Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 394 Crash
Xia Ziqiao was determined not to suffer any loss. He secretly helped acquire the land, but he also set a trap, leading the people who rented the land to write a contract so that Yunqi Temple could take back the rented land at any time.

Xia Ziqiao said with certainty, "Even if the owner of the perfume shop is the Xie family, she will only suffer losses."

"I currently hold the land deed from Yunqi Temple in my hands. Do you think I wouldn't dare to go and collect the land?"

“Yunqi Temple is full of nuns. It’s not appropriate for them to be in the perfume business. The temple can easily find an excuse to expel them.”

This is the worst possible outcome; everyone should avoid that shop.

Even so, he didn't lose money; he just had to put in some effort. The owner of the perfume shop, on the other hand, had actually invested a lot of real money.

After Xia Ziqiao finished speaking, the tension on his face disappeared without a trace: "Erlang was right, which is a good thing. We dealt with that Xie family without lifting a finger."

"This shows that the Xie family is nothing special. There must be more to the story about what happened in Daming Prefecture. We're already being very lenient by believing what they've said to us."

Xie Chengrang, however, remained expressionless, clearly unconvinced by Xia Ziqiao's words.

“If my guess is correct,” Xie Chengrang stared at Xia Ziqiao, “Has Wulang never considered that the Xie family could hide themselves in Bianjing City and buy land and open shops in such a short time? Is this method very impressive? Wulang knows so many merchants, who else could do this?”

Xia Ziqiao fell silent again.

Xie Chengrang continued, "The southern dock has been unusually lively lately. There's something that Wulang might not have noticed."

Xia Ziqiao asked, "What is it?"

Xie Chengrang took a sip of tea before continuing, "A few days ago, some employees sued their employer. Several lawsuits were submitted to the yamen. The source of this matter is the southern dock."

"This matter also involves the Zhou family on the Bian River."

Xie Chengrang couldn't find Xia Ziqiao last night, but he didn't sit idle. He sent people around to inquire about information. The more he learned, the more he felt that the owner of the perfume shop was the Xie family.

The Xie family ran a small newspaper in Daming Prefecture and even hired a lawyer who was exceptionally skilled at submitting lawsuits. The lawsuits filed by their hired workers were exactly the same as the Xie family's actions in Daming Prefecture.

Xia Ziqiao reached for the teacup, but before taking a sip, she put it down again: "According to you, Xie Shi must have done this on purpose. What exactly is her motive?"

"No matter what, she wouldn't dare to mess with us, right?"

Xia Ziqiao thought it over carefully. They hadn't encountered any trouble recently. Although the He family had run into trouble, the arrested members of the He family wouldn't implicate the Xia and Li families, so the Xia family's losses weren't too great.

Xie Chengrang asked, "Do you think the cases of Guo Xiong and Guo Chuan have anything to do with the Xie family?" He had previously suspected the Guo brothers, feeling that they were being guided by someone behind the scenes.

Xia Ziqiao felt that Xie Chengrang's words were getting more and more outrageous.

"She's only just arrived in Bianjing, how could she possibly know so many people?"

Xie Chengrang shook his head: "The South City Wharf is bustling because of the coal entering the capital. Since she has the foresight to buy land in the South City, she will definitely do something else."

"Did you know that buying land at the dock is not only for buying and selling, but also an excellent place to settle down and receive goods arriving by water in a timely manner?"

"Haven't you been waiting for the Xie family's porcelain to enter the capital? We only guarded the land routes before. What if the Xie family had someone transport the porcelain into the capital by water?"

Xia Ziqiao frowned.

They suppressed the Xie family, not wanting the porcelain they produced to be sold at the border markets.

Because the Xie family's kiln was not under their control.

Once they control all the porcelain trade in the market, everyone, from the merchants in the market to the kilns that produce porcelain in Daliang, will have to act according to their wishes.

After all, it was through their hands that the porcelain could be delivered to the border market.

If Xie's porcelain were allowed to take center stage, other kilns would also have other ideas and want to bypass them to sell their own porcelain, which would cut off their source of income. In Xia Ziqiao's view, this was a "bad rule," just like a guild, where all trade entering the capital had to go through a meeting and follow the guild's arrangements.

If the Xia family doesn't suppress this matter, it's tantamount to losing prestige in the porcelain business.

So this has never been about interests.

Xia Ziqiao stood up: "Let's go to the South City Wharf now and question the Guo brothers." His mind was racing, trying to figure out how to stop the Xie family's porcelain from entering the capital.

If we find out the truth, we can start with the South City Wharf, cause some trouble, entangle her in lawsuits, and make her unable to continue her business. If we know which ship is transporting porcelain, we can even send someone to deliberately capsize the ship, causing all the porcelain it is carrying to fall into the water.

If you miss the time to select porcelain for the market, you'll have to wait until the following year.

Xie Chengrang came to the Xia family for this very reason. His father couldn't concern himself with these matters; he could only find out the truth through Xia Ziqiao.

The two headed straight for the South City Wharf.

However, just as expected, the owner of the perfume shop was not seen.

The perfume shop's staff and manager all used the same excuse.

"The owner is away from the dock for the next few days due to some business."

Xia Ziqiao could not forcibly search the area, so he could only leave his servants to keep an eye on the South City Wharf.

Having gone through all that trouble, Xia Ziqiao borrowed a boat from the Zhou family to go and check on the Guo brothers' fleet.

The Zhou family had been keeping a close eye on the Guo brothers, and then reported to Xia Ziqiao: "Judging by the days, the Guo family's fleet should be able to return to Bianjing today."

The round trip by boat takes about the same amount of time, so this time it should be fine too.

Xia Ziqiao said, "Then let's wait for them on the water." He also wanted to see for himself what the Guo brothers' fleet was like, and whether they could actually gain a foothold on the Bian River.

He refused to believe that two peasants with no powerful connections could rise to prominence in the Bian River region.

The ships headed out of the city.

Xia Ziqiao found it really boring, so he simply went back to his cabin to rest. He had just drifted off to sleep when he heard a commotion outside.

What's the deal with those two boats?

"It suddenly slid over."

"There seem to be people on the shore; judging by their attire, they look like government officials?"

Xie Chengrang had already left the cabin at some point, so Xia Ziqiao had no choice but to get up and go outside as well.

Sure enough, there were two boats in the direction everyone was looking.

The presence of boats on the water was a given and not particularly noticeable; what really caught everyone's attention were the people on the shore waving their arms at the boats.

Unfortunately, they were too far away to hear what the people on the shore were saying.

Xia Ziqiao looked at Xie Chengrang: "What are they saying? Did you hear it?"

As the group was discussing this, they saw a fleet of ships appear in front of the two boats.

After staring at the fleet for a while, the Zhou family's boatman said, "It's the Guo brothers' boat."