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Lu Xin has not had an easy time these days. Not only does he have to figure out the thoughts of Gu and Wu, but he also has to attend various banquets and constantly manipulate the price of silk.
This is not as easy as imagined. After all, the demands of big silk merchants and big satin merchants are completely different. Not everyone in Yuhang City is looking forward to the increase in silk prices.
The key is how to raise the price without affecting sales and causing the weaving workshop owners to turn against them.
Tingzhou suffered a war, the Lu family's estate was damaged, and the food supply was completely destroyed this year. The only thing Lu Xin could rely on was raw silk. Every increase in the price of silver was good for the Lu family.
It was for this reason that he realized that the Gu family was also fanning the flames in the silk market. This was somewhat unexpected. After all, the Gu family not only traded in raw silk, but also had many looms. It was impossible for them to let the price of silk soar.
What was Gu Sanlang's motivation for getting involved? Was it really because of that young Master Fang from Panyu that he was seeking revenge? Or was he simply dissatisfied with the Wu family and wanted to ruin the deal?
However, none of these moves are as worthy of attention as Fang Ling himself.
After all, this guy was from Panyu. If he was an outpost for the Red Flag Gang, then how to treat him would be very important. Lu Xin hadn't forgotten that the Lu family and the Red Flag Gang had a grudge. It was hard to say whether Fang Ling was a friend or foe, so it was worth considering.
However, just as Lu Xin was racking his brains and thinking that everything was proceeding as planned, he was stunned by a sudden piece of news. His good nephew Lu Xiu had been sent back by Wu Changming. It was said that he had had an argument with Young Master Fang and almost came to blows at Qingjiang Pavilion.
The Lu family is a family of great renown; how could they afford to disgrace someone like that? When Lu Xin saw Lu Xiu, she gnashed her teeth in anger. "Didn't I tell you to stay home and study? And you dared to let your slave commit violence? Have you forgotten what I said before?"
The previous incident of a fratricide in Panyu had caused his eldest brother to lose face in the officialdom, so he used this as an excuse to severely punish a large number of the stewards brought in by Madam Lu, accusing them of allowing their slaves to commit violence. Now, Madam Lu has calmed down, but Master Lu has started to act foolishly again. How did the Nanyang Chen family raise their daughter to give birth to such an idiot?
Lu Xiu had already been lectured by Wu Changming, so seeing his illegitimate uncle, he was no longer willing to lose face. He simply said, "Don't you see what the Wu family did? They were clearly the ones who colluded with the Red Flag Gang first. If they had succeeded, wouldn't it have embarrassed our family?"
Lu Xin was irritated by his disdainful tone. Even if he was his eldest brother's son, the legitimate son of the family, so what? He was in charge of the Lu family's many shops and lands, and the elders of the clan were all respectful. How could he allow a youngster to be so presumptuous?
Without hesitation, Lu Xin shouted, "Come here, confine Sanlang to his house. If anyone dares to let him out, I will beat that thief to death!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Xiu immediately jumped up and down: "You saw my father was defeated, and you want to humiliate me too? Don't forget that I am the sect leader's legitimate son..."
Lu Xin was furious: "With a rebellious son like you, my brother will never be able to hold his position as the clan leader! Come on, what are you waiting for?"
How could a group of attendants dare to neglect him? They pulled people together, covered their mouths, and finally dragged the young master out. After everyone left, Lu Xin sank into a chair and breathed heavily. Lu Xiu was a rude and arrogant boy, and he deserved to be disciplined. But he also had a point. It seemed that Wu Shi was really hooking up with Fang. Not only did she secretly meet with someone at Qingjiang Pavilion, but she also stepped forward to teach Lu Xiu a lesson. This was the posture of a serious business deal. He didn't believe that just for a few pieces of raw silk, a smart man like Wu Changming would work so hard.
So what exactly were they discussing? Or, was the Wu family also going to join forces with the Red Flag Gang to seek greater benefits? If this were to happen, it wouldn't be a good thing for them. Alas, it all came down to his sister-in-law being too overbearing. If she wasn't trying to compete with Lu Jian, why would she have gone to this extent?
Thinking of this, Lu Xin couldn't help but sigh even more deeply. He had personally investigated this matter and realized that Lu Jian was now in charge of the bank run by the Red Flag Gang. He must have considerable power. He was a truly brilliant man. If his eldest brother had shown a little more respect for his eldest son, how could things have escalated to this point?
Wait, as if remembering something, Lu Xin suddenly sat up straight. So, the Red Flag Gang wasn't necessarily the Lu family's enemy. If they pushed out Lu Xiu and reinstated Lu Jian as the heir, wouldn't that naturally connect them to the Red Flag Gang? This wasn't impossible. With the crown prince now in a different position, his brother's career was essentially over. Preserving the Lu family was crucial. The Nanyang Chen family wasn't as important at this point, so suppressing the heir apparent and rekindling Lu Jian shouldn't be difficult. His good brother was quite adaptable and would probably agree.
The only problem might be the stolen ocean-going fleet. This incident was a major setback, causing many members of the clan to harbor deep hatred for the Red Flag Gang. Reparations might not be easy. But then again, everything depends on human effort. As long as the interests are sufficient, there's no grudge that can't be put aside, and we can consider the long-term consequences.
Thinking of this, Lu Xin's expression finally brightened slightly, but the next moment, his brow furrowed again. No, he'd had someone watching Lu Xiu for the past two days, and no one had mentioned the visitor from Panyu to him. Not to mention, this guy had studied at the Imperial College. How could he be so easily provoked and directly block the door and beat someone up? Someone must be behind this.
Who could it be? A name popped up, and Lu Xin clenched his fist and squeezed out three words from between his teeth: "Gu Sanlang!"
The Gu family was Yuhang's largest silk merchant and also the largest weaver. How could they sit idly by and watch the Wu family solicit business from behind? And getting rid of this stupid shelf of theirs would not only ruin the relationship between the Lu and Wu families, but might even ruin the deal. Wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone? Duanduan had a good idea!
But is the Lu family easy to bully? Even if the eldest brother has lost his official position, the Lu family is still one of the most powerful families in Jiangdong. How can they be manipulated by others? With a sneer, Lu Xin said to the servants: "Go to the Wu Mansion and deliver a letter. Say thank you Wu Ziliang for taking care of the younger generation in the family. I want to treat him to a meal."
Aren't you, Gu Sanlang, trying to stir things up? One Wu isn't enough, add another Lu, and see what else you can come up with!
There are undercurrents here, and some people, who are outside the situation, have already started to be shocked.
"Silk prices have really gone up! Why do those aristocratic families seem to be contributing more?" Lu Jingzhi was truly amazed at the current situation. He had assumed that the young woman surnamed Jiang was just talking nicely, but in reality, she was eager for him to confront the Lu family head-on. How could his Lu family have the resources to dare to confront the Lu family head-on?
Therefore, his promise was just lip service; Lu Jingzhi wasn't actually planning to put in too much effort. Unexpectedly, within just a few days, the silk market in Yuhang was turned upside down. Several major families intentionally or unintentionally raised the price of silk. This was no easy task, and it completely thwarted all his preparations.
Just as he was contemplating his next move, Madam Jiang sent a letter, suggesting that some people should go to the countryside to collect silk now. Spring silk wasn't on the market yet, so anyone who wanted to collect silk had to place an order in advance. This would require a significant outlay of cash, and the silk farmers and silk cooperatives might take advantage of the situation and raise prices. However, those peasants weren't in Yuhang City, so they wouldn't be as well-informed. Any price hikes they could make wouldn't compare to the inflated prices inflated by the silk merchants. Once the order was placed, any further increase would be a profit. Even if he didn't want the raw silk, he could still make a fortune by reselling the contracts. He certainly wouldn't miss such an opportunity.
As for how Madam Jiang arranged things, and what the other families were planning to do, what did that have to do with his Lu family? The benefits he got were the real deal, and he had already made this deal!
As soon as Lu Jingzhi started to take action, the news naturally spread. Countless silk merchants heard the news and hurriedly took their boats to the countryside to collect silk. The already high silk price suddenly rose again.
This was great news for silk merchants, but not necessarily for weaving mill owners. The Gu family owned the largest weaving mill in Yuhang, with hundreds of looms. Not only had silk prices skyrocketed, but some people were also starting to collect their silk early. This was definitely bad news for Gu Yunkai. After all, no matter how many fields the Gu family owned, they relied on buying silk at low market prices to keep their spun silk affordable.
Now that all the silk has been bought by retail investors, what will he do with it in the future? Raising silk prices will also increase the cost of textile production, which is a loss that outweighs the gain.
He'd clearly just wanted to teach Fang the kid a lesson, but now it had escalated into this mess. Gu Sanlang was both troubled and wary. He'd heard that Lu Xin, the head of Lu's Trading Company, had made an appointment with Wu Changming. He wondered what they were planning. Could it be that the two companies were planning to join forces and go big together? They hadn't invested much in the weaving mill, so if they could find a sucker who could take advantage of the skyrocketing raw silk prices, they could make a killing.
With such a big commotion, I think this deal must be quite big. How much raw silk did the boy surnamed Fang want to buy, and what price did he give to Wu Changming?
The more Gu Yunkai thought about it, the more he felt that there was something fishy about this matter. What was the "offense" before compared to the huge sum of money?
Without hesitation, he sent a visiting card to invite Mr. Fang. Of course, he was willing to give in, but he didn't know if the other party would appreciate it. After all, just a few words of criticism at Zhou Zhenglun's poetry gathering had made him run to the Wu family. Who knew if he was just a fool who didn't care about business matters for the sake of face?
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long, and Young Master Fang readily agreed.
Hearing the reply, Gu Sanlang chuckled softly. It was true that appearances don't always tell the whole story. It looked like that guy had no intention of turning against him at all.
Then the contact with Wu was probably a provocation.
Now it is he and Fang Ling who are the ones who don't want the silk price to rise too much, so this face-off has to be reconsidered.
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