Protect Our Patriarch

Chapter 34: A Single Spark Can Set Off a Prairie Fire

Time passed quietly for two days.

Wang Shoujie spent the past two days in the Changning Villa, cultivating his body and mind, drinking spiritual tea, and practicing his skills. He was living a relatively comfortable life.

However, the outside world was undergoing a drastic change. With the sudden outbreak of the aphid plague, the first wave of disasters swept through the entire Changning Guard region, causing panic among the various aristocratic families.

As the crop failure was inevitable, except for the main grain controlled by the Daqian Government, the prices of other agricultural products began to rise. Even the salted fish and dried fish business of the Wang Clan's fish market suddenly boomed, with prices increasing significantly. In the absence of staple food, salted fish and dried fish, which could be stored for a long time, became a means of sustaining life.

Various merchant shops and grain stores had already stopped selling grain to the outside world. The government-run grain stores, on the other hand, began to implement limited sales, with long queues forming outside. The city guards had to intervene to maintain order.

Wang Shoujie sipped his tea, listening to the news from all directions, his heart filled with anxiety. If it weren't for the fact that his family had a treasure like Wang Luojing, he would have been worried sick by now.

How could he be so carefree, watching the winds of change rise?

"Fourth Brother, Qian's Trading Company has sent a messenger," Wang Shouyi said, personally delivering the message to the backyard. "Moreover, Sixth Uncle has sent over a stock of salted fish and dried fish, which has already sold out half of its inventory in just two days. I see that other families' fish markets have started to limit purchases or raise prices significantly. Shouldn't we also raise our prices?"

Should salted fish also be limited?

Wang Shoujie's eyebrows furrowed as he read the letter, seeing that the news of the large-scale crop failure had triggered panic. He was familiar with this scene, having seen many times on Earth how ordinary people would collectively panic and rush to buy goods in the face of disasters or rumors.

Moreover, the salted fish and dried fish were selling too quickly. The several batches of inventory that had been transported over recently totaled around 800-900 kilograms. Before the price increase, the price of salted fish and dried fish varied depending on the quality of the fish, ranging from 20 to 30 copper coins per kilogram, with a typical price of 20-30 large copper coins per kilogram.

Now the price had risen to 30-40 large copper coins per kilogram, and yet it was still selling even faster.

"What about live fish and fresh fish?" Wang Shoujie asked.

"Live fish haven't increased in price, but fresh fish has risen by 20%," Wang Shouyi reported. "Many people are buying fresh fish to preserve or dry themselves, or to reduce their staple food consumption and eat more fish, so salt and firewood prices have also risen."

Indeed, a single spark can set off a prairie fire.

The outbreak of the aphid-resistant pest had instantly affected all aspects, causing the prices of basic commodities like salt, firewood, and charcoal to rise. Whatever followed would also rise in price.

"Second Brother, just follow the market trend and raise the price," Wang Shoujie said. "As for limiting sales, we'll announce a daily limit of 20 kilograms of salted fish and dried fish for external sales, but internally, we'll sell 50 kilograms."

"50 kilograms? That's a full 5,000 kilograms..." Wang Shouyi exclaimed. "Can Sixth Uncle keep up? Even if Sixth Uncle can, Ding Pu Storehouse won't be able to process and dry that much in time."

It was currently the peak fishing season, and Wang Dinghai's fishing team, according to their usual operations, could catch several thousand kilograms of fish with ten ships working hard. On average, each fishing boat would catch only a few hundred kilograms of ordinary fish.

Most of the catch would be processed and dried at Ding Pu Storehouse, which normally had a monthly limit of around 800 kilograms of dried fish and salted fish.

However, Wang Dinghai's team had already fully replicated the fixed dredge net, which even ordinary people could operate. The daily output would continue to increase, and it was not unusual for the entire fishing team to catch over 10,000 kilograms during the peak fishing season.

"Increase the number of fishermen and processing sites, and utilize the empty land and rooms at Fenggu Farm and Xingsheng Farm," Wang Shoujie instructed. "Also, gather all the idle family members and servants to work on this. Ensure that this month's output of salted fish and dried fish exceeds 2,000 kilograms."

"As long as Sixth Uncle can keep up, I'm not afraid." Suddenly, Wang Shouyi's fighting spirit was ignited, and he was determined to produce 2,000 tons of smoked fish within a month. At least 3,000 to 4,000 tons of fresh fish would be needed to make this possible, considering the significant weight loss after processing.

If Sixth Uncle could really supply such a large quantity, this would be a great opportunity to make a profit. How could Wang Shouyi, as the second brother, fall behind?

In previous years, the catch during the fishing season was the cheapest, so most of the ordinary catch would be made into smoked fish and stored for slow sale. The total production and sales of smoked fish in a year would only be around 2,000 to 3,000 tons. The total sales of fresh fish and live fish would also be around 2,000 tons.

The total revenue was hard to exceed 1,000 gold coins, with half of it going to the fishing team's account.

But things were different now.

If they could really produce over 2,000 tons this month and sell 1,500 tons of smoked fish, with a price increase to 40 large copper coins per ton, they would have a revenue of 600 gold coins.

This didn't even include the sales of fresh fish and live fish... This month, they might reach the annual revenue of a normal year.

So, Wang Shouyi felt his blood boiling. If not now, when?

"Alright, then I'll leave everything to Second Brother to handle." Wang Shoujie wrote a clan leader's order, signed it, and stamped it with the clan leader's seal, handing it over to him. "With this, you can mobilize the family's servants and withdraw gold from the clan's account."

"I don't need gold for now." Wang Shouyi took the order, excitedly saying, "This time, our stored smoked fish are selling too fast, and I still have around 200 gold coins in my account, which is enough for operation."

"Second Brother, be busy, but don't make mistakes in the accounts," Wang Shoujie warned casually.

Wang Shouyi's body trembled, and his eyes became serious as he hurriedly said, "Fourth Brother, please be assured that as a member of the family, I will absolutely not violate the clan rules. Every month, I will settle accounts with Fifth Aunt, and I dare not make any mistakes."

"Second Brother, you're working hard," Wang Shoujie said seriously, bowing to him. "This rare opportunity is hard to come by, and whether our Wang Clan can escape its declining fate depends on the joint efforts of the whole family."

Wang Shoujie was still very satisfied, as his Second Brother, although not talented in cultivation, was very dedicated to the family business. Compared to Sixth Uncle Wang Dinghai, he was more meticulous and steady.

"Fourth Brother, you're too kind," Wang Shouyi hurriedly returned the bow, saying, "In that case, I'll take my leave and handle the various matters."

After he left, Wang Shoujie calmed down and opened Qian Xue'an's letter, which invited him to meet at the Ju Cai Manor outside Changning Garrison City. The secret message on the letter indicated that Qian Xue'an had completed the agreement.

However, although he trusted Qian Xue'an, he didn't dare to take risks this time and would prioritize stability in everything.

Immediately, he made some preparations and left the city. He didn't go to Ju Cai Manor first but rode a black horse towards Shanyang, where he met Wang Zhong outside a small manor a few miles out of the city.

"Wang Zhong, how's the task going?" Wang Shoujie asked.

"Reporting to the clan leader, I'm fortunate to have not failed my mission. Gong Sun, the young clan leader, has arrived as promised and is waiting in the manor," Wang Zhong said, slightly excited, having waited for seven or eight hours outside the manor.

The Wang Clan's influence was mainly on the south bank of the An River, and to find many transport horses on the north bank, they had to rely on the Shanyang Gongsun Clan. Currently, their relationship with the Gongsun Clan was in a honeymoon period, and this small request wouldn't be rejected.

Entering the small manor belonging to the Shanyang Gongsun Clan outside Changning City, he met with Gong Sun Qiang and bowed, saying, "Guardian Wang has seen the great uncle, and I've kept you waiting for a long time."

"It's not a long wait, but Guardian Wang, your mysterious request for 20 horse-drawn carriages, which are heavy-load transport carriages for mining, is quite surprising," Gong Sun Qiang said, being a straightforward and impatient person.

"It's not anything special," Wang Shoujie said calmly. "We just need to transport 50,000 to 60,000 tons of old grain." Since he had involved Gong Sun Qiang, he couldn't hide the quantity.

"..."

At this moment, Gong Sun Qiang's eyes almost popped out. "Beneficent great nephew," you don't know that grain is now scarce, with one ton being hard to find? You're talking about 50,000 to 60,000 tons...

He had an urge to curse, feeling that compared to this great nephew, he, a 38-year-old "young clan leader," had lived a dog's life.

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]