Ding ding ding~
"Fellow villagers and elders! The Royal Chamber of Commerce has opened a new grain and flour shop, where grain is sold for only twenty-five wen per dou! Those with no grain at home or planning to buy grain, don't miss out! Come and see!"
A night watchman, with a grimace, beat his gong as he walked through the streets and alleys.
Such a noisy sound immediately attracted the attention of everyone on the street.
Upon hearing his words, they were all astonished.
"Grain for twenty-five wen a dou? Am I hallucinating? How could those unscrupulous grain shops sell it so cheaply?"
"Nonsense, you're definitely hallucinating. Didn't you hear clearly? That's not an unscrupulous shop, it's a grain shop of the Royal Chamber of Commerce!"
"I know of the Royal Chamber of Commerce, but isn't that only for doing business with nobles? I heard their goods are very expensive, how can they sell grain so cheaply?"
"Alas~ are you two blind? Didn't you see the Embroidered Uniform Guard following behind the night watchman? It's highly likely that the Prime Minister instructed them to sell at such a low price. We'll know if we go and see."
"Makes sense, let's go together!"
Soon, a crowd of people who wanted to buy grain or just watch the show, all arrived at the Royal Chamber of Commerce grain shop.
They thought they were among the first to get the news, but when they arrived, they found that the grain shop opened by the Royal Chamber of Commerce in the southern part of the city already had people lining up in six rows to buy grain.
Especially the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Five City Patrol soldiers who occasionally walked back and forth on both sides of the queues, made the arriving citizens have no courage to cut in line, and at the same time, they did not doubt the authenticity.
The citizens who originally came to watch the excitement and had no intention of buying grain, seeing this scene, also hurried back home to get money to buy grain.
In the east of the city, at the Mo residence, a servant stumbled into the backyard.
"Master, Master, something terrible has happened, Master!"
"What is it that makes you, a dog, so flustered?"
Master Mo, displeased, withdrew his hand from his concubine.
The servant said anxiously, "Master, the Royal Chamber of Commerce has opened several shops in the south of the city to sell grain!"
"What's so strange about that? It's just selling grain. Your master does this business, can't the Royal Chamber of Commerce do it?"
Master Mo looked at him inexplicably.
"No, Master, the grain sold by the Royal Chamber of Commerce is too cheap, only twenty-five wen per dou, which is half our price!"
"?? What!"
This time, Master Mo couldn't sit still and jumped up.
"You say they sell grain for only twenty-five wen a dou? Half our price?"
Master Mo asked angrily.
"Yes, Master. Originally, many people were buying grain at our shop earlier, but after the Royal Grain Shop had people beat gongs and drums to advertise in every street, no one came to our shop to buy grain anymore. They all went to buy grain from the Royal Grain Shop!"
Master Mo was both shocked and angry: "Damn it, disturbing the public peace, what are the soldiers of the Five City Patrol doing? Why haven't they arrested them?"
"Uh, Master, they dare not, because there are two Embroidered Uniform Guards hanging behind the gong beaters."
"..." Master Mo was even more shocked. This is outrageous!
The Royal Chamber of Commerce was already difficult to deal with, but at least they were doing business and could use some less than honorable commercial means to compete. But if the Embroidered Uniform Guard was also involved, it would not be so easy to deal with.
Master Mo pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, "Since there are Embroidered Uniform Guards involved, these bastards are not to be trifled with. Our family cannot afford to offend them. Go, prepare the horse! I need to visit other grain merchants to discuss a solution."
"Yes, Master!"
Soon, Master Mo rallied over a dozen grain merchants, and they all gathered at the residence of Li Fu, the largest grain merchant in Shuangyue City.
"Steward Li, you are so resourceful and well-connected, you must think of a way, otherwise, we won't be able to sell our grain."
"Yes, Steward Li!"
The grain merchants all echoed, making Li Fu's head ache. He couldn't help but shout loudly, "Everyone be quiet first!"
After everyone quieted down, Li Fu slowly took a sip of his tea and then said, "I already know about this matter, but the seller is the Royal Chamber of Commerce, and behind the Royal Chamber of Commerce stands Princess Xin Yue, the Fifth Princess of the current dynasty. She is not someone ordinary merchants can compete with."
"But you are not ordinary, are you?" Master Mo said with a fawning smile.
"Heh heh, of course. I also have backing behind me, otherwise, how could I have made such a large grain business? It's all thanks to Prince Jing!"
Li Fu said proudly, then said with a serious expression, "However, this is only the first day, and no one knows how much grain the Royal Chamber of Commerce has to sell. What if they are just selling a small batch to gain popularity? If we rush headlong into it, it will be troublesome."
"So, there's no rush for this matter. Let's observe for a few days first. If the Royal Chamber of Commerce is still selling large quantities of grain after a few days, then we can report it to Prince Jing. What do you think, is this feasible?"
"Feasible, very feasible!"
"Steward Li's mind is indeed sharp. We were almost blinded by our impulses."
Led by Master Mo, a string of flattery was showered upon Li Fu, making him feel ecstatic.
It was precisely Li Fu's words that reassured them.
Yes, the influential grain merchants in the entire Shuangyue Prefecture are all here, which means that the grain business is in their hands. They dare not say they have completely monopolized the grain in Shuangyue Prefecture, but it is not a problem to control seventy to eighty percent of it.
Since that's the case, where did the Royal Chamber of Commerce's grain come from? Either they bought it from neighboring countries, or they brought it from the imperial farms. It's just a batch of grain, and it will be gone after it's sold. What's there to fear?
After the grain merchants left, Li Fu's expression suddenly became serious. He called a servant and instructed, "Go and keep an eye on the Royal Grain Shop, and also send people to inquire if they can find out where their grain is from."
"Yes, I understand."
Looking at the servant's retreating back, Li Fu narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself, "I only hope that this time, like last year, it's just a misunderstanding, otherwise it will be troublesome~"
Last year, Chu Chen asked Shao Lili to sell soap and detergent in the surrounding countries, and used the money to buy grain and transport it back. Most of it was put into the imperial granary as national and military grain, and a small portion was sold in the market to lower the grain price in Shuangyue City.
However, the overall decline in grain prices in Yunyue Country, from eighty wen to fifty wen, was not due to grain from trade, but to the contribution of the Yunyue plow and waterwheels.
Although these two did not benefit the tenant farmers, they benefited the gentry, nobles, and aristocratic families, doubling their grain yield from their land.
The original granaries could not hold it all, and the grain was prone to spoilage. The several classes were not monolithic, so they had no choice but to sell it. Competition among themselves naturally lowered the price of grain.