Chapter 23 – The one who knows me is Qingheng.
“After the earthquake, the prices of all kinds of meat and vegetables have soared. The prices of dishes in the restaurant will also have to increase, otherwise, it will continue to lose money, and no one can stand it… In such a situation, some people will no longer come, but choose to wait until the prices return to normal before patronizing the restaurant.”
“Rich people probably don’t care about these things!”
“They don’t care, but the dishes they like are not common, and the ingredients needed are also rare. However, after the earthquake, they are not easy to find. So they stopped coming to the restaurant and chose other ways to enjoy themselves.”
While talking about this with Gu Qingheng, Gu Yu was not idle. He took out paper and pen and started writing rapidly. Gu Qingheng, curious, leaned over to take a look and found that… his brother-in-law was making a shopping list.
It seemed that the trip to Lian Town was not entirely without rewards.
“In this case, what will happen to the restaurant!”
“What else can we do but cut our losses in time? I’ve asked the Chubby Chef to close the restaurant for a few months, just like a long vacation. Going back to spend time with family is much better than staying here and wasting time. Anyway, there’s no business, so keeping the restaurant open is a waste.”
Speaking of the final solution for the restaurant, Gu Yu felt that this was the best option. Anyway, the impact of the earthquake was not permanent. It was not bad to continue operating the restaurant after the prices of meat and vegetables returned to normal.
However, the chefs of the restaurant must be arranged properly, and they should not quit during this period.
Of course, the chefs at Chunlai Restaurant had signed confidentiality agreements, and if they leaked any information, they would have no recourse even if they went to the yamen.
Besides, ancient times were not like modern times. Closing down for a while would not cause too much impact. If it were modern times, reopening the restaurant later would mean not being able to compete with other rivals.
Now, after the earthquake, it was not just Chunlai Restaurant, but other restaurants also closed down.
So, who was afraid of whom.
After hearing such a result, Gu Qingheng could not think of a better solution. After thinking for a long time, he realized that this was indeed the best way.
However, after winter passes, the impact of the earthquake will gradually dissipate, and market prices will return to their original levels.
“The restaurant business is settled, but I’m more curious about what you’re doing, brother-in-law! Are you writing these things because prices have dropped and you’re preparing to buy at a low price?”
“The one who knows me is Qingheng.”
“No, I just know that you, brother-in-law, would not do useless things. So, if it were not for special reasons, you would not write these things and waste your time.”
Regarding what Gu Yu was writing, Gu Qingheng said his guesses.
As it turned out, he was completely right.
When Gu Yu showed a look of ‘As expected, you understand me very well,’ Gu Qingheng directly rolled his eyes, thinking that his brother-in-law’s personality was like that, making it impossible for him not to guess correctly!
However, he didn’t know that these things had all dropped in price.
“If it’s cheap, why not buy it? Anyway, I have space to store them, so there’s no need to worry about it.”
“Brother-in-law, your space isn’t full yet! Those grains from before couldn’t even fit in, and we’ve built several more granaries.”
“It’s just that the grains that take up space can’t fit, but there’s no problem storing these. After the earthquake, these will increase in price, so it’s better to buy them first. Especially after learning from the Chubby Chef… that the situation in the Capital is also not good, it makes me think about going to the Capital to visit in a while and giving my father-in-law some vegetables and fruits.”
“Brother-in-law, you just want to buy things in the Capital! However, I think these things in the Capital won’t be cheap either!”
Listening to Gu Yu’s subsequent arrangements, Gu Qingheng inwardly disdained, and then what he said seemed to disapprove of the procurement trip to the Capital, thinking the prices would not be much cheaper.
However, the idea of sending vegetables and fruits to his father was good.
“That’s fine too, don’t forget, we can still cut leeks from the Wang Clan, which is also very good!”
“…”
So, his brother-in-law intended to kill three birds with one stone.
Perhaps, buying things was not the main purpose. Going to the Wang Clan to extort money was the real goal.
“In that case, when are we going to the Capital?”
“It should be winter, at least. Give the Wang Clan some more time to save more money. This is the time when prices are rising, so the Wang Clan is probably working hard to save money!”
Looking at the shopping list he wrote, Gu Yu nodded with satisfaction. After the handwriting dried, he put the paper into his space and would browse the Capital later according to the list to see if the prices would indeed drop.
However, besides these, Gu Yu thought that the number of people coming to buy grain had increased recently, and he thought that Little Black and its wife still couldn’t rest, and they had to continue watching!
As for the village chief coming to say something, he couldn’t refuse, but selling grain at a low price to the village chief was impossible, so he had to think carefully.
As for the farmers they had hired, they could send some grain and vegetables as comfort, which would also make them work more wholeheartedly in farming next year.
Planning everything carefully in his mind, Gu Yu was full of curiosity about the future development of Lian Town.
What would it become in the future!
…
“Your Honor, we can’t catch those merchants at all. Many civilians in Lian Town have sold their own grain. The bailiffs can’t control them and are instead scolded for meddling.”
“It’s alright, at this time, there’s no need to manage it anymore.”
“???”
“The price of grain has been rising. Those who sold it regret it, and those who didn’t sell are waiting to see if it will continue to rise. Anyway, we have advised them, and if they don’t listen, there’s nothing we can do.”
In the Lian Town county office, when the advisor spoke with a worried look, Magistrate Bai, contrary to his previous anxiety, said unhurriedly, making the advisor curious. He wondered what had happened to the magistrate, why he was not anxious at all?
Or was he disappointed with the people of Lian Town and no longer wanted to manage them…
Such thoughts were not allowed!
After all, Magistrate Bai was the parent official of the small town, and he could not give up easily.
He must also have love and dreams!
While the advisor was excitedly imagining, Magistrate Bai leisurely picked up his teacup and took slow sips of tea, thinking that even the prices in the Capital were rising rapidly, and Lian Town could not control it!
At most, as long as no one starved to death.
Bai Wangzhi, who only cared about his performance, was actually indifferent to high-priced transactions. He just felt before… that if it was not controlled, it would have bad consequences and affect his future promotion.
But now, after receiving a letter from the Capital, he knew that the prices in the Capital were also soaring, not much different from Lian Town, so why should he worry!
If the sky falls, there will be tall people to bear it.
If one wants to solve the problem of high prices, it is better to start from the Capital, and he could just follow suit.
However, even the Capital was like this, it seemed that the power of this Earth Dragon was not small!
He didn’t know what it would develop into in the future.
