Chapter 268: A Fool's Sudden Inspiration

Seeing her own products selling so well, Li Xinyue was naturally overjoyed.

Because this was the first time, many people had no idea, so there weren't many carriages brought to pull the goods, but there would be more and more in the future.

More importantly, the economy in the city was also driven, such as those ready-made clothes; merchants saw they were good and wanted to buy one or two pieces, and the restaurant business was surprisingly good.

Even small vendors could earn more silver, which was all benefit and no harm to Guangwu City.

In order for Guangwu Jun to earn more silver, Li Xinyue also racked her brains.

The geographical location of Guangwu Jun was quite good, located in the center-lower part of Beijiang. This place would definitely become the hinterland of Beijiang in the future, and what she had to do was to completely revitalize the economy of Guangwu City.

She tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her gaze falling on the bustling street market outside the window.

Refined salt, white sugar, grain—these three things were the lifeline of Guangwu Jun at the moment, but if she only relied on these, once the harvest improved elsewhere, the advantage would vanish.

If next year was a bumper harvest year, the grain price would naturally fall, and refined salt and white sugar would also be affected.

But the cost of her purchasing from the system remained unchanged, which would lead to a significant drop in revenue.

However, she already had a countermeasure in her heart. Refined salt and white sugar were both raw materials; although the profit was thick, it hadn't reached the extreme.

White sugar could be boiled into crystal-clear rock sugar, or mixed with dried fruits and nuts, and pressed into durable sugar cubes, and the price could be multiplied several times.

Refined salt could also be added with ground clean spices to make "fragrant salt," specifically for wealthy families.

And the restaurants under the Xinyue Chamber of Commerce could also use this to make different dishes, attracting foodies to come.

What she wanted was not just to earn money herself, but to lead the people of the entire Guangwu Jun to earn money.

Once the people earned money, she could collect a lot of commercial tax starting next year.

And she had so much grain in her hands; as long as she had points, it was inexhaustible. Why not set up a winery? It could provide employment for the people and earn money.

These merchant caravans coming from afar didn't have to come with empty carriages; they could completely pull timber, and she would buy it at a price. They could earn on both ends, and they would probably wish they could drill into Guangwu Jun every day.

During the merchants' stay, besides buying and selling goods, food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all needs.

She could re-plan the layout of the city, build neat guest houses, warehouses, and even shops for mules and horses to rest and repair vehicles.

Let merchants feel that coming to Guangwu Jun to trade was smooth in everything, and they would be willing to come often, bringing more silver and news.

Why was the Jiangnan region so rich?

Was it just because the scenery of Jiangnan was beautiful?

People all over the world wanted to run to Jiangnan, Luoyang, and other places, entirely because there were the richest resources and transportation was extremely convenient.

This also meant that there would be more opportunities there, not just for merchants, but for scholars as well.

The geographical location of Beijiang was indeed very poor, and wanting to catch up with Jiangnan and other places was somewhat of a daydream, but self-sufficiency was quite simple.

Now, coal mines had already started to be mined, providing many jobs for the people. This coal was not only popular in winter, but even the Ming Army had to use it in daily life!

Using coal to forge weapons would be easier, and now this stove should also be born. Originally, selling stoves could also earn some money, but Li Xinyue calculated the profit and really looked down on it.

So she simply announced it and let the people make it themselves.

She could also make heated brick beds, so it would be very convenient to keep warm in winter.

These things were not complicated, and it was very easy to imitate them, so it was better to just announce them. She would just sell coal to earn the price difference and put her energy into other places.

And those refugees, the method of work-for-relief naturally had to be used. Now it was mainly to repair the roads in Guangwu Jun.

Those official roads had been built for a long time and had never been repaired. It was said that to get rich, one must first build roads. Li Xinyue wouldn't miss this.

The last thing to pay attention to was reputation. In the future, merchants from all over Guangwu Jun would gather, with mixed accents. If there were any discrepancies in the quality and weight of the goods, it would easily lead to disputes and damage credibility.

She put the mark of the Xinyue Chamber of Commerce on the packaging. Everything produced by the Xinyue Chamber of Commerce had this, similar to the trademark of her previous life.

In this way, the reputation of the Xinyue Chamber of Commerce could travel across the entire Da Qian with the merchant caravans!

Her train of thought became clear, and the brilliance in Li Xinyue's eyes grew stronger.

Shuo Fang County Magistrate's office, study.

County Magistrate Liu Heng stood by the window with his hands behind his back, his brows locked in a frown.

Behind him, the advisor stood with his hands down, not daring to breathe loudly.

"What's the situation over at Guangwu Jun?" Liu Heng didn't turn his head, his voice calm.

"Reporting to the Magistrate, the matter of Guangwu Jun opening granaries to sell grain is true... one shi for one silver and eight coins..." The advisor said cautiously, "Now, those merchants have transported the grain back, and the people are grateful to Guangwu Jun."

"Grateful." Liu Heng repeated these four words, his tone showing no emotion.

The study fell into silence.

After a long time, Liu Heng turned around, walked behind the desk and sat down, picked up the tea that had already cooled, and took a sip: "What do you think?"

The advisor pondered and said: "The Ming insurgent army's move is, first, to buy the hearts of the people, and second, to suppress the grain price. If they are allowed to do this for a long time, the hearts of the people in the county will fear to fall into the hands of the thieves."

He paused, "And... they hold military power, we cannot clash with them head-on."

"Who said I wanted to clash head-on?" Liu Heng put down the teacup and tapped the table lightly with his fingers. "How much grain can they have? Beijiang has suffered a severe drought for three years, with a thousand miles of red earth. Where did they get so much grain?"

"The Magistrate means..."

"I know Liu Xuecheng very well; he came to power a year later than me. I can't produce so much grain, he certainly won't have it either! Since the insurgent army didn't get the grain by robbing him, then...

They must have a grain route we don't know about!" A flash of brilliance crossed Liu Heng's eyes. "You say, if this grain route belonged to us..."

The advisor gasped: "The Magistrate wants to rob the insurgent army's grain?"

"Not robbing, it's 'requisitioning'." Liu Heng smiled.

"In troubled times, grain and grass are heavy military supplies. For the sake of protecting the border and the people, this official is requisitioning surplus grain from the people, which is reasonable and compliant. As for the insurgent army..." His smile turned cold, "A bunch of rebels, what qualifications do they have to hoard grain?"

"But they have strong military power, even the Zhenbei Army has joined them!"

Liu Heng didn't respond directly, but instead said: "They sell this grain so cheaply, it must be a loss."

"I think it's just to buy the hearts of the people!" The advisor also thought of this point. Their grain route must have come from the Central Plains.

At such a long distance, how could the grain price be so cheap?

"So this matter is very simple!" Liu Heng stood up and paced in the study. "As long as there is enough silver, buy up all their grain, and Guangwu Jun won't be able to bear the loss and naturally won't be able to sell grain." ===== CHAPTER 269 =====