You Promised to Be an Idle Son-in-Law, How Could You Become a Land Immortal?

Chapter 453: Chapter 278: You’re Really Crazy

Be that as it may, Chen Yi wasn’t about to joke with Liu Lang’s life.

After all, Liu Lang had done a lot for him recently. Even if it wasn’t distinguished service, it was still hard work.

After a short rest,

Chen Yi took out his Silver Needles to repair the ruptured meridians in Liu Lang’s body and sort out his chaotic True Essence.

He spent nearly two hours before he managed to get the injuries inside Liu Lang’s body completely under control.

"Luckily, I treated him in time. There shouldn’t be any lasting effects."

Chen Yi put away his Silver Needles and flicked a Qi Blade at Liu Lang’s face.

SLAP.

The Qi Blade landed on the ground.

Liu Lang, who had been lying there peacefully, suddenly dodged to a corner of the ruined temple. He looked at Chen Yi and gave a sheepish laugh.

"Thank you for saving my life, Boss."

Chen Yi glanced at him, then turned to walk out. "Stop fooling around. It’s getting late. We’ll talk as we walk."

"You got it."

"Try not to fight with anyone for a while. You don’t want to rupture those fragile meridians again."

"But I have you, don’t I, Boss?"

"Heh, you’ll die."

"...I’ll be more careful, then."

After some idle banter,

Chen Yi led Liu Lang back toward Shu State Prefecture City, getting down to business. "What did you accomplish today?"

At his words, Liu Lang’s face soured. "Boss, you have no idea how shrewd those people from the Noble Families are."

"When they heard I was there to buy grain, some quoted me exorbitant prices, some turned me away at the door, and some even cursed me out."

"It was like I was trying to dig up their ancestral graves..."

Chen Yi knew full well that while the Noble Families of Shu State couldn’t compare to the Xiao Family or the Jing State Liu Family, they weren’t shortsighted people.

However, most of the grain in the Prefecture City was still in the hands of a few trading companies. If he couldn’t find a way to make them part with some of it, it would be detrimental to his plans.

Liu Lang rambled on for a bit before finally saying, "But I did have some success."

"Two families sold me grain at a price of fifteen taels of silver per dan."

Chen Yi hummed in surprise. "Which two families?"

"One was the Wan Family from East City, and the other was the Sun Family from North City."

"The Wan Family... of the Wan Family Medicine Hall?"

"You know them?"

Before he could answer, Liu Lang said with a smile, "I don’t know what happened to the Wan Family, but they seem to be very short on money lately."

"Besides the grain they sold us, they’ve also sold off many family assets. I heard they even sold two of their medicine halls."

Chen Yi murmured, "Is that so," then mused for a moment before saying, "Perhaps they’ve sensed something."

He didn’t know much about the Wan Family.

But a few previous incidents had led him to suspect that their relationship with the Xiao Family was very close.

Most notably, the "culprit" who had taken his place as Liu Jing’s killer was from the Wan Family.

That alone was reason enough for him to suspect the Wan Family was likely acting on Elder Master Xiao’s instructions.

Otherwise, he couldn’t understand why the Wan Family would voluntarily take the blame for this "unsolved case."

On top of that, Miss Wan Rourou had visited Xiao Wan’er time and again, far more frequently than the women from other families.

Therefore, Chen Yi deduced that the Wan Family was one of the Xiao Family’s contingency plans.

Perhaps the Wan Family’s selling of their assets was also related to the Xiao Family.

’Are they raising silver coins for grain and provisions?’

’If so, the Wan Family is truly loyal to Elder Master Xiao.’

As Chen Yi considered this, he asked about the Sun Family from North City.

Unexpectedly, it was another family he had heard of before—the second young miss of the Sun Family was the wife of Bai Yelin, the Grain and Grass Supervisor for the Shu State Capital Commandery.

A long time ago, this Madam Sun had visited Xiao Wan’er, hoping to ask her to persuade Chen Yi to take her son, Bai Yutang, as his student.

However, because Chen Yi never agreed, the matter was dropped.

"Is there anything unusual about this Sun Family?"

Liu Lang thought for a moment. "Unusual... I don’t think so."

"But the Sun Family has a lot of grain. When I went over and offered thirteen taels of silver per dan, they agreed to sell without even haggling."

"A lot?"

"Yes, a full ten thousand dan."

Hearing this, Chen Yi laughed and shook his head. "When a man gets to the top, all his friends and relations get there with him."

Seeing Liu Lang’s confusion, he explained the relationship between the Sun Family and the Bai Family.

Given Bai Yelin’s position as the Grain and Grass Supervisor, there was bound to be something fishy about the Sun Family’s grain supply.

The Capital Commandery was responsible for managing the supply and distribution of provisions for Shu State’s Three Towns and even Mengshui Pass.

Skimming just a little off the top could allow many people to live a lifetime of wealth and luxury.

After listening, Liu Lang said with a look of disdain, "So they’re a bunch of parasites. No wonder they could produce so much grain."

He paused, then looked at Chen Yi. "Boss, we have over fifty thousand dan of grain on hand now. What’s your plan?"

"Let’s hold onto it for now."

"It’s not the right time to make a move yet."

Chen Yi gazed at the distant Shu State Prefecture City, a playful smile on his face.

"This time, I’ll make them shoot themselves in the foot."

When Liu Lang saw his smile, he couldn’t help but shiver.

He mourned silently, ’I wonder who’s so unlucky as to be targeted by the Boss. Sigh.’

Of course, Chen Yi had no idea what he was thinking.

After they snuck back into the Prefecture City, he gave further instructions. "Once you’ve spent all the silver coins from Wang Ji, just guard the grain with Xue Duanyun and the others."

"If there’s a development, I’ll have someone come and inform you."

"Alright..."

...

「Four days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Public resentment in Shu State City had reached a boiling point.

The price of grain, which had dropped to nine taels per dan, had once again risen to twelve taels.

Even so, the grain trading companies in the East and West Markets still had long lines of people crowded in front of them.

Up to twenty thousand dan of grain were sold each day.

Fortunately, it had only been half a month since the price hike, so even the poorest families could hold on for a little longer.

The tragedy of people selling their sons and daughters had not yet occurred.

"Is that damn Barbarian Prince in Shu State or not?"

"The Government Office officials have searched house-to-house three times recently, how have they not found him yet?"

"And those horse bandits from Poshisu Country! If you’re coming, then come. If not, fine, but at least give us a clear answer!"

"If this grain price keeps rising, whether the war happens or not will be the least of our worries. I’m afraid we won’t be able to afford to eat!"

"Isn’t that the truth?"

It wasn’t just the common folk; even some of the Noble Families with fewer landholdings couldn’t withstand such a drain on their resources.

When grain prices rose, other goods like medicinal herbs and meat would follow suit.

The larger the household, the more staggering the daily expenditure of silver coins became.

Take the Xiao Family, for example.

Even though they weren’t short on grain, their daily purchases for each residence cost dozens of taels of silver.

Who could bear such an expense?

Chen Yi saw all of this and knew he needed to move his plan forward.

Otherwise, his sins would be great.

Therefore, that night, he disguised himself and went to the Spring Rain Building alone.

Cui Qingwu and Lou Yuxue had been waiting for a long time. When they saw him arrive, both looked displeased.

"You’ve got some nerve, Liu Wu! After setting things up, you just washed your hands of it all?"

"Do you really think the White Tiger Guard are your subordinates?"

Chen Yi smiled and cupped his fists. "My apologies, you two. My absence was purely a sign of my faith in your abilities."

Cui Qingwu snorted. "I think you’re just pushing your luck!"

Lou Yuxue was about to chime in, but she had dealt with "Liu Wu" several times before and knew he must have come with a purpose. Instead, she said:

"According to the plan, Simurgh Phoenix has already started cooperating with those few grain trading companies. A portion of the grain sold recently came from her."

"And the price of grain has already reached the previous twelve taels. What’s next?"

"Next, of course, it’s Miss Cui’s turn to shine."

Chen Yi said as if it were obvious, "I’ve received word that the horse bandits from Poshisu Country and the Barbarian Race are already approaching the Prefecture City."

Cui Qingwu and Lou Yuxue were shocked. "What?!"

Chen Yi smiled. "It’s fake."

Cui Qingwu and Lou Yuxue glanced at each other, then frowned and asked, "What’s fake? What’s real? Tell us the truth."

Chen Yi shook his head. "You’ll find out soon enough."

Lou Yuxue couldn’t help but remind him, "I know you’re a master of schemes, but the matter of Poshisu Country and the Barbarian Race is serious. You can’t be reckless."

Hearing this, Chen Yi thought for a moment, then revealed a few details before concluding:

"In short, Miss Cui just needs to wait for those grain trading companies to come knocking."

"When the time comes, all you have to do is sell them the grain you have at a high price."

Cui Qingwu roughly understood what he was planning. She gave him a deep look and said:

"If the Pavilion Master hadn’t personally invited you to join the White Tiger Guard, we definitely wouldn’t be going along with this madness."

Lou Yuxue nodded in deep agreement. "You actually dared to find people to pose as horse bandits from Poshisu Country and the Barbarian Race to attack passing merchants. You..."

She looked at Chen Yi and asked, "Aren’t you afraid of being arrested by the Imperial Court?"

Chen Yi gave a deliberately mysterious smile. "Truth and lies... who can really tell the difference?"

If those grain trading companies didn’t suffer a huge loss, how would they become desperate enough to take drastic measures?

The name of the Ji State Trading Company still inspires a certain amount of fear in Shu State.

"Enough idle talk."

"I came here for another reason. I need you two to help me with something..."