A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Please rise, Lord Yuan. What are your thoughts on this disaster relief effort?"

Cui Huan probed.

Yuan Jie stood up and gritted his teeth.

"Lord Cui, I believe these disaster victims do not deserve such good food."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

Cui Huan asked in confusion.

"Lord Cui, are disaster victims even human beings?"

Yuan Jie countered with a question.

"Naturally, it's human beings."

Cui Huan frowned, wondering what Yuan Jie was up to.

"Lord Cui, are these disaster victims even human beings anymore?"

Yuan Jie gave a wicked smile, and his words piqued Cui Huan's curiosity.

What does this mean?

Cui Huan asked.

"Lord Cui, do you know how much a shi (a unit of dry measure) of fine grain costs in Yangzhou these days?"

Yuan Jie countered with a question.

"Two strings of cash."

Without hesitation, Cui Huan replied that they were the ones who had driven up the price, and they were well aware of it.

"That's right, it's already as high as two strings of cash."

Yuan Jie nodded. "Before this flood, a shi (a unit of dry measure) of fine rice cost only two hundred wen."

"But does Lord Cui know how much bran and rice husks cost in Yangzhou right now?"

Yuan Jie continued to ask.

Bran? Rice husks?

Cui Huan was stumped by the question. He shook his head; he really didn't know.

"Lord Cui, these days, bran in Yangzhou City costs only five or six hundred coins, and rice husks cost only two or three hundred coins."

"You say the disaster victims can eat anything, right? Do they deserve such good rice?"

"Lord Cui, what do you mean by selling the imperial relief grain to powerful families, then using the money to buy bran and rice husks from them, and mixing them with the rice husks to cook porridge for the people? That would be a forty-fold profit!"

Yuan Jie said excitedly.

Forty times!

Cui Huan stared wide-eyed, unable to believe that such a highly profitable industry existed in the world.

This is even more profitable than exchanging grain for the people's land.

Even if they can't sell to aristocratic families for that much money, it's still not unreasonable for the price to increase several times compared to normal times.

Add to that the several times the profit from replacing it with bran, and it could easily be ten or twenty times the profit.

This guy is amazing!

Moreover, they would exchange grain for land from disaster victims at this time.

The disaster victims are starving to death. Do they care whether the rice or bran you're offering in exchange for land is fine rice or bran?

Even if we accept rice husks, the people would rather die than agree to it.

Even if we replace refined rice with refined bran and mix in more coarse grains, the people will still starve. When they see the food we give them, if we are willing to give them more, the disaster victims will grit their teeth and accept it.

Reminded by Yuan Jie, Cui Huan almost lowered his standards and let his imagination run wild.

Even when buying land from the people at low prices, they wanted to exchange it for bran and chaff.

"Lord Yuan is truly a man of great talent!"

Cui Huan praised it.

How much money does the Cui family make from all this back and forth?!

Could one really acquire thousands of acres of fertile land and become incredibly wealthy in just one transaction?

If he can accomplish such a feat, he'll probably be the next head of the family!

With the help of his family, it's not impossible for him to rise to the rank of general or prime minister.

The thought of gaining both wealth and power, becoming a high-ranking official, made Cui Huan's lips curl up in a wide smile, almost reaching his ears.

"Don't worry, Lord Yuan. As long as you work hard for me, you'll definitely get a share of the money."

"And you don't need to reveal your identity; you can continue to remain hidden by Li Bai's side."

"At that time, you'll accept Li Bai's financial support while we secretly help you. Won't Lord Yuan's official position be within reach?"

Yuan Jie smiled broadly and nodded repeatedly, "Your Excellency is right. I will certainly follow your lead and have no disloyalty whatsoever."

"Hmm, very good, then it's settled. You just need to pass on Li Bai's information to me, and do as we say at certain times. I guarantee you will have no shortage of wealth and honor, and you will even be able to marry a woman from our Qinghe Cui family."

"Even if she is not the legitimate daughter, I can arrange for a concubine's daughter who is closely related to you to marry you."

Cui Huan patted Yuan Jie on the shoulder, looking like he was doing it for Yuan Jie's own good.

Yuan Jie twitched the corner of his mouth. This Cui Huan is still living in the era of the Five Noble Clans. Does he still think that it is still the era when one should marry a woman from one of the Five Noble Clans?

Well, the women of the five surnames are still extremely noble, and Yuan Jie cannot possibly be worthy of them.

However, Sister Yuanjie had no intention of standing on the same side as these aristocratic families, so she naturally didn't care.

Not to mention she was just a concubine's daughter; they wouldn't even give her a legitimate daughter. How stingy!

"Come on, Lord Yuan, what are you standing there for? Time is money. Let's join forces and quickly exchange all the remaining grain of the imperial court. You go and transport the grain, and I'll find buyers. Let's try to finalize this today."

Cui Huan said impatiently.

"Yes, Your Excellency obeys."

Yuan Jie quickly said, "Cui Huan is anxious about this matter, and so am I."

With no other option, saving the lives of the disaster victims is the most important thing.

Cui Huan used his position to bring these prominent families of Yangzhou together once again.

As the eldest son of the Cui family of Qinghe, one of the five prominent families, Cui Huan's influence among the aristocratic class was considerable.

The heads of these aristocratic families gathered around Cui Huan at a remarkably fast pace.

"Greetings to all my uncles and elders."

Cui Huan needed someone's help, so they all bowed and said hello.

"Nephew, there's no need for such formalities."

The heads of many prominent families hurriedly returned the greeting. Since the Qian Dynasty, the Cui family had always been one of the most prestigious families in the world, and the status of the eldest son of the Cui family was no lower than that of these family heads.

Even among the families present, the heads of the families held a status far inferior to that of Cui Huan.

"I have invited you all here because I have a favor to ask of you."

Cui Huan revealed a gentle smile.

"Nephew, please speak frankly. If we can help, we certainly will."

Gao De, representing a prominent family in Yangzhou, made a promise.

The heads of the other aristocratic families also nodded in agreement. As long as it wasn't anything too outrageous, they would give Cui Huan, the eldest son of the Cui family, face.

"I would like to purchase as much rice bran and rice husks as possible. The more, the better. I'll take as much as you have."

Cui Huan planned to keep all the huge profits for himself. He first bought bran and rice husks from these aristocratic families, and then secretly ordered Yuan Jie, in the capacity of an official imperial envoy, to replace all the disaster relief grain issued by the court with these bran and rice husks.

Following Yuan Jie's advice, they mixed bran, rice, and other grains together and bought land from the people at a low price.

Afterwards, they pushed all the blame onto Yuan Jie, saying, "What kind of person is Yuan Jie? He's just a peasant. How dare he rely on Young Master Cui?"

When Yuan Jie is deposed, he can take the throne and gain both fame and fortune.

Triple win!

He won three times by himself!