Men, listen, grab the top of the mountain and stand in the center position

The wind blows the rice waves, the bent rice ears have already bent their heads, most of the rice grains have turned yellow and hardened, the branched rice leaves have turned yellow and dry, in the cold wind, the small part of the rice grains still wearing half yellow and half green clothes are gradually losing the last chance of transformation.

Wangshu withdrew his gaze, so, uncle, you are here.

"I'm a rough man. I heard from the second brother about the contract between you and the farmers. I want to requisition this grain now. Tell me what you want."

Now he's requisitioning her, and he's still asking her to make demands. Is that how demands are used? It's like she's forcing him to requisition!

Wangshu opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but before she could speak, wind blew into her mouth and choked her. "Cough cough!" She turned sideways and covered her mouth with her hands, coughing hard. The cough became louder and louder, and finally she sneezed repeatedly, "Ah!" "Ah!"

General:...

Qin Wu rolled his eyes at his father and said, "Be gentle!"

General: ... brat!

The familiar sound of a broken gong brought families together.

Ji Wu pitched a tent in a sheltered place and arranged for Wangshu to sit comfortably inside.

The general was also seated. Ji Wu was outside, speaking to the crowd of farmers about the levy.

"Miss Ji is in the tent. She said that according to the contract, you have one copy and she has two. We need to combine your ideas with hers and present them to the general. Please discuss it quickly. The general is waiting."

The crowd immediately became noisy and everyone was talking in low voices, but no one came forward.

A quarter of an hour later, Wangshu forced himself to go out and ask what they meant.

Most of the soldiers were hesitant to speak, but Tietou Er stood up and said, "Miss Ji, we have to have enough food to survive..."

"Miss Ji, we endured hunger and toiled day and night to protect these few acres of land. We have managed to hold on until now, but we are still starving to death..."

… Seeing Tietou Er and Si San open their mouths, the others all started to speak, pouring out their bitterness…

"...get up early and work till dusk. There's not a single blade of grass in the field as tall as a fingernail. It's spotless..."

……

"I'm looking forward to harvesting rice these days so I can cook thick rice porridge for the children who have been starving for months... The children are drooling just looking at the rice ears... They keep dreaming about rice porridge at night... What the hell are you thinking..."

……

"Miss Ji...it's all for this day..."

Wangshu covered her ears and waved her hand. Everyone knew she didn't like to be talked about, so they immediately quieted down. "You've all witnessed my behavior since we signed the contract. I have a clear conscience. I provided the well, the seeds, and the fertilizer. The wages may be low, but we're all taking a gamble. The higher the cost, the higher the risk. The profit depends entirely on this day. If the day is bad, you'll have worked for nearly five months in vain, and my thick account book will be full of uncollectible debts. I may not starve to death, but it will be difficult to recover. We are all waiting for the harvest."

"Second Young Master has been here for the past two months, and we have a clear understanding of the situation. We have driven away and deterred countless thieves who have gained something for nothing, which has given us peace of mind. Famine is a natural disaster. When people are hungry, how can they be rational? You and I both know why the general is here today, so I will not elaborate."

Wangshu took the tea from Ji Shou and drank it in one gulp. He continued, "The weather changed suddenly today, and we're in such a rush right now... ahem... I have a thought. It's hard for a great general to take care of everyone, and it's hard for us, who are of low rank, to take care of our families. But you plant these rice fields not to get rich, but to avoid starvation and have food to eat. And what about me? I'm a girl, and I fear natural disasters more than men. As history shows, under extreme hunger, babies only survive a few meals... And women often die of more than just hunger..."

A few meals... What? The world is in chaos, people are eating their own children...

"But we won the bet! So you shouldn't starve to death. I will make it clear to the general that, based on the contract, you get one share and I get two, and our shares remain the same. Each family will keep some food for themselves, and the rest will be sold to the general at a certain price, or traded for some winter cotton clothes. For my two shares, keep two dou of rice for me, and the rest will all be confiscated. But what I get will not be less than my cost, and the well will belong to me. What do you think..."

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other, wanting to say something, but no one stood up to speak.

"If you have any questions, ask. Otherwise, just agree to everything. Once you agree, don't complain later!"

I can't stand this kind of character who always tries to be the first to do something, and then takes advantage of the situation to say a few words!

So fierce!

Qin Wu: ...Qin Xiuyuan is so lucky...

The brave Tietou Er was fine, "Miss Ji, as long as we have food to eat and don't starve to death, the remaining food will be at the general's disposal."

Everyone nodded. Miss Ji only asked for two dou of rice, which was a big loss.

That’s settled then.

The general naturally heard everything clearly in the tent, and called Ji Wu to tell Wangshu to come in.

"Yaocheng may have suffered natural disasters, but we cannot allow man-made disasters. This batch of grain is to save the people and the soldiers. I will collect it all and then distribute rations to these farmers on a monthly basis until the harvest month of next year. I will also provide two sets of cotton-padded clothes and a quilt for each mu of land, and 30 copper coins as compensation. I will compensate you for the amount of silver you spent, plus three taels of gold."

Three taels of gold, thirty taels of silver, and three thousand coins. She made money based on labor costs, but she lost too much based on the current grain prices.

If you don't show off your wealth, it's fine in the city. Outside the city, if anyone dares to store more food, they will be thieves every day.

"The general has thought it through. Let's set the price at 300 copper coins per mu. The people in the city will complain because they have plenty of silver and store up enough food. The poor and those outside the city won't complain because they will carry their food and eat it up, only to see their hands and stomachs empty."

Thirty cents is no match for the price of grain.

The general glanced at the man indifferently, but Wangshu seemed unaware and looked back at him belatedly.

General: ... "Oh, sure." He had money. He had robbed some of the gold produced in the Da family.

He had a question, "Do rich families store a lot of food?"

He was annoyed to death by these rich businessmen every day. His army was already short of rations, and he was told that so many people lined up every day to buy food, dying of hunger. He had to find a way to replenish food to the store. The relief food from the prince consort could last them for ten days!

Wangshu was puzzled. Seeing his full beard and big, puzzled eyes, could it be that he didn't know?

"General, isn't this military rations?" Wangshu tasted it, then looked at his bewildered face when he heard the word "military rations" and smacked his lips. "Isn't this for the thirteen grain stores..."

The last batch of relief food was given to grain stores, which sold it at high prices.

"What's wrong?" His army tightened its belts and waited until the eldest and third sons returned. Now, day by day, he was worried that the people could not hold on any longer.

"Before, the grain store owner came here every day, telling us he was willing to buy rice for 130 wen per dou. I guess the Second Young Master was here long ago, probably because the military rations were tight, so he ignored us. The farmers are under my control and don't talk about this openly. ... No wonder... No wonder... The grain store owner hasn't been here these days."

It turned out that they had gotten through the royal palace and collected the taxes directly!

"One hundred and thirty coins per bucket!" The general was shocked and confirmed again, "Young lady, are you sure this is the price?"