[R18] Will drink wine – “About Wine” Chapter 144 [English]

Chapter 139 Food Prices

Kong Ling knew that he had refuted Shen Zechuan’s face, so he didn’t come near him much in the next few days, and concentrated on looking at the goods in various shops, so busy that his feet didn’t touch the floor.Shen Zechuan was as usual, calling people Mr. Cheng Feng when he met him.Kong Ling became more and more frightened, and Shen Zechuan took the lead in everything.

As expected, Cai Yu’s cheap food did not impress the little bandits. As Luo Mu set up a bridge among them, several people gradually came closer, and they were all dissatisfied with Cai Yu.Cai Yu has been fond of extravagance in recent years. Whenever he celebrates his birthday, he will receive rare gifts. The importance of the gifts determines whether he is close or distant, which makes many people secretly unhappy.At the same time, there was a sudden rumor outside the city that Cai Yu was distributing cheap food. The price was getting lower and lower, making the hungry and anxious ordinary people outside the city gate more angry.

Cai Yu used to consider himself an elder of Chazhou, but now he just closes the city gate and ignores him.Shen Zechuan is right, it’s not that he doesn’t understand, it’s that he is riding a tiger and it’s hard to get off.

Today’s food in Chazhou is provided by Hezhou, that is, funded by the Yan family.Cai Yu took these grains to repay Yan’s interest, and he had to pay for the remaining part out of his own pocket. The price reduction was to embarrass himself. He was unwilling to do this kind of loss-making business, so he could only hold on. He had sent several private messages to Hezhou to inquire about the situation.

What Shen Zechuan was waiting for was now.

How could Cai Yu have imagined that when he woke up one night, the whole city was talking about the price of rice.

“Where did he people come from?” Cai Yu asked the maid to dress him, and asked his cronies, “Why is it that I haven’t heard anything about the grain trucks coming from Cizhou!”

A confidant said: “It was through the official route. The news was blocked outside the city and never came in.”

Cai Yu looked gloomy, put on his boots, walked a few steps, and said, “When Kong Ling entered the city, I felt strange. What did Cizhou come to us for? It turned out to be to grab business! He was so well prepared because he wanted to compete with Cai Yu in the ring! What do you say?”

The confidant was picking up Cai Yu’s robe from behind and said, “I sent someone to inquire this morning. The price offered by people in Cizhou outside the city is one, two, seven dou.”

After hearing this, Cai Yu immediately sneered: “I thought they were going to be a living Bodhisattva, but I didn’t expect to take advantage of it. Has the other end of Hezhou replied to the letter?”

The confidant counted the time and said, “It hasn’t been sent to the place yet.”

Cai Yu stood by the door, silent in thought.The stream in the courtyard is gurgling, and the birds hanging under the verandah are chirping crisply. He spent a lot of money to build this courtyard, intending to pass it down as a family home. He also has several sons, who are also waiting to take over the family business from me. More than a thousand people in the family live on his selling grain, and he does not dare to abandon this business.

“One, two, seven dou,” Cai Yu murmured, “one, two, seven dou…Cizhou wants to use this price to grab business, so he looks down on me. They are low, we are even lower. You go and tell the rice shop below that I pity the people inside and outside the city, and I want to lower the price of rice to one, two, eight dou.”

The confidant said hesitantly: “But the young master hasn’t replied to the letter yet. What if…”

“Surrender,” Cai Yu’s face gradually became serious, “Young Master also called me ‘Grandpa’. Even if I can’t make up for the profit this time, I can go to Hezhou to ask for a favor. With the Young Master sitting in charge of the Yan family, others don’t dare to do anything to me! Cizhou is coming this time with a fierce force. If we can’t let them go back in the face of difficulties, we will be in trouble in the future.”

As soon as Cai Yu’s cronies left the house, Shen Zechuan knew about it.

Fei Sheng’s network was everywhere. When he whispered the news to Shen Zechuan, Shen Zechuan was giving porridge outside the city.

Today the sky is bright and clear. Shen Zechuan left the city at Mao Shi and started serving porridge at the porridge shed at Chen Shi and stood there until Shen Shi.The sun was now so fierce that it cracked the earth, and the refugees were hiding in the shade of the trees.After listening to Fei Sheng’s statement, Shen Zechuan nodded slightly and said, “Now that he has bitten the hook, he can’t run away. Go tell Luo Mu and ask him to tell the little bandit not to be anxious. Cai Yu’s price of one, two or eight dou can be reduced further.”

Fei Sheng felt like a mirror in his heart, but he had to pretend to be stupid in front of Shen Zechuan and asked in a studious manner: “Master, do we have to surrender too? We can’t let Cai Yu succeed.”

Shen Zechuan threw the handkerchief to Qiao Tianya and said, “Of course we have to surrender, but we have to wait until night.”

Because he has something to do during the day.

Suddenly, a young man in white clothes appeared outside Chazhou City. He was accompanied by only three or two attendants and wore a white jade bead. He stayed in the porridge shed from morning to night and distributed the food in person.The refugees who received the porridge made some inquiries and found out that the grains were originally sold by Cizhou, but Cai Yu did not allow them to enter the city, and they felt sorry for the people outside the city, so they distributed them.

Shen Zechuan has a friendly attitude, is good-looking, and is humble and polite in his speech.If there are orphans, widows, old, weak, sick or disabled, he will not only provide food, but also send doctors to auscultate the family, and he will bear all the medical expenses and medicinal materials.In less than an hour, the refugees who came here gathered in droves.When others inquired about Shen Zechuan’s name, Qiao Tianya and Fei Sheng both answered as “Master Zhou’s staff” and “Mr. Cheng Feng’s colleague”.

However, Shen Zechuan was young and had extraordinary bearing and gestures, which aroused many speculations for a while. Ordinary people did not know who this young master was, so he seemed even more mysterious and eye-catching.

* * *

Cai Yu didn’t dare to close his eyes until he was ugly. He was restless at home. Hearing the announcement, he quickly got up, let his cronies come in, and asked, “How is it? Is there any new news from the other side of Kongling?”

The confidant was running errands back and forth today. Even if he took a sedan chair in the middle, he couldn’t bear the torment. He was sweating profusely and wiped it with his sleeves. He gasped and replied: “It’s fallen, it’s fallen! As expected, Cizhou has also fallen!”

Cai Yu asked anxiously: “How much has it dropped?”

The confidant said: “It’s down to one, two, one and nine dou!”

Cai Yu looked calm. The price was within his expectation. He paced and said, “We will lower one bucket, and they will lower one bucket. It shows that they are also lacking in confidence.”

The cronies followed Cai Yu and said, “Sir, do we still surrender? If we surrender again, it will only be one stone!”

From two fights to one stone, Cai Yu had already thought about the punishment he would face in Hezhou after this disaster.But now he can only continue to hold on. He gritted his teeth and said: “Lower it again! Just one tael and one stone!”

* * *

Luo Mu heard the news in his mansion and said to Kong Ling: “Cai Yu has kept the price down, and it will be difficult to raise it again in the future. He has taken the bait and been caught.”

Kong Ling stood by the window and saw no one in front or behind him before he said, “We all have the same knowledge.”

Luo Mu thought of Shen Zechuan and sighed: “If it were me, I would have to be trapped. How could Cai Yu know that Cizhou would rely on the price of Qidu? In this lucrative business, every time you press a bucket, you lose real gold and silver.”

“Silver is something you can’t take away with you in life. How long can you make money from Zhongbo? You are an idiot! If Cai Yu had some foresight, he should have restrained himself this year. Six years ago, Cizhou had no confidence, but in the past six years we have been recuperating. Last year, Libei’s military supplies were taken from Cizhou. It was designated by Mr. Haige and the Marquis. Think about it, Qeduu already knew that Cizhou wasThose who can afford it.Once Cizhou is restored, people with lofty ideals will start to fight for it.When grain fields are restored in various places, the price of grain in Zhongbo will definitely fall.This financial path will not last long, it is just a matter of who loses it.” Kong Ling paused for a moment and said, “The right time and place are all available, and Tongzhi wants to do something in Zhongbo.”

Seeing Kong Ling’s dazed expression, Luo Mu asked, “I see that Tongzhi intends to use you, but you have avoided him many times. Cheng Feng, isn’t Tongzhi not as good as Zhou Gui?”

Kong Ling looked at the shade of the trees behind the window and said after a while: “I have mediocre talents and can support Zhou Gui because Zhou Gui can only be the capital of Cizhou in this life. It is so simple to pacify a corner of the world, even a mediocre person like me can do it, but those who can pacify thousands of miles of mountains and rivers can only be the pillars. Tongzhi is by no means a thing in the pond, and I can’t reach it.”

Luo Mu was speechless.

* * *

He didn’t sleep well inside or outside Chazhou that night. Cai Yu drank one cup after another of the fragrant tea, not daring to close his eyes for fear that when he lay down, the price would be lowered again without anyone noticing.He was not a business material in the first place, but he was just acting as a front for the Yan family by virtue of his status as a bandit. Now he was so anxious that his mouth was bubbling.

There has been no movement from people in Cizhou, only the porridge shack outside the city is still going on.Cai Yu heard that more than a thousand people had gathered outside the city, but he was sure that what he had in his hands was the armed forces, and there were just a mob outside the city. Even if they gathered together, they would not be able to achieve anything.

Time continued to pass, and at noon, Cai Yu took a nap in his clothes.He just closed his eyes when he heard the announcement. He quickly sat up and walked out with the help of the maid.When he looked at the expressions of his cronies, his heart sank and he said, “How low have they fallen?”

The confidant said anxiously: “Master, the fall was severe this time! It fell down to one, two, one stone and three buckets. People who were still waiting to see the direction of the wind yesterday have begun to leave the city one after another, and they all went straight to the Cizhou grain truck to buy grain!”

Cai Yu felt half-hearted and said, “It’s so low!”

A confidant said: “It is already close to the price of grain in Juexi. If it continues to drop, all the dividends from the beginning of this spring will have to be filled in to supply Hezhou!”

Cai Yu supported the man and said in disbelief: “Didn’t Cizhou just send military rations to Libei? Now that Libei has rebelled, he will have to ask for military rations in the future. Zhou Gui sold all the grain, how can he explain to the king of Libei? Besides, if the price is so low, how can there be any profit!”

The cronies followed Cai Yu, and they were also anxious, saying repeatedly: “That’s right! If you press any further, it will be no different from Juexi. Then won’t it be a loss? What dividends are there?”

Cai Yu was old and had not slept all night. Now he could not stand upright. He was helped to sit on the chair and said: “They are determined to steal business…” He immediately became angry and said, “How dare they! You go and gather people, overturn their grain truck tonight, capture the Kongling, and kill all the people who are traveling with them! I have gangsters in my hands, and I am afraid that heDon’t you think you can do that, Zhou Gui, that yellow-mouthed boy, I think he dares to fight me!”

The confidant clapped his knees and was overjoyed: “That’s the reason, sir, we should have taken action long ago. All that effort was wasted and we are embarrassed! I’m going now!”