"Wuzhong has been prosperous since ancient times. There is no open land in the surrounding suburbs. All the land above and below is farmland. People are not high or low. They always have regular crops. Therefore, there is more luxury and less frugality."
Pingjiang Prefecture has abundant land and sea, and not only agriculture is developed, but also handicrafts such as silk weaving, papermaking, and shipbuilding, as well as commercial service industries are also prosperous, creating a large non-agricultural population.
Usually, the prime-age labor force in Pingjiang City can earn about two hundred cash a day, and not only men can make money, but many women also work.
An average family in the Song Dynasty usually had about six people in each household. They could earn about fifteen thousand dollars a month and were able to pursue a relatively decent standard of living.
However, it is said that food is the most important thing for the people, and they must first survive before they can live a good life. When food prices are rising day by day, let alone ordinary people, even small and wealthy families do not dare to spend money randomly and tighten their belts to live life.
Therefore, at this time, the city of Suzhou seemed to have lost its former liveliness and prosperity.
There is still a dense flow of people on the street, but there are not a few smiling faces to be seen, and there are not a few cheers to be heard, and all the faces are full of sadness.
The shops facing the street were still open, but most of them had no one going in. They were very deserted. The shopkeepers and their waiters lazily leaned at the door, watching the people coming and going on the street with expressionless faces, and occasionally issued a few shouts to attract customers. The hawking seemed to be just a matter of course. It lacked the enthusiasm of the past, and even the flags and flags inserted in front of the door were hung low, looking weak.
Some food-selling shops are more lively. Whether they are selling fruits, vegetables, or fish, meat, poultry, and eggs, people ask questions from time to time. Then some people leave sadly, while others stamp their feet and grit their teeth and endure the high price to buy some. .
The busiest thing is the grain store, which is packed with people from morning to night, including men, women, old and young. Many families are probably mobilizing their whole families to buy more grain despite the purchase restrictions. After all, the price of grain is so high. Every day is higher than the day before.
"Damn it, Mom, these female businessmen are really evil. They only had twenty-five cents three days ago, and today it's eighty cents per liter..."
"Black heart? Haha, their hearts have been fed to the dogs for a long time. They are talking about being black or not. Just wait and see. The old man bets that the price of food tomorrow will definitely not be less than a hundred cents!"
"This damn thing is no longer allowed to live. One day's work in the warehouse is enough to buy two liters of rice. I don't even have enough to eat. Are my family going to drink the northwest wind?"
One liter of rice, converted into the weight of future generations, is less than one and a half kilograms. If there were no other vegetables and meat intake, adults at this time would have to consume two liters of rice every day to maintain high-intensity labor.
"That's right, there are seniors and juniors in the slave family, so they rely on me and my father-in-law to work and earn money. If they don't have enough to eat and don't have the energy to work, they will be even worse if they can't earn wages! Now I can only use the money I saved before. I came here to buy food, but I don’t know how long I can last.”
"My family is a little better. Four of the seven people can work. But in this city, you can do anything for free. There are seven things you need to do to open the door. Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea. Now just this rice will squeeze people out. Do it, other things are indispensable, hey, there are also taxes and exemptions to pay..."
Salt, vinegar and tea are all subject to government scrutiny, but they are not cheap and are a disguised form of taxation.
"In the past few days, my family has been living on porridge. Today I drank half a bowl of porridge. Now I am worried about my heart and my back. I am so hungry that I don't know how long it will take to buy rice. These people who are suffering from the plague are going to Rice is so expensive and you still have to pick it up..."
In fact, many people have begun to save food as much as possible. Unless they need labor, they can just stay hungry.
"We were asked to buy enough at once, how can they continue to extract oil? Hey, what can we ordinary people do? It's better to say less and save more energy."
"The boy from my family went to Changping Treasury to buy grain. I don't know what the price is there."
"Bullshit Chang Pingku, you dare to sell old grain mixed with sand for seventy cents, and you can only buy one liter. I just ask God to open his eyes and send down a few thunders to kill all those dog officials..."
"Wujiang is better. There is King Yan who is not afraid of thunder. The price of rice is only more than ten cents. I plan to go to Wujiang tomorrow to buy rice."
"You can't go. My neighbor went there yesterday and bought rice, which cost a stone. But when I entered the city, I was charged a city tax of six guan! This is my neighbor's house.
The family gave the city officials money, otherwise they would not be allowed to bring so much food into the city. "
"How could such a thing happen? The one who fell in love must be the gang of female businessmen and dog officials who work for women in a mess!"
This person was really right. In the Yuexiu Building opposite the grain store, a group of clerks from the Wuxian County government were having a banquet with a group of grain merchants.
The elegant rooms are magnificent, with enchanting female dancers singing and dancing in the hall. The banquet is filled with fine wine and delicacies, and each person is flanked by a graceful and beautiful lady. It is truly heaven on earth.
Sitting on the main seat was Zhang Shan, the big boss of Zhang's rice shop. His face was red and beaming with joy, and he raised his wine bottle and prayed loudly.
"Everyone, drink victoriously for the sake of prosperity!"
More than a dozen guests joined in the fun and drank from their glasses, making the atmosphere more and more lively.
Zhang Shan and other attendants refilled the wine and raised it again to the middle-aged scribe on the left.
"Secretary Zhong Yao, Mr. Zhang proposes a toast to you alone to express his gratitude. Thanks to you for guarding the city gates and guarding against those opportunistic merchants and unscrupulous people, you have maintained a good situation in the city and allowed Mr. Zhang and others to do business safely. .”
"It's easy to say, it's my duty to maintain the fairness of the market. Pingjiang people should eat Pingjiang rice. How can we allow cunning women to mess around? Haha... I also take this bottle of wine to wish Mr. Zhang a prosperous business and abundant financial resources. Hello, I'm hello, everyone, come on, drink in the victory!"
Pingjiang City is a city with two counties. The east side belongs to Changzhou County and the west side belongs to Wu County. The five city gates are under the jurisdiction of the two counties according to their location. The Pan Gate in the south is the responsibility of Zhong Yasi.
If the price of food in the city rises, the people in the city will naturally try to buy cheaper food nearby. People who find business opportunities in surrounding areas will also transport food to sell.
For the grain merchants who are frantically harvesting leeks, isn't this taking away food from their mouths? They must find ways to stop it.
Although the city gate cannot be closed, a "protective" entry tax can be levied on food and materials that want to enter the city.
A small bailiff does not have the power to change the tax rate, but the Changping Division has this power. It is not only responsible for managing Changpingcang and free warehouses, but also managing the exemption, market transactions, mills, river crossings, and water conservancy matters on the road.
It's just that although Zhang Shan is considered a rich man, he can't reach the high-ranking Xie Cangsi. He can only fawn over people like Zhong Yasi who are in charge of the affairs. The banquet and entertainment are just a trivial matter, and he can't help but give generous tribute in private.
Drinking and drinking, laughter and laughter.
Zhang "Lang" was very attentive and said, "Today we have all the beauties and fine wines you need. Enjoy them to your heart's content and you won't come home until you're drunk!"
Another grain merchant kneaded the girl's body wantonly, with a smile on his face, "Hey, Brother Zhang is not right. We are drunk and will not come back today. Otherwise, we would be betraying the beauty."
The whole room burst into laughter, "Hahaha, that makes sense, all members of the team know how to cherish the beauty..."
"It's already hard work for all of you, members, to feed the people of Pingjiang. The task of feeding the beauties should be left to me and other errands."
The bells and whistles got drunk and became wild. They hugged the beautiful lady beside them and ate their hands up and down, eating tofu.
Zhong Yasi shook his dizzy head and patted his open chest, "Thanks to Mr. Zhang for the hospitality. We are all kind and righteous people. We dare not say anything else. As long as Zhong is here, we will never let him." The rice from outside can easily enter the city through Panmen..."
At this moment, a yamen servant knocked down the boy who was serving food and rushed into the private room in a panic. He ran up to Zhong Yasi and shouted in alarm, "Asi is not good, Yasi is not good." !」
As soon as Zhong Yasi heard this, his face darkened, he picked up the silver wine bottle and threw it at the yamen servant, "Damn it, I'm here to take care of myself, why are you howling in mourning."
The yamen servant covered his smashed forehead and realized that he had committed a taboo. He did not dare to tell the difference. He just said hurriedly, "Grain ships, many grain ships have entered the city..."
"What are you talking about!? What do you do for food? You can't even guard a city gate!? Didn't I tell you that no matter where the food comes from, as long as it doesn't have a written ultimatum from the Chang Ping Division, it will not be released! I How dare you send grain ships into the city after just leaving for a while!?"
Zhong Yasi was so angry that he pushed away the woman next to him who had exposed her breasts, stood up and shouted loudly
ask.
Zhang Shan and other grain merchants' expressions changed drastically, "Grain ship!? How much grain is there?"
"Count, I can't count, the river outside Shuimen is full of them. When the little one came to report, more than thirty boats had already entered, and there was no tail behind..."
"Why didn't you stop it!?" Zhong Yasi was furious and poked the officer's face with his halberd finger.
The Yamen servant did not dare to hide, and hurriedly explained, "It's not that we won't stop it, but we can't stop it, and we don't dare to stop it. These grain ships were brought by the pacifiers and escorted by the Imperial Guards. How many of you guys are there?" How dare you try to stop me?"
"The Comforter!?" Everyone present's minds were buzzing, and they were all stunned for a moment.
Suddenly loud shouts came from the street, "Good news! Good news! According to the order of the pacifier, in order to stabilize the price of food, one hundred thousand stones of rice were specially transported and sold at various docks and in front of the Confucian Temple for two coins and one stone. All the people Come and buy with your own household registration, each household is limited to one stone, first come first served!"
As soon as the news came out, the people on the street were in a panic. If they hadn't seen that the people making the noise were teams of Imperial Guards wearing armor, they would have thought it was someone playing a prank and couldn't believe it was true. .
"Two coins for one stone!? So cheap?"
"I can still buy one stone. If I save some food, it will be enough for my family to last for more than a month."
"Mom, why are you still standing there? Why don't you hurry home and get your household registration?"
"Yes, yes, it's only 100,000 dan. If we go late, it might be sold out."
The common people woke up and ran home. The door of the grain store that was crowded with people just now became empty. The streets and alleys everywhere became extremely lively. The common people ran and cheered. Some kind-hearted people did not forget to shout. Inform other people of the good news.
Upstairs in Yuexiu, everyone watching this scene was dumbfounded. Twenty cents per liter, how could anyone cut leeks?
Zhong Yasi's face turned green and red for a while, and he was sweating profusely. "No! It's King Yan who has taken action. We have to report it to Xie Cangshi immediately!"
