A drop of cold sweat slid down Wang Shouzhe's forehead. He thought of those commoners going hungry—when even Qian Gold could not buy grain, what would they do to survive? Sell their sons and daughters? Sell their homes and property?
"This means that the more grain the aristocratic clans hold this time, the more they can control the situation. Through other means, they can recoup their losses and make their clans even stronger." Qian Xue'an truly was an outstanding merchant. In just a few words, he had laid out the aftermath of this disaster with crystal clarity.
"The Great Qian Government and Purple Mansion Academy will transport grain in from other prefectures, won't they?" Wang Shouzhe had ultimately crossed over from Earth. He could not bear to watch the common people suffer disaster.
"They will. But grain must be gathered from various prefectures, transported, and then sold at fair prices." Qian Xue'an said solemnly, "In truth, Purple Mansion Academy and the government began disaster relief today. But to aid the entirety of Longzuo Prefecture in such a short time is nearly impossible—especially when Changning Guard is so remote..."
Seeing Wang Shouzhe's brow knot tightly, he advised, "Brother, I know you have a kind heart. I can't bear to see this either. But we're just thin arms and thin legs. At a moment like this, it is already good enough if we can look after ourselves."
"Brother Qian is right. I was being a little sentimental." Wang Shouzhe naturally understood that logic and relaxed. "Then according to your meaning, I should make the trading firm compensate me at three times the contract price?"
"Brother, you must understand. Even if they pay triple compensation, the Qian Clan Trading Firm will still have breached the contract. Unless there is no alternative, a trading firm will never willingly tarnish its reputation for honoring agreements." Qian Xue'an blinked. "I'll give you a number. Insist on ten thousand Qian Gold, plus grain worth three thousand Qian Gold, before you agree to cancel the contract."
"What?"
Wang Shouzhe's eyelid twitched. Qian Xue'an was far more ruthless than he was. By his initial estimate, he would have been perfectly satisfied if they repurchased the contract at twice its original value.
That price had already exceeded triple compensation, and the three thousand Qian Gold worth of grain was even more valuable.
"Since you have already offended the current shopkeeper of the Qian Clan Trading Firm, you might as well step over the line and offend him thoroughly." Qian Xue'an chuckled. "Besides, even at this price, the Qian Clan will not lose money. They can still make a profit."
What Qian Xue'an said made so much sense, but was it really all right to drive his own clan into the ground like this?
As though he had seen through Wang Shouzhe's thoughts, Qian Xue'an explained seriously, "First, the Qian Clan is far too vast. A compensation payment of ten or twenty thousand Qian Gold is but a single hair from nine oxen. Second, I am merely a concubine-born son. Without your help, I would have no hope of climbing upward in this life, so consider this a small repayment of your kindness. Third, I very much hope that you, Brother Shouzhe, can become stronger. The stronger you are, the more beneficial it is to our alliance."
"Fine. Then we'll do it." Such immense benefits left Wang Shouzhe no room to refuse. The Wang Clan was far too poor now. If such a huge sum of capital flowed in, it would become an opportunity for their rise.
"Since that is so, I shall handle this matter for you, Brother." Qian Xue'an seemed to have already formed a plan. "When I report to the shopkeeper, I'll raise the price by another thirty percent, then bargain it down to give him a little comfort. In addition, Brother Shouzhe must swear not to spread this outside. The Qian Clan Trading Firm cannot afford to lose such face."
Of course he would not publicize it. Making a fortune in silence was the best choice.
Wang Shouzhe rose and cupped his hands. "Then I'll trouble you, Brother. There is one more condition: Pest-Exterminating Powder must not be sold to the Ping'an Zhao Clan or the Ping'an Liu Clan." For Wang Shouzhe, strengthening himself was naturally a good thing, but weakening his enemies at the same time would be better still.
"Even if you had not mentioned that condition, I would have taken it into consideration." Qian Xue'an replied with a smile. "What is more, with this disaster, Pest-Exterminating Powder is like monks competing for a bowl of porridge. The Ping'an Zhao Clan and Ping'an Liu Clan are merely bottom-tier aristocratic clans to begin with; it will be extremely difficult for them to secure a share of the powder. Brother, congratulations, congratulations!"
In the eyes of the Ping'an Wang Clan, the Liu Clan and Zhao Clan were both formidable and troublesome. But in the eyes of the Qian Clan Trading Firm, they were merely two ordinary small clans.
"Congratulations to us both."
The two laughed, and the discussion was settled.
At once, Qian Xue'an hurled his cup violently to the floor and stormed out with a roar. "Wang Shouzhe, you've gone too far! Do you really think our Qian Clan Trading Firm is easy prey? Just you wait..."
Afterward, he strode away in a fury with the two guards outside, who had been silent as cicadas in winter.
Wang Shouzhe was quite satisfied with Qian Xue'an's reaction and methods. It seemed he had not chosen the wrong ally.
Just then, his second brother Wang Shouyi entered with a worried expression. "Shouzhe, that Manager Qian has come looking for you several times these past two days. Could something have happened?"
The Wang Clan of today could no longer withstand any great storm.
"Second Brother, don't worry. It is a good thing for the clan." Wang Shouzhe answered with a smile, then changed the subject. "By the way, how has the research into the live-fish equipment gone these past two days?"
At the mention of this, Wang Shouyi immediately perked up. "I have to say, Shouzhe, your ideas are truly unique and marvelous. Methods like using sprays to increase living air and pumps to replace water and add air are enough to transform the aquatic storage and transport industry. My initial trials have produced excellent results. Next comes modifying the water barrels on the carts and the holding pools in the shops."
"Then Second Brother, you must speed up the progress and build more holding pools in this rear courtyard." Wang Shouzhe smiled. "Otherwise, Sixth Uncle will definitely come beat you up."
"Exactly. There are more and more live fish on Sixth Uncle's side these days..." Wang Shouyi cupped his hands. "Fourth Brother, I'll excuse myself first." With that, Wang Shouyi ran off in a gust of wind.
Heh. Wang Shouyi was becoming more and more proactive, and that was a good thing. It was only natural—the clan's improving prospects had stirred up the morale of its members.
Wang Shouzhe placed great importance on the Fishing Brigade and the fish stall, these two clan enterprises. Originally, their combined annual net profit on the books was only around four or five hundred Qian Gold. But after his suggestions and adjustments, exceeding a thousand in net profit would be effortless.
He even had confidence that after next year, the Fishing Brigade and fish stall would surpass the combined profits of the three major farms.
Seizing the chance to speculate on Pest-Exterminating Powder and make a huge profit was certainly worth celebrating. Yet the development of clan industries was the true foundation of a clan's strength.
Furthermore, the stored grain worth three thousand Qian Gold that Qian Xue'an had mentioned gave Wang Shouzhe a slight headache. Holding grain in a disaster year meant holding the initiative; that much was true.
But what kind of concept was three thousand Qian Gold worth of stored grain? At current grain prices, it amounted to roughly fifty or sixty thousand dan—enough to feed a population of twenty thousand for a year!
One had to know that the entire Ping'an Town had fewer than thirty thousand people.
With such an enormous quantity of grain, transport and storage alone would be major problems. The Wang Clan's major farms naturally had granaries as well. But those granaries already held some old grain from last year, and after reserving space for this year's yield, they were nearly full. At most, they could cram in another ten or twenty thousand dan.
But every solution was devised by people.
When Ancestor Zhouxuan established the main residence, he had considered the clan's future development. There were fifty courtyards for important clan members alone, while the various remaining houses numbered no fewer than several hundred.
Most of them stood empty. With a little tidying, storing several tens of thousands of dan of grain would be as easy as turning one's hand over. In a disaster year, nowhere was safer than an aristocratic clan's main residence.
Every aristocratic clan's main residence was built in terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and its defensive strength was at its greatest. Storing grain there put one at ease.
Moreover, it had been mentioned before that the Wang Clan Main Residence was built against mountains and beside water.
The mountain it leaned against was a branch of Liu Ping Mountain, while the water beside it was a small lake called Zhuwei Lake. Ancestor Zhouxuan had personally named the lake after the courtesy name of his most beloved legitimate daughter, Wang Zhuwei.
Zhuwei Lake was not particularly large, covering only ten thousand mu of water, but it was the Wang Clan Main Residence's natural barrier and rear garden.
Most importantly, it had a river channel that had originally been natural and was later repaired by human hands. A few li downstream, the channel branched off and could lead to the other two major farms aside from the Sericulture Farm.
Among them, the main river channel of Fenggu Farm wound its way into connection with Zhuwei Lake, with a total meandering distance of more than twenty li.
Upstream along the Fenggu Farm river channel lay the tributary sluice that Ancestor Zhouxuan had repaired in those years, known as Fenggu Sluice. This sluice was a water-control facility, mainly used to regulate the water level in the inner river channel. However, because it used a winch-operated single-gate design, boats could not pass through it.
But that was not much of a problem. To keep Fenggu Sluice clear inside and out, it needed regular dredging and maintenance, so the water levels were quite deep...
Wang Shouzhe swiftly sorted out his thoughts. He immediately wrote two letters, then summoned Wang Zhong and Wang Yong inside.
"Clan Head." The two clan retainers were in excellent spirits, clearly optimistic about the clan's future development.
Wang Shouzhe handed the letters to Wang Zhong and Wang Yong for delivery and instructed, "After delivering the letters, you need not return for the time being. Stay there and help."
After the clan retainers accepted their orders and departed, Wang Shouzhe slowly drank tea by himself. Turmoil surged in his eyes, revealing that his heart was far from calm. If everything went smoothly, this locust disaster would instead become the turning point in the Wang Clan's fate of decline.
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