Sui and Tang Dynasties: Awakening the Supreme Skills at the Beginning

Li Zhen and others continued to move forward, and when they arrived at the next grain shop, they encountered a situation similar to the previous one.

After changing three grain shops in a row, the situation remained the same.

Behind him, Li Zhiyong and others were furious and greeted all the female ancestors of the Cui family for eighteen generations along the way.

It seems that the Cui family has greeted every grain shop.

Li Zhen said secretly.

If the big grain shop doesn’t work, we can find a small grain shop. Humph, does the Cui family want to completely monopolize the entire West Market?

Thinking of yesterday's experience, Li Zhen took the lead and everyone drove towards the alley.

Not far behind them, an informant had already reported all their actions to Liu Zhiming.

Liu Zhiming waved his hand and a man came forward. Liu Zhiming whispered a few words in his ear, and the man took his orders and left.

Li Zhen and others parked the carriage in front of an inconspicuous grain shop.

This grain store is quite remote and the Cui family probably can’t take care of it.

Li Zhen thought to himself.

The grain shop was so simple that it didn’t even have a formal sign. There were only two small words written crookedly on the doorstep - Grain Shop.

Li Zhen lifted the door curtain and went in.

There wasn't even a decent counter inside, just a stool against the corner, on which sat a white-haired old woman.

"Shopkeeper, do you sell food?"

Li Zhen bowed to the old woman good-naturedly.

"Second boy, second boy, here comes the business!"

The old woman didn't answer, but shouted towards the backyard.

"I can't believe this lady has such a loud voice even though she's old!"

Li Zhen grunted.

At this time, a loud voice came from the backyard, "Coming, coming, please wait a moment, sir..."

About a cup of tea later, the curtain at the back door was lifted, and a handsome young man came in. He was dressed simply with patches on his sleeves, but he was very clean.

He stood at the back door and said to Li Zhen politely, "Sir, do you want to buy food?"

Li Zhen's eyes lit up. What a handsome young man!

"How much is a bushel of corn?"

Li Zhen asked.

"How many buckets would you like, sir?"

The young man asked calmly.

"I want five hundred bushels of corn and five hundred bushels of wheat."

The young man's eyes lit up, this was a big deal.

"Wheat is forty-five cents a dou, corn is thirty-five cents a dou."

It was obvious that the young man was a little nervous, and he asked carefully, "Sir, are you satisfied with this price?"

He was probably afraid that the price he asked would be too high and he would run away from the deal.

To be honest, this price is exactly the same as Li Zhiyong's price, and should be the lowest price.

"Okay, how much do you want to calculate?"

The young man was overjoyed and bowed to Li Zhen, "Thank you for taking care of our shop."

He took the counting sticks and started clacking them. After a while, he figured out the result.

The young man smiled and said, "Sir, the total amount of corn and wheat is 40 strings of cash, but I don't have much in stock. I need to go to the neighbor's shop to get some more. You can come later."

Li Zhen took out twenty taels of silver and handed it to the young man, smiling and saying, "Go!"

The young man carefully put the twenty taels of silver in his arms and went out.

At this time, the old woman came over from the backyard and brought over a tea bowl with a hole in it, which contained some turbid tea.

"Sir, please have some tea!"

Li Zhen waved his hand, "Thank you," took the tea bowl and put it on the stool.

"Old man, how old are you this year?"

Li Zhen chatted with the old woman in a amiable manner.

"Er Yazi is a child with a miserable life!"

The old woman sighed and wiped away her tears.

"When Er Yazi was six years old, his father followed the King of Qin to fight and died in Jiangdu. When his mother heard the news, she also died of illness soon after. Only an old woman like me and Er Yazi were left at home to depend on each other."

Li Zhen stared at the old man in front of him without blinking.

The old woman sobbed and continued.

"Later, with the help of his father's comrades, Er Yazi opened this small shop. Maybe because of the location, there is not even a single customer. Now it is losing money and is almost losing its capital."

"Ok!"

Li Zhen responded and thought of Li Zhiyong.

"Sir, I think you look like a good person, so please take care of Er Yazi's business! Okay?"

As she said this, the old woman was about to kneel down and kowtow to Li Zhen.

Li Zhen quickly pulled the old woman over and said, "Old lady, you can't do this. It's embarrassing for me."

Then Li Zhen said again.

"I opened a winery and I need a lot of food for a long time. If Er Yazi is trustworthy, I will buy the food I need from your shop in the future!"

Li Zhen walked forward, took the pen and paper beside him, and wrote down the address.

"Good, good, good! That's great! I, on behalf of my poor grandson, would like to thank you for taking care of the business."

Li Zhen handed the note to the old woman, "This is the address of my store. Just deliver the goods to me on time in the future!"

"Well, you are such a good man, good people will be rewarded!"

As she spoke, the old woman began to wipe away her tears again.

At this time, noisy footsteps were heard outside.

"Is it possible that Er Yazi has returned?"

The old woman quickly stood up and went out to greet him.

Li Zhen also followed him out.

Sure enough, Eryazi and another young man drove a horse-drawn carriage to the door of the store.

As soon as Erya saw Li Zhen, he pointed at Li Zhen and said to the young man.

"Second brother, this is the gentleman who wants to buy our food!"

The man looked at Li Zhen, and Li Zhen nodded slightly.

The man looked Li Zhen up and down and asked cautiously, "Sir, what is your name? What are you going to buy the grain for?"

Li Zhen felt a little uneasy. Then he returned to normal and said seriously, "I am Li Zhen, buying grain to make wine."

"Are you Mr. Li Zhen?"

The man looked shocked.

"Of course!"

The young man quickly pulled Er Yazi over and said, "Er Yazi, come over here and talk."

Then the two of them walked away, whispering to each other for a long time.

Li Zhiyong walked forward and looked at Li Zhen.

Both of them saw something wrong in each other's eyes.

At this time, the young man stepped forward and bowed to Li Zhen.

"Mr. Li, I'm really sorry. We are a small business and we dare not do business with your family. Please be kind and let us go."

Before Li Zhen could say anything, Li Zhiyong glared and spoke.

"Is it meaningful to say such things now that I have received the money?"

When the man saw that Li Zhiyong was angry, he hurried forward and apologized to Li Erhai.

"You common people just think our young master has a good temper and is easy to bully. Now you have taken the money but don't want to sell the grain. Isn't this playing tricks on us?"

Li Zhiyong said relentlessly.

Seeing this, the old woman behind him hurried forward, pulled the second boy over and said.

"Second boy, this guest is a very kind person. He promised that you will supply him with food for a long time. Now our store is saved. Why are you still standing there without even daring to thank him?"

When Erya heard this, his face turned red and a feeling of shame surged in his heart.

Seeing this, the young man hurried forward, grabbed the old woman and said.

"Grandma, it's not that we don't understand human feelings. We also know that this young master is a good person. But now the Cui family has issued an order that not a single grain of food in the entire West Market can be sold to this young master Li. If you disobey, you will no longer be able to eat this bowl of rice in the future. You may even be thrown into jail!"

When the old woman heard that she was going to be thrown into jail, she was terrified.

Her eyes widened, she took a few steps back and sat down on the ground.

"This this……"

The second boy stepped forward, took out twenty taels of silver which was still warm from his body temperature from his arms, and was about to give it to Li Zhen.

"Wait!"

Li Zhiyong stepped forward and stopped the second boy.

"Sir, what do you want?"

The young man stepped forward and looked at Li Zhen and others coldly.

"These twenty taels of silver are our deposit. Logically speaking, if you don't sell it now, it will be considered a breach of contract and you should pay double the penalty, which means you should return us forty taels of silver now."

Li Zhiyong sneered.

"Don't take advantage of our boss's good temper. We still understand the rules of this business."