After our homes were confiscated and we were exiled, the women in my clan and I raised a million sol

After hearing Zhao Hao's answer, Zhang Liang tapped the table lightly with his fingers, making a rhythmic sound, as if he was thinking about something.

He swept his eyes over the faces of the four family heads one by one, then slowly said, "Family heads, you should know that I recently gave porridge to the refugees at the city gate."

As soon as these words came out, the spirits of the four family heads were immediately lifted. They looked at each other, and the same thought emerged in their minds: Could it be that we called them here this time to ask them to lower the price of grain?

However, Zhang Liang did not point this out directly, but only mentioned lightly the good deeds he had done in Ninggucheng.

Seeing this, the four family heads tacitly did not bring up the issue of grain prices, but waited for Zhang Liang to speak further.

Sun Yi, one of them, smiled and responded, "Of course I know. We also admire Prince Wang's kindness."

Although his words were full of compliments, they seemed somewhat empty and lacked practical content.

There was no expression on Zhang Liang's face.

When the grain merchants saw the expression on Zhang Liang's face, they all felt a pang of fear in their hearts, as if their thoughts had been seen through.

They exchanged complicated glances, as if silently communicating their thoughts to each other.

After some careful consideration, Zhou Xia was the first to break the silence. He said with a smile, "Since Prince Wang has done such a kind deed, then we...we can no longer sit idly by."

Having said that, Zhou Xia gritted his teeth, as if he had made a huge sacrifice, and then said solemnly: "Then we have decided to lower the price of grain by five cents."

He looked righteous and awe-inspiring, as if he was making a huge concession for the welfare of the people.

When the other three grain merchants heard Zhou Xia's words, they were about to agree or raise objections, but then they thought that Zhou Xia's words might be a strategy of retreating to advance, so they nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we all plan to follow Prince Wang's example and lower the price of grain by five cents."

Qian Duo said: "Although we will suffer some losses, we have no choice but to do it for the sake of the people."

Zhao Hao followed suit: "Yes, we deeply admire your kindness, Prince Wang. We are also willing to do our part to ease the burden on the people."

"Although lowering grain prices will cause us to lose some profits, it is what we should do. Prince Wang's actions have inspired us and made us realize that as grain merchants, we also have the responsibility to contribute to society."

Zhao Yi added the last sentence.

After hearing the four grain merchants express their willingness to lower the grain price by five cents, Zhang Liang's face remained expressionless, as if he was not surprised or satisfied with their decision.

He sat quietly, his eyes scanning everyone present calmly, without showing any obvious emotional fluctuations.

Seeing Zhang Liang's reaction, the four grain merchants present began to feel dissatisfied.

They originally thought that by proactively lowering grain prices, they could demonstrate their sincerity and respect for Zhang Liang, thereby winning his favor and recognition.

However, Zhang Liang's indifferent expression made them feel that their good intentions seemed to be ignored.

Zhou Xia was the first to speak, breaking the silence: "Prince Wang, with such an expression on your face, do you think our sincerity is not enough?"

There was a hint of questioning and dissatisfaction in his voice, and he was obviously angry at Zhang Liang's reaction.

As soon as these words were spoken, the other three grain merchants present also looked at Zhang Liang with obvious hostility and doubt in their eyes.

They originally planned to give up some interests in exchange for Zhang Liang's favor and support, but they didn't expect Zhang Liang to be so ignorant and not appreciate their kindness at all.

"We have already made concessions and lowered food prices, which is not easy. We still have families to support."

Zhao Hao also echoed, "If Prince Wang is still dissatisfied, then there is no need for us to continue to tolerate it."

As these words fell, the atmosphere in the entire banquet hall suddenly became tense.

After hearing what the four grain merchants said, Zhang Liang raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile.

He slowly said, "It seems that you may have misunderstood something. I have no intention of asking you to lower the price of grain."

As soon as these words were spoken, a hint of surprise and confusion flashed in the eyes of the four grain merchants.

They thought that Zhang Liang had gone to great lengths to gather them here in order to force them to lower the price of food to please the refugees, but they did not expect that this was not the case.

This unexpected turn of events filled them with doubts.

Zhao Yi asked tentatively, "So, Prince Wang, what exactly do you want us to do?"

There was a hint of wariness and curiosity in his voice, and he was obviously confused about Zhang Liang's true intentions.

Zhou Xia also echoed, "Yes, since Prince Wang doesn't want us to lower the price of grain, then why did you call us here this time? We are just grain merchants and can't help you with anything else."

The smile on Zhang Liang's face became even brighter, as if he had anticipated their confusion.

He paused, then continued, "I invited you all here because of the food price issue, but I don't want you to lower the food price, I want you to raise it."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the grain merchants present gasped and looked incredulous.

They never expected that Zhang Liang would make such a request.

In their view, raising food prices is tantamount to adding fuel to the fire, which will make the already miserable people even more unbearable.

Even the old man sitting next to Zhang Liang almost stood up from his seat when he heard this.

His eyes were full of shock and confusion, as if he wanted to immediately ask Zhang Liang why he said such a thing.

But considering that Zhang Liang must have his reasons for doing this, Liu Yu finally endured it and decided to wait and see.

After hearing Zhang Liang's request to raise grain prices, the four grain merchants looked at each other and fell into deep thought.

After a moment, they almost simultaneously figured out the interests involved, and a look of sudden enlightenment appeared on their faces, mixed with a hint of imperceptible anger and vigilance.

They thought to themselves that the young man in front of them was most likely plotting to frame them.

Once they raised the grain prices according to Zhang Liang's wishes, and waited for the grain prices to rise generally in the market, Zhang Liang would suddenly lower the grain prices and sell them, which would surely win the hearts of the people. They would then become greedy and unscrupulous businessmen in the eyes of the people, and their reputation would be damaged.

However, this possibility does not seem to be very high. After all, the food supply in Ninggu City is mainly controlled by these grain merchants. Even if they lower the price of food, it is difficult to have a fundamental impact on the overall market.

What's more, once their food runs out, the people who are in urgent need of food will eventually have to buy their food at a high price. At that time, they will have absolute pricing power and can set whatever price they want.

Thinking of this, the grain merchants felt a little confused and uneasy.

They turned to look at Liu Yu who was sitting opposite them, only to see that he had a calm expression and deep eyes. It was obvious that he would not sit idly by and watch them join forces to manipulate food prices and harm the interests of the people.

So, what was Zhang Liang's true intention? Why did he offer such a seemingly unfavorable suggestion? Did he have a deeper purpose, or was there a larger plot hidden behind it?

Zhang Liang looked at the four grain merchants in front of him with gloomy expressions, and a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

He was well aware of the doubts and calculations in these people's hearts, so he spoke slowly, his voice filled with unquestionable sincerity: "Everyone, I hope you can raise the price of grain. I have no other intentions, I just want to make friends with you."

"After all, I'm going to live in Ninggu City in the future. It's better to have more friends than more enemies, don't you think?"

These words were like a warm current, instantly easing the tense atmosphere in the banquet hall.

After hearing this, the puzzled expressions on the faces of the four grain merchants gradually disappeared, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

They looked at each other, as if searching for confirmation in each other's eyes.

At this moment, their eyes turned to Liu Yu, who was sitting next to Zhang Liang, wanting to further judge the situation from his reaction.