Chapter 548: Greed
On July 25, in Zhang's mansion in the west of Suzhou City, the servants of the Zhang family bowed their heads and waited on the side, not daring to come out, for fear of provoking the angry lord. Zhang Keli, who is in his sixties www.biquge.info pen & fun & pavilion, sat in the main room, looking at the "Tianjin Daily" five days ago, his face was pale, and his old face seemed to have become an iron plate.
The gentry of the world have all been tricked by Li Zhi.
Where is Li Zhi going to Nanzhili to buy rice? Where to buy rice in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong? It's all a lie. Li Zhi had already planted enough sweet potatoes in Xiaoliuqiu to survive the famine. The reason why Li Zhi released the news that he wanted to buy rice was to pit the gentry and earn the gentry's silver.
The "Tianjin Daily" is very straightforward: Li Zhi took advantage of the sharp rise in grain prices in Shandong and the south to sell more than 2 million stone of grain in various places, especially in Shandong. Li Zhi sold the grain purchased for two taels and five cents, earning millions of taels of silver.
"Tianjin Daily" seemed to want to make the gentry of the world angry to death, and said in a big way: "If you get this 7 million taels of silver, the hungry people in Shandong will have no worries." With this silver, Jin Guogong can go to Taiwan to buy sweet potatoes, and the hungry people in Shandong will have no worries about their food rations for a year. ”
When Zhang Keli saw this, he was a little out of breath. I can't imagine that I, Zhang Keli, have been in the camp all my life, thinking that I am smart, but when I am old, I was severely deceived by this Li Zhi in his twenties. And this has been deceived so much that there is nothing to say, who makes it difficult for these gentry to make a fortune in the country?
Stealing chickens and rice is not a recipe for rice, and it is impossible to even talk to anyone about this -- the gentry tried to obstruct Li Zhi's disaster relief and almost starved the people of Shandong to death. If the behavior of the gentry is known to the people, I am afraid that not only will no one sympathize with the gentry, but they will also be scolded to death by the people.
Zhang Keli continued to read "Tianjin Daily" and saw the news on the front page read: "The Zheng family fleet arrived in Laizhou with millions of sweet potatoes, and the people of Shandong beat gongs and drums to welcome!" 》”
Zhang Keli stayed for a long time before shaking his head. He sighed, put on the reading glasses he had bought specially from the capital, and flipped through the ledger on the tea case. Zhang Keli wanted to figure out how much silver the Zhang family had lost this time. However, after looking at it for a while, he became irritable, and angrily slapped the ledger on the tea case.
"Liu Shufang, this time my Zhang family hoarded 190,000 stone of grain, how much did I lose?"
Liu Shufang, who was standing next to him, looked at Zhang Keli's face and said carefully: "Master, I have calculated, the average grain is bought for three taels of silver." Now Li Zhi stopped buying rice all of a sudden, causing the price of grain in the market to plummet, and it has fallen to two or four yuan. In this way, we have 170,000 taels of floating losses on the books alone. ”
Hearing this staggering number, Zhang Keli coughed violently. He quickly picked up the teacup on his right hand and took a sip of tea, but he still couldn't stop coughing, and actually coughed up the tea. He bent over and coughed vigorously, coughing for a long time before he could regain his breath.
finally sat up straight, Zhang Keli's face was already full of gloom, and his face was a little pale.
This time, the Zhang family in Suzhou was really miserable by Li Zhi. The Zhang family's savings of more than 700,000 taels in the past 20 years have gone to a quarter at once.
The silver sprinkled with white flowers is good for the poor peasants who push grain into the city to sell. On weekdays, he could only exchange one or two or three yuan for one hundred catties of rice, but at that time, he exchanged one or two or eight dollars in the Zhang family's grain store. Thinking of the joy of those peasants when they got the silver, Zhang Keli felt a little cramping in his heart.
This Li Zhi really treats the gentry of the world as monkeys, and he really wants the life of the gentry.
Zhang Keli closed his eyes and thought, cursing Li Zhi a hundred times in his heart, and only after a long time did he slowly stand up. He walked a few steps around the house on crutches, and said slowly: "Silver is something outside the body, and it is not brought by life or death..."
However, before he could finish his sentence, his eldest son's daughter-in-law suddenly rushed into the main house. She rushed in so quickly that she fell to the ground with a twist on her feet. However, on the ground, she didn't mind if she fell in pain, but shouted loudly at Zhang Keli: "Master, go to the side yard to save people!" Mingxuan, he's going to hang himself! ”
Zhang Mingxuan is Zhang Keli's eldest son and the actual head of the Zhang family. Zhang Keli is old, and Zhang Mingxuan takes care of the Zhang family's business and grange on weekdays. This time the hoarding of grain is also Zhang Mingxuan's actual operation.
Zhang Keli was stunned when he heard the news, and secretly said that he lost 170,000 silver, and his son couldn't bear it? He put away his anxiety and hurriedly walked to the side yard on crutches.
When I arrived at the main room in the side courtyard, the eldest son's study was locked from the inside, and Zhang Keli's three grandsons and two granddaughters stood anxiously outside the door of the study, knocking on the door vigorously, asking Zhang Mingxuan not to look for a short time.
Seeing that the old man Zhang Keli was coming, everyone got out of the way and looked at the old man anxiously.
Zhang Keli walked to the door, knocked on the door hard, and said in a deep voice: "Mingxuan, open the door, I'm your father!" ”
However, there was no sound in the study, Zhang Keli anxiously hung down the door, and shouted: "Open the door, manly man, can't bear this little wind and waves?" ”
Zhang Mingxuan's voice came from the study: "Dad, I can't stand you, I have no face to live in this world!" ”
Zhang Keli frowned and shouted: "The matter of silver, whether life brings it or death does not bring it?" What is there to be sorry for! Your three sons are here, and you can put on a show of grace. ”
Zhang Mingxuan, who was in the house, heard this and didn't say anything for a long time. Zhang Keli was a little impatient, and shouted loudly: "Open the door!" ”
After Zhang Keli finished shouting this, there was a soft sound on the door buckle in the room. Zhang Keli knew that Zhang Mingxuan had opened the door, and pushed the door open, but saw Zhang Mingxuan kneeling on the ground in a white middle coat.
Zhang Keli said loudly: "I asked you to hoard grain, and I lost more than 100,000 taels of silver, I don't blame you!" ”
Zhang Mingxuan knelt on the ground and cried, and said in a trembling voice: "Dad, I'm sorry for you, I'm sorry for the Zhang family!" ”
"I'm hanging myself in the room this time, dad, don't stop me."
Zhang Keli listened to his son's tone, and felt that things were a little weird, and he seemed to suddenly realize something. He shook his body, leaned against the door frame and asked, "Evil barrier, how much food have you hoarded?" ”
Zhang Mingxuan raised his head, slapped his left cheek, slapped his right cheek, and shouted in mourning:
"Daddy! I didn't just hoard the 190,000 stone of grain. I thought that Li Zhi had sent us money this time, and thought it was a profitable business, so I borrowed two million taels of silver outside and secretly hoarded 600,000 stone of grain in Hanjiazhuang. Now the 600,000 stone grain is floating and losing 540,000, and all the savings of our Zhang family have been compensated by me! ”
Hearing this, more than a dozen members of the Zhang family standing at the door of the study were struck by lightning.
Zhang Keli's face turned from white to red, and then from red to white.
Bankrupt, bankrupt, I have saved more than 700,000 yuan for more than 20 years, and it was all gone overnight. The silver of the white flowers was given to those peasants who could not read a single word.
His eyes were as big as a copper coin, and he jerked up his cane and threw it at his son's head!
"I'll kill you rebel!"
However, as soon as the crutches were swung in the air, Zhang Keli's eyes rolled and his whole body trembled, and finally his body collapsed to the ground, and he fainted with his head tilted.
The children of the Zhang family were stunned and rushed up one by one.
The status and privileges of the Zhang family are all dependent on Zhang Keli, and if Zhang Keli dies, the Zhang family will really collapse.
"Daddy!! You've got to hold on! ”
"Sir!! Don't scare us! ”