Pull One Hair and Move the Whole Body

Time passed in a rippleless calm for two days.

Wang Shouzhe spent these two days at Changning Villa cultivating his character, sipping spirit tea, and practicing his cultivation. It was a rare, comfortable life.

However, the outside world had changed drastically in these two days. As the wheat began to fill out, the first wave of the pest infestation erupted with lightning speed, sweeping across the entire Changning Guard region. Every noble clan was thrown into a panic.

Because a drop in production was now inevitable, the prices of all agricultural byproducts—excluding the staple grains strictly controlled by the Great Qian government—began to climb. Even the business at the Wang Clan Fish Stall suddenly improved significantly, with prices rising sharply. In the absence of staple grains, salted and smoked fish, which could be stored for long periods, became essential for survival.

Various merchant firms and rice shops had already ceased selling grain to the public. The government-run rice shops, meanwhile, began to implement sales quotas. Long queues formed in front of them, and the City Guard Army had to intervene to maintain order.

Wang Shouzhe sipped his tea, listening to the reports pouring in from all sides, his heart churning. If the clan hadn't produced a treasure like Wang Luojing, he would surely be tearing his hair out by now, wouldn't he?

How could he be sitting here with such leisure, watching the winds and clouds gather?

"Fourth Brother, the Qian Clan Trading Firm sent someone to deliver a letter." Wang Shouyi came to the backyard in person to deliver the message, his brows furrowed tightly. "Furthermore, the inventory of salted and smoked fish that Sixth Uncle sent over has already sold out by half in these two days. I've noticed that the fish stalls of other clans have already started limiting purchases or raising prices significantly. Should we raise our prices as well?"

Even salted fish needed to be rationed?

Wang Shouzhe frowned after taking the letter. It seemed the news of widespread grain shortages had already triggered panic. He was no stranger to this scene; on Earth, he had witnessed countless times how ordinary people would engage in collective panic-buying when faced with disasters or rumors.

Besides, were the salted and smoked fish selling too fast? The inventory that had been arriving in batches over the last few times amounted to about eight or nine hundred dan. Before the price hike, depending on the quality of the fish, the price was between 20 and 30 jiao per jin, with one dan usually costing between 20 and 30 large copper coins.

Now that the price had risen to 30 or 40 large copper coins per dan, they were selling even faster.

"What about the live and fresh fish?" Wang Shouzhe asked.

"The live fish haven't risen in price, but fresh fish have generally gone up by twenty percent," Wang Shouyi reported. "Many people are buying fresh fish to salt or smoke themselves, or they are eating more fish to reduce their consumption of staple grains. Consequently, the prices of salt and firewood have also risen."

Indeed, one move affected the whole situation.

The outbreak of resistant aphids had instantly impacted every aspect of life. Once basic necessities like salt, firewood, and charcoal rose in price, everything else followed suit.

"Second Brother, just follow the market trend and raise the prices," Wang Shouzhe said. "As for rationing, announce a limit of twenty dan for public sale daily, but in reality, sell fifty dan internally."

"Fifty dan? That's a full five thousand jin..." Wang Shouyi exclaimed in surprise. "Can Sixth Uncle keep up? Even if he can, the Dingpu warehouse won't be able to process that much smoking and salting in time."

It was the peak of the fishing season. If Wang Dinghai's fishing fleet operated as it had in previous years, catching a few thousand jin with ten boats working hard was a certainty; on average, a single fishing boat only brought in a few hundred jin of ordinary catch.

Most of this would be salted or smoked at the Dingpu warehouse. Under normal circumstances, the limit for their drying and smoking workshops was about eight hundred dan per month.

However, Wang Dinghai had fully replicated the fixed Moving Zither, and that device could be operated even by ordinary people. The daily output would continue to rise. During this peak season, it wouldn't be strange for the entire fishing fleet to bring in over ten thousand jin.

"Increase the manpower and space for processing the catch. You can use the vacant land and buildings at Fenggu Farm and Xingsheng Farm. Also, have the house servants and any idle clansmen get to work. I want to ensure that the production of smoked and salted fish exceeds two thousand dan this month," Wang Shouzhe instructed. "Second Brother, you will be in charge of this entire operation."

"As long as Sixth Uncle can keep up, I have no fear." In an instant, Wang Shouyi's fighting spirit was ignited. Two thousand dan of smoked and salted fish in a month! It would take at least three to four thousand dan of fresh fish to produce that, as the weight would drop significantly after gutting, smoking, and drying.

If Sixth Uncle could truly keep up with the production, this was a golden opportunity to make money. How could he, Wang Shouyi, be the one to hold the clan back?

In previous years, the catch during the fishing season was the cheapest, so a large portion of ordinary fish was turned into smoked or salted fish to be sold slowly. In past years, the total annual production and sales combined barely reached two thousand-odd dan. The total annual sales of fresh and live fish were only about two thousand dan as well.

The total turnover rarely exceeded one thousand Qian Gold, and about half of that had to be allocated to the fishing fleet's accounts.

But things were different now.

If they could really produce over two thousand dan this month and sell fifteen hundred dan of smoked and salted fish, at the increased price of forty large copper coins per dan, that would be a turnover of six hundred Qian Gold.

And that didn't even include the sale of fresh and live fish... It was highly likely that this single month would match the turnover of a normal year.

That was why Wang Shouyi felt his blood burning! If he didn't go all out now, when would he?

"Good. Then I leave the back-and-forth travel to you, Second Brother." Wang Shouzhe wrote a Clan Leader's order, signed it, stamped it with the clan seal, and handed it to him. "With this, you can mobilize the house guards and servants, and draw Qian Gold from the clan's treasury."

"I don't need the Qian Gold for now." Wang Shouyi took the order, excited. "The inventory of salted fish sold so fast this time that I already have nearly two hundred Qian Gold in the accounts. That's enough to operate."

"Second Brother, busy as you are, make sure you don't make mistakes in the accounts due to haste," Wang Shouzhe warned nonchalantly.

Wang Shouyi's body stiffened, his expression turning serious as he hurriedly said, "Fourth Brother, rest assured. As a member of this clan, I will never violate clan rules. Every month, I reconcile the accounts with the treasury managed by Fifth Aunt; I would never dare to be negligent."

"You've worked hard, Second Brother." Wang Shouzhe bowed to him solemnly. "This is a once-in-a-thousand-year opportunity. Whether the Wang Clan can escape its fate of decline depends on the entire clan giving their all."

Wang Shouzhe was quite satisfied. Although his second brother's cultivation talent was mediocre, he was very dedicated to the clan's business. Compared to that roughneck Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai, he was much more meticulous and steady.

"Fourth Brother, you are too kind. This is only my duty." Wang Shouyi hurriedly returned the bow and added, "In that case, I shall take my leave to handle these matters."

After he left, Wang Shouzhe composed himself and opened Qian Xue'an's letter, which invited him to meet at Jucai Manor outside Changning City. The secret mark left on the stationery indicated that Qian Xue'an had fulfilled his end of the bargain.

However, although he trusted Qian Xue'an, he dared not take risks this time. Everything had to be handled with caution.

He immediately dressed slightly differently and left the city. Instead of going to Jucai Manor first, he rode his black steed toward Shanyang. After traveling for a short while, he met Wang Zhong outside a small manor a few miles from the city.

"Wang Zhong, how did it go?" Wang Shouzhe inquired.

"Reporting to the Clan Leader, I have not failed your mission. The Young Clan Leader of the Gongsun clan has arrived as agreed and is waiting inside the manor." Wang Zhong was slightly excited; he had been guarding the manor for seven or eight hours.

The Wang Clan's influence was mostly on the south bank of the An River. To find multiple transport carriages on the north bank, he had to rely on the Shanyang Gongsun Clan. His relationship with the Gongsun clan was currently in a honeymoon period, so his small request would not be refused.

He entered the small leisure manor belonging to the Shanyang Gongsun Clan outside Changning City and met with Gongsun Qiang, bowing, "Shouzhe greets Big Uncle. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"I haven't been waiting long. But Shouzhe, you made such a mysterious request for twenty carriages—and heavy-duty ones for transporting ore at that—what exactly are you planning?" Gongsun Qiang was a blunt man with low emotional intelligence; he was bursting with curiosity the moment they met.

"It's nothing special," Wang Shouzhe said calmly. "Just transporting fifty or sixty thousand dan of old grain." Since he was letting him participate, he naturally couldn't hide the quantity.

"..."

In that instant, Gongsun Qiang's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "My dear nephew," don't you know that grain is hard to come by even for a single dan right now? And you're moving fifty or sixty thousand dan in one go...

Just?

He had the urge to curse. Compared to this "dear nephew" clan leader, he felt that his thirty-eight years as a "Young Clan Leader" had been a complete waste of time.