Chapter 242 – The Grain Shop Rivalry (Part 3)
To boost competitiveness, one must either improve the product or service quality or lower the prices.
The common people these days only seek to survive; high-quality services are meaningless to them. It’s all about filling their stomachs for the least amount of money.
Thus, other grain shops wanting to compete with Jiang Pengji had no choice but to lower their prices.
Once they did that, Jiang Pengji’s goal would be achieved.
Price wars are always brutal—the one with the advantage grows bolder while the imitators are merely led around by the nose.
Not to mention, her primary goal wasn’t just to make money.
Competing against her would surely mean getting scammed badly.
The few pawns she prepared were merely to confuse those grain shops.
“Here.” Xu Ke replied promptly.
Jiang Pengji lowered the curtain of the carriage, gathered her brows, and suddenly asked him, “Who do you think is to blame for this upheaval?”
Xu Ke: “Blame?”
“Whose fault is it?”
Jiang Pengji asked again, seemingly realizing that Xu Ke didn’t understand the meaning of “blame.”
Xu Ke pondered seriously, his expression grave.
After all, it was a test from his own Young Master; a poor performance could affect his standing in their eyes.
During their time together, Xu Ke had learned one important lesson—when it comes to his Young Master’s choices, only ability matters, not other conditions.
If he left a worthless impression, he’d never gain further opportunities.
However, the question posed by his Young Master was too broad, leaving Xu Ke somewhat uncertain.
“Is this question hard to answer?” Jiang Pengji asked.
Xu Ke quickly said, “Ke is lacking, but I do have some insight into your question, Young Master. If we look at the surface, it’s likely the fault of the Cangzhou Meng Clan, which has caused the people of Hejian to worry about their livelihoods. But upon deeper thinking, I feel it’s not just that.”
Jiang Pengji did not give a definitive response and continued to ask, “Anything else?”
Xu Ke mustered his courage and replied, “Perhaps… it could be the issue of the noble families…”
Jiang Pengji’s gaze flickered to Xu Ke’s face, and the audience in the live stream could clearly see Xu Ke’s expression turn rigid and pale.
【Drunkenly Slicing White Snake Soup】: Haha, host, don’t say that, you’re scaring Xu Ke.
【Beef and Noodle Shredders】: But Xu Ke is really asking for it. The host’s current identity is that of a noble—saying all this in front of those noble families… it’s like asking for a beating, take some herbal medicine!
【Old Driver Alliance】: #Chin in hand, what the upstairs said is incorrect. The host also has a rather discontent view of the noble families, you know.
“This answer is too vague, a generic answer. What I want to know is the more detailed internal situation. You mentioned the issue of the noble families, and then what?” Jiang Pengji was not angry at Xu Ke’s offense; she merely felt dissatisfied with his response.
Thus, Xu Ke stood there, looking a bit foolish.
“This question indeed puts you in a difficult position. Why not consider, why is the food price soaring endlessly? Why can’t the government take measures to protect the interests of the common people? It has risen ninefold! A handful of grain shops seem to have colluded, raising their prices at the same time. They’re filling their pockets while forcing countless people to go hungry!”
Xu Ke’s face turned awkward as he replied, “Grain shops are mostly under the wealthy families, with ample reserves, while the government lacks similar statutes…”
More importantly, most officials come from these noble families; would they intentionally antagonize their own kin?
Jiang Pengji’s expression darkened. Even if she had some achievements in curbing grain prices, her mood was still not good.
If her mood was ruined, no one else could expect to feel good either.
Holding onto this thought, she was determined to capture the grain market in Hejian County for the next two months.
“If you were the Hejian County Guard, how would you save these people?”
Jiang Pengji threw out another question, and Xu Ke’s heart sank.
Who doesn’t know that the Hejian County Guard is just a figurehead, without power or influence, only a name, unable to suppress the rampant nobles? Even if one had the heart of a compassionate bodhisattva, one could only turn a blind eye to everything.
However, Xu Ke was no ordinary person. After some hard thinking, he formulated a bold idea in his mind.
His Young Master was known for not playing by the book, and her thoughts were far from conventional, with a wild streak to her methods.
Given that, why not shift perspective and see if there’s a different answer?
With a flash of insight, Xu Ke had an idea.
“If Ke were the Hejian County Guard, surrounded by tigers and wolves, without power and authority, with only the title of County Guard to show… why not encourage grain merchants to continue raising grain prices, the higher the better?”
Jiang Pengji’s eyes brightened, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
The viewers in the live stream were utterly befuddled.
Didn’t they say to suppress grain prices? Why was Xu Ke’s answer now met with the host’s approval?
【Old Driver Alliance】: I think I understand Xu Ke’s idea. Encourage the grain prices to soar, and secretly send people to nearby counties to promote grain merchants to sell their goods in Hejian. If supply increases while demand stays the same, the price will naturally fall.
Merchants chase profits; this is a universal truth throughout the ages.
“But this approach can only be used once.”
Jiang Pengji nodded. She was quite satisfied with Xu Ke’s response.
After all, he was someone she had her eye on as a talent in internal affairs, and Jiang Pengji hoped Xu Ke would become more useful, especially since… she was in dire need of capable hands!
Until she could recruit the right people, she had to make Xu Ke more useful.
At the same time, Xu Ke felt a chill run down his back, sensing something ominous lurking.
Meanwhile, the other grain shop owners had been expecting a lot of customers, even if they were not sure if they would buy. But they were all potential clients.
Yet within half a day, these people suddenly vanished, leaving the grain shop owners bewildered.
Sending staff to investigate and find out what was going on, the reports soon came back.
“Who is so bold?”
The grain shop owner was furious; this was akin to snatching food from their mouths!
The anxious staff hesitated to mention who was behind the grain shop, and he fell silent.
What seemed like competition between grain shops could lead to entanglements with the powerful backing each had.
The staff asked hesitantly, “Boss, what should we do?”
“Tch, what else can we do? For now, I’ll go to the government office to consult the head steward.”
At the same time, many grain shop owners in Hejian County arrived at the same decision.
Grain shops make a bit of money, yet it’s very hard to lose money; initially, those noble families didn’t take this matter to heart, allowing the grain shop owners to act on their own.
Upon rethinking, the shop owners concluded that losing a little profit was better than losing more, so they might as well drop their prices to match.
Little did they expect, Jiang Pengji caught wind of this and immediately slashed her prices by twenty percent.
