Rise From the Humble

Shopkeeper Tai collapsed on the ground. After a while, his legs and stomach were trembling, and he slowly stood up with the help of shopkeeper Lu. However, after standing up, Shopkeeper Tai's calves couldn't stop shaking.

"Old...Old Lu, are you telling the truth?" Shopkeeper Tai's teeth couldn't help chattering, and he couldn't speak clearly. In fact, he knew in his heart that what Shopkeeper Lu said was true, but he still had a little illusion. I hope Shopkeeper Lu is deliberately trying to make him happy.

"How long has it been? How could I lie to you!" Shopkeeper Lu is no better than Shopkeeper Tai.

Their lives were at stake, and people like them, who were wealthy and accustomed to enjoying life, were even more afraid of death.

In fact, when Manager Zhang in Shopkeeper Lu's shop came back from purchasing food and told Shopkeeper Lu the news, Shopkeeper Lu behaved even worse than Shopkeeper Tai at that time, and even wet his pants.

"Oh, dear mother, this is really a disaster! Although our county magistrate is not old, he is still capable and can't tolerate sand in his eyes. We are afraid that..."

The extravagant hope in Shopkeeper Tai's heart was completely shattered, and his whole body suddenly wailed, as if he were mourning for his heir.

"I'm afraid of this too." Shopkeeper Lu also had a mournful face, wanting to cry but without tears.

"How can this be good..."

Shopkeeper Tai and Shopkeeper Lu looked at each other and felt sympathy for each other. They almost hugged each other and cried on the spot.

"How about we lower the price this afternoon?" Shopkeeper Tai thought for a while and whispered to Shopkeeper Lu.

"Old Tai, you are going to die. There are so many grain merchants in our county. If the two of us break the rules, we will offend the public. We don't have to wait for the county magistrate to take action. They can tear us apart alive!"

When Shopkeeper Lu heard this, his face turned pale with fright, and he looked around frantically, fearing that someone might overhear him.

"Less lower...so as not to break the rules." Shopkeeper Tai also shrank his neck in fear.

"Lao Tai, lower the price of three melons and two dates to make an egg! Now the price of grain has risen to 1,340 cents per stone. The original price of grain was only 400 cents per stone. It is not a bad rule to drop it by a few cents, but there are What's the use?! It's not the same as driving up prices! If it drops too much, breaks the rules, and provokes public anger, it's not the same as being dead or alive!"

When Shopkeeper Lu heard this, he shook his head vigorously and let out a long sigh, his fat face filled with sadness!

"No, let's close the store..." Shopkeeper Tai whispered with a pained look on his face.

"Every day makes a fortune, are you willing to lock me down?" Shopkeeper Lu looked at Shopkeeper Tai sideways and said angrily.

Shopkeeper Tai immediately shook his head without hesitation. He couldn't bear it, he couldn't bear it. He pretended that I didn't say what he just said.

"Das Kapital" says: Once there is appropriate profit, capital will become very bold. As long as there is 10% profit, it will be used everywhere; with 20%, it will become lively; with 50%, it will cause active risk-taking; with 100%, it will make people disregard all laws; with 300% , will make people not afraid of committing crimes, or even the danger of hanging their heads.

Shopkeepers Tai and Lu were just like that. Even if there was a risk of having their heads chopped off, they were reluctant to close the door.

"Old Lu, actually, if you think about it, we are not in a certain situation. The prefect did not arrest and behead all the grain merchants in the city. He just found two outstanding sheep to kill the chickens to scare the monkeys. Our two grain shops We are just middle-of-the-road people in the county. It is not our turn to stand out. How can the county government drive out our grain merchants and kill them all?! If this is the case, without us grain merchants, all the people in Jingnan will not be able to open the door! Can the county government survive? How much food is there?! Take a step back, we are really unlucky, I think we will be caught and imprisoned for a while." Shopkeeper Tai thought about it again and said to Shopkeeper Lu.

"Yes. Lao Tai, I think what you said makes sense. The floods have caused food shortages in most of the south of the Yangtze River. I heard that the imperial court is unable to rescue them for a while. If Jingnan wants to survive the floods, it has to rely on our grain merchants to transport food. Our county magistrate cares about the people and cannot kill them all. I think the most we can do is catch a few outstanding sheep to scare the monkeys! Just lower the price of food!"

Shopkeeper Lu nodded when he heard this and tried to find some reasons to comfort himself.

However, even though the two said this, they actually didn't have much confidence. They looked at each other, made up their minds, and discussed in a low voice, "How about our two families agree that one stone of food will be 5 cents cheaper than other families' , No, how about 3 articles? We don’t ask for anything else, but we just want to be the standout.”

One stone of grain is equivalent to about 150 kilograms. If the price of one stone of grain is reduced by 3 cents, the price of one kilogram of grain will basically not be reduced. Only when you buy 50 kilograms of grain in total can you get a penny cheaper.

Nowadays, food is becoming more and more difficult to obtain and the cost is getting higher and higher. They are not willing to reduce it more. If the price drops too much, they will earn less. If they earn less, they will be less competitive, and they will also worry about angering their peers.

After the two people discussed this, the feeling of panic finally reduced a lot.

"Lao Tai, it's still early, how about you come to my house for a drink?" Shopkeeper Lu invited.

"It's rare for you, Old Lu, to speak up, so I won't be polite and I won't bother you." Shopkeeper Tai had already had this intention, and as soon as Shopkeeper Lu opened his mouth, he agreed on the spot, just in time to make a summary.

Just when Shopkeeper Lu and Shopkeeper Tai had made an appointment to go to Shopkeeper Lu's house together, they suddenly heard a burst of hurried footsteps. When they looked up, they saw a group of servants trotting down the street.

As soon as they saw the guards appear, Shopkeepers Tai and Lu couldn't help but have an ominous premonition!

Won't! impossible! Don't think nonsense!

Shopkeepers Tai and Lu couldn't help but shook their heads, throwing away the ominous premonition in their minds.

"It can't be such a coincidence."

Shopkeeper Tai and Shopkeeper Lu looked at each other and said in unison. After discovering that the other party had gone there together with them, they couldn't help but laugh at each other. They were both laughing at themselves for being suspicious, and at the same time celebrating their heroic insights. same.

When the two of them looked at each other and smiled, the policeman came over from the street and crossed the two of them on the roadside.

Shopkeepers Lu and Tai didn't dare to look at the guard, they just paid attention to the guard with their peripheral vision. It wasn't until the guard passed them that they both breathed a sigh of relief, and the smiles on their faces became even brighter.

However, just when the two of them were laughing happily, they suddenly heard a voice coming from behind:

"Hey, Shopkeeper Tai, Shopkeeper Lu, it turns out that you are here. If I hadn't heard the laughter, I almost missed it. You happen to be together, which also saves me a few extra steps. Shopkeeper Tai, Shopkeeper Lu, County Lord Please, please come with us to the county government office."

The county magistrate invites you! The county magistrate invites you! The county magistrate invites you

These four words were like a thunder exploding above the two of them, destroying their smiles without even a trace left!

"Plop", "Plop"!

There were two sounds of heavy objects falling to the ground in succession, and Shopkeeper Tai and Shopkeeper Lu collapsed to the ground one after another.