Chapter 174

Chapter 174: How Much Could There Be

Before Jiang Mang could speak, Lin Yi ordered someone to close the door and stand guard outside so no one could eavesdrop. Only then did Lin Yi say, “First, the Heir Apparent wants three hundred thousand taels of silver. Second, save as many Mo Bei commoner as possible.”

“What silver?” Jiang Mang felt as if a hammer slammed down on his head. Jiang Mang said, “Impossible! The Heir Apparent wanted this cotton only for the commoner. How could it be for earning silver?”

Lin Yi cut him off. Lin Yi said, “Of course it’s for the commoner. Earning silver is also for the commoner!”

Lin Yi continued, “You know how much cotton we have. With the same amount of cotton, we can save the same number of people. But if you won’t eat or drink, should the brothers also go without eating or drinking? And you know the Heir Apparent’s character as well as I do. If he wants silver, it won’t be for himself. Maybe, in the future, those three hundred thousand taels will be used to save even more lives.”

Jiang Mang met Lin Yi’s gaze and felt as if he understood nothing at all.

Lin Yi spoke slowly, guiding him. Lin Yi said, “In disasters, there will always be deaths. What we can do is limited. We do our best, and at the same time we help the Heir Apparent stand firmly in the Imperial Court. Only then can he fulfill his ambition for peace in the future.”

Jiang Mang’s eyes reddened. Jiang Mang asked, “Then when will Master Lin be willing to release the cotton?”

Lin Yi said, “At the very least, we wait until cotton rises to five taels a jin. Only then do we sell.”

Lin Yi had already calculated it.

Jiang Mang’s lips moved. After a long moment, Jiang Mang forced out a smile. Jiang Mang said, “The people who can spend five taels of silver to buy one jin of cotton… you don’t even need to think to know who they are. Is the Heir Apparent really saving the lives of commoner?”

Lin Yi crushed him without hesitation. Lin Yi said, “Everyone is a commoner. If someone has silver, does that make them no longer a commoner?”

Jiang Mang had nothing to say.

Jiang Mang left the room in a daze and returned to his own room.

Jiang Mang still had some silver.

Jiang Mang started toward the door, then stopped. With the little silver Jiang Mang had, how many people could Jiang Mang save?

For the first time, Jiang Mang felt so useless.

Just then, someone rushed in from outside.

“Something’s wrong, Master Lin!”

Lin Yi came out of the room.

Jiang Mang recognized the speaker as Lin Yi’s servant boy. He wore a thick cotton coat and hat, with cotton shoes on his feet. His face was full of anger as he said, “Some outsider merchant showed up out of nowhere and is selling cheap cotton!”

Jiang Mang froze.

Lin Yi frowned. Lin Yi asked, “How cheap?”

The servant boy said, “Three hundred and fifty wen a jin! Three jin for one tael!”

“What?” Lin Yi’s face sank.

At the same time, light burst into Jiang Mang’s eyes.

Lin Yi and Jiang Mang spoke at once.

“I’ll go take a look!”

The two looked at each other, then walked out together as if they had agreed without words.

The signboard of Sheng Shi Hall looked rough. It had been made in a rush, with a craftsman hired to work day and night.

But under that small storefront, two long lines stretched out.

More than ten sturdy men maintained order. At the front of each line, someone recorded names while collecting payment and handing out cotton.

The first old man who traded one tael of silver for three jin of cotton kept his hand on it, unwilling to let go. The people behind him stared with open envy.

Those farther back feared they would not get any. The moment someone stirred restlessly, the guards dragged them to the back and warned them. If they caused trouble again, they would lose the right to buy cotton on the spot.

After that, everyone behaved.

commoner were honest to begin with. As long as you gave them even a sliver of hope, enough to eat and not freeze or starve to death, they could endure any hardship. The line moved faster and faster, yet the people behind it only grew longer and longer.

Some commoner who had already bought cotton even helped keep order on their own.

Of course, there were also people who tried to take advantage. They bought once, then tried to buy again. Du Yi Zhi simply told the commoner to report them. There was only so much cotton. If one person bought more, it meant someone else would buy less.

What was more, cotton bought now might be worth even less next year. Cotton was not something that vanished the moment you used it, so cases like that were not many.

When Jiang Mang and Lin Yi arrived, this was what they saw.

Jiang Mang stared at the storefront and murmured, “Sheng… shi hall?”

Lin Yi narrowed his eyes. Lin Yi said, “Sheng Shi Hall?”

Jiang Mang froze. Those three words felt familiar.

Then Jiang Mang’s eyes flew wide.

It was Princess Qing Ning.

She had once said she used the name Sheng Shi Hall when donating military pay to the Frontier. Jiang Mang had not taken it seriously at all. If it were true, then why had Wang Huai Zhi, who had made a bet with her, never set up porridge kitchens?

A woman, how could she have such a broad heart?

Women usually fought over who took whose land, who used whose water, down to every last bowl. Even the Imperial House was the same, only with pricier things to argue over.

Donating military pay?

Jiang Mang had not believed it.

Miss Meng was already the boldest, most unrestrained woman Jiang Mang had ever met.

But now Jiang Mang saw the signboard of Sheng Shi Hall with his own eyes.

Jiang Mang stood there, stunned.

Not far away, a nanny dressed in brand-new clothes gathered the news and hurried back to the Du Residence.

Old Madam Du had already learned that the goods Du Yi Zhi brought from outside were cotton. Old Madam Du had planned to spread the news, since cotton prices were high and it would bring Du Yi Zhi serious trouble.

Instead, Du Yi Zhi was foolish enough to sell cheap cotton. Everyone else was selling at high prices just fine, but Du Yi Zhi insisted on being “pure,” selling for a little over three hundred wen per jin.

Old Madam Du thought she did not even need to move. The big cotton merchants of Ji Zhou would tear Du Yi Zhi apart on their own.

After all, they were selling cotton at three taels a jin, earning silver together. Some even thought it might rise to four taels, five taels. Suddenly, a nobody named Du Yi Zhi ruined their business.

The only reason they had not acted yet was probably because Du Yi Zhi also carried the Du surname.

Old Madam Du was not wrong.

Within the time it took to drink two cups of tea, several big cotton merchants arrived at the Du Residence one after another to test Old Madam Du’s attitude.

Old Madam Du, of course, would not protect Du Yi Zhi.

Facing their twisting, roundabout words, Old Madam Du said plainly, “You truly do not need to ask for my Du Clan’s opinion. Du Ming Hao was expelled from the clan long ago. Now his son naturally has nothing to do with my Du Clan.”

The cotton merchants were all clever men. They understood at once. Old Madam Du was letting them do as they pleased. Perhaps the harder they struck, the happier Old Madam Du would be.

With that in mind, they immediately decided to use some methods to teach Du Yi Zhi a lesson.

But before they could even make a move, they heard something else.

Sheng Shi Hall was the name Princess Qing Ning had used when donating military pay to the Frontier. The cheap cotton Du Yi Zhi was selling was cotton Princess Qing Ning had purchased to send to the Mo Bei army, to make cotton coats.

The cotton merchants were stunned.

Even Lin Yi could not believe it when Jiang Mang told him. Lin Yi asked, “Is what you said true?”

Jiang Mang said, “It’s absolutely true.”

Jiang Mang’s heart felt tangled and heavy.

Lin Yi fell silent for a moment, then said, “It doesn’t matter. Ji Zhou has countless commoner. Even if she has cotton, how much could there be?”

At most, it would run out in a single day. It could not affect the overall situation.

Lin Yi thought this way, and the other merchants thought the same. Since an Imperial House Princess wanted to do good and build a reputation, they would let her.

She was only one person. How much cotton could she have?

A little goodwill could not save a vast sea gone dry.