In the money bag are a few yellow golden beans, about ten taels. One tael of gold is equivalent to ten taels of silver, and one tael of silver can be exchanged for a thousand yuan, and these ten taels of gold are worth 100,000 yuan, which is more than Qin Yi's annual fortune. Of course, there is inflation in many places now, especially in Xuzhou, which has just been damaged by the war, and the inflation situation is even more serious, and the value of these ten taels of gold is even more difficult to estimate.

Qin Yihu glanced at the middle-aged fat man suspiciously, and said in a deep voice: "Listen to your accent, you are not a native of Xuzhou." ”

The fat man hurriedly arched his hand and said: "Don't hide it from the general, the villain's surname is Song, he is originally from Yecheng, he has always been in the grain business, and he heard that the grain price in Xuzhou is high, so the villain came here to open a branch." Hehe, businessmen are profit-seeking, General, you know. ”

Qin Yi let out an "oh" and glanced at the soldiers behind him. That pro-soldier was picked out by Qin Yixin from the army, and he was quite clever. It is better to be a pro-soldier than to suffer in the barracks, the pro-soldier tried his best, and hurriedly shouted: "This is my general Qin, who is responsible for the money and grain of the whole state, since you have come to Xuzhou to open a grain store, how dare you not take the initiative to meet my general?" ”

Just now they went all the way, those grain merchants ignored them, and now the one who has grain is the uncle, and Liu Bei has ordered five times that they are not allowed to compete with the people for profit, so those grain merchants are not afraid of Qin Yi, the grain and grass official. However, in the face of a foreigner, who had just arrived, the pro-soldier was arrogant.

That fat man is the original person in charge of the phantom in Yecheng, Song Shopkeeper, he is clever, and has many years of experience in opening shops, and is better at dealing with local governments. Because he lost his hand in the kidnapping of Chen Qun, he has always been a guilty person, and it was not until a few days ago that the new person in charge of Yecheng Phantom took office, and he returned to Xiangyang to wait for his fate. It happened that there was a shortage of people in Xuzhou, so he was asked to make meritorious contributions.

Shopkeeper Song said with a smile on his face: "It turns out that you are General Qin, the villain has been famous for a long time, and he was about to visit, but he didn't expect to meet here." Come on, come on, the general will quickly invite you to sit in the store. ”

Qin Yi was surprised: "You have already heard of Qin's name?" ”

Shopkeeper Song was a little embarrassed, he had only heard of Qin Yi's name in Xiangyang a few days ago, the so-called long-term fame was just a polite remark, but he didn't expect this person to take it seriously.

However, Shopkeeper Song walked from south to north, smiled lightly, and quietly covered his expression just now, and said: "Since the general is in charge of Xuzhou's money and grain, the villain does not dare to hide it." It is not a day or two for villains to do this grain business, and now in Hebei, many grain stores are opened by villains. Whenever the villain arrives at a place, the first thing is to pay homage to the local money and grain officer, so before renting this door, the villain inquired about the name of the general. ”

Qin Yi was relieved, nodded, and walked into the store with his feet raised. Shopkeeper Song let Qin Yi into the inner room, and a guy had already come over to serve tea.

After the two sides sat down, the shopkeeper Song said: "General Qin, the villain's operation in various places depends on the support of the government, and when you arrive in Xuzhou, you have to rely on the general." ”

Qin Yi was shocked when he heard his words. Now in troubled times, the princes are in their own ways, this person dares to openly admit that he has an official background in various places, but he is not afraid that he will take him down, obviously has no fear. And he only brought in a personal soldier, in case he made any non-trivial requests, it would be a dilemma.

Shopkeeper Song seemed to see his heart, and said with a smile: "General Qin doesn't need to be suspicious, he is a businessman who is a duty, and dealing with local governments is also the way of doing business. The price of grain in Xuzhou is more than twice that of Hebei, so how can I let go of this opportunity? ”

Qin Yi suddenly remembered something, and shouted in a deep voice: "You need to pass through Qingzhou and Langya and other counties from Hebei to here, which is Cao Cao's territory. When Cao Cao was short of grain, why didn't you sell the grain there, but why did you transport it to Xuzhou? What you say is deceitful, don't you get it from the truth! ”

Although he was in charge of money and grain affairs for a short time, he was afraid of being criticized by Liu Bei, so he really made a lot of efforts to understand the grain prices in various places. It is true that the price of grain in Hebei is only about 40 yuan a stone, but the price of grain in Cao Cao's jurisdiction has also risen to 100 yuan a stone, which is on a par with Xuzhou. If this person wants to make money, he can completely transport the grain to Cao Cao and sell it, so why bother to go far? Moreover, transporting grain from Cao Cao's territory to Xuzhou has to go through countless checkpoints, and there are still many difficulties in the middle.

Who knows, the shopkeeper Song laughed in the face of his criticism.

Qin Yi was furious by his laughter, and hesitated: "What are you laughing at?" ”

Shopkeeper Song stopped laughing and said, "I laugh at the general for being a pedantic person. ”

Qin Yi was not furious, but thinking that this Song shopkeeper might have an ambush, he had to forcibly press it down.

"The general is quiet for a while, and listen to the next detail." Seeing Qin Yi's face full of anger, Shopkeeper Song arched his hand and said, "Money can make ghosts grind, I guess the generals must have heard of this sentence." However, in Song's view, there is money that can make grinding ghosts, and there is nothing in this world that money can't do! ”

Only then did Qin Yi remember the few golden beans that Shopkeeper Song had stuffed into him just now. It's just because the grain truck blocked their way, so the shopkeeper of Song gave him ten taels of gold, and it was really generous, and it was not surprising that he was able to transport so much grain to Xuzhou smoothly.

Thinking of this, Qin Yi's mood relaxed, and he said, "It seems that Shopkeeper Song's business is not small." ”

Shopkeeper Song smiled and said, "Accepting the general's praise is just to support the family." In fact, I don't hide it from the general, the reason why I didn't put the grain there for sale was because the military rations were being requisitioned there, and it was only 50 yuan per stone, which was not enough for the hard-earned money below. You can also store food for retail in the store, but in that case, how much can you sell in a day? Therefore, the opening of this shop in Xia is just a cover, and the main business in Xia is official business. ”

Only then did Qin Yi understand that it was no wonder that Shopkeeper Song heard that he was an official in charge of money and grain, so he was enthusiastic, and it turned out that the roots were here. He was worried about buying food, and there was such a person who was willing to provide food in large quantities, and it was exactly what he wanted. Qin Yi hurriedly said: "Shopkeeper Song wants to do the business of the Xuzhou official family, but it is within Qin's responsibility. I don't know what the price of grain is for Shopkeeper Song? ”

Shopkeeper Song said with a smile: "Since the general is in charge of Xuzhou's money and grain, of course he should also know that the grain on the market in Xuzhou has risen to 100 yuan a stone, and various shops are still reluctant to sell it. Although I purchased this grain from the land, it was a big expense to transport it all the way and make dots along the way. So, the price of this grain will not be much cheaper. ”

Speaking of this, Shopkeeper Song suddenly stopped, and kept looking at the soldiers behind Qin Yi.

Although Qin Yi didn't have any skills, he had also been in the army for many years, how could he not understand the meaning of the shopkeeper Song, and couldn't help but wave his hand at the pro-soldier.

A guy had already come over and took the soldiers to the next room for tea.

Qin Yi waved his hand and said, "Shopkeeper Song, there are only you and me here, if you have something to say, just say it." ”

Shopkeeper Song smiled and said, "If we do business, the picture is a good word." To tell you the truth, this batch of grain is sixty yuan a stone, which is already profitable, but no one will be disgusted with money, right? So, I want to discuss something with the general. ”

Qin Yi frowned and said, "Speak." ”

Shopkeeper Song took out a cloth bag from behind him, gently pushed it in front of Qin Yi, and said with a smile: "These things originally wanted to be sent to the general's mansion in person, but I didn't expect to meet them here, but I saved a little money for the next carriage and horse, and the general will take a look at it first, and then talk about other things." ”

Qin Yi opened it and took a look, and he gasped unconsciously, and a package full of silver full of white flowers. Qin Yi couldn't help but hesitate. With this money, it is true that the family can live a good life, but if Liu Bei knows about it, doesn't it just give him a reason to rectify himself?

Seeing Qin Yi's uncertain face, Shopkeeper Song knew that he had been moved, so he lowered his voice and said, "Only you know about this matter, and no third person knows." Moreover, the price offered under the order will definitely not embarrass the general, but the amount will be larger. ”

What Liu Bei lacks now is food, the larger the quantity, the better, this is not a problem, Qin Yi is still worried about the price. Hearing that Shopkeeper Song said that he would not embarrass him, Qin Yi's mood relaxed a little, but his hand holding the package tightened, and he also lowered his voice and said, "Then what price is Shopkeeper Song willing to sell?" ”

Shopkeeper Song looked around, stretched out a hand and gestured, and raised four fingers.

Qin Yi understood that it was ninety dollars a load.

It is said that this price is already cheaper than the market, but the food needed in the army is not half a star, and this Song shopkeeper himself said just now that he will earn sixty yuan and one stone. Qin Yi couldn't help but think, now is a troubled time, food prices are high, and he, the person in charge of money and grain, is naturally a little anxious. However, there will always be a day when the world will improve, and Liu Bei has already organized Tuntian, and after this most difficult time, the purchase of grain will not be a problem. At that time, his errand really became a fat shortage.

Qin Yi wanted to behave well in front of Liu Bei, anyway, he already knew the reserve price of this Song shopkeeper, so he simply pressed it harder, so as to prove his ability, he couldn't help but stretch out a hand and gesture and raised two fingers.

The look on the face of the shopkeeper Song was a little difficult, and he struggled for a long time, and finally raised three fingers and said, "The lowest price can only be this price, and it really can't be lower." ”

Qin Yi is not the material for doing business, otherwise he would definitely think that it is absolutely impossible for Shopkeeper Song to transport grain here at such a big risk, and it is the real purpose of Shopkeeper Song to sell the grain as soon as possible. However, in the current situation, it is quite good to be able to reduce the price of food to 80 cents a stone. Qin Yi couldn't help but nodded heavily and said, "Okay, then it's decided." You also make a lot of money at this price. ”

Shopkeeper Song said with a distressed face: "The general is really dedicated to the public, but unfortunately, in this way, the general's income will be much less." ”