flstandardbreds Chapter 134 The grain store's booming business has attracted the attention of the government!
Chapter 134 The grain store's booming business has attracted the attention of the government!
"Sir, that's not how you calculate it. Look at your jade pendant, it has dents and scratches, which greatly reduces its value."
"If you go to a pawn shop or resell it, you can get at most a hundred taels of silver, and there's no guarantee that anyone will buy it."
"Here's the deal: I'll offer 110 taels. If you think it's a good deal, we can make the transaction. If you think it's a loss, you can take the goods and leave. How about that?"
Shen Shuli placed the jade pendant in her palm and presented it to the man, letting him choose.
The man hesitated, but the family's food supplies were running low, and they were about to run out of food.
He had to choose between the jade pendant and the grain.
After thinking it over, the man finally gritted his teeth and decided to go for it.
"I'll trade! How much grain are you going to give me?" the man asked.
"Can you read? It's all written here."
Shen Shuli pointed to the large blackboard standing next to her, showing the man the grain prices, which were clearly marked for each type of grain.
The man glanced at the grain prices on the blackboard and was thrilled to see that they were 20% lower than those at other grain shops.
"Miss, may I choose more types of grain?"
Shen Shuli nodded with a smile, "Sure, but you'll have to figure out how to take it with you yourself. We don't offer delivery service."
The man then realized that he hadn't brought a cart.
"Miss, I can't carry this much at once. Could you let me go back and get some help?"
Shen Shuli thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, then keep the jade pendant safe for now, we'll talk about it when you arrive."
The man was surprised by how understanding the people in the shop were, and gratefully took the jade pendant and left quickly.
Su Yunhai kept a close eye on his daughter's actions, and as soon as the person left, he immediately put in another guest carrying jade.
To prevent such incidents from happening again, Su Yunhai immediately instructed the people queuing to buy grain to first estimate the value of the jade items they possessed before going back to get their carts to transport the grain.
This is a one-time transaction for them; the jade is exchanged for cash, and they won't keep accounts for the people.
The second customer brought a small jade ring.
The deal went smoothly, and the customer left through the back door satisfied with the food.
The grain shop's grain prices were 20% cheaper than many grain stores, and the news quickly spread throughout the county.
However, the grain store only accepted jade ornaments, which directly deterred many people who did not own jade.
This led many ordinary people to spend their money to buy jade items everywhere.
The value of jade artifacts was suppressed during famine years, but they were still not something that everyone could afford.
With more people buying jade, the shopkeepers selling jade sensed something unusual.
They raised the price of jade artifacts while simultaneously gathering information.
soon.
The jade shop, short of food, immediately closed its doors and brought a large quantity of jade pieces to the grain shop to buy grain.
With only Shen Shuli and Su Yunhai at the grain shop, they couldn't move very fast.
However, the father and daughter could not let the others in the group know about the exchange of grain for jade; this was the only way they could do it.
Su Yunhai simply closed the shop door and came in to help.
Just let the people in line continue queuing; let them know there are people in the shop.
When the father and daughter work together, they are much faster.
One person was responsible for estimating the value of the jade artifacts and calculating the weight of the grain, while another person was responsible for weighing the grain.
Five buyers are allowed in each time, and after all the transactions are completed, these buyers are allowed to leave through the back door.
But after a whole day of work, the two found that the number of people queuing outside had not decreased, but rather increased.
“Daughter, this can’t go on. If this continues, we won’t be able to finish in a month.”
Su Yunhai was so tired that his whole body ached and he lay on the ground, not wanting to move at all.
Shen Shuli was also very tired, but she felt very satisfied.
In just one day, she collected two large boxes full of all kinds of jade artifacts.
Fortunately, none of these jade artifacts were of particularly high quality; otherwise, even a room full of food wouldn't be enough.
"There's no other way. The people of Yingze County are relatively wealthy, and most importantly, the county doesn't lack water, so our method is feasible."
If this happened in other water-scarce counties, the people probably wouldn't be so eager to exchange their grain.
After all, without solving the water problem, having food is useless.
"How about we hire a few people to help us? Just make sure they don't find out where the food comes from," Su Yunhai suggested. "You still have to go to Yingze Lake to collect water tonight, so you won't have time to rest. I'm afraid you won't be able to hold on."
Shen Shuli felt helpless; collecting jade artifacts and collecting water were equally important to her.
However, the food source was illegitimate and could not withstand scrutiny.
If this method of grain distribution is used for a long time, but there is no information about large-scale grain transport into the county town, some people will definitely become suspicious and come to cause trouble.
If someone were secretly watching, they would soon discover that there was no convoy delivering grain to the grain store at all.
But it seemed as if there was a steady stream of grain being sold from the shop!
It's obvious without even thinking that there's something fishy going on here!
Sure enough, trouble came knocking the very next day!
Shen Shuli had just returned to the inn after collecting water all night.
They discovered that the soldiers had dispersed the people queuing up and surrounded the entire grain shop.
Fortunately, no grain was put into the grain store last night, otherwise the source of the grain would be hard to explain.
Shen Shuli quickly went over to check the situation at the grain shop.
They were stopped by the soldiers.
"Halt! No unauthorized personnel allowed!" The soldiers held their sword sheaths in front of them to stop the intruders.
"Sir, my father is still inside. Please let me in to see him," Shen Shuli said quickly.
"Girl, what are you doing here? Come home with me right now."
Su Yunhai suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pulled Shen Shuli away.
Shen Shuli was somewhat surprised, not expecting her father to be absent from the shop.
"Father, what are you doing outside?" Shen Shuli asked in surprise.
“I got up early and was making breakfast when I heard some noise outside. I panicked a little, so I secretly climbed onto the roof to take a look and found that soldiers had secretly surrounded the shop. I realized that the county magistrate had taken action, so I immediately retreated.”
Shen Shuli breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"I didn't expect this magistrate to have such a keen sense of smell; he's already set his sights on us!"
"Hehe, you don't even need to ask to know that this dog of a magistrate is definitely eyeing our grain. Luckily you thought ahead and didn't release the grain in advance, otherwise, this grain would definitely have been stolen by the corrupt official."
"Damn it!" Shen Shuli's anger surged.
She thought she could at least stay open for a few more days, but she didn't expect to be targeted the very next day.
"Father, let's do something big! Let's just kill the magistrate and stop him from harassing the people."
“Alright, we’ve never really worked together properly before. This time, let’s join forces to rid the people of this scourge!” Su Yunhai didn’t refuse.
"This is the perfect opportunity, let's act now!"
Shen Shuli suggested.
Most of the county government's soldiers came out to surround the grain shop, so the defenses inside the county government office must be much weaker.
"Let's go!"
Su Yunhai couldn't wait any longer.
The two found a secluded spot, changed into special forces combat uniforms, and donned helmets and goggles, becoming fully armed.
The father and daughter, one hand in their pockets and the other swinging casually, strode coolly toward the county government office in unison!