The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Assisting the government in disaster relief?

The prefect of Xi'an was overjoyed upon hearing this.

The government offices were currently facing a severe shortage of personnel, so the Xi'an prefect readily agreed.

"In that case, thank you very much, Sect Leader Yue, and thank you very much, young hero. We will remember your chivalrous act."

The prefect of Xi'an smiled.

"It just so happens that our government is preparing to send someone to the market to buy grain. If you don't mind the trouble, young hero, you can come along."

"of course can."

Jiang Ning smiled and nodded.

The Xi'an prefect sent someone to summon the official in charge of purchasing grain, and they waited in the side hall.

"May I ask your surname, young hero?"

The prefect of Xi'an asked with a smile.

As the prefect of a prefecture, he usually has many affairs to attend to, let alone during this flood, when he is extremely busy. However, the prefect of Xi'an still took the time to chat with Jiang Ning, which shows how important the 100,000 taels of silver was to him.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "My surname is Jiang."

"Young Master Jiang, you are disrespectful and disrespectful."

The Xi'an Prefect bowed and said.

"I see that Young Master Jiang is handsome and has an extraordinary demeanor. He must be a favorite disciple of Headmaster Yue. If I hadn't known beforehand, I would have thought that Young Master Jiang was some young master from a wealthy family, haha."

I hadn't noticed it before, but now, during a casual chat, the Xi'an prefect has finally taken notice of Jiangning's character.

Previously, the Xi'an prefect had the impression of Jianghu people as a group of crude and vulgar martial artists who were always shouting for violence and were all desperate criminals. The Xi'an prefect avoided these Jianghu people.

However, Yue Buqun's previous refined image and his current Jiangning have broken the Xi'an prefect's stereotype of Jianghu people.

"You flatter me, Prefect."

Jiang Ning smiled.

The prefect of Xi'an couldn't help but shake his head.

"If other martial arts practitioners had the chivalrous heart of Master Yue and your sect, how could the people be suffering like this now?"

Jiang Ning did not argue with him, but waited. Before long, an official arrived.

"Your subordinate greets Your Excellency, Prefect."

The Xi'an Prefect said, "Wu Zhe, you will be in charge of purchasing grain later. This is Young Hero Jiang from the Huashan Sect. He is here to assist the government in disaster relief and will accompany you to purchase grain. You must not be negligent in the slightest."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Wu Zhe quickly replied.

The Xi'an prefect nodded and looked at Jiang Ning, saying, "Young Master Jiang, I have important matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Jiang Ning nodded.

After the Xi'an prefect left, the official named Wu Zhe said to Jiang Ning, "Young Master Jiang, let's set off now."

"it is good."

Jiang Ning nodded.

Without further delay, the two went out.

At this time, it was pouring rain, and there were not many people walking on the streets of Xi'an Prefecture. Most of the shops on the street were also closed.

The two arrived at a rice shop, and the shop owner immediately got up to greet Wu Zhe.

"Oh, Mr. Wu, what brings you here?"

"Stop talking nonsense."

Wu Zhe didn't dare to delay the order from his superiors and said directly, "Xi'an Prefecture has suffered a disaster, and the government needs to collect grain for disaster relief. How much grain do you have in this shop? The government will buy it all at the market price of one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure)."

The shop owner was immediately perplexed upon hearing this.

"Oh dear, Mr. Wu, this...this..."

Wu Zhe frowned: "What? Is there a problem?"

The shop owner looked troubled.

“Master Wu, the price of grain has gone up now. It costs one tael and two mace to buy one shi of grain.”

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhe's face immediately darkened, and he questioned, "You dare to deliberately raise grain prices?"

"Don't dare."

The shop owner hurriedly waved his hand.

“Master Wu, as you know, there is a flood in Shaanxi. Many places are submerged, and the roads are difficult to travel. The cost of manpower and materials has increased. The grains in my shop are all transported from other places, which is why the price of grain has increased. It’s not that I’m deliberately raising the price of grain.”

Wu Zhe's expression softened slightly, and he said, "I see, but the price cannot be changed; it remains one tael of silver per shi of grain."

The shop owner looked distressed and said, "Master Wu, one tael and two mace is already the lowest price in my shop. If it's one tael of silver for one shi of grain, I'll really lose money."

"That's it. One tael of silver equals one shi of grain. If you dare to say anything more, I'll just confiscate all the grain in your shop and not give you a single cent. Have you paid your taxes in full? Show me your ledger. If you've paid even a cent less, I'll take you to jail right now."

After Wu Zhe's threats, the shop owner finally gave in and agreed.

"Alright, transport all the grain in your shop to the government office later, and someone will pay you."

After saying that, Wu Zhe turned to Jiang Ning and said, "Young Master Jiang, let's go."

Jiang Ning hadn't said a word since he came in, but now he nodded and left.

On the way, Wu Zhe and Jiang Ning started talking.

"These troublemakers are all greedy and greedy. They keep complaining about how difficult things are here and there. How difficult can things be? More difficult than the imperial court? They all want to make money off the disaster. They don't even consider that with all the price increases, where will the imperial court get so much money to buy everything? Once the imperial court really stops caring, will those disaster victims have any way to survive? In the end, if the disaster victims rebel, won't they eat them alive?"

Chapter 631: I Have My Way

Jiang Ning smiled but did not answer.

Wu Zhe wasn't too surprised; he figured this Huashan Sect disciple was probably just not very talkative.

The two hurried to several grain shops, where the prices were higher than at the first shop, with the highest reaching 1.4 taels of silver per shi of grain. However, after Wu Zhe's threats, they all obediently agreed to sell the grain to the government for 1 tael of silver per shi.

But Wu Zhe's face also turned sour, because he was in a bad mood after chatting with several grain shop owners for a long time.

Then they came to another rice shop. This time, when the shop owner heard that the imperial court wanted to buy grain, he didn't say a word and directly said that he didn't want money and wanted to donate all the grain to the government for disaster relief. The shop owner's actions made Wu Zhe's face, which had been sour, soften, and he didn't speak as harshly as the previous shop owners.

"That won't do. Although the court is also facing difficulties, it's not necessary for you to donate grain now. Your small business isn't easy to run either. I'll stick to the price I set: one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure). Don't even think about anything more. You can transport the grain to the government office later, and someone will pay you."

After noting down the amount of grain in this shop, Wu Zhe didn't waste any time and continued to other rice shops.

Jiang Ning, who had been following Wu Zhe around buying grain without interfering much or saying much, spoke up at this moment.

"Wu Jingli is very humane."

Wu Zhe's position in the government office was that of an official, a clerk. The Xi'an prefect had sent him to purchase grain, and Jiang Ning addressed him by his official title.

Seeing that Jiang Ning, who was not usually talkative, took the initiative to start a conversation, Wu Zhe was quite surprised. But after hearing Jiang Ning's words, he couldn't help but smile. He knew that Jiang Ning was talking about the difference in his attitude before and after.

"Some businessmen always try to make more money during natural disasters, but there are also selfless businessmen who are willing to sacrifice their homes to help with disaster relief. We can't let these people really lose money, can we?"

Wu Zhe said.

Jiang Ning smiled and said nothing more.

The two then arrived in front of a shop.

This shop was much bigger than the ones I'd been to before; it was a large grain store with many employees busy inside.

"Li's Grain Shop".

Jiang Ning glanced at the name of the grain shop casually without reacting, but Wu Zhe frowned and looked somewhat serious.

Upon entering the grain shop, a clerk immediately approached with a broad smile.

"Hey, Mr. Wu, what brings you here?"

Wu Zhe asked seriously, "Where is your boss?"

"I'll fetch him for you right away."

Seeing this, the waiter didn't say much. Not long after he went in, a middle-aged man came out.

The man smiled slightly at Wu Zhe, cupped his hands, and said, "Wu Zhe, is there anything I can help you with?"

The grain shop owners he had met before all bowed and scraped when they saw Wu Zhe, but this shop owner was different. Although he spoke politely, he was not flustered in front of Wu Zhe and remained calm and composed.

Wu Zhe didn't waste any words and said directly, "Boss Li, I have been ordered by the prefect to purchase grain for disaster relief. How much grain do you have in your shop? The government will buy it all at the market price of one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure).

"That won't do."

As soon as Wu Zhe finished speaking, the shop owner refused outright, an attitude that made Jiang Ning glance at him.

The shop owners who had previously raised prices and refused to sell grain at the government's rates were all very tactful when facing Wu Zhe. However, this shop owner was the only one who was tough and refused outright, not afraid of angering Wu Zhe.

Wu Zhe's expression was rather unpleasant.

really.

He knew that the price of this grain was difficult to negotiate.

“Wu Jingli, you don’t know yet, do you? The price of grain in my family has risen to one tael and five mace per shi of grain.”

Mr. Li smiled slightly.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhe frowned; the price was higher than the prices at the other places he had visited before.

“Mr. Li, the market price of grain used to be one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure), your price increase is too high.”

Mr. Li smiled slightly and said, "Times have changed. As Wu Jingli knows, Xi'an Prefecture is currently experiencing floods, and the roads outside are submerged. Transporting grain will naturally require more manpower and resources, which will increase costs and thus raise grain prices."

Wu Zhe frowned and said, "Boss Li, there are hundreds of thousands of people affected by the disaster in Xi'an Prefecture. The government needs to purchase grain for disaster relief, but the government's budget is limited. The price of one tael and five mace per shi is too high."

Wu Zhe's attitude was also strange. He wasn't as tough on the shop owner as before, but Jiang Ning quickly realized that the shop probably had a powerful background.