The first of these economic measures was the granary system – an ambitious and systematic effort to control regional and temporal fluctuations in grain prices. Its goal was to stabilize prices in the country by buying low and selling high, thereby creating a self-sustaining and profitable system for the population. Rowe states that the granary system "worked remarkably well in the best days of the dynasty." The empire reclaimed huge amounts of agrarian land and increased food consumption, this granary system kept their grain market alive. Along with the granary system, the Qing managed their money supply extremely well. He created a bimetallic monetary system in which the Qing "creatively adjusted the relative supply of the two monetary metals in circulation (...) effectively using the market to manage the market." Regional and local officials have played a major role in stabilizing the money supply through initiatives such as controlling cash flow in the market and changing payment demands in the tax system. These offices have proven to fulfill their task extremely well. The empire was thus economically controlled thanks to monetary stability over time, as well as an efficient granary system for one of its most important