Free Web NovelChapter 371: Chapter 146: The Way to Break the Deadlock (3)
"I wasn’t the one who found the seeds. Mr. Cheng went to great lengths to find them. They are all high-quality seeds, newly harvested this year, with a very high survival rate. As for the herb merchant, however, I was the one who found him."
Zhao Jing mentioned a person to Chen Wanqing. He was a fellow scholar he had met in the Prefecture, who had sat next to him during the prefectural examination. The man had even composed a very clever poem and was quite an interesting person.
The man was the top candidate from Taoli County, and his family had been herb merchants for generations. Every year, they would purchase medicinal herbs from all over the Prefecture and resell them in the northwest.
The two had long admired each other from afar, and they only had a chance to formally converse on the day of the banquet hosted by the Lord Prefect.
Because Zhao Jing had the matter of the huangqi on his mind, he inquired a little further. The man picked up on the hint immediately and conveyed that if there was a large batch of huangqi, he would buy all of it, as long as the quality was up to par.
This man had read the anthology of essays from Qingshui County, so of course he was familiar with the essay Zhao Jing wrote for the county examination.
He sincerely wished to befriend Zhao Jing, so Zhao Jing left his address. The two would correspond as friends from then on.
Zhao Jing briefly explained the matter and concluded, "My timing yesterday was perfect. The seeds that the Lord County Magistrate had arranged to be purchased had just arrived at the government office."
To help the common people increase their income, Mr. Cheng had gritted his teeth and fronted a large sum of money for the seeds.
If the people refused to reclaim the wasteland to plant huangqi, or if the huangqi grew poorly and the harvest was bad, and they then tried to renege on paying for the seeds, Mr. Cheng would likely be utterly ruined.
Zhao Jing recounted all this in an unhurried manner, making it sound as if everything were a mere coincidence—as if the perfect convergence of time, place, and people had brought the situation to this point.
But while Chen Wanqing was at the center of this situation, she saw it with perfect clarity.
She knew, with absolute certainty, that this was the result of Zhao Jing’s machinations.
It was because he had planned every step that things could unfold according to his design.
Perhaps he had long anticipated that her family workshop would one day face this sort of crisis, so he had prepared a solution for her in advance.
Chen Wanqing couldn’t help but ask, "What if I had always gotten along with the women of the clan, and the business had continued to do well? Then you..."
Hearing her question, Zhao Jing knew she had seen through his plans. He chuckled softly. ’His Wanqing was just that clever.’
"It never would have remained harmonious. People are naturally discontent. You were raking in a fortune while they earned only a few copper coins a day. Over time, anyone would become resentful. The clan members are ordinary people; you can’t expect them to behave like saints. Infighting and sabotage were only a matter of time."
Xiang’er didn’t dare to breathe, and even her footsteps grew lighter.
She looked at her brother with absolute reverence.
’Xiang’er wasn’t stupid!’
’How could she possibly be stupid?’
’She was Zhao Jing’s sister. Though she didn’t share his scholarly genius, she had a good head on her shoulders.’
Just from those few fragments of conversation, Xiang’er pieced together the truth.
’Her brother had orchestrated this whole business with reclaiming land to plant huangqi.’
’And he’d done it for the sake of his sister-in-law’s incense business.’
’But if you thought about it, what good would it do her sister-in-law if everyone went off to reclaim land and plant huangqi?’
’There were no benefits, only a heap of drawbacks.’
’With no one left to make incense, her sister-in-law’s business would have to shut down. But she had accepted a huge number of orders, so production couldn’t possibly stop. So, what would she do...’
The words "buying people" popped into Xiang’er’s head. In an instant, all the pieces she couldn’t fit together before suddenly clicked into place.
Once she understood, the look Xiang’er gave her brother was filled with even greater awe.
’He’s too smart!’
’She’d never seen anyone scheme against their own family like this!’
’He was an expert at favoring his own, that was for sure!’
’He got a wife and forgot all about...’
’Ahem. How could this be called scheming against his own family? It was clearly a win-win situation.’
’Her brother was truly, unnervingly brilliant!’
’From now on, I’d better suck up to my sister-in-law and be on my best behavior around my brother. In short, I absolutely can’t be as naughty as I used to be!’
’If my brother ever used the same tactics on me that he uses on others, I’d be skinned alive, if not worse!’
Trembling with trepidation, Xiang’er slowed her pace and unknowingly fell behind the others.
By the time Chen Wanqing noticed someone was missing and turned to call out to her, Xiang’er had looked up, only to meet her brother’s eyes first.
Her brother’s eyes were clear and calm, betraying nothing, but a sudden flash of insight struck Xiang’er. She immediately put on a cheerful grin and said, "Sister-in-law, I want to go play with Chunyue. You and brother can go home without me!"
"Go find Chunyue now? You haven’t even had breakfast."
"I’m not hungry! I’m just going to go play for a little while. Chunyue’s pet rabbits are about to have babies, and I want to go see. Sister-in-law, do you like little bunnies? If you do... Ahem, on second thought, you shouldn’t raise rabbits. They’re only cute when they’re small, not so much when they grow up. Plus, their... uh, their droppings really smell. It wouldn’t be good if the stench bothered you and my brother."
