The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

For the next two weeks, the entire city of Hangzhou was completely engulfed in the frenzy of "passing the parcel".

The grain contracts at the "Great Song Grain Contract Trading Center" became highly sought-after items in the eyes of everyone in the city. Not only grain merchants, but also silk shop owners, pawnshop managers, and even wealthy people from the countryside were all waving their silver notes and scrambling to get in.

In their eyes, this is a sure-fire way to make money. They pay a 10% deposit to gamble on the price difference when the autumn grain harvest comes to market three months later. This kind of leveraged "buying and selling short" game stimulates the greed in human nature to the extreme.

On the black market, signed contracts become hard currency. A single contract worth 100,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) can be resold for a profit of several thousand guan (another unit of dry measure).

In the study of the Lin family mansion, the head of the Lin family sat with his legs crossed, looking at the thick stack of contracts on the table, his mouth almost stretched to his ears in a grin.

"Master, we now hold a contract worth a full 150,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain," the steward said obsequiously. "Once the delivery date arrives, we'll make at least 300,000 guan (another unit of dry measure)! Jing Shi Academy will lose everything this time."

The Lin family head picked up a premium Da Hong Pao tea, humming a smug tune: "That pedantic bookworm Jiang Lin knows nothing about finance. When the time comes, I'll sit on a small stool at the academy gate and see how he begs me for money!"

However, what he never dreamed of was that Jiang Lin in Jingshi Academy was laughing even more than the villain.

"Chief, 800,000 shi! A whole 800,000 shi of wheat!" Li Gefei pointed at the confidential ledger, his voice barely audible, "Just in the last half month alone, the cash deposits we swindled... cough, brought in amounted to 200,000 guan!"

Jiang Lin comfortably slumped in the rattan chair, a piece of fine glass paperweight twirling in his hand: "How's the bulk grain buying going?"

With two dark circles under his eyes, Qian Duoduo looked like a cunning, iron-eating beast: "Headmaster, don't worry! Dozens of unfamiliar faces have already broken into smaller groups and devoured all the available grain in Jiangnan. Four hundred thousand shi of grain are all stored in cellars outside the city. You can't even find a grain of rice, not even a speck of dirt, on the market now!"

Jiang Lin snapped his fingers in satisfaction. This 400,000 shi of grain was enough to pierce the coffin nails of the powerful families of Jiangnan.

"However, Headmaster..." Li Gefei rubbed his temples, calming down, "The hole of 800,000 shi is too big. If they are forced into a corner, they might bring grain from the Huguang area by waterway, and our 'squeeze' will be exposed."

Jiang Lin sat up straight.

In ancient times, logistics were inefficient, and bulk commodities relied entirely on water transport. The Grand Canal was the last lifeline for these aristocratic families.

"Cunzhong!" Jiang Lin whistled towards the door.

Shen Kuo, carrying a specially made large wrench and reeking of engine oil, burst in: "Headmaster, were you calling me?"

"Have they added any additives at the canal sluice gates?"

Shen Kuo grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth: "Absolutely! I've tampered with all three main gates of the Grand Canal leading into Jiangnan. With a simple pull of the hidden wire, the bronze gears will be welded shut! Those old scholars in the Ministry of Works can rack their brains, but without my blueprints, they won't be able to fix it!"

"Well done, that's what you call physically pulling the plug." Jiang Lin gave a thumbs up. "Without grain coming in from other places, this whole game in Jiangnan is a dead end."

Then, he glanced at Zhao Lingjun, who was quietly wiping his dagger in the corner.

"Lingjun, has the Imperial City Guard's territory been scouted?"

Zhao Lingjun swiftly sheathed his sword, his eyes blazing with murderous intent: "One hundred elite Imperial City Guards have changed into plainclothes and are keeping a close watch on all the sluice gates. Anyone who dares to forcibly repair the gates or transport grain by land will be apprehended on the spot, without exception."

"Beautiful." Jiang Lin leaned back in the rattan chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

The Ponzi scheme was fully funded, the physical assets were liquidated, the circuit breaker was physically cut off, and a violent organization intervened to control the situation.

When the times abandon you, they won't leave you a single coin. A tight, impenetrable net has already pinned the heads of the Jiangnan aristocratic families firmly to the guillotine.

"What we need to do now is let the bullets fly a little longer." Jiang Lin picked up his teacup and blew on the floating leaves.

Time is ticking away, with only ten days left until the McGraw-Hill settlement date.

The atmosphere in Hangzhou suddenly shifted from fervor to eeriness.

Those merchants who held a bunch of wheat contracts were finally about to wake up from their dream, because they had to go to the market to buy grain in preparation for handing it over to the academy for accounting.

The study in the Lin family mansion.

"Go, take men to the countryside, and also to those small grain merchants in the city. Collect 150,000 shi of grain from them at 100 wen per dou," the Lin family head casually ordered.

The butler took the order and ran off.

Before half a day had even passed, the butler, as if possessed by a ghost, scrambled and crashed open the door.

"Master! The sky has fallen!" the butler shouted hoarsely. "The market... the market is empty!"

"Crack!" The Ru kiln teacup in the Lin family head's hand shattered into pieces.

"Bullshit! The autumn harvest is coming soon, how could there be no grain!" The head of the Lin family grabbed the steward by the collar.

The steward trembled like a quail: "There's absolutely no grain left! The grain reserves in dozens of villages outside the city were bought up by outsiders with sacks full of money half a month ago! The granaries of individual farmers in the city are emptier than a face! Now, it's difficult to even buy a pound of mixed noodles in the whole of Hangzhou!"

The Lin family head felt a sudden, overwhelming shock, as if struck by lightning.

Suddenly, a glimpse of Jiang Lin's calm and composed smile at the trading center flashed before his eyes half a month ago.

The clown is me!

"A trap...this is a series of traps!" The head of the Lin family's legs went weak, and he slumped into the armchair, his hands and feet turning ice cold.

He finally realized that Jiang Lin had spent an exorbitant amount of money to buy the wheat contract, but he had never intended to get any grain! This bastard was setting a trap, forcing them to breach the contract and pay ten times the penalty!

"Quickly! Prepare the horses! Go and inform the other family heads!" the Lin family head roared like a madman. "Send people to Huguang to buy grain with money! Transport it via the Grand Canal! Within ten days, sell everything you own to get the grain back to Hangzhou!"