"So much?"
Upon hearing their report, even Shao Bowen couldn't help but gasp.
This was a bit too exaggerated!
According to his initial projections, obtaining fifty thousand shi of grain today would have been a significant achievement.
However, he never expected that the final tally would reach a staggering eighty thousand shi.
"Yes, we didn't expect it either. They went crazy in the end, especially that fellow. He ended up bidding three thousand five hundred shi!"
As Zhe Shijiu spoke, he produced a slip of paper with names listed on it.
"Three thousand five hundred shi?"
Even Shao Bowen couldn't help but click his tongue. Indeed, as Han Mo had said, what was cheapest in this world was life, and what was most valuable was also life.
The thought of the terrifying grain output here made Shao Bowen somewhat excited.
This was merely a small city, yet its annual grain output was almost equivalent to that of two Shangzhou prefectures in the Great Song Dynasty!
During his few days here, he had observed the local customs and traditions extensively. The casualness with which these locals cultivated grain was almost unimaginable to him.
Yet, even with their extreme laziness, the rice they grew flourished like wild grass.
Every time he saw the impressively growing crops, Shao Bowen felt a pang of sorrow.
It was simply unfair of Heaven. Why did the common folk of the Great Song have to toil diligently throughout the year for a meager harvest?
While these lazy wild monkeys simply tossed the rice seeds into the fields and then went home to sleep.
What was even more outrageous was that here, the entire process from planting to harvesting rice only took seventy to eighty days.
In the Great Song territory, even the same variety of rice typically required 100 to 120 days for harvesting.
Furthermore, even with the meticulous farming practices of the Great Song populace, their annual harvest might not even match the output of these wild monkeys' haphazard cultivation.
"Alright, stop being so happy for now. Let the brothers stay alert. By the way, how are the warehouses we rented?"
This place was humid and rainy. In the few days they had been here, it had already rained twice.
This made Shao Bowen concerned about the storage of the grain. After all, it would be a terrible shame if so much grain were to be wasted in their hands.
"You're worried about..."
"It's not a matter of worry, it's a certainty. Didn't you see Liu Siye's dark expression when he left?"
Shao Bowen sneered as he spoke.
He hadn't paid much attention to others' bids, but he had carefully observed Liu Siye and Zhang Jing when they made their offers.
That fellow ended up with less than a hundred pills, yet he didn't utter a single word of complaint. Wasn't that a clear indication that something was amiss?
"I'll have them send out the flying eagles to notify the fleet!"
Upon hearing Shao Bowen's words, Zhe Shijiu immediately replied with a cold smile.
"Let them wait at Wanlishitang for now. When our grain transport ships return, we'll give them a proper lesson!"
"You mean to take them all in one go?"
Zhe Shijiu suddenly chuckled.
"If we don't hurt them badly and make them fear us, how will the stragglers later on behave? These barbarians fear power but not virtue. We don't need to talk about benevolence and righteousness with them. As long as we make them suffer, they will naturally understand how to conduct business!"
"But, will that fellow really turn against us? After all, the Liu family controls the entire military power of Jiaozhi. What if..."
Zhe Shijiu said, glancing cautiously at Shao Bowen.
"You don't need to worry about that. Do you think this is still their glorious era? Although the Great Song didn't seem to gain any advantage on the surface last time, how much advantage did the Li family gain? In the end, the valiant soldiers of our Great Song were defeated by the plague, not by Jiaozhi!"
Shao Bowen retorted with a cold smile.
Although the Great Song was indeed on the decline, Jiaozhi's golden age had also passed.
Nowadays, Jiaozhi was also facing internal and external troubles. Zhang Boyu and Liu Qingyuan did not yield to each other, and their mutual checks and balances were precisely what allowed Li Shenzong to continue living freely as a foolish emperor.
If Jiaozhi were to go to war with the Great Song again at this time, the internal power balance would immediately be broken. On the day that balance shattered, Zhang Boyu and Liu Qingyuan would truly be close to death.
"Yes!"
Since Shao Bowen had said so, Zhe Shijiu naturally had nothing more to say.
The matter of grain handover did not require any urgency from them. In just a day and a half, almost all the grain had been completely exchanged.
In order to leave a good impression on Shao Bowen, the grain delivered by these people was almost all weighed.
Moreover, according to Shao Bowen's random checks, the grain quantities were either exact or exceeded, never falling short.
Fortunately, they had prepared several large warehouses in advance, otherwise, storing all this grain would have been quite difficult.
"Mr. Shao, when do you plan to transport this grain away? Are there any difficulties?"
Seeing that Shao Bowen and his men had received all the grain into their warehouses, Zhang Jing once again came to Shao Bowen's residence and asked with a smile.
"We have already notified the fleet to come. They are currently anchored by the sea. I see that the moon is bright and the stars are sparse tonight, and tomorrow should be good weather. I plan to have them transport this grain back to the country first tomorrow. It would be best if Your Excellency could help find some laborers!"
Shao Bowen understood perfectly that this fellow was here to spy on military intelligence, but he didn't care about that.
If they weren't allowed to see clearly, how would they dare to make a move?
"That's certainly no problem, Mr. Shao. Please rest assured, this small matter is entirely up to me. However, regarding the wages for these laborers..."
"Your Excellency, please rest assured, we have enough copper coins for that. It wouldn't be appropriate for us to ask Your Excellency to advance the money for us!"
"Then that's all for today. I'll go back and make arrangements immediately, and have them come to help you move the grain first thing tomorrow morning!"
"In that case, thank you for your trouble, Your Excellency!"
Shao Bowen smiled and then said no more. He rose and escorted Zhang Jing to the door.
"Pass this information to Liu Siye! Be careful, don't reveal any flaws!"
Long after they had walked a considerable distance, Zhang Jing said with a smile to his attendant.
"Yes!"