Just when Prefect Zeng was going to the banquet, Su Juan disguised herself as a wealthy merchant's daughter and went with a few of her men to buy a large amount of grain. She then distributed money to many people to buy in batches.

In just half a day, the rice shop raised the price of grain several times, but people kept coming to buy.

Many local people who still had some money in their hands learned that the government would no longer provide grain and porridge, and saw so many people rushing to buy rice, they were afraid that there would be no rice to buy in the future, so they rushed to buy it.

Seeing that there was not much rice left from the stockpiles, these rice merchants hurriedly sent people to other places. As long as they could buy it as quickly as possible, they did not mind paying a high price. Anyway, as long as they returned to Xuzhou, they would not have to worry about not being able to sell it, and the price could be increased dozens of times!

The allies, who had previously been united in their determination not to lower rice prices, now regarded each other as competitors, fearing that they would earn less than others.

With the deliberate connivance of the government, the price of rice continued to rise and the people complained bitterly, but the government no longer set up tents to provide porridge or distributed grain. If people did not buy rice, they would really starve to death.

Half a month passed, and several nearby counties were also affected. They all came to see Governor Zeng, hoping to find a way to curb these unscrupulous businessmen, but Governor Zeng remained silent and refused to see anyone.

On the way, Prefect Zeng went out for a while. Seeing the tragic scene in front of him, he felt sorry for it. But when he thought of Su Juan's instructions before she left, he decided not to be soft-hearted. He turned around and went back home, determined not to go out again.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Just when these rice merchants in Xuzhou bought a large amount of rice and returned to Xuzhou, Su Juan also brought Xie Xun and others back from Jiangzhou with grain, and the disaster relief funds were almost spent.

Xie Xun saw that the price of rice in Xuzhou was almost sky-high, and those who still went to buy it were basically people arranged by Su Juan in advance.

He suddenly became even more curious about what Su Juan wanted to do, but no matter how he tried to ask, Su Juan acted as if she was keeping it a secret, saying that the secret could not be revealed.

Seeing the last bag of rice enter the granary, Prefect Zeng felt relieved and asked Su Juan, "Miss Su, it's almost been a month now, and the price of rice can't go up anymore. Is it time to move on to the next step?"

After all, there is not much disaster relief money left now, and it is not enough to buy food for the victims.

Su Juan smiled and said, "No hurry, wait for two more days. Don't give them any more money in these two days. Let them starve for a few days."

The best time will be when the remaining rice merchants have brought back the grain and the people are starving and can no longer afford the high-priced rice.

Seeing that Su Juan seemed to be in control of the situation, Prefect Zeng did not suspect anything. Since things had come to this point, there was no harm in waiting a few more days.

After tidying up, Su Juan followed Liu Miaoqing out of the door and came to the shop she had temporarily rented. It was located at the end of the street where all the rice shops were located. From this place, one could see many people going to the rice shop to buy rice. Those people were cursing while buying rice. Almost all of them were people hired by Liu Miaoqing.

"I thought, if we want to sell rice, we must do it on this street." Liu Miaoqing smiled, "This way, they can see us selling rice, and they will be more anxious."

"When we sell rice, each person can only buy one day's supply. If you buy more, don't sell it. This way, we can last longer and we won't have to worry about the people going hungry or the rice selling out too quickly."

"We'll have to borrow a few people to watch over the shop. If anyone comes to cause trouble, we'll kick them out."

Su Juan nodded, "You are very thoughtful. It is really best for you to handle this matter."

Liu Miaoqing was thoughtful and took even these into consideration.

Now that the disaster and epidemic have been brought under control, as long as the price of rice is lowered and the money from selling rice is used to repair houses and fields, Xuzhou will be able to resume its normal life. It can also use this opportunity to punish those unscrupulous businessmen who have taken advantage of the national crisis.

"Miss Su?" Yu Zhong was surprised to see a familiar figure coming from a distance. "You're back?"

Su Juan smiled, "Yes, I just came back and transported all the rice to the granary."

"I heard that Lord Yu has made some progress in the investigation of the case?"

&t;div tentadv>Yu Zhong nodded, "We have already found the gang of bandits who robbed and killed people that day, but unfortunately, they were all dead when we got there, and the whereabouts of the disaster relief funds are still unknown."

Obviously the other party knew that someone was investigating, so he silenced the witness in advance and transferred the money.

Seeing Su Juan and Liu Miaoqing standing in front of this long-closed shop with a rice shop sign hanging on it, Yu Zhong was surprised, "Are you going to sell rice?"

The two looked at each other and smiled, "Yes, selling rice."

Everyone following Yu Zhong was extremely curious. Could it be that Miss Su was deliberately raising the price of rice and taking the opportunity to sell rice to make money?

But when I think about it this way, it seems unlikely. After all, Prefect Zeng loves his people like his own children. If Su Juan really wants to do this, how could he possibly cooperate?

Suddenly, everyone was extremely curious and wanted to know what kind of drama Su Juan had planned.

Two days passed, because Su Juan no longer arranged for people to buy rice to create an illusion, many people could no longer afford the high-priced rice, and the rice shops were almost buried by complaints and saliva.

On the entire street, seven or eight rice shops were empty and no one visited them.

At this time, Su Juan and Liu Miaoqing's shop officially opened, and they arranged for several people to shout in the streets and alleys, "The nameless rice shop is open! A dou of rice is only 30 wen! Each person is limited to buying one dou per day!"

"Only 30 wen!?"

"Other rice shops sell it for more than ten taels!"

"Everyone, hurry up and go to the nameless rice shop to buy rice! If you go too late, it will be gone!"

The news spread, and all of a sudden, everyone rushed to the nameless rice shop.

Su Juan and Liu Miaoqing stood aside while the hired helpers were buying rice, shouting, "One person can only buy one dou! Only one dou!"

Many people were starving, but as long as there was food, they didn't care how many buckets they bought, they would eat as long as they could.

But there were also quite a few troublemakers, getting angry at a few people and looking like they were going to smash the shop, "I want ten dou! It's not like I can't afford it! Why aren't you selling it!?"

"Everyone agrees, right?!"

"Yeah yeah!"

"Since you are selling rice, it doesn't matter how much you sell it for. Why can't we buy more? It's not like we won't give you money."

The crowd suddenly became noisy, clamoring to buy more and threatening to smash the shop if they didn't sell.

Su Juan glanced at Xie Xun next to him, and Xie Xun understood what he meant. He grabbed the man who first shouted to buy ten dou of rice, kicked him several meters away, and then clapped his hands. The ten thugs stood in a row in an orderly manner, with a majestic momentum.

Suddenly, the noisy voices stopped and no one dared to join in the noise.

Xie Xun put his hands on his hips and shouted to the crowd in front of him: "Buy it or not, each person gets one bushel of rice a day, if you don't want to buy, get out! The high-priced rice shop is right in front, go there and buy as much as you want!"