Gate. This gate is a hydraulic structure mainly used to regulate the water level of the inner river channels, but because it used a winch-style single gate, ships can't pass through.
However, this didn't matter much, as inside and outside Fenggu Gate, regular dredging and maintenance kept the waterway open, so the water level was deep enough...
Wang Shouzhe quickly organized his thoughts and, after writing two letters, called in Wang Zhong and Wang Yong.
"Patriarch," both Household Generals appeared energetic and in high spirits, clearly optimistic about the family's future development.
Wang Shouzhe handed over the letters to Household Generals Wang Zhong and Wang Yong to deliver, instructing, "After delivering the letters, don't return immediately; stay there to help."
After the Household Generals left with orders, Wang Shouzhe sat sipping tea alone, the stormy look in his eyes revealing his inner turmoil. If everything went smoothly, this insect disaster might turn out to be a turning point for the Wang Race's declining fate.
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