Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 131 Troubled Times
After dismissing Tang Yu, Lu Jia continued walking towards Qiu Niang's room.

Before they even reached the gate, Xie Yi angrily said:
"Is this even allowed to live? It's like this in Shawan, and it's like this in the capital!"
"He's just a lackey, how dare he be so bold as to attack us without even knowing what happened?"

"I wonder whose world this really is!"

Before he could finish speaking, Qiu Niang began to scold him in a low voice: "Shut up! Where is this place? From now on, you'd better keep your mouth shut!"

Lu Jia stepped inside: "Mother."

The room was filled with luggage. Zhi Mu was tidying up on the other side, while Qiu Niang and Xie Yi sat at opposite ends of the table talking.

Qiu Niang stood up and waved to her: "Let me see how you've been doing all alone in the capital these days?"

Tang Yu must have already told Lu Jia about the general situation after she arrived in the capital, so Lu Jia briefly recounted what happened afterward, and then brought the topic back: "I clearly heard you talking about Shawan just now. How come Boss Liu has also come to the capital? And why are Uncle Li and Aunt Li here? Could it be that something went wrong with the autumn harvest?"

Since Guo Yi arrived in Tanzhou, he first removed Su Mingxing to ensure that the people could afford rice, and then took down Zhou Sheng, which disrupted the original order of the Shawan rice market. Under these circumstances, it is hard to say that there will be any turmoil during the autumn harvest season, which is related to the new round of rice market prices.

"I knew it! My sister is so observant, she would definitely have figured it out." Xie Yi looked at Qiu Niang and snorted.

Qiu Niang glared at him, then looked away and sighed, "It was indeed about the autumn harvest a while ago."

"How is it?" Lu Jia pulled Qiu Niang to sit down.

Qiu Niang said, "After the Imperial Envoy left Tan, the new grain of the season was put into the granary. Originally, everyone was doing well, but this year's taxes suddenly increased by 20% compared to previous years. They said it was because the Tonghuomen Wharf was relocated and the Shawan Wharf was expanded, which cost a lot of money."

"The taxes levied on grain merchants were already quite high. The extra 20% tax was enough for ordinary families to live comfortably, so many small businesses were forced to close down."

“Even those of us who are neither big nor small are not having an easy time. Boss Liu’s Hongtai Shop just broke even last month. Our shop has only just started operating. We don’t have our own regular customers, so we only get orders sporadically.”

Every autumn harvest season is a good time for grain merchants to stock up on grain in preparation for the next three seasons of trading. If trading stops at this time, when can they expect to make money?

Before Lu Jia left, she was worried that something might go wrong with the autumn harvest, and now what she feared most has come true!
She frowned and asked, "Then why did Chief Liu and Uncle Li come to the capital?"

"Do you think it's just about raising taxes?" Xie Yi couldn't help but chime in, gritting his teeth as he said, "Shortly after the tax increase notice came down, a new large grain store suddenly opened at the dock. I don't know who the owner is, as he has never shown his face. But as soon as this grain store opened, it took over all the small grain stores that had closed down!"
"With that kind of aura, even the Su family of the past would be ashamed of themselves."

"After this grain depot was established, almost all the cargo ships traveling from the south and north, except for those grain depots with which we had stable cooperation for many years, went there."

"Now the news of the anti-Japanese resistance in the southeast coastal areas is spreading like wildfire, and many Zhejiang merchants have come to the inland by waterway. Boss Liu was thinking of moving his business to Tongzhou. He just happened to hear that we were also going to the capital, so he went with us."

"When I heard that she had this idea, I also advised my mother to open the shop in the capital. Anyway, wherever you are, we will be there."

"As for Uncle Li and Aunt Li, after Grandma Li passed away last month, they took the old woman up the mountain. Since they didn't have any jobs they couldn't leave behind, they came along with Chang Li when they saw that he was going to the capital with us..." Lu Jia frowned more and more as he listened. The sudden increase in taxes by 20% was already astonishing enough, and now a large grain depot of unknown origin had appeared out of nowhere. It all sounded suspicious.
Why did the government suddenly raise taxes?

She remembered the last time they went to court, the prefect of Tanzhou seemed much more astute than Zhou Sheng. Zhou Sheng's head was still hanging over his neck, surely he wouldn't suddenly cause trouble the moment the imperial envoy left?
"It wasn't the idea of ​​the prefect of Tanzhou, but the notice was stamped with the seal of the Ministry of Revenue."

"By the imperial court?"

"Exactly!"

Lu Jia was stunned.

When she heard about the coincidences of the first two events, she guessed that this matter was related to the higher-ups, but she never expected that it would be a direct order from the imperial court. The Ministry of Revenue is now in cahoots with the Yan family, so isn't it obvious what's going on with the grain depot? Someone is trying to find a way to bleed the grain merchants of Shawan dry!
"So, it seems they weren't satisfied with just draining the people's pockets before, and now they're directly trying to steal from the grain merchants!"

"Who says otherwise?" Xie Yi put his hands in his pockets and gave Qiu Niang a reproachful look. "Mother won't let me say it!"

The maid brought in tea and rice. After she put the food down, Lu Jia said, "Mother is right. Even if you know something, you shouldn't talk about it. Don't act impulsively. Think more about our grandfather."

While the siblings were talking, Qiu Niang kept observing her from the side, wondering if her daughter would have changed after returning to the capital. Upon hearing the words "our grandfather," her eyes immediately reddened, and she turned away to wipe her eyes.

Xie Yi was different. The young man was carefree; seeing the delicious food and being hungry, he immediately grabbed a bowl and started shoveling rice into his mouth. After a couple of bites, he continued, "I wanted to bring you some good food, but we ran into some mad dog on the way. It tried to bully us, so I didn't get to buy anything..."

Lu Jia came for this very reason, and immediately said, "You really shouldn't get entangled with those people from before. For the next few days, you should all stay home as much as possible."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Niang, who had just picked up her bowl, asked, "You know about them? Who are they?"

Lu Jia lazily picked up a bowl of soup in front of her: "Yi-ge'er is right, those are just a few dogs. Jiang's dogs."

"..."

Qiu Niang and Xie Yi never expected that Du Mama and her group were such formidable people, and they certainly never imagined that they were Jiang Shi's people who had tried to kill Lu Jia time and time again!
Lu Jia is also a member of the Xie family!
Isn't this just a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road?
"I knew it!" Xie Yi sneered. "So it's because of this 'ill-fated relationship' that I'm so unlucky to run into them as soon as I entered the city!" After saying that, he looked at Lu Jia: "Don't worry, I will definitely not cause you any trouble. But I am your brother. Now that I'm here, if you need anything, I will risk my life to help you!"

“What do you mean by fate? I’ve said it before, none of us can be harmed.” Lu Jia put down the soup. “Mother, after you finish eating, I have a few words to say to you in private.”

Qiu Niang hurriedly asked, "What is it?"

Lu Jia lowered her eyes, her cheeks flushed, and took a bite of a spring roll: "You'll find out later."

……