…

 

Wang Shouzhe broke out in a cold sweat as he thought of the starving commoners who couldn't buy food even by Top Gold. What would they do to survive? Sell their children? Sell their homes and possessions?

 

"This means that the more grain the clans have, the more they can control the situation. They can make up for their losses through other means and make their families even stronger." Qian Xue'an was indeed an excellent businessman. With just a few words, he explained the aftermath of the disaster clearly.

 

"Will the Daqian government and the Purple Mansion Academy transport grain from other provinces?" Wang Shouzhe, being an Earthling who traveled to this world, couldn't bear to see the commoners suffer.

 

"Yes, but the grain needs to be collected, transported, and sold at a fair price in each commandery." Qian Xue'an said seriously, "In fact, from today, the Purple Mansion Academy and the government have already started relief efforts, but it's almost impossible to help the entire Longzuo Commandery in a short time, especially since our Changning Garrison is in a remote location…"

 

Seeing Wang Shouzhe frown, Qian Xue'an persuaded him, "Little brother, I know you have a kind heart, and I don't want to see this either. But we are weak, and it's already good enough if we can take care of ourselves in this situation."

 

"Qian ge is right. I was being too sentimental." Wang Shouzhe naturally understood this truth and said relievedly, "So, according to Qian ge's idea, I should ask the merchant for triple the contract price?"

 

"You have to understand, little brother. Even if they pay triple the compensation, the Qian Clan's reputation will still be damaged. If it's not necessary, the merchant will not want to ruin their reputation." Qian Xue'an blinked and said, "Let me give you a number. Only if they pay 10,000 Top Gold and 3,000 Top Gold worth of grain, I will cancel the contract."

 

"What?"

 

Wang Shouzhe's eyelids twitched. Qian Xue'an was even more ruthless than he thought. In his initial estimate, he would be satisfied if the merchant could recover the contract at twice the price.

 

This price was already more than three times the compensation, and the 3,000 Top Gold worth of grain was even more valuable.

 

"Anyway, you have already offended the current head of the Qian Clan's merchant, so you might as well offend them even more." Qian Xue'an smiled, "Moreover, even at this price, the Qian Clan will not lose money and can even earn some."

 

Qian Xue'an's reasoning was sound, but was it really okay to harm his own family like this?

 

As if seeing through Wang Shouzhe's thoughts, Qian Xue'an explained seriously, "First of all, the Qian Clan is too big, and a few tens of thousands of Top Gold compensation is nothing to them. Second, I am just a bastard. Without your help, I would have a hard time climbing up in my life, so even if it's just a little gratitude, I want to repay you. Third, I really hope that you, Shouzhe, can become stronger, which will be more beneficial to our alliance."

 

"Okay, let's do it." Wang Shouzhe couldn't refuse such a huge benefit. The Wang Clan was too poor now, and such a large sum of money would be an opportunity for them to rise.

 

"In that case, let me handle this for you, little brother." Qian Xue'an seemed to have a plan in mind, "When I report to the head of the merchant, I will increase the price by another 30%, and then lower it a bit to give him some peace of mind. In addition, Shouzhe, you need to swear not to spread the word. The Qian Clan's merchant cannot afford to lose face."

 

Of course, he wouldn't spread the word. Keeping quiet and getting rich was the best choice.Wang Shouzhe stood up and bowed, "In that case, I'll trouble you, brother. There's one more condition: the insecticide cannot be sold to the Zhao and Liu clans of Ping'an." For Wang Shouzhe, it was good to strengthen himself, but it was even better to weaken his enemies.

 

"Even if you didn't mention it, I would have considered it," Qian Xue'an replied with a smile. "Besides, during this disaster, there's not enough insecticide to go around. The Zhao and Liu clans of Ping'an are just small, insignificant clans. Congratulations, little brother!"

 

In the eyes of the Wang clan of Ping'an, the Liu and Zhao clans were both very difficult to deal with and powerful. But in the eyes of the Qian merchant family, they were just two ordinary small clans.

 

"Congratulations to you too."

 

Both of them laughed, and the deal was settled.

 

Immediately, Qian Xue'an slammed his cup on the ground and roared as he left, "Wang Shouzhe, you're too much! Do you really think our Qian merchant family is easy to bully? Just you wait…"

 

He then left with his two silent bodyguards.

 

Wang Shouzhe was quite satisfied with Qian Xue'an's reaction and methods. It seemed that this ally had not made the wrong choice.

 

Just then, Wang Shouyi, the second brother, walked in anxiously. "Shouzhe, that Qian official has come to see you a few times these past few days. Could something have happened?"

 

The Wang clan of Ping'an could no longer withstand any major storms.

 

"Don't worry, second brother. It's good news for the family," Wang Shouzhe replied with a smile, then changed the subject. "By the way, how's the research on the live fish equipment going?"

 

As soon as he mentioned this, Wang Shouyi became spirited. "Your ideas are unique and wonderful, Shouzhe. Just the spraying of water to increase vitality and the changing of water in the buckets to increase oxygen are enough to revolutionize the aquaculture storage and transportation industry. I've already tried it out, and the results are very good. Next, we'll be renovating the carts, water tanks, and breeding pools in the store."

 

"Then you must hurry up and make progress, and build more breeding pools in the backyard," Wang Shouzhe said with a smile. "Otherwise, Sixth Uncle will come and beat you up."

 

"Right, these past few days, there have been more and more live fish from Sixth Uncle's side…" Wang Shouyi bowed and said, "Fourth brother, I'll take my leave." With that, Wang Shouyi rushed out.

 

Hehe, Wang Shouyi's initiative is getting stronger and stronger. This is a good thing. It's no wonder that when the family's momentum improves, it will stimulate the morale of the clan members.

 

Wang Shouzhe attached great importance to the fishing team and the fish stall, which were both family properties. Originally, the two combined only had an annual net profit of about four to five hundred Top Gold. But after his suggestions and adjustments, it was easy to achieve a net profit of over a thousand. He even had confidence that by next year, the fishing team and the fish stall would surpass the profits of the three major farms combined.

 

It was good to seize the opportunity to make a profit from the insecticide market, but the development of family industries was the real foundation for a family's true strength.

 

In addition, the three thousand Top Gold worth of stored grain that Qian Xue'an mentioned also made Wang Shouzhe slightly worried. Controlling food during a disaster was indeed seizing an opportunity. But what was the concept of three thousand Top Gold worth of stored grain? Based on current grain prices, it was equivalent to about fifty to sixty thousand dan, enough to feed twenty thousand people for a year!You should know that the total population of Ping'an Town is less than 30,000.

 

Transporting and storing such a large amount of grain is a big problem. Naturally, there are granaries in the major farms of Ping'an Wang's Clan. However, those granaries are filled with last year's grain, and with the reserved space for this year's harvest, they are already at their limit, even if they were to squeeze in another ten to twenty thousand dan.

 

But solutions are always thought up by people.

 

When Ancestor Zhouxuan built the main mansion, he considered the future development of the clan. There were fifty sets of courtyards just for important clan members, and there were at least hundreds of other buildings.

 

Most of them were empty, and it was easy to store tens of thousands of dan of grain with a little cleaning. In times of disaster, the safest place was the main mansion of the aristocratic families.

 

Each aristocratic family's main mansion was built in a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and had the strongest defense force. Putting grain there was reassuring.

 

In addition, it was mentioned earlier that Wang's main mansion was built by the mountains and water.

 

The mountain was a branch of the Liu Ping Mountain, and the water was a small lake called Zhuwei Lake. This lake was named by Ancestor Zhouxuan himself, using the name of his beloved daughter, Wang Zhuwei.

 

Zhuwei Lake was not very large, occupying only tens of thousands of mu of water area, but it was the natural barrier and backyard of Wang's main mansion.

 

Most importantly, it had a river that was originally natural but later repaired by humans. The river branched off after a few miles and could lead to the other two major farms besides Chucan Farm.

 

The main river of Fenggu Farm was connected to Zhuwei Lake, winding for a total distance of about 20 miles.

 

The upstream of the river in Fenggu Farm was the sluice gate that Ancestor Zhouxuan repaired back then, named Fenggu Sluice. This sluice was a hydraulic facility mainly used to regulate the water level of the internal river channel, but because it used a winch-type single sluice mode, ships could not pass through.

 

But this was not a big deal. The sluice gate needed to be regularly dredged and maintained both inside and outside Fenggu Sluice to keep it unobstructed, so the water level was very deep…

 

Wang Shouzhe quickly sorted out his thoughts and wrote two letters. He then called Wang Zhong and Wang Yong.

 

"Master." The two family generals had good morale, and they obviously had high hopes for the future development of the clan.

 

Wang Shouzhe handed the letters to Wang Zhong and Wang Yong to deliver, instructing them, "After you deliver the letters, you don't need to come back for the time being. Stay there and help out."

 

After the family generals left, Wang Shouzhe slowly drank tea alone, his eyes surging with inner turmoil. If everything went smoothly, this insect plague would be a turning point in the decline of Wang's Clan…