Chapter 89 The Mastermind
While the Su family's embroiderers were busy processing orders, the shopkeepers who had originally remained calm could no longer suppress their inner panic.
Seeing the Su family's high-rise building rising from the ground and swallowing up the winter clothing and fabric supply needed for hundreds of thousands of soldiers, how could they sit still?
The sudden opening of more than a dozen new restaurants in the town at low prices made them even more anxious, and they followed suit and joined in.
Originally, the membership price offered by Su Shengsheng's Shixianglou was already at the bottom end. If one wanted to compete with her on low prices, it would undoubtedly be a foolish act of killing a thousand enemies and hurting oneself eight hundred.
However, who can just watch her dominate the market without taking any action?
Today, a group of people gathered in front of Shixianglou and unanimously demanded a refund.
They claimed that a war on the border was imminent and it was uncertain whether the Shixianglou would be able to operate at that time.
Now that their money is all in the membership card of Shixianglou, how can they feel at ease?
What's more, many new restaurants have opened in the town, each with its own merits.
In contrast, some restaurants do not even require you to recharge your membership fees in advance, as you can enjoy membership discounts based on the number of visits, and some even give away extra takeout food.
This is undoubtedly much more economical than the policy of Shixianglou where meals are served at fixed times and no leftovers are allowed.
Therefore, they came one after another to ask Shixianglou to refund their money.
Qing Ning was surrounded by the crowd. Faced with so many people asking for a refund at the same time, she immediately realized that something was wrong and that someone must be behind this.
However, these people refused to listen to her explanation and insisted on asking for a refund, even throwing a tantrum, which made Qing Ning so angry that she wanted to lose her temper.
Fortunately, she sent a letter to Su Shengsheng who went up the mountain early. Seeing her arrive in time, Qingning felt confident.
"Miss, these people must have been instigated by someone. The restaurant owners saw that our business was booming and became anxious, so they joined forces to suppress us." Qing Ning whispered to Su Shengsheng.
People came to all ten Shixianglou branches today to get their money back, which attracted other uninformed members to join in the fun.
Upon seeing Su Shengsheng arrive, one of the people leading the refund process immediately started yelling, "There's no reason to withhold our money, right? We haven't eaten for the next month, so why aren't we getting a refund? Even if we take it to the authorities, we're still right!"
Qing Ning barely suppressed her anger and whispered to Su Shengsheng, "I've already told them. It's clearly written on the sign that only if you agree to a prepayment will you get a membership discount. But these people won't listen. They even said they can't read and that we've tricked them."
Su Shengsheng comforted Yunxiang and the others who were surrounded behind him, then smiled at the people who had gathered at the main store after hearing the news: "This money has long been used for other purposes. It is no longer available."
When they heard her say this, some people immediately protested: "Winter is coming, and we can't let ourselves freeze to death without enough food to eat and no money to buy charcoal to keep warm!"
"Yes! Yes!" Some people glared at him and shouted even louder for their money to be returned.
Su Shengsheng's smile remained unchanged: "You all think that the discounts in our store are not enough, right?"
After she said this, the crowd really quieted down a lot.
"How about this, I give everyone free food?" Su Shengsheng made an unexpected suggestion.
free?
Not only was Qing Ning surprised, but the people who were shouting and protesting were also stunned.
Su Shengsheng's voice was like a spring breeze, "It's fate that you all can patronize my shop. However, my shop is indeed short of funds. If you can give me some time and lend me a hand, I will have to repay you."
She glanced at the stunned people, her eyes bright. "Let's put it this way. To be on the safe side, I'm also worried that you might not trust me. I'm looking for some land to grow crops. If you all give me the land you have, we'll sign the official contract documents, and I'll pay you back monthly. If you don't pay, the court law won't let me off, right?"
After she finished speaking, some people began to waver.
Many of the fields passed down through generations had fallen into disuse. If she could give them a year's worth of free food, wouldn't that be a steal?
When I heard that she would buy all the trees above at a fair price and settle the bill on the spot, I became even more excited.
"I just heard this brother say he has no money for the winter, and I can't bear it either." Su Shengsheng looked at the expressions of the crowd and changed the subject, "How about this, if you agree to give me the land for free farming today and go to the government to get the paperwork, I can provide everyone with free heating supplies this winter."
this……
Su Shengsheng's words were like a stream of clear spring water, instantly extinguishing the raging fire in everyone's hearts.
They stopped shouting and began to discuss in low voices.
Even though the situation had eased somewhat, the leader still refused to give up and loudly demanded, "Who knows if you mean what you said? If a war breaks out at the border, won't you make another excuse and say you can't come up with the money?"
Su Shengsheng's gaze pierced the man coldly like an icy blade, his voice firm and forceful, "Brother, how can you be so unreasonable? I've already promised you all free money and suggested filing a report with the authorities, yet you continue to encourage a commotion and even attempt to use the border war as an excuse to sway the people. Aren't you afraid of the magistrate's punishment?"
When talking about the border war, everyone can't help but think of the news of the border martial law.
At that time, in order to appease the people and prevent them from becoming refugees, the county magistrate held a grand ceremony to worship the Snow Goddess.
After all, this concerns the county magistrate's official hat, so he naturally dare not take it lightly.
The leader had never expected that the young female shopkeeper would be so eloquent and her words would be so sharp and hit the nail on the head.
He was speechless for a moment and didn't dare to bring up the border war again, but Su Shengsheng's free promise made it impossible for him to find any other excuse to make trouble.
Just as he was hesitating, Su Shengsheng spoke again: "My fellow villagers, I'm sure you've heard that the Su family's embroidery room is supplying cloth to the General's Office to make winter clothes for the soldiers."
Her tone was serious, using both kindness and force: "If the Su family really has no strength to stand on its own feet, how can they take on the responsibility of making winter clothes for hundreds of thousands of soldiers?"
Su Shengsheng once again cast a cold gaze at the leading men. "The soldiers are defending the border, and we should contribute our manpower and strength to overcome this difficult time together. How can we lose our composure due to a few slanderous words? Think about it, everyone. Over the past decade or so, even though there have been wars in Guanzhong, when has the enemy ever set foot in Guanzhong?"
The people who had originally planned to force their way in calmed down after hearing Su Shengsheng's words.
They all nodded in agreement, and then began to doubt the intentions of those who led the riot.
"Yes, with the prince guarding the pass, how can the people of Baishang Kingdom set foot on our territory?"
With Su Shengsheng's reminder, everyone quickly regained their consciousness. They glared at the troublemakers who instigated them to come here to get a refund.
Some even speculated, "These people didn't even want the free food and warmth offered by Shopkeeper Su, yet they still led the riot, constantly saying that the border was going to be in chaos. Perhaps they were spies sent by the Baishang Kingdom."
The people remembered that Su Shengsheng took the lead in catching the counterfeiters, and now the Su family is purchasing cloth for the soldiers at the border, so it is obvious that they are people recognized by the government.
But at this critical moment of delivery, these people instigated them to come here and cause trouble.
Even without considering the free land given by Su Shengsheng, they could not tolerate the enemy's spies shaking the people's hearts at the Tianqian Pass.
So the people rushed forward and grabbed the panicked leaders, ready to hand them over to the authorities.
Seeing that the bad situation was turned around by Su Shengsheng with just a few words, Bao Er was full of admiration.
He immediately grabbed a troublemaker he disliked and shouted fiercely, "Even if I, Bao Er, am a scoundrel, I won't harbor evil intentions like you. Let's go to the government office!"
Su Shengsheng had long been fed up with those who hid behind the scenes to stir up trouble, so she immediately went to the government office with Qing Ning.
Let’s see who is so bored that he wants to fight her to the death.
He originally wanted to lead the riot, but was arrested by his fellow rioters and taken to the government, and was also reported for disturbing the public morale.
This was the first time that the county magistrate had encountered such a ridiculous thing.
Seeing that the granddaughter of the imperial teacher resolved the crisis so cleverly, and secretly asked the people to help her find the enemy behind the scenes, and that they all looked like they shared a common hatred for the enemy, he couldn't help but smile.
"Who is causing trouble here?"
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