More than a week has passed, and the selection of grain merchants in Huainan has officially begun!
Although it is already the twelfth lunar month of winter, the weather is extremely cold.
But early in the morning, the Huainan County Sheriff's Mansion was filled with people.
This grand occasion was even worse than the original selection of cloth merchants.
After all, people can live without clothes, but they cannot live without food.
Therefore, in the two counties of Jianghuai and Huaihe, there are probably many more people who deal in grain than in cloth.
As for the favorites to win the championship, the An family from Jiangnan, the Tian family from Huainan, and the Zhou family from Huainan all arrived early.
The expression on his face was also calm, he looked carefree, and he seemed to be sure of winning the selection.
These people were not kept waiting for too long. After a while, Taicang's order Wu Yunxuan arrived and began to preside over matters related to the selection meeting.
"There are many familiar faces here. Most of you must have participated in the previous selection of cloth merchants."
"Our selection of grain merchants this time is very similar."
"However, the selection criteria are somewhat different. Food is the most practical, unlike cloth, which comes in so many styles."
"We only look at one criterion: output!"
"Each of you, please report your current grain reserves and how much grain you can produce each year. We will then discuss it. After the results are determined, we will make a public announcement."
"Do you have any different meanings?"
"If there is no objection, let's get started."
Wu Yunxuan gave the order and the selection meeting officially began. The grain merchants had different expressions and wrote down their own production volume on the paper.
Jiangnan An's eyebrows slightly raised, obviously in a good mood.
He had already heard that Zhou's fields were affected by locusts, and the grain harvest this year was very small. Most likely, I can't compare to the An family, so I accepted this imperial businessman with a smile.
Tian Yuanwai also felt that he was sure of victory. Although he was only the second grain merchant in Huainan, compared with the Zhou family and the An family, the gap was actually not that big.
This time, with the help of the Zhou family, it should be a sure thing to win the imperial merchant selection.
Only Zhou Huai, on the surface, was as stable as an old dog, but deep down he was a little panicked.
Although he was very confident in Gu Shijun's seeds, in the final analysis, he had never planted them. He was still worried about whether they could really produce 400 kilograms per mu.
After Master Dewu saw it, he made a judgment. Only this kind of thing can be counted.
If they don't do the math, then the Zhou family may not be able to compete with the other two companies and will have to withdraw from this imperial merchant selection.
After a while, all the grain merchants had finished writing, and the rice paper with the output written on it was all gathered up and gathered at Wu Yunxuan.
What follows is a long waiting time, which is undoubtedly a torment for grain merchants.
In the back hall of the county magistrate's house, a group of officials with extensive agricultural experience were carefully examining the rice paper that had been collected.
Some people frowned, some people were amazed, and some people were silent.
But soon, someone exclaimed: "Come and see what this is."
After hearing this, everyone gathered together.
After Wu Yunxuan saw it, he was also surprised and said: "The annual output is one hundred thousand catties! Which company is this? Why is it so high?"
"Huainan Zhou family."
"Huainan Zhou family? Didn't you say that he was attacked by locusts? I thought he would miss this selection."
"It is true that we have been hit by locusts and the current grain is a bit low, but if the annual output is really 100,000 catties, it doesn't matter if the emperor chooses him."
"Can you tell me the reason? The Zhou family only has a hundred acres of farmland, and the channels for collecting grains are also recorded. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be so many."
"He said that he got the seeds of Huainan poet Gu Beichuan, which can produce 400 kilograms per mu."
"What! Four hundred kilograms! Are you serious? Where is that guy now?"
"He said that he had sent it to the county magistrate's office along with relevant documents a few days ago for our reference."
"Why don't you go and get it quickly."
After a while, everyone looked at the seeds without saying a word.
After a long time, someone hesitated and asked: "What do you think of this kind of food?"
"The grains are plump and golden in color. It can be said to be extremely rare, but I don't believe it when they say the yield is 400 kilograms per mu."
"Same for me, old man. Two to three hundred kilograms is still possible, but four hundred kilograms is an exaggeration."
"This Zhou family seems to be desperate. They are desperate and seek medical treatment. They have come up with such a way to deceive us without fear of being punished."
"Businessmen are only interested in profit and dare not do anything."
"Hmph, these merchants are really bold. In my opinion, it would be better to exclude the Zhou family from the candidate list."
"Even if these opportunistic people become imperial merchants, they will only make mistakes."
"agree!"
"I agree!"
"I agree!"
Scholars, farmers, industry and merchants, in fact, most of these officials despised merchants.
At this time, seeing that Zhou was showing signs of being opportunistic, he made his own claims without even needing evidence.
It's a pity that Wu Yunxuan is solely responsible for the selection of grain merchants. If he doesn't nod, no one can do anything.
So at this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Wu Yunxuan.
"Master Wu, please say something."
"That is, such people who commit fraud will definitely be severely punished."
However, Wu Yunxuan ignored the noisy words around him. He just held the ear of rice and looked at the golden rice grains on it, frowning and thinking hard.
After a long time, he took a pot of soil and planted the rice ears in it. Then keep adding water until there is enough water to overflow.
During the whole process, he kept his eyes fixed and looked extremely serious.
Finally, after a long time, Wu Yunxuan breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "I'm afraid what Zhou said is true."
"This kind of seed might really be able to yield 400 kilograms per acre."
"What! Master Wu, please don't say this nonsense!" All the officials who were waiting for the unexpected answer exclaimed in unbelief.
"Look at these rice ears, can you see anything?"
"What's so good about this rice ear? It's just that it looks better than ordinary rice ears."
"No, I poured so much water just now, but the ears of rice haven't changed much."
"So, I have a wild guess."
"That means these rice ears are not afraid of floods!"
What!
As soon as this statement came out, all the officials were completely shocked.
Why do Jianghuai and Jianghuai produce so much grain? Because the Huaihe River has a lot of water, dikes can be dug for irrigation on weekdays.
But everything has advantages and disadvantages. River flooding will also cause most of the rice seedlings to die, resulting in a large loss of yield.
But... what if the rice seedlings can survive floods?
Doesn’t that mean that as much as you sow, you will survive?
In this way, if the original quality of the seeds is added, I am afraid that the yield per mu can really be 400 kilograms!
After thinking about it, the officials looked at the rice ears still standing in the pot.
There are mixed feelings in my heart.
"Master Wu, you really have a discerning eye."
"It's very true. We were not good at studying and almost missed this magical rice seedling. Master Wu paid close attention and saw the true meaning."
"Let me tell you, there is something wrong with the Zhou family. Why don't you write it clearly in the document and force me to guess."
When Wu Yunxuan heard these words, he just smiled and said nothing.
But in my heart, I was even more curious about the rumored Huainan poet.
Selected by a cloth merchant, he made ice pattern silk.
Selected by a grain merchant, he made this magical rice seedling again.
What a strange man.
After a while, Wu Yunxuan led a group of officials back to the lobby of the Sheriff's Mansion.
"Everyone, let's check the data first. If the data is correct, we will announce the selection results."
boom!
As soon as these words came out, all the grain merchants straightened up one after another with serious expressions, waiting for Wu Yunxuan to say the next words.
"The Li family in Jiangnan has a stock of 70,000 jins of grain and an annual output of 30,000 jins. Do you have any objections?"
Li's boss stood up, shook his head, and said: "The data is true and there is no objection."
"The Huang family in Huainan has a stock of 60,000 jins of grain and an annual output of 37,000 jins. Do you have any objections?"
"The You clan in Jiangnan has a stock of 100,000 jins of grain and an annual output of 29,000 jins. Do you have any objections?"
With no objections, Wu Yunxuan quickly told all the grain merchants in turn.
There are only three people left, namely the Jiangnan An family, the Huainan Tian family, and the Huainan Zhou family.
"The Jiangnan An clan has a stock of 200,000 jins of grain and an annual output of 48,000 jins. Do you have any objections?"
Officer An stood up, smiled, and said, "No objection."
When the other grain merchants saw this, they took a deep breath.
With a total of 200,000 kilograms of grain in stock, he is worthy of being the number one grain merchant in the south of the Yangtze River. In this selection of the imperial merchant, I am afraid that he must be the one.
Only the field member showed a confident smile.
It's only 200,000 jins. He himself has 180,000 jins. Plus the Zhou family's grain, it's probably more than 300,000 jins. How could he not be able to compare with An's?
It seems that this time, it is fitting for me, Tian, to be elected as an imperial merchant!
However, the next moment, Wu Yunxuan's words made him freeze on the spot.
"The Tian family in Huainan has a stock of 180,000 jins of grain and an annual output of 47,000 jins."
One hundred and eighty thousand catties? How could it be 180,000 pounds?
Tian Yuanwai wanted to stand up and say something, but Wu Yunxuan was one step ahead of him and announced Zhou's data.
"The Zhou family in Huainan has a stockpile of 150,000 jins of grain and an annual output of 100,000 jins!"
As soon as these words came out, the whole place fell into silence.
