Chapter 243 – The Grain Shop Competition (Part 4)
“What on earth is the Liu Residence trying to do?!”
The shopkeeper of the grain store slammed the counter with a loud clap, his old face flushed red with anger, veins popping on his forehead as he suppressed a terrifying rage. Who wouldn’t want to make more money in this world? A great opportunity was right in front of him, yet the Liu Residence had to jump in and stir things up.
The shop assistant looked at the empty store with some unease and said softly, “Shopkeeper, should we lower our prices too?”
If they didn’t lower them, the grain they had hoarded early on wouldn’t sell at all.
Making less was better than making nothing.
The shopkeeper, nearly frothing at the mouth, was losing all sense of reason but didn’t want to be dragged around when it came to lowering prices.
“You can’t lower them!” The shopkeeper gritted his teeth and said, “With the Liu Residence flaunting their wealth like this, their grain storage must be abundant enough to withstand such extravagance… If we drop our prices and they lower them again, then what are we supposed to do?”
Although the master had entrusted him with the grain shop’s affairs, if he failed to deliver satisfactory profits each quarter, he would be the one to suffer come reporting time. “Let’s hold out for a bit, investigate the Liu Residence’s situation…”
The shopkeeper paced back and forth in the shop with his hands clasped behind his back, as if he were about to stomp the floor tiles into pieces.
The assistant asked, “Should we send someone to check their granary?”
The shopkeeper nearly burst out laughing at the assistant, sneering, “You think you can sneak around the Liu Residence’s granary?”
The assistant shook his head vigorously like a drum.
That was ridiculous; a grain store was like a treasure chest for a noble family, crucial for daily sustenance.
An outsider going to investigate someone else’s granary? If caught, it would be tantamount to sneaking into their kitchen to poison the food.
If nothing went wrong, it would be fine, but if discovered, they would completely offend the Liu Residence.
The assistant scratched his head innocently and asked earnestly, “Shopkeeper, I know you’re the smartest. Do you have any plans?”
Looking at the assistant’s flattering grin, the shopkeeper raised a hand to stroke his goatee, a glint of pride shining in his eyes.
“Come here, let’s whisper.”
The two leaned in closely while muttering, and the assistant’s expression shifted from doubt to sudden understanding, filled with admiration for the shopkeeper’s cleverness.
“What a brilliant idea!” The assistant patted the shopkeeper’s back, “You really are too smart!”
“What’s this?!” The shopkeeper was in a much better mood and his anger had subsided, “When it comes to managing districts and governing the common people, I certainly can’t compare to the Liu Governor. But in terms of business, I doubt the Liu Governor knows what he’s doing.”
If he truly understood, how could he make such a blunder, attempting such a self-destructive tactic as non-stop price cuts?
In business terms, while the Liu Governor might excel in governance, he was just a clumsy oaf when it came to trade.
Hardly anyone understood that the three grain shops under the Liu Residence were lowering their prices to attract customers, but it was not Liu Zhi’s idea at all.
This misunderstanding wasn’t their fault, as both the previous Liu Xi and the current Jiang Pengji disliked participating in Elegant Gatherings.
Despite appearing dull, these events were crucial avenues for publicity, showcasing talent and promoting reputation.
Without self-packaging and advertising, how could anyone remember Liu Xi?
Liu Xi had simply been that way in the past, while Jiang Pengji now scoffed at such endeavors.
Thus, in the Liu Residence’s second house, outsiders naturally assumed Liu Zhi was the one in charge, making him the first one they blamed in any situation.
Unintentionally, Liu Zhi seemed to take quite a few blows for Jiang Pengji.
To outsiders, offending Liu Zhi was one thing, but offending Liu Zhi’s son was completely different in nature.
People generally bully the weak and fear the strong.
In the former case, 99% of people would back down because Liu Zhi wasn’t someone to mess with.
In the latter, one might expect all sorts of pressure to come knocking on their doors.
They wouldn’t outright destroy you, but they’d definitely make your life miserable!
Why fear the son when you can’t stand up to the father?
Of course, if they really did that, they’d probably learn a lesson.
The son could be even more troublesome than the father; the former merely caused suffering, while the latter could take a life.
The assistant flattered the shopkeeper further, “Of course, I agree. When it comes to making money, no one is more experienced than you!”
“We’ll keep still for now!” The shopkeeper declared resolutely, “I want to see just how much grain they have and how long they can squander it!”
Because they had more grain than initially expected, the purchase limits weren’t implemented the next day.
Jiang Pengji coldly regarded the statistics on her desk—records of the prices from thirty-one grain shops in Hejian County.
After dropping prices for the first time, it seemed they had reached some sort of unspoken agreement; not only did they decline to follow suit, but they also chose to deliberately ignore the three grain shops of the Liu Residence, allowing their own shops to remain empty with not a single customer in sight without so much as a qualm.
Seeing this, Jiang Pengji scoffed, “They’ve got a good deal of patience, but it only goes so far…”
If they had chosen to lower their prices immediately, their losses would have been smaller. If they continued to be “reserved,” she wouldn’t hold back anymore.
Early the next day, Jiang Pengji instructed Xu Ke to carry out a particular task for her.
“Do, do… does the Young Master really want to do this?”
Xu Ke’s eyes widened, was this perhaps too despicable?
Jiang Pengji held a rolled-up scroll in her hand, tapping on the table, and said impatiently, “Did you not see yesterday’s ‘spectacle’? While the common people were drawn to the grain shops, the actual customers buying were few due to the high prices…”
It wasn’t that there weren’t many; it was just that the number was less than she expected, and the transaction amounts were quite disappointing.
Xu Ke didn’t dare to voice agreement; with the current prices at the grain shops, it would be strange if many common people ended up buying.
Even though the three grain shops of the Liu Residence had dropped their prices twice, they were still above the common people’s spending capabilities.
With another drop in prices within a day, the common folks would naturally adopt a wait-and-see attitude, thinking, “Let’s hold off a bit, it might get cheaper.”
“I’ve seen the materials Father provided on Hujun; this year has abundant rainfall, so it should be a bountiful harvest. The drought conditions near the two states have also eased compared to previous years, which means less pressure from grain shortages this year. This implies that grain prices will be exceptionally low after the autumn harvest.”
With a serious look, Jiang Pengji said, “We have five thousand stones of grain, and it’s best to convert all of it into silver before the autumn harvest. After that, we can buy grain at low prices post-harvest, effectively multiplying our gains. If we can’t cash it out, we’ll suffer losses instead.”
Although all this grain was bought without cost, who wouldn’t want to make a profit of a thousand instead of just a few hundred?
Jiang Pengji was currently in desperate need of everything, pushing her to leverage and maximize the profit from these five thousand stones of grain.
Xu Ke fell silent, so this was why their Young Master planned to take down the other noble grain shops?
Very impressive, he was left speechless.
In the end, their Young Master hadn’t forgotten his initial desire to bring down the nobles; it was strangely comforting to realize that.
