Changjia Grain Shop in Baihe City.
The shopkeeper was sitting in front of the counter, looking boredly at the pouring rain outside.
In this weather, let alone customers, there are only a few pedestrians.
But even if there hadn't been this heavy rain, the situation wouldn't have been much different - the end of the new year is already the off-season for business, and the food stockpiled before the new year should be enough to last for a while, and things will basically get better in the second half of the year. The peak seasons are obviously summer and winter, one is before harvesting, and the other is to reserve for winter.
On the contrary, in autumn, because the grain is ripe for harvest, there are too many people selling in bulk, and the competition in grain shops is great, so they cannot sell at a high price. During this period, you generally only need to pay attention to low-price acquisitions.
Although there is no need to worry about selling food at any time, there is still a difference between high and low prices. When the Jinxia Army deployed their formation outside Baihe City to attack the city, the shopkeeper was secretly happy. The people were afraid that they would have nothing to eat during the war. As long as the war lasted for a month or two, wouldn't the price of food skyrocket? But he didn't expect that in less than a day, the prefect would announce his surrender, which really disappointed him.
Now, except for the addition of a branch of the Secretariat on Jiuli Street, Baihe City does not feel any change from before.
At this time, the welcome bell at the door jingled softly.
A man walked quickly into the house.
Rain dripped down his raincoat and formed small puddles on the ground. Obviously he was walking in a hurry, even in the heavy rain, he didn't even bother to avoid it.
oh? Finally, some business is coming.
The shopkeeper straightened up and said, "Sir, do you want to buy grain? The store has rice and yellow rice, as well as ground flour and beaten noodles. If you want to buy oil, I also have a lot here."
The man took off his hat, revealing his face. He was a muscular man in his thirties. In an ordinary person's home, he would be the undisputed head of the family.
Hmm... He doesn't look like a servant either. Such customers usually buy in small quantities and don't choose high-priced rice. The shopkeeper thought to himself, and took out a handful of yellow rice from under the counter, intending to show it to the customers.
The so-called yellow rice refers to old rice that is more than two and a half years old.
A small business is a small business, but it’s better than nothing. People in this business often pay attention to a sign. Being able to welcome a customer on such a rare rainy day is a good sign in itself.
"I want it."
As expected, the other party nodded.
"Okay, how much do you want?"
"Five or six hundred."
"Okay, I'll go right away -" the manager was stunned for a moment, "How much?"
"Six hundred catties. Don't you have any here?" The man reported an exact number again.
Of course there are six hundred kilograms. If a grain store can't even bring out six hundred kilograms of goods, wouldn't it be a joke? The shopkeeper just didn't expect that this person's appetite would be so big. Most people can only buy dozens of taels of yellow rice.
"Sir, are you sure? Six hundred kilograms of grain is a bit heavy."
The man took out a cloth bag and dumped it on the counter. It was full of copper plates and broken silver. "Do you have a car here to help transport it?"
After seeing the money, the shopkeeper's doubts disappeared, "Hey, this is natural. I will arrange it for you right away - Hey, Mu Mu, come over to work!"
After half an hour of busy seeing off the guests, he couldn't help but grin.
This transaction was smooth and smooth. Although the price of yellow rice is low, the profit is not low at all. In addition, the shipment volume is large, so the price of this order may not be the sales volume in one day during the off-season.
I thought that today's business would be over, but two hours later, another customer walked into the grain store despite the slightly weakening rain.
"Shopkeeper, do you have polished rice?"
"Yes, yes, how much do you want?"
"Let's get eight hundred catties. Let's get about one hundred pounds of flour."
"Eight hundred?" the shopkeeper repeated subconsciously.
"The master wants to retreat and cultivate himself. He asked me to buy more food and store it in the village. Is there any problem?" The other party's temper was obviously not good, and his brows were already furrowed.
It turned out that it was for the consumption of the entire Zhuangzi. The shopkeeper suddenly realized, but it was quite rare for Zhuangzi to farm his own land. "No problem, no problem at all. I will help you weigh and package it."
Eight hundred kilograms is already half of the refined grain inventory.
But this is just a warehouse for a grain store. There is still enough goods stored in the Chang family's large warehouse. The shopkeeper looked at the half-empty warehouse and smiled in his heart. There was no doubt that the more the grain store sold, the more he would earn. Such a business was naturally a dream.
It seems that I have to go to the warehouse to replenish the goods in advance, the shopkeeper said secretly. I never expected that the first heavy rain day after the new year would actually turn out to be an auspicious day.
…
Such a scene does not only appear in the Changjia Grain Store.
The large and small grain stores in Baihe City all received a good harvest today.
The following week was more or less the same, as if good luck was favoring this industry.
Everyone gradually discovered that this year's peak season seemed to be ahead of schedule.
In fact, it’s not just Baihe City.
The same changes are also taking place in Anshen, another big city, and in some counties and towns.
Food has become a hot-seller.
…
In Baisha County, several middle-aged people dressed as drug farmers climbed up a high slope and looked down at a busy mine.
"This mine... seems different from the ones elsewhere?"
The leader looked at it carefully for a while before speaking.
"What's that thing that keeps moving?"
No one can answer it.
Even if they are not inexperienced people.
At the entrance of the mine, a long cloth belt was erected. This cloth belt is almost a thousand steps long, not only connecting several mine entrances together, but also leading directly to the stockyard area. More importantly, the cloth belt is movable—it keeps running in one direction, continuously sending the mineral materials stacked on it to the yard. People only need to wave the shovel back and forth a few times to conveniently concentrate the mineral materials. to one place.
There are still several facilities like this under construction - when the remaining cloth belts are completed, the entire mine will be able to automatically collect heavy mineral materials into the stockpile without the need for a few people to carry them.
It doesn't look complicated, but just because everyone is an expert, they know that it definitely contains hidden secrets. Whether it is the cloth belt that can prevent the mineral material from being cut, or the rollers that can continue to rotate, it is not something that ordinary people can achieve. .
Of course, this is not the only strange thing. For example, in places that require strenuous work, many workers seem to be not locals, or even from the six continental countries. Their hair ranges from blond to dark brown, and their faces have something of the West Pole people.
The treatment of these guys is also worse than that of ordinary workers, and their feet are still hung with chains, which is obviously a way to deal with criminals.
When did Jinxia City get such a group of coolies
"Write it down. The Privy Council may be interested in these things." The leader ordered.
"I remember this is the only mine in Shenzhou, right?" Another person said, "Originally, the pig iron produced here was supposed to be distributed by the court, but now it all belongs to Jinxia City."
"That's right, so just reconnaissance will definitely not satisfy the superiors," the leader's voice gradually became colder, "it would be a great achievement to bring it to a complete halt."
"I have checked. There is only a small guard stationed in the mine, with no more than twenty people. There are sentries on the mountainside, but the defense is not tight." The man continued, "But in the county It’s hard to say what the situation is, maybe the Jinxia Army is personally guarding it.”
"Don't worry, they can only guard against external enemies, but they cannot guard against internal cracks." The leader said confidently, "I have witnessed this situation many times."