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

After the three grain merchants left, the housekeeper who had been standing nearby immediately walked over to Zhou Xia.

He asked cautiously, "Master, are you instructing our rice shop to not lower its price by a cent now?"

I originally thought that this sentence would be met with a positive answer, but I didn't expect it to be met with a slap from Mr. Zhou.

Covering his swollen face, the butler didn't dare to say a word.

But Zhou Xia didn't pity him at all. He cursed loudly: "You stupid idiot! Do you really think those three guys got their status as the three major grain merchants easily? If we don't sell it now, what will I do if they sell it later?"

Zhou Xia's voice was filled with anger.

Obviously, he did not trust his three allies very much.

“Those who strike first will gain the upper hand, and those who strike later will suffer disaster.”

"Openly we declare that we won't sell a single grain of rice, but privately we must sell it as quickly as possible!"

"Now set the price of our grain at ninety wen."

After saying this, Zhou Xia felt unsure and said again, "No, ninety coins is still too high! Eighty-six coins! Sell it to me at eighty-six coins a bushel!"

After Zhou Xia finished speaking, a hint of shock and confusion flashed in the housekeeper's eyes.

He widened his eyes, as if he couldn't believe Zhou Xia's decision.

Selling grain at a price of eighty-six wen means that their profits will be greatly reduced.

This is unacceptable to any businessman, let alone Zhou Xia who has always strived for maximum profit.

The butler took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

He spoke again, his voice filled with a hint of tentativeness and confirmation: "Master, are you sure we want to sell our grain at eighty-six wen? Is this possible?"

However, Zhou Xia obviously didn't have the patience to explain again. He glared at the housekeeper impatiently, his eyes revealing unquestionable majesty: "Why are you talking so much nonsense here! Hurry up and do it!"

His voice rose a few notches, sounding a little excited.

"If these grains fall into my hands, I will kill you before I go bankrupt!"

These words made the butler fully understand the seriousness of the situation.

He believed that this person would definitely do these things.

Hearing this, the butler did not dare to hesitate any longer.

He nodded, turned quickly and ran out.

After Sun Yi left Zhou's house, he got on the carriage with a sneer on his face.

He turned to the butler beside him and said, "Hurry to our rice shop right now! Anyone who doesn't sell it now is a fool!"

Recalling the agreement he and those people had just made at Zhou's house to continue persevering and no one would sell grain, Master Sun couldn't help but want to laugh out loud.

"During this period of time, who knows how many foreign grain merchants have flocked to Ninggu City?"

Sun Yi muttered quietly, "If we don't take action now, we'll all be wiped out."

He secretly calculated in his heart that as one of the four major grain merchants in Ninggu City, they held a large amount of grain.

Although he has a wealthy family and can get through this year, what about next year?

The world in Daqian is in a bad state right now. Who can guarantee that next year won't be a good year? If it is, the price of grain will normally be around 30 wen. Then it will be really miserable.

"Since you don't want to sell it, then you can't blame me!"

Sun Yi had already made up his mind. He wanted to take this opportunity to sell all the grain he had in exchange for more silver.

He knew that doing so might cause dissatisfaction and retaliation from other grain merchants, but he didn't care.

In this chaotic world, only by protecting yourself first can you have the opportunity to consider others.

The carriage was bumping along the street, but Sun Yi was extremely excited.

After leaving Zhou's house, the other three grain merchants all walked towards their own rice shops.

Although in the previous meeting they all said on the surface that they would stand together and no one would sell grain, they had already secretly made plans to sell the grain in their hands as soon as possible.

I would rather die than let my friend die. In this turbulent era, who would be so foolish as to talk about loyalty?

Those so-called loyalty seem so fragile and worthless in the face of reality.

Everyone understands that if they continue to insist, they may end up holding a broken bowl and begging with everyone under the overpass.

Just like that, the apparent unity collapsed in an instant, replaced by a rush to sell off stocks independently.

They know that in this world, only by protecting themselves first can they have the opportunity to consider others.

As for the previous promises and agreements, they have long been thrown out of the window.

At this time, Zhou Xia was sitting in the mansion, sipping tea restlessly. Although his eyes were on the teacup, his attention drifted towards the door from time to time.

In this silence, a burst of hurried footsteps broke the peace. The butler who was sent out to investigate the situation came walking quickly with anxious steps.

Seeing Zhou Xia, he tried to maintain his composure, took a sip of tea, and then asked, "How is it going? Has everything been arranged?"

The butler nodded slightly and was about to answer, but hesitated for a moment. A trace of embarrassment flashed across his face, as if he was considering whether to say the next words.

Seeing this, Zhou Xia frowned, his tone filled with displeasure: "What's the matter? Tell me quickly. If you delay something important, I won't forgive you!"

After saying this, he shot a sharp gaze at the butler, with both urging and warning in his eyes.

The butler was stung by this look and quickly collected his thoughts. He said carefully, "Master, everything has been arranged according to your instructions, but..."

He paused again, as if the next news was quite tricky. "It's just that the situation outside is a little strange. It seems... it seems that several other companies have started to make some moves, perhaps secretly violating our agreement."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xia put the teacup in his hand back on the table with a thud, splashing tea everywhere. He stood up abruptly, his face so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip out of it. "Tell me in detail, what exactly happened?"

"master."

The housekeeper spoke cautiously, "After leaving our mansion, the three grain merchants immediately went to their respective rice shops. Not long after, their rice shops began to lower the price of grain."

Upon hearing the news, Zhou Xia's face turned pale in an instant, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.

He gritted his teeth and said, "These bastards, I knew they were unreliable! Fortunately, I told you to sell them quickly, otherwise it would really be over!"

Seeing Zhou Xia so excited, the housekeeper quickly stepped forward and asked cautiously, "Then, Master, what should we do now?"

Zhou Xia narrowed his eyes and showed an embarrassed expression on his face.

He knew that if no action was taken now, their Zhou family rice shop would face huge losses.

However, selling at a reduced price means they will lose a lot of money.

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Zhou finally made up his mind.

He took a deep breath and said firmly, "Tell all of our Zhou family rice shops to lower their prices. Even if it means losing money, they must sell all the rice! We must sell all the grain!"

Upon hearing this decision, the butler, though somewhat worried, immediately nodded and said, "Yes, sir. I'll arrange it right away."

After saying this, Zhou Xia's expression became complicated.

He has been in the business world for so many years and has met many opponents, but all of them were defeated by him without exception. However, he did not expect that in the end he would be defeated by the little brat Zhang Liang.

He simply couldn't afford to gamble now, or rather, he didn't dare to gamble. Once the grain prices in Ning Gucheng stabilized, they would surely suffer a devastating disaster.

If next year is not a disaster year, then all the accumulation of their Zhou family over the years will be wiped out.

The Zhou family must not be destroyed in his hands!

And if the Zhou family suffered a heavy blow this time, considering their usual behavior, they would definitely be retaliated against.

With the demise of the four major grain merchants, the grain prices in Ninggucheng, which had been falling continuously, experienced another sharp drop.

In a short period of time, the price plummeted from 91 wen per dou to 80 wen per dou!

The scariest thing is, it only took less than an hour!