Chapter 98 Xiang Liang: The Advantage Is Mine
"Master, the price of food has gone up again today."
When his subordinates reported the increase, Xiang Liang didn't care. After all, he had enough grain stored at home, and the rising grain prices had little impact on him.
"Go to the account and withdraw money, and continue to collect." He untied the straps of a roll of bamboo slips and carefully applied maintenance oil on it, having expected this to happen.
Purchasing large quantities of grain would inevitably cause prices to rise, but this increase was completely acceptable. After the autumn rains, the new grain would be destroyed, and reselling it would earn double the money, which would make people grateful.
"It was the Cheng and Le families who took action. They deliberately raised the price of grain too high to snatch the grain we wanted!"
Xiang Liang suddenly raised his head, his eyes revealing contempt and anger.
"If it weren't for the tyrant who destroyed our Chu State, this small, lowly family wouldn't even be qualified to appear before our Xiang family!"
"You are the descendant of a lowly person, a lowly person who can't even wash the mud off your legs! How dare you mess with my Xiang family!"
He cursed angrily for half an hour. The servant who was reporting on the progress hid in the corner and dared not say a word. It was not until he angrily threw his sleeves and sat down that he signaled the servant at the door to clean up the place quickly.
The subordinate came over, knelt down opposite, and asked, "Master, we must teach the Cheng and Le families a lesson!"
"Idiot!" Xiang Liang thrust his finger hard at his forehead, venting all his remaining anger on him. "My Xiang family is renowned in Chu. That tyrant must have someone keeping an eye on us, waiting to kill any member of the Xiang family who shows up to prevent future trouble. Jumping out now would be a waste of life!"
Xiang Liang flew into a rage, then waved his hand and said, "Go get the money from the account, and buy it back even if it costs more."
…
In another large mansion, two middle-aged men dressed in brocade gathered together, listening to the news just brought back by their subordinates.
“Did they raise the price?”
The subordinate nodded: "Yes."
"Did they really raise the price?"
The subordinates were also incredulous: "Sure, the grain price signs have been updated."
The man in the gray robe was Le Yi, the head of the Le family. He even dropped the dog bone he had been chewing, leaned forward on the dining table, and said, "Xiang Liang is so proud and arrogant that he has always disdained to compete with us. But this time, he has completely disregarded his status and dignity?"
Across from him was Cheng Ran, the head of the Cheng family. He scoffed at the words, "I thought it was just the past. Now that the Chu State is gone, who will support them? They have to worry about their own food and clothing. Isn't it time to come down and get a taste of the money?"
"Hey, do you think he got some news?" Le Yi explained. "This news has been spreading like wildfire lately. Even many of my tenants here want to delay their grain payments for a few days, hoping to try their luck in the legendary miracle."
"Xiang Liang is so good! He's actually taking advantage of this to harvest grain... In previous years, grain was at its most expensive during the lean season, but last year was a good year, and with this crisis this year, he's actually pushing down grain prices."
"Do you think we should follow?"
Cheng Ran hesitated for a moment and suggested, "Why don't we make an appointment with him to find out some information?"
Le Yi was not very happy and slumped down. "You've never seen him like that. His nose is almost growing to the top of his head. I eagerly gave him gifts, but he sent me away with a butler and refused to even see me. Anyway, I don't want to put my face in the cold butt again."
"He used to be a great noble, and he's a guaranteed minister in the future. We're not even qualified to flatter him. But now, despite all the support, he's still not as secure as we are. If the Qin army comes one day, we'll arrest him first."
Cheng Ran certainly knew this truth, but after all, the Xiang family had developed in Chu for many years, and the remaining power was also a behemoth that they could not compete with. The county magistrate was not as good as the county magistrate.
Outsiders don't know whether they met or agreed on any terms.
The civilians here only know that the purchase price of grain, which had been rising day by day, has stopped rising now, so they can only sell it to any random dealer.
It’s not that no one is worried. If the autumn rain comes before the crops are harvested, they will starve to death before the next year.
"But at this price, one bushel is worth two bushels as usual. Let's harvest half first and leave the other half in the fields. If we can double the amount, we'll be lucky."
There are many people who think like him, so you can still see people busy in the fields harvesting in autumn.
However, unlike them, Xiang's tenants had to harvest the crops as quickly as they had in previous years, and were not allowed to leave a single rice plant in the fields.
"Anyone who dares disobey," the burly Xiang family supervisor said, waving his whip, causing it to crack in mid-air, "will have to go back to the mountains and eat their own food. Don't even think about getting your hands on any of Xiang family's land!"
To be fair, this year's harvest is pretty good.
Shi Laoliu was originally an ordinary villager of Shitou Village. However, he broke his leg while going up the mountain one year and could only lie at home to endure. As time went by, his family could no longer support him. In order to survive, he had to sell his land to Xiang family, and his whole family moved into Xiang family's territory to become tenants.
"At least we still have land to farm. We should be content."
"Oh, if only we could leave an acre in the field. When a miracle happens, we can have a better life this year."
His wife turned around and patted him gently, "Don't worry about it. The fact that we can have a bite to eat is thanks to the kindness of the master. I heard that other tenants worked hard for a year and could only keep 10% of their grain. They couldn't make it through the beginning of the month and had to sell their eldest maid for a bushel of grain. Finally, we managed to get through this year."
She opened the rice jar at home, grabbed two handfuls of rice from it, thought for a while, grabbed another handful, and poured less than a bowl of rice into the pot with chopped wild vegetables on the side. She made a pot of porridge and served the thickest part to the men in the family. They were the strong laborers in the family, and it was the time to gather strength for the autumn harvest, so they needed to eat something full.
After dinner, Shi Laoliu took his sons back to the fields. He touched the rice stalks with ears of rice hanging on them, and his desire to keep some became stronger. However, his indecision was nothing but wishful thinking under the whip of the supervisor.
Xiang's tenants were due to pay grain in seven days. If they didn't harvest now, how could they get enough grain to pay in seven days? Otherwise, they would be driven out and become refugees.
…
There was so much grain collected that it filled up every warehouse. When the grain was transported back later, only a few rooms could be used to store it.
"The autumn rain is coming, and I'm afraid it won't last if I keep it in the room."
When his subordinates reported this, Xiang Liang didn't take it seriously at all. He kept his eyes on the military book in his hand and waved his hand casually, "It's just a few days. We can leave it after the autumn harvest. It's not a big deal."
"By then, all the grain will be killed by a rain in the fields. Without the new grain, even if the old grain is slightly moldy, there will be a lot of people fighting for it."
Time passed day by day, and the autumn harvest days of previous years had passed.
The days of drying millet in previous years have passed again...
"Hurry up and collect it. Look, those noble families have collected the grain. Do you know better than them?"
"The autumn rains are coming soon. If we don't harvest now, the crops will rot in the fields. Even the Xiang family's master has told the tenants to hurry up and harvest."
“…”
The urging voices drowned out the previously boiling rumors and prompted countless hesitant farmers to harvest their crops day and night.
Then they urged the farmers who were still waiting for a miracle, "Harvest the rice quickly! Look, besides you guys, who else is still leaving the rice unharvested? You're so greedy! Don't let everything go to waste!"
"They actually believed that nonsense. Do they really think there's a miracle? I'll wait and see. One day they'll be weeping in the ground."
When the majority becomes the minority, these people become the outliers.
Many farmers who had confiscated grain would simply stay by the fields, doing nothing all day long but staring at the sky. As soon as there was a slight sign of change in color, they would hurriedly call for people to go harvest the rice, and then put down their sickles when the sky cleared.
This goes on and on, and the time has come for the autumn rain to fall.
It’s not raining.
Xiang Liang stood under the eaves, watching the warm sunlight set. The cheers coming from across the courtyard wall seemed so harsh.
The autumn rain is just late, but it is inevitable!
When the autumn rain comes, not even 10% of the crops will remain!
…
Xianyang Palace, Hall of Eternal Life.
Wei Shengxue walked out of the palace.
"It's almost time."
So Ying Zheng and all his important ministers gathered at the gate of the palace where the Nine Cauldrons were stored.
Almost everyone was holding a flowerpot in their arms, with a fruit-bearing plant of varying sizes in it.
"Master, please don't blame me. We don't have the chance to see a thousand acres of wheat fields ripen overnight, so we found some small things to temporarily satisfy our eyes."
They spoke very politely and had a good attitude, so Wei Shengxue naturally didn't mind their little thoughts.
"No problem."
After saying this, he turned to Ying Zheng and said, "The method is no different from before. Fellow Daoist, please take your seats."
'System, exchange.'
[Ding! Do you want to purchase the item in the shopping cart [Basic National Fortune Utilization * Full Range Plant Growth Bonus]?]
'Sure. '
[Ding! The national destiny product is taking effect, please wait patiently. ]
[Ding! It's in effect.]
The Nine Cauldrons vibrated slightly. Li Si, standing outside the hall, rubbed his eyes. He seemed to see a black mist drifting out. He blinked again, and it disappeared again, as if the scene just now was just an illusion.
Oh no, could it be that he is old and his eyesight is blurry?
"It's grown! It's grown!"
"Mine's getting thicker!"
"My fruit is so big!"
Suddenly, he heard the surprised shouts of his colleagues. Li Si subconsciously looked up and saw that the originally small potted plant had grown to the thickness of his little finger in an instant. A general who came with a small fruit tree couldn't even hold the flowerpot and fell to the ground due to exhaustion.
This is... a miracle?!
This invisible wave started from the Xianyang Palace and quickly spread outward like ripples on the water.
Circle, circle, layer, layer...
It spread from Xianyang to Hanzhong County, from Hanzhong County to Nanyang County, and then passed through Hengshan County and Jiujiang County, extending all the way to the farthest Kuaiji County.
…
Kuaiji County, in the Xiang family mansion.
Cheng Ran and Le Yi were getting a little restless, so they came to visit today, hoping to get some reassurance from Xiang Liang.
"Mr. Xiang, there's not even any autumn rain. When that miracle comes, all the grain in our warehouse will be wasted."
Xiang Liang held a cup of tea, blew a breath of hot air gently, and felt contempt in his heart: Being born as a low-class person, it is indeed difficult for him to be accepted into the upper class.
He doesn't even have this little bit of self-control, and is no better than an ordinary servant in his family.
Just as he finished thinking, the usually polite servant rushed into the hall, with a look of horror still on his face.
"Master, outside... outside... please go out and take a look!"
Xiang Liang put down the teacup and wanted to show off, but Le Yi and the other man had already felt a strong sense of foreboding. Without wasting a second, they stood up and walked out of the reception room in two steps.
As soon as they reached the door, the scene in the yard made their legs go weak and they sat down on the ground.
It's over.
It's all over.
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