However, Jing Zhe was not Yu Li. After he whispered the plan in Yu Li's ear, Yu Li was amazed and immediately went down to send people to prepare.
Jing Zhe, on the other hand, was also extremely bored.
Logically speaking, Ruzhou should be his blessed land, but now that Zhou Ziqiong has gone to Jingzhou, he has no reason to go to the Zhou family. Mu Qingren and Wang Yingqiu, master and apprentice, have also gone to Jingzhou with Zhou Ziqiong, so going to Wuxian Pavilion is meaningless. Therefore, Jing Zhe can only lie in the house like a corpse.
The next morning, a long line of people had already formed outside Wang's rice shop, but the shop had not yet opened.
Less than fifteen minutes before the rice shop opened, a person suddenly came over, said a few words to the person at the front of the line, and then ran away without even waiting in line!
Those behind were utterly astonished by what they saw!
Keep in mind that they arrived before dawn and were only at the back of the line, so you can imagine when the person at the very front of the line arrived!
The rice shop was about to open, why did he run off? By the time he comes back, he'll have to queue up all over again, and even if he does, there won't be any rice left! He'll have to queue up again tomorrow!
Just as those behind were still puzzled, people kept breaking out of the line and running away.
Finally, someone couldn't resist their curiosity and grabbed one of them: "Brother, where are you going? You've waited in line for so long, wouldn't it be a waste if you just left like this?"
Seeing that the man was kind, the other man thought for a moment and whispered to him, "Don't tell anyone else! I just heard it from the man who walked ahead. Apparently, the government just issued a notice saying that the Prince of Jin's rebellion won't last long, and he won't even come to Ruzhou. It will be over in three or four days at most. So why are we still storing grain?"
"Really?"
The person asking the question seemed a little incredulous.
"Of course it's true! The notice also says that Jingzhou and Jiangling have plenty of grain and prices aren't going up. Other grain shops have started buying grain from there these past few days, and they'll sell it all at the same price!"
Then, pointing to the people who had run away, he said, "See? The first batch of grain has already arrived at Sun's Grain Shop, and they're selling it at a fair price now! These people got the news and all rushed to buy it!"
"real?"
Why would I lie to you?
"I'll go too!"
After saying that, he took off running.
Seeing that the person had vanished without a trace, the man suddenly slapped his forehead and said regretfully, "Damn it, why did I say so much to him? Believe it or not, he even stole my food!"
After he finished yelling, he quickly chased after them.
They spoke so loudly that the people queuing to buy rice nearby could hear them, and those who had already reached the front of the line were no longer in a hurry.
"Hey? What are you standing there for? Are you going to buy it or not?"
The rice seller had gotten a bit cocky these past few days. When he saw the rice buyers standing there dumbfounded, he started shouting.
"I'll buy—buy your mother's ass! The Sun family sells grain at a fair price, but you guys raise prices every day, you heartless merchants! Bah, I'll go buy from the Sun family too, and I'll never buy anything from you heartless merchants again! I hope your Wang family's rice will sell until next year, and that it'll sprout in the warehouse!"
Not satisfied with just cursing, the man turned around, raised his arms, and shouted: "Aren't we just asking for trouble by queuing up to buy overpriced grain? The Sun family has affordable grain now, and all the major grain stores will have affordable grain in the future. Let's go buy it now!"
"Let's go, I'm going too!"
"Me too! I'm never buying rice from the Wang family again!"
"Let's go, let's all go!"
In an instant, the people who had been queuing all dispersed and rushed towards Sun's grain shop like a swarm of bees. The shop assistant who had been shouting loudly just moments before was completely dumbfounded.
"What happened? Why are they all gone?"
Manager Wang was drinking tea behind the counter, unaware of what was happening outside. Business had been booming in the shop these past few days, and Manager Wang was quite overconfident. He was calculating that if things continued this way, he could break even in ten days, pay off the debts he owed to other grain shops, and then make a profit.
Despite carrying so many debts, he remained calm and strictly controlled the amount of rice he sold each day. He knew very well that rice would become more expensive over time, so he couldn't sell more for short-term gains. Of course, the people were often dissatisfied, and there were often troublemakers, but he was used to it. So when there was a commotion outside, he didn't care.
But the person was gone in an instant, and he panicked.
The shop assistant was equally bewildered. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Manager, I heard from that man that Sun's Grain Shop seems to have started selling rice again, and at a fair price! Everyone's gone to buy it!"
"What?"
Manager Wang was even more surprised, because he had clearly bought all the rice in Ruzhou City, otherwise how could he be so in debt?
Moreover, winter has just ended, and all the rice in the grain stores is last year's stock. This year's new grain will not be available for several months. He took advantage of this vacuum period to dare to raise prices.
Where did the Sun family get their grain from?
The more Manager Wang thought about it, the more puzzled he became. Finally, he stood up and walked out. Seeing this, the shop assistant hurriedly asked, "Manager, where are you going? Are we still selling this grain?"
"Sell? Sell my ass! Didn't you see there's no one left? Hurry up and buy it! I don't believe they won't buy it later! When they come back to buy, let's see if I raise the price!"
Manager Wang spat angrily and said, "Let me go check on that guy surnamed Sun and see what he's up to!"
After saying that, he turned around and left.
Jing Zhe stood in the corner, a smile playing on his lips.
Those people who left after queuing were all actors that Jing Zhe found from Zhang's Winery; the scene in front of them was obviously just an act.
Of course, although it was all an act, what they said was basically true. However, the rice sold at Sun's Grain Shop was not transported from other cities, but was the grain used by Zhang's Winery for brewing wine and the grain stored at Wenxiangju. If controlled, it wouldn't be a problem to sell it for five or six days.
It turned out that after discussing with Yu Li, Jing Zhe decided to first "lend" the rice from Zhang's Winery and Wenxiangju to the Sun family or other rice shops, and then let them sell the grain at a fair price.
If ordinary people could buy grain at a fair price, and if they heard the government's announcement that the rebellion wouldn't last long, then who would worry about food? And who would pay a high price to buy rice from the Wang family?
The grain shops that Jing Zhe contacted probably had a good relationship with Manager Wang before, otherwise why would they have let him buy all their rice on credit? But Manager Wang did something really unethical afterward. Not only did he keep raising prices, but when other grain shops wanted to buy some more rice, Manager Wang turned his back on them.
This has led to other grain shop owners now deeply resenting Manager Wang and cooperating fully with Jing Zhe's work.
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