Chapter 213: Drought is Coming

"The price of rice here changes every day. Do you want to let people live?"

"It was eight cents this morning, but now it's ten cents. If it keeps going up, who can afford it?"

"What's going on with the price of rice these days? Doesn't the government care?"

Seeing that more and more people were gathering at the door, the shopkeeper impatiently drove away the troublemakers.

"If you don't want to buy, leave now and don't delay my business!"

Ye Chutang paused and looked at the wooden sign hanging at the door of the rice shop.

Today's rice price is written on it.

She had bought rice before, and in the capital city where prices were the highest, a dou of rice only cost five cents.

Nowadays, the price of rice in a prefecture is twice that of the capital. Something is wrong.

Ye Chutang walked to the rice shop door carrying his things and asked, "Boss, why has the price of rice risen so much?"

From Liangzhou to Bingzhou, the exile team almost always walked along mountain roads.

Occasionally I went to the town to buy supplies, and the price of rice was no more than five cents.

Nowadays, in places like prefectures and counties that are supervised by chambers of commerce, the price of rice has suddenly doubled. There must be a reason for this.

The shopkeeper didn't recognize Ye Chutang, but his eyes were glued to her beauty.

The sullenness on his face was replaced by a smile as he explained.

"It has not rained since the beginning of summer. In addition, the weather is hot and the rivers have dried up. There is no water to irrigate the rice fields. It is very likely that there will be no harvest this year. The price of rice has naturally risen."

Ye Chutang had already noticed the drop in river water levels.

But she had never farmed before, so naturally she had never thought about irrigating the fields.

Now, after hearing what the rice shop owner said, she frowned slightly.

"In the past few years, Beichen Country has enjoyed good weather and abundant grain reserves. Even if there is a drought this year, the price of rice should not have risen so much."

The people who came to buy rice echoed this.

"That's right, the price of rice has gone up too much!"

"It must be that you rice shops are conspiring together to deliberately raise the price of rice."

"If you don't lower the price of rice, we will report it to the authorities!"

The owner of the rice shop did not have a good face for the people and immediately glared at them.

"Go and sue, go and sue quickly!"

Ye Chutang's brows knitted even tighter.

"Is this rice price agreed by the government?"

The shopkeeper held his head high with a look of arrogance, "Of course, I am also an ordinary citizen, I dare not drive up the price of rice."

After saying this, he looked at the people who were filled with anger.

"I'm afraid the price of rice will continue to rise. If you want to buy it, hurry up. Otherwise, even if you have money in the future, you may not be able to buy it!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the people's faces changed and they looked at each other in bewilderment.

If there is a severe drought, not only will the price of rice rise sharply, but the supply will also be limited.

Some people couldn't help it and immediately expressed their desire to buy it.

Once one person opens his mouth, others rush to buy.

Looking at the people scrambling for rice, Ye Chutang guessed that the emperor had ordered local governments to raise the price of rice in the name of drought, taking the opportunity to make money and generate revenue for the empty treasury.

So despicable!

Of course, she didn't think that the current situation was caused by her emptying the national treasury.

After all, the national treasury had long been empty. Even if she didn't take action, the dog emperor would target the people.

Seeing that Ye Chutang looked unhappy, Sun Chu consoled him, "You can't control the people of the world, go."

Ye Chutang raised the corners of his lips, "Who said I can't control it!"

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the Qianjin Casino.

Sun Chu immediately followed and asked anxiously, "What are you going to do?"

Ye Chutang did not answer Sun Chu.

After arriving at Qianjin Gambling House, she found the shopkeeper Wu Kui and said, "The price of rice is too high. Don't buy it."

She didn't want to be a sucker and put money into the dog emperor's pocket.

Wu Kui responded, "Yes, Master."

"Prepare some dry goods that are reasonably priced and can fill your stomach."

"I obey your command!"

After Ye Chutang finished explaining, he and Sun Chu returned to the post station together.

Wangguilou has already delivered the food, and the entire station is filled with the fragrance.

Qi Yanzhou took the things from Ye Chutang's hand and asked, "You came back so late, is everything okay?"

"I have something to say. Eat first and we'll talk after you finish eating."

"Okay, go back to your room and rest for a while."

Hearing the word "rest", Sun Chu yawned sleepily.

"I'm a little tired. I'm going to sleep. Call me if you need anything."

The room Ye Chutang booked was on the second floor.

She went upstairs with Sun Chu.

Arriving at the door of the room, Ye Chutang asked curiously, "Mr. Sun is a skilled martial artist and a smart man. How did Cao Liang discover his identity and catch him?"

Sun Chu scratched his head in embarrassment as he thought about how he was caught.

"Beauty misleads people."

After saying that, he rushed into his room as if he was too embarrassed to face anyone.

Ye Chutang smiled and said, "Every failure is a learning experience. There is nothing to be ashamed of."

After saying that, she went back to her room.

Not long after lying in bed, Qi Yanzhou pushed the door open.

He walked hurriedly and spoke quickly, "Atang, what happened?"

Ye Chutang sat up, leaned against the head of the bed and said, "The emperor used the drought as an excuse to raise the price of rice."

When Qi Yanzhou saw that Ye Chutang was not in trouble, he felt relieved.

"The court has run out of money and can barely pay salaries. Even if there is no drought, prices will rise."

Confiscating the property of corrupt officials and unscrupulous businessmen to fill the empty treasury is like a drop in the bucket.

The emperor naturally turned his attention to the people.

Ye Chutang narrowed her beautiful phoenix eyes slightly.

"So, I want to control the economic lifeline of Beichen Country and keep prices in my own hands!"

When she has enough supplies to supply the people, the emperor can no longer use the economy to control the people.

Qi Yanzhou sat down beside the bed and held Ye Chutang's hand.

"Now that I have the support of the people and I have some grain reserves, I can unite with merchants to push down the price of grain."

Ye Chutang knew that the food Qi Yanzhou had stockpiled was for emergency use and should not be moved.

She held Qi Yanzhou's hand and shook her head.

"You have limited food. Even if you can lower the price, it will only be temporary and will not solve the fundamental problem."

"Atang, do you have a solution to the rising prices?"

Ye Chutang nodded, "There is a way, but I need your help."

"you say."

"Most of the grain in various places is in the hands of the government, followed by grain merchants. Now, the government has proposed to raise the price, and the grain merchants are happy to see it happen. As long as we break their alliance, we can lower the grain price."

Qi Yanzhou asked: "Blackmail the grain merchants and force them to lower the price?"

Although this method works quickly, it is only temporary, after all, grain merchants only have limited grain.

As long as the drought problem is not solved, the price of grain will still rise when the government releases grain.

But natural disasters cannot be solved.

Therefore, in his opinion, as long as the emperor did not give in, the problem of rising food prices would have no solution.

Seeing Qi Yanzhou's brows slightly furrowed, Ye Chutang guessed his worry.

She winked playfully and said with a smile: "You forgot that the national seal is in the hands of the 'ghost thief'."