Chapter 355 I am more greedy than they think
In late autumn, the leaves fall and the cold wind blows.
Countless refugees came empty-handed and left empty-handed, and then more refugees lined up and stumbled in.
From a distance, the street adjacent to Wuyou Store was crowded with people, like a temple fair, with constant noisy sounds.
As the grain shovels rubbed against the plump grains of corn, making a rustling sound, bags of relief food were continuously sent out, and then put into the practitioners' carts by the refugees who were used as tools, and then taken away one by one.
As if planned, such scenes appeared in every corner of the six states of Qingyun, becoming more and more intense.
The food price signs that were originally hung in front of the shops are no longer in demand, and some have even been pulled down due to the crowding of refugees.
This is in stark contrast to the previous scene where the high price made everyone dizzy and even discouraged cultivators from buying, which makes people sigh.
After all, with the influx of refugees into the city, the so-called sale has evolved into a situation where people have to watch others plundering and are unable to do anything about it.
I was the only one who had that grain, and my arrogance of not buying it as I pleased was shattered to pieces and trampled under the feet of the aristocratic family.
"I didn't expect this to turn out this way. Seeing this, I couldn't help but feel a little pity."
"Mercy? Why don't you think about the price he set in the first place? Chunchun deserves what she has become today!"
"Brother Fang is right. He is in trouble today because of himself. After all, we, the immortal families, are also concerned about our reputation. If he hadn't asked for it so high and paid real money to buy it, what would have happened? He really lost more than he gained."
On the terrace of the tea pavilion on the second floor of Zuixian Tower, Fang Jincheng and other immortal cultivators looked down at the crowded main city road and applauded this sudden reversal.
The princes and daughters from several families in Zhongzhou continued to cater to him.
They also didn't expect the family's actions to be so swift and effective.
In just a few days, they seemed to see the Wulv Trading Company being breached, countless grains rushing out without any charge, and Ji You being at a loss.
At about the same time, in front of the Chongwang Mansion, a group of pro-immortal officials were also watching this scene, staring silently.
They had anticipated such a result and were not surprised.
After all, before the Immortal Supervisor came on the scene, they were the group that had always served the immortals, so they naturally knew how much those immortal families disregarded their bottom line.
Ji You is obviously not qualified to suck blood from the aristocratic families.
Just imagine if Wulv Company was the property of those holy sons, with the power of the Immortal Sect suppressing it, who would dare to use such means?
Unfortunately, even though he was incredibly talented, and even surpassed countless of his peers, even surpassing his direct disciples, he still had an inadequate background.
This is also the reason why, even though his fighting power has reached boundless, he can only marry into the family of a thousand-year-old family in the eyes of the family.
In this world, a person's strength can never be considered true strength.
"How long do you think this will last, Father?"
"It will continue until those noble families are satisfied." King Chong replied, twirling his beard.
"So what level of satisfaction is considered?"
"That's their decision. If they feel unsatisfied, they will continue until the granaries in Fengzhou are completely empty."
"Aren't those immortal families afraid that the people who support them will starve to death this winter?"
Prince Chong raised his left hand, which held the ring, and waved it gently: "After emptying Fengzhou, the noble families will naturally help the refugees on their own. They can even claim to be helping the poor and needy, right?"
As the head of the pro-immortal faction and the uncle of the current Great Xia Emperor, King Chong, who has worked hard for many years, has a very thorough understanding of the current situation.
Those immortal families will not allow the large-scale death of the people who have supported them for generations. After draining Fengzhou, they will certainly choose to give them some of the surplus food.
But the prerequisite is that Ji You must be helplessly drained.
Whether it is the stored grain or the arrogance of the aristocratic families in recent years, they must all be emptied out.
"I hope he can learn a lesson this time and curb his arrogance."
Zhao Yunyue turned his gaze calmly to the west, gazing at the Wuyou Trading Company whose threshold was about to be flattened.
When she saw Ji You killing Chu He and entering the inner courtyard, she sent a special message to him wanting to marry him, but was rejected. She always hated that kind of arrogance.
Since then, she has always wanted to see him suppressed, so she contacted Liu Junchi who was in the Rong Dao realm, and also went to watch the preliminaries of the Tianshu Academy of the Forbidden Sword Dao.
However, Ji You managed to turn danger into safety along the way, allowing her to achieve her wish, but her spiritual heart was blocked and her realm stagnated.
And at this moment, she felt that she could finally see his arrogance being ground down.
“…”
"Master Kuang, merchants across the country are running out of food."
In the granary on the west side of Fengzhou Prefecture, after hearing the report from the housekeeper, Kuang Cheng couldn't help but look up at the sky.
The weather has been bad since the Frost Descent. It is gloomy every day, and there are faint thunder rumbling, as if a snowstorm is brewing.
This is similar to the situation before last year's snowstorm, which makes people start to worry.
Wei Rui was by his side at this time, her eyes full of worry as she looked at her lover.
Because in her opinion, the Wuyou Trading Company is now really stuck in a quagmire, unable to stop it, and continuing will be even more painful.
Thinking of this, Wei Rui couldn't help but reach out and gently hold his hand.
"Keep releasing the food."
"yes."
Under the dark clouds with limited light in the sky, the mighty carriages continued to carry food and continue to move out of the country. The deep fog they brought along the way was like an earth dragon that wanted to turn over and fly.
All the immortal cultivators in the world were watching with great interest, watching the grain carts from Fengzhou drive into the city in a mighty procession, watching the grain being unloaded bag by bag, and then watching them being taken away by refugees at the front gate, and then watching the refugees put them into the cars of the aristocratic families.
This seems to be the most enjoyable program since the disaster befell the human race.
Of course, there are also many people who are trying to estimate how much grain is stored in Fengzhou.
The beginning of winter arrived in a flash, and the Wuliu Company had just reached its peak in distributing grain. Fengzhou's grain carts had been sent to all directions to replenish grain several times, but those aristocratic families still had no intention of stopping.
However, as the temperature dropped sharply and winter came, those people who had signed the Fengzhou work contract but did not receive a single grain of food became real refugees and quickly returned to the city with their hungry families.
Without food, it would be difficult for them to survive the winter, and their only hope was to go into the city to beg.
So for several days in a row, the streets of major cities were filled with refugees sitting hunched over, lining the roadside, shivering and holding clay bowls in their hands.
"Isn't this all Ji You's fault?"
"That's right. If he hadn't raised the grain price so high, why would aristocratic families like us resort to such a desperate measure? Perhaps they would have received relief grain long ago."
"If you anger the noble families of the world, you will never have a good outcome."
"It was clearly his own impulsiveness that made the people suffer for it. I wonder what Ji You is thinking now."
"He must have been panicking, but there was nothing he could do."
Amidst the discussions throughout the city, more and more refugees began to enter the city to beg, which made those cultivators even more excited for the next development.
In less than half a day, the Wuyou Company, which had been distributing relief food, finally began to take action.
At that time, in the backyard of the business, a group of waiters brought out a long table, and then the kitchen helpers from the city's restaurant appeared with pots and pans and began to cook porridge in the cold wind.
The aroma of the food quickly spread throughout the city, attracting countless refugees.
The cooked rice porridge was scooped into the ceramic bowls in their hands one spoonful at a time.
Upon seeing this scene, the cultivators in the teahouse and tavern couldn't help but look at each other.
In fact, ever since the Qingyun family began using refugees to demand food, many cultivators were afraid that Ji You didn't know he had suffered such a great setback, and couldn't bow his head because he truly felt fear.
When they saw Wuliu Company start to distribute porridge, they confirmed that Ji You knew about it.
Because if he didn't know that the relief food taken away by the people was put into the hands of the noble families, why would he order the distribution of porridge in Fengzhou, a thousand miles away?
But he really had no choice but to take things one step at a time.
The inner courtyard of Tianshuyuan, Zizhu Zen Forest.
Because the matter of Wulv Trading Company was widely spread, no one had the mind to practice. A large number of disciples were paying attention to this matter and discussed it with each other for a long time.
In their view, Ji You's ability to stir up the world on his own is something that countless people want to do but cannot.
But they also understood that this situation was already full of murderous intent.
"Junior Sister Xiang, how much food do you have in Fengzhou?"
"I don't know about this either."
In the inner courtyard, Xiang Fu, who was born in Fengzhou, sat quietly in front of the tea table. Before she could pick up the teacup, she was asked by Wang Gaocen.
But she really didn't know the grain production data of Fengzhou, especially after the Qingyun disaster, Fengzhou did not have actual statistical data, and the only person who knew about this was Ji You.
But the problem is that the amount of stored grain has nothing to do with this matter.
Because those wealthy families didn't have to pay anything to take the grain from the Wuyou Trading Company, they could just take as much as they wanted.
Wang Gaocen withdrew his gaze and looked at the others. "Do you think Ji You will simply cancel the distribution of relief grain and switch to distributing porridge? I think this is a solution."
"Don't worry, this method is not impossible. If you eat it, how can others take it out?"
"Don't tell Ji You about this, lest he really turn the tide."
Gu Zetao chuckled when he heard this: "You can come up with this method, but Ji You can't?"
Wang Gaocen heard this and supported the case: "People say that those in power are often confused, while those who are on the sidelines can see clearly. If he could figure it out, how could he have released so much relief food knowing that the noble families were behind it like orioles?"
While the two were talking, a group of elders suddenly came up the mountain.
They were also looking down the mountain calmly, watching the refugees wandering around the city in silence.
Seeing this scene, all the disciples in Zizhu Zen Temple immediately stood up and saluted the elders.
"What were you discussing?"
"We are saying that if the distribution of relief food is changed to the distribution of porridge, Wuliu Company may be able to get out of the current predicament." Wang Gaocen responded.
His great-grandfather, Elder Wang, stared at him and said, "You think too simply."
“Is it not possible…?”
"How many refugees are there in the world? And how many workers does Wuyou Trading Company have? Giving out porridge is just a stopgap measure. If this continues, Wuyou Trading Company won't even make it through the winter and will be dragged down."
Wang Gaocen opened his mouth and said, "I haven't thought about this..."
"After winter passes, there will be spring and autumn. Humanity won't be able to catch its breath until the next harvest. Ji You can only continue distributing grain until relief food reaches the people."
“…”
"My dear uncles and aunts, the host said everyone can drink two bowls, why did you drink only one bowl and leave?"
In the Wuliu Trading Company in Zhongxing County City, Tie Niu spoke while looking at the frail old men in front of him walking out, his face full of confusion.
"Forget it. We old guys, half buried in the earth, won't eat any of it. You guys should eat some too."
The people living at the bottom of society may not understand anything, let alone the grudges and conflicts involved. But if they think about the food being taken away by those immortals, and then look at the faces of the shop assistants, they may understand something.
The Wuyou Company, which had come from afar to provide disaster relief, was facing a dire situation. They could not do anything but save some money for them.
In fact, in addition to these elderly people, there are many refugees who are also fighting silently.
But this action has improved the situation. In addition to daily porridge distribution, the distribution of relief food is still continuing.
They even opened other grain stations in major cities, allowing the purchased post station grooms and helpers in the restaurant to come and distribute grain.
But how long can this situation continue? At this moment, everyone is waiting for the moment when Fengzhou runs out of food.
豱辱辱辘——
On the official road outside Fengzhou Prefecture, a horse-drawn carriage was moving slowly on the official road outside Fengzhou Prefecture.
The carriage was very spacious, and the carriage seemed to be half of a house.
As the weather grew colder, thick curtains were hung in the carriage and a charcoal fire was lit inside.
Ji You was sitting in front of a warm table surrounded by a quilt, drinking tea with Ding Yao, Zhuo Wanqiu, the Lu sisters and Senior Sister Wen.
Five days ago, Ji You handed over the distribution of relief food to Kuang Cheng, and he himself left Jizhai.
First, he visited the refugee resettlement in Youyun and other states, visited the guided markets in various counties, and also went to the western border of Fengzhou to check out the border wall under construction.
The Yaoman and Man tribes invaded the Youyun and Youyun states, and then headed south, seemingly having no interest in Fengzhou in the northeast.
But in Ji You's opinion, when these two states were completely occupied and they were afraid of the sacred artifacts and could not continue to move south, they might not necessarily think of Fengzhou, so some preparations had to be made in advance.
He had a copy of the Heavenly Pattern Code in his hand, which made him wonder whether a building similar to the northern city wall could be built on the border of Fengzhou.
In order to complete such a layout, the city wall is the most basic.
This matter is as important as distributing relief food, so he naturally has to go and check the progress in person.
Because of the tit-for-tat between the aristocratic families and the Wulv Trading Company, the atmosphere in Ji Village was very solemn. The five fairies were a little reluctant to stay there, so they went with Ji You to stroll around.
"The market in Fengzhou is quite interesting. It's a pity that my sister and I have to leave soon, otherwise I could have a good stroll with my senior brother."
Lu Hanyan held the teacup and couldn't help but mutter.
They came to Fengzhou for sightseeing, and now half a month has passed, it is time to go back.
After all, for the Lu family today, with the spiritual mine occupied by the demon clan, the cultivation of the two daughters may be the key to their family's resurgence, so they also set a date for leaving.
Although it was just a stroll, the trip was still fruitful for the Lu sisters.
They originally wanted to "make it clear" with Ji You, and now being guests at Ji Village is one step closer.
However, Lu Qingqiu still had no idea about the people represented by Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, and couldn't help feeling a little regretful.
"It's not too late to visit next time you come. Fengzhou will get better and better every day." Ji You responded softly.
"I will try my best to marry you..."
Lu Hanyan muttered softly.
Wen Zhengxin turned to look at Lu Qingqiu. "After the human race disaster, the Heavenly Academy was severely damaged and short-staffed. Most of the fifth-year students stayed in the Headmaster's Office. If you want to join the Headmaster's Office, Ruyi will write a letter for you. This will also be beneficial to the Lu family in the future."
"Thank you, sister."
"You are welcome."
Ji You looked at them calling each other sisters, picked up the teacup calmly, and felt a pain in his waist.
At this moment, a smooth and soft jade foot suddenly appeared in his left hand, which was placed under the quilt around the table.
Whose feet are these...
They traveled around Fengzhou for many days and stayed in the car the whole time except for strolling. Because there was not much space under the kotatsu, people often secretly stretched their feet under the table.
It’s not Ding Yao’s. That girl’s feet are as cold as her master’s, and she is ticklish.
When she secretly reached out to him, she looked calm and composed, thinking that Ji You would not be sure, but it turned out that she was unable to control her expression at all.
Of course, these are not Lu Hanyan's lively feet. As for Zhuo Wanqiu's, they are smaller than these.
Thinking of this, Ji You focused his suspicion on Lu Qingqiu and Wen Zhengxin.
"Young Master."
"Um?"
Ding Yao looked at him, holding a teacup: "What should we do about the relief food?"
As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere in the car suddenly became silent.
Although traveling can bring them a good mood, a good mood cannot solve the problem.
In fact, they all knew that the aristocratic families were now taking advantage of the common people to madly exploit the Wuyou business, just like greedy leeches.
What’s more important is that this time they are not just trying to satisfy their own needs, they also want Ji You to bow his head, so there is no way they will stop.
They had been worried silently, and Ding Yao finally asked them about it.
Hearing the question, Ji You subconsciously pinched the delicate jade foot in his palm.
"Opportunities are sometimes rare. The human race has suffered a great loss of strength due to the disaster, and all living beings are trapped. The whole world needs Fengzhou's grain products. This is unprecedented in the human race's thousand-year history."
"If I want to wait until the next time, I don't know if it will take another thousand years. Since opportunities are so rare, I have to be more radical."
"I want more than just today, more than just this year. I'm greedier than they think."
“…”
Tianchang County in Zhongzhou is under the jurisdiction of Qili County.
Manager Tang, who was in charge of the business here, was driving three large carriages with fifteen employees on the dilapidated official road of Daxia.
Qili County is one of the largest arable land areas in Zhongzhou. Qili County's products account for a large part of Zhongzhou's annual autumn harvest.
Of course, this is also one of the largest gathering places for people from Zhongzhou, with new and old graves stacked everywhere on the high hills.
Manager Tang drove his carriage into Qili County and headed straight to the local county government office without stopping.
After entering the county government office, the grain cart stopped. Manager Tang and his men carried three heavy wooden boxes and walked into the local county magistrate's mansion.
Inside the wooden boxes were the lists of those who had signed the convention. The thin pages alone filled three large boxes.
"Lease the land for ten years? Give me 20%?"
"Yes, Master, you rented the land to us. I, Fengzhou, will only take 80% of the output here, and the remaining 20% will be kept in this county. Um...it will be left in your pocket, Master."
The magistrate of Qili County was named Jia Bo. At that moment, he was staring at the horse-drawn carriage full of grain in the yard with his eyes wide open.
After the harvest failed, their lives became difficult and their originally big bellies became a little smaller.
The women in his house could not restrain themselves and had already run to the grain cart to look around.
After hearing this, Jia Bo raised his head and said, "Twenty percent is too little."
"What's wrong, Master? This is an extra 20%."
"?"
Shopkeeper Tang sat up straight and said, "Think about it. Your people all go to Fengzhou to farm. Every year they pay you the full amount of taxes to pay the immortal families. This 20% goes purely into your pocket."
After hearing this, Jia Bo's narrow eyes trembled slightly. After thinking for a while, he said, "30%!"
"Our boss said we can only take 20%. You've seen the work contracts. All the laborers in Qili County are going to Fengzhou. If you keep these arable lands in your hands, they will just be wasteland. No one will cultivate them. If you don't agree, you won't get a cent."
Hearing this, Jia Bo couldn't help but grit his teeth and curse in his heart.
Some time ago, a group of immortals came to their county and took away a large number of people. He didn't know what they were doing.
It was only now clear that those who were taken away had signed the Fengzhou Convention, and he had not gained any benefit at all, so he naturally felt resentful.
And what Manager Tang said was indeed true.
If all the labor force in Zhongzhou went to Fengzhou, the arable land left behind would be basically wasteland and would be of no use in their hands.
"Will they really keep 20%?"
Shopkeeper Tang chuckled after hearing this: "How much grain do we spend on disaster relief every year? How could we possibly miss out on just a little bit from you?"
After hesitating for a long time, Jia Bo nodded: "Then 20%."
"Master Jia is indeed a wise man." Shopkeeper Tang pulled out a scroll from his pocket. "Please sign this agreement, Master. Then, please take out the Fish Scale Book issued by Daxia and the Immortal Sect and hand it over to my Jizhai for signature."
"Just sign the contract. Will I, Jia Bo, default on my debt? Even though I may seem ignorant, I know that there is an immortal behind you. I don't have the guts to do that."
"I'm really sorry, but this is also what our boss asked for. Think about it, there are hundreds and thousands of products produced every year. Without this, if things get messed up later, it will be bad."
Hearing the words "tens of thousands", Master Jia's heart skipped a beat and he immediately stood up: "You wait."
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Tang bowed and said, "Excuse me, Master Jia."
(End of this chapter)
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