Over on the tropical islands, the arrival of Ironclad Ship 001 had sent morale soaring. Yet far away on the mainland, Zhou Xu in Black Moon City was feeling a slight headache over some new developments.
As a major grain-producing nation, Great Zhou had already been doing business in grain with the surrounding countries since the days of the Allied Forces.
The grain trade was often the easiest business to conduct during wartime. Every country had to pull its young and able-bodied men into the army, which would cause the domestic labor force to plummet to a considerable degree and, in turn, affect the production of a whole range of resources. Grain was unquestionably among them.
Even after the war ended, the heavy loss of life would cause the domestic population to suffer massive losses. With productivity unable to recover in the short term, the surrounding countries would still have a huge demand for grain.
However, as time dragged on, that demand would certainly dwindle to zero.
Since last year, grain orders from Copper Furnace Fortress and the Female Warrior Tribe had been steadily declining. By this year, that business could be said to have vanished completely.
Although Zhou Xu had already begun instructing the Agriculture Department to consciously reduce their annual grain output as soon as this situation emerged,
Great Zhou had nevertheless still encountered a serious grain surplus this year.
When grain prices fell, farmers suffered. Sometimes, having too much grain was not a good thing either.
This situation would deal a blow to the domestic economic markets connected to it.
To avoid that outcome and stabilize grain prices, Zhou Xu could only control the amount of grain entering the market.
But if he did that, the grain piled up in the warehouses would become stale grain by