Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 535 Not Simple

Wang Bingcheng hadn't seen Wang Bingchen looking so worried about family matters for many years.

"Isn't Brother being a little too worried?" Wang Bingcheng said. "The rumors outside may not be true. Besides, even if they are true, you can talk to Hechun carefully and tell him to break up with that woman. Everyone has their youthful and impulsive moments, and in the end, they still have to obey their parents' wishes."

Wang Bingchen took a deep breath. He recalled the scene when he spoke with his son a few days ago. He had only probed slightly, but Yan Ge'er had already shown a protective attitude.

If Yan Ge'er were a child who would obey his parents, how could he have bypassed the Secretariat and spoken to the Emperor, causing such a commotion?

Wang Bingchen sat back in his chair, seemingly regaining his usual composure, and adopted a demeanor as if discussing official business: "How are things going with the porcelain business and the market administration?"

Now that the new policies have been implemented, Wang Bingchen is naturally concerned about the situation at the Market and Trade Bureau.

However, when inquiring about the market and the porcelain business, it's inevitable to mention Lady Xie again.

Wang Bingcheng said, "After the news of Han Si and others being arrested spread, many merchants who traded porcelain went to porcelain shops with their contracts, fearing that the contracts they had signed would no longer be valid after the change of the shop owner."

"In the past, Han Si had already accepted the deposit for the old contracts. Now that the merchants want the porcelain shops to hand over their goods, they simply block the porcelain shops and refuse to leave."

Wang Bingchen said, "After the market opens, the annual porcelain production will be limited, and the market price will definitely rise. These merchants will naturally want the goods."

Wang Bingcheng nodded: "The market administration has already calculated that the number of porcelain pieces on the contract already exceeds the annual output of the porcelain kilns. In addition, the porcelain kilns have been preparing goods to be sent to the market in recent months, so the porcelain pieces that can be allocated at present are less than half."

Wang Bingchen said calmly, "Han Si and his ilk knew long ago that a market was going to be opened. Before the court issued any definite news, they secretly colluded with some merchants to sign contracts at the current price of porcelain. They bought porcelain at a low price and then sold it at a high price when the price of porcelain rose."

"When Han Si signed the contract, he naturally knew that the porcelain shop could not produce those goods, but the porcelain could be raised slowly. When the porcelain was fired in six months or even a year, it would fall into the hands of these merchants, and it would be difficult for others to buy it. Now that Han Si has been arrested, these merchants are afraid that those contracts will be invalidated, so they have come to urge the porcelain."

Wang Bingcheng said, "Goods are hard to buy, so prices will inevitably rise, and these merchants can make a fortune by reselling them."

People die for wealth, birds die for food; how could those who had signed contracts with Han Si beforehand possibly let this opportunity pass them by?

However, even if the government was aware of it, it would be difficult to invalidate those contracts.

With so many transactions in the porcelain trade every year, how can we catch these people mixed in without evidence? We can't just invalidate all the contracts.

If the impact is too widespread, it will inevitably cause trouble.

Wang Bingcheng said, "When those merchants went to the porcelain shop, they spread rumors in private, making the other merchants worried, so they simply went to make trouble with them."

"As a result, more and more people gathered, and they all got stuck in the porcelain shop."

Those merchants had calculated that the government wouldn't arrest everyone; the more people there were, the safer they would be.

Wang Bingchen hadn't expected things to escalate to this point: "Isn't the porcelain industry in complete chaos now?"

Wang Bingcheng said, "I agree with that."

Wang Bingchen knew there was more to the story, and sure enough, after a moment's pause, he said, "Since yesterday, the situation at the porcelain shops has improved. About six or seven merchants have re-signed contracts with the porcelain shops and left Bianjing with only half of the porcelain."

"Five or six more people came to the porcelain shop today. I heard they were also there to inquire about the new contracts. If they reach an agreement, they will leave tomorrow."

Wang Bingchen was somewhat surprised: "What did the porcelain merchant promise? Did he lower the price of the porcelain?" That was the only thing he could think of.

Without any benefit, how can these people leave? This is utter recklessness! They're just trying to deal with the immediate problem, but they're sowing the seeds of more trouble for the future.

Wang Bingcheng said, "The price of porcelain this year will remain unchanged as agreed in the contract. If merchants buy porcelain again next year, the porcelain shops can reduce the price by half a percent, or sell it to them according to next year's market price for porcelain."

How could you possibly exchange half a piece of porcelain for only half a piece? As for the market price, that's even more impossible; the price of porcelain will only be higher next year.

Wang Bingchen said, "There are other details involved."

Wang Bingcheng nodded: "That's what I was thinking too, but... this is all the information we can get." Now, not only them, but also the merchants who haven't left should be trying to find out the truth.

“A day and a half has passed since yesterday,” Wang Bingchen said. “Does no one know anything about it?”

Wang Bingcheng replied, "No."

Wang Bingchen stood up, paced around the room a couple of times, and then looked at his younger brother: "Something's not right. Someone knows."

The two brothers exchanged glances, and Wang Bingcheng tentatively asked, "Brother, do you mean those merchants who are preparing to leave Bianjing tomorrow?" As he spoke, his voice changed from doubt to certainty.

Wang Bingcheng pondered carefully: "It is precisely because the merchants have figured out the truth that they have signed a new contract with Lady Xie."

As more and more people leave, the merchants who remain become increasingly anxious.

“In three to five days,” Wang Bingchen said, “more merchants will be asking the porcelain dealers for new contracts to see.”

If no other information can be gleaned, the new contract becomes the key. Once a new contract is obtained, the merchants will decipher it word by word.

Wang Bingchen said, "No matter what the porcelain merchant is up to, she can always turn the tables and take the initiative with this move."

That's how people are. When everyone is on the same path, no one questions whether that path is wrong. But once someone chooses a different path at a fork in the road, naturally others will doubt whether their choice was right.

Once the merchants have disagreements, they can overcome them one by one.

Wang Bingcheng increasingly felt that Lady Xie's methods were brilliant.

“Truly impressive,” Wang Bingcheng said. “Having just been elected as an elder, he has already come up with a way to deal with the current situation. No wonder he did not seek help from the Market and Commerce Bureau. He wants to solve the current problem on his own.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Bingcheng realized that he had said the wrong thing. His brother was worried about Lady Xie, but he had praised the woman in front of him.

Looking back now, it's not like Hechun was wrong to admire such a woman.

A woman who could defy the prefect of Daming Prefecture and take over the porcelain business in Bianjing within a few months... such women are rare.

In fact, even if it were a man, how many of them could do that?

He Chun was always proud and arrogant, and ordinary women rarely caught his eye; otherwise, they would have been engaged long ago. Wang Bingcheng surprisingly found himself starting to wonder if he could take advantage of the situation to arrange this marriage.

Wang Bingchen said, "It's just the beginning. Whether she can win the respect of the porcelain industry depends on what she does next."

What Wang Bingchen is certain of now is that the woman is no ordinary person.