novelraw Chapter 213
Chapter 213
"Your rice prices change every single day! Are you trying to starve us to death?"
"It was eight copper coins this morning, and now it's ten! If it keeps going up, who will be able to afford it?"
"What is going on with the rice prices lately? Do the authorities not care?"
Seeing the growing crowd of commoners gathered at his door, the shopkeeper impatiently shooed away the troublemakers.
"If you're not buying, then leave! Don't ruin my business!"
Ye Chutang paused and looked at the wooden board hanging at the entrance of the rice shop.
Written on it was today's rice price.
She had bought rice before. Even in the capital, where prices were the highest, a dou of rice was only five copper coins.
Now, the price of rice in a mere prefecture was twice that of the capital. Something was wrong.
Carrying her things, Ye Chutang walked up to the shop entrance and asked, "Shopkeeper, why has the price of rice skyrocketed so drastically?"
From Liangzhou to Bingzhou, the exile group had traveled almost exclusively on mountain roads.
When they occasionally stopped in towns to restock, the price of rice had never exceeded five coins.
Now, in a prefecture where the chamber of commerce regulated things, the price had suddenly doubled. There had to be a reason.
The shopkeeper did not recognize Ye Chutang, but his eyes were glued to her beautiful face.
The annoyance on his face was replaced by a smile as he explained.
"Since the start of summer, it hasn't rained at all. With the scorching heat, the rivers have dried up, and there's no water to irrigate the rice fields. This year's harvest will likely yield absolutely nothing, so naturally, the price of rice has gone up."
Ye Chutang had noticed the dropping water levels in the rivers long ago.
However, she had never farmed before, so naturally, she hadn't connected it to agricultural irrigation.
Now, hearing the shopkeeper's words, she frowned slightly.
"Over the past few years, the Beichen Kingdom has enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests. There are plenty of grain reserves. Even if there is a drought this year, the price shouldn't increase this much."
The commoners who had come to buy rice chimed in with their agreement.
"Exactly! This price hike is outrageous!"
"It must be a conspiracy among you rice shops to artificially inflate the prices."
"If you don't lower the prices, we'll report you to the authorities!"
The shopkeeper didn't have a good attitude toward the commoners and immediately glared at them.
"Go ahead and report it! Report it right now!"
Ye Chutang's frown deepened.
"The authorities approved this price?"
The shopkeeper raised his chin arrogantly. "Of course. I am just a commoner myself; I wouldn't dare inflate prices on my own."
After speaking, he looked at the angry crowd.
"The price will probably keep going up. If you want to buy, you better hurry. Otherwise, even if you have money later, you might not be able to buy any!"
At these words, the commoners' faces changed, and they looked at each other in dismay.
If a severe drought really hit, not only would prices skyrocket, but supplies would also be rationed.
Someone couldn't hold back anymore and immediately declared they would buy.
Once one person spoke up, the others refused to fall behind and scrambled to make their purchases.
Watching the people fight over the rice, Ye Chutang guessed that the emperor had ordered local officials to use the drought as an excuse to raise prices, seizing the opportunity to extort wealth and fill the empty national treasury.
How despicable!
Of course, she didn't think her emptying the treasury was the cause of the current situation.
After all, the treasury had been empty for a long time. Even if she hadn't acted, that dog emperor would still have targeted the commoners.
Seeing the displeased look on Ye Chutang's face, Sun Chu comforted her, "You can't take care of everyone in the world. Let's go."
Ye Chutang curled her lips into a smirk. "Who says I can't?"
With that, she turned and walked toward the Qianjin Gambling House.
Sun Chu immediately followed, anxiously asking, "What are you going to do?"
Ye Chutang didn't answer him.
Upon arriving at the gambling house, she found the manager, Wu Kui, and said, "Rice is too expensive. Stop buying it."
She had no intention of being a sucker and lining that dog emperor's pockets with money.
Wu Kui complied, "Yes, Master."
"Prepare some dry goods that have normal, low prices and can fill stomachs."
"Your subordinate obeys!"
After giving her orders, Ye Chutang returned to the posthouse with Sun Chu.
Wanggui Restaurant had already delivered their food, and the entire posthouse was filled with a delicious aroma.
Qi Yanzhou took the things from Ye Chutang's hands and asked, "You're back so late. Did anything happen?"
"Yes, but you eat first. We'll talk after you finish."
"Alright, go back to your room and rest for a bit."
Hearing the word rest, Sun Chu let out a sleepy yawn.
"I'm a bit tired. I'm going to sleep. Call me if you need anything."
Ye Chutang's room was on the second floor.
She and Sun Chu went upstairs together.
Arriving at her door, Ye Chutang asked curiously, "Young Master Sun, you have formidable martial arts skills and a sharp mind. How were you discovered and captured by Cao Liang?"
Thinking about how he was caught, Sun Chu scratched his head awkwardly.
"I was led astray by a beautiful woman."
After saying that, as if too ashamed to show his face, he quickly darted into his own room.
Ye Chutang laughed and said, "As long as you learn from your mistakes, it's fine. There's nothing to be ashamed of."
With that, she returned to her room.
Not long after she lay down on her bed, Qi Yanzhou pushed the door open and walked in.
His steps were hurried and he spoke quickly, "Atang, what happened?"
Ye Chutang sat up, leaning against the headboard, and said, "The emperor is using the drought as an excuse to drastically raise the price of rice."
Seeing that nothing had happened to Ye Chutang herself, the heavy weight in Qi Yanzhou's heart finally lifted.
"The imperial court is out of silver. They can barely even pay officials' salaries. Even without a drought, prices would have gone up."
Confiscating the properties of corrupt officials and wicked merchants to fill the empty treasury was like trying to put out a roaring fire with a cup of water.
Naturally, the emperor turned his sights on the common people.
Ye Chutang narrowed her beautiful phoenix eyes.
"Therefore, I am going to seize control of the Beichen Kingdom's economic lifeline and hold the prices in the palm of my own hand!"
When she had enough supplies to provide for the people, the emperor would no longer be able to use the economy to control them.
Qi Yanzhou sat down on the edge of the bed and held Ye Chutang's hand.
"Right now, I have the support of the people, and I also have some grain reserves. I can ally with the merchants to force the grain prices down."
Ye Chutang knew that the grain Qi Yanzhou had hoarded was meant for emergencies and shouldn't be touched.
She held his hand in return and shook her head.
"Your grain supply is limited. Even if you manage to push the prices down, it will only be temporary. It won't solve the root of the problem."
"Atang, do you have a way to solve the rising prices?"
Ye Chutang nodded. "I do, but I need your help."
"Tell me."
"Most of the grain across the regions is in the hands of the government, followed by the grain merchants. Right now, the government has proposed price hikes, and the merchants are more than happy to see it happen. As long as we break their alliance, we can bring the grain prices down."
Qi Yanzhou asked, "Threaten the grain merchants and force them to lower their prices?"
Although this method would yield quick results, it would still only be temporary; after all, the merchants' grain supplies were limited.
As long as the drought issue wasn't resolved, the prices would skyrocket again once the government started releasing grain.
But natural disasters could not be solved.
Therefore, in his view, as long as the emperor didn't relent, the problem of rising grain prices was unsolvable.
Seeing Qi Yanzhou's sword-like eyebrows furrow slightly, Ye Chutang guessed his concerns.
She blinked playfully and said with a smile, "You forgot. The Imperial Seal is in the hands of the 'Ghost Thief'."