Chapter 266: Chapter 265: High-Priced Grain

Liu Ji moved the short table into the courtyard, and Qin Yao brought out the freshly made dinner. The six family members picked up their chopsticks and started eating silently, with only the sound of “slurping” audible in the courtyard.

The old house group surrounded the six family members, seeing their pitiful appearance, both funny and pitiful.

Seeing Qin Yao finish a bowl, He and Mrs. Qiu quickly refilled it for her. An entire large pot of noodle soup was eaten up by the family of six.

After the meal, the six children couldn’t wait to light the lanterns brought from the Prefecture, frolicking all over the courtyard.

At this hour, Da Mao should have been asleep, but he was too excited, although he couldn’t run or talk yet, he could only raise his chubby little fists and make “ah ah” sounds, looking like he wanted to play with his siblings.

The living standard of the old house improved, and the little guy, nurtured by Mrs. Qiu, became chubby and fair, very endearing.

Qin Yao held him in her arms for a while, pinched his little face, kissed his tiny hands, and coupled with the little guy’s innocent smile, it was very relieving.

“Mother, give Da Mao to me.” Second Lang came over, followed by Si Niang and Jinhua, wanting to take their brother to play with the lanterns.

Qin Yao didn’t dare to hand such a young baby to these little mischiefs, sending the three off to play by themselves.

After cooling off, holding the sleepy Da Mao, the adults moved into the main room.

Qin Yao gave Liu Ji a wink, and Liu Ji mysteriously smiled at everyone, “Dad, can you guess how much grain is selling for outside per jin (1 jin = 0.5 kg)?”

Old Liu really didn’t know. They were self-sufficient in the village, and would only go out when attending a market gathering if the family lacked something.

However, Liu Bai and his brothers had been running outside with Liu the carpenter for quite some time, so they knew a bit.

“Rough grains are selling for about forty cents per jin, right?” Liu Zhong said uncertainly.

Mrs. Zhang and her family took a sharp breath, and He loudly asked, “Forty cents per jin? Who can afford that! Those heartless grain merchants, how can they even quote that price?”

Liu Ji snorted, “Why wouldn’t they quote it? It’s currently fifty cents per jin, and there are still people buying.”

If you’re dead, what use is more money?

Liu Ji said, “When we returned today, we saw the government distributing relief grains to the county’s residents, so the grain prices in the city might drop a bit, but for us ordinary people, no matter how much it drops, it’s still a sky-high price.”

Liu Bai frowned and asked, “So what are you trying to say?”

No matter how the grain price rises or falls, they weren’t going to buy it; the family had enough to eat.

Liu Ji rolled his eyes at his big brother, “Calling you a bumpkin is right, with these grain prices, haven’t you thought of doing something?”

Liu Bai was used to his big mouth, didn’t bother to argue, and asked grumpily, “What can we do? The family’s got enough to eat, and when the autumn harvest comes, the grain price will naturally drop, so there’s no rush to buy.”

“You were just thinking of buying?” Liu Ji asked in disbelief.

This question left Liu Bai stunned, then he realized and looked at Qin Yao, who was teasing the children, uncertainly:

“You’re thinking of selling grain?”

Qin Yao nodded, and Liu Ji continued excitedly, “When we initially bought, even with cart and horse costs, it only cost a bit more than three cents per jin, but now in the market, this husked wheat is being sold as mid-tier grain at one hundred cents per jin!”

Liu Ji let his brothers calculate for themselves, how many times had it increased!

“Thirty-three times?” Liu Fei calculated the answer, and his heart trembled for a moment.

Old Liu inhaled sharply. If they really sold the grain at the current price, the one thousand jin of wheat they spent three taels on would sell for a hundred taels?

The whole family saved up only seven or eight taels a year, and that was because they were working with the third son’s wife. Before, saving four taels in a year was the peak.

This hundred taels would equal twenty-five years of savings!

With precise numbers mentally worked out, Old Liu’s hand holding the bitter tea bowl involuntarily shook.

The tea spilled, soaking his clothes, and he hurriedly put down the tea bowl, still unbelieving. Calculating again twice, he confirmed the amount, looking shocked at Qin Yao and her husband, “Can we, we really sell it for one hundred cents per jin?”

He didn’t say anything about heartless grain merchants this time, swallowed hard, and poured herself a cup of tea to calm down.

Unfortunately, she forgot it was the old man’s bitter tea, and one sip made her whole face wrinkle, feeling uncomfortable and dry heaving.

Liu Bai, feeling helpless, quickly sent her to the kitchen, “Drink more water, look how anxious you are…”

Mrs. Qiu and Liu Zhong looked at each other, a bit uneasy, “Selling at such a high price, isn’t it too heartless?”

Mrs. Zhang also said, “This black money, holding it would make it hard to sleep at night.”

Liu Fei nodded in agreement.

Liu Ji rolled his eyes dramatically, “Of course we can’t do such heartless things, just sell for fifty cents per jin!”

“Pfft~” Old Liu, holding the bitter tea, spit out a mouthful of tea. Luckily, everyone was standing far away, so no one was sprayed by the tea.

Isn’t fifty cents per jin just as heartless?

However, seeing everyone’s reaction, they all silently agreed to take out the thousand jin of stored grain to sell with Qin Yao and her husband at high prices.

Liu Ji glanced at Qin Yao, seeing she had no reaction, continued, “It might not be just fifty cents, nobody knows what the price will be in a few days. Anyway, as long as we sell cheaper than those heartless merchants, it’ll definitely sell.”

At this time, grain naturally wasn’t hard to sell, but thinking about how expensive it was while the principal cost was so little made everyone in the old house a bit nervous.

Qin Yao wasn’t in a rush. They still had two days to think, as she’d be busy with the stationery factory in the village.

In any case, she was going to sell the grain; this opportunity would be gone if missed.

Back when storing grain, besides ensuring the basics, she aimed to make a small profit when prices soared.

On the way back to the village, Qin Yao saw the fields of rice growing well, with the autumn harvest to back up, she wasn’t afraid of selling it all.

Moreover, when the rice harvest in mid-to-late July occurred, grain prices would gradually return to normal, and with Zhou Zheng’s latest information, the court’s disaster relief order implementation might happen in half a month.

Therefore, the best time to sell grain was within these next ten days.

Of course, there were risks, as those in the shadows wouldn’t allow anyone to encroach on their business.

But how could making money be without risks?

Qin Yao wasn’t too worried, as she could protect her business.

Calling over the four kids squatting and playing by the door, Qin Yao and her husband led them home.

Passing the riverbank, they scooped up a big tub of water and brought it home. Liu Ji started a fire to heat the water, and the family finally enjoyed a satisfying bath.

As night deepened, the lights were extinguished, and the courtyard quieted down.

Qin Yao lay in her soft and comfortable bedding, indulging in the lingering scent of soapberry on the cover, and completely relaxed, setting aside her worries, fell into a deep sleep.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep