Chapter 332: Changing Seeds
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“You’re too kind.” The seed trader politely responded and then left.
Although the seed trader was a few years older than Su Zhen, when he first found out that a young man was in charge of the black market, he looked down upon it and dismissed the county’s black market. However, as time went by, Su Zhen’s methods of operation and his adherence to principles, which were even stricter than those in other provinces, made the seed trader change his opinion about him.
The seed trader had heard about black markets in other provinces where almost anything could be bought and sold, even human trafficking. Such places had no moral boundaries. Yet, none of these atrocities occurred in Su Zhen’s black market.
He had once seen a man trying to bring a young girl into the black market, only to be driven away by the guards. While they did not prevent wrongdoing outside, they absolutely did not allow any wicked deeds on their own turf. This made the seed trader trust the black market and, over time, he frequented it whenever he heard news about it.
As time passed, he wasn’t content just trading in the black market; he wanted to follow Su Zhen to find more profitable opportunities, which led to today’s events.
Given that the two knew each other, the seed trader wondered if his matchmaking had been successful or not. Regardless of its success, he pondered if his plans to work with Su Zhen would fall through. With these thoughts, he left in confusion.
It was only after Jiang Chuan entered Su Zhen’s courtyard that he realized Su Zhen hadn’t deliberately ignored the knocking at the door; he genuinely hadn’t heard it. In the expansive two-section courtyard, Su Zhen was the sole occupant, and he was deep inside, counting seeds, hence he couldn’t hear the knocking.
Su Zhen said politely, “Uncle Jiang, had I known earlier that you needed seeds, you could’ve come straight to me. Why go through so much trouble?”
Jiang Chuan knew that he was just being polite, so he played along.” She didn’t know you were back, did she? How’s the matter with the in-laws?”
Understanding that Su Zhen was merely being polite, Jiang Chuan played along and said, “I wasn’t aware that you had returned. How did things go with our in-laws?”
Su Zhen briefly recounted the events at Grand Cloud Mountain. Only two people from the Zhang family wished to remain on the mountain. Given his connections in the government, arranging for those two to stay was not difficult for him and only required a little money.
The others, as previously agreed upon, would move to the village in about twenty days.
After they finished chatting, the two of them began to discuss serious matters.
Su Zhen said,” Uncle Jiang, 1 heard that you want to exchange five catties of grain for one catty of seeds. I have two thousand catties of seeds here. Where did you get so much food from?”
Blood brothers had to settle accounts. Su Zhen couldn’t lose his food just because of Uncle Jiang.
This meant that Jiang Chuan needed to prioritize building the house. The house they currently lived in was built on an existing foundation, and even though it had collapsed, they’d managed to make simple repairs in just a few days. Building a new structure from scratch would definitely take more than ten days to complete. Moreover, this timeline could only be achieved if people were willing to help with the construction.
Jiang Chuan had already planned that once he took the seeds back, he would arrange for everyone to help build the house.
After their casual chat, the two began discussing the main matter.
Su Zhen remarked, “Uncle Jiang, I heard you are offering two and a half kilogram of grain in exchange for half kilogram of seeds. With one thousand kilogram of seeds here, where will you get that much grain from?”
Clear accounts make for good friends. Su Zhen couldn’t possibly compromise his own grain just because of the familial term “Uncle Jiang”.
This one thousand kilogram of seeds wasn’t a small amount. Su Zhen had rallied the resources of an entire province to gather all the seeds available. His intention was to use these seeds to negotiate with the government, enabling him to extend his reach into the black market of the neighboring province.
Unexpectedly, the provincial government already had this idea, wanting to disrupt the neighboring province’s business, so they were very supportive of Su Zhen’s idea.
This resulted in Su Zhen’s one thousand kilogram of seeds not being spent. Now he was left with them, uncertain about whom to sell to.
Jiang Chuan smiled, sensing trouble, “Xiao Su, here’s what I was thinking. Let me take these seeds on credit for now. I’ll have the villagers plant them, and when they yield crops, I’ll pay you back at a rate of three kilogram of grain for every half kilogram of seeds. The extra will be considered as interest.. What do you think?”
