A cold wind blew through the alley, the flames of the burning torches flickered, and the group of ragged refugees huddled in the corner gathered over at some point. Although their faces were dirty, their eyes were bright as they stared at Shao Huai'en and his group.
Shao Huai'en couldn't help but shudder. Looking at Yu Jiao's bright and indifferent little face under the light, he felt a little frightened for a moment.
The Shao family has been dominating the Qingzhou business territory for a long time. As long as they don't provoke the Mu family or the Yang family, everyone else is not worth mentioning.
Who would have thought that today I would touch the tiger's butt, a little country girl, actually has Young Marquis Gu as her backer!
Shao Huai'en blinked his eyes and thought for a while, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He no longer had the arrogant look he had just now.
"Gu... Why would the young Marquis come to Qingzhou to sell grain?" Shao Huai'en swallowed the saliva secreted due to nervousness and said, "You are a country girl from Changkui, how can you recognize a person like the young Marquis Gu? If you use the young Marquis Gu to deceive me, do you know what will happen? Even if the young Marquis Gu does not take action, our Shao family will have to teach you a lesson on behalf of the young Marquis, a scoundrel who is using the banner to hide his tiger skin."
Yu Jiao crossed her arms over her chest and chuckled, "It's time to teach him a lesson."
She looked at the servants, her expression turned cold, "Go grab your weapons! These blind bastards are bullying Young Marquis Gu. If we don't teach them a lesson, it will really bring shame to Young Marquis Gu!"
Manager Zhou already understood why Yu Jiao did this. The more reckless she acted, the harder it would be for the Shao family to figure out the truth. He hurried back to the yard with a few servants, and soon they came out with sticks in their hands, waving them towards Shao Huai'en and his group.
The refugees also rushed forward. They had received free food from Yu's Grain Shop, and now they returned the favor by helping to drive away Shao Huai'en and his group.
"Manager Shao, what should we do?" The person who came with Shao Huai'en asked nervously.
Seeing someone swinging a stick at his back, Shao Huai'en dodged and said hurriedly, "Let's go first, let's go first!"
Shao Huai'en and his group fled in a panic. The guys with sticks and the group of refugees chased them to the end of the alley and chased them out of sight.
"Miss Yu, Young Marquis Gu is not in Qingzhou after all. If we act like this, we will have a bigger feud with the Shao family. The Shao family will probably take the opportunity to retaliate." Steward Zhou said worriedly when he saw the waiters coming back laughing.
Yu Jiao smiled and said, "If no one offends me, I will not offend anyone. If someone offends me, I will not tolerate it."
She looked at Manager Zhou and said slowly, "Gu Yun is in Danzhou. You are shipping all this grain to Danzhou. The Shao family will not make a fool of themselves if they ask around. Don't worry, if the Shao family really dares to act recklessly, Young Marquis Gu will take care of it!"
Manager Zhou felt more relaxed after hearing her cheerful tone, but he couldn't help but say a few more words, "Merchants are the most cunning. We are not afraid of the Shao family coming openly, but we are afraid that they will come up with some shady tricks behind the scenes. Miss, you'd better be careful."
Yu Jiao nodded, "Just deal with it as it happens. Manager Zhou, don't worry about me. When you get to Danzhou, find a way to meet with Young Marquis Gu and tell Gu Yun about the Shao family's affairs."
Manager Zhou nodded and said, "Okay, I will definitely pass on the message." Although he did not know Young Marquis Gu, his boss was in Danzhou, so it would not be difficult to meet Young Marquis Gu through his boss.
Manager Zhou took his men and drove the grain cart away again.
Yu Jiao thanked the refugees at the street corner and returned to the inner courtyard with Yu Fuling.
After a good night's sleep, Yu Jiao called the refugees into the yard the next day and inquired about their situation in detail.
Most of these refugees came here because their houses and fields were destroyed after the flood, and their elderly and children at home were starving and had no food, so they had to beg for food.
Yu Jiao planned to buy the fields they had, but because all the fields were flooded, the roots of the wheat they had sown had rotted and the fields would not sprout. It would take a long time for the fields to recover. Also, because the land was next to the Zhiyuan Canal, there was a high possibility that the fields would be flooded in the future, so they could not be sold for a good price at the moment.
These refugees also wanted to sell their land, but they had not found a suitable buyer. There was a wealthy family who was willing to buy the land, but the land originally cost ten taels per acre, but the rich family wanted to buy it at one or two taels per acre.
Farmers who have been farming all their lives regard their land as their children and would never be willing to sell it at such a low price. The rich man is not in a hurry and just holds on to it. Anyway, when these people can't survive anymore, they will come back to him to sell their land.
The refugees knew the rich man's plan, but there was nothing they could do. In the past few days, several of them had gone to the rich man to sell their land.
After listening to what the refugees said, Yu Jiao thought for a while and said, "I will buy the land from you at the price of four taels per mu. Are you willing?"
Upon hearing this, the refugees in the courtyard were so excited that they lowered their heads and started talking in low voices. They were all from villages near the Xiyun Canal and most of them knew each other. Yu Jiao had already given a very high price for the field and they were afraid that no one else would be willing to pay that price.
This group of people rushed to say, "I'm willing to sell!"
“I’m willing to sell it too!”
A woman asked with a reserved look, "Good girl, I...I want to ask you something."
Yu Jiao looked at her and said, "You go ahead."
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