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Chapter 354 Ji You is bound to lose!

"Damn it, why are prices at Taipinglou constantly going up?!"

"Vegetables are more expensive than gold, how can anyone live?!"

Despite the resistance from powerful families, Wulu Trading Company's restaurant business was booming, attracting a constant stream of cultivators.

But not long after, the restaurant, which had originally been affordable, began to raise its prices rapidly.

Such examples abound in the six states of Qingyun.

Just as the price of that cheap restaurant rose to the same level as other restaurants, one restaurant suddenly announced a price reduction.

Shi Wei Xian, which closed down earlier, was one of them.

However, although the prices were reduced, they were not as drastic as those at Taipinglou. Based on the conversion of raw materials, the prices of those dishes were almost the same as those at Wulu Shanghao, but they were indeed lower than those of other restaurants in the same industry.

As a result, Shiweixian's customer base began to surge.

After the prices at Shiweixian rebounded, and there were more than ten days of prices soaring, Hongdingxuan then began to lower its prices, instantly sparking an even bigger frenzy.

As the sun sets over Shengjing City, the night is fading, yet the city is brightly lit.

In a private room on the second floor of Hongdingxuan Restaurant, some young men from Beijing were grumbling and cursing about the prices of the dishes.

Fang Jincheng couldn't help but sneer after hearing this: "We'll eat even if the price goes up, but we won't buy Ji You's grain. Let it rot in the warehouse and see how he explains himself to his people!"

"Brother Fang is right, let's eat!"

The invited disciples of the Heavenly Academy immediately began to feast, turning their grief and indignation into appetite.

Upon seeing this, Yu Shiliu, who was at the table, couldn't help but gently raise her head: "Junior Brother Fang, have you ever thought about where the food in the restaurant comes from?"

"what?"

"There's a food shortage all over the world right now. Do you think the food in this restaurant just appeared out of thin air?"

Fang Jincheng frowned upon hearing this, and after pondering for a while, he threw down his chopsticks: "You mean to say that what I'm eating is still food from Fengzhou?"

Yu Shiliu looked at him coldly: "You're not too stupid."

"Not just ingredients."

"?"

Yu Shiliu was slightly taken aback after hearing this, and turned to look at Princess Chang Le, Zhao Yunyue, at another table: "More than that?"

Zhao Yunyue gently raised her wine glass: "Taipinglou's reckless price cuts a few days ago almost caused several restaurants in Shengjing City to go bankrupt. Ji You bought up all the remaining restaurants, including Hongdingxuan and Shiweixian, with grain at rock-bottom prices."

How did Princess Chang Le learn of this?

“My father owns shares in several restaurants in the capital, so he naturally knows about the change of ownership. It’s just that you’re not sensitive to it.”

In the eyes of cultivators, it was truly gratifying that Wulu Trading Company was being resisted and neglected by aristocratic families.

But few people know that the most popular restaurant business in Qingyun had already quietly changed hands and was rapidly making him a fortune.

After pondering for a while, Yu Shiliu spoke up: "He went to such lengths just for a few restaurants?"

"All the restaurants in Qingyun Tianxia that are qualified to host immortal banquets are run by collateral descendants of aristocratic families. They collect taxes from the people from the aristocratic families, and the money they make flows back to their own families and the immortal families they have invested in. The resources have always circulated among cultivators, but things are different now that Ji You has taken these businesses away."

"The produce of the people of Fengzhou will continue to flow into the channels of the Immortal Banquet, and after being sold to cultivators at higher prices by the restaurants, the money earned will flow back to Fengzhou."

Zhao Yunyue looked into the brightly lit building: "The immortal families of Qingyun Tianxia have always been excessively plundering taxes. They can't possibly use it all. In the past, it could be circulated, but in the future, it will probably rot in their hands. As long as the grain production in Fengzhou remains sufficient and the price doesn't drop, the blood will be continuously sucked back to the lower classes."

"It's just a few restaurants, how much can they make?" Fang Jincheng grinned after a long silence.

"It's the entire Qingyun restaurant."

"?"

"And all the freight stations, Wulu Company has been increasing its investment in itself. As more industries are integrated in this change, resources will automatically gravitate towards it. It can raise freight prices to make the costs of other industries rise rapidly, and can even take a cut from tax transportation."

Zhao Yunyue's eyelashes trembled slightly: "When he has the final say on many things, he can make whatever he wants valuable, and he can make whatever he wants increase in price. The entire economy will be subject to his plans."

Actually, this business model wasn't unheard of; her father was an expert in it, otherwise he wouldn't have exchanged road rights for shares in the Spirit Stone Merchant Guild back then.

But according to his father, this matter will not last.

Even if a business has its own logic, that logic ultimately serves the cultivators and can never shake their interests.

If they were to do it, this project would probably be doomed to fail before it even got off the ground at the price increase stage.

However, there is one exception: the person who did this was powerful enough that even a thousand-year-old family would have to consider their attitude, able to resist but not suppress them.

Thinking of this, her thoughts couldn't help but drift back to five years ago.

When Ji You was first admitted to the hospital, he was so insignificant that it was hard to remember whether he was from Yuyang or Yuyang.

But now, he is trying to take control of the world.

To be honest, even if you gave these people who have been sitting in the deep mountains cultivating Taoism a whole year to think about the operation of resources in the world, they probably wouldn't come up with anything.

After all, these are all mundane things, while cultivating immortality requires them to have a clear understanding of the Dao.

Zhao Yunyue's explanation was very straightforward, and she had a comprehensive view of the overall situation.

Upon hearing these speculations, the mouths of everyone at the table agape, as if they could see Ji You sitting quietly in a room in Fengzhou, observing the workings of the entire world.

After the banquet, Zhao Yunyue returned to the Chongwang Mansion by carriage and saw people coming and going in the mansion.

Her father was pacing back and forth in the courtyard, holding an account book.

"Father."

"came back?"

Zhao Yunyue nodded and then looked at the people coming in and out: "What are you doing here?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Chong closed the ledger: "The He, Huang, Qiu and other prominent families from Zhongzhou have come to borrow grain."

"The elders of the Dao Seeking Sect came yesterday and have already borrowed a batch. Today, more people are coming to borrow. There's not much left of what you stockpiled in advance."

"It's just a drop in the ocean; the real problem lies with Ji You."

After listening, Zhao Yunyue pondered for a long time: "What are those aristocratic families waiting for?"

"Waiting for relief food."

Prince Chong spoke softly: "Winter is coming soon. Whether he is acquiring industries or forcing aristocratic families to bleed money with high grain prices, he cannot avoid the issue of relief grain. Just imagine how the people can bear such high grain prices, and how can he not care? This is his biggest weakness."

Back then, Ji You risked his life to escort the human delegation to the Snow Region with his Profound Realm cultivation for the sake of a few thousand spirit stones, which drew countless jeers.

Some people say that even if he defeats Chu He, he is still a poor private cultivator at heart, willing to risk his life for a few spirit stones, which is too cheap.

However, Zuo Qiuyang once said that overly obvious weaknesses are often not real weaknesses, but rather a way to cover up what is most fatal to him.

As it turned out, he was right.

During last year's snow disaster, Ji You stood on the opposite side of all cultivators in the world, stopping the transport of spirit stones and instead transporting disaster relief grain.

Thus, everyone knows that his greatest weakness is not money, but the ordinary people at the bottom of society.

Some people who went to disaster areas to keep an eye on the situation even knew more accurately, confirming that they could not bear to see those poor children die young.

Therefore, there will definitely be relief grain, and it will be a large-scale relief grain for the entire Qingyun.

Cultivators can abstain from food and wait indefinitely, but as winter approaches, mortals without food will inevitably die in the heavy snow.

Therefore, even if Ji You is strong enough and has many methods, he will still have no choice but to back down.

"Your Majesty!"

"?"

Prince Chong turned his head towards the direction of the mansion gate and saw the inner palace steward rushing over: "What's wrong?"

After catching his breath, the steward said, "Dozens of elders from prominent families are gathered in the Winter Garden, inviting Your Highness to come and meet them."

"Go and tell them that the Prince's mansion has no surplus grain..."

"It doesn't seem to be about borrowing grain."

King Chong was slightly taken aback: "What is it?"

The steward shook his head: "I don't know, but those immortals asked Your Highness to summon Minister Dou as well, and also to bring the register of tax collection."

"?"

Prince Chong wore a thoughtful expression, then put on his fur coat and stepped out of the mansion.

Seeing this, Zhao Yunyue felt a little strange. She didn't know why these members of aristocratic families had come here, nor did she know why they wanted the register.

You must know that this year, apart from Fengzhou, the whole country has suffered a grain shortage. The people of Daxia are now struggling to feed themselves, and they have no choice but to stop collecting taxes. What use is the register then?
Princess Chang Le pondered this without understanding, so she turned around and went back to her room. With the help of her maids, she took a bath and then began to meditate with her eyes closed.

The next morning, the weather was gloomy and a cold wind was blowing.

Zhao Yunyue got up early and practiced swordsmanship in the pavilion when he saw his father returning in a carriage, which surprised him.

"Did Father not return home last night?"

"No, I returned at 9 PM, but went out again this morning."

Prince Chong replied hastily, then stepped into his study.

Before long, he left the palace again, riding away in a carriage as hastily as when he returned.

Zhao Yunyue didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she closed her eyes and continued her cultivation until noon, after which she left home to meet her friends.

Restaurants in Shengjing continued to raise prices, prompting countless owners to send their ancestors warm greetings.

The issue of food shortages remains a key topic of discussion.

As Zhao Yunyue had predicted, subsequent developments unfolded as grain prices rose, prompting many merchants to actively seek assistance from Wulu Trading Company. This escalating situation continued until the day of Frost's Descent, when finally, a change began to occur.

At noon that day, as the white fog gradually dissipated, a commotion suddenly arose from the long street.

The cultivators in the restaurants and teahouses couldn't help but look over with curiosity, and saw a large group of simply dressed commoners pouring into the city.

They continued along Yong'an Street, making their way westward.

Almost instantly, Shengjing City descended into chaos.

The cultivators along the street looked somewhat surprised upon seeing this scene.

"What's going on? How come so many ordinary people have entered the city?"

"I don't know."

"Look in the direction they went..."

"?"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, all the people crowded to the front of Wulu Trading Company and knelt down with a thud.

Some thin women, even holding children in their arms, kept moving towards the front of the city on their knees, pounding on the door of the Wulu Shop, which had not yet opened, with sorrowful expressions.

From the direction of the city gate, countless refugees who could not afford food continued to pour in, blocking Changsheng and Yong'an Streets completely, and the noisy clamor instantly filled the entire city.

Seeing this, Zhao Yunyue's eyes showed a hint of astonishment. She quickly turned to look at the Prince Chong standing beside her: "Is this what Father was invited to discuss by the immortal sects and aristocratic families the other day?"

"good."

"Are they here to ask for food?"

"They came to ask for grain on behalf of the immortal sects and aristocratic families."

Looking at the people kneeling all over the street, the Prince Chong said softly, "Ji You is ambitious, and those aristocratic families will naturally not tolerate it. Their actions are to tell Ji You that no matter how much he raises the price, they can get the grain without spending a penny."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunyue's gaze sharpened slightly.

Ji You has been acting too arrogantly all these years, and many people have suffered at his hands.

She knew that for those powerful immortal families, the price of grain was secondary; what they really wanted was to make Ji You bow down in front of everyone, to see him helpless.

Compared to such methods, Ji You's manipulation of grain prices to buy up restaurants at rock-bottom prices seems like child's play.

Meanwhile, officials from the Imperial Observatory stationed in various prefectures were rushing into the city to deliver messages to Shengjing.

Apart from Youyun and Fengzhou, which were occupied by barbarian demons, countless large cities in the other six states saw a continuous influx of civilians, and the scale of the influx grew larger and larger.

Everywhere, the streets were packed with civilians, creating scenes of utter chaos throughout the city.

As a result, within just half a day, countless people focused their attention on the Wulu Trading Company in their respective cities.

Throughout the Nine Provinces, caravans from the Wulu Trading Company sped back and forth, and such a scene was naturally quickly relayed to Ji Village.

"Back then, Ji You defied the world's opinion and stopped the supply of spirit stones to the three states for disaster relief. Now everyone in Qingyun Tianxia understands what is truly fatal to him."

"His grain prices were recognized and accepted by Lingjian Mountain and Tianshu Academy. Those aristocratic families did not know why, and dared not make any rash moves against Wulu Trading Company. But they were never polite to mortals."

"Winter is just around the corner, and this matter really can't be delayed any longer."

Inside Ji Village, Cao Jingsong couldn't help but mutter to himself, making the atmosphere in the courtyard extremely heavy.

In fact, not only were those aristocratic families unclear about why Lingjian Mountain and Tianshu Academy had permitted Ji You's grain price, but even the Lu sisters were completely baffled.

She felt that it was somewhat reasonable for the Heavenly Academy to acknowledge it, but it was quite inexplicable for the Spirit Sword Mountain to do so.

However, they also knew that this was not the point. The point was that Ji You's weaknesses were so obvious that he would definitely lose even if the game went on until the very end.

“Actually, if Junior Brother had set the price lower from the beginning, the conflict with the powerful families might not have been so severe,” Wen Zhengxin couldn’t help but say.

“He has long hated aristocratic families. If he weren’t so busy, he probably would have gone to rob them himself.”

Amidst the murmurs, Kuang Cheng slowly approached from behind.

Sitting at the tea table listening to everyone's discussion, Wei Rui's eyes lit up: "Kuang Cheng, how is Young Master Ji?"

"He's inside, reading the message."

"Where are you going?"

Kuang Cheng paused slightly after hearing this: "He said he would send over the relief food that he had prepared in advance."

Cao Jingsong sighed after hearing this: "Let them go. We've already robbed so many restaurants and inns, it's not a complete loss."

"Please have a seat, everyone. I'll go and give the instructions."

"Go."

Kuang Cheng nodded, then stepped out of the house.

Before long, countless grain carts carrying messages of grain distribution surged toward the outskirts of Fengzhou.

Upon receiving the summons, Wulu Grain Company began distributing grain the next morning by signing a contract, just as it had always done, in exchange for agreeing to work in Fengzhou in exchange for the grain rations paid in advance by Wulu Company.

They had used this method of relief before, and it had been properly certified by Xia Luxian's rules.

However, according to the requirements, although these people can cross the border to work in Fengzhou, they need to leave their families in their hometown as guarantors, and they still need to pay the full amount of offerings after the autumn harvest next year.

Despite the harsh conditions and uncertain future, it was as precious as a lifeline for those who couldn't pay their taxes back then.

This time, however, many of the people who came to sign the contract and receive relief food had blank expressions and no light in their eyes.

There is a large city in Zhongzhou, which is the capital of Zhongxing County.

After the human catastrophe ended, Zhongxing County City has been under repair and is now mostly restored.

There is also a Wulu Trading Company here, and one of its employees is named Tie Niu.

He was one of the beneficiaries of the labor contract exchange program. Over the years, he worked in animal husbandry in Fengzhou and eventually got transferred back to Zhongzhou after continuous efforts.

His home is in Zhongzhou, so naturally he wants to be closer to his wife and children.

As the order to distribute relief grain was issued, he was busy working on it. However, what puzzled him was that the people who received the grain were not as moved to tears as he had been at the time.

"Little five."

"Brother Niu, what's wrong?"

"Can you cover for me for a bit? I need to go to the outhouse."

"Oh, good."

Tie Niu handed his grain shovel to his subordinate Xiao Wu, then walked to the backyard.

However, he did not go to the latrine. Instead, he went out through the back door and onto the street. He then observed the direction of the transient people and quietly followed them.

Putting himself in their shoes, Tie Niu felt that something was off about these refugees.

After wandering through the streets and alleys for a long time, he arrived at the grain threshing ground where taxes were tallied every autumn.

This valley was incredibly vast, even comparable to half a city.

Meanwhile, the threshing ground was filled with carriages, and next to each carriage stood an arrogant-looking person.

They wore brocade robes embroidered with their family crests, looking at the approaching people as if they were ants.

The common people, staggering along, threw the rations they had just received onto the cart, then walked away numbly, like withered grass that would break at the slightest breeze.

"Maybe we've actually done Ji You a favor."

"Help? What do you mean by that, Patriarch Fang?"

On the high platform on the east side of the threshing ground, Fang Xiang, the head of the Fang family, stroked his long beard: "He must have planned to gather a group of people to Fengzhou by signing labor contracts in this way. However, it would be too time-consuming to search for them door to door. Now that we have brought them all here, isn't that a great help to him?"

He Ye, the head of the He family, shook his head upon hearing this: "It's a pity that these people have no food. It's difficult for them to even reach Fengzhou alive. Even if they do, their families will starve to death, so what mood will they have to work?"

"The He family head's stance seems a bit strange."

"strangeness?"

Fang Xiang stared intently at He Ye and said, "I heard that Patriarch He intends to have Ji You marry into the family, but now he's standing with us. Aren't you afraid of angering him?"

Upon hearing this, He Ye's expression instantly turned gloomy.

Ji You is all alone and has no powerful force to rely on. No matter how strong he is, he can only be one generation stronger.

He originally thought Ji You would understand, but he never expected that he wouldn't even get a single response.

Only now, seeing his attempt to exploit all the aristocratic families, did he realize that this person had always been naive and arrogant.

The Qiu family patriarch was also present at this time. Looking at the grain carts that were gradually overflowing, he couldn't help but say, "Although Ji You is arrogant, he has always been smart. He can't be blind to this matter. Perhaps the relief will stop soon."

“No, he won’t.” He Ye shook his head gently. “Not only will he not, he will speed up the distribution of grain.”

"Why is that?" Patriarch Qiu asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Because he knew that if he wanted the relief grain to reach the people before winter, he had to feed all the aristocratic families in Qingyun first. To be honest, the last time I saw the aristocratic families of Kyushu so united in their hatred of the enemy was the last time."

"It seems he was destined to lose from the very beginning."

He Ye raised the corners of his mouth: "He is somewhat clever, but unfortunately he is still the kind of person who takes things one step at a time. When he was aggressively raising the price, he never thought that he would end up in such a dilemma. But you can't blame him. No matter how talented he is, he comes from the countryside. How could he have the ability to see the big picture?"

Fang Xiang smiled upon hearing this, then turned to his disciples behind him and said, "Go, according to the Ministry of Revenue's register, get the next batch of people in to collect their rations. I want to see how many people Fengzhou can accommodate, and I also want to see if he can use Fengzhou to support the entire Qingyun next year!"

"Yes!"

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)