20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 769: Conflict between Merchants and Citizens
Three days later, Nan Kee Grain and Oil Shop.

Before the business opened, long queues had already formed outside the store. Common people, holding clay pots, woven baskets, and cloth bags in their arms, scrambled for the chance, pushed and shoved each other, and had already occupied most of the street.

After a while, a clerk came out of the house holding a small blackboard, hung it outside the store, took out a piece of chalk, and wrote down the details of today's grain prices.

Everyone stood on tiptoe and stretched their necks, looking anxiously, and only when the waiter finished writing did they exclaim in surprise.

"It's over. The price has gone up again."

"Damn it, it's only been a few days and the price of food has tripled. Do you think we can survive?"

"You wicked son of a bitch, if you make this kind of money, your son will have no asshole in the future!"

No matter how much you curse, you still have to queue up, otherwise there won’t be enough food at home. If you go to another house at this time, you may end up returning empty-handed.

The guy felt a little guilty. He wrote down the price of the food despite being scolded, then went back into the store.

Fortunately, the people only dared to satisfy their desire to talk, and seeing that there were a dozen burly men outside the door who were responsible for guarding the scene, they did not dare to cross the line and take risks easily.

According to the latest news, Guo Guizi has now led his troops to capture Shanhaiguan.

The Municipal Government has not yet officially announced the news of Guo’s rebellion, but this is no longer important, because refugees from western Liaoning are constantly pouring into the areas surrounding Fengtian, and the information about Guo’s rebellion has been spread by word of mouth among the people. It is now an open secret.

The Young Marshal has also returned to Fengtian and is currently leading his troops to garrison Jinzhou to prevent Guo’s army from advancing to Fengtian.

A few days ago, General Guo sent a telegram proposing to support the young marshal to govern the country and reform the three provinces of Guandong.

However, as Guo's army won victory after victory, his tone has changed. Not only did he demand that the old marshal step down and punish Chief of Staff Yang, he also "tearfully" asked the young marshal to go abroad for inspection, and that he himself would be in charge of Fengtian. When the situation in Guandong stabilized, he would welcome the young marshal back to Fengtian to take charge of the overall situation in the three provinces.

Who would believe it?
Duke Zhou was afraid of rumors, and Wang Mang was humble before he usurped the throne. If he had died at the beginning, who would have known the truth about his life?

No matter how sufficient General Guo's reasons for opposing Feng were, it did not stop the common people from scolding him, because at the moment food prices were soaring, supplies were in short supply, and even eating had become a problem, so how could they talk about expressing support and welcoming the royal army?
Guo Guizi is not a righteous person - this is the most simple view among the people.

In fact, Fengtian had not experienced war for more than ten years, and the provincial government had sufficient grain reserves, so the situation should not have been so tense. However, officials and businessmen colluded to hoard supplies and drive up prices. Even if the grain rotted in the barn, it could not be given away to the poor people for free. That would be a sin!

After everyone cursed Guo’s army for causing chaos, the officials for being unkind, and the merchants for being unjust, in the end they still had to obediently line up to buy rations.

……

In the accounting office of the store, the abacus made a clattering sound.

Cheng Fang sat at the desk, picking up a pen from time to time and making marks on the account book, her eyes full of joy, completely ignoring Xifeng who was standing beside her with his hands hanging down.

Li Zhengxi saw the accountant going back and forth, looking a little embarrassed. After waiting for a while, he finally went over and asked:
"Second sister-in-law, is Second Brother coming today?"

Cheng Fang didn't say anything until she finished her calculations. Then she said as she wrote, "I don't know. You go back first. When he comes, I'll ask him to find you."

Li Zhengxi smacked his lips, bent down, leaned on the table with his hands, and begged with a smile: "Second sister-in-law, can't you just consider it as a loan to me?"

"Hey, Xifeng, look at what you said. We are uncle and sister-in-law, and we are real relatives. It's just 50 kilograms of food. Why bother to talk about whether to lend it or not? Even if I give it to you, will our family starve to death?"

Before he could finish his words, a waiter suddenly walked in.

"Madam boss, the millet on the counter is sold out."

"So fast?"

"It's not fast!" The waiter pointed to the front hall outside the door and said breathlessly, "Now even the rice husks are almost gone!"

Cheng Fang showed a happy expression, glanced at the account book, and immediately ordered: "Go to the backyard warehouse and carry 100 kilograms, and see the situation first."

"okay!"

The waiter responded loudly and immediately got busy preparing it.

Seeing this, Li Zhengxi suggested, "Second sister-in-law, why don't you prepare my portion as well?"

"Prepare for what?"

"My fifty kilograms of food!"

Cheng Fang was very confused, frowned and asked back: "Xifeng, aren't you two living at my sister-in-law's house now? You don't need your food, so why do you want me to prepare 50 kilograms for you?"

Li Zhengxi was stunned. He knew that his second sister-in-law was pretending to be stupid, but he could only beg her for help. He smiled and explained again and again: "Second sister-in-law, I have enough to eat, but you also know that I still have a dozen half-grown children. It's so cold, and there are wars and disasters. If we help them, won't they survive?"

"Well, I know you mean well, but the problem is that Nan Kee doesn't have any surplus food!"

As they were talking, they saw two guys carrying 100 kilograms of millet passing by the accounting office.

Cheng Fang glanced at him, not panicking or upset, and then smiled and said, "Xifeng, don't look at my full warehouse and full grain, as if that's the case. In fact, there are fixed shares here, some from the Jiang family and some from Chief Lu. Nan Ji is just helping with the distribution. How can I make the decision?"

Indeed, most of the harvests from the Jiang family's farms and fields near the provincial capital have been divided up. Some are to be confiscated, some are promised to government officials, and many have been sold before winter. The harvests from the remaining farms, such as those in southern Liaoning and Haicheng, cannot be transported here for the time being and are also being sold at a price.

Even so, if you say that the Jiang family has no surplus food, even a dog on the street would not believe it.

Besides, Nan Ji Grain and Oil Store has been open for some years.

Although the Nanfeng couple helps with distribution, they also have their own business, and it is quite large.

"You said that those half-grown children, who have no one to rely on, are indeed quite pitiful, but who will pity me?" Cheng Fang sighed, "My family just runs errands for others, and we earn our money through hard work. You have never done business, so you don't know how difficult this business is!"

Li Zhengxi was disheartened after hearing this. After a moment of awkwardness, he finally nodded and said, "Okay, second sister-in-law, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go ask the eldest sister-in-law."

"Oh, just sit here for a while, why are you in such a hurry?" Cheng Fang lowered her head and dialed the abacus, saying in a lukewarm tone, "I'm a little busy here, so I won't see you off!"

Li Zhengxi had nothing to say, so he stood up and walked straight out of the accounting office.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I reached the door, I ran into Nanfeng coming back.

Wang Zhengnan looked hurried. When he saw Xifeng, he hurried to keep him, but did not ask the reason. He walked in and asked his wife in a deep voice: "Why did you raise the price? Didn't I tell you not to raise it yet?"

Cheng Fang was stunned and asked hurriedly, "Why, other grain stores have reduced their prices?"

"No, they have all gone up, the difference is less than five cents, but didn't I tell you not to go up yet?"

"I don't understand this. Everyone else is raising prices, so why can't we?"

"We are the only one in Nancheng that produces the most grain. We can sell it at a lower price, so we can make small profits but quick turnover." Wang Zhengnan explained, "Also, grain prices have been rising too fast recently. You have to slow down a bit. Otherwise, ordinary people won't be able to afford it. When they get desperate, they'll just have to rob people."

Cheng Fang was puzzled and said, "We have official support, and our sister-in-law has also sent people to help look after the place. What are you afraid of?"

"Oh my God, we're at war now, and housing is in short supply in the whole city. You're still counting on the government to take care of you. That's in vain. If you ask them for help, it might be worse than being robbed!"

"But we have the same price as other companies, so why can't we raise it? If you lower it now, it might cause more trouble."

"You said you—"

Seeing Xifeng was present, Wang Zhengnan didn't want to say too much, so he waved his hand and asked with a smile: "Xifeng, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh, this..."

Li Zhengxi glanced at Cheng Fang, and seeing that his second sister-in-law was pretending to be deaf and dumb, he hesitated and said vaguely, "It's okay, I just stopped by to see you, I'll go back first."

What are you talking about? You have nothing to do, so you come here to see your second sister-in-law?
You'd better have something to do! After all, the two of them were brothers who grew up together. Wang Zhengnan was quick-witted and understood Xifeng's recent situation. He looked around and asked:
"What's the matter? You don't have enough rations over there?"

"No no……"

"Look at you, why are you still being so hypocritical with me? I'll give you 50 kilograms first, is that enough?"

"Clap!"

As soon as Wang Zhengnan finished speaking, Cheng Fang pushed the abacus in a mess, stood up and said with a smile: "It's just right that you're back. Check the accounts and see where to get a few pounds of food. Don't let Xifeng go back empty-handed! I'll go to the counter to check, you two brothers can talk slowly!"

Having said that, he stumbled and scrambled his way through the two brothers.

Wang Zhengnan looked embarrassed, and Li Zhengxi was even more uncomfortable. He immediately said, "Second brother, please don't bother me. I'll go ask my eldest sister-in-law."

"Don't worry!" Wang Zhengnan hurriedly dissuaded him, "Sister-in-law's food cannot be touched. Who knows how many people are still eyeing it. Just leave it with me!"

"No, no."

"Hey, why are you arguing with a woman? I have enough. Come on, I'll take you to pretend!"

Whether it is true or not is not determined by what you say.

Wang Zhengnan grabbed Xifeng's arm and refused to let go. He hurried to the backyard and said as he walked, "If I didn't know about this, it would be fine. But I know you have more than a dozen half-grown children. Can I watch them starve to death? They all need to eat. Come on, stop being pretentious!"

Having said that, he went straight to the warehouse.

Unexpectedly, before I could open the warehouse door, I heard a few curses coming from the front hall.

"Fuck you, Nan Ji raised the price, that's fine, but you didn't tell us earlier when the stuff was sold out. You made us wait here in vain, you are kidding me!"

Before he could finish his words, a series of clanging and banging noises were heard.

Wang Zhengnan frowned, and quickly turned around and walked back, muttering, "Oh no, this is really going to get out of hand."

Li Zhengxi naturally followed closely behind.

As soon as the two returned to the door of the accounting office, they saw a clerk running over breathlessly and reported to Nan Fengtong: "Boss, there is a trouble at the counter!"

"what's the situation?"

Wang Zhengnan had just heard a few words and immediately asked for the specific reasons.

The clerk said that the grain on the counter was selling out too quickly, no matter if it was rice, flour, soybeans, wheat bran, or rice husks, as long as they were put on the shelves, they were sold out in the blink of an eye. Coincidentally, a big customer just came and bought more than 200 kilograms in one go. Today's share has been sold out, and the people queuing behind were not happy, and a conflict arose in a few words.

Of course, Nan Kee still has food.

I can’t say how much more there is, but 1,800 kilograms of rice and flour can be taken out from the warehouse in the backyard right now without having to be transferred from the Jiang family’s granary.

However, today's sales quota has been exhausted and these grains cannot be sold. If we open a warehouse, the market price will definitely fall, and our peers will blame us and we will not be tolerated by the industry.

The price of grain changes all the time, and the daily fixed amount is the result of discussions among grain stores. The amount is deliberately limited for fear that grain will be sold at a low price.

Although Wang Zhengnan has the Jiang family as his backer, this concerns the interests of his peers. If he takes the risk of breaking the law, he will never be able to survive in the business world in the future.

The two followed the waiter and quickly came to the front hall.

At this time, many customers had gathered in the store, and there was a long queue outside the door that seemed endless. The dustpans, rice bags, small shovels, and price tags on the counters were scattered all over the floor. The crowd was excited and noisy.

Cheng Fang retreated to the corner of the counter, already in a panic, and was being protected by several waiters behind her.

Yang Lazi brought people to help watch the scene and acted quite restrainedly. Most of the brothers were on guard outside the door to prevent the people from breaking in by force.

This group of people are all professional thugs, but they are not so arrogant and domineering. They are even polite and smile from time to time.

After all, the purpose of monitoring the venue is to protect business, not to scare away customers.

If they were to fight, the consequences would be either death or disability. Otherwise, if they were to quarrel and shove each other a few times, it would be a loss of face in their opinion.

A few men, young and old, who were leading the charge to protest, were standing in front of the counter. They were banging their heads on the table and glaring, demanding with great conviction, "We've been waiting here for half a day, and you just say you don't want to sell it, so why? Hurry up and release the grain!"

Yang Lazi came over and said with a smile, "Brother, all the food in the store is sold out today. Why don't you come earlier tomorrow and let the waiter treat you first!"

"Get out of the way!"

In the crowd, a man in a cotton robe pushed Yang Lazi away and shouted, "Come back tomorrow? Who knows how much the price will go up tomorrow? We must buy now!"

Yang Lazi smiled instead of getting angry, brushed off his clothes, and asked, "Brother, didn't I tell you that today's stock is sold out? What else do you want?"

"Sold out?"

Another man wearing a felt hat curled his lips and said with disdain: "You are going to the grave to burn newspapers, are you kidding me? Your warehouse is just behind us, if you dare, let us go in and take a look. We will know if there is any grain after we see it!"

Yang Lazi's face darkened, and he immediately reminded him, "Brother, don't be so arrogant. That's enough. Who's business needs you to look after the warehouse? What? Do you want to rob it?"

Seeing this, Wang Zhengnan quickly came over to comfort them, "Don't worry, don't worry. I promise that the price of grain will not go up tomorrow. It's not easy to buy and sell. Let's all be considerate of each other!"

The man in the felt hat refused to give in. After hearing this, he seemed to have something on Nan Ji and became more confident.

"You are the boss, right? From what you said, it seems like your family still has food!"

"No, no, it's really gone."

"I think you are guilty and don't dare to let us in!" The man in the felt hat said, "Fellow villagers, am I right?"

"Yes, if you have the guts, let us go in and take a look!"

"There is obviously food in the backyard, why don't you sell it? You are deliberately hoarding it and raising the price to bully us ordinary people!"

Things will be easier if someone takes the lead.

It’s not that the people don’t have anger; in many cases, they just lack a leader.

At that moment, men of all ages were in a rage, and young girls and wives were cursing and cheering on the streets. Suddenly, the crowd surged and was about to burst the dam.

Yang Lazi and others quickly lined up to stop them, but Wang Zhengnan kept reminding them: "Don't do it, brothers, don't do it..."

If we don't take action, the crowd will soon break in.

Just at this moment, Li Zhengxi narrowed his eyes, his cheeks twitched twice, and he suddenly picked up the weight on the cabinet, rushed over quickly, pushed Nanfeng away, grabbed the man in the felt hat by the neck, spread his arms, and smashed down immediately.

"West Wind—"

Wang Zhengnan shouted to stop him, but it was too late. The iron weight hit the man in the felt hat directly on the head, and blood spurted out immediately.

Everyone slowed down their pace, only to see Li Zhengxi pressing the man in the felt hat onto the counter and asking sternly:

"Fuck you, little slave, did the old man send you here?"

(End of this chapter)