In the 31st year of the Jiajing reign, at the end of autumn, at the time of Si in the morning, the sun was shining brightly.
Taizhou Prefecture City, West City Quarter.
Xu Hai and his companions had changed into casual clothes and, accompanied by Taizhou prefect Tan Lun and Zuo Zhen, visited Chengxifang. Chengxifang is the largest market in Taizhou, accounting for about three-quarters of the total trading volume. It is also the largest grain sales area in Taizhou, with all grain merchants in the city.
In order to deal with Zhu Ping'an urgently, the Jingnan investigation team only chose Chengxifang as the typical investigation site.
"The market is well-organized, clean and tidy... It is rare during a flood. Magistrate Tan is very good."
After Xu Hai entered the West City Quarter, he looked at the environment of the market and gave a positive evaluation to Taizhou Governor Tan Lun.
Their inspection this time was almost a surprise attack, and Taizhou prefect Tan Lun had basically no time to prepare. This was the true situation in Chengxifang, orderly, clean and sanitary. Taizhou prefect Tan Lun was very capable.
"Lord Xu, you are too kind to praise me. I, Tan, really don't deserve it." Taizhou prefect Tan Lun said modestly with a flushed face.
Xu Hai and others were tasked with inspecting and investigating the flood disaster in the south of the Yangtze River. Now that he could get their approval, when they completed their mission and returned to the capital, wouldn't it be possible for his achievements in governing Taizhou Prefecture to be heard by His Majesty? If he caught His Majesty's eye, wouldn't it be possible for him to rise to prominence? !
So, even though Tan Lun was very humble in words, the excitement and excitement in his heart were evident.
Not long after Xu Hai and his companions walked into the market town, they saw a grain shop. The shop was very large and had extraordinary strength.
"Let's go to this grain shop and take a look." Xu Hai's face moved and he said softly. If you want to understand the disaster situation in Taizhou Prefecture, the grain shop is a must-see place. Through the grain shop, you can get a glimpse of the disaster situation.
"Please come in," said Taizhou prefect Tan Lun politely.
While inviting them, Tan Lun explained to Xu Hai, Zhang Wenbo, Peng Cheng and others, "This is the Fujia Grain Store, named after the phrase 'richest in the world'. It used to be the second largest grain merchant in Taizhou Prefecture, and now it is the largest grain merchant in Taizhou Prefecture."
"Oh, who was the former largest grain merchant? Was it due to poor management that it was surpassed by the Fujia Grain Company?" Wang Meng asked casually. He was very satisfied with the way Tan Lun "let" Zhu Ping'an commit crimes in order to obtain evidence, so he was giving him face at this moment and was willing to chat with Tan Lun more to show his closeness and friendliness.
"Not really. The original largest grain merchant was Mi's Grain Store. Twenty days ago, Mi's Grain Store raised grain prices to undermine disaster relief efforts and profit from the disaster. Its owner was beheaded in the street. Therefore, Fujia Grain Store became the largest grain store." Tan Lun shook his head lightly, and calmly recounted his achievements in strictly controlling grain prices with thundering means, subtly boasting about his achievements to Xu Hai and others.
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Magistrate Tan's courage and determination in taking on the task are truly admirable." Peng Cheng nodded.
"Lord Peng, you are too kind. I, Tan, have no other choice. These profiteers have driven up grain prices without caring about the lives of the people. The people are suffering. In order to strictly control grain prices, I can only kill a chicken to scare the monkeys. On that day, I chopped off the heads of two big grain merchants. This frightened the profiteers. The grain price in Taizhou Prefecture has finally stabilized, from 1,300 coins per stone to 500 coins per stone."
Tan Lun explained modestly, subtly revealing the information that grain prices in Taizhou Prefecture had stabilized.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Xu Hai praised Tan Lun's actions and criticized Zhu Ping'an harshly, "Only when grain prices are stable can the people be stable. Magistrate Tan is what an official who speaks for the people should be like. Unlike some people, in the face of floods and the people's misery, he actually colluded with grain merchants for his own selfish interests and raised grain prices in the name of the government! Such officials are a shame to our generation, and we are ashamed to be associated with them!"
As they spoke, Xu Hai and the others stepped into the Fujia Grain Store.
Before they even landed on the ground, they saw several angry common people coming out from Fu Jialiang.
"Bah! Why open a store when there is no food at all!"
"That's right. Yesterday they said there would be food today, but today when we came with money in our pockets, they told us there was no food?!"
"Bah! They had no food at that time. They thought the price was too low, so they secretly sold food on the black market! The price of food on the black market was sky-high! Last time, my family was really struggling to make ends meet, so we went to the black market. Damn, not only was it extremely expensive, but the food was also pitifully scarce. If we go too late, it will be gone. Let's leave quickly."
Several ordinary people walked out of the Fujia Grain Shop cursing angrily. After leaving the shop, they felt unsatisfied and turned around to spit a few times at the shop.
What's going on? Is there no food in the grain store
Xu Hai and his companions walked into the grain store. Before they could ask, they heard the clerk in the grain store say to them in a cold tone, "I'm sorry, but we are out of grain. Please go to other stores."
"I see that your store has just opened, how come you ran out of food so soon?" Xu Hai asked curiously.
"I'm really sorry, but our store's food was sold out five days ago. We are open today to organize the store, and we will close now. We will reopen when we have more food."
As the shop assistant spoke, he sorted out the things on the counter, packed them up and filed them away. He really looked like he was getting ready to close the store.
"I wonder when we can get food in our store?" Xu Hai asked again.
"It's hard to say. It could be ten days, half a month, or one or two months. Who can say for sure?"
The shop assistant replied without even raising his head, his tone very cold, as if he was deliberately driving the customer away.
"I wonder how much the grain in our store is selling for?" Wang Meng asked.
"Five hundred wen, of course it's five hundred wen per dan. This is the price set by the Lord Governor, and our shop abides by the rules very well." The clerk in the grain shop seemed to have been trained, and when he heard someone asking about the price, he quoted the price reflexively.
Upon hearing this, Taizhou prefect Tan Lun nodded with satisfaction and glanced at Xu Hai and others, as if to say, see, I was right, the price of grain in our Taizhou prefecture has stabilized and remains at 500 wen per stone.
"But it's a pity that we have the price but no food." The shop assistant curled his lips, his tone full of sneer.
"Gentlemen, please go to other stores." The shop assistant said as if he was seeing off the guests.
When Xu Hai and the others turned around and were about to go to other grain shops to have a look, they heard the shop assistant behind them say, "In fact, it would be a waste of time if you go to other shops. Other shops are the same, with prices but no grain."
"If you really want to buy food, you might as well go to the black market. There should be food there. How would I know? Haha, don't ask me. I won't tell you even if you ask me. Even if you tell me, I will say I know nothing..."
The shop assistant spoke to Xu Hai and others with a mysterious look on his face. Having said that, he would not say anything further if asked.