Chapter 1295 - 1259: Friends Have Changed (Part 2)
Calculating the loss, they felt as if their hearts were being gouged out.
"Fine, we’ll temporarily avoid the confrontation. If she wants to sell, let her sell. We’ll close shop; once they’ve sold all their grain, others will have no choice but to return to us."
Just after making the decision, Jie Feng came quickly, anxiously saying, "The Fang Family Grain Shop is open, and they’ve lowered the grain price."
Zheng Zhi was furious upon hearing this, "Flatterers, I’ve always been displeased with them. I’ve invited him several times, and he’s always made excuses, but it turns out, his ambitions are so grand, directly currying favor with Zhao Hanzhang’s mother."
Zheng Zhi spat on the ground, stood up, and said, "I’ll go to my brother-in-law, if I can’t shut down Mrs. Wang’s shop, surely I can shut down the Fang family’s."
Zheng Zhi rushed to the Governor Mansion, but Yu Hong was not there, he and Xun Fan had gone to provide disaster relief, so Zheng Zhi had no choice but to check on his nephews and nieces first.
It was evening by the time Yu Hong and Xun Fan returned, both exhausted, talking as they walked, "...We should release some voluntary work clearing silt and repairing roads, work-for-relief programs, it doesn’t have to be long, about ten days should suffice."
Before they finished talking, seeing Zheng Zhi, Xun Fan stopped speaking in tacit understanding, nodded at Yu Hong, and smiled, "I’ll go freshen up first, we’ll talk later."
Yu Hong smiled in response, Zheng Zhi greeted respectfully and obediently, and after seeing Xun Fan off, he said, "Brother-in-law, you look filthy, you must be exhausted. I’ve asked the kitchen to stew some soup for you, have a bowl to warm up..."
"No need, I still have many duties to handle. Just tell me why you’ve come to see me," Yu Hong said.
Zheng Zhi lowered his voice, complaining, "The Fang family, being the local noble clan, is manipulating the prices, crowding out other grain shops. You can’t ignore this, right?"
Yu Hong frowned slightly, "I’ll have someone tell Fang Zheng, but you don’t have much time left. The disaster relief grain from the court has arrived, and there’s also the new grain shop of the Zhao Family. If you ask me, you’ve made quite enough money already. Before the grain prices drop further, hurry and sell off your stock."
Zheng Zhi replied, "I spent a lot to buy this initially, the transportation cost of the grain is high. This is a reasonable price. If we don’t sell at this price, we’ll only incur losses."
He continued, "Unlike the Fang family, who are established locals. Their grain is all bought locally, with no transportation costs. Brother-in-law, I’m making this money for my nephews and nieces. In a few years, the nephews need to go to Luoyang for their studies. We’re all from collateral branches. To avoid being looked down upon, we need to bring more money. And the niece, she’s going to need a good match. If she has a generous dowry, she might even marry into the Wang Family, or even the Zhao Family..."
"Alright, alright, I get it," Yu Hong said after a moment of silence, "I’ll have someone handle it, but I can’t force them too much. I can at most ask them to close for a few days. Hurry and sell off your grain."
Zheng Zhi agreed and left happily.
Yu Hong sighed and was about to turn back into the house when he saw someone standing in the shadows of the corridor, startling him so much that he staggered back two steps with wide eyes.
Xun Fan walked out expressionlessly from the shadows, standing under the lantern.
Seeing it was Xun Fan, Yu Hong’s frantically beating heart slowly settled, though a bit annoyed, "Tai Jian, why didn’t you make a sound, you frightened me."
Xun Fan said, "If you’re not guilty, what have you to fear from ghosts or monsters?"
Yu Hong felt his face warm with embarrassment and annoyance. Fortunately, in the dim night, others couldn’t see, so he steadied his voice and said, "You’ve misunderstood, my brother-in-law bought some grain to sell, but he’s always followed market prices. The Fang family, as local bullies, are very overbearing, insisting that grain prices follow their lead, so there’s been some conflict."
"I know the Fang family," Xun Fan said in a deep voice, "Previously, you mentioned that the Governor Mansion wanted to borrow grain from various families for disaster relief, and the Fang family refused."
"Yes, it was the Fang family who took the lead in refusing, claiming they’re grain merchants who only sell grain, not donate it."
Xun Fan watched him quietly for a while, then turned to leave.
Yu Hong was taken aback, quickly catching up, "Tai Jian, what do you mean by this?"
"I visited the Fang family. The head, Fang Zheng, indeed doesn’t want to donate grain but is willing to donate money for disaster relief. He said, grain reaching the government may not end up in the hands of disaster victims. He also made a strange request, saying that even if donating money, he wants the money donated to the county, with the County Magistrate receiving it. And if grain must be donated, it has to be the County Magistrate, personally invited by the Great General, who emerged from the talent recruitment exams and academies."
Xun Fan stopped and turned to look at him, "I’ve always wondered why he made such a request, and now I understand."