The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 179 Feeling uneasy
Before dawn, Cheng She rested on the boat for less than two hours before setting off again under the stars.

Before leaving, he asked his confidant to hand him a letter. Stroking the thickness of the envelope, he thought it was only a thin sheet of paper, not containing many words. Why did he not want to say all of this last night?
Puzzled, Shang Mingshu unfolded the letter, read its contents, and a faint smile spread across her clear eyes.

If I marry you, all our children will take your surname to continue our family name.

It seemed that even the most unrestrained person like him couldn't say those words aloud in front of her, so he could only write them down and hand them to himself.

No wonder he insisted on revealing his true identity yesterday; he has no Cheng family bloodline and is unwilling to be surnamed Lu.

"Does Madam approve of Second Master Cheng?" He Sui couldn't help but ask, seeing Shang Mingshu's pleased expression after reading the letter.

Shang Mingshu carefully put the letter away: "Slightly better than others."

Even Cheng Mian never said that he wanted his children to inherit her family name and share her surname. Regardless of whether Cheng She's words were out of hatred for the Lu family, they meant that he was different from most young men in the world.

It's not that there are no precedents for children taking their mother's surname; it's mostly wealthy women who marry into the family. Cheng She doesn't need to marry into the family because he has neither talent nor character, which makes him all the more precious.

On a deeper level, Cheng She acknowledges Shang Mingshu's abilities and recognizes that her family business needs an heir. This is the greatest respect and recognition he can show Shang Mingshu, which is why she is happy.

Even so, Cheng She was only slightly better than the other suitors in Shang Mingshu's eyes.

In Shang Mingshu's eyes, she herself is better than anything else in the world. She cherishes her person and her heart. She finds it very difficult to give herself away. If any young man in this world wants to win her heart, it will be very, very difficult.

First, you have to marry her. She won't open her heart to someone you don't know before marriage. After marriage, you have to do everything she wants and earn her heart little by little with sincerity...

In June, Shang Mingshu braved the continuous drizzle to return home. The entire Huizhou Prefecture was shrouded in gloom, and the road was deserted with few people around. The white walls and black tiles felt particularly oppressive.

"How long has this rain been going on?" As soon as Shang Mingshu arrived home, she saw rainwater gushing from the courtyard and gurgling from the drains, where servants were using scoops to drain the water.

The architecture of Huizhou is very distinctive, and the courtyard house is one of them. One of the reasons for the existence of the courtyard house is that it helps with drainage and makes it very difficult for water to accumulate.

The shop's courtyard is properly maintained every month, and there are large water tanks under the bluestone slabs to hold the water. It's unlikely that there's a problem with the drainage ditch. The only reason for this kind of water accumulation, which isn't urgent and only requires someone to help drain it, is that it's been raining for too long...

“From May onwards, there were only two days in January without rain. At first, it was light rain, and then light rain and heavy rain came intermittently…” the butler replied respectfully.

A sense of unease welled up inside her, and she quickened her pace: "Where's Father?"

"Master is at the teahouse, Madam is visiting the Yao residence, the eldest daughter and the second daughter are at the teahouse, and Doctor Du has been assigned by Master."

Shang Mingshu encountered storms during her voyage and returned home four days later than expected. After receiving the letter that she was expected to return home, her family waited for three days. The servants waiting at the dock also missed Shang Mingshu because of the heavy rain that day. As a result, her family members were unaware that she was returning.

Shang Mingshu did not send the steward out to find Shang Jinliang. She first tidied herself and her luggage, and then instructed the kitchen to prepare a feast. She waited until Xiao Yu and the others returned home one after another.

Seeing Shang Mingshu, the family finally felt relieved.

"Father, is there enough grain stored at home?" After patiently answering her aunts and sisters' questions, Shang Mingshu turned to ask Shang Jinliang. "There is plenty of grain stored at home, so you don't need to worry about it." Shang Jinliang and Madam Yu exchanged a smile.

Having lived half their lives, some sense of crisis has become almost ingrained in their instincts.

Shang Mingshu wanted more than just one company: "Father, go to Wang's Rice Shop tomorrow and see how much grain you can buy now, and try to stockpile it."

"What do you know?" Shang Jinliang and the other members of the Shang family immediately looked serious.

"I'm just feeling uneasy," Shang Mingshu shook her head. "It's better to be prepared."

After listening, Shang Jinliang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Mingya, do you know how much trouble your actions will stir up?"

The merchants are no longer the same as before. Since they started hoarding tea, the Shi family has fallen from grace. Shang Mingshu has acquired several tea mountains from the Shi family, and the reputation of the tea monopoly order has soared. Every move of the merchants is closely watched by the entire Huizhou Prefecture.

The imperial court forbids merchants from hoarding goods and speculating on prices. As tea merchants, they would not hoard large quantities of rice and grain. Currently, the mansion has enough grain stored up to feed the entire mansion for half a year. There is also stored grain in the granary to be used to relieve the clansmen, or to distribute porridge to the public when there is a major celebration in the family. All of these are permitted.

Further hoarding would cause unrest throughout Huizhou Prefecture.

"I just hope that you, Father, will have them all stockpile grain." Given the previous tea incident, most people will follow suit with Shang's actions. Shang Mingshu has just returned home, and her big move upon returning home will attract even more attention. "If we control the quantity well, we can deal with it if what I'm worried about happens. If what I'm worried about doesn't happen, we can also appease them."

Shang Mingshu knew that Shang Jinliang was worried that some people would hoard grain, causing the already reasonable price increase due to the heavy rain to skyrocket, which would be detrimental to the people. He was also afraid that some profit-driven people would hoard grain at high prices and thus lose money, and therefore harbored resentment towards Shang Mingshu.

"Let me think about it." Shang Jinliang wasn't thinking about whether or not to comply with Shang Mingshu, but rather how to implement Shang Mingshu's demands in a way that wouldn't give others cause for criticism.

"Perhaps we can buy some old grain and leave the new grain untouched," Shang Wenshu suggested. "If anyone asks, we can just say that Third Sister is preparing to hold a religious ceremony for Mother?"

The anniversary of Shang Mingshu's birth mother's death is approaching. At this point, Shang Wenshu looked at Shang Mingshu nervously, after all, she was using her birth mother's name and was afraid that Shang Mingshu would be angry.

Shang Mingshu thought it was a good idea: "Let's do it this way. If we can use this batch of grain, it will be a blessing for our mother. If we can't use it, we can send it to the Taoist temple to distribute porridge and pray for our mother's well-being."

"I'll go to Wang's Rice Shop first thing tomorrow morning to ask," Shang Jinliang nodded with a smile.

Madam Yu said, "In that case, why not stockpile more old grain and take three thousand strings of cash from my private funds?"

“I’ll also contribute two thousand strings of cash,” Shang Zishu followed.

"Wen Shu and I can only run errands," Shang Jinliang interrupted Shang Wen Shu, who was about to follow.

Huizhou Prefecture had low grain production, and rice shops relied on external grain supplies. The price of new grain was about one string of cash and one shi (a unit of dry measure). Due to continuous rain, the price of grain rose, and old grain was also about one string of cash and one shi. Five thousand strings of cash would be enough for five thousand shi, but no rice shop in the entire Huizhou Prefecture had that much in stock.

The largest rice merchant was none other than the Wang family. Shang Jinliang estimated, based on the rice boats docked at their wharf and the wharf's warehouses, that it wouldn't exceed two hundred shi (a unit of dry measure). Of course, he didn't just buy rice; he also purchased some flour...

Even if you calculate it all, you won't use up all five thousand strings of cash.