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

Zhou Xia's voice trembled, and a trace of fear and anger flashed in his eyes: "I understand! I understand everything! That bastard surnamed Wang is so insidious and vicious!"

After hearing his words, the expressions of the other three family heads suddenly became solemn, and their worries grew deeper and deeper.

Sun Yi couldn't wait to urge, "Master Zhou, tell us what you know! You're telling us half the story and it's really frustrating!"

Zhou Xia closed his eyes in pain, as if unwilling to face this cruel fact.

He originally thought that Zhang Liang was a young and vulnerable guy, and that the four old foxes could easily play with him, but he didn't expect that they would be the ones being played with.

After sighing, Master Zhou opened his eyes and said slowly, "I've been playing with eagles all my life, and in the end, I got my eye pecked by an eagle!"

Mr. Lin’s words made the other two anxious as well.

Upon hearing this, the other three became more anxious and stepped forward, almost surrounding Zhou Xia.

Zhao Hao grabbed Master Zhou's arm and demanded urgently, "Master Zhou, the situation is critical right now. Don't keep us in suspense! What exactly is that Wang man up to? We need to come up with a plan and resolve this dilemma."

Zhou Xia finally recovered from his shock after being grabbed by Zhao Hao. He shook off Zhao Hao's hand and said in a deep voice, "That kid surnamed Wang keeps saying that we should raise the price of grain, even going so far as to post a notice."

"Do you really think he's helping us, giving us wealth for free?"

The three grain merchants were all stunned and looked at each other. Although they had doubts in their hearts, they seemed to have found a reasonable explanation before. Now they were disturbed by Master Zhou's words.

Zhou Xia then continued, "When grain prices rise, besides the four major grain merchants like us in Ninggu City, who else will benefit?"

Zhou Xia's words were like a stone thrown into the air, causing ripples.

Qian Duo was the first to react. He almost blurted out, "Needless to say? Of course it's those foreign grain merchants!"

There was a hint of surprise and confusion in his voice, and it was obvious that he did not fully understand the deep meaning of Mr. Zhou's words.

However, it was this seemingly simple sentence that seemed to open a door, allowing the other two grain merchants to understand instantly.

Then, Zhao Hao gritted his teeth and said, "What a deep conspiracy! Zhang Liang wants to raise the price of grain in Ninggu City and attract foreign grain merchants to come and sell grain."

The faces of the four family heads gradually became gloomy, as if they had been soaked in ink, and were shiny black.

They all understood it too.

"The Liang family in Ninggucheng has gone from 40 wen to 100 wen per dou. The grain prices in other places are similar, except that the grain prices in the rich areas may be a little lower."

"But after that man surnamed Wang came to Ninggu City, grain prices were rapidly increased and are still rising sharply. The profits generated here will definitely attract those jealous foreign grain merchants to rush into Ninggu City!"

"Then, when the time was right, he ordered the county government's granaries to open and release the grain, selling it at a price far below ours, causing grain prices to plummet!"

"It's a shame we haven't even realized this yet. Instead, we're still accepting all the old grain from the county government's granary!"

Qian Duo snorted coldly with an unpleasant expression: "That guy surnamed Wang is so vicious! He wants to kill us!"

Several people had gloomy faces and were filled with deep regret.

If they sold the grain they had when the county government posted the notice, they could also make a lot of money.

But they were blinded by the huge profits and thought that Zhang Liang had formed an alliance with them, so they chose to continue hoarding food and making huge profits!

As a result, they are now in a very passive position and don’t know what to do.

Just as Zhou Xia and the others were discussing countermeasures, suddenly, a servant rushed in with a panic-stricken expression on his face.

As he ran, he shouted, "Oh no! Oh no! Master, that Wang guy just now had the county government post a notice saying that the granary has an ample supply of grain, and that the Ninggucheng granary is selling grain at 85 wen per dou. The price has dropped by 20 wen per dou!"

This news hit the four grain merchants like a heavy punch.

They were already anxious about Zhang Liang's plan, and now they were caught off guard by this sudden blow.

Zhao Hao cried out in pain, "This Wang guy really didn't even give us time to react!"

His voice was full of anger and helplessness, and he was obviously shocked by this sudden change.

The servant continued, "Master, that fellow surnamed Wang also sent people to buy a lot of food..."

"We buy the grain from the county government's granary at a high price, and then that guy surnamed Wang uses our money to buy it back at a low price. This way he can still make money!"

When Zhou Xia thought of this, his temples throbbed violently, as if blood was boiling in his veins.

His face turned pale in an instant, his eyes widened, and his lips trembled slightly.

He had always thought that everything was under his control, but now he could no longer remain calm. He was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood and then said, "Damn it! This damn guy actually dared to play tricks on me!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Xia's body shook a few times and he was about to fall to the ground.

Seeing this scene, the servants panicked and rushed over immediately, helping him sit down on a chair nearby.

The other three grain merchants frowned slightly when they saw Mr. Zhou like this, but soon came to him with a look of concern.

Sun Yi asked anxiously, "Master Zhou, are you okay? Do you want to rest for a while?"

Zhao Hao also said immediately: "Yes, do you want to call a doctor to take a look?"

Qian Duo quickly poured a cup of tea and carefully handed it to Master Zhou, saying softly, "Master Zhou, drink a cup of tea first to calm your nerves. Don't get too angry and get sick. We will definitely find a way to deal with it."

Zhou Xia leaned back in his chair, his face still pale. He took the teacup, drank slowly, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down.

Then Zhou Xia wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and a fierce light flashed in his eyes.

He slammed the table and said, "We can't just let this go! If this continues, the wealth we've accumulated over the years will very likely be wiped out!"

Zhou Xia picked up the teacup and took another sip to dilute the bloody taste in his mouth.

He took a deep breath and continued, "Time is running out. Those foreign grain merchants definitely don't have much grain, and the county government's granary is full of sand."

"As long as we work together, even if we don't sell a single grain of food, the price of food will return to its original price, and we can still make a lot of money!"

After hearing Zhou Xia's words, the other three grain merchants looked at each other.

Sun Yi nodded first and said, "That's right! We must unite now and not let that bastard succeed!"

After he finished speaking, Zhao Zhaohao also said: "Yes, we can't fight among ourselves, we must unite against the outside world and raise the price of grain again!"

Qian Duo added: "We have been through thick and thin together for so many years. We cannot fight alone at this critical moment!"

"Then let's take action now."

Zhou Xia slowly stood up, holding onto the armrest of his chair. He looked at the people in front of him and said, "Everyone, go back and immediately notify your subordinates to suspend all grain sales. We need to teach those foreign grain merchants and the Wang family a lesson!"

The three grain merchants nodded in agreement and then stood up to say goodbye.

Before leaving, Sun Yi patted Zhou Xia on the shoulder and said comfortingly, "Master Zhou, take care of yourself. We will proceed according to the plan."

Zhao Hao and Qian Duo also expressed similar concerns and support.

Before leaving, Sun Yi patted Zhou Xia on the shoulder and comforted him, "Master Zhou, take care of yourself. We will proceed according to the plan."

When the three grain merchants turned around and left Zhou's house, their steps looked very firm, as if they had made up their minds to face this sudden challenge together.

However, just as they were about to step out of the threshold, Mr. Zhou behind them could no longer hold on and fell onto the stool.

He stared at their backs, his eyes deep, as if he was thinking about something important.