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

In early July, rice merchants in various parts of Shu County, under the call of Yi Wancheng, also began to purchase grain from self-cultivating farmers.

"Fellow villagers, I am the steward of Master Huang's household. Recently, a group of outsiders have been trying to swindle you out of your grain, hoping to buy and sell it at a high price. Please do not fall for their tricks!"

"I know that everyone is probably dissatisfied with the current price of rice we are offering, but it's alright. Starting today, our Master Huang will also purchase rice at a price of two shi per tael of silver."

"We're all from Sichuan, so we should prioritize our own people. How can we let those outsiders do this business?"

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and bring the grain over! You've brought the money, so hurry up and hand over the grain so we can weigh it!"

In a rural area under the jurisdiction of the prefecture, the servants of the Huang family rice merchant enthusiastically persuaded the farmers to sell their grain to them at the same price as outsiders.

When these farmers heard that they would be buying rice at the same price, they couldn't help but have other ideas.

At the same price, it's natural to prioritize people from the same hometown.

After all, we are all from Sichuan, so there is a sense of kinship.

However, some people raised concerns: "That's true, but we've already signed a contract with them. What if they sue us if we don't fulfill it?"

"Don't worry, our Master Huang has already asked the county magistrate. The contract doesn't have the official seal of the local county government, so it's invalid. You don't need to pay any attention to it."

Now everyone can rest assured.

"In that case, let's sell it to Master Huang. After all, Master Huang is the landlord here, and we can't afford to offend him."

"Yes, since the prices are the same, we Sichuanese should help each other and not let outsiders take advantage of us."

“I’ll go back and fetch some grain right now, and sell it to Master Huang.”

Many villagers quickly wavered and went home to move their grain to sell to the Huang family.

However, some villagers were determined not to break the contract.

They believed that since the agreement was signed in black and white, there was no reason for them to break their promise.

Not to mention that when they came to collect the grain, they even brought a gift.

Aside from being fellow Shu people, what good have these Huang family members ever done for us peasants?

Seeing that they were unwilling to sell grain, the Huang family servants silently memorized the faces of several people, intending to find an opportunity to teach them a lesson in the future.

As everyone carried the sacks of grain back, a loud shout rang out from afar: "Wait! Didn't we tell you to keep the grain? Why did you sell it to someone else?"

A wealthy man in a blue robe led a grain-collecting team and strode into the village.

Upon seeing the visitors, many villagers who were about to weigh their grain turned away in embarrassment.

This man is Manager Sun, who had previously agreed to buy grain.

When the Huang family servants saw Manager Sun, they immediately waved their hands and said, "Sorry, I've taken all the grain here. You can go somewhere else."

Manager Sun glanced at him and couldn't help but laugh, "You accepted it? What a joke! I signed a contract with the villagers here half a month ago and came here today specifically to collect the grain."

"I don't care about that. Anyway, the villagers are willing to sell their grain to the Huang family. You can ask them if you don't believe me."

Manager Sun looked at the group and asked directly, "How much did they charge you for your grain?"

One of the villagers held up two fingers sheepishly: "Same as you, one tael of silver and two bushels of grain. Manager Sun, I'm really sorry, but at the same price, we can only sell to our fellow villagers first."

"Who told you that you bought it at the same price?" Manager Sun raised his voice. "I buy it for one tael of silver per shi of grain."

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent instantly, and even the Huang family servants were dumbfounded.

One tael of silver for one bushel of grain? Are you kidding me?

"Now, are you still willing to sell grain to them?"

After scanning the room, Manager Sun finally fixed his gaze on the servants.

"Do not make jokes!"

The head servant immediately waved his hand and shouted loudly.

"Your Sun family has the power to buy grain for one tael of silver? Do you think we Sichuanese are so easy to bully?"

Manager Sun didn't continue to argue with him. He simply bent his middle finger, put it to his lips, and blew hard, producing a sharp whistling sound that echoed in the air.

The next moment, a carriage carrying ten boxes appeared in the distance.

When the carriage arrived, Manager Sun opened the box without saying a word.

In just a moment, gleaming silver coins appeared before the villagers' eyes.

There was a chorus of swallowing sounds at the scene. The silver inside was all local silver (the largest denomination was two taels, but most of it was loose silver), for their convenience.

"So, I've brought the money. Tell me, do you think I have the ability?"

The servants of the Huang family were dumbfounded, staring at the box of loose silver but unable to utter a single word.

Finally, the head servant, unable to bear it any longer, pointed at Manager Sun and cursed through gritted teeth, "You outsider, are you really planning to go against us Sichuan gentry?"

"What are you talking about? I don't understand," Manager Sun retorted.

"The contract you made with them was for one tael of silver and two shi of grain, but now you're actually doubling the price. Isn't this clearly going against the big families in Sichuan?"

"No, this is against the rules. We absolutely cannot buy grain at this price; it's tantamount to breaking the industry's regulations!"

Upon hearing this, Manager Sun immediately retrieved one of the contracts and said to the servant, "The Huang family sent you to collect grain, so you must know a few words."

You might as well take a look at what's written on the slip. It clearly states that the base price for purchasing grain is one tael of silver and two shi of rice. Do you know what the base price means?

"you you……"

The Huang family servants trembled with rage and made a move to order their men to attack.

"I advise you to restrain yourself. You know in your heart who will suffer if you really fight."

As soon as Manager Sun finished speaking, twenty burly men appeared behind him, all of them Body Tempering Realm martial artists.

Now, the Huang family dared not utter another word.

"Fellow villagers, one tael of silver for one bushel of grain, anyone willing to buy, please!"

At this shout, the villagers who were originally running towards Huang's servants immediately crowded around Manager Sun to sell their grain.

After instructing the accountant to collect the grain, Manager Sun paid special attention to the few households that had resolutely honored their contracts, and whispered a few words of advice to their servants.

The servant understood and immediately took out several dozen taels of loose silver from another box and quietly delivered it to the homes of those people.

……

"What? One tael of silver for grain!"

Inside Huihao Building, Yi Wancheng, who was enjoying a massage and foot bath, immediately forgot to put on his underwear and jumped out of bed naked after hearing the news.

"Find out exactly who dares to buy at this price!"

"Master Dong, I've already found out that all those out-of-town merchants are buying at this price."

slam-la-

Yi Wancheng overturned a table full of exquisite tea sets, his eyes turning extremely cold.

After a moment of silence, he laughed: "Very well, is this how you play it? Tell the local gentry to stop fighting."

"You're not accepting it? How will you explain that to Lord Li?"

"I will speak to Lord Li myself," Yi Wancheng sneered. "Inform the owners of all the manors that their new grain should not be put on the market."

I'd like to see how much they're willing to pay for a tael of silver worth of grain. Humph!