On the third day of the sixth month, the day of the gathering of the West Lake Bazi Society, Zhang Mo, Wang Rong and others came from Wu County and Zhuji and other places, and Xu You was hospitable in Jingyuan. March had not seen each other, and although they exchanged letters, they were not as cordial as face-to-face, but this time they did not talk too much about poetry and rhyme, but focused on the most pressing things at the moment.

Drought!

The situation is getting worse!

"Weizhi, I went down the river from Wu County, and I saw many victims dragging their families to Wu County along the way, but I didn't know that the current rice price in Wu County was also unbearable." Wang Rong looked emotional, quite sorry for these people, they came with expectations, but they were destined to go in despair.

Zhou Yong sighed: "I don't go up at the age of one, the people are short of food, my Dachu is known as the prosperous age, but the people are difficult, and they are still past the end of the Han Dynasty." ”

Du Sheng's young temperament was much more optimistic than Wang Rong and Zhou Yong, and said: "The Assassin's Mansion has been played by the imperial court, and there will be a will soon, and if you stay up for a few days, the situation will definitely change!" ”

Speaking of the imperial court, Zhang Mo asked in a low voice: "Weizhi, you are familiar with Gu Fujun, is there any movement in Jinling?" ”

Xu You was worried, and said: "The imperial court uses Yangzhou as a tax warehouse to reduce or reduce the rent of this year, I am afraid that there will be a lot of resistance in Jinling City......"

Shen Meng snorted coldly: "The common people are going to starve to death, and the court still doesn't know how to sympathize with the place, until everyone is dead, I think where will those dignitaries and nobles who are powerful and blessed go to collect taxes and enjoy the glory and wealth!" ”

"The imperial court will not destroy its foundation, but the drought is serious, and you envoys must control the overall situation, and the difficulties are beyond your ability to know!" Xu You stopped them from continuing to discuss, stood up and said, "I will prepare a thin wine in the back garden to catch the wind and wash the dust for you, please!" ”

After three rounds of drinking, Bao Hu suddenly shed tears and left the table after confessing to Xu You. Xu You looked at Zhang Mo in amazement, and Zhang Mo hurriedly said: "It's not strange to be slight, Boda, I'm afraid he thinks of his old mother and young sister at home, and he is not rude to you......"

"What? But also suffered? ”

Wu Shixing took over and said: "Yes, the drought in Jinling County this year is much more serious than that of Wu County, and it is not as rich as Wu County, and the common people have long had no rice to live. I also wrote home to ask my family to help send some rice to Boda's family, but I couldn't help myself for a few days. ”

Wu Shixing and Bao Hu are fellow villagers, the same family is in the middle of the road, the children of a poor family, the two of them studied in Wu County, the cost is not expensive, and all the family's savings have been spent.

Xu You reprimanded: "Why didn't you say it when you wrote last time, is this treating me as an outsider?" I don't dare to pack tickets for other things, but at least I have more reserves of rice and grain here, so how can I make my best friends in the same society sad for five buckets of rice? ”

Wang Rong also said: "Yes, we are in Wu County together, and we haven't heard you and Boda mention it, if Bao's mother has an accident because of this, where will Boda be placed?" Where am I placed? ”

Wu Shixing said ashamedly: "Boda told me many times that I didn't want to cause trouble to everyone in family affairs, so I didn't ......"

Xu You didn't really want to reprimand Wu Shixing, and reassured: "Okay, it's not the fault of Brother Shoudao, it's my words!" After all, I was negligent...... Come on, please come here! ”

Lushuang used to be the singer of Qingle Building, although she was not ashamed of her background after following Xu You, but she also said goodbye to the past completely, so there were many occasions when men were together, she rarely showed up, and she was even more dignified and self-conscious than those ladies.

Waiting for the frost to appear in the back garden, looking forward to it, with a sense of elegance, waiting for the near, crystal like jade skin, as if the crescent moon is faint, flowers and trees pile up snow, endless charm.

Du Sheng's eyes lit up and shouted: "Weizhi, there is such a beauty hidden in the house, it really makes me envious!" ”

Zhang Mo was also slightly shocked, but what came to his mind was the girl named Chunshui in Zhuji Cuiyu Building.

Her eyes often flow with tears, which makes people pity, not as calm and relaxed as the frost, of course, not as good as the appearance, but for some reason, at this moment, everyone is amazed by the frost, but he remembered the spring water girl who had only met two or three times.

Xu You smiled and introduced the frost. "This is the steward of my house, and I have always treated him as a friend." ”

Du Sheng originally thought it was a maid, he was a scholar in Dongyang County, and he was accustomed to sending maids to each other between friends, so he let loose and ridiculed. At this time, when I heard Xu You say that he would treat him as a friend, his face immediately turned red, he got up and saluted, and said, "I don't know the identity of the girl, I am so offended!" ”

Shi Shiran smiled and said: "I don't know what Lang Jun's crime is, is it a sin to praise my beauty?" ”

Du Sheng was slightly stunned, then laughed, picked up the wine glass, raised his head and drank it all, and said freely: "It's me who lost my words, and I punish myself with a glass, which is considered to be reparation!" ”

The frost is full of smiles, not showing the slightest frivolity, but it can make everyone here feel like a spring breeze. Xu You instructed: "From now on, send some rice, grain, oil, salt and other daily necessities to Baohu's house in Jinling, once a month, until this disaster has passed." In addition, Brother Zhang, Brother Shen and Brother Wu's families also handled the same. ”

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Mo and Shen Meng stood up at the same time and said, "Weizhi, you have good intentions, but you must not be so expensive!" ”

At the current price of rice, if Xu You is responsible for the family rations of the four of them, he will have to spend at least tens of thousands of dollars a month.

That's not a small amount for them!

Wu Shixing hesitated, his family was only slightly stronger than Bao Hu, and now he couldn't make ends meet, and he couldn't continue, but the friendship of a gentleman was as light as water, how could he accept people's rice grain, and resolutely refused: "Weizhi, we are here for the association, but not for the rice grain......"

Xu You said softly: "Friends have the righteousness of wealth, my life is better, it coincides with this disaster year, I can't sit back and watch you trapped in the rice and have no heart in the Tao." What's more, even if you don't think about it, you have to think more about your parents at home. ”

Zhang Mo originally didn't want it, he was arrogant, how could he accept Xu You's gift, but looking at Wu Shixing's expression, he must have encountered difficulties, if he and Shen Meng didn't want it, Wu Shixing wouldn't want it.

"Okay, thank you Weizhi, we will accept it, but we deserve it!"

Zhang Mo and the others were just about to bow down to thank them, but Xu You held them with one hand and said with a smile: "The gift of friends, although the carriage and horse, are not sacrificial meat, do not worship!" This is the Master's words, you and I have fellowship, the most important thing is in the heart, money and external things, no need to care! ”

Wang Rong and Zhou Yong were full of admiration, and Xu You's demeanor was indeed heartbreaking. Du Sheng was even more cheerful and said: "Watching and helping each other, it is really the gathering of the hearts of the people of my Bazi Society, you should drink a cup of wine!" ”

For three days in a row, Zhang Mo and others gave up touring the mountains and rivers, but ran around Qiantang, visited the people's situation, and prepared to go to the state capital after returning to Wu County, and seize the time to help the victims. In addition to the normal conscription, with a full meal a day plus three dollars to hire people who have no rice to eat, and at the same time repair the farmland and water conservancy facilities in the counties.

Throughout June, the Yangzhou Thorn History Mansion invested a lot of manpower and material resources to stabilize the price of rice, and the profiteers who secretly speculated on grain to make a fortune in the country fought to the death, and each other won and lost, although it was not able to get the rice price back on track - that is also impossible, after all, the two seasons were not harvested, the supply was insufficient, and the price of rice rose inevitably. What the government has to do is to curb the rate of rise as much as possible, and if it rises less every day, fewer people will die, but through various efforts, the price of rice has finally been maintained at a high level of 3,000 wen and has not continued to soar.

By early July, the bail was completed. When the grain price is low, the government buys and sells grain from grain farmers at a higher price than the market price and stores it in the Changping position, so as not to hurt the farmers; When the price of grain is high, it will be sold at a price lower than the market price to stabilize the price and stabilize the situation. The good thing about this system is that there is not much difference between the price of buying and selling, so it can maintain the cost and ensure long-term operation, but at this time, the disaster is in full swing, and it is difficult for the temporarily built Taiping to be as flat as the regular liquidation, but its advantage is that it can give faith to the victims who are struggling in hell, a warning to the grain merchants who are committing crimes, and an example to the family gate valve who is watching the excitement: that is, the imperial court will vigorously provide disaster relief, and stabilize the situation at all costs.

On the day of the completion of the Taiping warehouse, ten boatloads of rice grain were transported into the warehouse by water, and the price of rice immediately fell to 2,700 wen, and on the second day, ten boats were again, and the price of rice fell by another 300 wen, and on the third and fourth days...... A total of 50 truckloads of rice grain were opened in the Taiping Warehouse, and many stores that had been closed in the market reopened, and the price of rice finally fell by 2,000 Wen, hovering around 1,800 Wen.

"Xiaolang, Gu Fujun is really amazing, in just a few days, he can raise fifty boats of rice grain, which makes people have to admire!"

Lu Shuang praised Gu Yun a lot, in her heart, with fifty boats of rice, I don't know how many people can be saved, this is really a great merit. He Wei sneered and said, "You, it's good to have half of this fifty boats of rice, Gu Yun is suspicious, I don't know how many naïve girls like you have deceived!" ”

"Huh?" Frost covered his mouth, surprised and inexplicable, and said: "But, the price of rice is low, and many people can buy it......"

"Because there are also those grain merchants who have been deceived, they are afraid that the Taiping will continue to transport grain, so they want to take advantage of the high price to sell and further reduce the price of rice."

The autumn equinox said with anticipation: "No matter what, as long as the price of rice can be lowered and everyone has something to eat, it is better than anything else." ”

Dong Solstice said with a smile: "Yes, according to my report, many wait-and-see grain merchants can't sit still, and in the next few days, there will definitely be grain merchants who will ship a large number of goods, and the price of rice will drop below 1,000 wen at that time." In my opinion, with the intervention of the imperial court, this famine will soon pass, and no more people will be displaced. ”

Xu You sighed, there was always worry in his eyes, and said, "I hope so, but I have a hunch that this matter will not end so easily!" ”

Only five days later, in the middle of the night, a fire soared into the sky, the fire could be seen for hundreds of miles, Xu You went out of the room in clothes, and He Wei and others stood on the high place of the rockery, overlooking the fire. Not long after, the winter solstice came in a hurry, and her pretty face was as pale as paper:

"Xiaolang, Taiping...... Warehouse, go to the water! ”

(I wish all my friends a happy Chinese New Year and a prosperous Year of the Dog!) ）