The seed merchant

Zhang Xuezhou and Xu Yuan had a lively conversation.

Zhang Xuezhou was naturally glad that Xu Yuan had a strong survival ability. As expected, he had come all the way from Ba County, thousands of miles away, and had not been in any trouble until now.

Xu Yuan sighed with relief at finally seeing Zhang Xuezhou again.

If possible, he hoped that Zhang Xuezhou could have a more stable place to live as soon as possible, and then help refine some Origin-Nurturing Pill.

Since they each have their own needs, it's not surprising that they get along well.

When someone interrupted, Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand dismissively.

"Whether someone is full or not is not something I can tell," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Yes, that's what I said too!"

Zhang Xuezhou's response was almost identical to Li Guang's, reflecting a spirit of seeking truth from facts.

If you're not making things up, this is the correct answer.

"Huh..."

"If His Majesty were to ask you this, how do you think you should answer?"

It wasn't until Li Guang made a comment that Zhang Xuezhou came to his senses and looked at Li Guang, who was wearing a straw raincoat and bamboo hat.

He only heard Li Guang lean in and whisper a question to him.

"It seems your response displeased His Majesty," Zhang Xuezhou said in a low voice. "Has His Majesty come over as well?"

"Don't pry into this... Yes, he came and even checked the harvest here!"

Li Guang wanted Zhang Xuezhou to ask fewer questions, since such matters were confidential and knowing them would not only be useless to Zhang Xuezhou but could also bring him harm.

But when Zhang Xuezhou pointed to the millet field, he quickly agreed.

"If His Majesty asks, what will you answer?" Li Guang asked.

"If you want to see if the people outside the city are well-fed, come back in four months and you'll know the truth," Zhang Xuezhou said. "If there are no new graves in the mountains outside the city, then everyone has eaten their fill and survived the winter. If the weeping is incessant along the way, and some are so hungry they can only lie in bed panting, then they are not well-fed!"

No one can accurately predict the future, and Zhang Xuezhou wouldn't resort to clever tricks in such matters.

Some things can be joked about, but others cannot.

Even in reality, this is an extremely rigorous question.

Before the era of the explosion of genetically modified crops, it was also a world where it was difficult to satisfy basic needs. Although Zhang Xuezhou lacked firsthand experience, history books are full of records of starvation caused by famines.

The worst famines even resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of people.

This is a scene that many people find hard to imagine; even the carnage of a large-scale war would hardly accumulate such a massive amount of data.

However, they can see in historical photos children who are nothing but skin and bones, young adults who were hanged for eating children, and people of all ages eating grass roots and yellow soil from bowls.

Famine can be caused by a flood, an insect plague, or a drought that lasts for months.

These natural disasters are impossible to prevent, but man-made disasters are something that can be prevented, and as the ruler of a dynasty, this is something that needs to be addressed head-on.

In years with abundant grain, more grain is harvested and stored; in years with scarce grain, less tax is collected or even no tax is collected, and grain needs to be taken from the granaries to replenish the people.

Only in this way can we get through the different years, one after another.

"You sure know how to spout grand principles!"

Zhang Xuezhou responded and offered an explanation, which amazed Li Guang.

He nodded, then bowed in thanks before striding away.

"This year's harvest is not bad," Xu Yuan said in a low voice. "It's a little difficult for these people outside the city to have enough to eat every day, but they shouldn't starve to death!"

"What's the main problem here?" Zhang Xuezhou asked suspiciously. "Is it that the government is collecting too much tax, or that those gangs are taking too much cut?"

"It's because we grow too few crops," Xu Yuan shook his head and said, "That's all the food we have, and we can only focus on staple foods. Especially in winter, when there's a lack of arable crops, we have to rely on the autumn harvest to survive the winter."

"You are skilled in this kind of cultivation, have you sought a solution?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"You... you should know that even impoverished cultivators rarely lack food and drink. If they can survive, not many people will bother with such complicated and unprofitable matters!"

"What a pity!"

"If the imperial court can offer generous rewards, what problem in the world can't be solved? If the imperial court doesn't lead the way, how can the people below be expected to do anything!"

Xu Yuan muttered indignantly.

Studying crops is less profitable than studying medicinal herbs. While cultivating medicinal herbs may yield some output, increasing crop yields or developing cold- and drought-resistant crops will not bring any benefits.

For cultivators of the agricultural sect, striving to increase yield per acre is not as good as cultivating one more acre of land, and cultivating new crops is far less worthwhile than spending money to slaughter two pigs for winter vegetables.

These breeding and cultivation processes require year-after-year selection and continuous breeding of superior varieties, which consumes a great deal of time.

Even among those who are deeply connected to agriculture, no one enjoys doing this kind of work.

However, to achieve basic needs like food and clothing, or even to eat well, a diverse range of agricultural products, including fruits, is essential.

"This is one of the most lucrative industries in reality!"

Listening to Xu Yuan's continuous complaints, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but think of the various seed companies in reality.

Profits from cultivating crops are meager, and profits from processing agricultural products are also small, but profits from genetic breeding are astonishingly high.

Normally, grain is bought by weight, with a bag of rice weighing ten, twenty, or fifty kilograms. However, seeds are sold by the grain, with a small packet of seeds containing thousands of grains costing as much as hundreds of kilograms of grain, or even worth hundreds of kilograms.

He whispered words of advice to Xu Yuan.

If no one is working in this industry, it means there is a pioneering period for the industry.

Zhang Xuezhou believes that once the demonstration area becomes famous, many people will come to buy the corresponding seeds.

Making money in Chang'an City is difficult, and running a pharmacy to sell pills is fraught with obstacles, but selling seeds is relatively easier.

"Is this really going to work?" Xu Yuan asked doubtfully.

"I think it'll work," Zhang Xuezhou said, pointing to the millet field. "As long as you carefully select the millet from this field and preserve it properly, selling it as seeds next spring shouldn't be a problem. At least those people Chang'an City who have seen your fields should trust these seeds!"

Is it really possible for the price to increase?

"A 20% success rate should be no problem!"

Zhang Xuezhou is not good at business, but he has real-world examples to compare and contrast with.

"But the money I earn from selling these few bushels of grain at a 20% price increase is probably limited, isn't it?" Xu Yuan asked doubtfully.

"You can buy the grain and then select it!"

"I can't afford it. Besides, the government prohibits private individuals from hoarding grain after purchasing it. It would be easy to get caught doing that!"

"We can buy and sell at the same time, or even run errands for others to buy grain. We can keep the grain suitable for seed and sell the rest as food," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Even if we don't make money from this buying and selling, as long as we can select seeds that can be sold next year, it's still worthwhile!"

The imperial court undoubtedly had many frameworks, especially those involving industries such as grain trading, which were basically monopolized.

Even if Xu Yuan wanted to buy a large amount of grain for seed, he could only buy it from grain merchants. If he bought the grain and resold it at a high price, no one would buy it, and if he sold it at a low price, he would lose money. Moreover, due to the limited sales volume, it was difficult to buy more.

He discussed the matter with Zhang Xuezhou for a while and also expressed his concerns.

After Zhang Xuezhou explained everything, Xu Yuan finally decided to sell a batch of seeds to give it a try.

While the group couldn't afford to run a pharmacy right now, setting up a seed shop was certainly feasible. Even if they couldn't make a fortune, just being able to make a living meant they had a foothold in Chang'an City and could even operate there for a long time.

Moreover, this is something that benefits the people, and doing it makes me feel at ease.

Zhang Xuezhou provided the funding, Xu Yuan provided the personnel and technology and was responsible for building a suitable cellar for storing seeds, Rong Tianding was responsible for running errands to collect and sell the grain.

The matter was easy to discuss, and everyone had their own division of labor and cooperation.

Life and spiritual practice are not in conflict; in fact, gaining a firm footing can even be facilitated by the principle that "sharpening the axe before chopping wood is not a delay."

Just as Zhang Xuezhou suddenly started using taming exotic beasts to increase his income, there is no such thing as a fixed way of making a living in this world.

As long as they can see a promising future, they will accurately insert themselves into the market.