Chapter 370: The first riot in black market history (1/2)

Chapter 370: The first riot in black market history

Since Wu Shu had the requested 30,000 dan of grain on hand, Han Yunxi had the guts to play out her scheme. After a short discussion, Wu Shu used the name of his store to put up a proclamation that very afternoon. The announcement only stressed the price of the flash sale–or so-called ‘scramble sale’–but not its method. Under the current circumstances, 10,000 taels for 10,000 dan of grain was already a very cheap price both in and out of the black markets. The sole announcement of the pricing alone was enough to send the black market seething with excitement in under an hour. Suddenly, everyone was talking about the upcoming event.

10,000 dan of grain was no small sum in any way. Wu Shu thought it’d be enough to just sell off a portion, but Han Yunxi required that he bring out the entire 10,000 dan at once. Wu Shu was afraid that they wouldn’t have enough time, and shot Long Feiye a glance to hint as much.

But Long Feiye only said, “Do as wangfei says.”

Thus, Wu Shu sent a group of men to take out dan after dan of grain from the granaries. Strong and tall workers spent the entire afternoon moving in and out of the warehouse. One could easily imagine the scene there, with man after man carrying sacks of grain across their shoulders as they moved the pile to the platform. Before the scramble sale had even begun, a crowd had gathered around the store to check out all the commotion. The closer it got to nightfall, the greater the crowd grew, and the more lively the scene became. There were no restrictions or limits to this scramble sale. In other words, anyone could participate if they wished to. The crowd had turned into a sea of people by the time it was about to start. Nearly everyone in the black market had heard of the news.

In the back courtyard of his black market headquarters, Han Yunxi and Long Feiye were chatting while drinking tea. Their topic was, of course, tonight’s scramble sale rally. Chu Xifeng rushed in from outside but halted his steps at the entrance to the courtyard. The scene of His Highness Duke of Qin drinking tea with esteemed wangfei almost looked like a hallucination, it was so unreal to him. For a moment, he wondered if he was still dreaming.

Tendrils of steam wafted up from their teacups beneath a hazy sky that glimmered like moonlight. His Highness Duke of Qin possessed the handsome bearing of a celestial being; esteemed wangfei resembled a charming, fragile flower. She spoke and laughed by turns while he listened to her intently. Sometimes, he’d even add in a few words of his own.

In all of his years of service, Chu Xifeng had never seen His Highness Duke of Qin chat so patiently with someone else, and for so long. After all, the two of them had been talking for the entire afternoon!

“Chu Xifeng, did something happen?” Long Feiye suddenly asked in a cold voice. He had been aware of his subordinate as soon as he entered the courtyard, but hadn’t wanted to cut off Han Yunxi.

Chu Xifeng quickly recovered his senses and ran forward to report joyfully, “Your Highness, Yucheng’s Lin Clan arrived! It’s not Old Master Lin himself, but it is his personal attendant.”

“Is it time yet?” Long Feiye asked next.

“There’s still an hour left,” Chu Xifeng had been keeping track. He had assumed that Yucheng’s Lin Clan, Yuzhou’s Wang Clan and Luocheng’s Ouyang Clan would all show up, but only the Lin Clan had sent men so far. Moreover, it was an attendant rather than someone from the clan itself.

“Your Highness, esteemed wangfei, what if they…”

Those three clans had already made a prior appointment with the imperial uncle’s estate for tonight. They were supposed to meet and discuss terms at the Lin Clan’s grain store. According to what he had found, the heads of all three clans would go in person. Although the imperial uncle’s declaration had only said he’d sell 50,000 dan of grain, those in the know knew that it was just a worded statement. Once all parties agreed to a price, the imperial uncle’s estate would certainly have plenty of grain to sell. The imperial uncle needed so much money that selling off only 50,000 dan would hardly be enough.

Chu Xifeng was very worried that none of those three clans would be interested in news of the scramble sale. It wouldn’t be good if they persisted in meeting with the imperial uncle’s men tonight.

“They won’t!” Of this, Han Yunxi was certain. She was no merchant, but she knew a merchant’s tendency to haggle over every penny. If this was a regular market aboveground, there might be matters of etiquette and face to deal with, but the black market was all about profit. Since the heads of the three clans were already in the black market, that meant they were planning to buy quite a bit of grain. A few taels off for a single dan of grain was no big deal, but the difference would be amplified when it came to 10,000 or 20,000 dan of grain. There was a huge quantity of silver at stake!

Without a doubt, they’d weigh the market costs again and again in their heads before finally showing themselves! The fact that a young servant of Yucheng’s Lin Clan had already shown up was proof that they all were paying attention to this rally.

Chu Xifeng knew nothing of business warfare. He was only familiar with palace politics, and he had no idea where a woman like esteemed wangfei had learned such obscure knowledge. However, since His Highness hadn’t said a word, he knew she had to be right.

Soon enough, one of Wu Shu’s attendants arrived. “Your Highness, esteemed wangfei, the head of the Ouyang Clan’s shown up! He’s drinking tea with Wu Shu right outside!”

Han Yunxi was thrilled and smiled teasingly, “Chu Xifeng, I really should’ve made a bet with you!”

“This subordinate wouldn’t be able to afford that kind of bet…” Chu Xifeng said firmly. He thought back over the past year. Everyone who’d made a bet with esteemed wangfei had all come to an unfortunate end. It’d be better if he didn’t bother.

A little while later, another of Wu Shu’s attendants recognized the heads of the Lin Clan and Yuzhou’s Wang Clan hiding in the crowds. Everything had gone as Han Yunxi expected. She saw that the time was just about up, so she rose to her feet.

“Your Highness, shall we go see all the excitement for ourselves?”

Without a word, Long Feiye stood up and scooped Han Yunxi into his arms.

This guy’s getting more and more domineering!

“Your Highness…” Han Yunxi was about to speak when Long Feiye flew them up to the rooftop.