Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 402 Trade-in
"Alright, stop arguing." Ren Yuan interrupted the two with a serious expression, "There might be a mutiny tomorrow. We need to find out the truth as soon as possible."

"I think a mutiny is a good thing," Chen Baxian chuckled. "Let the soldiers make a ruckus, then when Commander Chen arrives, he can arrest and kill a bunch of them. That way, his authority will be established, won't it?"

"That has to be under control. If things get out of control, Commander Chen will still be in trouble." Ren Yuan said in a deep voice, "I wonder how many people are envious of his position and are waiting to kick him when he's down."

“That’s true.” Chen Baxian and Yang Zhong nodded.

Ren Yuan then assigned a task, instructing Chen Ba to go to the dock and check if any of the grain being transported was old.

He then sent Yang Zhong to investigate the state granary. The brothers were all experts, so he didn't need to tell them what to do.

After the two left, Ren Yuan asked the waiter to open a private room and invited the manager inside for a chat.

He hadn't paid the bill yet after eating, and the innkeeper thought to himself, "Is he going to eat for free? I can't let him have this habit," so he brought two burly waiters with tufts of chest hair into the private room.

To everyone's surprise, upon entering, they saw a whole string of copper coins on the table. The shopkeeper immediately changed his tune, rubbing his hands together with a smile and saying:
"What can I do for you, sir?"

He then secretly kicked two of the waiters. "Go and serve the best tea."

After the two unsuccessful, arrogant waiters left dejectedly, Ren Yuan invited the manager to sit down and talk, smiling as he said:

"Shopkeeper, we are merchants from Guangling."

"I can tell." The shopkeeper quickly nodded and said, "Are you two looking for a way to make a fortune?"

“That’s right.” Ren Yuan nodded and said, “Rice is expensive in our Nan Yanzhou. After the start of spring, a shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice costs ten guan (another unit of dry measure) of iron coins, and the price increases every few days.”

"A close friend told me that I could buy cheap rice in Hefei, so I came to see if there were any business opportunities," Ren Yuan said with a wry smile.

"It turns out that the rice on the market isn't much cheaper than where we are. Could you please enlighten me, shopkeeper, whether my information is incorrect?"

"Sir, what are you saying? You want to buy rice, but you're asking me, a restaurant owner?" the shopkeeper said with a wry smile. "You'll have to ask the rice shop."

"That's precisely why I can't just come up and ask the rice shop," Ren Yuan said, pushing the string of copper coins into the shopkeeper's hand. "Let's be friends."

"Sir, you're a seasoned businessman," the shopkeeper immediately changed his tune, "If you come here without knowing their background, aren't you just asking to be ripped off?"

"That's exactly what I meant," Ren Yuan said with a smile. "The shopkeeper is very insightful..."

As he spoke, he magically produced a string of copper coins.

“I actually know the ropes,” the shopkeeper said enthusiastically, offering him guidance: “Don’t go to the grain shops on the main street, go to the grain depot in the back. If you buy by the whole ship, you’ll definitely get a discount.”

"Any company will do?" Ren Yuan asked.

"Of course," the manager nodded. "But you have to say you were introduced by Manager Ma of Qianfeng Restaurant for them to pay attention to you."

In this day and age, larger restaurants often function as information hubs. The waiters act as informants, and the manager usually plays the role of middleman, facilitating various business deals. Of course, there are benefits to this.

During his two years at the Gouchen Division, Ren Yuan had dealt extensively with restaurant owners and staff, and he even developed the Mingyue Pavilion by Xuanwu Lake into an intelligence station. Naturally, he was able to target his objectives effectively and find his goals quickly.

~~
Because Ren Yuan gave too much, the shopkeeper simply had the waiter take them there directly.

The two followed the waiter out of the bustling city and around to a back street with few pedestrians. There they saw a grain shop with its back door wide open, and several clerks were pushing grain carts in and out to load the grain onto the ship.

The waiter found the manager, whispered a few words to him, and the manager nodded, took out a few large coins and tossed them to him.

The waiter took the money and smiled at Ren Yuan, saying, "This is Manager Liang from Wanfeng Rice Shop. Please continue your conversation, sir. I'll be back to work now."

After saying that, he left.

Ren Yuan then struck up a conversation with Manager Liang, asking, "Are you selling this grain?" "Yes, what else would a grain shop do if it didn't sell grain? But you'll have to buy it at the front, sir. We're in the back handling the receiving and shipping," the manager replied with a smile.

"Did I buy a lot?" Ren Yuan asked.

"How many do you want to buy?" the manager asked.

"How many do you have?" Ren Yuan asked again.

"You can have as many as you want."

"Then I'll take as many as you have," Ren Yuancai said magnanimously.

"What are you doing? Are you going to open a grain store too?" The manager looked Ren Yuan up and down.

"I want to buy a few boatloads to take back and sell," Ren Yuan nodded.

The person in charge is usually very vigilant and is unwilling to serve newborns, even if they are introduced by acquaintances.

But today, for some reason, I seemed to be bewitched, completely believing Ren Yuan's words, afraid of missing out on this big client. So I hurriedly nodded and said:

"Yes, yes. If you buy the whole ship, I can give you a 20% discount. The price of grain here is 30% different from that in Guangling. Even after deducting losses, you'll still make a profit."

The grain industry is inherently based on low profit margins and high sales volume; even a 10% discount will result in a loss, let alone a 20% discount. Ren Yuan then asked with a puzzled look:
"20% off? Is it new rice?"

"New, brand new, even if there's only one grain of stale rice, the whole boat can be returned," the manager said generously.

"Then the grain you bought must be cheap enough," Ren Yuan said with a smile.

"Then don't worry about it..." The person in charge suddenly became alert, clearly having been asked a sensitive question by Ren Yuan. The usual "all's fair in war" approach was no longer enough to fool him.

Ren Yuan's eyes flashed with a dark light, and he used 'Reflection in the River of Oblivion' to directly brainwash the manager, saying, "How can I not care? I'm your boss."

"Ah, boss, what brings you here at this hour?" The manager quickly bowed and scraped to Ren Yuan.

"None of your business," Ren Yuan said indifferently. "Answer my question first: where did we get this grain from?"

"We got them from the military camp," the manager readily replied.

"Who sold it?" Ren Yuan asked in a deep voice.

"The granary officer Ma, the transport officer Liu, and those quartermasters," the steward replied.

"They sell us grain, but what do the soldiers eat?" Ren Yuan asked in a muffled voice.

"They'll bring in old grain from us. We give them two bushels of old grain, and they'll give us one bushel of new grain." The manager laughed, "Who cares about new or old grain? Once it's in your stomach, it all turns into shit. Who can tell the difference?"

"We dare to make this kind of dirty money?" Ren Yuan asked in a deep voice.

"What law have we broken by buying and selling grain normally?" the manager asked with a smile.

"Besides, we've only earned a little bit of hard-earned money; the lion's share goes to those officials. But what can we do? These days, the rich are the poor. Whoever has grain in their hands is the boss."

"Bring me the accounts so I can take a look," Ren Yuan ordered after listening to his rambling explanation.

"Alright, alright." The shopkeeper hurried off and soon returned with a thick stack of account books. He showed them to Ren Yuan and said, "Here, here, and here, once a month. Basically, when the imperial army's grain arrives, it doesn't go into the military warehouse at all; it's delivered directly to us. We empty it out, then fill the sacks with old grain and send it to the military warehouse at night."

(End of this chapter)