The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 464

Chapter 631: I Have My Way

Jiang Ning smiled but did not answer.

Wu Zhe wasn't too surprised; he figured this Huashan Sect disciple was probably just not very talkative.

The two hurried to several grain shops, where the prices were higher than at the first shop, with the highest reaching 1.4 taels of silver per shi of grain. However, after Wu Zhe's threats, they all obediently agreed to sell the grain to the government for 1 tael of silver per shi.

But Wu Zhe's face also turned sour, because he was in a bad mood after chatting with several grain shop owners for a long time.

Then they came to another rice shop. This time, when the shop owner heard that the imperial court wanted to buy grain, he didn't say a word and directly said that he didn't want money and wanted to donate all the grain to the government for disaster relief. The shop owner's actions made Wu Zhe's face, which had been sour, soften, and he didn't speak as harshly as the previous shop owners.

"That won't do. Although the court is also facing difficulties, it's not necessary for you to donate grain now. Your small business isn't easy to run either. I'll stick to the price I set: one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure). Don't even think about anything more. You can transport the grain to the government office later, and someone will pay you."

After noting down the amount of grain in this shop, Wu Zhe didn't waste any time and continued to other rice shops.

Jiang Ning, who had been following Wu Zhe around buying grain without interfering much or saying much, spoke up at this moment.

"Wu Jingli is very humane."

Wu Zhe's position in the government office was that of an official, a clerk. The Xi'an prefect had sent him to purchase grain, and Jiang Ning addressed him by his official title.

Seeing that Jiang Ning, who was not usually talkative, took the initiative to start a conversation, Wu Zhe was quite surprised. But after hearing Jiang Ning's words, he couldn't help but smile. He knew that Jiang Ning was talking about the difference in his attitude before and after.

"Some businessmen always try to make more money during natural disasters, but there are also selfless businessmen who are willing to sacrifice their homes to help with disaster relief. We can't let these people really lose money, can we?"

Wu Zhe said.

Jiang Ning smiled and said nothing more.

The two then arrived in front of a shop.

This shop was much bigger than the ones I'd been to before; it was a large grain store with many employees busy inside.

"Li's Grain Shop".

Jiang Ning glanced at the name of the grain shop casually without reacting, but Wu Zhe frowned and looked somewhat serious.

Upon entering the grain shop, a clerk immediately approached with a broad smile.

"Hey, Mr. Wu, what brings you here?"

Wu Zhe asked seriously, "Where is your boss?"

"I'll fetch him for you right away."

Seeing this, the waiter didn't say much. Not long after he went in, a middle-aged man came out.

The man smiled slightly at Wu Zhe, cupped his hands, and said, "Wu Zhe, is there anything I can help you with?"

The grain shop owners he had met before all bowed and scraped when they saw Wu Zhe, but this shop owner was different. Although he spoke politely, he was not flustered in front of Wu Zhe and remained calm and composed.

Wu Zhe didn't waste any words and said directly, "Boss Li, I have been ordered by the prefect to purchase grain for disaster relief. How much grain do you have in your shop? The government will buy it all at the market price of one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure).

"This is not okay."

As soon as Wu Zhe finished speaking, the shop owner refused outright, an attitude that made Jiang Ning glance at him.

The shop owners who had previously raised prices and refused to sell grain at the government's rates were all very tactful when facing Wu Zhe. However, this shop owner was the only one who was tough and refused outright, not afraid of angering Wu Zhe.

Wu Zhe's expression was rather unpleasant.

really.

He knew that the price of this grain was difficult to negotiate.

“Wu Jingli, you don’t know yet, do you? The price of grain in my family has risen to one tael and five mace per shi of grain.”

Mr. Li smiled slightly.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhe frowned; the price was higher than the prices at the other places he had visited before.

“Mr. Li, the market price of grain used to be one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure), your price increase is too high.”

Mr. Li smiled slightly and said, "Times have changed. As Wu Jingli knows, Xi'an Prefecture is currently experiencing floods, and the roads outside are submerged. Transporting grain will naturally require more manpower and resources, which will increase costs and thus raise grain prices."

Wu Zhe frowned and said, "Boss Li, there are hundreds of thousands of people affected by the disaster in Xi'an Prefecture. The government needs to purchase grain for disaster relief, but the government's budget is limited. The price of one tael and five mace per shi is too high."

Wu Zhe's attitude was also strange. He wasn't as tough on the shop owner as before, but Jiang Ning quickly realized that the shop probably had a powerful background.

“The government has its difficulties, but it should also consider the lives of us ordinary people. My shop is small and the operating costs are high, especially at times like this. If I were to sell it to Wu Jingli for one tael of silver and one shi of grain, I would go bankrupt.”

Mr. Li's attitude remained unchanged.

Wu Zhe looked grim, but ultimately didn't lash out and turned to leave.

Upon seeing this, Mr. Li smiled, got up, and went back into his room, completely ignoring Jiang Ning standing next to him.

Jiang Ning glanced at the shop, then walked out and followed Wu Zhe.

"Aren't you going to buy any grain from this shop?"

Upon hearing the voice, Wu Zhe turned around and saw that it was Jiang Ning speaking. He nodded and said, "Yes, we need to go back and report to the prefect before we can discuss this further."

Jiang Ning asked, "The prefect of Xi'an governs the entire prefecture. Does any grain shop owner dare to refuse a price set by the government?"

Wu Zhe was unwilling to say much in front of Jiang Ning, but the attitude of that Boss Li just now really angered him, making him unable to help but say, "What is he? If he didn't have a background and dared to refuse the government's orders, I would have taken him to the government long ago. It's mainly because of the powerful backer behind him."

Jiang Ning asked, "Oh? Is his backer even more powerful than the prefect?"

Wu Zhe sighed and said, "It's not that it's bigger than the prefectural governor's office, it's just very troublesome."

Jiang Ning laughed.

Wu Zhe gave him a strange look.

"why are you laughing?"

"nothing."

Jiang Ning said, "I'm more curious about who the backer of this shop is."

Since the conversation had already reached this point and it wasn't a secret anymore, Wu Zhe said, "That grain shop is actually owned by the Li family."

Which Li family?

"It's the Li family's house on Chengnan Street."

Jiang Ning said, "Never heard of it."

“You’re from the Huashan Sect, and you usually live on Huashan Mountain. You’re not often in Xi’an Prefecture, so you probably haven’t heard of this place.”

Wu Zhedao.

Jiang Ning asked, "Is the Li family very powerful?"

Wu Zhe explained, "You don't know, the Li family has been in business for generations. Although no one in the family has entered officialdom, the head of the Li family has made many powerful and influential acquaintances. In particular, I heard that he has a good relationship with the Assistant Magistrate, so I have to go back and report this matter to the Prefect."

Tongzhi?

Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow and said, "Although the head of the Li family has a good relationship with the magistrate, this is a disaster relief order issued by the prefect of Xi'an. Does the head of the Li family think he can refuse it just because of his relationship with the magistrate?"

"This……"

Wu Zhe hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He couldn't very well say that the prefect and the assistant prefect were at odds.

Seeing Wu Zhe's expression, Jiang Ning didn't ask any more questions and said, "I'll go back again."

Wu Zhe was surprised.

"What to do?"

"Buy grain."

Jiangning Road.

Wu Zhe was taken aback and said, "You want to buy it for one tael and five mace per shi? That's too expensive. Let's go back and report to the prefect first."

"No need, just one tael of silver per stone."

Jiang Ning shook his head.

Wu Zhe was even more astonished.

"But he won't sell it."

"It's ok."

Jiang Ning turned and walked towards the grain shop.

"I have my own way."

Chapter 632: So Easy?

"Hey, you..."

Wu Zhe called out twice, but Jiang Ning had already turned and walked away.

Wu Zhe was even more astonished.

Seeing that Jiang Ning had already walked some distance, Wu Zhe muttered, "What can you do?" but still jogged to catch up.

Jiang Ning arrived at the grain shop again, stepped through the door, and entered.

"Wait a minute."

Wu Zhe followed, but Jiang Ning had already gone inside, so he followed him in as well.

"We're here to buy..."

A shop assistant came over and started talking, but then he froze, looking at Jiang Ning and Wu Zhe and saying, "Wu Jingli, what brings you here again?"

Before Wu Zhe could speak, Jiang Ning spoke up directly.

"Buy grain."

After saying those two words, Jiang Ning went straight inside, ignoring the waiter, and headed towards the inner room.

Before he could recover from Jiang Ning's words, he saw Jiang Ning barge in, and the waiter hurriedly called out.

"Wait, you can't go in."

The waiter rushed forward to grab Jiang Ning, but his grasp missed.

The other employees in the shop looked bewildered. Seeing that the situation was not good and fearing that Jiang Ning was going to cause trouble, Wu Zhe hurriedly tried to follow him in, but was stopped by the other employees.

"Wu Jingli, you can't..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wu Zhe roared.

"Get lost! I'm right here, who dares to stop me?"

Upon hearing this, the men shrank back and didn't dare to say anything more. Wu Zhe then barged in.

Jiang Ning had already walked through the corridor and entered the inner room. Boss Li, who had spoken with Wu Zhe earlier, was sitting at the table preparing to drink tea. He was stunned when he suddenly saw Jiang Ning and was about to speak when he saw Wu Zhe following behind him.

"Wu Jingli, what's going on here?"

Mr. Li frowned and looked at the two of them, asking them a question.

Now that they were inside, Wu Zhe didn't know what to say, so he simply let Jiang Ning speak. At this point, he wanted to see what method Jiang Ning would use to make this Boss Li bow his head.

"Buy grain."

Jiang Ning spoke, uttering the same two words again.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Li's brows relaxed, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

Since we're here to buy grain, it's business, so we can ignore the fact that these two people barged in for the time being.

"So, you're willing to buy it at one and a half taels per shi?"

Mr. Li smiled.

"One tael and one stone."

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's words, Boss Li was stunned for a moment, then his face darkened, and he uttered only two words.

"Do not sell!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Mr. Li raised his teacup to see the guest off, but then there was a loud bang.

Jiang Ning flicked his sleeve, unleashing a surge of internal energy.