Chapter 1054: Chapter 890: Hoarding Rice and Grain

Furthermore, so much Silver is all openly accounted for, and in the future, it will have to be reported to the Emperor, after all, it was used in the Emperor’s name, wasn’t it?

How could Gu Chengyu be so shallow-minded? He wouldn’t care about this amount of Silver. As for other officials, he would naturally supervise them strictly.

If anyone dares to reach out for it, they can blame his ruthless methods.

"Since we are gathered here today, it is fate. However, there is one matter I don’t understand, and I ask you all to clarify it."

Gu Chengyu looked around. Now that the Silver was in hand, some accounts could be settled.

"You can speak directly, Mr. Gu. We will certainly be open and forthcoming," Mr. Sun replied quickly with deep suspicion in his heart.

"I’ve heard that recently the grain prices in Hangtian Prefecture have been soaring, and many rice shops in the city are not opening. Why is this? You are all locals, so please enlighten me."

Gu Chengyu looked coldly at everyone, and an invisible pressure enveloped the crowd, making the originally lively banquet suddenly fall silent.

"In the past few days, I have patrolled the city, and the people simply cannot buy grain. Many households have already run out of food. Moreover, grain prices have multiplied several times; even the price of brown rice has risen to forty wen per jin. I am unaware of Hangtian Prefecture being so affluent that even brown rice can be sold for forty wen per jin."

"Indeed, when I first heard of it, I found it hard to believe. Even though Jiangnan is wealthy, I have never heard of brown rice for forty wen per jin." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Hu Maoshen immediately realized that Gu Chengyu intended to control the grain prices; otherwise, the continuous increase would lead Hangtian Prefecture into chaos.

Although he wasn’t optimistic about Gu Chengyu’s idea, since Gu Chengyu managed to accomplish even the donation of Silver, maybe, just maybe, he could find a solution for the rising grain prices too.

Everyone exchanged glances, not expecting Gu Chengyu to bring up such a matter suddenly.

Among the fourteen merchants present, five owned rice shops. Of these, the Xia Family had the largest scale, owning three shops, just in a single Prefecture city in Hangtian.

"Ahem! Where did you hear such rumors, my lord? How could brown rice be forty wen per jin?"

Mr. Wang felt guilty as he had secretly sold it for fifty wen per jin just a few days ago! The citizens were willing to buy it, for without it, wouldn’t they starve?

He had two grain shops at home; although they were not large, he managed to earn quite a bit of Silver during the sudden rise in grain prices some days ago.

Had it not been for the limited amount of grain stored, he could have made a windfall.

Yesterday, his old wife was grumbling, envying others who had several rice shops that earned them huge profits these days.

Whereas his family only had two small shops and missed the chance to earn Silver.

Currently, if you were to ask whose family had the most grain stockpiled, he had heard rumors. It was said that the Xia Family was collecting grain everywhere, intending to hoard and sell it at high prices later.

The disaster victims still had some Silver Coins, and considering the city residents needed to eat and drink daily, the Xia Family was sure to make a great fortune this time.

"Yes, my lord, you must have based your information on hearsay, which is unreliable. Recently, the rice shops in the city haven’t opened because there simply isn’t enough grain to sell. People fear that, like Changtian Prefecture, Hangtian might have a breach. The citizens are afraid that if a breach occurs, they will end up like the disaster victims outside the city, without enough grain to sustain them. Therefore, farmers are unwilling to sell their grain and prefer to keep it as a reserve for emergencies!"

One Mr. Ning, having received a signal from Xia Hongji, quickly stood up to reply.

Xia Hongji was racking his brain thinking of a way out. Gu Chengyu had just tricked him out of ten thousand taels of Silver, and now he was inquiring about the increase in grain prices.

This time, he had hoarded a considerable amount of grain, just waiting for the prices to go up to make a hefty profit.

Given the amount of grain he had stockpiled, the profit would be more than ten thousand taels!

If Gu Chengyu ruined his plan, wouldn’t it be a loss and not worth the effort?

Had he known today would be like a Hongmen banquet, he wouldn’t have come no matter what.

He didn’t expect to be tricked by Gu Chengyu so much today, and he still didn’t know how to face the Clan Leader now!

If anything goes wrong with the grain hoarding and price hike, he could only imagine how furious the Clan Leader would be.

Being just a branch of the Xia Family, if he handled this poorly, causing the Xia Family to lose so much Silver, it was highly likely he would lose his post.

Not only was he at risk of losing such a lucrative position, but he might also face even more severe punishment.

This position brought in significant profit, as he had saved quite a bit of Silver managing the business in Hangtian Prefecture every year. He absolutely couldn’t lose this position.

"Oh? But what my followers said is the absolute truth. I’m actually curious, your rice shops have been acquiring grain all this time, yet you’re not opening to sell it. What is your intention?"

Gu Chengyu slammed his wine cup heavily onto the table, causing the wine to spill out, startling everyone present.

Mr. Wang cleared his tightening throat, speaking nervously, "Wasn’t it because we heard Hangtian Prefecture might have a breach? Our Prefecture has a large population, so many mouths to feed, we must hoard some grain for emergencies, right?"

In truth, speaking up to this point, he couldn’t help but feel very guilty. The grain he hoarded before was all sold, at a quite outrageous price.

Had Lord Gu already discovered how much Silver Coin he made from it? Mr. Wang was initially very anxious, but after glancing at everyone present, he felt slightly relieved.

What was there to fear? He wasn’t the only one selling grain at a high price. Many others here had hoarded much too!

He hadn’t hoarded that much; even if the imperial envoy laid blame, someone taller would bear the brunt.

Thinking this, Mr. Wang’s expression relaxed significantly, and his previously constrained belly began to wobble freely.