nashuaworldcup Chapter 117 'Re-examining one's own acting skills'
Chapter 117 'Re-examining one's own acting skills'
Seeing this, Dou Xiucai knew things were going badly.
Even if the grain shops buy up all the grain, the price of grain will still not come down.
He gritted his teeth, thinking that since he had the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examinations) and his household registration, entering the city should not be difficult.
Even if things go wrong, he knows people in the prefectural government, so he won't be unable to go home.
“Miss, I’ll go home and get the mule cart right away. We’ll leave the city together then. Please wait for me.”
Meng Fuqing looked at this and that, caught in a dilemma.
The grain shop clerk spoke again, "It's just asking the young lady a few questions; it won't take up too much of her time. A generous reward will be given afterward."
Upon hearing the words "generous reward," Meng Fuqing's eyes lit up. He said to Dou Xiucai, "Then I'll go into the grain shop with him first. If you really want to risk leaving the city, you'd better dress like me. The doctor at the city gate dresses like this, so it should be safer."
Dou Xiucai was very grateful for her reminder.
As Dou Xiucai left, the onlookers began to get restless.
Before long, the queue in front of the grain shop shortened considerably.
When Meng Fuqing entered the grain shop, he was asked nothing more than how much grain the caravan had and how much it cost.
Her answer was general, but it was enough to give the grain shop owner a clue.
Seeing that the grain shop owner was showing interest in buying grain, Meng Fuqing casually said, "We saw that there were relatively few refugees inside the checkpoints along the way. If the caravan can pass through the checkpoints to sell grain, it will also be a guarantee for the people in the city."
We refugees who had been treated by the doctor felt much more at ease. Unfortunately, those people were very wary, seemingly hesitant to approach Yezhou City because of the large number of people and supplies they had. They were still undecided about whether to risk selling their grain.
Chen's Grain Shop could become the largest grain shop in Yezhou City, so the owner must have a very important background. What the manager said was also what his owner was talking about.
Merchants are driven by profit; how could they not be tempted by something that could make them money?
The shopkeeper looked thoughtful for a moment, then asked, "May I ask, young lady, how many people were there approximately?"
Meng Fuqing, whose face was only showing her eyes, smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, you overestimate me. With my eyesight, I can only tell that they are the longest caravan I have ever seen. Although they are called a merchant caravan, my elders say they have the air of bandits..."
She looked confused, but the shopkeeper's expression changed for a moment before returning to normal.
"Thank you, young lady. This is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you won't find it offensive."
As he spoke, he had his assistant bring over an empty sack. Meng Fuqing looked inside and realized that it should have been filled with grain.
A generous reward?
Are you trying to get rid of a beggar?
While inwardly complaining, Meng Fuqing feigned surprise and delight, saying, "The grain is so precious; how could I possibly accept it just to exchange a few words with the shopkeeper?"
The shopkeeper picked up his teacup and, seeing Meng Fuqing's demeanor, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes. In his view, refugees were even worse off than beggars in the city.
He blew away the mist in front of his eyes, "Since you've come to buy grain, it wouldn't be right to let you leave empty-handed. This is just a small token of my appreciation."
He took a sip of tea as he spoke.
This means it's time to see the guests off.
Meng Fuqing, carrying a sack of grain that should weigh over a pound, left the grain shop with profuse thanks, his smile vanishing as soon as he turned away.
She wore a mask and a scarf over her face, so no one could see her expression. This abrupt change went unnoticed by outsiders.
Meng Fuqing knew that the grain shop manager must have had ulterior motives when asking about the number of people. Even if she didn't explain clearly, he would probably send someone out of the city to investigate.
Meng Fuqing had only taken a few steps when she heard someone call out, "Miss! Miss!"
Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw it was that scholar Dou, but upon closer inspection, they realized he wasn't alone.
The people who wanted to go out of the city to buy grain stared eagerly at Meng Fuqing, as if they could rush out of the city as soon as she gave them a word.
Meng Fuqing: "..."
Perhaps she needs to re-evaluate her acting skills.
She walked up to Dou Xiucai and whispered a reminder, "Scholar, if it were just you alone, I could ask my elders to buy more grain for you. But with so many people here, if we attract the attention of the authorities, I'm not so sure if those people will even sell it..."
The actual number of people was not very large, but there were many people queuing up and the news spread quickly. However, not everyone dared to leave the city. Most people were still observing, while others who had plenty of money wanted to take this opportunity to buy more grain from the grain shops to take back home.
“Since they have surplus grain to sell, why would they refuse money offered to them?” Dou Xiucai advised. “Why don’t I go out of the city with you first, and if there really is grain to buy, I will come back and tell the people in the city.”
Meng Fuqing looked conflicted, and after a long while, he nodded in agreement.
At the same time, the manager of Chen's Grain Shop anxiously summoned his nephew and all the carriages, horses, and men, ordering them to leave the city immediately.
He repeatedly instructed his nephew, "Remember, once you're sure they have grain, buy it all. It's best to do it before those people outside. We can't let a bunch of lowly people ruin our perfectly good business!"
The shopkeeper's nephew had concerns, "We're taking so many people out of the city so brazenly, what if we get stopped by the authorities..."
"Don't worry, I'll just tell the master." The shopkeeper waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing more than taking out some money to give as a token of respect to the higher-ups."
With their concerns dispelled, a group of carriages and horses emerged one after another from the back door of the grain shop.
Niu Er and his three companions were already waiting at the city gate. Niu Er went to buy things, of course, and the other three spread the news very quickly, targeting places with a large number of people in the city.
However, whether it was because their status as refugees was too obvious or something else, the people were all skeptical when they heard them say that there was grain outside the city. Those who didn't know the situation might have thought that they wanted to lure the people in the city to the outside to kill and bury them.
They stood guard at the city gate and first watched as a group of people drove an empty cart out of the city gate with great ease. Then they saw Meng Fuqing leading a group of people toward the city gate, and they were dumbfounded.
From afar, they heard Meng Fuqing wave and call out, "Second Brother!"
Niu Er didn't realize they were calling him. Huang Daji nudged him and whispered, "They're calling you!"
"Oh...hey! Girl!"
He responded as he went to greet them, and as he approached, he looked at Dou Xiucai and his companions and couldn't help but ask, "Who are they...?"
"Grain prices are high in the city, so they all want to go out of the city with us to buy grain..."
Before Niu Er could utter a sound of surprise, Meng Fuqing quickly said, "Let's just take this scholar out of the city and make sure we can buy it first."
Dou Xiucai immediately stepped forward and bowed to Niu Er, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, brother."
Niu Er swallowed his surprise and hurriedly returned the greeting awkwardly.
He was still feeling fortunate—thankfully he was alone, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to leave Yezhou City.
Even so, the appearance of a group of city residents at the city gate still alarmed the guards at the gate.
They blocked the way, brandishing halberds, and shouted, "Are so many people trying to leave the city?"
Dou Xiucai quickly stepped forward and said, "There are only six of us!"
The guards immediately recognized Meng Fuqing and his companions as refugees and asked Dou Xiucai, "You are a citizen of the city, why are you leaving the city?"
After much arguing, Dou Xiucai was finally allowed to leave the city. After the six of them left, some of the people who had followed them to the city gate remained where they were, leaving the guards completely bewildered.
When they approached to inquire, they were told they were waiting for someone, so in the end they had no choice but to draw their knives and drive the people away.
On the way back, Meng Fuqing learned from Niu Er that someone had left the city with an empty cart before them. She only asked about the number of people and was no longer worried when she learned that there were only about twenty people.