Chapter 402: Name Your Price
Tie Niaofei spread his hands. "Don't worry, Xing Honglang. I merely copied this memorial; I certainly didn't dare alter the original before sending it to the imperial court. I, Tie Niaofei of Hedong, am also a Shanxi native. I wouldn't want to cut off any glimmer of hope for our people."
Xing Honglang lowered the fist she had raised. She sighed, "Forget it. Even if that memorial reaches the throne, it's highly unlikely the court will send relief grain to Shanxi. Shaanxi has been in turmoil for years, and we've seen no imperial relief there. Shanxi will fare even worse."
Tie Niaofei's brow furrowed. "If the court won't help... then what...?"
Xing Honglang retorted, "If the court won't help, then we save ourselves. You're a damned salt smuggler; you've never followed the court's rules for more than a few days. Why are you suddenly clinging to hope from them now?"
Tie Niaofei gave a wry laugh. "Xing Honglang, this concerns millions of people in Shanxi. What power do I, Tie Niaofei, possess to save them? Look, if you hadn't come earlier, I would have been hacked to death by those rebels right here on the pier. With my meager strength, whom could I possibly save? Such a matter, of course, can only rely on the imperial court."
"So, if your strength isn't enough, you just give up?" Xing Honglang scoffed. "If one person isn't enough, find two. If two aren't enough, find more. As long as enough people are willing to contribute their share for our homeland, Shanxi will naturally be saved."
Tie Niaofei muttered, "That sounds good in theory, but to actually do it... it's a different story."
Xing Honglang turned and called out loudly to her forty-two subordinates, "Go to the ship and bring down the grain carts!"
Tie Niaofei stammered, "What? Grain?"
Xing Honglang's subordinates returned to the ship, laid down a long plank, and then pushed a dozen carts of grain off the ship and onto the riverbank.
The moment the grain carts were displayed, an incredible sight unfolded. Everyone on the pier turned, their gazes fixed on the carts, their eyes practically reaching out to snatch the bounty.
Xing Honglang declared, "I've decided. Shanxi will be saved."
Tie Niaofei asked, "What's the price for this grain?"
Xing Honglang kicked him straight into the water. "Damn it! The first thing out of your mouth is the price!"
Tie Niaofei's head bobbed out of the water. "Xing Honglang, there's no reason to kick me this time. Don't tell me you're giving this away for free; I wouldn't dare accept it. You have to name a price, brother, before I can take it off your hands."
Saying this, he turned to the large crowd of merchants, artisans, and old acquaintances of Xing Honglang on the pier. "Wouldn't you all agree?"
To his surprise, the crowd's opinion was remarkably unanimous; they all nodded together. "Yes!"
Xing Honglang thought carefully and realized he was right. The benefits of charging were far greater than giving it away for free. "Tie Niaofei, you name the price then."
Tie Niaofei proposed, "Four hundred cash coins per dou! How does that sound?"
One shi weighed over a hundred catties, and one shi was ten dou. This meant one dou was roughly a dozen catties. Tie Niaofei's price was roughly equivalent to thirty-odd cash coins per catty.
Xing Honglang's mind raced, calculating. The fact that Tie Niaofei dared to accept this price indicated that grain prices in Shanxi had already soared to at least seven or eight hundred cash coins per dou. While still a little less than Shaanxi's thousand cash coins per dou, it wasn't far off, clearly showing that Shanxi's drought was also severe.
Coupled with the court's consistent ostrich policy, when bandits plagued Shaanxi, they forbade grain shipments into the province. Now that Shanxi was suffering from banditry, the officials would surely prohibit grain from entering Shanxi again. If this continued, grain prices were bound to rise even further.
The people of Shanxi were rapidly catching up to the people of Shaanxi on the road to misery!
The current retail price for grain in Gao Family Village was seven cash coins per catty. Compared to the people of Shanxi, they were truly many times happier.
Xing Honglang rolled her eyes. "Tie Niaofei, at a critical moment like this, can't you earn a little less profit?"
"Yes, of course," Tie Niaofei replied. "Xing Honglang just saved my life, so earning a little less is certainly no problem for me. In that case, I'll buy it from you at six hundred cash coins per dou."
Xing Honglang's voice rose by an octave. "When I said 'earn less,' I didn't mean for you to raise your buying price from me. I meant for you to lower your selling price to the common people!"
Tie Niaofei paused, slightly stunned, then finally understood. He sighed and bowed deeply to Xing Honglang. "Xing Honglang, we are both salt smugglers, but my magnanimity truly pales in comparison to yours. I understand. All the goods you give me, I will sell to the common people for six hundred cash coins."
"That's more like it," Xing Honglang conceded. She knew that six hundred cash coins per dou was still very expensive, roughly equivalent to a retail price of fifty cash coins per catty. It would still be difficult for ordinary people to afford grain at that price. However, she couldn't directly sell it at Gao Family Village's prices either.
If sold too cheaply, the grain would simply be bought up in bulk by one person, then hoarded or resold countless times. It would still end up being exorbitant when it finally reached the common people.
Only by setting the price slightly below market value could she ensure that no one would hoard it or resell it repeatedly, allowing more people to actually buy it.
Xing Honglang said, "Do you know why I'm entrusting these goods to you?"
Tie Niaofei paused for a moment, thinking. Suddenly, he understood. "I have the ability to move goods all over the place, under guard."
"Precisely!" Xing Honglang confirmed. "Since the outside world is in such chaos, ordinary merchants can't transport goods. Now, we can only rely on people like you. You can avoid the main rebel forces and deliver these goods to various villages and towns, selling them directly to the common people. You can make a profit, but don't take too much. Consider it your contribution to saving our homeland."
A sheepish expression crossed Tie Niaofei's face. "First, I was dodging government troops to sell salt, and now I have to dodge rebels to sell grain. Truly, ah..."
Xing Honglang took two carts of grain and sold them on the spot to the merchants, artisans, fishermen, and farmers on the pier. The remaining grain was handed over to Tie Niaofei. "Sell these, then return to the pier as quickly as possible. I'll find a way to get more grain. From now on, we'll meet and exchange goods at this pier. Let's try to sell as much grain as possible in Shanxi. If the imperial court won't rescue the poor, we must."
Tie Niaofei cupped his fist in a salute. "Understood!"
Watching Xing Honglang and her crew prepare to return to their ship, his gaze followed the large vessel. He admired it from every angle, finding it more appealing the longer he looked. "Xing Honglang, that ship of yours... name your price for it."
Xing Honglang raised her fist, as big as a begging bowl.
The main cannons on the ship's bow all swiveled to point at him.
Tie Niaofei leaped back in fright, quickly retreating to hide.
Just as the ship was about to set sail, Xing Honglang suddenly remembered something. She turned back and called out to Tie Niaofei, "Next time we meet, bring plenty of salt. I need salt, large quantities of it!"
It turned out that before her trip, San Shier had specifically sought her out, asking her to help acquire salt. Salt was one of the crucial materials for alkali production, and Puzhou, Shanxi, was a haven for salt smugglers. This time, Xing Honglang also bore the heavy responsibility of opening channels for chemical raw material procurement.
Tie Niaofei chuckled. "Now that's more like it. We should be selling salt; that's our true identity. What kind of salt smuggler only sells grain? I almost thought I was turning into a legitimate merchant for a moment there."
After saying this, he suddenly remembered something else. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled at the departing ship, "Xing Honglang, for the salt you want, at least give me a price!"
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