Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

Inside Su Ji Grain Store in the city, the accountant sat at the counter, intently calculating the recent accounts.

The shopkeeper was lounging around, dozing off, while several of the shop assistants sat by the door, their heads resting on the door panels, putting on a show of being dead.

As June approached and the weather grew hotter, the rice shop was deserted, exuding a lazy atmosphere.

Suddenly, a shout rang out from outside the door: "Boss, do you sell rice here?"

The rice shop owner didn't even look up, his eyes even flashing an expression that seemed to say, "Are you talking nonsense?"

"I'm asking you a question, why aren't you answering?"

"Hey, is there anyone alive in this shop? Can't you send someone who can still breathe?!"

Annoyed by the noise, the rice shop owner finally opened his eyes and said impatiently, "Even if you can't read, you should be able to see the rice displayed at the entrance, right? What else can we sell here if not rice?"

After saying that, he closed his eyes again.

How much is your rice?

"How much do you want?"

"I'll buy as many as you have here."

The shopkeeper then opened his eyes and looked.

There was a merchant with two old walnuts in his hands, a jade pendant hanging from his waist, and a full beard, dressed like a wealthy man, holding a peck of rice in front of him, slowly letting the rice slip from his palm.

"What did you mean by that, sir?"

"Didn't you hear me? Of course, it's about collecting rice, as much as you can get."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's face lit up with a smile: "Sir, our Su's Grain Shop has a full eight hundred bushels of rice. Are you sure you want to buy it all?"

"Eight hundred shi? Hmph." Upon hearing this, the official tossed aside the rice in his hand and approached the shopkeeper, saying, "Don't mention eight hundred shi, I'll take eight thousand shi. Call out whoever's in charge to discuss this."

"I'll buy all the rice from your shop, whether it's new or old, coarse or refined grains."

After speaking, the official directly produced a silver note with a face value of one thousand taels.

"Please have a seat, sir!"

The shopkeeper was overjoyed to see the silver notes. He warmly invited the young master to sit down and then kicked a few dozing shop assistants at the door.

"Wake up, everyone! Get up and get to work! Hurry, we have a big deal!"

"Erdan, you need to go find the employer as soon as possible."

"Blackie, go make some tea and get the best Mao Feng tea from the cabinet."

"Hey, wipe the table for the customer, and bring over a new one."

After a flurry of activity, the innkeeper sat down in front of the visitor and struck up a conversation: "Where are you from, sir? Your accent doesn't sound like a local."

"I come from Mingzhou. I'm in a business dealing in grain with someone. I've heard that Sichuan is a fertile land."

This place has been known as the "Land of Abundance" since ancient times. I've come here specifically to buy some grain to resell overseas. I hope the shopkeeper will give me a reasonable price.

"Of course, of course. Our owner knows that you need so much grain at once, so please wait here for a moment."

"Ah."

Before long, a middle-aged man, led by a rice shop assistant, excitedly ran into the rice shop.

Upon seeing the wealthy man, without waiting for the shopkeeper's introduction, he bowed and stepped forward: "May I ask if you wish to purchase rice from my family? I am Su Haoran, the owner of this rice shop. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The official rose and returned the greeting: "My name is Zhou Qiong, one of the owners of the newly opened Zhou Family Trading Company in Mingzhou. I've heard that Su's Rice Shop is very famous in the prefecture."

I've come specifically to visit you today, hoping to make some acquaintances.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Zhou."

"it is good."

After the two were seated, the innkeeper brought out fresh tea and ordered some tea snacks to be served.

Su Haoran: "For Boss Zhou to take a liking to my Su's Rice Shop, he truly has exceptional taste. To be honest,..."

My Su's Rice Shop is not only popular in the prefectural capital, but also throughout the entire Shu Prefecture. Our rice is quite affordable and plentiful.

You're guaranteed to make a profit; you won't lose out by buying it, no matter who you resell it to.

Zhou Qiong: "I came here specifically to find you because of the reputation of Su Ji Rice Shop. To be honest, I've visited several rice shops these past few days."

"Only your Su's rice shop looks decent to me. I know I won't lose out doing business with you."

Su Haoran: "Mr. Zhou, you flatter me. Running a business is all about integrity. A good reputation is essential to retaining customers."

My Su's Rice Shop has been run by four generations, including myself, so naturally it has some reputation.

Zhou Qiong: "Alright, Mr. Su, let's stop with the small talk and talk about business. I'll take all the rice you have in your shop."

Upon hearing this, Su Haoran was overjoyed.

Now that the Shu army has marched to Liangzhou, the people most worried about are these rice merchants.

If the war at the front goes smoothly, that's fine. But if things get into trouble, the Prince's Mansion will definitely force rice merchants like us to donate grain, and then we'll lose everything.

Although the Shu County troops have their own granaries and won't run out of food so quickly, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Now that someone is willing to buy all the rice from my rice shop, it's like a godsend, so I plan to sell all the rice directly.

"Mr. Zhou, my Su family's rice warehouse has quite a lot of rice stored up. Are you sure you want it all?"

"Does Mr. Su not trust my abilities?"

Zhou Qiong immediately took out a stack of silver notes from her sleeve.

"Here is 10,000 taels. Is that enough to buy your rice? If not, I'll give you more. I'm just afraid you can't afford that much rice."

Seeing the gleaming silver notes, Su Haoran immediately beamed with joy: "Good, Boss Zhou is indeed powerful. In that case, I have nothing more to say."

My Su's Rice Shop currently has 6,000 shi of rice from last year and 3,000 shi of rice from two or three years ago.

Besides these, there were also four thousand shi of coarse grains and two thousand shi of moldy rice that had been aged for more than four years.

If you want them all, I'll sell them to you at the following prices: one tael and two and a half shi of rice from a year's harvest, one tael and three shi of rice from two or three years' harvest, one tael and four shi of coarse grains, and one tael and five shi of moldy rice. How about that?

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qiong considered it briefly and then smiled, "This price is indeed fair. Since that's the case, I won't haggle. Let's draw up a contract and settle the deal now."

"Good, Mr. Zhou is a straightforward man. Men, write this down."

The two quickly finalized the deal, pressing their fingerprints and signing their names on the written contract.

After Zhou Qiong checked the contract and confirmed that it was correct, she said to Su Haoran, "Three days later, please have Mr. Su deliver the goods to the warehouse in the west of the city. Remember to bring the receipts so that I can settle the final payment."

After checking that the three thousand taels of silver notes for the deposit were correct, Su Haoran immediately smiled and said, "This is my duty. Please wait patiently, Master Zhou. The grain will be delivered to the warehouse on time within three days."

"Okay, Mr. Su, you go ahead with your work. I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

"Why is Mr. Zhou in such a hurry to leave? How about I treat you to a simple meal?"

"I'm not eating anymore. I have other things to attend to. Please wait, Mr. Su."

"Then please take care."

After watching Zhou Qiong leave, Su Haoran counted the silver notes in his hand, his face beaming with joy.

Similar scenes unfolded throughout Shu County, and almost overnight, several grain collection teams appeared in various prefectures and counties.

Besides buying grain from rice shops in the city, another group of grain merchants, including Sun Jingyao (Manager Sun), set their sights on the unharvested farmland, planning to buy up all the grains at the summer harvest.

However, the farmland in each village was purchased by specialized landlords and gentry, who controlled the grain procurement channels.

It's not easy for outsiders to come and harvest grain from the fields.

However, with Fa Xiaozhi, a scion of a fallen powerful family in Dongzhou, providing assistance, the local gentry naturally had to give him some face.

However, saving face for Fa Xiaozhi was one thing, and actually receiving the grain was another.

That depends on one's ability to navigate social situations and interpersonal relationships.