Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 226 Zhang Yunxiu! A swindler! Refund! (One more chapter at 21 PM)
The luxury market for Ming Dynasty glassware was ultimately breached.

Even though Zhang Yunxiu was very careful, selling in batches and even holding an auction to maintain the healthy price of glass,

However, the massive production capacity of Xishan Glass Workshop still cannot be concealed.

However, this was within expectations.

Xishan openly and secretly sells glassware. With more and more glassware on the market, there's no reason for prices to rise.

Spring River Plumbing Duck Prophet.

Even though Xishan was very careful with its shipments and kept the situation inside the warehouse strictly confidential.

However, over time, many people eventually realized the effects of market fluctuations.

The glass products from Xishan are indeed exquisite in texture, and each piece carries a mysterious meaning. The clarity of the glass far surpasses that of Western glass.

Most importantly, Xishan Glazed Glass was very good at grasping the preferences of wealthy merchants and gentry in the Ming Dynasty, and successively launched various glazed glass styles such as "Guan Sheng Di Jun" and "Confucian Sage".

At first, everyone thought they were making money by buying and selling, and seeing the prices soaring at the auction.

Later, the prices of glass items in the capital city decreased.

Merchants then sold it in Beizhili (northern Zhili), and when the price of Beizhili dropped, people sold it in various places in Nanzhili (southern Zhili).

Gradually, countless gentry and merchants joined the frenzy of selling glassware.

Even so, the sales of glass products continued to increase!
Gradually, some people began to sense that something was wrong.

Damn it! How can there be so many exquisite glass items on the market!

This has made countless sellers who have spent a lot of money to buy Xishan glass uneasy.

Seeing that the price of the exquisite glass in my home was decreasing day by day, and that the price of glass in the market was also dropping again and again.

In the past, many people were ashamed to talk about the purpose of statues of Guan Yu or Confucius, believing that they were destroying the sacredness of the statues!
But when it comes to actually incurring losses, everything changes completely.

Even if the glass statue is exquisite, who can bear the pain of watching money slip away every day?

These people, filled with righteous indignation and displaying a menacing demeanor, stormed into Xishan, determined to demand an explanation.

It's unclear who deliberately organized it, but a large crowd, numbering several hundred, rushed to the entrance of the Xishan Theater, shouting something.

"Zhang Shiyuan, you treacherous villain, give me back my silver!"

"Xishan demands an explanation!"

"Bring Zhang Shiyuan out! Why is he afraid to see us?"

Among them were even some nobles and ministers of the imperial court.

Zhang Rong also stood in the crowd, his face somewhat ashen. He instinctively felt that there was something wrong with the crowd that had come to "demand an explanation."

Therefore, they did not join the ranks of those calling for violence, but instead stood aside and watched coldly.

Looking up, I caught a glimpse of Yu Xiangdou, who was standing on the steps at the theater entrance, covered in sweat.

He wiped the sweat from his brow as he hurriedly explained to everyone.

"Please calm down, everyone, please calm down."

Yu Xiangdou smiled apologetically: "The auction house previously stated that once the purchase is finalized, the item is no longer held responsible, unless it is a replica."

Before entering the auction house, you all signed the contract, and all the terms were clearly written on it. So why are you here today?

But these words clearly failed to convince these people.

At the theater entrance, everyone claimed to be a "victim" of the Xishan Auction.

These people were either wealthy merchants or influential gentry in the imperial court, so naturally they wouldn't be polite to Xishan.

They looked furious.

"How can you say that! What kind of business is this?"

"The glass bottle that was bought for 10,000 taels of silver has dropped in price by nearly 30% in just half a month. Your auction house has to make up for the 3,000 taels difference!"

"Yes! It must be Zhang Shiyuan's doing. The price of glass hasn't dropped in years, so why does it drop as soon as you start selling glass in Xishan? There must be something fishy going on!"

The gentry and wealthy merchants were shouting and threatening to kill, as if they intended to demolish Xishan.

The most indignant of them all was a scholar in the crowd.

With dark circles under his eyes, he waved his arms and launched a scathing attack on Xishan Auction House.

"Unscrupulous merchants! Oppressing the common people! Is there no law in this world?! Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver vanished in an instant! Zhang Shiyuan, you come out here!"

Many people looked at the man and immediately recognized who this somewhat crazy scholar was.

Even with a mask on and disguised, everyone could still recognize the voice.

"Isn't this the scholar Wang Shiqi?"

"Judging from his figure and voice, it is indeed him."

"It is said that this person is extremely wealthy, yet he also came here to join in the fun?"

Even with immense wealth, one cannot simply let tens of thousands of taels of silver go to waste.

There was a lot of discussion among the crowd.

Zhang Rong narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Wang Shiqi, feeling as if he had seen this person somewhere before.

A student who could afford a fortune, came from Southern Zhili, and studied in the capital.
Suddenly, Zhang Rong's pupils contracted as he thought of someone.

"Wang Shizhen?"

This person bears many similarities to Wang Shizhen, so he is probably Wang Shizhen's son.

For a moment, Zhang Rong's expression became much more complicated.

These supposedly upright individuals, while spouting righteousness and morality, secretly relentlessly pursue wealth accumulation.

The younger generation in the family can easily produce hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, which shows how much silver they have earned in Jiangnan!
This time, he actually got the short end of the stick with Zhang Yunxiu.

For some reason, Zhang Rong felt much better after seeing that this group of people had suffered even greater losses.

"They're here! They're here!" "That bastard Zhang Shiyuan is here!"

"Give me back my silver! Give me back my hard-earned silver! That's all the silver I've painstakingly saved up over the years while I was in office. After all these years, I've only managed to accumulate forty or fifty thousand taels of silver!"

"Zhang Shiyuan, you heartless bastard."

As soon as Zhang Yunxiu walked out from behind, the crowd erupted like a pot boiling over. They swarmed forward, seemingly wanting to devour him alive.

However, Zhang Yunxiu was the Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and naturally he was accompanied by a group of Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Despite their sharp tongues, the gentry and merchants couldn't help but feel a little intimidated when they saw the Imperial Guard.

Only after Zhang Yunxiu arrived was Yu Xiangdou rescued amidst the shoving and pushing of the crowd.

He looked bitter and tugged at his already tattered clothes as he spoke.

"My lord, you've finally arrived! If you hadn't come, I would have been torn to pieces!"

"Swallow you alive?" Zhang Yunxiu couldn't help but show a mocking expression. "Who would dare to devour you alive? In broad daylight, under the clear sky, is there no law?"

To be honest, if this matter hadn't been so far-reaching, he wouldn't have bothered with these "parasites" of the Ming Dynasty.

He was tall and spoke with an air of authority, and his "battle record" was outstanding.

Seeing his imposing presence, many people immediately lowered their voices.

Looking at the gradually quieting crowd, Zhang Yunxiu twitched the corners of his mouth and pretended to be angry as he spoke.

"It is unacceptable to fight in broad daylight. We are reasonable people. Manager Yu and the others here are all prominent gentlemen in the capital. Why are you shouting for violence?"

Did you fail to properly reassure everyone, leading to a misunderstanding?

"This"

Yu Xiangdou looked embarrassed, and immediately started cursing in his heart. He thought, "You taught me every single word of these lines!"

He seemed somewhat helpless, but he still spoke respectfully.

"This despicable person deserves to die!"

“It’s good that you admit your guilt.” Zhang Yunxiu said confidently, “My Xishan Auction House is a royal business, and it is all about fairness and impartiality.”

If you speak carelessly and cause any misunderstanding, it will damage His Majesty's reputation.

"You have offended the Emperor. Even if His Majesty tolerates you, I, the Vice Magistrate, will punish you."

Only then did Yu Xiangdou realize that Zhang Yunxiu was trying to handle the matter gently.

He immediately started acting, kneeling down with a thud and pretending to cry bitterly.

"I beg Magistrate Zhang's mercy, I was truly confused for a moment, that's why I got angry with you gentlemen, it was really wrong of me!"

To be honest, Yu Xiangdou's acting was rather clumsy.

Moreover, the gentry and wealthy merchants, having lost their money, would certainly not let it go easily.

But since Zhang Yunxiu had brought up the emperor, the gentry naturally became much more obedient and spoke in a more amicable manner.

An elderly gentryman stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, “Zhang Tongzhi, I retired in the third year of the Wanli reign and once served as a principal officer in the Ministry of Revenue.”

We are reasonable people too. Your auction house clearly stated that all the glass sold were rare treasures, and that you would compensate tenfold for any fakes.

Standing on the high platform, Zhang Yunxiu looked down at the old man and said, "That's true, so what?"

“But now the price of glass keeps dropping.” The old gentry looked very distressed.

Zhang Yunxiu asked in surprise, "What does the price reduction outside have to do with my Xishan Auction House? Does my Xishan Glassware have any counterfeit or inferior products?"
This is market regulation. For the old man to use this as a pretext to demand that Xishan refund your money is simply too much of a bully.”

"But...but..." The old gentry dared not contradict him, his tone pleading. "We beg Magistrate Zhang to have pity on our humble circumstances. The items we bought for ten thousand taels have, in less than ten days, dropped in price by several thousand taels. We are truly..."

When Zhang Yunxiu heard the other person say "commoner," he found it quite amusing.

Every single gentryman present was corrupt; otherwise, they could have earned hundreds of thousands of taels of silver just by collecting rent from their land and receiving salaries from the imperial court.
So, Zhang Yunxiu narrowed his eyes, his expression gradually becoming serious as he spoke.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

At that moment, a voice came from the crowd.

"We'll buy it back at whatever price it was sold for in Xishan. We don't want this glass anymore!"

"Yes! We don't want Liuli anymore!"

"Give us back the silver!"

In front of the Xishan Theater, hundreds of gentry and merchants were indignant. With someone leading them, they naturally gained courage.

The saying "three men can make a tiger" applies here; even with the Embroidered Uniform Guard watching them closely, these people remained fearless.

Among them were relatives and servants of high-ranking officials, and even sons of noble families.

With their families to rely on, they naturally launched a verbal attack, even hoping to use their power to force Zhang Yunxiu and Xishan to submit.

As for the emperor behind Xishan? They didn't mention him at all, only pointing the finger at Zhang Yunxiu, who was standing in front of the stage.

Seeing the crowd's indignant state, Zhang Yunxiu didn't find it troublesome; instead, he found it amusing.

He noticed that there were quite a few familiar faces in the crowd.

Such as Zhang Rong, the Duke of England, and some high-ranking officials.

Especially Zhang Rong, that old man didn't join the crowd, but his eyes could kill, he was holding back his anger, waiting for everyone to disperse before he could teach him a lesson.

Zhang Yunxiu didn't care about the others, but he had to consider the nobles and ministers like Zhang Rong, since Xishan's continued operation depended on their support.

As for others.
He turned his head and looked at the gentry and merchants in the arena who were shouting slogans demanding a refund, and found it even more ridiculous.

Zhang Yunxiu crossed his arms, scrutinized everyone, and let out a sneer.

"You all want a refund? Once the money is paid, it's gone. Now it's my fault, Zhang Yunxiu's fault."

He gripped the embroidered spring knife at his waist and said without any mercy.

"This is absolutely ridiculous!"

(End of this chapter)