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Hongwu three years, from the time into August, regardless of the north and south of the river, the autumn harvest began, the heavy grain, full of corn for the farmer, symbolizing the hope of the year, this year's field and local, education surcharge and other taxes, and even the whole family's rations, all refer to this season's grain.

The millet is picked up from the field one by one, strong and yellow, and for the peasants, this millet is as precious as gold.

There is not a man on this ridge who does not rejoice. This year's harvest is at least twice as good as in previous years. The year before last, when the "Imperial Rice" first began to rise, there was no belief that the production capacity of rice per mu reached 500 catties, but it was normal for the "Imperial Rice" promoted by the government to produce 500 catties of millet per mu, and even some good fields could hit 6 or 700 catties if the fertilizer could keep up.

For these days and nights of hard work in the fields, and even with an empty belly to struggle out of the price, who doesn't like to smile like to have such plumpness?

People nodded and smiled at each other, and they would say that God has eyes, after all, the poor cannot be starved to death. Or what to say, this change of dynasty is good, and our people are also sticking to the emperor's light, and so on, the people's words are full of hope for the coming year.

They talked to each other about the hardships of the past: the water, the drought, the busyness and the horror, and the embarrassment of hunger in previous years! …… Now it all seemed like it was all right to them.

The market has gradually become lively, and prices have risen one after another in only two or three days. They don't seem to have any reaction to this, this year's harvest is better than usual, and now there are more and more people in this city, and more and more people are eating rice.

Selling is being able to sell.

But the happy people were surprised to see that while the price of grain was rising, on the contrary, the price of grain and rice was falling day by day.

Five pieces! Four pieces! Three pieces! It has been low to the market price of only two yuan and five jiao, and it is still the best grain.

"Did it really fall so fast?"

The atmosphere of joy and happiness gradually subsided with the low price of grain.

Every time the price of grain falls by one yuan, the hearts of the common people must be tightened. And the high price of all things in the harvest year makes this harvest year even more embarrassing than usual.

Who would want to sell the grain, which has been painstakingly worked so hard and soaked in the blood and sweat of the peasants?

When the people first heard such news, they were not very shocked, and their eyes were already faint at the yellow grain. He didn't believe that such a good life-saving treasure would not be able to sell for money. When it was rumored that the price of grain had plummeted wildly, the old farmer in the countryside still stared at his two dim eyes and scolded angrily:

"It's you guys who are making a fuss about it! What's so surprising about the drop in the price of valleys? People who don't pay a lot of money can't keep it for themselves? Mom, let them all starve to death! ”

However, looking for his son to be angry is angry, and the price of grain is low, there is still no way to stop it. The sound of two dimes and a load of grain gradually spread throughout the countryside.

"Two pieces of two,, son, and raised are willing to sell!"

No matter how low the price of grain is worthless, people still push their families to work. After threshing, he dried the grass, dried the grain, got on the windmill, entered the warehouse, and worked all day long under the fiery sun. The woolly grain, which was mixed with mud and grass, has become a clean, yellow and strong grain. At this time, the price of food is still falling......

As for the people, they even pondered: if the price fell like this, they would rather stay at home and eat it for three or five years than sell it cheaply. After all, this is the blood and sweat of the whole family for more than half a year!

A few hours later, the police with a box cannon on the waist and crotch came. They were followed by five or six laborers with baskets and slabs - they were the laborers of the grain store, and as in previous years, they measured the grain and collected taxes.

"Girder! Beam! ”

"What's the matter, Elder Bao?"

"Taxes! Tian Fu and additional, your father has a total of 17 acres and 7 points of land under his name, and the first-class land in your family is ...... The total amount of land tax and surcharge payable is 15 yuan, 1 dime and 9 cents. The calculation valley is thirteen quintals, six buckets, and zero three. The price is one dollar and two corners! ”

Has the price of the valley fallen to this point? Uncle Liang's eyes widened, and he could hardly believe his ears. But looking at the policeman who came with him, he didn't dare to speak.

"Hmm! The imperial grain and national tax are justified, when do you want it? ”

"I'm going to measure the valley soon!"

"Oh my God!"

The yellow, strong millet was measured out of the barn hole one by one, and in Uncle Liang's heart, it was like there were thousands of sharp blades to be slaughtered there. Little by little, tears flowed down my body, and my whole body trembled.

The taste of broad beans, the fiery sun, the wild water, the soil of Guanyin, the bark of trees,...... They all took advantage of this opportunity and poured into Uncle Liang's heart together.

The grain collector saw that the grain had already been picked up on his shoulders, and turned around and called Uncle Liang:

"Let's go!"

Uncle Liang picked up the millet vigorously, as if it weighed a thousand catties. Sweat was pouring rain! Raising his eyes and looking at Sun Liuye's carriage hatefully, he stepped out of the head door with his legs. I barely moved three or five steps, and the soles of my feet ached like sharp thorns. He wanted to put it down and stop, but his mind was dizzy and he couldn't withstand the pain in his heart, so he fell sideways!

"Oh my!"

He only screamed like this, and the grain toppled over the ground.

"Big baby! Dana! Your daddy has a sha! ”

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! ……”

"Mother, come on, daddy is not good!"

Aunt Da Liang also ran out of it in a hurry, lifted Uncle Da Liang on a door panel under the stage, and gently thumped his whole body up and down:

"Is there anything you're sad about?"

"Hmm! ……”

Uncle Liang's eyes closed. The servants carried a load of grain from his side, and the sound of his feet coming and going seemed to be on his heart. Gradually, blood came out of his mouth......

As a city, Shanghai is becoming more prosperous day by day, especially in the area around the Bund, and the Bund at this time is no longer the old concession -- last year, according to the new treaties with Britain, France, and other countries, the concession should have been recovered, and even the "foreign landlords" on the Bund will also change hands -- and they can be said to have been deeply affected by the Shanghai Municipal Government.

At the time of the resumption of the concession, although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs promised to protect the property of persons from various countries in the concession, the foreigner's lease and purchase of land in China was contrary to the subsequent adoption of the Land Law, according to which foreigners were not allowed to rent or purchase land in China in the name of public or private, and Chinese were not allowed to accept gifts, leases or purchases of land from outsiders.

After the bill was approved, the missionaries in the concession and in the country had to face the reality that they could neither continue to hold nor settle the land problem by donating, leasing or assigning it, and the law gave them only two months - after which "illegally held land by outsiders" was at risk of confiscation.

Although the ambassadors to China have protested, they have to admit that the government has not violated the original agreement to "protect the property of foreign people in China within the framework of the law", and that the prohibition of foreigners from holding land is also a law. Eventually, the famous foreign firms had to accept the government's condition that the land be surrendered, and that the buildings built on the land would continue to be held for 20 years, after which the government would also take back the buildings.

It is for this reason that, since last year, many of the famous Jewish and foreign companies specializing in real estate have been on the verge of bankruptcy, and for domestic businessmen, it is an opportunity to sign long-term building lease contracts, although such contracts are not sustainable, and the Bund is now also in full swing - a large number of new buildings are replacing the old buildings, and those Western-style buildings of various styles are now forming the characteristics of the Bund.

As the largest city in the estuary of the river "near" the capital, Shanghai, with the Bund as its commercial center, has not declined because of the proximity of the imperial capital, but has further developed, and even faintly surpassed Dalian -- it is becoming the heart of China's finance day by day, and no matter what those who demean it, the Bund in Shanghai at this time is still a cosmopolitan city, and not much has changed because of the resumption of the concession.

If anything, what's changed here? I am afraid that the foreign firms that once dominated Shanghai's industries are being replaced by state-owned enterprises, and those former compradors will have already become businessmen or senior employees of enterprises. Here, everyone's opportunities at least seem fair, there is a possibility of success, for some young and promising people, this is a temple of opportunity, here, as long as there are specialties, coupled with diligence, you will be rewarded with promotion and security. And for pragmatists, it's the largest market in all of Asia; For some, it's a place of luxury for the rich, but for adventurers, it's also a paradise, a paradise of opportunities for adventurers.

Now......

Extinguishing the cigar smoke in the ashtray, Zhao Pusheng walked to the window, he stared at the Huangpu River outside the window, looking at the merchant ships of various countries on the river, at this time the sun was setting, dyeing the river red.

"According to the statistics of this year's grain production, the Control Committee has decided to reduce the grain import quota by half......"

Facing his back to his boss, Tanakagawa's tone was very calm, as an investigator of the company, his task is to find out some information -- especially the information related to the control committee, now is different from the past, in the past, China's imports were random and disorderly, any individual, foreign bank can be engaged in the import and export industry, but not now, foreign trade control is the earliest control, it can be said that the reason why the foreign banks that once crisscrossed Shanghai will usher in their end is because of the foreign trade control - All imports and exports will be carried out by enterprises authorized by the government, and enterprises that are not authorized are not allowed to engage in import and export business.

By monopolizing foreign trade, the government monopolizes the whole market, and they control both the prices of the exported goods and the prices of the importers, and of course the types and quantities are also controlled by them, and the control of the committee is carried out by the plan at the beginning of the year. They will never change their plans unless there are exceptional circumstances.

As the general manager of Minsheng Rice, Zhao Pusheng knows very well that this Minsheng Rice Industry is a company composed of 62 rice companies in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang -- a rice merchant alliance formed to fight against the northern rice companies from the northeast.

Unlike the Northeast China, which has implemented grain control, the mainland has not implemented grain control so far, and it is precisely because of this that Minsheng Rice can compete with the northern rice industry with the help of local purchases and other methods, thus controlling most of the market in Shanghai and other places.

"Imports have decreased, which is a good thing!"

Different from the traditional rice merchants, Zhao Pusheng became the general manager of this joint company for a very important reason, because he knew those merchants in the northeast -- he graduated from the Northeastern University from a rice merchant family, worked in the northeast for six years, and after continuing the family business, in just a few years, the Zhao family's 16 rice shops were transformed into 135 rice shops all over Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

As a rice merchant, he was well aware of the importance of importing rice - since the Tongzhi period, millions of quintals of grain had to be imported every year. Now the quota has been reduced, which means that the shortage of millions of quintals of grain has to be replenished from the country.

"As soon as imports decrease, the demand for Inter will naturally increase!"

Zhao Pu raised his head and continued without looking back.

"Now, for us, it is to take advantage of the harvest season to unite grain merchants from all over the country to bring down the price of millet......

"General manager, although the price of grain has been low since ancient times, if the pressure is too low, what if the grain company intervenes at that time?"

"Don't worry!"

Shaking his head, Zhao Pusheng's voice still seemed very calm.

"Although there are grain companies in all provinces, but those grain companies often only focus on selling grain, rather than buying grain, in fact, they are making a difference, but unlike us, they are using imported low-priced grain to stabilize the price of grain in the city, just like Shanghai, the population that has poured into Shanghai in the past two years is hundreds of thousands, if it is not for the grain company to sell parity grain to stabilize the price of grain, the price of rice in Shanghai, at least break through 7 yuan!"

Although many rice merchants have a lot of grievances against the grain company, in Zhao Pusheng's view, this grain company still has a need to exist, after all, high-priced grain is not always a long-term solution, and the grain company is sometimes a friend of the rice merchant -- for example, in the process of peasants borrowing grain to repay grain, because the grain company does not directly purchase peasants' grain, at this time, grain merchants can take the opportunity to lower grain prices, and peasants do not refuse to accept low prices in order to repay their debts when they are due.

Because of this, Zhao Pusheng never felt that the provincial grain company was a competitor, but because of his active cooperation, he has always been appreciated by the grain company, and even won many commendations from civil affairs officials. Of course, the businessman is profitable, and this cannot be changed from the bottom of his bones, and the reason why he cooperates with the grain company is also for profit -- by virtue of his good relationship with the government, the Minsheng rice industry has monopolized the rice market in many places.

"Jishan, do you know how much population has increased from the beginning of the empire to the present, from Shanghai to Wuhan and the cities along the Yangtze River?"

Suddenly, Zhao Pusheng turned the conversation around, looked at Wang Yumin in front of him and asked rhetorically.

"4.7 million, the new urban population of the country is more than 15 million, how much food do these people have to eat in a year?"

As a rice merchant, Zhao Pusheng is not only concerned about the grain harvest, he also pays more attention to the market and the needs of the market, and compared with traditional businessmen, he has received systematic business training and pays more attention to data.

"General manager, this year should exceed 18 million people, from the founding of the empire to the present, all parts of the country have been building a large number of buildings, not to mention other places, only in the area of Nanjing, Gyeonggi, there are more than 200,000 workers engaged in the construction industry, plus the construction site of Ma'anshan Iron and Steel Company, at least one million workers in various industries around Nanjing, as for the area from Shanghai to Nanjing along the river, in the past two years, there are new factories opened almost every day, and there are more than one million female workers working in the yarn factory. The urban population in China will exceed 100 million! ”

When mentioning 100 million people, Wang Yumin's breathing seems a little short, what is the concept of 100 million people, a quarter of the country's population lives in cities, and 40%-50% of them will be concentrated in the "Yangtze River Metropolitan Area" from Shanghai to Wuhan, grain merchants like people, the more urban population, the more grain will be used, and the larger the market will naturally be.

"Let's not talk about 100 million people, it's the new 18 million people, hum ......"

Squeezing out some smiles on his face, Zhao Pusheng turned the conversation slightly.

Two years ago, the imperial court took advantage of the "land tax trend" to re-measure the land, and how much hidden land was measured? Almost 30,000 acres of hidden land! 30,000 acres, most of those hidden lands became so-called "borderless land", and then confiscated by the imperial court......"

Zhao Pusheng mentioned the "old case" two years ago, limited by measurement technology and other reasons, it is normal for the folk "hidden land" in all dynasties and dynasties, but the measurement based on modern measurement technology has made a large number of folk "hidden land" measured, and within the time limit of the imperial court, not everyone will truthfully report the hidden land for registration, resulting in the "hidden land" becoming "ownerless official land", and the imperial court then took advantage of the high-pressure situation caused by the emergency state of the "tide" to confiscate the "hidden land". At that time, it can be said that there were many complaints, but after experiencing the "land tax trend", no one dared to say no.

"Last year, the government released all the more than 300 million acres of land through the way of public land release and released it to the people who had no land and little land, and tens of millions of poor families benefited from it.

Of course, this virtue policy is based on the damage of millions of other households.

"Kindness is a blessing for our people......

Wang Yumin's words are not heartfelt, after all, their family was found to have more than 140 acres of hidden land, and according to the corresponding legal provisions, those who have more than 3 acres of hidden land will be confiscated as ownerless land. In other words, this alone cost their Wang family thousands of yuan.

"I don't know if it's blessed or not, and I don't care, but I know that the rent of this public land is converted into cash, that is to say, in addition to taxes, there is also land rent, imperial grain and national taxes, who dares to owe it? So this year, the price of this grain can be at least 50% lower than last year! Because no matter what, they have to sell grain and pay taxes! ”

"General Manager, what do you mean ......"

Wang Yumin looked at the general manager, and from the general manager's cold words, he read the other party's meaning.

"Push down the price, push down this year's valley price! You have to remember that no matter what price we get, they have to sell! (To be continued.) )