Traveling through the mountains and farming

Seeing that many villagers were about to be persuaded, the grain merchant nearby said hurriedly:

"It's the autumn harvest season now, and a lot of new grain will be on the market soon. The price of grain will definitely fall by then. If you don't sell it now, you won't be able to get a good price in the future!"

Seeing that some villagers were hesitant, the grain merchant continued to tempt them:

"Think about it, if you sell the grain to me now, you can get cash right away, which you can use to improve your life or save. And when the new grain comes on the market, you can buy it back at a lower price. You can make a profit from the difference, what a bargain!"

Some villagers were already hesitant, and after hearing what the grain merchant said, they felt that there was some truth in it. Coupled with their inner desire for money, they ignored the dissuasion of Uncle Li and others and insisted on selling grain to the grain merchant.

"Uncle Li, Wu Cunzheng, we have to think about ourselves as well. It would be a waste if we don't make this ready-made money." Zhang Daniu, the eldest brother of Zhang's maternal side, said as he carried grain towards the grain merchant.

"That's right. Maybe we can really make a profit from the price difference as the grain merchant said." Zhang Erniu at the back also agreed and carried some grain to the grain merchant.

When Lin Wan saw this, she felt that the food that Zhang's two brothers had carried over was quite a lot. Seeing that there was a lot of food piled up there waiting to be weighed, were they not going to reserve any extra food?

If she remembered correctly, Zhang's father was still alive, and together with her two brothers and sisters-in-law, each of them had two children, so there must be nine people in the family. If they sold so much grain, how would they survive in the future?

Then, she turned around and saw Li Changren, and she couldn't help but be shocked.

Her father-in-law is seeking death!

At this time, Uncle Li who was standing nearby also saw Li Changren carrying the grain over. He hurried over to stop him with an anxious look on his face, and said angrily and anxiously:

"Changren, you are so confused. Why are you joining in the fun?"

Li Changren said disapprovingly, "Uncle, I think what the grain merchant said makes sense. If it really turns out to be as he said, we will lose money. Besides, my family is in urgent need of money."

Uncle Li became even more angry. "You, you only see the little profit in front of you. Why don't you think about the future? Changren, you can't be so short-sighted!"

He knew that his nephew was not in urgent need of money, he was just greedy for money. He just wanted to persuade him to stay.

Li Changyi, who was standing by, saw his father so anxious and was about to grab the rice off his cousin Li Changren's shoulders, but Li Changren discovered his intention and quickly dodged.

Then he stood aside, remained silent for a moment, and insisted:

"Uncle, this is a good opportunity to make money, please don't stop me."

After saying that, he hurriedly walked around Uncle Li and went to the grain merchant to weigh the grain.

Uncle Li was so angry that he stamped his feet when he saw that he couldn't persuade him. He said, "Why don't you listen to my advice? You will regret it one day!"

After saying this, he stood aside helplessly, slapping his thigh and sighing, just watching Li Changren sell the grain to the grain merchant.

Looking at the villagers who were so happy after selling their grain and getting the money, Lin Wan felt worried and confused at the same time.

She thought about it, and seemed to have heard the local laws before, which stipulated that grain merchants could only purchase grain after the autumn harvest, in order to ensure the smooth payment of the autumn tax.

But now these grain merchants come to collect grain before the autumn tax, which is really strange.

Aren’t they afraid of being discovered by the court?

Although the imperial court has no control over the Chu King's fiefdom now, the Chu King had previously issued a clear order prohibiting the early collection of grain.

Are these grain merchants secretly trying to make a fortune before everyone reacts?

Or is there a bigger force behind this?

The more Lin Wan thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed to her. If it was the former, then the villagers would undoubtedly be blinded by temporary benefits and would surely regret it in the future.

But if it's the latter, who is so brave that would it be related to fighting on the front line?

She decided to go into town tomorrow to deliver freshly made sour jujube cakes and melon seeds to the teahouse to see if she could get any useful information from there.

At this time, Li Changyi and Luo Dashan were muttering to themselves: "We can't even buy food in the county town even if we have to queue up. If we had known that the villagers were willing to sell food, we could have bought it."

Uncle Li glared at him and said, "You are stupid. We buy food in the village. When they find that the price of food has increased or they don't have enough food, they will come to us. The best way is for everyone to keep the food."

After saying that, he walked away helplessly with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself: "Alas, there is not enough to eat, and I have to sell it. How will I live in the future?"

After a while, gradually no one wanted to sell grain anymore, and the grain merchants loaded the grain they had received onto the carts and drove away.

Lin Wan estimated that one-third of the people in the village sold part of their grain. Fortunately, the Luo family, Wang family, and several branches of the Li family that she was familiar with did not sell their grain.

~

On the second day, Lin Wan went into the city with Wang Yu Niang and others early in the morning. This time, her third cousins ​​Li Changli and Li Chongzheng also went into the city with them. They were going to deliver the dyed cloth to the cloth shop.

Along the way, Lin Wan and they learned about the progress of the dyeing business.

At present, their own cloth has been sold out, and the first batch of dyed goods collected in the village are being delivered now.

Recently, they purchased raw linen in the village, which caused a sensation in the village. Many villagers secretly inquired about the recipe for dyeing the cloth, all wanting to get a piece of the pie.

After entering the city, Li Changli and Li Chongzheng helped Lin Wan deliver her sour jujube cakes and melon seeds to the entrance of Qinxin Teahouse.

After everything was properly arranged, Lin Wan parted ways with them temporarily as they were going to deliver the cloth to the cloth shop next.

This time, the person welcoming customers at the door was not the handsome waiter Shen Zeyu, but a new face that Lin Wan did not recognize.

But the waiter at Xindian still greeted people warmly.

After he heard Lin Wan's self-introduction, he instantly realized that Lin Wan was "Mrs. Lin", the provider of several new drinks and desserts in the teahouse, and his smile immediately became brighter and more enthusiastic.

He immediately invited Lin Wan into the store, saying that Shopkeeper Shen had instructed that if Madam Lin came over, she should be invited to the private room upstairs.

Seeing that Lin Wan had two large baskets of things beside her, he immediately called a few waiters to help her carry them into the teahouse.

Lin Wan followed behind, paying attention to the conversations in the teahouse, and suddenly heard a very low voice.

"I heard that the King of Chu and General Gu are still in a stalemate!"

Another person continued: "Yes, they are still in a standoff in Jingzhou. I really hope that the war can be over soon, so that our lives may be better."

"That's right, but it's hard for us ordinary people. War takes manpower, material resources, and money."

"Then the autumn taxes will probably increase again this time. Do you think we will have to do compulsory military service?"

"It's hard to say, I hope it won't happen, otherwise it will be hard for ordinary people like us."

……

At this time, the waiter who was carrying things to the private room upstairs was thinking that the lady Lin behind him was a great contributor to their teahouse.

Her new drinks and desserts attracted a lot of business for the teahouse.

He has to serve her well and not be careless at all.

Looking back, he realized that Mrs. Lin hadn't caught up with him. He quickly urged the waiters to carry the things into the private room and put them away, then turned back to look for Lin Wan.

As soon as he went downstairs, he saw Lin Wan sitting in an empty seat in a daze, with her brows slightly furrowed, as if she was thinking about something important.

The waiter hurried forward and called softly, "Mrs. Lin, why are you sitting here?"

After hearing the voice, Lin Wan came back to her senses, looked at the waiter and forced a smile, saying, "It's okay, I just felt a little uncomfortable, so I found a place to rest for a while."

When the waiter heard this, he immediately became nervous and asked with concern: "Hey, Madam Lin, are you okay? Do you want to find a doctor to check it out?"

Lin Wan waved her hand quickly, "No, I'm much better now, let's go upstairs."

Having said that, she stood up and walked upstairs with the waiter, but her heart was still thinking about what she had just heard.