When Jiang Pengji started to take measures, the price of grain had already soared to more than nine times the price in peacetime.
The aristocratic families had their own granaries, so they didn't have to worry about food and drink. Instead, they could take advantage of this opportunity to sell off the old grain stored in the granary at a high price. On the contrary, the common people had little savings, and their families were about to starve to death.
However, the price of grain was rising fiercely. Many people were worried about it.
Many women were pacing back and forth in front of the grain stores, waiting for the grain to be cheaper. They didn't expect the price to go up every time.
"If we don't buy more, we won't even be able to afford a bucket of rice with our savings …"
"… You can still afford to buy rice? My husband broke his leg a while ago, and we've spent all our money to buy medicine for him. Today, we even slaughtered the only hen that could lay eggs to make soup for him … I really don't know how we're going to live like this …"
"I don't know what happened. Why is the grain so expensive? If this goes on, the kids at home will have to go hungry … "
Even if they were hardworking and capable, they had no money and no grain at home. Their families would have to go hungry.
The grain store was not a charity. How could the price be lowered just because they were poor?
"The world is getting more and more difficult every day!" A woman sighed and said, "A while ago, I was helping to wash the dishes in the teahouse at the entrance of the city to earn some pocket money. I heard some soldiers talking about it. It seems that there is a big mess in some county in Cangzhou. It is close to Hejian County …"
The proximity meant that the flames of war could reach here, and it also meant that countless refugees who had left their homes would flee here.
Which family wouldn't tremble in fear when they heard about the war?
If their strong young men were conscripted into the army, they might not be able to come back.
As for the refugees … If people were in that state, what wouldn't they do besides burning, killing, and looting?
Maybe it would be even crueler than robbing people. Many women trembled just thinking about it.
At least they had some savings at home, so they could buy grain from the grain store.
The other poorer families could only dig weeds in the mountains and peel bark from trees. The food they ate was not even as good as the old sows in their pigsty.
"Should we go to other grain stores? Maybe there are cheaper ones … "
A woman in a dark linen robe hesitantly held a basket and looked at the grain store not far away.
There were many grain stores in the city. After comparing three stores, there was bound to be one that was cheaper.
"If I had known that this would happen, I would have gone to buy them a long time ago … I thought that it was expensive back then, but who could have known that the price of grain would only get higher by the day …"
"That's right. In the past, my husband thought that I was short-sighted and that the weather was good this year, so the food would be cheaper than before. He thought that I would wait a few more days … But now, it's so much more expensive. I don't know how I'm going to survive … "
The women walked together, holding each other's hand, chatting with each other.
At this moment, a child wearing patched clothes ran over from the corner of the street, laughing and shouting loudly.
A woman raised her hand to stop the child and asked carefully, "Hey, what did you just say?"
It seemed that this was not the first time the child had been stopped. He answered in a loud voice very naturally.
"The grain shop in the Dog Tail Alley on Vermillion Bird Street is the cheapest. It's 20% cheaper than the other shops."
"How much is 20% cheaper?"
The child shook his head. "I don't know. The owner of the grain shop said that it's 20% cheaper!"
After all, he was just a child. Xu Ke knew that children could not remember the price of grain, so he simply asked them to remember the shortest "advertisement."
The women looked at each other in confusion.
"Should we go and take a look?"
They could save as much as they could, even if they had to go around half of the city.
"Let's go and take a look. It's not far from here."
After a few words, the women had decided where to go.
To attract more customers, Jiang Pengji had divided the area where the three grain shops were located into three parts.
With the grain store's location as the center, the "mobile advertisements" in this area would focus on the grain store.
When the women arrived, there was already a long queue in front of the grain shop.
Listening to the people's discussion, the price of grain was still high, but it was indeed much cheaper than the other grain shops they had seen before.
"Well … There are no good things if they are cheap. Could it be that the grain they are selling has bugs … or something else …"
With their sharp ears, they could hear the discussion from the crowd.
Immediately, someone jumped out and said, "Someone bought two buckets of grain. I have seen it. It's white and good."
There was more than one person who was worried about the quality of the grain in the grain shop. Hearing that, he became even more worried.
"That's strange … Others are raising the price, but they are lowering the price … Isn't it said that merchants are black-hearted …"
A man who was queuing up to buy food couldn't take it anymore and shouted, "What do you know? Don't you know who the owner of the grain shop is? It's the famous Hu County Chief. I heard that Hu County has so much grain that it can rot on the ground. So what if it's cheap? Don't buy it if you don't like it. "
"Hey, why are you so blunt? How would I know that the owner of the grain shop is Liu She … "
Ordinary people might not have heard of Liu She, but when Hu County Chief was mentioned, their first impression was that he was rich, had grain, and had a good heart.
With the promotion of the "advertisements," the queue in front of the grain shop became longer and longer. Many people who came late were worried that they would not be able to buy grain. At that moment, the manager of the grain shop stood out and bowed to the crowd, saying that the store had enough grain!
Outside the crowd, Jiang Pengji and Xu Ke were sitting in the carriage.
Xu Ke looked at the crowd and felt worried.
There were so many people buying grain. He was worried that the store would not have enough grain.
The effect of the advertisements was beyond his expectation. The queue was still growing.
Jiang Pengji could see his worry at first glance.
She said calmly, "For the people, the price of grain is still too high. Most of them are just watching and won't buy in large quantities. So, our store of grain will definitely last. By the way, have you prepared the people I asked you to prepare? "
Xu Ke cupped his hands and said, "Langjun, I have arranged everything."
"Good. When there are more and more people watching, you can ask them to leave."
Jiang Pengji's purpose was to suppress the grain price, not to sell the few thousand dans of grain at the high price.
Not only did she ask Xu Ke to hire children and hooligans to act as "mobile advertisements" for the grain stores, but she also asked him to prepare a few people. These people were not to fool the people who bought the grain, but to sway the shopkeepers of other grain stores.
Jiang Pengji started the price war. On the first day, she created the illusion that there was no limit to the grain store. Naturally, the other grain shops would be nervous.
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