Chapter 720: Chapter 93: Shouzhe’s Clever Plan to Secure Qeng’an (Seeking Monthly Votes)

...

"You two shouldn’t look at me like that." Wang Shouzhe’s eyes carried an innocent look, "Ever since I eliminated the ’Lust Demon’ Zuoqiu Qingyun, I predicted that the Zuoqiu Family wouldn’t swallow their anger, and the likelihood of them retaliating in secret was very high."

"Therefore, it was only reasonable for me to plan ahead a bit." As Wang Shouzhe spoke, he was at ease, as if it was nothing worth mentioning.

Qiaan Xuehan and Taishi An Kang exchanged a glance. What Wang Shouzhe said did sound somewhat reasonable at first listen. However, this guy was indeed overly cautious and meticulous.

Before the other party even realized what was going on, he had already started weaving a web. Before they even began retaliation, the Heaven and Earth Net was already laid out...

Truly pitiful for the Zuoqiu Family; as a prestigious Fourth-Grade Noble Family, they have probably suffered a major setback this time.

At the same time, they felt somewhat relieved. Although Wang Shouzhe was a bit intimidating, he was on their side as a teammate~~ and not an enemy. A reliable ally like him was actually reassuring.

...

In the ensuing days.

In Longzuo County and Qeng’an County, the winds of change surged secretly.

Most Eighth and Ninth-Grade Noble Families were not so perceptive, only sensing that some major event seemed to be happening.

However, those Seventh and Sixth-Grade Noble Families could clearly "see" a grand drama unfolding.

The dignified Commander of Longzuo County, when going to Qeng’an County to negotiate the flying chariot industry, was ruthlessly rebuffed by the other party.

As Wuu Dinghai, the Commander of Qeng’an County, said, Taishi An Kang, you really are meddling in things that aren’t your concern. Business competition between noble families is quite normal.

Though the Zuoqiu Family’s commercial tactics were unfavorable to their partners, it was ultimately beneficial for the millions of people in Longzuo County. Moreover, the more competitive business services are, the more potential they unleash; stagnation should be avoided.

Moreover, Prince Cheng of Qeng’an County blatantly ignored Taishi An Kang’s visit, using the excuse that he was out traveling and unavailable, essentially showing no respect.

After all, a prince has the responsibility to protect and secure his fief and cannot leave without an official decree.

Clearly, Prince Cheng wasn’t even trying to come up with a proper excuse.

Taishi An Kang returned in defeat.

This matter spread to the capital city and several surrounding counties, inevitably drawing mockery, with people thinking Taishi An Kang had lost his mind. How could someone give up a large piece of meat they hold in their mouth?

And running eagerly to the doorstep, isn’t that just embarrassing oneself?

However, the arrogance from the Qeng’an County side provoked backlash from some noble families and various Guardian Official’s Mansions, who began to resist the Qengfeng Trading Company. Yet, Qengfeng Trading Company was strong in its own right, continuing to lower prices while standing against local government offices by quoting the Daqian Law.

Had an ordinary trading company dared to do so, they would have been dealt with by the local government long ago. However, the Qengfeng Trading Company was the property of a Fourth-Grade Noble Family; their flying chariots were even rented from Lingyun Sacred Land.

As the low-price strategy of Qengfeng Trading Company continued to play out, they began to devour Shouda Trading Company’s market share bit by bit.

Before long, Shouda Trading Company also entered the price war, and the two trading companies engaged in a fierce battle, continuously burning money, burning money, and burning more money!

This benefited the various merchants and common people of Longzuo County.

Due to the drastic reduction in transportation costs, trade was indirectly stimulated, exchanges between regions became more frequent, and the market appeared to be thriving, rapidly expanding in scale.

Driven by human nature, people welcomed the price war between the two trading companies, hoping they would continue and fight forever.

Of course, that was impossible.

This was merely a battle for market share between the two trading companies; once the outcome was clear and one party was completely squeezed out, the price war would naturally end.

And Wang Shouzhe’s plan seemed to be quietly coming into effect.

...

Qeng’an County.

As Daqian’s renowned "land of fish and rice," Qeng’an County boasted the highest amount of fertile land in Daqian, with the highest annual grain yield as well.

Officials from the Revenue Department in the capital city once calculated that about thirty percent of the grain consumed in all of Daqian each year came from Qeng’an County. Among the remaining seven counties, even the most productive Celestial County could not match Qeng’an County’s annual yield.

Accordingly, agriculture naturally became one of Qeng’an County’s pillar industries.

During the autumn harvest season, the various noble families in Qeng’an County were busy with harvesting, drying, and threshing, creating a bustling scene in the fields crisscrossed with paths.

The Hedong Sun Family was no exception.

Situated within the Hedong Guard of one of Qeng’an County’s five eastern guards, the Hedong Sun Family was a relatively prosperous Eighth-Grade Noble Family. The family owned over a hundred thousand mu of fertile land and hundreds of hectares of fishing grounds, making them a typical Qeng’an Family centered around the fish and rice industry.

On this day, the Sun Family’s Patriarch, Sun Chuanxue, was, as usual, riding an ox cart to patrol the various estates, checking on the progress of the harvest and estimating the yield per mu of land.

Suddenly.

On the nearby dirt road, another ox cart passed by slowly. A young cultivator lifted the curtain and greeted him, "Brother Ruicai, seeing you so joyful, it seems like the harvest is good this year."

"Indeed." Sun Chuanxue couldn’t help but laugh when he saw it was his brother-in-law, "To tell you the truth, the yield from my fields this year has exceeded last year’s by more than twenty percent. Once this rice is sold, we should earn around seventy to eighty thousand, and with the profits from the fishing grounds, our income this year might surpass the hundred thousand mark."