My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 25 Unexpected
“Even my Mi family cannot produce so many things all at once.”

Liu Feng estimated that Mi Zhu's words were probably half true and half false.

They could definitely take it, but it would probably require emptying the Mi family's grain reserves. After all, grain is a perishable commodity; once it's past its season, it becomes stale grain, and storing it is very troublesome and results in significant losses.

Even with the Mi family's immense wealth, it was impossible for them to store too much grain.

According to Liu Feng's estimate, 300,000 shi should be the upper limit of the Mi family's grain reserves.

However, although the Mi family had stockpiled 300,000 shi of grain, it did not mean that they could lend it all to Liu Feng.

The Mi family had as many as 10,000 servants, not all of whom were tenant farmers. A large portion of them worked in the Mi family's workshops, salt fields, and ironworks.

These people all depend on the Mi family for support; the Mi family has to pay for all the food they eat.

Therefore, the Mi family's readily available grain reserves were only around 100,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).

Given the Mi family's deeply entrenched status as wealthy and powerful merchants along the coast of Donghai County, procuring another 100,000 shi of grain on short notice would not be a major problem.

Therefore, Liu Feng concluded that the Mi family could definitely produce that much grain.

Therefore, when Mi Zhu showed some hesitation, Liu Feng did not back down, but instead planned to propose an exchange.

Unexpectedly, before he could speak, Mi Zhu suddenly changed the subject: "However, my Mi family has some relatives and friends in the area. I think if we pool our resources, we should be able to meet your request, young master."

???

Liu Feng was dumbfounded. What was going on? How could he have agreed to everything?

Liu Feng planned to wait for Mi Zhu to complain and politely decline before showering him with huge benefits and using psychological manipulation on him.

But who would have thought that before he even exerted any effort, the other person would collapse to the ground?
Although Mi Zhu agreed to Liu Feng's request, Liu Feng felt a slight displeasure for some reason.

This might stem from jealousy, envy, and resentment towards wealthy dog ​​owners.

In truth, Liu Feng was just incredibly lucky.

As the saying goes, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.

If it had been a day earlier, Mi Zhu might have hesitated. Even if he didn't refuse outright, he would have discussed it with Liu Feng and asked for a discount.

But last night, he received definite news that Cao Bao was willing to give up four thousand troops to be under the governor's command.

To his surprise, Liu Bei appointed two trusted confidants, Tian Yu and Zhao Yun, as magistrates of Donghai County and commanders of separate divisions, stationed in Cheng County and Lanling County, west of Tancheng County, respectively.

Both of these events occurred one after the other after Liu Feng visited Cao Bao.

The first thing in particular, that Cao Bao was willing to cede his own troops, shocked Mi Zhu.

Even Mi Zhu knew that Cao Bao's retainers were his livelihood, and even someone as magnanimous as Mi Zizhong would find it hard to give them up if he were in Cao Bao's position.

But Cao Bao just ceded them like that, and even gave up a full four thousand men, which was almost half of his military strength.

Although Mi Zhu did not know why Cao Bao did this, he knew that Cao Bao must be acting so strangely because of Liu Feng.

More importantly, Cao Bao's actions greatly enhanced Liu Bei's strength.

This also made Mi Zhu worry: if he didn't invest now, would there be such a good investment opportunity in the future?
Mi Zhu had originally planned to increase his investment in Liu Bei, and now that Liu Feng had come to him seeking help, wasn't this a golden opportunity?

So, although Mi Zhu was surprised by the other party's huge appetite, he still gritted his teeth and agreed.

It was nothing more than a few hundred thousand shi of grain and a few million coins worth of goods and supplies.

Tao Qian was able to get 10,000 shi of grain from his own family because he was only worth 10,000 shi, not because the Mi family only had 10,000 shi.

Liu Bei is of higher value, so naturally more should be invested in him.

Liu Feng wasn't skeptical; rather, he asked in confirmation, "Prefect, is this truly the case?"

"Of course it's true!"

Mi Zhu said with a serious expression, "I will immediately write a letter and have my servant send it to Qu County in Donghai, and have my younger brother prepare food and supplies to send to Tancheng. If there is any shortage, I will also have my younger brother raise the funds. I will make sure that you are satisfied, young master." Liu Feng was still unaware that Mi Zhu's increased investment was due to his high regard for him, and he still thought that Mi Zhu was truly devoted to his father.

It's no wonder that when Mi Fang betrayed him later, his father still comforted and coaxed Mi Zhu. At the founding of the dynasty, Mi Zhu's official rank and salary were even higher than Zhuge Liang's.

It's simply because Mi Zhu is such a kind and touching person.

Despite his exorbitant asking price, he readily agreed without even haggling.

He really made me cry to death.

Although Mi Zhu had agreed to everything, Liu Feng couldn't really let the Mi family just give up so easily.

A give-and-take approach is the key to long-term success.

The better Mi Zhu performs, the more Liu Feng will have to repay him; otherwise, who will be good to you in the future?
Liu Feng picked up a wooden box that he had been carrying with him and placed it in front of Mi Zhu.

"Prefect, do you recognize this?"

Mi Zhu had noticed this wooden box before.

This thing is so conspicuous that it's impossible not to notice it.

Pan Zhang carried the wooden box and followed behind Liu Feng until Liu Feng and Mi Zhu entered the inner hall, at which point he put down the box and left.

However, Liu Feng didn't say anything, and Mi Zhu didn't feel comfortable asking.

Now that Liu Feng has finally brought out the wooden box, Mi Zhu is indeed very curious.

Mi Zhu shook his head: "I don't know, please enlighten me, young master."

Liu Feng smiled: "Please wait and see, Your Excellency."

As he spoke, he opened the wooden box, revealing its contents.

The wooden box was split in two; on the left were translucent white crystalline particles, while on the right were snow-white, crystalline blocks.

Mi Zhu looked at the contents of the wooden box, then looked up at Liu Feng.

Liu Feng didn't explain much. He reached out and first picked up a bit of snow salt and put it in his mouth, then picked up a piece of rock sugar from the side and threw it into his mouth.

"You may try it, sir."

Liu Feng's actions, coupled with the invitation, left Mi Zhu with no choice but to sample the food.

As soon as the snow salt entered his mouth, Mi Zhu instinctively frowned, but then his eyes widened.

Is this table salt?

But why does salt taste so simple, without any bitter or other unpleasant flavors?

Mi Zhu looked at Liu Feng, but the latter did not answer him. Instead, he smiled and pointed to the large crystal next to him.

"Please, try this one too."

Helpless, Mi Zhu could only swallow the doubts that were on the tip of his tongue and pick up a small piece of rock candy to put in his mouth.

The next moment, a sweet taste exploded in my mouth.

The previous salty and savory flavor had not yet dissipated, making the rock sugar even sweeter. Mi Zhu felt that he had never tasted such a sweet flavor in his life.

Historically, fine salt did not exist until the Tang Dynasty. It was produced by further processing to reduce impurities, resulting in white table salt, which was called fine salt.

As for the icing, it is made by collecting the white icing from the surface of the syrup using the most ancient method. Its color is white with a reddish tinge and is not pure.

This half-red, half-white frosting sugar also only appeared during the Tang Dynasty, and due to the production method, the output was always very small.

(End of this chapter)