Chapter 369: Black market, Yunxi’s brilliant scheme (2/2)

“Only three?” Long Feiye was surprised as well.

“There were originally five to six!” Chu Xifeng laughed as he replied. “But the rest are waiting for master’s 100,000 dan instead.”

“Who’s the seller?” Long Feiye asked. Naturally, the true seller behind the scenes was the imperial uncle’s estate, but he wouldn’t be stupid enough to show his face here. Long Feiye was asking after the representative that would show up tonight.

At this, the middle-aged merchant beside Chu Xifeng spoke up. “To reply Your Highness, we are uncertain as to who is attending today. This subordinate employed quite a few middlemen but was still refused in the end.”

This middle-aged merchant was named Wu Shu1 and the owner of this grain shop. He was Long Feiye’s planted agent inside the black market. He had gone twice to the Lin Clan’s store and expressed his desire to purchase the 50,000 dan, only to be rejected. The imperial uncle’s estate might need money, but they were very prudent about selling off their grain. Anyone who wasn’t a frequent visitor or reliable client were refused the rights to trade, much less see them. Unless there was a way to get into their inner circle, it’d be hard to get their hands on any solid evidence of the imperial uncle’s wrongdoings.

Of course, Long Feiye had already found out the location of tonight’s meeting. He could simply go and arrest the people there, but they would never tell him anything. Doing so was the same as startling the snake in the grass. They’d already pressured the imperial uncle’s estate into selling his stores of grain outright, but if they couldn’t participate in the sale itself, it’d be a futile effort. Very soon, everyone fell into silence.

Han Yunxi’s eyes spun in their sockets before she laughed and exclaimed, “Your Highness, chenqie has a scheme!”

“Speak,” Long Feiye was quite looking forward to hearing her idea.

Han Yunxi didn’t disappoint him. With a grin, she said, “Your Highness, why don’t we hold a flash sale for the masses?”

Flash sale?

Online shopper fans of Taobao would definitely recognize the term, but Long Feiye and the rest were completely clueless.

“Esteemed wangfei, what does that mean?” Chu Xifeng asked carefully.

Han Yunxi realized she’d spoken too soon. With a chuckle, she explained, “Let’s hold a rally for a sales scramble. We’ll put 10,000 dan of grain up for grabs at the price of 10,000 taels for 10,000 dan, how’s that?”

Seeing everyone’s confused looks, Han Yunxi hastened to add, “We’ll hold one rally tonight, then two more in the next two days.”

Chu Xifeng and Wu Shu were stunned by the idea. Long Feiye couldn’t resist bursting into laughter. For the first time in his life, he praised someone directly. “Han Yunxi, you’ve thoroughly convinced your lordship!”

The lowest price for 10,000 dan of grain in the black market was still 30,000 taels. Han Yunxi had set her price as one tael per dan of grain, so no wonder she wanted a quick sale. Once they held the rally, it’d surely cause a sensation in the black market. Yucheng’s Lin Clan, Yuzhou’s Wang Clan and Luocheng’s Ouyang Clan would all hear of the news. There’d be no need for them to visit the Lin Clan’s grain store tonight. The most devastating point of Han Yunxi’s scheme wasn’t even the price, but the time limit. Three consecutive days of flash sales meant that the grain would be on the market from night to successive night. Who would be interested in the imperial uncle’s grain then? Even though the total up for grabs was less than the imperial uncle’s 50,000 dan, everyone would still wait until after the sale was over to buy from him. They would definitely wait to see whether there’d be more sales, and whether the grain prices fell even further.

Anyone and everyone who dealt in the grain business could afford to wait three more days. But the imperial uncle’s estate had no such luxury! Their auction payment deadline was due after three more days, so they have to get rid of their grain before then. A hungry eater couldn’t afford to be picky. In other words, anyone who wanted to buy their grain within the next three days would only make the imperial uncle praise Buddha. He wouldn’t have any leeway to refuse them.

“Esteemed wangfei, this subordinate is in admiration! Admirable!” Wu Shu bowed respectfully with his hands clasped. He’d lived a good chunk of his life and only admired His Highness Duke of Qin. Now he respected Qin Wangfei as well. He had also heard the rumors of the Duke of Qin doting on Qin Wangfei, but never gave them much merit until now. Who wouldn’t love such a smart and intelligent woman?

“Wu Shu, do we have 30,000 dan of grain?” Long Feiye asked. Naturally, they’d need supplies to hold the grain rally.

“This subordinate has still held onto such a paltry sum for Your Highness’s sake!” Wu Shu said with a smile.

There would be no rest in Sky Domain Black Market tonight…

1. Wu Shu (吴叔) – Wu is simply a surname, Shu means “uncle.” His name can also be read as “Uncle Wu.”