Before confiscating their property, they emptied the imperial city and exiled them!

Although the vast land of Youzhou is expansive, it faces the predicament of a sparse population and barren land, which directly leads to extremely low crop yields.

This is why the grain supplier in front of us is quite influential in the local area.

In particular, the local chamber of commerce treats him with utmost respect and reverence.

"Wow, I never expected this gentleman to be our grain supplier!" someone exclaimed.

"That's right, that young lady has really stirred up a hornet's nest this time. She actually offended this gentleman. She's probably going to suffer a great loss this time!" The others echoed, shaking their heads and sighing.

"That's true, but the amount of silver he offered was pitifully small. How is that any different from outright robbery?" another voice said indignantly.

After hearing the murmurs of the people around him, the man wore a smug expression.

He stood firmly in place, seemingly convinced that Lin Xiaoxiao would eventually submit to him and beg for mercy.

At this moment, Lin Xiaoxiao's face was ashen, and she coldly questioned, "So, if I refuse to agree to this, you will no longer supply food to this place from now on?"

Upon hearing this, the man raised his chin, his nostrils flared, and arrogantly replied, "Hmph, it's good that you know!"

However, faced with the man's threat, Lin Xiaoxiao showed no fear whatsoever; instead, she couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

Upon seeing this, the man frowned, staring at Lin Xiaoxiao with suspicion, and demanded, "What...what do you mean by this? Why are you laughing?"

Lin Xiaoxiao slowly spoke: "Do you think you're the only one in Youzhou who can supply goods?"

The man was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter: "Don't joke around, everyone knows that I control most of the grain in this area."

Lin Xiaoxiao raised her chin slightly, looked firmly at the man in front of her, and said with a confident smile, "But you can control others, but you can't control me."

Her clear and melodious voice echoed in the air, as if carrying an invisible power.

Upon hearing this, the man frowned and looked Lin Xiaoxiao up and down with a suspicious gaze.

He sneered, "You? You think you can get your hands on any grain? Humph! Don't be delusional!"

However, Lin Xiaoxiao was not affected by the man's doubts; she straightened her posture.

He replied calmly, "Of course, I can not only obtain grain, but its quality will also far surpass yours!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her delicate hand and gracefully pointed to a bustling grain store at the end of the street, where business was booming.

Then, with a smile, Lin Xiaoxiao continued to say to the man, "If you have any doubts, you are welcome to visit my shop yourself. The facts will convince you."

The man was startled after hearing Lin Xiaoxiao's words.

It turned out that he had traveled all the way to Youzhou specifically to visit that grain store.

The grain store not only sold high-quality grains with excellent taste, but what surprised him even more was that the store also had many rare varieties that he had never heard of or seen before.

After some clandestine investigation, he learned that the grain was actually grown by a mysterious merchant in Youzhou.

Therefore, in order to avoid alerting the mysterious merchant, they decided to...

He deliberately used his connections with the Su family to carefully select this seemingly ordinary shop as his base of operations in order to conduct further investigations.

But to everyone's surprise, the owner of this shop was very likely the same person as the owner of that grain store!

Thinking of this, the man's previously calm face instantly became extremely solemn, as if shrouded in dark clouds.

He frowned deeply, his gaze fixed on the front, seemingly deep in thought.

At this moment, Jiang Tian looked at Lin Xiaoxiao with a resentful expression, a hint of embarrassment and regret on his face.

He muttered to himself, "Oh dear, I really didn't expect this. I was so blind today that I failed to recognize this distinguished person in front of me."

I was truly blind to your true nature, and I hope you will forgive my rudeness and hold it against me.

However, Lin Xiaoxiao did not show the slightest emotion in the face of Jiang Tian's drastic change in attitude.

She merely glanced coldly at the man, her beautiful face still showing no kindness.

Lin Xiaoxiao straightened up and replied righteously, "I wouldn't call myself a VIP, but this shop of mine isn't something just anyone can easily take over."

"If I hadn't arrived in time today, you probably would have already succeeded."

Upon hearing this, the man hurriedly waved his hands and explained in a panic, "No, no, no! Please don't say that, sir. What happened just now was truly a huge misunderstanding."

"If I had known all these shops belonged to you, I wouldn't have dared to have such presumptuous thoughts, even if you gave me ten or a hundred times the courage!"

Just then, Lin Xiaoxiao carefully observed the subtle changes in the man's expression, and a few guesses began to rise in her mind.

However, she did not show it immediately, but deliberately waved her hand in a magnanimous manner.

She said, "Alright, alright. Since you say it's a misunderstanding, then I won't argue with you any further. You should leave now and stop bothering me."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Lin Xiaoxiao finished speaking, Jiang Tian's expression changed instantly.

He reluctantly stepped forward, grinned obsequiously, and then shamelessly blocked Lin Xiaoxiao's path.

Seeing this, Lin Xiaoxiao frowned slightly, glanced at him with some impatience, and said in a cold tone, "What? Don't tell me you're still not willing to give up and want to take the shop from me?"

Jiang Tian hurriedly shook his head and said ingratiatingly, "Your Excellency has misunderstood. How could I dare to have such a thought? I just wanted to discuss cooperation with you."

Lin Xiaoxiao deliberately raised an eyebrow and said, "Cooperate? What qualifications do you have to cooperate with me?"

Jiang Tian hurriedly said, "Your Excellency may not know this, but although I am not very capable, I do have connections. If Your Excellency is willing to cooperate with me, I will definitely be able to promote Your Excellency's grain to more distant places."

Lin Xiaoxiao pretended to ponder for a moment, then said, "Tell me your specific plan first."

Jiang Tian's eyes lit up, and he began to speak eloquently.

The gist of the story is that he learned the techniques for planting new varieties from Lin Xiaoxiao, and afterwards, he would split the profits from the sales with Lin Xiaoxiao after deducting costs.

After hearing this, Lin Xiaoxiao thought to herself that this plan did have some merit.

“Your plan sounds good, but how can I trust you?” Lin Xiaoxiao questioned.

Jiang Tian immediately swore an oath to show his sincerity.

Lin Xiaoxiao concluded, "I can give you a chance to try, but if you try anything funny, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Jiang Tian thanked him profusely and left.

Lin Xiaoxiao watched his retreating figure and murmured to herself: The food that Jiang Tian wanted was nothing more than the sweet potatoes and potatoes that she had taken out from her spatial storage.

She originally intended to cultivate the plants in the greenhouse so that she could have a reason to sell them to the local people of Youzhou.

Now that Jiang Tian has intervened, she's saved herself the trouble of promoting it.