Chapter 83

"Brother Qiu, I wonder what you and Duke Qiu have prepared these days?"

"Ha ha, thanks to Xiao Lang's reminding this time!" Qiu Kun looked sad.

Qiu Kun took up the water bowl, drank water and continued, "my father has sent letters to Jiannan road and Hebei road to ship all the stored grain to Chang'an. In addition, he also transferred funds to buy a lot of grain everywhere, but my money bank has been basically empty."

Li forgot to worry. He didn't expect Qiu Yuanliang to be so bold. When he learned that the locust disaster might break out, he put all his wealth on him.

After seeing the fat man with proud eyes and face, Li forgot to worry about it and asked, "Qiu Gong won't hoard food. He plans to take advantage of the plague of locusts..."

Before he finished, Li forgot to worry and didn't know how he should continue to speak. Business is business. It's understandable for Qiu Yuanliang to hoard grain and make a lot of money, but he thinks it's too inferior.

If so, the enemy will not make friends.

Qiu Kun got up quickly and glared at Li forgetful: "what does Xiao Lang mean by this? My enemy has been doing business for generations, but he is upright and upright, and never does business with unkind intentions."

Seeing that Qiu Kun was so excited, Li Qieyou was also a little embarrassed. He smiled and touched his nose: "brother Qiu, don't blame me. How did Qiu Gong plan?"

"Hum!" Qiu Kun glared at Li forgetful with dissatisfaction and sat back: "my family doesn't hoard food to make huge profits. My father means that all our grain stores will operate as usual when the locust disaster happens. As long as there is food in my warehouse, you won't sell it."

His words made Li forget his worries and brightened his eyes. He took up the water bowl and threw it at Qiu Kun: "Qiu Gonggao is righteous. I'll replace wine with water and give brother Qiu a bowl."

Then he drank up the water in the water bowl.

Although the plague of locusts will reduce grain production, there are so many lands in Datang, not all places will suffer from the plague of locusts.

One of the main reasons for the great famine is that unscrupulous grain traders deliberately hoard grain and do not sell it in order to make huge profits, resulting in panic and increasing the value of grain.

In fact, there is no shortage of food in the Tang Dynasty, especially in the second year of Zhenguan.

When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty ascended the throne, the national population reached 8.9 million, with a population of no less than 50 million.

At the end of Sui Dynasty, the world was in chaos, with countless deaths and injuries.

After the Tang Dynasty was pacified, the Ministry of Civil Affairs counted that there were only 2.19 million households in the whole Tang Dynasty, less than 20 million people.

Not to mention the annual grain produced by the Tang Dynasty, only huiluocang inherited by the Tang Dynasty in the late Sui Dynasty has a total grain storage of more than 300 million kg, enough for the people of the Tang Dynasty to eat for 50 years.

In the 11th year of Zhenguan, Ma Zhou, the censor, said to Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, "the Sui family stored Luokou and Li mi because of it; the Xijing Treasury is also used by the state and has not been exhausted so far."

At this time, the Sui Dynasty had perished for 20 years, but the food, cloth and silk had not been used up at that time.

Li Qieyou doesn't believe this. After all, how can food be stored for decades? Is there a black technology for storing grain in the Sui and Tang Dynasties?

However, this is the second year of Zhenguan, and only 11 years after the collapse of the Sui Dynasty. If the old grain is properly stored, there should be no problem.

It can be seen that there is absolutely no shortage of food in the Tang Dynasty. In fact, the famine caused by locust disaster lies in the fact that aristocrats and grain merchants of aristocratic families sit by and watch people die of hunger in order to make personal profits.

Qiu Kun was embarrassed about Li's praise: "Xiao Lang, don't misunderstand my adults. Although it will cause grain sales, the price will follow the market and will not deliberately lower the price."

"It's natural, ha ha, I understand what brother Qiu said." Li forgot to worry and smiled.

Of course, he understood the enemy's meaning. Prices follow the market. First, the enemy will make a lot of money with the rise of food prices. Second, he will not attract hostility from his peers. Third, he will not be noticed by the government.

Otherwise, you are a grain merchant who deliberately sells grain at a low price. What do you want to do? Who can stand the hat of "inviting people"?

After figuring out the enemy's ideas, Li forgets his worries and dispels all his resentments. He asks Li Heng to prepare dinner and water and wine. He will have a good drink with Qiu Kun tonight.

According to the current rules of the Li family, the dinner time is all on the table regardless of the master and servant. Qiu Kun lived in the Li family for a few days before. Naturally, he knew the rules of his family, but he didn't feel uncomfortable.

As soon as it was dark, the Li family frightened the fat Qiu Kun.

In the main room of the front yard, when the old housekeeper Li Heng saw that it was dark, he took out a torch and lit a lamp.

Qiu Kun didn't care. When the lamp was lit, he was surprised to find that the lamp was not an ordinary candle or oil lamp, but a lamp he had never seen before.

Li Heng's lamp is much brighter than an ordinary oil lamp or candle, and there is no black smoke, which makes Qiu Kun very curious.

"Housekeeper Li, what kind of lamp is this? It's strange."

"Ha ha, this is a biogas lamp made by my husband. It doesn't use lamp oil and smoke. I don't know what biogas is used. In short, it can be lit all night. It's amazing."

Li Heng praised the biogas lamp. In his opinion, the biogas lamp is simply a means of the immortal family and a treasure of the Li family!

Therefore, lighting the biogas lamp at home every night is Li Heng's favorite thing. Even the little girl Peilan is not allowed to intervene.

In fact, the biogas lamp Li forgets to worry about is very simple. Limited by materials, he can only simplify it.

In the past, biogas digesters were built in many places in rural areas. Because of his mischief and curiosity, Li forgot to worry. At that time, he disassembled the biogas lamp into parts and wanted to study the principle of this thing.

Although grandpa beat him up later because of this, Li forgot to worry about what the structure of the biogas lamp was because of this beating and kept it in mind.

The normal biogas lamp consists of nozzle, ejector, mud head, gauze cover, glass lampshade, reflector and other main parts. However, it is obvious that Li forget worry can't make these things in Datang. Any glass lampshade reflector is a dream.

In addition, his biogas digester is only the simplest biogas digester, not even pressurized equipment.

So Li forget worry can only simplify as much as possible, and finally worked out the nozzle and mud head of the biogas lamp. The most critical copper wire mesh was handmade with copper wire by an old copper craftsman in the county.

The outer glass cover is naturally impossible. It is replaced by an ordinary Tulle lampshade.

Even so, such a humble biogas lamp is a great thing in the Tang Dynasty.

At the moment, Qiu Kun seemed to have discovered the new world. He didn't even wait for the best dishes of the Li family. Like a curious baby, he followed behind the old housekeeper Li Heng and watched him light up the biogas lights at home.

Every time a biogas lamp lights up, Qiu Kun cries good, and then comes close to observe it carefully.

The old housekeeper Li Heng was proud and despised. He thought Qiu Kun was Tian Shelang and had too little knowledge.

Li Heng's appearance made Li forget his worries and secretly laugh.

He clearly remembered that several days after the biogas digester was built, the dung of cattle and horses piled into the biogas digester began to ferment to produce biogas. When Li forgetful lit the biogas lamp for the first time, Li Heng's ghost like expression seemed worse than Qiu Kun.