Chapter 1075: Chapter 911: By Any Means Necessary

"The grain prices in other states have increased, yet they’re still selling it so cheap? So you can rest assured, they won’t last long. Once the grain prices in other states rise, they’ll have to sell it expensively too, then will those disaster victims and people still be willing to buy?"

The man curled his lips in satisfaction as he noticed Xia Mingqun’s expression clearly relax, and he immediately added more fuel to the fire.

"The court’s relief funds amount to only fifty thousand taels, coupled with the silver everyone has donated, how much grain can be bought? As long as the grain prices rise, we can completely afford to wait it out. Not to mention, among that silver there’s the disaster victims’ wages and the silver for redirecting the river embankment, soon Mr. Gu will find himself struggling to cover expenses."

Upon hearing this, Xia Mingqun’s heart relaxed instantly. Indeed! What Qin Shengting said made sense.

The Xia Family has plenty of silver, they can afford to wait.

But if Gu Chengyu really can get a continuous supply of cheap grain, wouldn’t he be stuck on a pirate ship and unable to get off?

Such a large amount of silver is no small sum, even if the Xia Family is large and wealthy, it would be painful to lose that much!

A business originally sure to profit has been disrupted by Gu Chengyu, resulting in much trouble; indeed, Gu Chengyu is at odds with the Xia Family.

According to the original plan, the rice grain could definitely earn tens of thousands of taels in profit. Now, because of Gu Chengyu, they almost suffered a loss.

The Xia Clan Leader cursed Gu Chengyu in his heart a thousand times, otherwise he couldn’t vent the hatred in his heart!

Now they can only compete with Gu Chengyu in terms of endurance and silver; he just doesn’t believe Gu Chengyu’s financial resources could surpass those of the Xia Family.

Suddenly, he thought of a good idea, Xia Mingqun revealed a sinister smile.

His expression transformed from previous anxiety and hesitation to one of smugness and confidence.

"Then I shall trouble Mr. Qin, and I’ll take those five thousand bushels!"

"Xia Clan Leader is bold and ambitious; this time, surely your wishes will be fulfilled and you’ll earn handsomely!" Qin Shengting stood up and cupped his hands towards Xia Mingqun.

"Thanks for Mr. Qin’s kind words!" Xia Mingqun replied to Qin Shengting with aloof confidence.

After Qin Shengting left, Xia Mingqun quickly called for the followers outside the door to grind ink. Not long after, Xia Mingqun handed several invitations to the followers.

"Immediately send these invitations to these households."

Ju Haoming was desperately pacing inside his room; this gentleman usually liked to show off in front of him when there was nothing to do. Now that there’s serious business seeking him, he couldn’t be found.

How could he not be anxious? Their family, the Ju’s, is just small-time and cannot afford much trouble!

Originally they just wanted to earn more silver coins, but since they’ve sought allegiance with that figure, their family has been unable to extricate itself and is already caught up in this controversy.

"Master! There’s an invitation from the Xia Mansion at the door, inviting you over for a chat."

The steward respectfully handed a gold-embossed invitation to Ju Haoming.

"The Xia Mansion?" Ju Haoming was somewhat stunned; he didn’t expect the Xia Mansion to actually send him an invitation.

...

"Alright, today’s grain has sold out; those who didn’t get to buy grain, come back tomorrow to buy."

A government official packed up the items on the table and then, along with another official, carried the heavy wooden box into the government office.

"Hey? Chief, why is there no more grain? When the grain cart entered the city today, we all saw it. With so much grain, why not let us buy more?"

A man held a fabric bag, eagerly looking forward.

Who knew, just as the third person in line ahead of him was called, the official announced there was no more grain, how could he be content? He waited such a long time just to buy a pound of grain and make some porridge to drink at home.

"That’s it for today. If you didn’t buy any, please come early tomorrow; today’s grain is already sold out."

Gu Chengyu certainly couldn’t supply unlimited amounts; he sells only five hundred pounds of grain per day. Once sold out, he stops and won’t sell more.

"What? Wait until tomorrow again? But we’re out of grain at home, the government can’t ignore us!"

Someone shouted loudly, unwilling to accept it.

"Exactly! With so much grain, why can’t they sell more to us? It’s not like we’re not giving silver coins! Is it that only disaster victims can buy, but we cannot? What kind of reason is this?"

"Hmph! What reason? This rice was bought by the Lord Imperial Envoy at great expense from other states. Do you know how much effort it took? Selling to you at ten coins a pound has already incurred a loss. Who doesn’t want to buy rice? If it weren’t for the official seeing your plight, would he think of you like this? This rice was hard to come by, and you sit back and enjoy it and still have such big opinions?"

Hearing this, everyone felt embarrassed to speak further.

Indeed, what are today’s grain prices? Being able to buy a pound of coarse rice for ten coins is already a windfall.

"Sir! The Xia Clan Leader has sent invitations to the four households, inviting them for a discussion." Ming Mo came into the room and spoke to Gu Chengyu, who was resting his eyes.

"Are they the four households with the most grain hoarded?" Gu Chengyu opened his eyes, unsurprised by Ming Mo’s report.

"Indeed!" Ming Mo nodded; when he returned, the master instructed him to closely monitor the movements of those prominent merchants in the city.

"This Xia Clan Leader is truly idle! Looks like I need to find something for him to do!" Gu Chengyu did not take the Xia Clan Leader seriously; he estimated the days and thought the previous letters should have reached the Capital.

"Also, a merchant convoy entered the city just now; from my observation, I fear the carriages are all loaded with grain. I estimated about five thousand bushels."

Gu Chengyu raised his eyebrows, "Five thousand bushels? Which household did they go to?"

"To the Xia Mansion!"

This Xia Mansion certainly has some confidence; Gu Chengyu sneered. Knowing he was selling grain cheaply and yet still had such boldness, they are certainly not to be underestimated.

Since they knew he was selling grain, it didn’t take half a day to come up with a countermeasure; worthy indeed of the Xia Family’s Clan Leader.

"Sir, what should we do now? They’ve amassed so much grain, surely to sell for more silver coins. But we’ve disrupted their lucrative plans; if they don’t fall for it, we can’t hold on much longer."

Ming Mo thought about it, still believing his master was truly crazy.

Before he went to buy rice, the master instructed him to buy only ten bushels, but when he returned, he reported six hundred bushels.

Indeed, there was a trick in this, which was related to the master’s plan.

"These people think we cannot endure, so they plan to unite to fend us off. They are among the prominent families in Yingnan Mansion, there’s no doubt they have silver coins. We can buy grain from Sunan Prefecture, and they can buy from slightly farther states. To earn more silver coins, they intend to compete with me!"

Gu Chengyu chuckled softly, these people truly go to extremes for silver coins.

"What? Sir, then what should we do? We don’t have that much silver. If they buy all the surrounding grain, won’t we be exposed?"