Isolated town in northern border region

When Qian Wanli rushed back to the shop, there were already three long queues at the entrance.

They were all managers sent by various aristocratic families to purchase goods. They all had their heads down, wishing they could bury their faces in their collars, afraid of being recognized.

Qian Wanli, with his round belly protruding, strode across the threshold and cleared his throat.

"Gentlemen, recently we have been on high alert for raids by the northern barbarians in the northern frontier, and many factories have suspended production..."

As the saying goes, scarcity makes things valuable!

He held up five fingers.

"So, the price will probably be a bit high."

A commotion broke out in the crowd.

Everyone knew they were going to be ripped off today, but no one bargained, afraid of angering Qian Wanli and not being able to buy the goods.

Because they came with a death order!

The supplier said to spare no expense and disregard costs, and to order as much stock as possible!

It is imperative to keep all supplies under the control of the established family!

The Wang family steward was the first to step forward and place a bag of silver on the counter.

"Manager Qian, the Wang family wants three hundred bolts of cloth."

Qian Wanli accepted the silver with a smile.

"Hey, this boss looks familiar. Weren't you from the Bingzhou trading company before?"

"What? You've suddenly become a member of the royal family of Yongzhou?"

Qian Wanli made a few sarcastic remarks but didn't say much. Instead, he weighed the money bag in his hand.

"This amount of silver was enough to buy three hundred horses the day before yesterday, but today it's only enough to buy twenty."

Qian Wanli's eyes were mocking, and his tone was extremely arrogant, causing the Wang family's butler's face to turn red instantly.

"You're taking advantage of our misfortune!"

Qian Wanli refused to budge an inch.

"Get out if you're not buying!"

"The Fulai Trading Company in Yangzhou just bought two hundred horses. Your Wang family is so powerful and well-established, yet you can't even scrape together this small amount of silver?"

The Wang family butler stood there stunned, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

Because the Fulai Trading Company that Qian Wanli mentioned was one of the largest sales channels that the Wang family cooperated with!

If these sales channels were allowed to obtain goods directly from Xiao Lie, the consequences would be far beyond what a mere steward could bear.

"Buy! Five hundred horses!"

"I'll give you a written agreement; you can collect the money when I send someone to deliver the goods later!"

Qian Wanli raised an eyebrow, mimicking Xiao Lie's manner, and a sly smile appeared on his lips.

"I'm sorry, business is so good at Beijiang Trading Company today, we don't have time to deliver your goods."

"I can reserve 500 horses for you, but only for half an hour. Come back in half an hour with the silver, and we'll exchange the money for the goods."

"I'll be sorry if it's late."

The Wang family steward trembled with rage at the sight of Qian Wanli's lewd smile.

"You! You! Utterly rude!"

"Just you wait! Wait until your Northern Frontier Trading Company is completely emptied, then let's see what you'll have to be so arrogant about!"

"I refuse to believe that you can outlast my Yongzhou aristocratic family with just the barren northern frontier!"

The Wang family butler turned and left angrily, while Qian Wanli turned back with a grin and called out to the waiter.

"Wang family! Reserve 500 horses for half an hour!"

With the Wang family's "precious example" set before them, the Zhao family, the Li family, the Sun family, the Zhou family... one after another, their money flowed into Qian Wanli's account like water.

That night, Qian Wanli spent three hours calculating in his ledger, then looked up and exclaimed in disbelief.

"Today's profits are more than a month's worth of trade in the northern border region?"

"This isn't doing business!"

"Isn't this robbery?"

When he went to find Xiao Lie, he was still feeling dizzy.

Xiao Lie was practicing archery in the courtyard. The iron bow was drawn back more than halfway, and the arrow whistled through the air and pierced the bullseye.

"Your Highness! This is outrageous profiteering!"

"If this business continues for another six months, our Northern Frontier will truly be as wealthy as a country!"

After listening to Qian Wanli's report, he put down the bow and wiped his hands.

"This business cannot last, and even if it does, I have no intention of doing it."

Qian Wanli was taken aback.

"Your Highness, why is this?"

"We've been causing trouble in Yongzhou for so long, isn't it all to vent the anger of the people of Yongzhou and to open up trade routes to the northern frontier?"

Xiao Lie drew his bow again, his arm muscles bulging, his fingers gripping the bowstring tightly. The iron bow was shaped like a full moon, and his aura suddenly changed, becoming as steady as a mountain!

"call out!"

"Bang!"

The wooden rake exploded with a loud bang!

"I've emptied the coffers of these powerful families, so what will happen to their people?"

"And there are other prefectures and counties, all of which are also subjects of my Great Chu. In the long run, what difference will there be between me and those parasites?"

"Besides, what I want is not just to vent my anger..."

"What I want is a complete upheaval in Yongzhou!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Wanli pondered for a moment, suppressing his earlier elation.

"So, Your Highness means..."

Xiao Lie walked to the stone table in the courtyard, sat down, and poured two cups of tea.

"They are buying goods now in order to protect their own sales channels."

"They thought that if they bought out all our goods, other merchants would continue to get goods from them."

"Human nature is driven by self-interest; how can a few families possibly control that?"

Qian Wanli's eyes lit up.

"Does Your Highness mean we should sell at low prices to those out-of-town merchant caravans, leaving the aristocratic families with unsold inventory?"

"No rush, let's wait for the merchants who cooperate with the family to come to us first."

"We're the ones taking the initiative now, we're the ones asking for favors, but once they come to us, the situation will be different."

Xiao Lie smiled.

"Oh, by the way, I remember there were some small families who participated in our Northern Frontier Trade Market before, right?"

"Leave them a heads-up and talk about cooperation."

For the next two weeks, Xiao Lie instructed Qian Wanli to continuously raise the price.

But the powerful families gritted their teeth and bought more than one other family.

Wang Shouchang's hands trembled as he looked at the increasingly thin money pouches in the accounting room.

"How much stock does he actually have?"

"We bought so much, why is his shop still fully stocked?"

"Could that machine in the northern border region really be some kind of sorcery?"

"This amount of goods is equivalent to the total volume of my entire Yongzhou territory for two or three years!"

"But the trading houses in Northern Xinjiang are still fully booked!"

No one could answer him.

Xiao Lie certainly wouldn't tell him that the looms in the northern frontier were running at full capacity, producing in a single day and night what Yongzhou produced in a month.

No matter how much money a wealthy family has, it can't fill the machine that runs day and night.

What truly brought down the aristocratic family were the merchants from other regions.

After Qi Dongle brought back the first batch of goods from northern Xinjiang from Yongzhou, the threshold of Fulai Trading Company was almost worn down by the crowds.

Merchants from Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, seeing that the fabrics from northern Xinjiang were both cheap and of high quality, flocked to the store to buy them.

When Qi Dongle sent people to Yongzhou again, the supply of goods for the Northern Frontier Merchants had already been monopolized by the Yongzhou aristocratic families.

"Manager Qian! We've worked together before, could you spare some of your goods?"

"If we go back empty-handed, we won't be able to explain it to our employer!"

Qian Wanli looked troubled.

"Old Qi!"

"We've dealt with each other before, and I know you're an honest person, but these powerful families in Yongzhou have gone too far!"

"Look at the sign at the entrance; that's because the powerful families of Yongzhou forced me to raise prices!"

"It's just for intimidating you out-of-town merchant caravans!"

"Although I, Lao Qian, am a businessman, these methods are too unethical. They're practically ripping you merchants off!"

Qi Dongle turned around and walked to the door. He looked at the sign carefully and was immediately shocked by the exorbitant price on it.

"This is blatant robbery!"

"Who knows what price these powerful families will get when they sell to us!"

Qi Dongle rushed into the shop and grabbed Qian Wanli's arm.

"Manager Qian! Old Qian!"

"You're a kind person, you have to help me!"

"Could you talk to your boss and give our Fulai Trading Company a chance to make a living?"

Qian Wanli frowned and nodded reluctantly.

"I'll give it a try..."

"Hey! Do you know anyone from other businesses?"

"If you could gather a group of small businesses to buy goods, I, Old Qian, could also ask my boss for help!"

"Don't worry, as long as you order enough, I'll definitely give it to you at the previous price!"

"Our boss is a truly honest person; he would never make money by dishonest means!"

Qi Dongle's eyes darted around.

"I know him! Of course I know him!"

"Wait here, I'll go write a letter to the employer right away!"

"Old Qian, you'd better reserve some for me in the next batch!"

Qian Wanli pretended to be in a difficult position, but finally gritted his teeth and slapped the counter.

"Hey! I, Old Qian, will make this decision!"

"But I can only hold it for you for half a month at most. Don't blame me if you miss it!"

Qi Dongle repeatedly cupped his hands in greeting.

"Alright! Manager Qian, you're my crook now!"

After the news spread, the downstream merchants who had been exploited by the powerful families started to have their own ideas for the first time.

A few days later, someone approached Qian Wanli privately.

"Shopkeeper, how much cheaper can I get if I buy directly from you?"

Following Xiao Lie's instructions, Qian Wanli gave them a price far lower than what the aristocratic families were selling for.

The man made the decision on the spot.

"Those damn aristocratic families, their behavior is utterly disgusting!"

"Manager Qian, it's a deal. I'll contact the merchant, but you have to reserve the goods for us!"

Merchants like this spread the word quickly.

In just six days, Yongzhou Shijia lost 70% of its orders!

Those merchants who once relied on them for their livelihood turned around and entered the doors of the Northern Frontier Trading Company.

The heads of the Wang, Li, and Zhao families gathered together once again.

Wang Shoucheng's expression was even more unpleasant than last time.

"We can't let Xiao Lie continue like this. If he takes away our people again, the entire trade route in Yongzhou will belong to Xiao."

"What should we do? We've already spent most of our money, and the goods are still sitting in the warehouse unsold!"

"If this continues, we'll all go hungry!"

The head of the Li family was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet.

Wang Shoucheng remained silent for a long time.

"Xiao Lie!"

"To have such scheming and plotting before even reaching adulthood is truly terrifying!"

"Excessive wisdom borders on the supernatural. As the saying goes, extreme intelligence is bound to bring harm. Isn't he afraid of dying young?"

"Stop talking nonsense. If we don't come up with a solution soon, we don't know if Xiao Lie will survive, but we're not going to be able to hold on!"

The constant arguing among the crowd annoyed Wang Shoucheng, who then transformed into a desktop cleaning master, erupting in impotent rage!

"Go talk to Xiao Lie directly!"

"Didn't he want land?"

"Give him a few of the poorest and most remote places to keep him calm and see if things can improve."

At this moment, everyone present understood that the Yongzhou aristocratic families had become trapped beasts, just waiting for Xiao Lie's final blow.