PDLP Chapter 158 Doing a Big Business
Chapter 158 Doing a Big Business
The people of Kochi Prefecture were very welcoming and invited the three distinguished guests to dine at their home.
If it weren't for a few grains of rice floating lonely on the water, Qin Bingrui would have thought he was drinking plain water.
Luo Yu held the bowl with both hands and looked down at the bottom of the bowl, where he could clearly see a human figure.
When she went to Sister Chunhua's house, she didn't look so miserable. She looked up at Kochi County's high cheekbones and his cheeks that looked like a skeleton. He must be thin, right?
After a while, a servant who was so thin that only bones were left brought a plate of vegetables.
Although they are called green vegetables, there are actually only a few white stalks left, without a single green leaf.
Qin Bingrui held the chopsticks in his hand, not knowing where to put the food. He looked up and asked in confusion: "Where are the leaves? Did you guys eat them all?"
The servant was so frightened that he immediately shook his head and said, "I dare not. These leaves have been rotten for several days. I can't let the master get sick from eating them."
"..."
Qin Bingrui frowned: "I think I heard a rooster crowing. Why don't you kill a chicken and eat it?"
Luo Yu held his forehead with his hand. Only Master Murong was sitting upright and eating seriously.
I wonder if he is just lonely?
"There is only one hen in the government office, and it needs to lay eggs. The old lady is not in good health, and she needs to eat eggs to nourish herself."
The servant started to explain, but the magistrate asked him to leave and forced a smile.
"Excuse me, my three distinguished guests, but we have no shortage of fish here. Fish will be served soon. Please wait a moment."
"That's not bad. I always find something to eat during a flood. If all else fails, we can catch frogs, eels, and loaches."
"We've basically caught most of them. Only farmers with fishing boats can catch deep-water fish."
Kochi Prefecture has a good temper.
"..."
The three of them drank the porridge in silence.
After a while, a main dish was served, three unknown fish the size of a palm boiled in water.
"This is yellow catfish, the meat is tender and delicious. It's best cooked with tofu, but there's no tofu for sale right now, so I'll just have to make do with it."
"So it's small yellow croaker! This soup is too bland, isn't it? Even the water I use to wash my face tastes better than this."
Luo Yu couldn't help but complain: "Have you ever drunk your own face wash water?"
Others did not speak while eating or sleeping, pretending not to hear.
Qin Bingrui kept talking from the beginning to the end of the meal.
My originally heavy mood was relieved a lot after he said a few words.
Although they were not full, they still thanked Mr. Gao for his hospitality.
Of course, Gao Zhixian's food couldn't be eaten for free. When they were about to leave, Gao Zhixian and Miss Qin exchanged polite words again and again before slowly saying, "I wonder if Mr. Qin has any channels to transport grain? Prices are high now, but if we can buy it from outside at half the price, it will greatly reduce the burden on the people."
Qin Bingrui was curious: "Why does Mr. Gao think I'm just a manager?"
Kochi Prefecture was stunned and didn't know how to respond.
Master Wan, standing behind the Magistrate Gao, was quick-witted and immediately nodded and bowed. "The Magistrate is aware of your distinguished status. Miss Bai's dignified demeanor reveals her to be a lady of noble birth. Young Master Murong has an extraordinary appearance, like a young man from an aristocratic family. Only Young Master Qin seems to be a chivalrous man with the most extensive and widest connections."
It was really strange to see these three people together, so the master didn't dare to say much.
Just one sentence, "a chivalrous man", pleased Qin Bingrui very much.
"That's true, but since you don't allow food to be shipped in from other places, someone must have done something wrong. Doesn't Mr. Gao have any clues at all?
What if I really take action and the goods can't be brought in? Even if they can get in, if we provoke those forces, won't they kill us? "
Kochi remained silent.
Finally, he sighed and said tactfully, "Originally, several wealthy families in the county wanted to ship goods from other places to the city by water, but for some reason, all the ships were monopolized. They couldn't leave, and those who left couldn't come back."
"You just haven't a clue."
Seeing that there were no outsiders present, the Gao Zhixian whispered, "Pingshan County's permanent population peaked at 200,000. It's a large county, and there are many wealthy people in the county. Although some have fled abroad for refuge, their registered residence cannot be transferred, so they will return sooner or later.
I just suspect that the grain can't be brought in because someone must be colluding with the Prince of the Marquis of Qingyang's mansion, secretly trying to make a fortune through insidious means."
"What do you mean?"
"Look, the Marquis of Qingyang's Mansion is the most powerful official position in our fiefdom. Even the prefect may not be able to do anything about it. Therefore, only the Marquis of Qingyang's Mansion dares to do such a big thing."
"Oh, that makes sense."
"Your ship came in this morning. I believe there must be a way. I heard the news, so I want to ask for your help."
"Aren't you afraid that we are from the Marquis' Mansion?" Qin Bingrui chuckled twice.
I thought the Koji prefect had been prepared, but he just sighed and said, "That's right. My term of office is coming to an end anyway."
Sad and helpless.
Master Wan quickly bowed and nodded, then interjected, "Today, a yamen runner came to report your arrival. He said he saw Miss Bai helping two little beggars on the road and giving them a box of cakes. So, Master Gao and I concluded that you are definitely not from the Marquis' Mansion."
Details reveal a person's character, and they do have this ability.
Luo Yu believed that although the Gaozhi County Magistrate’s official level was not very good, he had a good eye for selecting legal advisors.
However, looking at the shabby and run-down appearance of the Gaozhi County Magistrate, he did not seem to be pretending. He should be considered a good official who cared about the people. After all, all the grain reserves of the yamen had been released.
Qin Bingrui seemed to be thinking about something, then asked, "Do you have a ship? If so, we can just go across to transport the grain. I can find some channels. You didn't tell me earlier, so it's no wonder that the ship that sent us was turned back after only half an hour at the dock."
The more Qin Bingrui thought about it, the angrier he became. The boat driver had charged him several times more for the charter and insisted that he was not allowed to enter the dock. It turned out that he was being threatened by some evil forces. If he paid more money, he could sneak into Pingshan County!
angry……
"As for the boat, there's only a small fisherman's boat. I'm afraid it can't carry much cargo."
"..."
That's just nonsense. It's useless even if you have channels.
Luo Yu blinked and smiled, "I have an idea, but I need the help of the yamen runners under Lord Gao."
"Miss Bai, if you have any ideas, please tell me. Not to mention the number of men, even if it means robbing ships, our county magistrate is happy to accompany you."
Master Wan didn't have time to cover Gao Zhixian's mouth and was so anxious that he danced with joy.
Qin Bingrui laughed heartily when he heard this: "With what Lord Gao said, I feel relieved. Let's take advantage of the situation and make a fortune before that mysterious group of people you mentioned!"
Then, Luo Yu told everyone his method, and everyone except Qin Bingrui looked at each other in surprise. This was really scary, even more terrifying than robbing a merchant ship.
After hesitating for only a moment, the magistrate of Kochi immediately called A Tian and asked him to arrange for all the yamen runners to rush to Pingshan Wharf to wait for the new arrival of the ship.
……
The three of them walked slowly back to the inn.
Qin Bingrui specially took out some rice and flour from the carriage and asked the inn's chef to help make midnight snacks. Not having a full meal is the most uncomfortable thing.
The three of them sat in the empty inn and chatted.
Qin Bingrui looked Master Murong up and down and said, "Master Murong, you look very noble. You must have spent a lot of money on the journey. How much banknotes did you put on you?"
"This is all the money I earned from writing books. I didn't bring much money with me."
Luo Yu laughed at Qin Bingrui: "You are the one with the most money, why are you still eyeing Mr. Murong's money?"
"No, we are going to do business, so we must all invest together and make money together. Look, Mr. Gao is willing to spend fifty taels of silver to purchase goods. If the profit can be multiplied several times, he will make a lot of money."
Although fifty taels is of no use.
Murong looked at Luo Yu and asked with a smile: "Miss Bai, how much do you plan to invest?"
"As for the boat, we can rent it. Or maybe we can just buy it. Is five thousand taels enough for one boat?"
Qin Bingrui shook his head and chuckled: "If it really doesn't work, just detain the boat driver and the crew. You don't have to pay a penny."
Young Master Murong nodded in agreement.
Luo Yu smiled slightly. Could it be that Master Murong had picked up some bad habits after spending too long with Qin Bingrui?
Having said that, Murong took out a stack of silver notes from his arms, each note was worth one thousand taels of silver.
"This is all the money I have. The rest is just the five taels of silver I earned from writing books."
Luo Yu took it and counted it. There were exactly ten silver notes of one thousand each and eight silver notes ranging from one hundred to five hundred each.
"No, Master Murong, why are you carrying so many banknotes when you go out?"
Luo Yu felt depressed. She wondered if all the valuables she had on her would add up to two thousand taels, and this was what she had scraped together!
"Consider these my investments. You two ladies are welcome."
Qin Bingrui put the banknote away without hesitation and looked at Master Murong with a wicked smile: "Master Murong is not bad, he is worthy of being my good brother-in-law."
The word "brother-in-law" was just lip-shaped, but Murong saw it clearly and curled the corners of his lips slightly.
Luo Yu was too lazy to pay attention to him. She was thinking that she must make a lot of money this time. She could use half of the profit to help the disaster victims, which would not be too unconscionable.