The rain was still falling from the sky all the time, and this summer rain that had been too long overdue had lasted for three days. After the excitement and excitement of the first day, the people inside and outside Lin'an City have gradually regained their calm.

This rain also seems to indicate that the Great Song Dynasty has finally begun to return to normal after a lot of commotion that lasted for several months.

The rain is not too heavy, and the drizzle shrouds the entire Lin'an City in a thick layer of rain and mist, washing away the dust and gathering the rivers and lakes, so that Lin'an City is full of vitality everywhere.

The smooth stone paths and slippery moss have regrown before you know it. Sparse pedestrians holding oil-paper umbrellas hurriedly walked along the path in the misty rain and fog, and groups of children ran and frolicked in the rain and fog, their clothes soaked; The smoky lake, the misty Su Causeway, the deep green willows, and a few flower umbrellas of different colors are drunk among them, and there are bursts of crisp laughter from time to time.

The entire Lin'an City, at this time, is more like an ink painting that has been placed for a long time suddenly injected into the soul, becoming vibrant, ethereal and vivid.

In the green alleys, several sedan chairs hurried by, and finally stopped in front of a huge mansion. On the high lintel, two huge golden characters are impressive, Wen Mansion.

A tall, wealthy middle-aged man in a cyan brocade robe stood under the wide porch, as if he had been waiting for a long time. Behind him was a group of small servants dressed in soap-colored miscellaneous clothes, and there were dozens of them.

Seeing a few small sedan chairs stop in front of the gate, more than a dozen small guys took out more than a dozen thick bamboo poles like a trick, opened them with a bang, and then walked quickly to the porch and stood still.

"Ha Luha, Brother Yixuan, Brother Duping, Brother Wangzhi, Brother Pinghu, Brother Yijing, but let Sui Chang wait."

Seeing that the little maid in the house had already covered the annoying rain, Wen Lianggong strode down the steps and said with a smile.

As the sedan curtain opened, five middle-aged and elderly people wearing various colored brocade robes appeared, they didn't seem surprised that there was no rain falling on their heads, and they hugged their fists in return when they saw Wen Lianggong who should come down.

"Brother Suichang."

"Ha Lu Ha, Brother Sui Chang."

"Master Wen."

"Gong Wen!"

……

From their different names, you can see the closeness and distance of each other's relationship and their respective status. Among the five people, only the two old men who could directly call Wen Lianggong the word "Wen Lianggong" were the first to get off the sedan chair.

These two old men are obviously a little older than Wen Lianggong, and even their hair is already a little gray. Walking in the front was a half-hundred-year-old man with a wide face and big ears, and if you didn't look at his big belly, he was very unangry and arrogant; Walking behind the old man was a slender middle-aged man, who seemed to be much younger than Wen Lianggong just by looking at his face, obviously well-maintained, but for some reason his hair was aging before he got old.

The other three men in brocade robes were all standing behind the two of them, but none of them were one step ahead of the two, and they were obviously all respectful of these two people.

The half-hundred-year-old man with a wide face and wide ears is now the largest grain merchant in Lin'an City, Qian Hengduo. The Qian family has been engaged in the grain trade for generations, and in his generation, it spans all walks of life, and not long ago he even extended his hand to winemaking; The slender middle-aged man was Wen Shannan, another major grain merchant in Lin'an Mansion.

Wen Lianggong, Qian Hengduo, Wen Shannan three families, Wen Lianggong married Qian Hengduo's sister, Wen Shannan's son married Wen Lianggong's daughter, Qian Hengduo's son married Wen Shannan's daughter, this relationship made the three families basically control Lin'an Mansion and even the entire Jiangnan more than sixty percent of the grain trade. The remaining forty percent was divided among several large and small grain merchants.

And among these forty percent, two percent are controlled by Qian Hengduo and Qiu Shuyu, Shan Yudong, and Shan Deyan behind Wen Shannan. Therefore, these six people in front of the Wenfu basically represent nearly eighty percent of the grain circulation in the entire Jiangnan.

"Brother Yixuan, Brother Duping, brothers, please."

The six of them exchanged a few words, and Wen Lianggong stretched out his hand to lead the way.

After a few resignations from each other, several people marched together.

Just when a few people entered the mansion, no one noticed that on the opposite side of the street, several figures in robes glanced at the Wen Mansion a few times, and then hurriedly passed by pressing the hat.

……

In the lobby of Wenfu, six people sat as guests. After the maids served the wine and food, they all retreated with Wen Lianggong's waving hand.

"I said, brother-in-law, you are in such a hurry to ask me to wait here today to discuss the sale of grain?"

Seeing that the maids around him had retreated, Qian Hengduo poured himself a cup before saying in a rough voice. Wen Lianggong is his brother-in-law, so he naturally doesn't have to be as polite as the rest.

The rest of the people saw that Qian Hengduo had already made everything clear, and they all cast their eyes on Wen Lianggong.

That's actually what they want to ask the most.

Before the displaced people arrived, when Jia Rudao first took office as the prefect of Lin'an, Shi Songzhi had already eaten with them. At that time, in the face of Jia Rudao's request for help, the six of them reached a united front, and they have been perfunctory for various reasons, even when the imperial court was raising food everywhere, the six of them only symbolically took out no more than a thousand stones of grain to make up the number.

These things, both in the government and the opposition, as long as there is a little ear and eye, are very clear. Jia Rudao is naturally clearer. And the six of them also knew that they had offended Jia Rudao.

Therefore, the grain in Lin'an City has been growing since the end of April, and it has risen to the point that it is now ten times before Wu Baiwen can buy one stone of grain. More than ten taels of silver and one stone of grain, not to mention anything else, at least it has set the highest price of grain since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty.

However, the grain hoarded in the hands of the six of them has never been opened for sale. Millions of stone of grain are backlogged in his hands, if at the beginning he still wanted to rise a little more, and then take the opportunity to make a fortune, then now he really wants to sell but doesn't know whether to sell or not.

"Uncle, don't worry!"

Seeing everyone's anxious eyes, Wen Lianggong waved his hand and said with a smile.

"Not in a hurry? I said brother-in-law. But we have laid all the money of the house on this grain. At the beginning of the six and one stone, I will sell, you say wait, wait until the price of food rises again; When it came to Baguan, I asked you again, and you said wait; Not long ago, Na Jia Shixian was in urgent need of seeds, and it was obvious that he could open a warehouse and sell grain to make a lot of money, but you still said that you had to wait.

Now the price of food is being raised by the six of us. But as you can see, this rain is not the right time. Jia Shixian planted hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland outside the city, and it would be harvested in a few months. That's what we took back at a high price with four dollars, and we don't have to wait until the grain is rotten in the warehouse? ”

Qian Hengduo slapped the table, stared at Wen Lianggong and continued: "Brother-in-law, we are all businessmen, and we have offended the imperial court, especially Master Jia Shixian, who has hoarded grain, bought low and sold high, although we are not afraid, but if we really annoy the emperor, it is not a question of making money or not." It's a matter of ruining your family.

Brother-in-law, you have the most brains and I know the truth, so we listen to you and have no personal affairs. But there are some things you have to say to make us have a bottom in our hearts, right? You don't say anything, can we not worry? ”

The rest of Wen Shannan, Qiu Shuyu, Shan Yudong, and Shan Deyan also nodded in unison when they heard Qian Hengduo's words.

Seeing this scene, Wen Lianggong couldn't help frowning slightly.

When he saw the five of them coming, he thought that maybe he would be a little surprised, but now it seemed clear that the five of them had already gathered together to discuss before the messenger arrived, and today he was going to get the truth from his mouth anyway.

"Hehe, uncle, don't worry, brothers, don't worry, come to drink and drink, and wait for a distinguished guest to arrive. When the distinguished guest arrived, the brothers would understand. ”

Wen Lianggong smiled and hugged his fist and saluted.

"Distinguished guests? Who? Vice Minister Lee? ”

Qian Hengduo was obviously extremely unhappy with Wen Lianggong's attitude that he was still selling there at the moment.

"Uncle, when the distinguished guest arrives, you will know the way."

Wen Lianggong smiled helplessly, if it was Li Mingfu, what would he say about the distinguished guest. Just say it.

At this moment, the housekeeper of the Wen Mansion hurried from outside the hall, and Wen Lianggong's eyes lit up involuntarily.

"Sir, the distinguished guest has arrived."

Bowing to the surrounding masters, the housekeeper hurried into the house, leaned over and whispered in Wen Lianggong's ear.

"Brothers, the distinguished guests have arrived, and the younger brother will go to greet you. The brothers waited for a moment. ”

"Brother-in-law, since you are a distinguished guest, I'm afraid I'll wait here, right? Why don't I wait with you to meet you? This also saves the distinguished guest from being annoyed by me and others so lazy, isn't it? ”

Qian Hengduo hurriedly got up and stopped Wen Lianggong and said.

"Uncle, it's not that the younger brother doesn't want the brothers to see this distinguished guest, but the younger brother doesn't know if this distinguished guest wants to see your brothers. If you don't want to see your brothers, I am afraid that it will be even more unbeautiful. ”

Wen Lianggong is extremely hard-mouthed, but he just doesn't let go.

Hearing him say this, Qian Hengduo's face changed and he was about to speak, but he was pulled by Wen Shannan behind him, glanced back at Wen Shannan, and sat down angrily, but he no longer pestered Wen Lianggong.

"Brother Suichang is going to greet the distinguished guest, I'll wait." Wen Shannan clasped his fists at Wen Lianggong and saluted.

"The elder brothers are at their own convenience, and the younger brothers will come when they go."

Wen Lianggong looked at Qian Hengduo, who was sulking, bowed to Wen Shannan and the others, and then left in a hurry accompanied by the housekeeper.

As Wen Lianggong left, the atmosphere in the lobby instantly became a little dull.

Qiu Shuyu, Shan Yudong, and Shan Deyan never interjected from beginning to end, and it seemed that everything was based on Wen Wen Qian's three leaders.

"Yixuan, what do you say this Sui Chang is thinking? Do you have the bottom in your heart? I hope that the three of them are okay, you and I have hoarded more than a million stone grain in the warehouse, but I have pressed a lot of stores in Lin'an City out of the city, and now this silver has not earned one, but there is a lot of silver out of the city every day, what is this. ”

No one spoke, Qian Hengduo poured two sips of stuffy wine and looked at Wen Shannan and shouted.

"I'm afraid there is more food in the Suichang Mansion than there is in the two mansions of you and me." Wen Shannan slowly poured wine into his cup and glanced at Qian Hengduo.

"This ...... I don't know how much food he hoarded, but I think it's a lot."

Qian Hengduo hesitated for a moment, his eyes flashed, and he lowered his head and said in a muffled voice while drinking.

Seeing Qian Hengduo like this, Wen Shannan raised his eyebrows slightly, glanced at Qiu Shuyu, Shan Yudong, and Shan Deyan beside him with a smile, chuckled twice and did not speak.

Qiu Shuyu, Shan Yudong, and Shan Deyan seemed to remember something when they saw Qian Hengduo like this, and their eyes became a little cloudy.

The atmosphere in the lobby was a little subtle for a moment.

However, at tea time, Wen Lianggong hurried from outside the hall, and there was no so-called distinguished guest except for the butler who had come to report before.

Seeing that he was the only one, Wen Shannan's slender eyebrows wrinkled twice unconsciously.

"Brothers, you've been waiting for a long time."

Before the person entered the house, Wen Lianggong had already apologized again and again.

"I said, brother-in-law, what about your distinguished guest? Could it be that they look down on us and wait? Don't want to see me? ”

Qian Hengduo looked left and right behind Wen Lianggong, and was a little unhappy when he didn't see anyone.

"Uncle, that distinguished guest is troubled today, and he just sent a henchman over to pass on some words to the younger brother, so ......"

"Word to the word? What words? But what does it have to do with the sale of grain? ”

Obviously, Qian Hengduo didn't worry about who the distinguished guest was, his only worry was how to sell the grain in his hand.

"Uncle, don't worry, sit down first, the younger brother will definitely give you an explanation for this matter today, okay?" Wen Lianggong rubbed his brows helplessly, and said patiently.

"Well, you've finally said something I love to hear." Qian Hengduo's face was slightly relaxed, and he nodded.

Wen Lianggong sat down and looked around and said, "Presumably, your brothers can't wait to know what to do with the food we have hoarded. However, the younger brother can give your brothers a heart first, that is, this time to hoard food, no matter what, the younger brother has earned back the principal of your brothers. As for how much surplus grain can be earned, the younger brother is really not guaranteed now. ”

Wen Lianggong's words fell, Qian Hengduo and Wen Shannan's faces were fine, but Qiu Shuyu, Shan Yudong, and Shan Deyan showed unhappiness on their faces for the first time.

"Gong Wen, I wait for the three families to be the same as Wen and Qian, and the three mansions are naturally incomparable, a small business, this time I also want to make a small profit, so I listened to what Gong Wen said, put the grain now, I don't want to make much money, but I can't keep the capital, right? If I wait for Sanfu to sell grain earlier, although it will not be as much as Gong Wen's, I will always have money to earn. Now, Gong Wen said that he can only keep the principal, where does this come from? ”

Qiu Shuyu clasped his fist at Wen Lianggong, although there was nothing disrespectful in his words, but the dissatisfaction in his words could be heard by anyone.

In fact, it is no wonder that Qiu Shuyu, Shan Yudong, and Shan Deyan are dissatisfied.

According to the original plan of the three of them, they will sell the grain hoarded in the warehouse at the time of six or seven runs, and at least double the profit will definitely be there. Later, before Jia Rudao invited them to a banquet, he was approached by Wen Lianggong and gave him heavy profits, hoping that the three families could advance and retreat together with Wen Wenqian and Wen Qian on the issue of grain sales.

Qiu Shuyu, Shan Yudong, and Shan Deyan agreed after some discussion. After all, on the one hand, Wen Lianggong said that someone in the DPRK and China would get heavy benefits, and on the other hand, there was a faint threat, and the three families together might not be able to fight any of the three of Wen Wenqian, so how to choose is obviously not a difficult proposition.

The grain stored by the three families is not much, and the sum of them is only worth a million stone of grain. After all, the news channels of the Wenwen and Qian families came much faster than them, they only began to hoard food in a hurry after the Huizhou earthquake, while the Wen family, the Wen family, and the Qian family had already begun to hoard food after the year, so by the time they wanted to buy food, there was basically not much food on the market to buy.

After all, the three of them are not Zheng Mingxuan, and the reason why Zheng Mingxuan also hoards so much grain is actually because he thinks that the three Wenwen Qian families are trying to compete with his Zheng family for the position of the tribute wine, and they don't want his Zheng family to have grain to make wine, so they follow closely to buy grain.

If the three of them didn't release the wind early to rob the Zheng family's qualification as a tribute wine emperor, I am afraid that Zheng Mingxuan would not think about hoarding food. If Zheng Mingxuan didn't hoard food, then Jia Yidao would only have two choices this time. The first one is either to pack up and go back to the house early to farm, and the second is to accept the request of the Wen Wen Qian family and buy grain from them