Chapter 75

In the coming days, the grain shops were bustling with activity, as the 9,000 stones of grain had to be unloaded from the ships, inspected, weighed, and stored, a process that would take more than just a couple of days.

Finally, the owners of the three grain shops in Fuyang County appeared. The shop managers had played the role of the bad cop, and the owners naturally had to play the good cop. After learning the situation, Zhou Yang and his team had to say countless kind words to the grain merchants. They even held banquets for three consecutive days at the best restaurant in the county, apologizing to the grain merchants. When parting, they also bought them generous New Year's gifts...

Although the grain merchants' income did not increase, their wounded hearts were somewhat comforted, and their damaged dignity was somewhat restored. Moreover, Zhou Yang and his team had indeed gone bankrupt and were heavily in debt, making it hard for others to say anything more... Besides, the New Year was approaching, and no one wanted to return home with a belly full of resentment. The grain merchants' attitudes finally softened considerably.

In the drizzling winter rain, Wang Xian stood on the second floor of the Linhe Restaurant, watching the empty grain ships leave the dock, a smile playing on his lips.

"Being able to avoid using the constables is truly a blessing," Sima Qiu, standing beside him, said with relief. "With grain merchants from over a dozen counties gathered in Fuyang, it has already attracted the attention of the entire Hangzhou Prefecture, and even the Zhejiang Province... It really made me nervous." Using the constables would make people suspect that the government was involved, leading to doubts about whether there was a major problem with the Changping Granary. Given the poor relationship between the Sub-prefectural Inspector and Fuyang County, a thorough investigation would certainly be conducted, and the truth would be revealed.

However, under Wang Xian's direction, the entire process was a performance by the grain merchants. Whether it was the initial bad cop or the subsequent good cop, no government officials were involved, successfully avoiding some fatal speculations.

Now, even if the Sub-prefectural Inspector realizes what happened, there's no need to fear, because 6,000 stones of new grain have already been stored in the Yongfeng Granary. Seeing the granary full of white rice, County Magistrate Wei would even welcome an inspection to enhance his reputation...

"But in the future, the grain prices in Fuyang will likely rise," Sima Qiu said with some concern. "The grain merchants will definitely try to make up for their losses."

"No problem. I've already discussed with Zhou the grain merchant that after the New Year, he will go to Changsha to contact rice suppliers," Wang Xian said softly. "It used to be said that 'When the Suzhou and Lake regions are bountiful, the whole world is well-fed,' but now more and more farmland in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is being converted to cotton and mulberry cultivation. In the future, we will have to buy grain from Hunan and Jiangxi, so it might change to 'When Hunan and Hubei are bountiful, the whole world is well-fed.'"

"You, young man," Sima Qiu, who was no longer surprised by Wang Xian's foresight, said, "I only heard the same thing from the Ministry of Revenue in the capital. You are the first one to say this in Zhejiang."

"Unable to see the true face of Mount Lu, because I am among its peaks," Wang Xian smiled faintly and handed two pieces of paper to Sima Qiu without any烟火气 (smoke and fire, metaphorically meaning without any pretense).

Sima Qiu glanced at them and saw that they were two land deeds. One was from Jianchang, Jiangxi, where County Magistrate Wei's hometown was, specifying 80 acres of paddy fields. The other was from Wuxi, Sima Qiu's hometown, specifying 20 acres of paddy fields. The deeds detailed the number of acres, the number of plots, and the boundary markers. The first deed listed Wei Yuan as the landowner, and the second listed Sima Qiu.

Sima Qiu knew that this was their annual allowance. Because County Magistrate Wei lived a frugal and simple life, Wang Xian had bought land for him in his hometown, which deeply resonated with the ideal of a scholar-official being clean and upright in office and living a leisurely life in retirement.

As for Mr. Sima, he naturally had additional income beyond his salary. Wang Xian owed much of his rapid rise to Sima Qiu, so he also bought land for him in Wuxi. One acre of paddy field cost about 15 taels of silver, so 20 acres amounted to 300 taels, making Mr. Sima extremely happy. No wonder people say that secretaries always leave with more than they came with. He thought he would have to endure a hard life with County Magistrate Wei, but unexpectedly, he became a small landowner in less than a year.

Mr. Sima, who had never seen so much money, held the land deed and looked at it repeatedly before carefully putting it in his chest, looking at Wang Xian with gratitude. "Thank you, brother."

"Cough, cough..." Wang Xian was dazed. The power of money and silk is indeed great. Just a moment ago, he was still calling him "nephew." "Mr. Sima, you don't need to thank me. This is the regular allowance in the government office. I know the magistrate is clean, and it has already been reduced by half compared to when Chen was the magistrate."

Wang Xian's words were true. In later generations, it was said that the salaries of Ming officials were extremely low, and their income was not as high as in the Song Dynasty. This is a typical misconception. Ming local officials never relied on their meager salaries to live; they relied on regular allowances.

Even the famous clean official Hai Rui, when he was a county magistrate, would take a cut from the government's various revenues, earning over 2,000 taels of silver a year. This was because all non-regular staff in the government office were paid by him, and there were various receptions and visits... Without this income, which was over a hundred times his salary, he could not run the entire county office.

According to tradition, these revenues were legal and reasonable. After deducting expenses, any surplus at the end of the year would not be carried over to the next year but would go into the magistrate's personal treasury, becoming his private income.

Therefore, how much a county magistrate earned in a year depended on how much he squeezed out and how well his subordinates managed the finances. County Magistrate Wei, who sought a reputation for loving the people, imposed a light burden on them. The surplus at the end of the year naturally owed much to Wang Xian.

"The ice respects for the Prefecture, the Board of Revenue, the Censorate, the Sub-prefectural Inspector, and the Sub-prefectural Governor are also prepared," Wang Xian said somewhat gloomily. "The magistrate can rest assured."

"That's good, that's good." Sima Qiu patted Wang Xian's shoulder. "Zhongde, you are truly a born financial officer. At such a young age, you can manage everything so well!"

"Mr. Sima, you flatter me..." Wang Xian could only respond with a bitter smile. To be honest, although the job in the finance office was lucrative, he didn't want to do it at all. Because all the regular allowances of everyone up and down the hierarchy had to pass through his hands. When things were going well, people called him the god of wealth, but when something went wrong, he became the scapegoat, like Li Sheng...

To avoid giving others a handle, he had to go to great lengths to cook the books, just like Li Sheng did... Although his level of book-cooking was such that no one in the Ming Dynasty could see through it, fake is still fake. When others really want to get you, the three words "莫须有" (baseless) are enough.

Moreover, it was mentally exhausting...

But he had only been in the finance office for a few months, and it was too early to think about changing positions. He could only continue to work carefully for a few more years and then make plans. Fortunately, the job was indeed lucrative...

Wang Xian had only been officially working for less than two months, and at the end of the year, he had over a hundred taels of silver. To put it in perspective, Wang Gui, who worked in a paper mill and was even a foreman, earned only 20 to 30 taels of silver a year, working from dawn to dusk. There was no way to compare.

Back at the government office, Wang Xian went to the signing room to report to County Magistrate Wei. Although he didn't know that he had 80 acres of good land, County Magistrate Wei was overjoyed. Since the Yongfeng Granary became a source of worry, he had been sleepless and anxious, tense at every sound, thinking that the Sub-prefectural Inspector's people were coming to investigate.

County Magistrate Wei was certain that he would go mad if this continued. But now, thanks to Wang Xian, he was free from this major worry, feeling a great sense of relief and clarity.

"Zhongde, this time I can have a peaceful New Year, all thanks to you!" County Magistrate Wei stroked his long beard and smiled. "I never thought that in less than ten days, you could solve my problem!"

"I didn't do much," Wang Xian said humbly. "It was the magistrate who intimidated Zhou the grain merchant and the others; otherwise, they wouldn't have been so obedient."

"Ha ha..." A subordinate who doesn't take credit is a favorite of superiors. County Magistrate Wei looked at his student and liked him more and more. "The method you used was truly ingenious. I still can't figure out why those grain merchants flocked here like they were bewitched and then lowered their prices as if they were possessed."

"Actually, I learned from the ancients," Wang Xian said, not knowing how to explain the "prisoner's dilemma" and changing the topic. "When Fan Zhongyan was in Hangzhou, he used this method to stabilize grain prices."

"Oh?" County Magistrate Wei, with his extensive knowledge, immediately remembered the incident. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, Hangzhou suffered a severe drought, and grain was in short supply. Unscrupulous merchants hoarded and raised prices, causing grain prices to double and continue to rise. But Fan Zhongyan, the governor of Hangzhou, did not use conventional methods to release grain and stabilize prices. Instead, he sent people to post notices along the canal, widely publicizing that the government would buy grain at twice the market price.

Seeing the profit, grain merchants from all over flocked to Hangzhou to sell their grain. Soon, the market was flooded with grain. As the saying goes, scarcity makes things valuable, but with an abundance of grain, prices naturally fell. In a year of famine, Hangzhou showed no signs of hunger...

"Ah, I see!" County Magistrate Wei suddenly understood but also felt a deep sense of regret. He knew the story, but when faced with the problem, he had no solution. Wang Xian, who had not read many books, could always apply what he learned. It seemed he had read too much and become foolish...

"Being able to think of Fan Zhongyan's method is quite remarkable," County Magistrate Wei praised.

"Unfortunately, Fan Zhongyan did it with a light touch, without any pretense," Wang Xian said with a bitter smile. "When I used it, it looked like I was being a scoundrel."

"Ha ha ha." County Magistrate Wei laughed. "Fan Zhongyan was a sage; how can you compare to him? Besides, historians often use euphemisms to respect the great, so who knows if he also had to act like a scoundrel at the time?"

"He he." Seeing County Magistrate Wei in a rare good mood, Wang Xian took the opportunity to say, "I have something I want to ask the teacher to decide."

"Go ahead." County Magistrate Wei nodded.

"The finance office now has only me as a regular clerk, and it's very demanding every day. This year, it's fine to wrap things up, but next year, could we consider filling the positions?" Wang Xian smiled. "After all, the salaries are paid by the court, and any savings don't go to us."

"Vulgar! You will never be a sage in a thousand lifetimes!" County Magistrate Wei scolded with a smile. "Do you think I'm trying to save money? I'm trying to help you establish yourself in the finance office!" He smiled and continued, "After the New Year, I will promote you to financial officer, so you will have been in the position for two years, which makes sense." He paused and said, "As for the two clerks, you can recommend one..."

The implication was that the other position would be used as a favor. But giving Wang Xian one position was already a great reward.

"Thank you, teacher!" Wang Xian was overjoyed.

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