A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 499 Losing Money Deal
At the end of the year,

At the Li family manor on the east bank of the Beizhang River in Mingshui County, the servants and tenants were busy preparing for the New Year. Wang, the head of the manor, handed the account book to Guo, a man from Mingzhou.

"There are still over a thousand bushels of grain in the account. In addition, more than twenty pigs were slaughtered in the twelfth lunar month to make cured pork, and some cured chicken and duck were also made. Recently, a lot of fish were caught in the Zhanghe River and cured..."

Guo Sheren nodded. He was a servant in the Prince of Wu'an's residence. Although he had no official rank, he was a close attendant to the Prince of Wu'an, responsible for running errands and relaying orders. Most importantly, he was from Yusu Township, and his father was Guo Village Chief, a former retainer of the Prince of Wu'an, making them relatives.

Princess Wu'an is her mother's niece, and she calls Prince Wu'an her cousin-in-law.

The position of "sheren" was merely a stepping stone for Guo Dalang to get ahead; he first worked for his cousin-in-law.

His gaze swept over the bill, then swept over the manor in the cold wind.

“The King of Wu’an has decreed that the estate should retain the grain for the summer harvest, and the rest should be sold to the Ever-Normal Granary.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhuangtou frowned. "Guo Sheren, Gao Kaidao in the north has rebelled, attacking prefectures and capturing counties. I've also heard that the Turks have launched a major invasion, and the flames of war have even reached Dingzhou."

The price of grain is changing daily, rising rapidly. We only have a little over a thousand bushels of grain, which isn't much.

Wang Zhuangtou is in charge of Li Yi's thousand-acre estate. In his fifties, he has had many owners, but he has always kept a close eye on this land and worked diligently.

Since the Battle of Mingshui last year, this land has belonged to Prince Wu'an, who remains the estate manager. In the past six months, he has overseen the addition of a mill, an oil press, a pig farm, and many other workshops to the estate. He has also recruited new tenant farmers from displaced people and amassed a group of slaves.
Seeing the business getting better and better, I feel more and more motivated to work.

The more than a thousand bushels of grain in the granary were Wang Zhuangtou's greatest source of confidence. With grain in hand, he felt secure and could run the village steadily and peacefully, no matter how chaotic the outside world was.

"It is precisely because of the rebellion of the northern vassal states and the invasion of the Turks that the Prince of Wu'an ordered the manor to take out the surplus grain."

Wang Zhuangtou reminded the young official, "Grain prices are soaring and still rising. Selling grain to the Ever-Normal Granary now would result in a significant loss. Besides, during times of war, even money can't buy grain."

In case the war spreads next year, or there are floods or droughts, we must prepare food supplies for famine.

Moreover, with grain prices high now, if we lend out grain, borrowing in winter and returning in summer, or borrowing in spring and returning in autumn, we can at least get back two-tenths of what we borrowed, which is much more profitable than selling it to the Ever-Normal Granary.

If the situation turns bad and refugees migrate south, food will be even more precious. A bushel of millet can buy a young man or woman as a slave, and you can even get one or two young girls as extras.

Buying land with grain is very cheap. As long as you have grain, it's more useful than gold and silver. You can buy people and land to expand your estate..."

Guo Sheren was very familiar with what Wang Zhuangtou had said.

His father, Guo Erlang, had always done the same thing in Guo Village, Yusu Township. The family owned several hundred acres of land, employed some long-term laborers, and hired short-term workers and harvesters for the busy farming season. The income from the land was not actually that much. But the harvested grain was stored up, and when the lean season came, it was lent to the villagers. One loan was repaid twice, or even a small amount was given out and a large amount was taken in. If there was a major famine, one loan could be repaid three times.

If you can't repay the debt, it will continue to accrue interest, and eventually you'll have to settle it with your own person or property.

Most powerful landlords did this.

The more famine there is, the more powerful landlords become wealthy. They lend money, buy people, and buy land. In normal years, a few hundred coins might be enough for an acre of land, but during famine, a bushel of wheat could be exchanged for several acres of land.

Wang Zhuangtou manages this land and works for several landlords. He has always done so. The grain produced in the fields is not just grain for him; he is a tool for lending money.

Aside from keeping it for food rations, it was used for lending.

Selling grain directly would only bring in a small amount of money. Even with the current surge in grain prices, selling grain is still a last resort, let alone selling it to the Ever-Normal Granary, where the price is even lower.

Guo Sheren didn't quite agree with the Prince of Wu'an's actions, but after all, he was the Prince of Wu'an, the Minister of Works and Attendant-in-Ordinary, and the Grand Governor of Mingzhou, not just his cousin-in-law.

“Wang Zhuangtou, Prince Wu’an stands tall and sees far. Let’s not question him. You’re just a village head and I’m just a servant. We’re an old man and a young man, how can we be wiser than Prince Wu’an?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhuangtou quickly replied, "This old man absolutely did not mean that."

"Alright, do as ordered. Calculate the grain needed for the village, take stock of any surplus grain, and transport it to Mingshui County. There will be people from the Ever-Normal Granary who will buy it."

"The cured meat, cured chicken, cured duck, cured fish, etc. that you prepared should be ready by now. Just pack them up, and the steward from the Prince's Mansion will come to collect them in a few days."

"Mingshui Manor has performed well this year, and the profits are also quite good. According to the rules set by the Prince, everyone from the manor manager to the servants will receive corresponding rewards this year. Let's all keep up the good work!"

Wang Zhuangtou sighed, feeling that this deal was a huge loss.

A able-bodied young man receives six dou of grain per month. There are still five months until the summer harvest, which is three shi. One hundred people would receive three hundred shi. There are more than one hundred people in the village now.

"May we keep seven hundred bushels of grain?"

"At most, we'll leave you five hundred shi. I remember there's still a batch of radishes at the manor. We'll harvest those radishes and sell them to the Ever-Normal Granary."

Radishes are actually a life-saving food. They grow quickly, have a high yield, and can be stored for a long time. Radishes can be made into pickles or dried, or they can be steamed and mashed into a paste with glutinous rice.

This glutinous rice and radish paste could be spread directly on walls or made into bricks using molds. To protect against war and famine, people would sometimes use these radish bricks to build a wall in their homes. In the event of war or famine, this could prevent them from being discovered and looted.
Just a small piece, about the size of a palm, can be cooked into a large pot of thin porridge.

"The king said that he will send you some seeds of sweet potatoes, corn, pumpkins and other crops in a while, and you can plant them on several plots of land next spring."

Upon hearing the name of Xiangrui Golden Potato and Corn, Wang Zhuangtou couldn't help but get excited. Legend has it that the Golden Potato could yield several thousand catties per mu, "but we've never grown it before."

"Don't worry, we'll send a foreman to teach you. The seeds are limited, so we'll plant a little of each kind first. After the harvest, we can plant more. In less than two years, all 1,000 mu of land here will be planted with these high-yield crops. When we buy seeds, we can also get a high return."

The joy of receiving the auspicious seeds overshadowed the sorrow of having to hand over two thousand bushels of grain.

Wang Zhuangtou quickly arranged for people to move the grain out of the granary.

Five hundred shi of grain,

Within a day, all the grain was delivered to the Changping Granary in Mingshui County. At that time, the price of rice in the Mingshui market was 360 coins per dou (a unit of dry measure), and it was still rising. However, the Li family's 500 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain was delivered to the granary at 300 coins per dou.

"At this time, to be able to generously sell grain is truly benevolent and kind," the officials of the Ever-Normal Granary exclaimed. They knew that Wang Zhuangtou was managing one of the estates of the Prince of Wu'an.

Guo Sheren delivered the grain to the Ever-Normal Granary, chatted with the officials for a while, and learned about the grain reserves in the Mingshui Ever-Normal Granary and the supply to the people.

"Fortunately, with the new system of household registration and grain rations for the Minister of Works, the grain in our Ever-Normal Granary is supplied in fixed quantities, so for the time being, things are alright."

Townships in Mingshui County staggered their grain purchase times.

It is divided into ten batches, with each ten-day period constituting one cycle.

The grain rations at Changping Granary were quite low. A young adult's monthly ration was only three dou (a unit of dry measure), which amounted to only one sheng (a unit of dry measure) of millet or wheat per day. The rations for the elderly and children were even less.

This is an amount that is not enough to eat, but the grain rationing was originally just a temporary measure to prevent famine and ensure the most basic livelihood.

It is a way to regulate the market supply of grain, especially to alleviate high grain prices.

Guo Sheren took the stamped slip from the Changping Granary to the county government office and had the county magistrate and others stamp it.

Five hundred bushels of grain sold for 1,500 strings of cash, which was quite a sum of money.
In Chang'an, a bushel of rice costs 100 coins, but this batch of grain is three times the price in Chang'an.

However, the Mingshui County government could not afford to pay that much money.

When the Grand Steward's Office settles accounts, it will certainly be partly in cash and partly in silk, and then some other things will be used as collateral, such as mineral resources, commercial land contracting rights, or the sale of mountain forests, etc.

Guo Sheren thought of what King Wu'an had said to everyone many times: within ten years, the world would be at peace, and a bushel of rice would only cost two or three coins.

He couldn't believe it. His father said that during the prosperous Kaihuang era, a dou of rice in Chang'an cost twenty or thirty coins, but now a dou of rice costs two or three hundred coins, a hundredfold decrease.
If a bushel of rice costs three coins, then his five hundred bushels of grain would only be worth fifteen strings of cash.
After Guo Sheren left, the officials in charge of the Ever-Normal Granary became busy.

"It's almost time to open for grain sales. Keep your eyes peeled. You must buy grain with your ration book, in fixed quantities, and within your designated areas. No one is allowed to sell to those who haven't received their share yet, and no one is allowed to sell to those who have run out of grain quotas."

A clerk asked, "Liu Cangling, the price of grain outside is now 360 yuan per dou (a unit of dry measure), how much should we sell it for?"

Liu Cangling snorted coldly, "We are the state's Ever-Normal Granary, which is responsible for ensuring people's livelihood. The Ministry of Works has ordered that the Ever-Normal Granary supply grain according to the grain quota, and the price of 200 coins per dou of rice this month remains unchanged."

“We now have to pay 300 coins per dou (a unit of dry measure) of rice to buy it, and sell it for 200 coins. We lose 1,000 coins per shi (another unit of dry measure).

"Hmph, this is the policy from above. Our Changping Granary isn't a grain shop. This is called benefiting the people and protecting their rights."

Na Lingshi felt a pang of heartache. "With the war raging in the north, who knows how high the grain prices will rise? These grain shops are raising prices three times a day, making a fortune."

The doors of the grain sales point were removed piece by piece.
The constables sent by the yamen were holding sticks to maintain order, and a long queue had already formed in front of the gate.

Other grain shops charge 360 ​​coins per dou (a unit of dry measure) of rice, while Changpingcang only charges 200 coins per dou. Of course, the people know which to choose.

Especially with the outbreak of the great war in the north, the people all wanted to store some grain.

Zhao arrived as soon as it was light to grab a spot in line, but after waiting for a long time, he was still quite far from the grain sales point.

A clerk dressed in a crimson robe came over with several servants.

"Everyone, take out your grain ration book for inspection. Those villages that haven't been served today, those without a grain ration book, or those who have already used up their quota, don't need to queue up anymore, hurry back home."

If anyone causes trouble, they will be given ten strokes of the cane.

Zhao San panicked a little.
The clerk stood before him, saying, "Grain allowance."

Zhao San couldn't produce it; he had fled south from Dingzhou to seek refuge with relatives.

After some questioning, the clerk frowned and said, "You are not a local resident and do not have a grain ration book, so you are not eligible to buy Ever-Normal Grain."

"Sir, please have mercy, I am a refugee from Dingzhou."

"You fled from Dingzhou? Then you should first report to the refugee resettlement camp outside the city. There is porridge distribution and relief there, and the government will arrange work-for-relief programs."

You can also choose to register your household locally; with a local household registration, you can apply for a food ration book. Alternatively, you can join relatives or friends, or be employed; in these cases, you can apply for a temporary food ration book, but the ration will be halved.

No matter how much Zhao San cried and begged, the people at Changping Granary ignored him, and the constables pulled him out of the line.

People like Zhao San were occasionally driven out of the group; some were refugees like him, while others were wealthy landlords and tenants without household registration or food ration certificates.

There were also slaves who wanted to take advantage of the situation, sent by their masters to buy cheap grain.

Many others are people who haven't yet had their turn to buy grain, or who have already purchased their rations but still want to buy more.

The Changping Granary only relies on the grain ration book, which contains household registration information and records of each grain purchase. Trying to cheat the system is simply impossible.

Standing in front of the grain pile, Liu Cangling looked at the long queue and the people being driven away, and sighed, "Fortunately, we have this grain ration book, otherwise no matter how much grain we have, it won't be enough."

"Yes, now that we have this grain ration book, at least the people have some security. Even if they don't have enough to eat, they can at least get by."

If you have money, you can buy some more expensive grain from the grain store and have enough to eat. For the average person, the grain stored in the granary at the normal price level will at least keep them from starving. If you don't even have money to buy the rationed grain from the granary at the normal price level, you can apply for a granary loan with a lower interest rate.

"The King of Wu'an's strategy has saved countless lives!"

(End of this chapter)