Chapter 241 – The Battle of the Grain Shops (Part 2)
When Jiang Pengji began to take action, grain prices had already skyrocketed to more than nine times their peacetime value.
The noble families had their own granaries, filled to the brim with supplies, and they didn’t have to worry about food. Instead, they could take this opportunity to sell off their old stock at high prices, while on the contrary, the common people had little savings and were staring at their families with empty pots.
Just at this time, the price of grain continued to rise sharply, making many faces reveal worried expressions.
Not a few women wandered in front of the grain shops, eagerly hoping for prices to drop a little, only to find that every time it was an increase.
“Sigh, if I don’t buy soon, I fear our family’s little savings won’t even be enough to buy a dou (a unit of measure for grain)…”
“…You can still afford rice? My husband broke his leg recently, and we have spent all our money on medicine for him. Today, I even had to slaughter our only egg-laying hen to make soup for him… I really don’t know how we’re going to get through this…”
“I don’t understand what’s happened. How did grain become so expensive? At this rate, my kids are going to go hungry…”
Even the most skillful housewife can’t cook without rice. No matter how hardworking they are, without money and grain, their families will go hungry.
Grain shops aren’t charity organizations; why would prices drop just because they’re poor?
“This world is getting harder every day!” one woman sighed and said, “A while ago, I was washing dishes at a teahouse by the city gate to make a bit of change, and I overheard some soldiers talking about some big trouble in a place called Cangzhou District, not far from here…”
Being close meant the possibility of war reaching here, which also meant countless refugees could flood into their area.
Who wouldn’t shiver at the thought of war?
If their young and strong men got conscripted, there’s a good chance they might not return.
As for the refugees… if it came to that, they might resort to burning, killing, and plundering, doing unspeakable things.
Perhaps they would be worse than bandits, and just thinking about it made many women tremble.
At least they had some savings at home, allowing them to still buy some grain.
Those who were poorer had to forage in the mountains, digging up wild grass and stripping bark off trees, eating worse than the old sows in their pig pens.
“Shall we check other grain shops? Maybe there are some cheaper options…”
One woman, dressed in dark coarse clothing, hesitantly held her vegetable basket and glanced at a nearby grain shop with uncertainty.
There were plenty of grain shops in town; if they compared prices, one might be cheaper than the others.
“If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have bought earlier… At that time, I thought the prices were high; who would’ve guessed grain prices would keep rising every day…”
“Isn’t that the truth? Just the other day, my husband thought I had too long a hair and too short an understanding, saying with the good weather this year, grain should be cheaper than before. Just wait a few more days… And now look at it; it shot up so much, I don’t know how we’re going to live…”
A few women walked together, chatting in bits and pieces.
At that moment, a child dressed in patched rough clothes came running from the street, laughing and shouting loudly.
One woman raised her hand to stop the child, asking curiously, “Hey, what did you just say?”
The boy seemed used to being stopped and answered confidently, “The grain shop at Zhuque Street’s Dog Tail Alley is the cheapest! It’s two-tenths cheaper than the other shops!”
“Two-tenths cheaper? How much is that?”
The boy shook his head, “I don’t know; that’s what the shopkeeper said, two-tenths cheaper!”
After all, he was just a playful child; Xu Ke knew they couldn’t remember grain prices, so he encouraged them to remember the shortest “advertisement.”
The women exchanged glances.
“Shall we go have a look?”
Every penny saved is a penny earned, even if it means walking around half the city.
“Let’s go check it out; it’s not far from here.”
After a few words, the women had decided on their destination.
To attract these customers even more, Jiang Pengji had specially divided the areas of the three grain shops into three sections.
With the grain shop area as the center, the “mobile advertisements” employed would focus on shouting out about this particular grain shop.
By the time the women arrived, a long line had already formed in front of the grain shop.
From the discussions among the people beside them, they learned that while grain prices were still high, this shop was indeed cheaper than several others they had seen.
“This… cheap doesn’t always mean good; what if the grain they sell has bugs… or is mixed with something else…”
Those with sharp ears could hear conversations arising in the crowd.
Immediately someone chimed in, “Someone bought two dou before and checked it; it was white as snow and in good condition.”
The concern over the quality of the grain being sold was shared by more than one person in the crowd, which only heightened their worries.
“This is odd… Everyone else is raising prices, but they lower theirs… Didn’t they say all merchants are black-hearted…?”
One man in line, unable to hold back, shouted, “What do you know? Don’t you know who the owner of this grain shop is? He’s the renowned governor of Hujun! I hear that place has grain to spare, what’s wrong with selling it cheap? If you don’t want to buy, don’t buy.”
“Hey, why do you speak so rudely? How would I know the owner of this grain shop is Liu Zhi…?”
Common folks might not have heard of Liu Zhi, but upon hearing about the governor of Hujun, their first impression was that he had money and grain, making them feel slightly reassured.
With the push of the “advertisement,” the long line in front of the grain shop grew longer and longer. Many latecomers worried they wouldn’t be able to buy grain, at which point the shopkeeper stepped forward, bowing respectfully to the crowd, assuring everyone that their grain stocks were sufficient!
Outside the crowd, Jiang Pengji and Xu Ke sat in their horse carriage.
Xu Ke looked at the crowd with concern in his heart.
There were so many people buying grain; he genuinely worried about whether they had enough supplies stored.
The effect of the advertisement surpassed his expectations, and the number of people lining up to buy grain was still increasing.
Jiang Pengji quickly noticed his concern.
She said calmly, “For the common people, the current grain prices are still too high. The vast majority of them are just observing and won’t buy in large quantities, so our supplies will definitely hold up. By the way, did you prepare the people I asked you to earlier?”
Xu Ke cupped his hands and replied, “Reporting back to the Young Master, I have arranged everything.”
“Good, as more and more common folks observe, let those people go out.”
Jiang Pengji’s goal this time was to suppress grain prices, not to sell off thousands of stones of grain at the current high price.
She not only had Xu Ke hire children and ruffians to act as “mobile advertisements” shouting through the streets but also prepared several agents, not to fool the grain buyers, but to shake the confidence of the owners of other grain shops.
Jiang Pengji initiated a price war, creating the illusion that there was no bottom to the grain supply from day one, naturally causing tension among the other grain shops.
Without the common folks frequenting their establishments, who would they sell their overpriced grain to?
