In the palace of the king of Chu, Li Kuan was carrying small corn and picking fruits in the herb garden.

The Baicao Garden, which is getting bigger and bigger, has now become the largest scenery in the courtyard of the Chu Palace.

"Aye, you stand on tiptoe, I'm still a little close."

The little corn held Li Kuan's head in one hand and held it high in the other, to pick the fruit from the branches.

But Li Kuan grabbed the calf on his shoulder tightly with both hands, for fear that this girl would accidentally fall down.

"Lord Wang, Xiaomai is now lawless in Chang'an City, you still spoil her so much, who will dare to marry her in the future."

Cheng Jingwen looked at the father and daughter helplessly on the side.

In the past, she didn't believe Li Kuan's words that he liked her daughter, but now that the little potato was born, she completely understood that Li Kuan really didn't lie to herself at the beginning.

If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Potato's face was almost exactly the same as Li Kuan's, everyone would have wondered if this was his son.

Since he was born, he has not seen Li Kuan tease him.

On the contrary, it is a small corn, and he is tired of being with Li Kuan almost every day, either going to Guanshishan Academy, or going to the east and west cities to hang out, and even going to the Daming Palace to see the princess of Chu, Li Kuan also takes the little corn.

"Lord Wang, didn't we grow a lot of sugarcane in Lingnan, when will those sugarcanes produce frosting?"

Just when Li Kuan and Xiao Mao were busy talking, Wu Meiniang came over angrily.

"Mei Niang, who made you angry?"

When Cheng Jingwen saw Wu Meiniang's expression, she knew that she must have encountered something unhappy.

"What? Who in Chang'an City is not long-eyed, and actually made our Mei Niang unhappy? ”

Li Kuan put the small corn off his shoulders and handed Cheng Jingwen and Wu Meiniang a duck pear respectively.

Then I picked one up myself, wiped it on my clothes, and ate it directly.

In these days, there are no pesticides, the air is very good, peeling or something, it is completely unnecessary.

Besides, it's not clean, and you don't get sick after eating.

"Hmph, it's not those Tianzhu merchants who think they want to increase the price at will because they control the supply of frosting in Guanzhong, where is there such a good thing?"

In business, Wu Meiniang pays more attention to the rules of business to compete fairly with various workshops and shops, otherwise she will directly find someone to frame her, no matter how many Tianzhu merchants there are, don't think about fighting the Chu Palace.

Even these Tianzhu merchants have more or less found some nobles in Chang'an City to rely on.

"Has the price of frosting gone up? It is no secret that several of us have planted a large amount of sugarcane in Guangzhou, and they dare to raise the price? Got your brain kicked by a donkey? ”

Li Kuan was also speechless for these Tianzhu merchants.

Do these people really think that there is no one else in the world who can make frosting except Tianzhu?

Do you really think that the technical threshold for sugar production is so high?

If you don't let them suffer a loss, they don't know the southeast and northwest.

"Hmph, what do you know? I don't know? A few days ago, I heard that a maritime merchant with a big food transported a shipload of frosting to Weishui Wharf, and theoretically the price of frosting should drop immediately, but the result continued to rise. These people just blindly tell everyone that Chang'an City now has a great demand for frosting, and they must stock up on more goods, otherwise the price will increase again. ”

Wu Meiniang naturally knew what these Tianzhu merchants were thinking.

But the sugarcane in Guangzhou has been seeing the fruits come out every time, and she has nothing to do with these Tianzhu merchants for a while.

You can't really stop your sugar factory, right?

"Xu Ang wrote to him that the sugarcane in Guangzhou is growing very well, and if you calculate the time, this year's sugarcane should have been harvested, and if there is no accident, the fleet transporting the frosting should be on the way."

Li Kuan is really not afraid of the price increase of those Tianzhu merchants, and when the frosting in Guangzhou comes, no one wants them to sell at a loss.

"Lord Wang, then I really let the shopkeeper of the sugar workshop refuse that Gandy's price increase conditions? Don't ask someone to sell us frosting, it will be ugly. ”

In Wu Meiniang's understanding, the frosting in Chang'an City is from Tianzhu, if you really have a bad relationship with those Tianzhu merchants, unless you don't follow the rules of business, otherwise it will not be a cost-effective thing.

"Boldly refuse to go, and then you can have as much icing as you want."

This year, tens of thousands of acres of sugarcane have been planted in Guangzhou, although this data is nothing compared to later generations, but in this era, tens of thousands of acres of sugarcane produce frosting, which is already a terrifying number.

……

In a corner of Guanshishan Academy, Zixia stood among the yellow leaves on the ground and stroked the qin.

Defoliation!

Piano!

Bird calls!

The result is a unique picture.

However, this beautiful scenery was interrupted by a complaint from Yun'er.

"Girl, the price of the icing has actually increased again today, and if it continues to rise, I feel that I can't afford to eat it."

Zixia is now the teacher of Guanshishan Academy, and she has a fixed salary every month, plus the savings left before, the life of the master and servant is relatively comfortable.

However, luxury goods such as white sugar are still used less often.

Although they all have a sweet tooth, most of the time they go for the cheaper frosting.

Of course, this is only relative.

"What? Didn't you just complain about the price increase a while ago? Why are you still complaining? ”

was interrupted by her own piano, but Zixia was not annoyed.

Now her state of mind is very peaceful, and she has basically adapted to this kind of life.

It would be even better if Guanshishan Academy could recruit some female students, and from time to time female students would come and chat with them.

"I complained a while ago because the price of frosting has risen one after another, and now I complain because the price of frosting has not only not fallen, but is higher than before. I did a rough calculation, and now the price of one pound of frosting can be bought for two pounds at the beginning of the year. ”

Yun'er muttered a small mouth and sat down next to Zixia angrily.

Since the income of the master and servant is much less than before, Yun'er has now become more budget-conscious.

For example, the price increase of frosting made her very uncomfortable.

Although this thing is not a necessity for the people, it is indispensable for their master and servant.

It's like lipstick in times of economic crisis, sales skyrocketed, that's because makeup is a woman's just need, and there is no money to buy expensive skin care products, and relatively cheap lipsticks still have to be bought.

This is similar to the fact that you can't afford to eat white sugar, and you still have to eat frosting.

"I heard that Dude and Ajinomoto have launched several sweet and sour dishes, which are very popular, so that many noble families in Chang'an City have begun to learn to make these dishes, and this white sugar and icing have suddenly become the necessities of the noble family's kitchen. There are more people buying this, and the price increase is almost inevitable. ”

"Girl, you still speak for those profiteers, this thing has not changed, but the price has risen so much, isn't this just a pit man? Profiteer! These are profiteers! ”

"Yun'er, you can't talk nonsense, although you went to buy frosting, which was sold by those Tianzhu merchants; But the biggest sugar merchant in Chang'an City is the Chu Wangfu. ”

Although Zixia is in the Guanshishan Academy, she is as concerned about every move as ever in the Chu Palace, and which family made this white sugar is almost a well-known thing in Chang'an City.

"I didn't mean frosting, I didn't say sugar."

Although Yun'er still said this, her voice was obviously quieter.

"You, you, the price of this frosting has risen, it's a big deal that we'll eat less recently."

"But I'm worried that the price will continue to go up, so why don't I go out and buy more, or the price will increase again in a few days."

"No, I don't think the price of this frosting can go up much longer. This year, His Royal Highness the King of Chu arranged for Xu to join the army to go to Guangzhou to be responsible for the cultivation of sugarcane, and with the skills of the prince, he will definitely be able to turn sugarcane into frosting, breaking the situation that these Tianzhu merchants dominate the supply of frosting in one fell swoop. ”

Zixia is obviously more confident in Li Kuan than ordinary people.

Something as magical as white sugar has been made, and there is no way to make the black frosting?

Of course, in Chang'an City, not everyone thinks the same way as Zixia.

"Shopkeeper Pan, according to your orders, I bought a hundred catties of frosting in one go today, which is enough for us to use in the building for a while."

Wuhe was in the center, and the guy in charge of procurement stood in front of Pan Wang.

"Now these guests, there are more and more people who like to eat sweets and sweet and sour dishes, and this 100 catties of frosting, I think it will be gone for half a month at most."

Pan Wang felt pain and happiness.

On the one hand, Wuheju's business has improved, and he is naturally happy.

However, if a new dish that has just been launched is followed by an increase in the price of frosting, it will hurt people's morale.

Some guests are not short of this money, but they feel unhappy and may not come to Wuheju next time.

After all, the same name as Wuheju is Diandude and Ajinomote, which are right next to it.

"That'...... Do I have to buy it again? Today, I went to get the shop of Gandy, a merchant in Tianzhu, and found that many people were buying frosting for dozens of catties, and this situation was not quite the same as before. ”

"Let's go buy another hundred catties, prepare enough for a month's supply first, and whether to buy it later, I want to think again."

Pan Wang thought for a while and gave his opinion.

"Okay, then I'll go to the account office to withdraw the money, and I'll buy it right now. Wait until tomorrow, maybe the price of this frosting will rise again. ”

Scenes like Wuheju are happening in many places in Chang'an City.

Gandy stood in the middle of the shop, looking at the crowds of customers, with a smug smile on his face.

Something like frosting, which is not consumed by ordinary people, the more the price rises, the better it sells.

The logic of selling other things is not quite the same.

It seems that he has made the right move.

However, it is also time to control the speed of the sale of frosting, so that everyone can feel the shortage of frosting.

Gandy thought as she picked up a handful of ice cream and tasted it.

……

Housing.

Fang Xuanling had just returned to the house after duty, and the Lu family was there complaining.

"I said Fang Qiao, didn't you arrange for Fang Zhen to go to Guangzhou to plant 10,000 acres of sugarcane? It's not that this sugarcane can be used to make frosting, why is the price of frosting and white sugar in Chang'an City one price a day. ”

The Lu family is in charge of the financial power of the house, such as the sharp rise in the price of icing and sugar, and the guy in charge of procurement must have explained it to her.

Otherwise, if so much extra money was spent out of thin air, the account office would not have agreed to withdraw it at will.

Don't think that because people are in the Tang Dynasty, there are no measures to prevent corruption.

"There is a process for everything, and the sugarcane was only planted this year, and whether it can be successfully made or not, we will not know until it is harvested. Nowadays, every household in Chang'an City, but all those who have a good family background like to buy some frosting, and there are more people who buy things, so the price will naturally rise. ”

When he bought 10,000 acres of land in Guangzhou, Fang Xuanling naturally knew about such a big thing.

Speaking of which, this is a relatively large investment by the housing government in recent years.

If it weren't for the annual dividends in the East China Sea fishery, the Ajinomoto made by Fang Yiai would come in quickly, as if there was really no way to buy 10,000 acres of land as soon as he made a move.

Even if this land is in Guangzhou.

"Hmph, everyone understands the truth, but the price has risen so much for no reason, and those merchants are profiteers."

"Why is it for no reason? I just didn't say that the noble and wealthy merchants in Chang'an City have more demand for frosting and sugar, but the supply has not increased much, so the price has increased. Of course, there are some businesses in the West Market who want to take this opportunity to make more money, and this situation should also exist. ”

"Then won't the imperial court take care of it? Just let those businessmen raise prices at will? ”

"This frosting is not food, you can eat it or not, if you think it's expensive, you can not buy it at all. It is impossible for the imperial court to take care of this kind of thing. ”

"Then should I arrange for someone to go to the West Market tomorrow to buy more? Otherwise, the price will have to increase in the future, and the money will be spent more. ”

Although Fang Fu is rich now, the Lu family is used to careful budgeting, just like in the early years.

"There's no need for that. When His Royal Highness the King of Chu suggested that we go to Guangzhou to plant sugarcane, it was also said that this sugarcane was a case, and if you do the math, those sugarcanes should have been harvested, and there may be a bunch of frosting in Chang'an City. ”

Fang Xuanling hesitated for a while, but still chose to believe Li Kuan.

Although Fang Xuanling knew very well that the making of this icing was the core secret of Tianzhu merchants, and it would definitely not be passed on easily, since His Royal Highness the King of Chu suggested that he go to Guangzhou to plant sugarcane, and the area planted by the King of Chu's mansion was several times that of his own, there must be a way to make use of these sugarcane.

This is also a decision made after experiencing countless lessons, after Fang Xuanling re-established Li Kuan's image.

"Hmph, that's what you said, if the price of icing continues to rise, you don't want to have change to go to the restaurant this month."

Fang Zhizhi, who was passing by, pretended not to hear anything, lowered his head and quickened his pace.