"Isn't this the young owner of Wuhu Giant Store? If you don't do business well, what kind of fun is this?"
"Who knows, I can only say that rich people really know how to play."
"Watch it carefully. The Ruan family is very strict in their upbringing. I guess they have some ideas in doing this."
…
While the crowd was talking, the boxes on four or five cars were unloaded.
Ruan Kangwen waved his hand, and dozens of boxes were opened at the same time. A bright color shone in the morning sun.
"Silver, a lot of silver, it's an eye-opener."
"This is a standard silver box. Each box can hold five thousand taels of standard silver. There are one, two, three... twenty boxes here, totaling one hundred thousand taels of silver. Hiss..."
"What are you doing? Are you going to give us money?"
"Aren't you awake?"
"Don't make any noise and listen to what this young master has to say."
…
"I guess many of you fellow villagers know the history of my Ruan family. Today I will shamelessly tell you about it, so you can show off as a senior."
Ruan Kangwen spoke with great emotion and excitement. When he talked about his grandfather's donation of money to build the city wall, he even waved his hands. It took him a long time to finish telling the history of his family.
"So, this is the young master's house?"
"Donate these 100,000 taels of silver to the imperial court to help the people of Shaanxi survive the disaster."
"Donate to the imperial court? Young master, what do you want?"
"It doesn't mean anything, but my grandfather can donate money to build the city wall. Isn't it normal for my grandson to donate money to help the people of Shaanxi tide over the difficulties?"
Without waiting for the onlookers to comment, Ruan Kangwen jumped on the carriage again.
"Dear fellow villagers, the imperial court has just issued an edict that no taxes will be imposed in Shaanxi Province for three years. Although our Ruan family is just a family of merchants, our Ruan family also has a patriotic heart."
"Have you ever seen someone who ate Guanyin soil and strangled someone to death?"
"Have you ever seen bones exposed in the wild and no roosters crowing for thousands of miles?"
"Have you heard about Yi Zi and eaten it? This is the current situation in the disaster-stricken areas of Shaanxi. What is recorded in ancient books has already happened in reality."
…
"I couldn't sleep at night after hearing the news last night. I was thinking, if I were also in the disaster area, would I survive? Can I also eat the bark, grass roots, and Guanyin soil?"
"The conclusion is that I may eat it. I know that if I eat it, I will die, so I have to eat it. If I live one day longer, maybe there will be hope tomorrow?"
"Sure enough, the people had hope. The imperial court first allocated one million taels of silver to buy grain and transport it to the disaster-stricken areas, and then issued these two edicts."
"I heard that during the court meeting, His Majesty insisted on adjusting grain to provide disaster relief, despite all opinions, and almost pulled out the ministers who tried to dissuade him and beheaded him."
"Also, your Majesty allocated half a million taels of disaster relief funds from internal funds. Since your Majesty can use his private money, why can't I, a businessman, do the same?"
"Fathers and fellow villagers, I call on you once again. If you have any spare money, please donate a few taels of silver to help a group of fellow folks in Shaanxi.
These few taels of silver may be the price of a meal for us, but in Shaanxi, they can save the lives of hundreds of villagers. "
"I would like to declare here that for those who donate silver, those who purchase fabrics at my Wuhu giant store for less than one tael will receive a half-percent discount, those from one to ten taels will receive a 10% discount, and those who purchase fabrics from one tael to one hundred taels will receive a 20% discount. For purchases above one hundred taels, the price will be reduced by 30%, valid for three years.”
"Those who donate money can register here."
After Ruan Kangwen finished speaking, several people moved tables and placed them at the entrance of Fangshi.
The people watching were silent. It was okay to watch the excitement, but donating money was directly related to the food and clothing of one's own people, so one had to be cautious and cautious.
The atmosphere at the scene was a bit awkward. After Ruan Kangwen glanced around, he nodded secretly in several directions.
"Young Master, the old man is old and doesn't have much money left. These two taels of silver are what the old man plans to buy for his birthday, so just donate them to Shaanxi. Let's use them as a way to accumulate some good virtue! The Young Master won't think it's too little, right?"
An old man with a stooped figure shakily walked out of the crowd, walked slowly to the recording table, took out a rag from his arms, and opened it to reveal small pieces of broken silver.
Ruan Kangwen was stunned for a moment. This person was not someone he had arranged in advance, but he actually stood up at this moment.
His face immediately became solemn, and he helped the old man to the table: "Old man, on behalf of my fellow villagers in Shaanxi, I would like to thank you."
After registering the old man in person, he said loudly: "It is a blessing to the people of Shaanxi and the Ming Dynasty to have such an old man."
"Hey, I think I, Kang Qinghe, can be regarded as the number one figure among Beijing businessmen. Now in front of big things, I am not as good as a barren old man. I am really ashamed."
Another middle-aged man came to the long registration table: "I don't have anything else, but I do have some food. I will donate a thousand dan of food! I can help some if I can!"
The actions of the two men aroused the sympathy of the onlookers, and they stood up one after another.
"Boss Kang, my Tingxuan Inn will also join in the fun and donate a thousand taels of silver to build up some karma for myself!"
"Hey, we are just relying on the good fortune of reincarnation to live in Beijing. If we live in Shaanxi... I, Hongyun Restaurant, will donate two thousand taels of silver."
…
Several more of Ruan Kangwen's friends stood up and took action with a thousand taels.
When Ruan Kangwen was looking for them yesterday, they all expressed their sponsorship. A thousand taels of silver was nothing to them. Spending money to buy a good reputation was a worthwhile deal.
The onlookers were stunned. When did these rich people become so generous?
But no matter what, the donations are real money.
More than a dozen registration tables were lined up with people. The news spread wider and wider, and everyone in the capital knew about it. People came one after another, including wealthy businessmen, dignitaries, and noble gentry. .
These people actually don't want to come, but this donation activity has become a big trend. The government has sent people to intervene, and the final list will definitely go to Tianting.
What's more, the ministers in the court all thought that this was done by the emperor. Otherwise, at the court meeting, the emperor said that he would find a solution for the lack of silver, and then there would be such a trick of donating silver the next day?
After the emperor read the list, some businessmen donated, but they didn’t donate a cent. Will they be remembered at that time?
Judging from these incidents, the new emperor is not that easy to fool. If he just hints to a certain minister, they will not be able to accept it.
Although I hate Ruan Kangwen, I still have to donate, and it cannot be less.
There are more than a hundred tables at the entrance of Fangshi, and there is a long queue. In front of each table is a guard holding a sword. These guards were ordered by Chongzhen to arrange for Li Ruolian.
On the first day, more than 17,000 people donated 220,000 taels of silver;
On the second day, more than 66,000 people donated 480,000 taels of silver;
On the third day, 32,000 people donated silver, and 190,000 taels were donated;
…
The event lasted for seven days, with a total of more than 160,000 people donating money, accounting for nearly 20% of Beijing's population, and donating more than 1.5 million taels of silver.
In Dongnuan Pavilion, Chongzhen looked at Guo Yunhou, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, and chuckled: "Guo Aiqing, the total of two and a half million taels, is it enough?"
Guo Yunhou smiled so hard that he couldn't close his mouth: "Your majesty is wise, we can support the harvest until next autumn, and there will be hundreds of thousands more taels."
"Haha, I didn't expect that the people of Ming Dynasty would donate generously at this time to relieve our urgent need!"
Listening to Chongzhen's laughter, Guo Yunhou wanted to tell Chongzhen: Your Majesty, your acting skills are not good. All the merchants and gentry in the city have guessed that this is your handiwork, and you are still pretending here.
But no matter what you say, these 1.5 million taels of real money have been put into the warehouse.
After Guo Yunhou left, Chongzhen took another look at the summarized data and couldn't help but smile.
1.5 million taels of silver, that is 1.5 million shi of grain, plus the previous 1 million shi, 2.5 million shi of grain, enough for the victims to last until August next year.
By then there will be a harvest of potatoes and sweet potatoes, and the disaster in Shaanxi will be completely resolved.
Coupled with the construction of dense reservoirs, even if there is a disaster in the future, it will not be as serious as this year.
It's a pity that this kind of wool-gathering thing is okay if you do it once, because no one has done it in the previous dynasty, and this method will not be very effective in the future.
But then again, when the Baigan soldiers came to Beijing and confiscated the homes of the eight major Shanxi merchants and exterminated their clans, tens of millions of taels of silver plus the original taxes would be enough to support them for three years.
Three years was enough for him to lay out everything, and the money kept coming.
"Daban, Fang Zhenghua, what do you think I should reward Ruan Kangwen?"
