"Hey, that's right. Master, you were still young at that time, so it's normal that you don't know. Speaking of which, this matter has a lot to do with your father." One of the shopkeepers said with a lot of vicissitudes of life.
"Before the Hua family, your maternal grandfather's family was the richest man in Luoyang, but your maternal grandfather's family was a kind-hearted person. Although they earned a lot of money, they built roads and schools in Luoyang at that time and often opened tents to give porridge to the poor.
This family is known far and wide as a virtuous and kind family."
"Later, in your grandfather's generation, there was only one person, your mother, who brought your father into the family. Later, the family changed, and the richest man became the Hua family. However, your father did not have a high talent for business, and his personality was relatively conservative."
As he said that, the old shopkeeper glanced at Hua Yanxi and spoke vaguely.
Hua Yanxi said unceremoniously: "There's no need to be so evasive, it's just a matter of picking. Everyone knows it."
Seeing that Hua Yanxi didn't mind, the shopkeeper nodded again and again: "Yes, it's just picking, and the talent is not high. Later, many families also rose up and had the potential to surpass them. But after all, there is no background of the Hua family, so the richest man in Luoyang is still
Huajia.”
"Ten years ago, prices in Dachu were not so outrageous. A steamed bun cost two cents, a meat bun cost one cent, and one hundred taels was the annual expense of an ordinary family of three. Now, hey, you've seen it too.
"
"So, he did it?" Hua Yanxi narrowed her eyes. When she first came here, she felt that the prices of goods in Dachu were ridiculously high. It turned out that there was a reason for this.
"Yes, at that time there was drought first, followed by floods, blizzards, and disasters. The people even had food and clothing problems. Not long after the emperor came to power, he even allocated funds for disaster relief, which finally gave the people a lot of relief.
Qi, and later, finally encountered a good harvest year, the flower family took advantage of the
Money, after three years of hoarding rice grains, only a small part was sold one after another, and the price went up little by little. Seeing the profits, other merchants naturally followed suit. No matter what it was, they began to hoard it.
As for today." After saying this, the shopkeeper sighed.
Although Hua Yanxi has never experienced it, she can roughly understand it.
Food is indispensable. People need to make ends meet. When food prices increase, money will decrease. If you want to have enough money to buy food rations, you must find ways to make up for this gap.
It is not as simple as bartering in primitive society. When rice grains rise, food, clothing, housing and transportation will cost more. Money is worthless, causing inflation. The purchasing power of copper coins decreases. Silver is used as currency in large quantities and has to be minted in large quantities, making it difficult to carry.
Conveniently, you have to use banknotes in the end. As the amount of banknotes becomes larger and larger, from ten taels, one hundred taels, one thousand taels, to the current ten thousand taels.
Naturally, the imperial court would not watch such a situation happen, but it had nothing to do. The already-raised prices could not be controlled without sufficient treasury.
The emperor hated these profiteers, but he had no choice but to rely on them.
After all, businessmen are heavily taxed and earn more than ten percent, so the national treasury has to rely on these people.
But as time goes by, businessmen are making profits, but the people are having problems with food and clothing. Most of the fields are deserted, no one is growing food, and food will become more scarce. If things go on like this, the country will not be a country.
Now, the emperor has set aside the salt channel that was originally controlled by the imperial court, which shows that the national treasury is poor again.
This method may work for a while, but it will only make the old disease worse, and the original small wound will fester all over the body.
He may not be a good father, but in the end, he is a good emperor.
Hua Yanxi pondered for a moment: "How much food do we have in our hands?"
The shopkeeper said a number.
Hua Yanxi frowned: "Why is there only so much?"
The shopkeeper also looked helpless: "Master, you know that the reason why the richest man in Luoyang is called the richest man in Luoyang is not just for doing business. Luoyang is a grain-producing area, and one-third of the country's grain comes from Luoyang.
After the common people used grain to deduct taxes, most of the rest was purchased and hoarded by the Hua family. Other places that did not produce grain were naturally in short supply of food. We were able to receive these grains because we had so much more money than the Hua family."
Hua Yanxi silently calculated the time in her mind, and then said: "From now on, all our food will be sold to the people at cost price."
When a shopkeeper heard this, he was surprised and said: "Master, do you plan to start a price war with your father?"
Hua Yanxi nodded: "Not bad."
"Yes, let's just go by the original price, why should we go by the cost price?"
Hua Yanxi said: "If the price is not much different, then for today's purchasing power, it is just a matter of three melons and two dates. Even if it attracts people, it will not attract much. But if we follow the cost price, then the people will
They will compete for publicity and popularity, and if you want to completely block his way, you can only move dangerously."
When the shopkeeper heard this, he immediately became anxious: "Master, you can't be impulsive. Even if we can last for ten and a half months with the little food we have, we will still let him get away with it if we don't do it after that."
Hua Yanxi shook her head: "How long can we last? In addition, if you send people to buy grain from other grain vendors, we will still sell the grain purchased at the cost price."
"Master, forgive us for our ignorance, but we still don't understand what you did."
Hua Yanxi patiently explained: "You think, at this time, if the Hua family raises their prices and we let him go, will other vendors see this and also increase their prices? We will not only stop the Hua family, but also stop them.
Others."
"Autumn has entered now. In just one month, a large amount of this year's new grain will be on the market. At that time, we only need to collect most of the grain at a higher price than the Hua family before purchasing it. That will not only
It’s the Hua family, and there is no drama in other families.”
"Yes! Master, this is a good idea. In this way, this crisis will be over." One of them said happily.
But others have raised concerns.
"But, what if those vendors take advantage of us to charge grain at cost price?"
"Yes, then we won't just lose my wife and lose our troops when the time comes."
"Also, if those rich people buy up all the food at once, won't ordinary people still have no food and have to buy high-priced food?"
Hua Yanxi smiled confidently: "Don't be afraid, you just need to put up a sign in the grain store, each person is limited to buying one bucket of rice per day, and adopt a real-name system to purchase. If anyone dares to cheat, they will be prohibited from buying. In addition, set another one, and every person will be allowed to buy it."
Every person who buys rice can receive a coupon for free."
"There are several types of coupons, including 20% off coupons for silk and satin, 30% off coupons for restaurants, 10% off coupons for tea, etc. The discount time is limited to within two months, so that when the time comes, other people who want to get discounts from these places will
Price’s idea will also come to nothing.”
After hearing Hua Yanxi's words, everyone suddenly became enlightened and looked at the woman in front of them with admiration in their eyes.
In this way, it not only curbs malicious price increases, but also drives the development of other industries. It is simply killing two birds with one stone.