Shopkeeper Tai slumped on the ground. After a long while, he stood up slowly with trembling calves, supported by Shopkeeper Lu. However, after standing up, Shopkeeper Tai's calves still trembled uncontrollably.
"Old... Old Lu, is what you said true or false?" Shopkeeper Tai's teeth were chattering and he could hardly speak clearly. In fact, he knew in his heart that what Shopkeeper Lu said was true, but he still had a glimmer of hope, hoping that Shopkeeper Lu was deliberately trying to make him happy.
"It's already this late, how could I lie to you!" Shopkeeper Lu is not much better than Shopkeeper Tai.
Life is at stake, and people like them who are wealthy and used to enjoying life are even more afraid of death.
In fact, when Manager Zhang from Shopkeeper Lu's shop came back from purchasing grain and told Shopkeeper Lu the news, Shopkeeper Lu's performance was even worse than that of Shopkeeper Tai, and he even wet his pants.
"Oh my god, this is really a disaster! Although our county magistrate is young, he is very capable and can't tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes. We are afraid that..."
The last bit of extravagant hope in Shopkeeper Tai's heart was completely shattered, and he immediately wailed as if he had lost his parents.
"I'm afraid of this too." Shopkeeper Lu also had a sad face, wanting to cry but without tears.
"What should I do..."
Shopkeeper Tai and Shopkeeper Lu looked at each other, feeling sorry for each other and almost burst into tears on the spot.
"What do you think about us both lowering the price this afternoon?" Shopkeeper Tai thought for a moment and whispered to Shopkeeper Lu.
"Old Tai, you want to die! There are so many grain merchants in our county. If the two of us break the rules, we will offend everyone. They will tear us apart and eat us alive without waiting for the magistrate to take action!"
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Lu turned pale with fright and looked around in panic, fearing that someone might have heard him.
"Lower the price... so as not to break the rules." Shopkeeper Tai also shrank his neck in fear.
"Lao Tai, a small reduction is useless! The price of grain has risen to 1,340 coins per stone. The original price was only 400 coins per stone. A reduction of a few coins is not against the rules, but what's the use? It's still the same as driving up prices! If the price is reduced too much, it will break the rules and anger the public, and it will be the same as dying!"
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Lu shook his head vigorously, sighed, and his fat face was full of worry!
"No, let's just close the store..." Shopkeeper Tai said in a low voice with a painful look on his face.
"You're making a fortune every day, are you willing to close it down?" Shopkeeper Lu glanced at Shopkeeper Tai and said unhappily.
Shopkeeper Tai immediately shook his head without hesitation. He said, "I can't bear it, I can't bear it." Just ignore what I said just now.
Capital says: Once there is a proper profit, capital will become very bold. With just 10% profit, it will be used everywhere; with 20%, it will become active; with 50%, it will lead to active adventures; with 100%, it will make people disregard all laws; with 300%, people will not fear crime, and will not even fear the risk of being hanged.
This is the case with Shopkeepers Tai and Lu. They are reluctant to close their shops even at the risk of losing their heads.
"Old Lu, actually, if you think about it, we are not in a situation where we are doomed to die. Didn't the prefect catch and behead all the grain merchants in the city? He just found two people who stood out to make an example of them. Our two grain shops are just mediocre in the county. We are not the ones who stood out. Can the county magistrate kill all of us grain merchants?! If so, without us grain merchants, all the people in Jingnan will not be able to eat! How much grain can the county government store?! Even if we take a step back, we are really unlucky. I think the worst that can happen to us is that we are thrown into jail for a while." Shopkeeper Tai thought again and again and said to Shopkeeper Lu.
"Yes. Lao Tai, I think what you said makes sense. The flood has caused a food shortage in most of Jiangnan. I heard that the imperial court is unable to provide relief for the time being. If Jingnan wants to survive the flood, it has to rely on us grain merchants to transport grain. Our county magistrate is also a man who cares about the people. He will not kill them all. I think the most he can do is to catch a few who are out of place and make an example of them! Just to lower the grain price!"
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Lu nodded and tried to find some reasons to comfort himself.
However, although the two said so, they actually did not have much confidence. They looked at each other, made up their minds, and discussed in a low voice, "How about we make a deal that one stone of grain is 5 cents cheaper than other families? No, how about 3 cents? We don't ask for anything else, but just hope not to be the one who stands out."
One stone of grain is equivalent to about 150 jin. If the price of one stone of grain is reduced by 3 wen, there is basically no price reduction when converted into one jin of grain. Only if you buy 50 jin of grain in total can you save one wen.
Now that food is becoming more and more difficult to import and the cost is getting higher and higher, they are reluctant to reduce prices too much. If they reduce prices too much, they will earn less, and if they earn less, they will lose competitiveness, and they are also worried about angering their peers.
After the two of them discussed it, the feeling of anxiety was finally reduced a lot.
"Lao Tai, it's still early, how about coming to my house for a drink?" Shopkeeper Lu invited.
"It's rare that you, Old Lu, have spoken up, so I won't be polite and will have to bother you." Shopkeeper Tai had this idea in mind for a long time, and when Shopkeeper Lu spoke up, he agreed on the spot. He could take this opportunity to discuss it further.
Just when Shopkeeper Lu and Shopkeeper Tai had agreed to go to Shopkeeper Lu's house together, they suddenly heard hurried footsteps. Looking up, they saw a group of runners jogging towards them from the street corner.
As soon as they saw the officers appear, Shopkeepers Tai and Lu couldn't help but have a bad premonition!
No! Impossible! Don't even think about it!
Shopkeeper Tai and Shopkeeper Lu couldn't help but shook their heads, putting aside the ominous premonition in their minds.
"It's not such a coincidence."
Shopkeeper Tai and Shopkeeper Lu looked at each other and said at the same time. When they found that the other person had the same idea as them, they couldn't help but laugh at each other, mocking themselves for being suspicious, but also celebrating that they had the same views.
As the two men smiled at each other, the policeman walked over from the street corner and passed by them on the side of the road.
Shopkeeper Lu and Shopkeeper Tai didn't dare to look the officer directly in the eye, but just watched him out of the corner of their eyes. It was not until the officer passed them that they both breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts and the smiles on their faces became even brighter.
However, just as the two were laughing happily, they suddenly heard a voice behind them:
"Hey, Shopkeeper Tai, Shopkeeper Lu, you are here. If I hadn't heard your laughter, I would have almost missed you. It's a good thing you are together, so I don't have to run a few more steps. Shopkeeper Tai, Shopkeeper Lu, the county magistrate invites you to come with us to the county government office."
The County Master invites you! The County Master invites you! The County Master invites you... ...
These four words were like a thunderclap exploding over the heads of the two men, blasting away every trace of their smiles!
"Plop", "plop"!
There were two consecutive sounds of heavy objects falling to the ground, and Shopkeeper Tai and Shopkeeper Lu both collapsed to the ground one after another.