Chapter 106: Grain Prices Rise, A Contest of Wills

Chapter 106: Grain Price Hike: A Standoff

That day, Cong Lin rushed in frantically from outside, his face filled with anxiety. "Sir, it's terrible! A large crowd has gathered outside to lodge grievances!"

Bing Wengu was handling official business when he heard this. He laid down his brush and immediately stood up. "Have the people assemble in the courtroom. I'll be right there."

"Yes, sir!" Cong Lin acknowledged the order and left.

Bing Wengu rose to his feet, unaware that behind him, a pair of gloating eyes was watching. Their owner also stood up as he did.

Catching the movement from the corner of his eye, Bing Wengu’s eyes flickered with disdain before striding toward the courtroom, where a crowd of people knelt in disarray.

The moment the commoners saw Bing Wengu, they began kowtowing desperately, their foreheads striking the ground with increasing force.

"Your Honor, Your Honor, please save the people of Ji County!"

"Your Honor, Ji County has suffered three consecutive years of severe drought. This year looks to be another disastrous one—our fields lie barren. What are we to eat?"

"Your Honor, you can’t let grain prices climb higher! If they do, we truly won’t have a way to survive!"

The people spoke over one another, their voices clashed in a jumble, making it impossible for Bing Wengu to discern any single plea clearly.

He raised a hand to calm them. "Good people, don’t panic. Listen to me first. Speak one at a time, or I won’t be able to understand what you’re saying."

The crowd exchanged uncertain glances before finally selecting a few brave souls to speak.

"Your Honor," the chosen few kowtowed deeply, their faces etched with worry. "Today, when we went to buy grain from the rice shops, we found the prices had gone up."

Due to three years of drought, grain prices in Ji County had always been higher than elsewhere.

In the capital, Bianjing, a peck [~9 liters] of beans cost only ten coins, but in Ji County, it was twenty. This was already the controlled price after Bing Wengu’s arrival—before he took office, rice prices had been even higher and more erratic.

Upon assuming his position, Bing Wengu had taken three measures: first, distributing relief grain to stabilize prices; second, encouraging the Bing and Nan families to bring in cheaper beans, which, though coarse but hearty, helped suppress prices further through free porridge distributions; and third, capping prices so that even reluctant rice merchants didn’t dare cross the yamen. Thus, the price had been kept at around twenty coins per peck.

Bing Wengu knew this was the rock-bottom price—it couldn’t be reduced further.

But with another drought looming, the rice merchants could no longer restrain themselves. Despite Bing Wengu’s pressure, they had begun plotting to cash in on the crisis.

"Today, when I went to buy grain, the price of beans had risen from twenty coins to fifty coins per peck. I reminded the shopkeeper of Your Honor’s decree against raising prices, but he shot back that today’s fifty coins would still buy grain, whereas tomorrow, it might cost a hundred coins for the same peck."

Bing Wengu had anticipated this. If the drought persisted, the grain merchants would never remain compliant—he just hadn’t expected them to act so soon.

He had only just returned from Cao Weiyan’s place, and already the merchants were causing trouble.

"I was no match for the shopkeeper’s arguments and was driven out. When I checked other grain shops, they all had the same prices and the same excuses."

Bing Wengu nodded. "I understand now. I’ll see to this myself."

"Cong Lin, gather thirty yamen officers, all armed with blades, and follow me."

"Yes, sir!" Cong Lin saluted with a fist-over-palm gesture.

Just as Bing Wengu was about to step out, Zhao Weihai asked with a smug grin, "Your Honor, would this lowly official accompany you?"

Without pausing, Bing Wengu strode forward. "You, along with Chief Clerk Chu and Constable Du, are part of Ji County’s core officials. Naturally, you’ll come."

Zhao Weihai sneered and muttered under his breath, "Still playing the noble official at a time like this. We’ll see how long the act lasts."

He turned and called the other two men, rushing after Bing Wengu to the grain shops.

As luck would have it, the grain shops accused by the commoners were just down the street from those owned by the Bing and Nan families.

At the moment, many people had noticed the price hikes and were arguing in front of the shops. It was unclear how long the commotion had been going on, but it had drawn quite a crowd.

Bing Wengu immediately spotted Nan Jinping standing among the crowd. Now cultivated into elegance, she stood out sharply, her demeanor distinguished and contrasting with those around her.

Upon seeing her, Bing Wengu instinctively started toward her, but Nan Jinping subtly shook her head. He halted, refraining from approaching further.

"Your Honor!" The quarreling commoners went quiet when they saw Bing Wengu, uncertain whether he was there to support them or the grain merchants.

The merchants, clearly caught off guard by his arrival, exchanged glances before bowing to him.

The commoners beside Bing Wengu quickly spoke up, "Don’t be afraid! His Honor is here to stand up for us!"

Only then did the people begin airing their complaints. Bing Wengu listened patiently, nodding only after they had finished.

"When I first took office, I issued a decree prohibiting grain price hikes. Were you not informed by the yamen officers?" Bing Wengu questioned the merchants.

One of them, Proprietor Zou, glanced subtly at Zhao Weihai behind Bing Wengu, receiving a confirming look in return.

"Your Honor," Proprietor Zou said, "we are indeed aware of the decree. But circumstances have changed. Back then, you brought relief grain, and our county just barely scraped by. When you ordered prices lowered, we complied. But now, the situation is different."

Another merchant, a Mr. Han, cut in, "Your Honor, you may not know this, but the drought this year isn’t limited to our county. Even Jicheng’s been wiped out. Nearby prefectures are also suffering, so demand for grain has surged everywhere. Naturally, prices have risen."

A Mr. Cheng added, "Your Honor, we’re also considering the own neighbors. Otherwise, we could sell our stock to merchants from other counties for far more than fifty coppers per peck. We’re only trying to give our own neighbors a chance to survive."

The crowd erupted in panic at the mention of selling grain elsewhere.

"Your Honor, this can’t happen! If all the grain is sold away, what will we eat?"

"Your Honor, you must stand up for us! My family had fled to another prefecture, but we returned because you promised us relief. You said you’d give us a way to survive!"

The air filled with complaints and lamentations. Zhao Weihai, hiding behind the crowd, nearly failed to suppress a smirk.

Clearing his throat, he stepped forward, putting on a show of concern. "Your Honor, in my humble opinion, while the people matter, you must also consider the merchants’ perspective."

He nodded amiably at the merchants.

"These merchants are kind-hearted. They haven’t resold grain to other counties or raised prices to unaffordable levels."

Playing the wise man, Zhao Weihai spoke eloquently, lapping up the attention.

"Your Honor, I advise against pushing too far. If these merchants choose to sell elsewhere—perfectly legal—what can you do? With grain prices soaring, the profits are huge. Asking them to give up that kind of money with mere words is unreasonable."

Bing Wengu stared coldly at Zhao Weihai, whose smugness you could practically see.

Chu Hongyu glanced at Du Yongxun, who wouldn’t meet his eyes, looking everywhere but at him.

"Assistant Magistrate Zhao," Bing Wengu demanded, "are you, then, in favor of raising grain prices?"

"It’s not my opinion, but how things are now. Your Honor should not push too far," Zhao Weihai replied smugly.

Bing Wengu pressed, "Assistant Magistrate Zhao, answer me directly—yes or no?"

Seeing Bing Wengu’s growing fury, Chu Hongyu jumped in.

"Your Honor, please calm down. Assistant Magistrate Zhao cares about the people too—just sees it differently. Let’s return to the yamen and discuss this rationally. We’re all in this together."

However, Bing Wengu completely ignored Chu Hongyu, just giving him an icy side-eye at Zhao Weihai.

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade Bing Wengu, Chu Hongyu turned to Zhao Weihai instead. "Assistant Magistrate Zhao, why must you do this? The magistrate treats the people like his own kids. If there are differing opinions, let’s talk it over at the office."

Zhao Weihai shoved Chu Hongyu aside with a flick of his sleeve. "Get lost!"

Stumbling from the push, Chu Hongyu realized neither side would listen to him and could only cry out anxiously, "Officer Du, won’t you try to mediate?"

Du Yongxun blinked his large, innocent eyes. "That’s not within my duties. Lord Bing is the magistrate of Ji County. Whatever he commands, I’ll follow orders."

Chu Hongyu was furious but helpless against everyone.

The air grew tense, and even the onlooking members of the Bing and Nan families sensed something was amiss.

Miao Shi glanced at Nan Jinping. "Jin’er, perhaps you should talk some sense into your man. I think he’s not himself right now."

Liang Shi added, "I feel Da Lang isn’t acting like himself—as if he’s fixing to do something crazy. Jin’er, at times like this, he won’t listen to us. Maybe you should go and talk to him."

Nan Jinping hesitated, a flood of memories rushing through her head—some from her own experiences, some from dreams, others like illusions.

Finally, she shook her head. "Mother, at a time like this, we must support and trust Wen Gu. If even we betray him now, where would that leave him?"

Liang Shi and Miao Shi had to shut up, no matter how anxious they were. They didn’t dare intervene—doing so might only make things worse.

Faced with Bing Wengu’s in-your-face attitude, Zhao Weihai’s expression also turned grave. His smile vanished as he met Bing Wengu’s gaze coldly.

Zhao Weihai showed no fear. In his eyes, Bing Wengu was already a dead man walking.

Behind him, commercially, he had the support of all the grain merchants in Ji County. This was their big payday, and naturally, he wasn’t hurting for cash.

Politically, he had the explicit backing of Cao Weiyan, the prefect of Jicheng Prefecture. If anything went wrong, Cao would take charge—what’s Bing Wengu gonna do about it?

Zhao Weihai wasn’t afraid of Bing Wengu in the slightest. Today, he was determined to confront this newly appointed magistrate of Ji County.

"Yes," Zhao Weihai declared firmly. He stood with the grain merchants.

The merchants exchanged glances, grinning from ear to ear.