After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 226 Please enter the urn
A few days after leaving the Lin family, the Du family started selling their shops.

When the Third Master of the Fang family heard the news, he was so happy that he prepared some good wine and dishes that very night and had a good time.

"Don't the other members of the Fang family look down on me?"

"Let them wait, my Third Master Fang will turn things around soon."

"My father will definitely look at me with new respect then."

The shopkeeper of the Fang family nodded repeatedly, "Master, now that the Du family has started selling their shops, should we continue to sell cloth at low prices?"

To be honest, the old shopkeeper has spent at least tens of thousands of taels of silver from their cloth shop these days, and it really pains him to see it.

Master Fang was in a good mood, and he invited the shopkeeper to have a drink with him.

"By the way, have we sent anyone to collect the Du family's shop?" Third Master Fang asked.

The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sir, we've already sent the men, but the Du family has already sold the shop."

Third Master Fang raised an eyebrow. "Sold? So quickly?"

The shopkeeper also found it strange, but later he sent someone to ask and found out.

"Many of the Du family's original goods were purchased with money borrowed from banks. Now that the goods cannot be sold, it is time to repay the money borrowed from banks."

"Therefore, the Du family's shops were basically sold at low prices."

“When prices are low, people rush to buy them. We received the news half a day late, and these shops were already snapped up.”

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he shrank his neck, afraid that Master Fang would blame him.

But Third Master Fang hesitated for a moment and said, "It seems that the Du family holds a grudge against us."

"Even if we were the first to act, we wouldn't be able to snag a shop from the Du family."

Hearing what Master Fang said, the shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief. "Master Fang really understands people's hearts. He's wise."

Third Master Fang raised his chin, took a sip of wine, and continued, "Forget it, it's just a few shops."

"If we can't buy it, we can't buy it! We'll make even more money in Huaizhou City in the future."

"At that time, we can not only buy any shops in Huaizhou City, but also perhaps let the Prince of Huai City have a piece of Beifeng City if he is in a good mood."

Master Fang spoke with great passion, and even the shopkeeper became excited along with him.

"What you say is right, what you say is right!"

At this moment, Master Fang put down his wine cup and beckoned to the shopkeeper with his finger. The shopkeeper sitting opposite him had no choice but to lean forward.

Third Master Fang said, "Now our Fang family is the only cloth shop in Huaizhou City."

"So all you talk about, low prices and losing money, can get the hell out of here."

The shopkeeper immediately understood what Master Fang meant and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, sir, I'll adjust the price back right away."

Master Fang raised his index finger and waved it, saying, "Wrong! Shopkeeper, we're not just adjusting the prices back."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "Alright, I understand."

"But, shopkeeper, what if they all go to other counties to buy cloth?"

Master Fang laughed and said, "Shopkeeper, have you forgotten where some of our cloth came from?"

The shopkeeper slapped his forehead. He was really getting senile. The Du family had been squeezed out by the Fang family, and the cloth shops in the surrounding counties had already sold their goods to the Fang family at low prices.

Where else can they buy cheap cloth unless they leave the territory of Huaizhou?

Unfortunately, these people didn't have the ability to do so. They had to go outside to buy a piece of cloth, and the Fang family had helped them make a difference. These people should know in their hearts what they had done.

Once the shopkeeper thought about it this way, most of his previous doubts dissipated.

After leaving the Fang family, the shopkeeper summoned all the branch managers of the cloth shops together, and the next day, fresh news spread throughout Huaizhou City.

"The Fang family's cloth shop has raised its prices!"

"And it's not just that the price has gone back to par, it has gone up to an astronomical price."

People who hadn't bought enough fabric before are now hesitant to buy more when they see the prices.

"Mom, look how pretty that dress is! Can you buy it for me?" A little girl on the street said, pointing to a ready-made garment in Fang's Cloth Shop.

The mother had originally brought her child to choose fabrics to make clothes.

Unexpectedly, just one night later, the price of the fabric that could have been bought before had tripled, and the woman simply didn't have enough money.

It's not just not enough, it's far from enough.

The woman patted the little hand she was holding sadly, "Sanya, be good, okay? Let's not buy clothes today, okay?"

The little girl had been waiting for new clothes for half a year, and when she heard that she wouldn't get them, she burst into tears.

"Mother, you promised me, you promised me."

The woman was heartbroken by her daughter's crying and had no choice but to lead her into the Fang family's cloth shop.

The shopkeeper frowned slightly when he saw the crying little girl and the poorly dressed woman, but they were in business after all, and as long as they could pay, they didn't care about your status.

"Madam, which piece of fabric has caught your eye?"

The shopkeeper stepped aside to give the woman and girl a clearer view.

The little girl stared intently at the clothes she had just seen, and then she looked at the fabric that made them.

"Mom, this is it, let's buy this."

The shopkeeper looked up at the woman, who could only plead in a low voice, "Shopkeeper, could you please be kind and sell me this cloth at yesterday's price?"

The shopkeeper wasn't angry; instead, he said with a smile, "Madam, that won't do!"

"Our fabrics are all priced according to market value, how can we give you a discount!"

The little girl listened to the shopkeeper's words, her eyes glistening with tears, and looked longingly at her mother.

The woman had no choice but to plead with the shopkeeper again, "Shopkeeper, we don't have that much money."

"Please, just this once, can you sell it to me at yesterday's price?"

"I will definitely speak highly of you."

The shopkeeper had lost his patience and suddenly raised his voice, shouting, "If you can't afford it, get out!"

"We've been selling cheap for long enough, do you expect our boss to keep subsidizing you?"

"You've already taken advantage of me for so long, aren't you satisfied?"

"They're really pushing their luck and have no shame!"

The woman blushed as the shopkeeper cursed her, and the little girl was frightened by the shopkeeper's sudden change in expression, and burst into tears again.

People on the street heard the commotion and gathered around.

The shopkeeper then began cursing in front of everyone again, "Everyone, did you see that?"

"This woman is never satisfied with taking advantage of others!"

"Even after selling cheap fabrics for so long, our Fang family is still losing money."

"Now that prices have recovered, they're still trying to take advantage of us. They're utterly shameless."

"Do they really think our Fang family is a bunch of vegetarians?"

As he spoke, the shopkeeper called out all the shop assistants and coaxed the woman and the girl out of the shop.

The woman and girl were pushed and stumbled, but a passerby helped them up.

The woman lowered her head, her face full of shame. Although the passersby were indignant, they had also heard that the Fang family had powerful connections.

Even the Du family had to compromise, so ordinary people like them had even less of a choice.

Almost overnight, the people suddenly felt that the familiar Fang family had returned, only this time they no longer bore the surname Fang, but had changed to the surname Fang.

Many people lamented at home, "At worst, we'll just stop buying fabric altogether."

"Now we're being careful with the fabric we have at home, wearing it sparingly."

The woman in charge of the household looked worried. "I should have bought more when it was cheaper." "Now it's expensive. It's fine if there are no new additions to the family, but there will be weddings eventually. We can't let our daughters-in-law come home in old clothes."

As a result, the Fang family's cloth shop experienced a slump in business for the next few days, but it gradually recovered afterward.

Master Fang sat at home watching the silver flow into his pockets, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

"I knew it! They weren't going to stop buying fabric forever, were they?"

"It might be possible elsewhere, but there's no way to get there in this northern land."

"The master is right!"

"Then what's next."

Master Fang smiled and said, "Next, we need to ask our superiors for a reward!"

"I've heard that the Fang family received a lot of benefits from the Prince of Huai back then."

"Now that we're here, how can we fall behind!"

The shopkeeper nodded and said, "Yes, I understand. I'll go prepare it right away."

Meanwhile, Madam Du and Bai Wanqing were planning the reopening of the cloth shop.

"Wanqing, you are so insightful. The Fang family is indeed not a kind and righteous family."

"The price of cloth in Huaizhou City has skyrocketed to the point where ordinary people can no longer afford to wear clothes."

"Clothes are fine, but we need quilts in this area!"

"The Fang family has also raised the price."

Du Wei recalled hearing people on the street expressing their anger towards the Fang family recently, and finally understood Wanqing's intention.

If it were really as she thought at the time, she would have opened a shop and competed with the Fang family by offering lower prices.

The fact that the people of Huaizhou City cannot see the true colors of the Fang family will only allow the Du family and the Fang family to deal with each other for a longer period of time.

But things are different now; the Fang family's true colors have been fully exposed.

If the Du family were to open a shop at this time, they could still maintain low prices.
After learning about the situation from Du Wei, Bai Wanqing nodded and said, "Aunt Du, the cloth shop can reopen."

Du Wei opened her mouth, but didn't ask. Was this the effect she wanted from the beginning?
Yes! Wanqing knew from the beginning that this would be the outcome.

Now that the Du family has reopened, they have won back not only the hearts of their customers, but also the reputation of the Du family in Huaizhou City.

"Okay! I'll do whatever you say!" Du Wei said with a smile.

She secretly transferred the shops that had been temporarily registered under the servants' names back to her.

Without the Fang family's knowledge, the Du family's cloth shop came back to life.

The people on the street saw it and cheered.

"Have you heard? The Du family's cloth shop has reopened!" someone excitedly spread the news.

"Reopening? How about the price of the fabric? Will it be shockingly expensive again?" someone asked, already tired of the bosses' tricks.

"Not expensive! Not only not expensive, it's incredibly cheap."

"Really?"

"Could it be just a flash in the pan, with prices going up again soon?"

"Then how can you still care about so much at a time like this?"

"Now that we have such cheap fabric, we should buy more."

Because of the Fang family's schemes, the people of Huaizhou City are terrified. Now that the Du family has launched cheap fabrics, everyone is scrambling to buy them.

The Du family's shopkeeper was surprised that someone bought so much at once.

They kindly advised, "Our Du Family Cloth Shop doesn't arbitrarily raise prices, so please don't buy too much; just buy enough for what you need."

But the people buying fabric on the spot wouldn't listen to this advice and still bought a lot of fabric.

It wasn't until Du Wei personally visited the fabric shop and made a promise to everyone that their enthusiasm gradually subsided.

"Look, the Du family's cloth shop has put up a sign saying they won't raise prices."

"That's why it has to be the Du family! After all, they've lived in Huaizhou City for decades, and they certainly wouldn't do something that would cut off their own future."

"Yes, yes! It seems we should buy our fabric from the Du family from now on."

The people of Huaizhou praised the Du family's actions.

When Master Fang received the news, he was writing a letter to claim credit.

"What did you say?" He looked at the shopkeeper in disbelief, and angrily threw the pen in his hand far away.

The shopkeeper was sweating profusely with anxiety. "Master, the Du family's cloth shop has reopened, and they're selling cloth at even lower prices than when we had it before."

Suppressing his temper, Third Master Fang asked, "Hasn't the Du family already sold all the shops?"

"Where else can they reopen their cloth shop?"

The shopkeeper smirked, a chill running down his spine, and said, "I've indeed heard that it's been sold off!"

Master Fang flew into a rage and picked up the inkstone on the table, smashing it over his shoulder.

"I heard! I heard! Since it changed hands, why is it reopening as a fabric shop?"

"What use are you bunch of good-for-nothings?"

The shopkeeper dared not utter another word. What could Master Fang do now?
"Change our prices back up too!"

"Isn't the Du family just trying to take advantage of this situation to rob us?"

"They're mistaken."

"Our Fang family has plenty of money to play along with them."

With a wave of his hand, Master Fang officially launched the price war between the Fang and Du families.

Contrary to what Master Fang had imagined, this time, no matter how low the Fang family's prices were, there weren't many people coming to buy cloth.

The shopkeeper stood at the door watching people go to the Du family one after another. He couldn't understand it at all, so he pulled his assistant and secretly went to the Du family to see what was going on.

Coincidentally, the woman and little girl who hadn't been able to buy cloth to make clothes were also there.

The manager of the Du family was warmly welcoming them and even offered them tea.

“Madam, you have excellent taste. That piece of cloth you’ve chosen is perfect for your daughter.”

"The clothes that are made will definitely be very beautiful."

Since what happened last time, the little girl didn't want to buy any more new clothes; she didn't want her mother to be scolded for it.

She wouldn't have come this time if her mother hadn't insisted on dragging her along.

The shopkeeper noticed the little girl's fear and restraint, and had his assistant bring out a snack from the backyard.

"Here, young lady, have a taste. This is the work of our master's wife."

"It's really delicious."

The little girl looked up at her somewhat frightenedly and asked, "Uncle, we don't have much money. Can we buy that piece of cloth?"

The shopkeeper smiled and had someone wrap the cloth up and hand it to the little girl.

"Our fabrics aren't expensive; you can afford them."

The little girl looked at her mother with a questioning gaze, and the woman nodded with a glint in her eyes.

The little girl finally believed it. She hugged the cloth tightly in her arms and smiled sweetly at the Du family shopkeeper.

The woman and her daughter walked out of the Du family's cloth shop, but were stopped by the Fang family's shop assistant.

"Ma'am, our Fang family's cloth shop clearly offers cheaper fabrics, so why do you insist on buying from the Du family?"

(End of this chapter)