I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

Two days later, something that seemed neither big nor small happened at Xiao's Cloth Shop.

That morning, the shopkeeper, Zhao Laosi, was sitting behind the counter flipping through the account books.

A man in a gray short jacket walked in through the door; he looked like a merchant guild member.

The man didn't look around much after he came in; he just slammed his hand on the counter.

"Shopkeeper, give me twenty bolts of silk."

Old Zhao put down his account book and sized up the newcomer.

Although twenty bolts of silk are not as precious as fine silk fabrics, silk is still silk, and the buyer of twenty bolts is not a small household.

He personally retrieved the goods from the back warehouse and directed the workers to lay out the silk fabrics, arranging them neatly.

He then smiled and said, "Sir, your goods are ready. Would you like them delivered to your residence?"

But the man waved his hand.

"No need, no need, I'll find a car to take it away myself."

After he finished speaking, he called over the large truck parked at the entrance.

Several people hurriedly carried the twenty bolts of silk upstairs, paid the money, and left without even stopping for a cup of tea.

Zhao Laosi stood at the door, watching the big truck turn the corner, scratched the back of his head, and muttered something under his breath.

"Why not use the free delivery truck and insist on renting your own? Even if you're a big customer, you must have something wrong with your head."

After saying that, he didn't take it to heart and went back to the counter to continue looking through the account books.

……

……

Early the next morning.

The entrance to Xiao Family Cloth Shop's main store was packed with people.

As soon as Zhao Laosi opened the door, he saw many beggars squatting in the open space in front of the door.

There were men and women, young and old.

They were draped in brand-new silk cloth, some wrapped directly over their shoulders, others around their waists.

There was even an old beggar who folded several layers of silk cloth and used it as a cushion on the ground.

When they saw Zhao Laosi open the door, they immediately started shouting at the top of their lungs.

"The Xiao family is such a philanthropist, they've made it possible for us beggars to wear silk."

"Boss Xiao is such a good man! We are grateful to his ancestors for eight generations."

"I am so grateful to the Xiao family. I would have been a beggar my whole life, otherwise I would have done anything to repay the Xiao family."

The shouts rose and fell, drawing pedestrians to stop and watch, and more and more people gathered around.

Zhao Laosi originally thought it was a good thing.

But in the blink of an eye, his expression changed.

Someone pointed at the silk cloths wrapped around the beggars and shouted loudly.

"Judging from the fabric, it's from the Xiao family's cloth shop. How come a beggar is wearing it?"

"Wow, even though it's silk, the Xiao family's cloth shop doesn't sell it cheaply. Even beggars are wearing it?"

"The Xiao family's business is so worthless that they even dress beggars in it. What does that mean? Does it mean I'm on the same level as a beggar?"

"Tsk tsk, I was thinking of buying two a few days ago, but now I think I'll pass."

Zhao Laosi's face turned bright red with anger.

Then it turned from red to a despairing gray.

He recognized it too; those silk fabrics were the twenty bolts of cloth that the gray-clad man had bought earlier.

It looks like they've basically covered the bodies of these beggars.

His head buzzed, and he instinctively gripped the door frame, nearly falling over.

Zhao Laosi lived for over forty years and worked at the Xiao family's cloth shop for over twenty years.

I understand this basic principle.

Whose silk would allow a beggar to wear it on the street?

In that case, the ladies and young women of wealthy families would never step into this house again.

Who would want to wear the clothes of a beggar?

"Oh no, oh no, oh no! Something terrible has happened!"

Zhao Laosi muttered to himself as he scrambled into the backyard, harnessed a horse, and galloped towards the Xiao residence.

As he ran, he slapped the horse's neck hard, wishing it would grow wings.

The horses' hooves clattered rapidly on the bluestone pavement.

Pedestrians on the street kept cursing and shouting, but Zhao Laosi didn't care.

……

In Xiao Mingyuan's courtyard at the Xiao residence, the sunlight was just right.

Xu Qing was holding a book titled "Five Years of County Examination Questions".

He was sitting at the stone table, helping Xiao Mingyuan solve a problem.

Xiao Mingyuan buried his head in his hands and lay face down on the table, with a sheet of scrap paper covered in writing spread out in front of him.

His listless appearance clearly indicated that he had been tormented for quite some time.

He lifted his face, which was already turning into a bitter gourd, and spoke weakly.

"Xu Qing, my dear brother, I really can't go on today. Let me rest for a while, just a little while."

Before Xu Qing could speak, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.

Immediately afterwards, without even a knock, the door was pushed open abruptly.

Zhao Laosi stumbled in, shouting without even having time to perform the proper etiquette.

"Young Master, Young Master, something terrible has happened!"

Xiao Mingyuan was startled by his appearance, and his bulky body jumped up from the chair.

"Uncle Zhao, what's wrong? What happened to you?"

Zhao Laosi, panting heavily, recounted what had happened in front of the cloth shop.

He speaks incredibly fast, like he has diarrhea.

She recounted the story of the twenty bolts of silk, the man in gray, the beggar, and the onlookers.

Xiao Mingyuan's face grew increasingly gloomy as he listened, and finally he slammed his hand on the stone table.

He hit it too hard, and the impact made his hand hurt.

He covered his hand, grinned, and mumbled:

"Damn it... This was done on purpose. Who did it? Have they found out?"

Old Zhao shook his head, his face full of anxiety.

"No, we haven't found out yet, but it's definitely not the work of a legitimate businessman. Young master, we can't delay this matter. If we keep dragging it out, those wealthy ladies will think that our Xiao family's silk is not good enough for them."

Xiao Mingyuan paced back and forth in the courtyard, his face trembling with anger.

He walked back and forth two and a half times.

"Where's my dad? Why didn't you tell him?"

Zhao Laosi replied helplessly, "That's why I came here to look for you, Master, because I couldn't find you in the front hall. The servants at home have already gone to look for you."

Xiao Mingyuan was so angry that he was about to slam his fist on the stone table again, but then he remembered the pain in his hand and pulled back.

However, he was furious, gritting his teeth:

"Go and bring back those twenty bolts of silk, double the original price. Also, find out who did it, buy their fabric, and give it to the beggar twice as much. I want to see..."

To his surprise, Xu Qing shook her head and interrupted him with a firm tone.

"No, we can't do that."

Xiao Mingyuan gritted his teeth and turned his head. "Why not? They tricked us, so we'll trick them back."

"What you're doing will result in a lose-lose situation, and we won't gain anything from it."

Xu Qing put down the book, stood up, and said with a frown in thought.

"The Xiao family's cloth shop's market is mainly in Hengyang County. If I'm not mistaken, the ones who made the move should be the silk merchants from the prefectural city, precisely because the Xiao family's cloth shop cut off their business at Chunhong Courtyard."

Even if they buy up materials from the prefectural city and give them to beggars, they will only lose some local reputation, but it won't hurt them fundamentally.

But the Xiao family is different.

The Xiao Family Cloth Shop was a major player in Hengyang County. Once it was labeled as selling "the same cloth as a beggar's," the local bigwigs would never set foot in its doors again for a year.

Xiao Mingyuan stood there, his mouth agape, as if he wanted to retort.

However, he didn't know how to refute her, because everything Xu Qing said made sense.

Ignoring the pain in his foot, he kicked the stone table leg hard and cursed.

"His grandma's leg, what are we going to do now? Just let them cheat us like this?"