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The man also held a few grayish-yellow burlap sacks, which seemed to be for buying food! However, most of them were just Common People.
Some others carried bamboo baskets on their backs, seemingly planning to buy more food. It appeared that due to the war, they needed to store some food to avoid starving.
The women also held bags in their hands, and some had large bamboo baskets resting on their arms, all coming to buy food.
Seeing Chen the Old Man's pitiful appearance, he actually felt quite miserable himself, though not as desperate; he was slightly better off.
Chen the Old Man was also approaching the wealthy Li Cheng, hoping for a discount so he could buy a couple more pounds of flour to take home and prevent his family from starving.
He pleaded, "Grandpa Li, please do me a favor! This flour is priced at a hundred times the original price; it's really too expensive. Can you lower it a bit so we can buy a few more pounds to help us get through this Cold Winter?"
Hundreds of people were shouting loudly; the noise was truly overwhelming and chaotic.
Li Cheng was the richest man in Fen Prefecture City and had familial ties with the Fen Prefecture Magistrate. Thus, aside from the Prefect, he was the second most powerful person there.
He was a big businessman who often took advantage of information from the North to hoard grain and had made quite a fortune several times.
His demeanor was naturally strong and domineering; he was essentially a Local Tyrant. Many who were wealthier than him still called him "Uncle," but he insisted on being called "Grandpa" to show respect.
Li Cheng looked proudly at the many Common People around him, his face beaming with joy. He was about to make another fortune this time; he had to profit even more!
Just now, Chen the Old Man mentioned that this time the price was a hundred times higher than before. Since the battle half a month ago, flour prices had skyrocketed by dozens of times but had gradually decreased afterward.
However, this time there would be several months of fighting ahead; even a hundred times the price seemed somewhat low. The grain was all in his hands; if they didn't buy it, they would starve in the Cold Winter!
He said, "You, Zhang the Elder, I will give you a discount this time as a favor for reminding me. The current price should be one hundred fifty times higher to be reasonable."
"Right now, the price for this flour is not two hundred wen but three hundred wen; that aligns with market conditions! However, I will give Chen the Old Man a discounted price of two hundred wen per pound as a pity for you! Your family should save on meals; you've really gotten quite a bargain."
He pointed to a man next to him, holding a long stick, and asked him to sell noodles for Chen the Old Man at two hundred wen per pound, which was really cheap for that old man.
After hearing this, Chen the Old Man trembled with both hands. How did the price rise to one hundred and fifty times? It was truly outrageous; he had never seen such a high price for noodles.
Although it was a bit cheaper for himself, even at two hundred wen per pound, he could only afford four pounds, which was not enough for several meals. Soon, he would find himself in a dire situation.
Once the noodles were finished and there was no money left at home, he would have no choice but to starve to death.
He suddenly knelt down on the ground, holding all the money in his hands while the rough burlap bag fell to the floor.
He said, "Grandpa Li, those few pounds of noodles are really not enough! If I eat a few, they will be gone. Why not give me two more pounds? I promise I won't come back again."
As he spoke, he crawled toward the place filled with food, also heading toward Li Cheng! He wanted to get his agreement!
Li Cheng felt that this Chen the Old Man was truly shameless! Among so many people, he was the only one receiving special treatment at two hundred wen per pound, which was half the price. He didn't want to let that old family starve to death.
He actually wanted him to give him two more pounds; wasn't that just giving it away? It was almost catching up to the price he paid for purchasing it. Did he expect to pay him extra? What a beggar!
Not only was Chen the Old Man dissatisfied, but also hundreds of others were unhappy. This was simply hoarding grain and monopolizing the market at inflated prices.
Originally, they didn't dare buy at two hundred wen; it was too expensive. Now it had risen to three hundred wen per pound, which was even more terrifying than robbery. Were they not allowed to live?
Everyone started shouting loudly and became very angry. Some wanted to rush up and steal the grain.
They cursed, "Li Cheng, you worthless thing! This Fen Prefecture is where you grew up; how can you do this? Selling at such high prices to your elders—are you trying to make us starve?"
"You're worse than a beast; even dogs have more conscience and won't bite those around them."
Some women also took out rotten vegetable leaves and eggs from their baskets and threw them at Li Cheng and his group.
Soon, it fell onto their faces and clothes, making them look somewhat disheveled and causing them to panic.
Li Cheng's golden silk robe also had two vegetable leaves fall on it. The common people did not dare to throw them directly at him, but this bully of Fen Prefecture City started throwing them at the guards instead.
He became furious, thinking that the common people were truly unreasonable. He hadn't even laid a hand on them yet, and they were already taking it out on his guards.
He said, "If you keep throwing vegetable leaves at me and my guards, don't even think about buying a single grain of flour back home, no matter how high the price is. I guarantee you will starve to death! I haven't even shown my power yet, and you think you can act recklessly here."
"If you hurt my guards, their long staffs are not to be trifled with; they can definitely beat you half to death. But since you started it first, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
The many common people surrounding him all shrank back, no longer daring to throw things around. Those who were originally very angry could only look at him pitifully.
He had indeed bought up all the food supplies. Some shops still had stored grain, but it was hidden away for personal use and would never be sold; he had made a fortune in silver.
If he really didn't sell the food, they might truly starve to death; having money wouldn't help if there was no food to buy.
These fierce guards were not easy to deal with either; if they started fighting, they could beat someone half to death!
Chen the Old Man slowly crawled up to the chair where the bully Li Cheng was sitting and reached out towards his thigh, pleading.
He said, "Grandpa Li, please give me some more flour! I have three children who need to eat. Please give me some more to feed them! Otherwise, we really won't survive this winter."
Li Cheng looked at him in surprise; Chen the Old Man really knew how to seize an opportunity. He had been too busy teaching those troublesome commoners a lesson and hadn't noticed that this old man had crawled right up to him and grabbed his expensive clothes with his dirty hands.
With a sudden kick, he sent him flying over a meter away. What a filthy thing! How dare he grab my clothes? He clearly doesn't know his place; I'll have to wash this outfit several times when I get home.
He said, "Chen the Old Man, I'll give you one last chance. You’ve dirtied my clothes; that’s one thing. But seeing how weak you are, if I hit you too hard, your life won’t be guaranteed."
"I'll sell you the flour at two hundred wen per jin. Buy as much as you can quickly and go home. If you cause any more trouble, it'll be three hundred wen per jin. If you can't buy any, you'll starve."
Chen the Old Man trembled as he got up from the ground and slowly stood up, his body even dirtier, covered in dust.
That kick was really hard, and he listened carefully; it was useless to plead any further! He could only go buy noodles now, what a greedy merchant, only interested in profit.
Many common people dressed in coarse cloth looked at him with some sympathy, how could they even hit an old man? Is this still human?
Some people's faces were filled with anger at the high price of the noodles, while others were anxious and worried about what would happen next.
Li Cheng laughed loudly; this Chen the Old Man, that old fool finally listened. If he had bought some noodles earlier, he wouldn't have had to endure that kick!
He felt like he had done a great deed. In the past, he had been tyrannical, bullying both young and old, but today he even gave him a discount; perhaps it was because he had done too many bad things that he didn't act that way anymore.
Around him, over a hundred guards wielding Broadsword also laughed along, seemingly pleased with themselves for bullying others.
Relying on Li Cheng's power, they ruthlessly attacked the common people of the state without a shred of compassion; it was utterly despicable.
He continued, "What just happened was a discounted price for Chen the Old Man. There’s an old family to support; if not for that, they would have starved long ago. You all still have to pay three hundred wen per pound; if you want to buy, hurry up and line up. We have five hundred pounds available for pre-sale, and we will sell more later at market price."
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