Chapter 298 Forced Purchase
"Stop!" The soldiers at the Yukang City gate stopped Huo Xifei and Yuan Ziyou: "The entrance fee is three qian of silver per person!"
"What?" Yuan Ziyou blinked, looking at the soldier in disbelief. Since when did you need to pay an entrance fee to enter a city? And three taels of silver per person? Although three taels of silver didn't seem like much to her, it was no small sum for ordinary people.
"Don't you understand what I'm saying?" the soldier snorted arrogantly. "Three taels of silver each, six taels for the two of you. You're not allowed to enter the city without paying the entrance fee."
"You..." Yuan Ziyu was so angry that he wanted to whip the soldier severely.
Huo Xifei stopped Yuan Ziyou, looked at the soldier and asked, "When did our Dali Dynasty stipulate that you need to pay an entrance fee to enter the city?"
"Hmph!" The soldier looked at Huo Xifei with disdain. "This is a rule from our county governor. Anyone entering Yukang City must pay an entrance fee. Otherwise, no one will be allowed in. Violators will be charged with treason!"
Huo Xifei narrowed his eyes upon hearing this: "Treason? Did the county magistrate say that?"
"Ah... ah, yes!" The soldier was startled by Huo Xifei's sudden momentum and stammered in response. Then, he felt as if he had lost his momentum and quickly stood up and glared at Huo Xifei: "Are you going into the city or not? If not, get out of here!"
Yuan Ziyu narrowed his eyes and glared at the soldier. He really wanted to beat him up, but thinking that he couldn't ruin Huo Xifei's plan, he suppressed his anger and waited for Huo Xifei to make a decision.
Huo Xifei glanced at the soldier, threw six coins of silver to him, and then entered Yukang City with Yuan Ziyu.
The two entered the city and first found an inn to stay in, then went out to look around.
The more Yuan Ziyu and Huo Xifei watched, the angrier they became. Nowadays, due to the high entrance fee to Yukang City, the people in the city rarely leave the city, and most of the people outside the city are also blocked from leaving the city by the entrance fee. As a result, Yukang City can be said to still be as peaceful as it was before the disaster.
But all this is just on the surface!
Just strolling around, you will find that whether it is a rice shop or a restaurant or teahouse, the prices are surprisingly high. Take rice for example. In normal years, a dou of rice costs about 300 wen, but now, in Yukang City, a dou of rice is sold for one tael of silver!
The price has more than tripled!
At noon, Huo Xifei and Yuan Ziyu found a small restaurant for lunch.
Since the prices in such small restaurants are much cheaper than those in large ones, some men from well-off families would often gather here for meals and chats, making it a good place to gather information.
In order to get information more conveniently, Huo Xifei and Yuan Ziyu specially chose a table closer to the middle and sat down.
As soon as they sat down, a waiter came up to greet them. However, his face did not show much joy. He just asked, "Gentlemen, what would you like to eat?"
"No matter what, just bring a few plates of your signature dishes and two bowls of rice!" Yuan Ziyu ordered.
The waiter responded, "Okay, please wait a moment, gentlemen. It's just...it's just..."
"Just what? Feel free to tell me." Huo Xifei said.
The waiter quickly smiled and said, "To be honest, gentlemen, you should know that with the flood, there's an entrance fee to the city, so there are almost no villagers coming into the city to sell vegetables. Our shop has no choice but to purchase vegetables, meat, and fruits from shops in the city. As a result, the prices have gone up, so...so the price of these vegetables is much higher than usual."
"It's okay, just bring it up!" Huo Xifei said lightly.
Hearing Huo Xifei's words, the waiter was immediately delighted and said, "In that case, please wait a moment, gentlemen. I will go to the kitchen and ask the chef to cook for you."
Huo Xifei nodded.
Soon, the dishes were served. Although they were not as exquisite as those in the restaurants in Beijing, they had their own unique flavor.
Huo Xifei and Yuan Ziyu were eating when they saw a man who looked like a housekeeper swaggering into the store with a few servants.
"How about it, have you thought it through?" As soon as the butler came in, he sat down at an empty table and asked the store owner with a look of disdain.
The shopkeeper was originally counting the bills behind the counter. When he heard the butler's voice, he looked up and hurried out from behind the counter. "Oh, it's Butler Wu. What would you like to eat? I'll ask the kitchen to prepare it for you."
"Stop the fucking nonsense!" The butler slammed the table and said, "I'm not here to eat today. I just want to ask you, what do you think about that incident a few days ago?"
The shopkeeper's face darkened when he heard this. "Butler Wu, to be honest, although my shop isn't big, it's the foundation of my livelihood. If I sell it, how will I survive in the future?"
"It's not like I won't give you the money!" The butler glared at him. "What? You dare even refuse the County Magistrate's honor? Let me tell you, the County Magistrate is already doing you a favor by paying for your store. If you dare to be shameless, don't even think about getting a penny!"
Nowadays, the food in the restaurant is much more expensive, so there are not many customers eating in the restaurant. When the butler Wu shouted like this, many people realized that something was wrong. Who dares to offend the county magistrate? So they hurriedly took a few mouthfuls of food and left.
In the end, only Huo Xifei and Yuan Ziyu were still eating leisurely.
"Butler Wu, please be magnanimous and be considerate of us ordinary people!" The shopkeeper, noticing Butler Wu's tough tone, pleaded, "I have elderly parents and young children to support. Even if I sell this shop to the county magistrate's son, the money is too little!"
"You think it's too little?" Butler Wu looked the shopkeeper up and down and sneered, "Our young master is kind-hearted, so that's why we're discussing the purchase of this shop with you. If you don't appreciate it, believe it or not, all this money will be gone."
"Butler Wu, please be merciful!" The shopkeeper begged again in a pitiful voice.
"Hmph, it's no use begging me!" Butler Wu stood up and said, "Our young master has decided to buy this shop. I'll give you two more days. If you still don't want to sell it when I come the day after tomorrow, you'll have to watch out. Our young master is not someone to be trifled with, hmph!"
After saying that, Butler Wu took a few servants with him to smash a few tables before leaving.
The plates and bowls on several tables that had not been cleared away yet fell to the ground along with the tables!
What a mess!
The shopkeeper sighed, told his servant to clean up the floor, and then returned to the counter dejectedly.
Yuan Ziyu turned around and looked at Huo Xifei.
The son of the county magistrate!
I didn't expect that there would be such robbery and plunder in Yukang City. This shows what kind of position the county governor holds in Yukang City!
As the saying goes, the sky is high and the emperor is far away!
This county magistrate can truly be considered a local emperor in Yukang City!
(End of this chapter)
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