Inside the city, in a big house.
This was originally the house of Mr. Li, but later the family moved out and the place became vacant as well.
Ding Ergou didn't live here, and later Zuo Yizi didn't live here either. Instead, the house was bought by those wealthy businessmen who fled north.
Ding Ergou was the host at that time. When he heard that someone wanted to spend money to buy a house, he immediately agreed even though he was worried about money.
This house was bought for five hundred taels.
In the lobby of the house, several people were sitting in rows. The door of the lobby was closed, and there was a closed incense burner on the main stage, emitting green smoke and exuding a charming fragrance.
A young girl served fragrant tea to everyone present, then walked to the side of the person sitting at the main seat, knelt down, lowered her head and said nothing.
"Hey little girl, where did you get it?"
The person sitting in the left row looked at the kneeling servant and said to the person sitting at the main seat with a smile: "I remember that you didn't have such a pretty little man in your house before. Look at that fair and delicate complexion. He must be from an ordinary family."
The man at the main seat was pot-bellied and dressed in silk. He smiled upon hearing this, took a sip from the teacup, and said:
"It's a coincidence. She's from the same city. She has a decent family. Her brother is the only male child. He was drafted into the army and died on the battlefield. It was a good thing that his father died of grief. His money was taken away by his servants, leaving him with this orphan. When I saw her, she was starving, so I kindly gave her a bite of food. Now she's almost recovered."
Hearing this, the young servant girl lowered her head even more.
The person sitting at the head of the right row laughed: "It's good enough as long as it's good enough. Let's get back to the topic."
"Okay, let's get back to the topic."
The man at the main seat laughed for a while and said, "How has the price increased? Let me tell you first, the price of salt has increased to nearly a hundred coins."
"My firewood price has risen to five cents per pound, and I have also sent people to occupy the woodlands outside the city. I guarantee that those people won't be able to cut firewood or hunt animals."
"It's hard to control my cloth, but I have finally acquired some. It will take time for more."
Everyone was talking about the items they controlled, and at the end they smiled at each other. The person in the main seat cleared his throat and said, "Let's talk about the last of the rice. This bushel of rice is almost thirty cents. Do you still want it?"
"Why not? It's only thirty cents, and there's a war going on outside."
"Yes, there is a huge shortage of food during the war. The price of food outside has risen to 100 coins. If we collect the food and sell it, it will be a huge sum of money."
"But I heard that the Golden Immortal Sect is different from other sects. It is a kind-hearted sect. They have not asked for offerings in the past few days. I heard that they only need to take care of their food, clothing and daily expenses. They have also set up a government, just like the Great Chu."
"It doesn't matter. The government of Da Chu is also used by the masters above to restrain mortals. Besides, which sect doesn't want offerings? It's not the right time yet. If we really just want to take care of food, clothing and other expenses, that would be easy. We can just pay a lot of money to support them."
The person in the main seat pressed his hand to stop their impulse to continue discussing, and said with a smile:
"We can't control what the people above think, but when we come here, we should follow the local customs. If the masters above want to be good people, then we should promote it more, do good deeds, and let the peasants below beg for offerings. Then, if the masters above are happy, won't they follow us?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone smiled with understanding.
Which sect doesn't want to offer sacrifices? It's just a matter of different methods.
But no matter what, it has nothing to do with them. No matter which sect rules here, people like them are needed.
There are too many mortals to manage. If you want to make offerings, don’t you have to go through them
In comparison, manipulating prices to govern a city is nothing. The masters above don't care, and it's useless even if the people below care.
This is what they were good at doing before. Everyone present here is a well-known local figure. If they were not afraid of war, they might not want to come here.
"We have to continue with the grain collection plan. This time is different from the past. There is a war going on outside. We need to store more grain and release it when the time comes!"
The man in the main seat spoke with a happy smile on his face.
This place is great!
No matter how low the grain prices are in other places, there is a limit. But it is different in this city. The grain prices are extremely low. To them, this is an undeveloped treasure land.
Unfortunately, it is on the northern border and the transportation is not very developed, but it is not a big problem. They will not transport it to the southern battlefield. They will control this city first. By then, the prices in the city will go up, and they will make money by reselling them outside. The people in the city will also allow them to be controlled.
No matter how you think about it, it’s not a loss.
The others seemed to have thought of this as well, and smiles appeared on their faces.
"This is all a happy occasion. By the way, it's time to serve some real tea. Business can be discussed at any time, but good tea cannot be drunk at any time!"
The first person in the right row said this, and unconsciously looked at the kneeling girl with a hint of desire, and a scarlet color appeared in his eyes.
“It’s as it should be!”
The voice of the man in the main seat became extremely hoarse and suppressed at this moment, and no one knew what he was holding back.
The hall with its doors tightly shut seemed distorted for no apparent reason, and the surroundings seemed to be obscured by the smoke from the incense burner on the stage, making it difficult to see clearly.
"Ning'er." A suppressed voice sounded.
"master"
The girl raised her head upon hearing this and was about to respond, but the next moment she was stunned. Her vagina contracted and she let out a scream. She jumped up and subconsciously shrank into the corner.
Pop.
But at this moment, the fat hand grasped the girl's slender white wrist, and no matter how she struggled, she could not break free from the huge force.
In the hall, all the masters sitting there had their heads twisted in the smoke, their mouths crooked, their faces green and their fangs slanted, and their eyes glowed scarlet.
Especially the one sitting on the main seat, his master who took him in, his already obese head looked even fatter now, like a pig, his mouth was open, his teeth were turned outward, saliva was flowing down, and his red eyes stared at her, making the girl shudder all over.
eager
She saw in it a deep desire.
“Drink tea.”
“Drink tea.”
The others looked similar, all staring at her and muttering something in unison. The sound seemed to carry a magical power that made the girl dizzy.
"Ning'er, serve the tea."
The person at the main seat said slowly: "We are going to have tea."
The girl forced herself to cheer up, looked at the steaming teacup on the eucalyptus table next to everyone, swallowed her saliva, and said bravely: "Master, this tea has just been served."
“Not that kind of tea, but”
The man in the main seat exerted force with his arms and pulled the girl in front of him, his eyes glowing red, "Meat tea!"
He opened his mouth wide and bit the girl's arm. At the same time, the others jumped out of their seats, lay on all fours on the ground like wild beasts, opened their mouths and rushed towards the girl.
"No, no!" The girl widened her eyes and let out a shrill cry.
Bang!
Just when their mouths were about to bite the girl's body, a loud noise suddenly came from outside. When the noise was heard, everyone's movements froze.
Bang!
Then, the lobby door collapsed as if struck by some tremendous force, causing the fragrance in the hall to dissipate.
"save"
The girl had tears in her eyes and she screamed subconsciously, but she froze halfway through the shout.
At this moment, there was no longer any twisted man with a green face and fangs. The gentlemen who had pounced on him were now sitting upright. The scene just now seemed like a dream.
"Why close the door in broad daylight?!"
A voice sounded from the lobby.
The girl turned her head and saw a group of people gathered at the entrance of the lobby.
These people have different shapes and look very strange.
There was someone who looked like a little girl, jumping and laughing all the way over.
Some were waving folding fans, with one hand behind their backs, looking handsome and dressed in gorgeous clothes, like a graceful young man.
There was also a burly man, extremely strong, like a little giant, holding a person in his hand, with a look of disdain on his face.
Although they had different appearances, they all looked difficult to deal with. However, there were two who looked not so good. One looked like a beggar, wearing coarse linen clothes, with a pale face and thin body, as if he had not had a full meal.
He was dressed like a wealthy businessman, with his hands clasped together, looking calm and composed.
These two people are clearly different from the others and don't seem to be on the same path.
The giant threw the person he was holding to the ground and shouted, "I was being polite just now, but you gatekeepers wouldn't let me in. Damn it, this city is ours!"
She recognized the man who was thrown to the ground. He was the servant guarding the gate.
"Um?"
But just as he finished speaking, he saw a young man at the front, who was wearing ordinary clothes and a cloak, and looked like a farmer's boy, looking at him.
"No, I mean there must be something fishy going on here because they have the door closed. Otherwise why wouldn't they let us in?"
The giant seemed to have seen something terrible. His head shrank and he began to stutter.
He was obviously such a tall man, and he looked very oppressive, but did that face seem to be afraid of the young man
"Senior brother, how can you be so honored to come for such a matter, and bring your fellow junior brothers with you? In my opinion, the third brother alone is enough." Zhang Feixuan smiled flatteringly on the side.
"Yes, yes, senior brother, I am enough." Wang Qizhen nodded quickly.
These people are the Jinxianmen gang headed by Song Yin.
There are also Yao Ningqing and Zuo Yizhi.
Originally, one person would have been enough, but Song Yin wanted to see who dared to hoard goods, so he went there himself. With only him, the others dared not not come.
Su Yougen also wanted to come, but was held back because he had to sort out his household registration there.
Originally, Yao Ningqing should have gone to help, but he wanted to see how the Golden Immortal Sect handled things, so he volunteered to follow.
"Zuo Yizhi?!"
The person sitting at the main seat recognized Zuo Yizhi and frowned, saying, "I don't remember offending you in any way, and you even injured my servants. What do you want to do?!"
Zuo Yizhi bowed to them and said with a smile: "Please see what happens, bosses. I don't want to do anything, but the master wants to investigate something, and you are the most suspicious, so I came here."
Master
There are not many of these hundred city guards who can be called masters. They are called masters by the servants, but there are only a few who can be called masters by Zuo Yizhi.
"Tsk, why are you still sitting there?!"
Seeing that they were still sitting, Wang Qi took a deep breath and suddenly shouted, "Fuck you, my brothers are all standing here. Why are you sitting here? Stand up!"
The sound was so loud that it brought up a gust of air, which shattered the chairs beneath them with a snap. The moment the chairs shattered, a group of people stood up with looks of surprise on their faces.
"Huh?"
However, when Zhang Feixuan saw this, he let out a light exclamation and looked surprised.
A few mortals, quite stable