Mao Buba had already fallen to the ground, but the sharp weapon had pierced through the brush and was firmly stuck in the wooden board.

"The price of grain is determined by the Chamber of Commerce; it's not your place to change it at will." The weapon was thrown by Fu Man'er; she simply couldn't stand Mao's stingy behavior.

While it's understandable that businessmen are driven by profit, this kind of behavior of profiting from human suffering is truly despicable.

Mao Buba stood up from the ground in a sorry state. He was helpless against Fu Man'er, but he had plenty of ways to deal with these ordinary people.

“Mrs. Xu, you are a young lady from a wealthy family. How could you understand the suffering of ordinary people?”

"Fine, you think my price is too low? Well then I'll close up shop today and stop selling. If you want to buy rice, go buy it wherever you like."

"Wait a few days until the refugees enter the city, then we'll see where you'll starve."

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Mao Buba was furious and immediately ordered his men to pack up the warehouse and close the shop.

You see, his grain store was the largest in town. By this time, other small grain stores had already sold out, and many people were counting on buying some grain from him.

"Hey, don't close the door!"

"We haven't bought any food yet."

Sure enough, some people immediately became restless, fearing that if they didn't buy the food, it would be even more expensive or harder to buy in the future.

Mao Buba glanced smugly at Fu Man'er. "Young Madam Xu, as you can see, it's not that I want to sell at a high price, it's that the people are in urgent need of grain."

"The Chamber of Commerce is too busy to handle anything else, let alone manage grain prices."

That kind of self-righteous tone, like someone who got a good deal but then complains, is absolutely infuriating.

Fu Man'er turned to the crowd and shouted, "Everyone, don't panic. The government won't let you starve. Until the Chamber of Commerce announces the grain prices, please wait at home for further notice."

These ordinary people might not know this, but Fu Man'er did. At this time, grain in the south might be being hoarded, but grain in the north was plentiful.

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Furthermore, grain from the north will gradually be transported to the south, and in a few days, the grain supply will be sufficient.

These unscrupulous merchants want to take advantage of the few days of grain transportation to ruthlessly bleed the people dry.

"Don't worry, our magistrate sent people to negotiate with the north early this morning, so our grain supply will not be lacking."

Fu Man'er tried to explain to everyone, hoping to calm their anxious mood.

Mao Buba shouted at the top of his lungs, "Close the warehouse, shut down the gates, we're not selling any more grain!"

This shout immediately disrupted the people's composure, and some even rushed forward recklessly.

"Don't close it, I need to buy food."

Fu Man'er was caught off guard and was almost knocked over by the crowd. Fortunately, Shuangxi reacted quickly and protected her. The servants who came out with her quickly stood in front of Fu Man'er.

Just as the people were about to rush into the grain store, the sound of horses' hooves came from the distance. It was Xu Yi leading the guards over.

Across the crowd, Xu Yi looked at Fu Man'er. Their eyes met, and Fu Man'er knew from their years of tacit understanding that Xu Yi was asking if she was alright.

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Fu Man'er shook her head at him. Xu Yi dismounted and led his men through the entrance of the grain store.

Unlike in the past, this time the guards who came out were all carrying swords, and they were all tall men.

Led by Xu Yi, a group of men with grim faces walked through the crowd and blocked the entrance of the grain store.

Most of the guards were retired soldiers, and many had even served on the battlefield.

None of them spoke, but they stood there with upright posture, exuding an aura of authority without anger.

The once bustling crowd finally quieted down, and no one pushed or shoved to get in.

Seeing the menacing guards approaching, Mao Bubai sensed something was wrong. He pretended to be puzzled and stepped forward to ask.

"Mr. Xu, you're so busy with official duties, what brings you to my humble shop today?"

Xu Yi glanced at him sideways. "Manager Mao, I heard from afar that you're closing down your warehouses and not selling grain today?"

Mao Bubai shouted that loudly on purpose, to make the people panic. That's why he shouted so loudly, and Xu Yi and his group heard it when they arrived.

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"Haha." Mao Buba chuckled dryly, "Isn't it because Madam Xu said we have to wait for the Chamber of Commerce to set the grain price? We small grain shop owners can only wait."

"It's tough on the people who came to buy grain today. They made a wasted trip and don't know when they'll be able to buy any more grain, or what price the Chamber of Commerce will offer."

"However, in my humble opinion, the price will only go up, not down."

Mao Buba's words had a hidden meaning, and the people dared not move, but discussions arose everywhere, which was something Mao Buba was happy to see.

He knew that Xu Yi was coming to stop him from raising prices, but he couldn't stop the people from buying. What could he do when it was a case of one party willing to buy and the other willing to sell?

However, he still guessed Xu Yi's intentions wrong.

"Manager Mao has been busy with business all morning, so he probably doesn't know what's going on at the other grain shops in town, does he?"

"What's the matter?" Mao Buba had indeed been busy collecting money all morning and hadn't paid any attention to the other grain shops. At this time, whoever sold more would earn more.

"Two grain stores in the west of the city were raided by people who came to buy grain."

Upon hearing this, Mao Buba immediately became gloating. Good thing he snatched it; he would be happy as long as other grain shops made less money.

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However, while he was happy, he was also a little puzzled as to what this had to do with him.

Xu Yi quickly answered his question: "The stolen grain can't be found anytime soon."

"For the safety of Manager Mao's grain store, I have decided to send people to guard your store closely, and there will absolutely be no situation where the grain is stolen."

"It just so happens that Manager Mao is also closing the warehouse. In this way, people outside can't get in, and my men are guarding outside, so there's no chance of anything going wrong."

Mao Buba felt his heart sink as soon as he heard a word. He said that closing the gates and not selling grain was just a way to provoke the people.

"General Manager Xu, no need, no need~" Mao Bubai refused without even thinking. If there were really guards around, he really wouldn't want to do this business anymore.

"Someone come here!" Xu Yi didn't even look at him, turning to the guards.

"Listen up, everyone. Protect Mao's grain store well. No one is allowed to enter. Anyone who tries to force their way in may be planning to rob the grain. Arrest such people immediately and send them to jail."

Xu Yi spoke each word carefully, not only to Mao Bubai, but also to the people.

The guards, having received orders, had already lined up and surrounded the grain store. Even Mao Buba was "invited" inside by two people.

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At this point, the people were already in an uproar. "Commander Xu, what are we going to do? How can we survive without food?"

"We are here to buy food, not to rob it."

"Does the government even care about our lives? One unscrupulous merchant has already made us suffer, and if another government official comes along, he'll completely cut off our livelihood."

"How are we any different from those refugees?"

Xu Yi's resolute gaze swept across the crowd. Only a few people spoke the most, and usually, after they finished speaking, everyone else would agree with them.

After identifying the individuals, Xu Yi whispered to the guards beside him, instructing them to memorize their faces and arrest them when the crowd dispersed.

"Quiet, everyone quiet!" After shouting several times, the restless crowd finally quieted down.

Xu Yi stepped forward and said to everyone, "When the disaster struck the south, the imperial court did not ignore their lives. Instead, it sent a large amount of disaster relief funds and grains to the south."

“Our town is currently free of disasters and refugees, and everyone has food and drink. We must not let anyone with ulterior motives take advantage of us.”

"More than a decade ago, there was a severe drought that lasted for three years, but we still managed to survive. Now, the villages near Yunzhen are producing abundant grain, and the government is stockpiling grain every year."

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"We will absolutely not abandon the lives of the people. Please stop buying grain everywhere and let those unscrupulous merchants keep their stockpiled grain at the bottom of their chests."

"From now on, the government will send people to guard every grain store. Before the Chamber of Commerce releases the grain price, any grain store that dares to sell grain privately will be imprisoned by the government."

Xu Yi's resounding words finally calmed the anxious crowd somewhat, as it seemed those shifty-eyed men in the crowd were about to cause trouble again.

Xu Yi added, "At this time, there are always some people who like to cause trouble. Anyone caught will be immediately sent to jail and given a beating first."

The group exchanged glances and dared not speak again. They lowered their heads and quietly slipped out of the crowd, little did they know that they would be caught red-handed by the guards as soon as they went out.

After finally managing to get the gathered crowd back, Fu Man'er and Xu Yi finally had a chance to speak.

"I suspect someone is deliberately spreading rumors in the town to cause panic among the people." Fu Man'er knew that Xu Yi would definitely be very busy today, so she could only keep it brief.

They were indeed thinking the same thing. "There were a few people in the crowd who seemed a bit off. I've already had them arrested. We'll interrogate them when we get back."

“You’re more familiar with the Chamber of Commerce than with your parents. Have someone go and inform them later to see what’s going on with the Chamber of Commerce. They’ve made such a mess of things and they’re not even doing anything about it.”

Xu Yi probably guessed it too. Those old foxes in the Chamber of Commerce were watching, and they would definitely stay out of it unless absolutely necessary.

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The two had only exchanged a few words when the guards on duty at the city gate rushed over.

"Sir, we have discovered a group of refugees heading this way."

Fu Man'er and Xu Yi exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes: How did they arrive so quickly?

"How many people are there?" Xu Yi asked.

The guard's expression was somewhat grave. "There must be over a thousand of them."

Xu Yi's expression also turned serious. It was strange enough that the refugees had arrived ahead of schedule, but how could there be so many refugees?