The mirrors ignited a frenzy of wealth display in Yangzhou.
When Zhang Bo and his companions first arrived in Yangzhou, they found Cheng Yaojin's cousin.
With the cousin taking the lead, wealthy merchants were invited to Yangzhou's largest restaurant. He also had the idea to invite Liu Mei'er, Yangzhou's top courtesan, to act as a model.
When the courtesan appeared before the merchants, holding the mirrors in her hands.
One by one, they wore expressions of disbelief.
For the first time, they clearly saw every pore on their faces in the mirrors!
"Gentlemen, this item is called a mirror, a rare treasure. Legend has it that it originates from overseas and there are only six of them! If you gift this item to your beloved, you are sure to win her heart!"
Liu Mei'er praised the mirrors enthusiastically, while also finding ways to flatter the merchants present.
"Gentlemen, you have all seen this item. Today, the six mirrors will go to the highest bidder! We will now auction the first one. Please place your bids!"
Zhang Bo walked to the courtesan's side and spoke to the crowd.
Immediately, a wealthy merchant began to bid, offering five thousand taels!
The others were not to be outdone.
Thus, the competition of wealth began.
By the time the last mirror was presented, the scene was beyond control.
The merchants had flushed faces and bulging necks. It was as if they would annihilate the entire family of anyone who dared to snatch it away!
A total of seventeen thousand taels!
This was the price paid for the last mirror!
After all the mirrors were sold, Zhang Bo, following Fang Er's instructions, found two grain merchants on the spot and used all the silver to purchase grain.
The six mirrors fetched over eighty thousand taels.
Grain was cheap in the south, so cheap that it surprised Fang Er!
Perhaps it was because that region was unaffected by the drought. A dou of rice cost only a dozen or so coins!
A shi was less than two hundred coins!
Fortunately, Zhang Bo, considering the transportation of such a large amount of grain, did not spend all the money.
He only bought three hundred thousand shi of grain, leaving twenty thousand taels of silver.
On their return journey, Cheng Chumo's cousin, using Cheng Yaojin's name, spent a large sum of silver to hire some martial arts experts for escort.
This allowed them to reach Luoyang safely.
After switching to land transport, the three hundred thousand shi of grain could not be transported all at once. Therefore, a large granary was rented in Luoyang for transshipment.
For this first batch, only two thousand shi of grain were transported, which required over a hundred ox carts!
The ox carts caused a sensation as they passed through Chang'an!
With such a severe drought, a large quantity of grain entering Chang'an was bound to attract attention!
After taking some silver and seeing off the escorting martial artists,
As soon as the grain was unloaded into the granary prepared in advance at the manor, Li Er arrived with his men.
He was overwhelmed with dealing with the disaster relief and was worrying about it. Then, he heard his guards say that a large amount of grain had entered Chang'an.
But when he sent people out of the palace again to find the owner of this grain, they found that the grain had already left Chang'an.
He hurriedly led his guards and mounted his horse, chasing after them.
Until he knew the ownership of the grain, he followed behind the grain transport team.
Once he confirmed that all the grain had been delivered to Fang Family Manor, he had a guess.
He directly entered the manor and found Fang Er.
"Where did this grain come from?"
Fang Er was also exasperated.
It felt like having just received a windfall, only to be cornered by a poor relative.
Of course, he and Li Er were not relatives.
But this fellow was much harder to deal with than a relative.
Everyone knew that Li Er was worried about grain every day.
"Your Majesty, this grain was transported from the south."
"You bought so much grain for brewing wine, didn't you? I heard that the 'Drunken Immortal Brew' business is very popular. Calculating the journey, the purchase of grain should have started around the time your winery opened, right?"
As expected of an emperor, he easily saw through Fang Er's original intention for buying the grain.
"Your Majesty, you've guessed wrong. This grain is not for brewing wine, but for Lord Liu Dacheng of Wannian County. I was penniless before, but I took a liking to this land in Fang Family Manor. I made an agreement with Lord Liu that I would guarantee the grain supply for the over six thousand people in Yunmen Township. That's why I turned Majia Manor into Fang Family Manor."
Fang Er recounted the agreement with Liu Dacheng, hoping to shut Li Er up.
Upon hearing this, Li Er found it difficult to ask for the grain.
It was all for disaster relief, and they were all his subjects.
This Liu Dacheng had actually done a practical thing. "Alright, I'll be going. You carry on."
Although Li Er left, he remained vigilant.
Not long after leaving Fang Family Manor, he left two guards behind to keep an eye on Fang Family Manor, wanting to know how much grain Fang Er had brought back.
Fang Er, however, was completely unaware.
The granary in Fang Family Manor was filled to the brim with two thousand shi of grain.
Looking at the grain in the granary, Fang Er had an idea.
He arranged for Zhang Bo and Hu Zi to rest, and gave the servants from the Cheng and Wei Chi households a five-tael silver red packet each.
Looking at the silver in their hands, they were all beaming with joy.
Five taels of silver was enough for a family to live comfortably for a period of time.
With wine and meat.
Of course, they couldn't buy Drunken Immortal Brew, as that would only be enough for one jar.
Let Zhu Zi go to Wannian County to find Liu Dacheng and arrange for people to distribute the grain.
Have Zhao Hu ride his horse to the nearby manors, informing them that Fang Family Manor was hiring people to work for grain, with payment at the end of the day.
The next morning.
Liu Dacheng personally rushed over.
"Captain Fang! This! This! This is all you brought back?"
Looking at the full granary, he was overcome with excitement.
"A full two thousand dan!
Over two hundred thousand catties of grain!
For the six thousand people in Yunmen Township, one jin of grain per person per day is enough for a month!"
"Yes, but this grain cannot be distributed for free. Let the disaster victims come to me to work, and this grain will be their wages. What do you think?"
"This is a good idea! You shouldn't provide grain for free, and it also prevents people from taking advantage."
As soon as the plan was finalized,
Hundreds of young men and many elderly and children flocked to the manor from outside.
These were people from nearby manors who had heard the news and come over.
The entire Yunmen Township, or rather, the entire Chang'an, was affected by the drought. Those who fared better harvested tens of catties per mu, while most had no harvest at all.
It had been more than three months since the summer harvest, and their household grain reserves were almost depleted.
At this time, hearing the news of Fang Family Manor distributing grain, no one could remain indifferent.
In front of the granary, Liu Dacheng stood on a table, facing the young men brought by Zhao Hu, announcing the rules for grain distribution.
"Due to the severe drought this year, there are countless disaster victims. I cannot bear to see this, so I have requested disaster relief grain from His Majesty. To prevent fraud, I have decided to implement a work-for-grain program. Young and strong men who work for a day will receive two jin of rice, and women will receive one jin. Lunch will be provided. Those willing to work should register over there and receive a work permit. After work, they can collect their grain with the permit."
It was better to involve Li Er in this matter. Public sentiment was something that only he could control.
The disaster victims, however, did not care where the grain came from.
They only knew that they and their families were saved!
They would not starve to death!
One after another, they rushed towards the registration table.
Niu Liang and the others were called back early. Holding their carpentry tools, they busily made work permits.
The disaster victims who received work permits, led by Zhao Hu, Sun Zhou, and Liu Meng, were led in batches towards the workshops.
The craftsmen who were already working in the workshops looked at the influx of people and didn't know what to say.
"This Young Master Fang is a bit unreliable!
With hundreds or even thousands of people arriving at once, how can they manage them?
If there's any problem with the houses being built, who will be responsible?"