After a while, a middle-aged man who looked like a businessman walked in, knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Guan Tao has seen Xiao Xianzun." ”

"Get up, I'm just a little lord, a small county, full of nonsense?" Lei Tai snorted with a cold face.

"Yes, yes, it's the nonsense of the villain." Guan Tao stretched out his hand and gave himself a soft slap in the face, then stood up and quietly stuffed something into Lei Tai's hand.

Lei Tai peeked at it, but it was a peanut-sized piece of gold, and he was overjoyed, and his face looked better: "Who are you, and what is the matter with me Rugao?" ”

Guan Tao stood beside Lei Tai and said: "The villain is a grain merchant in Fengyang, and after the fall of Zhongdu, he fled to Yangzhou to take refuge. ”

"You're from Fengyang?" Lei Tai was startled and lifted his spirits.

"Just." Guan Tao replied cautiously: "The villain's family business in Fengyang can be said to have been completely destroyed in the war, but fortunately, the villain has opened branches in various places in Nanzhili a few years ago, so that the family will not go bankrupt." Still, the loss is not small. The villain's family has a large population, so this person must eat! ”

Speaking of this, Guan Tao sighed: "The villain still has a batch of grain on hand, and he wants to buy it for some working capital, so he came to the county yamen to worship the door." ”

"You're going to open a semicolon in Rugao?" Lei Tai raised his vigilance, isn't this going to grab food with a few big clans such as the impostor?

Since the imperial court implemented a whip law, only collecting silver and not taxes in kind, the common people have been in great trouble. In a good year, the price of grain is low, but in order to pay taxes, grain can only be sold at a low price. But when the harvest is gone, they can only buy grain from grain merchants at high prices to make ends meet.

Because of this, when the local clans saw the huge profits, they colluded with the yamen to monopolize the entire Rugao grain market, buying at a low price and selling at a high price, making a lot of money.

As far as Lei Tai knows, the Mao family has tens of thousands of taels in the grain business alone every year. Of course, this money cannot be taken by the impostor. In the Ming Dynasty, the focus was on the collusion between officials and businessmen, so the relevant officials of the county yamen had to share a profit. The magistrate and the county magistrate each have thousands of taels, and even he Lei Tai can get three or five hundred.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the impostor is also an official.

Over the years, the purchase and sale of grain has made the yamen and the impostors form a small interest group.

This surnamed Tao actually wants to run to Rugao to grab food, is it too long?

There was a hint of anger on Lei Tai's face.

"No, no." Guan Tao waved his hand again and again, looking panicked: "Lord Bo, the villain has been traveling south and north for so many years, but the local rules are understood, even if I eat bear heart and leopard gall, I don't dare to come to you to open a grain number?" ”

Lei Tai's face softened a little: "Then what are you doing here?" ”

Guan Tao grabbed a handful of things from his pocket, pinched his fist and raised it to the table, as soon as he loosened it, there was a "sand" sound, and small golden particles poured down, Huo Ran was fresh wheat.

"Wheat?"

Guan Tao nodded flatteringly: "I heard that Master Bo is asking to buy wheat recently, and the villain happens to have a batch of wheat in his hand that he wants to sell, I don't know if you are interested?" ”

As he spoke, his eyes rolled indistinctly, and then returned to his flattering appearance.

"You're going to sell me wheat?" Lei Tai took a breath: "How many do you have on hand?" ”

The tone had become hasty.

These days, because wheat is being collected everywhere, the south of the Yangtze River is not the main wheat producing area. Because, in recent times, the price of wheat has been ridiculously high, which has affected every level of social life. Take Rugao County as an example, the prices of wontons, steamed buns, and steamed buns have risen sharply, and just like that, the vendors are still shouting that the gray noodles are too expensive, and the business can't go on.

Grain merchants in various places also hoarded a large amount of wheat and flour, and refused to release them alive or dead.

In this way, it is extremely difficult for Lei Tai to purchase a sufficient amount of wheat for grain.

Until now, there are still big vacancies.

Because of this, Sun Yuan's grain team did not set off for a long time.

Guan Tao: "It's not too much, 20,000 stones, if the master still wants it, I can still mobilize some from other places." ”

As he spoke, he reported a figure, which was two percent lower than the market.

"Ah, 20,000 stones, and I still wrote it!" Lei Tai perked up, and his heart burst into ecstasy. This year, Rugao needs to pay only 30,000 stone of wheat, and Sun Yuan needs to escort more than 10,000 stone to Beijing. But even the more than 10,000 stones, but they can't be made up alive or dead.

This guy has already killed me Leitai, I have to send him to Beijing as soon as possible, as long as he leaves Rugao, don't think about coming back.

Now, there are 20,000 stone wheat, haha, just urging him to go on the road.

At the thought of being able to get rid of Sun Yuan, the demon star, Lei Tai felt a burst of ecstasy, and felt a burst of lightness on his body.

However, he still felt that there was something wrong with this Guan Tao's words: "Why is the price so low?" "In business, businessmen speak profit. Now that wheat is as expensive as gold, it is a good time to make a fortune, how can this birdman sell at a low price?

Seeing the suspicious look on Lei Tai's face, Guan Tao smiled mysteriously, put his mouth to Lei Tai's ear and whispered: "Lord Bo, to tell you the truth, the batch of grain I have in hand is all old wheat, some of which have been stored for ten years, and they are all moldy, even if the price is lower, I am afraid that no one cares." I heard that the main Bo was going to be transported to the capital this time, but it was a fool anyway. When the time comes, just cover the noodles with a layer of fresh wheat. After the deed is completed, the villain has another filial piety. ”

Lei Tai completely understood at this time, and sneered: "What a bold man, you dare to send moldy grain to pay the taxes of this official and find death!" ”

Guan Tao was shocked, knelt on the ground with a plop, and kept kowtowing: "The master spares his life, the master spares his life!" The villain heard that the lord is a person from the impostor family, the impostor is a Yangzhou wang family, and the impostor has been a high-ranking official in the imperial court, thinking that there should be no problem with the imperial court's warehousing. Damn the villain, damn the villain! ”

Lei Tai was about to be driven out by someone, and when he heard this, his heart suddenly moved: "Moldy grain...... This is not right, Sun Yuan, the thief, escorted the wheat to the capital, even if he did not have a deficit, the moldy wheat would definitely not be able to enter the warehouse, and he would be punished with a capital crime when the time came. All you need to do is cover the moldy grain with a layer of new wheat at the time of shipment and hide it from him. Anyway, the people, li, bao, and officials who escorted the grain were all me. Okay, that's a great idea! ”

He pulled Guan Tao up from the ground and asked in a deep voice, "How much filial piety can you give to this official?" ”

Guan Tao looked surprised and stretched out two fingers.

"Twenty percent, well, yes, when will the food arrive?"

Guan Tao: "I'll be there in six days." ”

"Three days, I'll give you only three days."

Guan Tao blinked his eyes for a long time, and then nodded: "No problem, three days is three days, sir, you can prepare the silver." ”

Then, the two discussed for a long time and decided to deliver the goods at Leitai's old house in Xichang three days later.

Since it was wheat that had been stored for ten years and could not be imported, it was naturally inconvenient to send it into the city. This matter has to be done secretly, otherwise it will alarm Sun Yuan's thief, and expose Lei Tai on the spot to buy moldy wheat with public funds, not only can Sun Xiao Thief take the opportunity not to go to Beijing, but even he Lei Tai is in big trouble.

Sent away Guan Tao, Lei Tai's heart was excited, and he couldn't stop rubbing his hands: This is the sleepiness that came to meet the pillow, and now, the wheat is also ready, Sun Yuan, look where you are fleeing this time!

Thinking of Sun Yuan's hideous expression on that day, Lei Tai's heart trembled, and his hands and feet were cold.

I just hope to get this demon away as soon as possible.

After coming down, Lei Tai did not stop breathing, and immediately asked Jean to carry the silver used to buy wheat in a small boat, and sent it to the old mansion in Xichang, and immediately sent a letter to Sun Yuan, ordering him to organize a porter, and set off for Beijing in the morning four days later.