The market by the bridge finally opened at night. People who had been busy all day couldn't sleep and came to take a look. At this time of the year, most of the transactions in the market were done between the people who set up the stalls. The farmers didn't have that much time.
Steward Zhang didn't go directly to the people in the market to discuss. Instead, he found Er Gou and gave him the order. Er Gou immediately went to carry it out.
After dealing with Er Gou's matter, Steward Zhang arranged for people to find the twelve people who came today. Soon, the news came back. The twelve people lived Between the Clouds and the Water. Steward Zhang let out a sigh of relief. He led the doctors in Zhuangzi to ask if anyone was feeling unwell so that they could be treated in time.
After Er Gou received the order, he adjusted some of the prices in the market for the next few days. For example, tea could be casually thrown in something when drinking it. From today onwards, until the end of the autumn harvest, no matter who drank tea, it would be 50 copper coins a bowl. Small steamed buns that were a bit of meat would be 20 copper coins a bowl.
It didn't matter if they couldn't sell it. When the market closed at night, the grocery store would make up the money they earned in a day. Food would be sold at the usual price. If others wanted to buy, they had to set the price. This was the benefit of having the right to set the price.
Those who did business naturally wouldn't object. They would sell it however they wanted, as long as they didn't lose money. As for the poor commoners who came to buy things, they didn't care if they had more food or less tea. Wasn't it easy to eat? The grocery store had cheap pancakes and cool well water to drink. This didn't cost them money.
Even Er Gou didn't know the reason for this arrangement. He just needed to follow the instructions. He didn't need to worry about anything else.
*****
Between the Clouds and the Water, in a second-class courtyard, a few people sat together to discuss things after eating an extremely expensive dinner.
"Boss, don't you know an official in the capital? I heard he's a sixth rank official. Why don't you ask him to come over and talk to him? We can buy back the grain here at a cheap price. When the time comes, we can grow our own. One mu of land can produce more than four dan of grain."
Lai Zi stood at the side and advised his boss while burping. Two people at the side also nodded and agreed with Lai Zi's idea.
The boss's face was gloomy and he did not say anything. He had just heard the news that the Zhang Family and the Wang Family were selling seeds in Zhuangzi. It was 100 copper coins per catty, and that was including the shell. The price was extraordinarily high. However, when he thought about the grain harvest, it seemed that this amount of money could be taken out.
However, if he really bought something at such a high price, others would think that he was a fool, and he would lose face.
Just as he remained silent with a sullen expression, a person with squinting eyes beside him said, "What's the use of a sixth-rank official here? Just now, we purposely chose a seat on the first floor of the restaurant to eat. Could it be that you didn't hear what others said? There were two Zhuangzi, one was a seventh-ranked official, and the other was a seventh-ranked official.
The saying that a high-ranking official can oppress a person to death refers to a subordinate. Not just anyone can do it. If you really oppress him, won't they impeach you? I just heard that these two officials were specially conferred by the imperial court. Two auspicious signs. One time, they helped the disaster relief in Henan Province. Not to mention that there are so many sixth-ranked officials in the capital, why don't you try changing to a third-ranked official? One will get one. "
"Why?" Lai Zi could not understand why a third-ranked official could not win against two seventh-ranked officials in Zhuangzi.
"Are you stupid? You came here to bargain. It's fine if you don't want to buy, but if you force it, people will say that you're betting on an auspicious place. If it's not an auspicious place, how can there be such high production? If it's not an auspicious sign, nothing will happen after the drought, and instead, it's an increase in production? If you bargain in a place with auspicious signs, it means that you want to suppress the imperial court's luck.
If you don't say this out loud, everyone will know. If you say it out loud, it will become a report, and you will be beheaded. Is the neck of a third-ranked official stronger than the imperial court's luck? The provincial governor of this province is a prince. I heard from the people in the capital that the auspicious signs are because the current emperor and his brother have a blind date. Think about it, what is this? Beheading your whole family is a light punishment. Not exterminating your nine generations is because the emperor is not good to his brother. "
"So evil? Can't the little lousy Zhuangzi be moved? " Lai Zi was a little disappointed. He did not expect that this Zhuangzi would need to consider so many things when he really wanted to deal with it.
"Why can't we deal with it this way? But we can use other methods." The person with squinted eyes said again.
Lai Zi knew that this person was the master's think tank. When he heard that there was another method, he quickly said, "I know. I heard that there are three Zhuangzi in the restaurant Between the Clouds and the Water. Tomorrow, I will eat until I fall ill. At that time, hehe …"
"Hehe, you only have this little ability. Why don't you try it tomorrow? If you fall ill from eating, will there be any trouble if you die from eating? Don't even think about it if you can't shake their foundation. " That person sneered. He really looked down on this Lai Zi. If his sister was not close to the master, he would not want to do anything.
The person next to Lai Zi pondered for a while and said, "Yes, it is useless to eat a dead person. Besides, Lai Zi can't die. We should think of a complete method. Why don't we help them spread the news that Zhuangzi of the Zhang Family and Wang Family is an auspicious place, and the things produced there are better than those around the capital. Then we can say a few words to make people believe that where there is auspicious, there will be an emperor."
When he said this, the people around him thought that it was feasible. This would really kill the Zhang Family and Wang Family in Zhuangzi. Was it so easy to be an emperor?
Even the master was a little tempted, but the person with squinted eyes shook his head again. "If it was someone else who was the provincial governor, this method could be used. But Prince Li Chengyi definitely cannot be used. As long as the news spreads, Prince Li will come to the capital to ask for punishment.
The current Emperor can order people to investigate thoroughly. Who would say something like this? Isn't this sowing discord between brothers? Prince Li's place is going to have an emperor. That means Prince Li is going to be the emperor. Who would believe that a farmer can be the emperor? "
"Ah? That won't do. How did Zhuangzi get a provincial governor? What else can we do? We can't really use 100 copper coins to buy a catty of rice with husks, right? " Lai Zi was the most impatient person among these people. When he heard that this idea was rejected, he said anxiously.
"You shut up and listen to Brother Liu." The master was also vexed. Hearing Lai Zi's words, he was even more vexed.
"Don't worry, master. There is still a way. Find a few people tomorrow and follow our method. When the time comes, I don't believe that the Zhang Family and Wang Family in Zhuangzi will not discuss with us." The person with squinted eyes laughed sinisterly and asked the few people who should not have heard this to leave. He told the remaining three people in the room the method.
*****
During the autumn harvest, the farmers were busy. The children were supposed to go to school, but with the return of Xiao Hong and Cherries, the poultry had to be fed. The adults were busy, so they could only leave the work to the children. All the farmers who raised poultry had a lot of chickens, ducks, and geese.
The children woke up early and released the poultry according to the layout of the manor. Then, they carried the empty bags and went to the main house to get the food that the poultry needed to eat for the day. Except for the fresh earthworms, the rest had already been ground by the main house. Each time they carried around ten catties, it was enough to go back and forth a few times.
They did not need to spend money on these things. They were given by the master for free. They were also considered to be raising on behalf of the master. In the end, the accounts were settled. The master took 80% of the profits, and the farmer took 20%. This 20% was almost free. It was better than raising the chickens themselves. At least they did not need to take out food to feed them.
The profits were not only from the eggs, but also from the money they earned from killing the chickens. The master even counted the chicken feathers, duck feathers, and goose feathers as part of the profits.
The farmers did not know what the feathers of the poultry could be used to make money. Could it be that they could really make money by giving away the feathers that others did not want?
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were also thinking about this problem. They wanted to maximize all the profits.
"What can you do with half a catty of chicken feathers?" Zhang Xiaobao got up early in the morning and asked Wang Juan about this problem.
"Throw it away." Wang Juan answered very straightforwardly.
"What if I give you 10 catties?" Zhang Xiaobao asked again.
"Then I will continue to throw away the half a catty." Wang Juan continued to give the same answer.
"What if I give you 10 tons of chicken feathers?" Zhang Xiaobao asked again.
"Well, this thing can be used to make some materials, right? Also, it can be used to make down jackets. If not, it can be used to wholesale the feather dusters. I can't throw away so many of them. "
Wang Juan's answer this time was different from the previous one. There were too many things. When a seemingly useless thing reached a certain amount, it was impossible to continue to treat it as a useless thing, even if it was just stones and ashes.
Zhang Xiaobao did not continue to ask this time. He pointed outside and said, "We have more than 30,000 poultry in Zhuangzi. In the end, they will be killed, unless they are specifically asked to live. Otherwise, we will sell all the parts of the poultry and carry out a unified sale. We also have to complete the slaughter. With so many feathers, it should be more than 10,000 catties.
Besides, we will not kill them all directly. We will raise new ones while killing the old ones. The accumulated amount is not small. Now we have to think of a solution. "
"What solution? It can't be to make down jackets, right? You have the chicken feathers, but what about other things? Usually, when you buy it in the market, if the quality is slightly lower, it will keep leaking. What is the material used to make down jackets? Cloth? We don't even have cotton cloth now. We only have silk and hemp. With the current weaving technology, how can we make the outer wrapping material? Don't dream about it. "
Wang Juan rejected the idea of making down jackets. It was fine to have cotton to make down jackets, but they did not have the technology to deal with feathers, let alone put them into clothes.
"Who said I want to make clothes? I can build a house with two layers of wood, or two layers of walls. In the middle, I can mix slaked lime and chicken feathers together. Then, I can use glue to stick the chicken feathers together in a certain order. I can even make a boat out of it.
When the time comes, all the boats in Little Luoshui will be made with these feathers. When others see them, they will naturally want to learn. We will sell the chicken feathers to them. How about it? There are only things that you can't think of, but there is nothing that can't be done. "
Zhang Xiaobao told Wang Juan about the future.
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