I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1472 Selling Grain at Dongting Lake

Now that we have a market, we need to sell the grain in the granary as soon as possible.

Because the autumn harvest is approaching, the warehouses will soon be stocked with new grain.

A qualified county magistrate would store one to three years' worth of grain to prevent major disasters and crop failures.

Unfortunately, Yuanlu County was very poor and urgently needed to sell grain to earn money for other businesses. So they had no choice but to sell the grain in the warehouse.

Sun Shan specifically sought out Master Zhang.

Master Zhang: .....

He stared at Sun Shan with a completely bewildered expression.

Why bother looking for him? Didn't Lord Sun already see through his abilities long ago?

I've heard that Lord Sun majored in the Book of Changes during his studies, so his abilities might even surpass mine.

Zhang the Taoist priest thought and thought, remembering the last time Lord Sun asked him when the rain would stop so he could harvest the rice.

I clearly remember saying only ambiguous things and not anticipating any outcome.

What happened afterward? The whole county was abuzz with the news that he had predicted the rain would stop within seven days.

Later, the rain actually stopped, and the number of people seeking fortune telling increased steadily, including Old Master Sun and Old Madam Sun.

As Zhang the Taoist priest's purse bulged, he couldn't help but review the events.

It's certain that Lord Sun deliberately used his name to spread the news that the rain had stopped, in order to reassure the people.

Fortunately, the rain really stopped; otherwise, they would have been kicked out of the City God Temple long ago.

Master Zhang's eerie eyes glowed green as he furtively stared at Sun Shan, silently drawing a small circle of curse in his mind.

Lord Sun summoned me here this time, it must be for no good reason, there must be a huge pit waiting for me to fall into.

After exchanging pleasantries with Master Zhang, Sun Shan got straight to the point: "Master Zhang, could you please help me calculate whether the next two or three months will bring favorable weather and a bountiful harvest?"

Master Zhang: ......

Damn it!

Let alone the next few months, even tomorrow, it's impossible to predict.

If he really had that skill, he would have become a Taoist priest in some remote and remote county like Yuanlu.

He had already gone to the capital to become the imperial advisor.

Master Zhang dared not admit that he had no skills, nor could he admit that he did.

So he could only say two things: "Reporting to my lord, this year will surely be blessed with good weather and a bountiful harvest. You are the lucky star of Yuanlu. With you here, there will definitely be a great harvest this year."

By asking about the weather and knowing that Sun Shanxi was fond of farming, Master Zhang knew about the crops in the fields without even having to say a word.

But isn't Sun Shan asking too early? There are still two months until the autumn harvest; who knows what the weather will be like?

Sun Shan looked at Master Zhang with suspicion, and asked calmly, "Master Zhang, is this really true?"

Master Zhang dared not say it was true, but since he had already spoken, he couldn't not take it seriously.

You can't deny yourself from 15 minutes ago, can you?

He's not the kind of person who changes his mind so easily.

Master Zhang calculated with his fingers, then feigned profound wisdom and said, "Your Excellency is blessed with good fortune and will bring prosperity to our Yuanlu County. Your bird droppings as fertilizer will surely ensure a bumper harvest. Since Your Excellency took office, Yuanlu County has enjoyed favorable weather and is thriving..."

Before Master Zhang could finish speaking, Sun Shan couldn't listen anymore.

This Taoist priest Zhang is shameless in his flattery, trying to use sweet words to besiege her.

Hmph, still very green.

Sun Shan waved his hand and said magnanimously, "Since Master Zhang has predicted that the next few months will be sunny and breezy, I know what to do."

Master Zhang: ......

What is Lord Sun planning to do? How come he doesn't know?

Are we going to push him to the forward position again, to make him a scapegoat?

Thinking of this, Master Zhang became furious.

They make so much money off chicken scraps, but they're doing business that could get them killed.

Master Zhang wanted to jump up and smash a club over Sun Shan's head.

A casual glance revealed a line of more than a dozen burly men standing behind Sun Shan, and Master Zhang immediately deflated.

Sun Shan didn't care what Zhang Daoshi thought. Although he didn't believe in his predictions, he couldn't resist the fact that outsiders believed them.

They could only use Master Zhang's name to make things easier.

Sun Shan went to see Magistrate Wang.

Magistrate Wang asked in surprise, "Sir, you said you were going to sell grain in Dongting Lake?"

Oh my god, Dongting Lake is so far away, why are you going there to sell it?

Selling it in Chenzhou Prefecture would be fine.

County Magistrate Wang also wanted to introduce some grain dealers to Sun Shan, taking a cut and earning a referral fee.

Sun Shan nodded firmly: "There are many merchant groups in Dongting Lake, and many grain merchants to choose from. If we transport the grain there, the price will be much higher."

Merchants from Chenzhou Prefecture buy grain from the people, and they either go to Changsha Prefecture or Yueyang Prefecture. They are just middlemen, making a profit from the price difference.

Sunshan transported the grain directly to Dongting Lake, reducing the number of middlemen, which significantly increased the price of the grain.

Magistrate Wang weakly objected, fearing that a strong objection would backfire: "Sir, the road to Dongting Lake is too far, and transporting goods there would be very costly and laborious."

He paused, then added, "There are many bandits along the way, both in the mountains and on the water. What if our food is stolen? It would be a huge loss."

Sun Shan handed a document to County Magistrate Wang.

County Magistrate Wang continued, seemingly out of nowhere.

Sun Shan said, "Didn't you read the official gazette? Since the beginning of the year, the court has increased the number of people patrolling the waterways. No matter how rampant the river bandits are, they won't dare to defy the law."

He then added, "Since the beginning of the year, there have only been three bandit incidents in Yueyang Prefecture and Chenzhou Prefecture, and all of them were committed by small groups of no more than ten people. This shows that the number of bandits on land transport has greatly decreased."

County Magistrate Wang stared blankly at the official gazette; if Sun Shan hadn't mentioned it, he really wouldn't have known.

When I read the official gazette on a regular day, I just glance at it and that's it. Who has time to analyze this or that?

Magistrate Wang flipped through the pages one by one. Their Lord Sun had even categorized the news about river bandits and mountain bandits with a red pen, allowing him to know the court's movements at a glance.

County Magistrate Wang stared blankly at Sun Shan.

Sun Shan raised an eyebrow and continued, "County Magistrate Wang, don't worry too much. This time, when we sell grain, the only route we need to take is by land from Yuanlu County to Chenzhou Prefecture. Once we reach Chenzhou Prefecture, we can reach Dongting Lake by following the Yuan River."

The imperial court has deployed numerous soldiers to guard this waterway, especially around Dongting Lake, where troops are stationed. We believe the river bandits have been largely eradicated, and even if some escaped, we can handle them by sending more men to transport them.”

County Magistrate Wang kept staring at the official gazette, completely oblivious to what Sun Shan was saying, unable to think straight at all.

Because my emotions were lingering on the official gazette, I kept looking at the information marked by Sun Shan.

In that instant, Magistrate Wang finally realized the difference between himself and Sun Shan, and he finally understood why he was only a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar) while Lord Sun was a Jinshi (a higher-level scholar).

Judging solely from the act of reading the official gazette, Magistrate Wang felt inferior.

When I read the official gazette, my favorite thing to read was gossip, such as which official was demoted, had his property confiscated, or was beheaded. I would secretly cheer with satisfaction!

Lord Sun not only scrutinized every word of the official gazette, but also summarized the information, observed the court's activities chronologically, and formulated policies accordingly.

Just like this grain sale, no sooner had the rice seedlings been planted than, or even the moment bird droppings were discovered as fertilizer, Lord Sun had already demonstrated the feasibility of selling grain in Dongting Lake.

Holy crap! This planning is way ahead of its time.