Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

He took the teacup and sniffed it, laughing happily, cherishing it very much. "This is picked and roasted by my daughter herself. Good, good, you are thoughtful. You even learned how to roast tea for me. Father is very happy and likes it very much."

Zhou Guo said happily, "As long as your Majesty likes it, it's good. It's just that the gift is a little shabby, I hope your Majesty won't be offended."

Xu Xiushan waved his hand. "I have everything I need in this vast world, except for these genuine gifts. Besides, this is not shabby at all. It was made by our honorable King Yan himself. There are only a few people in the world who can afford it. It's much more valuable than the gifts from your brothers."

Xu Xiaobei and the others exchanged glances. Xu Sibei touched his nose and said, "Father, since you don't like it, why don't you return our things to us?"

Xu Xiushan glanced at him and said, "How can you take back something you gave away? You really have the nerve to say that."

When Zhou Guo left the palace, the queen called her to the harem and handed her a wooden box. She said with a smile, "Open it when you get back."

"Okay, now try on the new dress I made for you. I've even matched it with gold and silver jewelry. It's sure to look great."

Zhou Guo also went to try it on happily. It was nice to wear women's clothes. Women's clothes looked good. Over the years, the cloakroom in her Prince Yan's Mansion had taken up an entire courtyard. It was half men's and half women's clothes, and half of them were made for her by the Queen.

She came out with a head full of jewelry and dressed in luxurious clothes, which made people's eyes shine. The queen exclaimed: "Not bad, not bad. You have a fair complexion. This honey-colored dress suits you very well. If you go out wearing this, all the young ladies in the capital will be trampled under your feet."

Zhou Guo smiled. "Mother, you always say this every time I wear women's clothes. I'm not young anymore, and many people outside still call me an old girl in private. Isn't this color too young?"

"Who is it?" The queen's face darkened and she looked unhappy.

Zhou Guo hurriedly said, "Don't be angry. I am indeed an old maid and don't want to get married. People all over the world can't stop talking about it. Let them talk. I don't mind anyway."

The queen sighed, "You..."

Zhou Guo returned to Prince Yan's Mansion and opened the box. He saw that it was full of silver bills. He counted them and found that there were three hundred thousand taels!

She opened her mouth wide. Two kilograms of tea were exchanged for three hundred thousand taels?

This tea is really valuable!!

It just so happened that she had just acquired a batch of silkworm eggs. The silk they spit out could make handkerchiefs that were even more beautiful than floating brocade. They could be used as birthday gifts next year. By then, the Emperor and the Empress would each receive one. Would that be worth 500,000 taels?

Now she is no longer poor.

I can eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks again.

In the palace, Xu Xiushan drank tea with the queen. It was the wild tea that Zhou Guo had roasted himself, and he drank it with relish.

The Queen laughed and said, "These two kilograms of tea are so expensive! Have you drunk a little too much today?"

It's simply sky-high priced tea.

Xu Xiushan put down his teacup and said, "Isn't that child's purpose obvious? Giving her these two kilograms of tea doesn't mean she's broke. A prince like him can't even afford a gift to his own father, the Emperor. It would be a joke if people knew about it! We can give her a little subsidy privately, and it would save her face."

The Queen said, "You are quite partial. Several children have given you gifts, but why don't the other children have any?"

Xu Xiushan frowned, "How can they be the same? They are brothers, and they are not short of money. Look at what this child has done, each one is a big deal. Her fat farm, in the final analysis, benefits not only herself but also the people of the world.

She has been coming back only a handful of times each year for this matter these past two years, and she has spent all her money. Shouldn't I help her out a little? I can still afford two hundred thousand taels."

The Queen laughed and said, "It's not twenty, it's thirty, and I even added a hundred thousand taels."

Xu Xiushan laughed, "You're still blaming me, aren't you the same, a mother who's partial to you?"

The queen smiled without saying anything. This girl seemed like a gift from God to her. She was so capable and well-behaved. As a mother for nothing, shouldn't she be nice to her?

With this money, Zhou Guo can open shops along the way.

With this calculation, one-third of the money just received will be spent.

The remaining two hundred thousand taels should be saved for emergencies. You can't really be penniless and have no money to give gifts.

……

In the second year after Feizhuang was fully developed, she no longer needed to invest money. In just one year, she paid off all her previous debts, and in the third year, she started to make a profit.

In the fourth year, she felt that the Zhou family had made enough money and it was no longer appropriate for her to hold on to this thing.

She went to the palace with the memorial.

Xu Xiushan looked at the memorial in his hand in surprise. After a while, he looked at her and said, "You want to take Feizhuang back and keep it in the hands of the royal family?"

Zhou Guo nodded. "Father, Feizhuang has now flourished. There are some in every prefecture. The grain we harvest each year exceeds 50% to 60% of the national treasury's tax revenue. It's no longer appropriate for the Zhou family to hold on to it. I intend to take it back and keep it for myself. Of course, this grain does not belong to the national treasury or your inner treasury. It belongs to the people of the world."

Xu Xiushan was extremely shocked and felt complicated. There were so many things, not just a little bit, but things that were comparable to the entire national treasury, and they were just given up like that.

He asked, "Do your parents know? Does the Zhou family know?"

Zhou Guo smiled and said, "I had already greeted them a year before you ascended the throne."

This was the fifth year, the year before he ascended the throne.

Xu Xiushan was silent.

Zhou Guo said, "You know how big my business has become over the years. Although my income is high, my expenses are even greater. I have to settle my accounts. By this year, I have just barely paid off the money I used to build the fertilizer and grain store. Otherwise, father, could you please allocate some money to me?"

Xu Xiushan raised his eyebrows. "Didn't you just say that this thing doesn't belong to the national treasury or the internal treasury? Where can I allocate funds for you?"

Zhou Guo said, "Forget it. I've already settled my account, and the next expense won't be that big. I'll do it myself."

In the second year after Feizhuang was taken over by the royal family, the grain collected each year accounted for 60% to 70% of the national treasury income. The granaries became fuller and fuller every year, and more granaries were built year by year.

Even though many shops were opened everywhere, the food could not be sold out, causing it to pile up more and more.

And in that year, locust plagues occurred in many places in the south, and the crops were completely destroyed!

Not to mention fat money and taxes, the common people can't even afford their own food.

The imperial court took prompt action, sending people to control the locust plague, allocating grain and funds to treat the victims, and exempting taxes for one year. Because of the timely treatment, the people were spared from a life of displacement.

When Zhou Guo went down to the place, he saw that in May, the land, which should have been green, was barren and had no harvest.

When the locals heard that she was the manager of Feizhuang, they asked, "Can we pay back the money we owe to Feizhuang next year? We really can't pay it back this year."

Zhou Guo sighed. He couldn't even afford to eat, yet he was still thinking about the big money he owed her.