The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 465

Bang!

The table next to Mr. Li was overturned and shattered in mid-air, scattering across the ground.

The waiters outside were startled by the commotion coming from inside and rushed in. They were immediately taken aback by the sight of the shattered table on the floor. When their eyes fell on Mr. Li, who was still sitting, they noticed that he had a dazed expression on his face and was holding a teacup in his hand.

Wu Zhe's eyes widened at this moment, and he couldn't help but look at Jiang Ning, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Ignoring the others, Jiang Ning said to Boss Li, "Xi'an Prefecture has suffered a disaster, and many refugees have been displaced. The government wants to buy grain for disaster relief, but your Li family has raised the price of grain to one tael and five mace per shi."

Boss Li hadn't recovered from what had just happened, and upon hearing Jiang Ning's words, he couldn't help but look at him.

Jiang Ning continued, “Go back and tell your family head that I am from the Huashan Sect and my name is Jiang Ning. Tell him to come find me now. I will wait for him here. I want to ask you whether it is true or false that you raised grain prices because of the increase in your manpower and material costs. If I find out that you are just trying to make a fortune, I will bypass the government and take action against you directly.”

"I'm only giving you one hour. If your patriarch doesn't come by then, I'll personally come to your door."

boom!

Mr. Li's hand trembled, and the teacup fell to the ground and shattered.

He was shocked when he heard Jiang Ning's words, but he didn't dare to speak. He quickly got up, but collapsed to the ground the next second. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and he barely managed to stand up.

"Yes Yes Yes."

Mr. Li muttered to himself as he left with the help of his employees, no longer behaving as before.

Jiang Ning sat down on a chair and began to wait.

At this moment, Wu Zhe also came to his senses and looked at Jiang Ning.

"Young Master Jiang, you..."

Wu Zhe was speechless. The scene he had just witnessed had a tremendous impact on him. He had never imagined that someone could destroy a table remotely; it was simply a fantasy. But he had actually seen it happen, which shattered his understanding of the world.

Of course, what surprised him even more at this moment was Jiang Ning's identity.

It turns out he was Jiang Ning, the man who struck fear into the hearts of many.

Wu Zhe was shocked.

Jiangning's reputation has grown so much that even they know a thing or two about it.

Jiang Ning looked at him.

"what happened?"

Wu Zhe quickly shook his head.

"it's okay no problem."

Jiang Ning saw this and asked no further questions.

Only half an hour had passed when hurried footsteps sounded outside. A middle-aged man walked in, looking very flustered. His eyes darted around, and when he saw Jiang Ning, his pupils contracted, clearly showing his fear.

Without time to say anything else, Li Bo quickly stepped forward, bowed deeply to Jiang Ning, and gave him a grand salute.

"This humble man, Li Bo, greets the great hero, Jiang."

Li Bo's voice was trembling slightly; it was hard to imagine how terrified he was at that moment.

Jiang Ning glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Not hearing Jiang Ning speak, Li Bo didn't dare to straighten up and could only remain in a bowing posture, not daring to move, making his movements look quite comical.

Li Bo was now filled with both fear and shock.

Shocked that this legendary jinx had come to Xi'an Prefecture, and terrified that Jiang Ning was now specifically looking for him, how could he possibly bear this?

Of course, Wu Zhe was even more shocked at this moment. He had met Li Bo before. This man was quite a figure and had a very good relationship with the Tongzhi. When had he ever seen him with this expression?

Jiang Ning remained silent, and Li Bo dared not get up, his forehead beginning to sweat, clearly under immense pressure.

Jiang Ning then spoke.

"You are the head of the Li family."

Li Bo cautiously began, "It is indeed I, Jiang the Great Hero."

Jiang Ning then asked, "Is this grain shop your property?"

Li Bo's lips trembled, but he dared not refuse to answer Jiang Ning's question, and said, "Yes."

Jiang Ning simply looked at him, her face expressionless.

"Now that the owner of this grain shop has summoned you, you must already understand what happened. The price of grain in your shop is far higher than the market price. Your men refuse to sell a single ounce or shi of grain to the government for disaster relief, saying it's because of rising labor and material costs. I only have one question for you: Is that really the case? Is it as your men say?"

Li Bo was under immense pressure, and upon hearing Jiang Ning's words, he was terrified, his soul nearly leaving his body, and he quickly shook his head.

"no!"

Li Bo exclaimed in panic, "This price increase was unilaterally raised by the grain shop manager. I was unaware of it beforehand, and I had never heard of the government purchasing grain for disaster relief, let alone intended to defy the government!"

Wu Zhe was completely stunned.

"You really don't know?"

Jiangning Road.

Li Bo shook his head frantically.

"I don't know!"

Jiang Ning stopped talking and just stared at him.

Li Bo dared not move, feeling utterly tormented. He cursed Boss Li in his heart and lamented how he had run into this jinx.

"If you don't know, then so be it."

Jiang Ning then spoke up: "The government is now buying grain for disaster relief. Would you sell it for one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure)?"

"Sell...no!!"

Li Bo was about to agree on the spur of the moment, but then he realized what he was doing and quickly shook his head, saying...

"The people of Xi'an have suffered from the disaster. I am willing to donate all the grain from my grain shop to the government for relief to the victims, without asking for a single penny."

Jiang Ning asked, "Wouldn't you be at a disadvantage if you did that?"

Li Bo quickly replied, "It is my blessing to be able to do what I can for the people."

"so be it."

Jiang Ning got up and walked outside.

Seeing that Jiang Ning did not pursue the matter, Li Bo finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had just escaped death.

Wu Zhe was completely stunned.

So easy?

Chapter 633: You'll know if it's true or not then.

Wu Zhe originally thought this would be very troublesome, but he didn't expect it to be resolved so easily.

Seeing Jiang Ning about to leave, Wu Zhe quickly followed, but the next second Jiang Ning turned around and walked back.

Li Bo, who thought he had escaped a disaster, had no time to feel relieved when he saw Jiang Ning turn around and walk towards him again, which made his heart pound wildly.

Are you still not going to let me go?

Li Bo felt somewhat desperate.

Jiang Ning's voice rang out.

"I've heard that you've made many connections with powerful people, and they must own quite a few businesses, right? Since you know them, it'll save you a lot of trouble. Tell them that if their grain shops are selling grain at prices far higher than supermarket prices, or if they're deliberately hoarding grain under the pretext of not having any to sell, I'll personally go and ask them what the reason is."

Li Bo was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening.

"Yes, yes, I will certainly pass on the message."

Jiang Ning said nothing more and turned to leave.

Wu Zhe paused for a moment, then followed.

After leaving the grain shop, Wu Zhe remained silent, as if he hadn't yet reacted, until Jiang Ning stopped and looked at him.

"what happened?"

Wu Zhe asked a question subconsciously.

Jiang Ning asked, "Where do we go next?"

"Huh? Oh."

Wu Zhe then realized what was happening.

"Since you've already... then there's no need to buy grain anymore. Go back and report to the prefect."

Jiang Ning nodded.

The two turned and headed back towards the government office.

Throughout the journey, Wu Zhe kept glancing at Jiang Ning, his mind still replaying the scene he had witnessed at Li Bo's grain shop.

“Jiang…uh…”

Wu Zhe no longer knew how to address Jiang Ning; he could no longer regard Jiang Ning as an ordinary martial arts practitioner.

Jiang Ning turned to look at him.

"Ok?"

"Hero Jiang".

Having transformed from a young hero into a great hero, Wu Zhe suddenly remembered that Jiangning had a gold medal awarded by the imperial court for the title of Great Hero of Guanzhong, so he began to refer to Jiangning as a great hero.

Wu Zhe called out hesitantly, "Do you usually treat other people like this?"

Jiang Ning's domineering attitude just now, and his willingness to come over at the slightest disagreement, seemed to be his usual practice, prompting Wu Zhe to ask him a question.

Jiang Ning glanced at him, not noticing the change in how he addressed him, and replied.

"That's not true."

Jiang Ning has always dealt with evil and heretical people; there's no need to go through all this trouble with them.

Wu Zhe's expression was somewhat strange upon hearing this, and it was unclear whether he believed it or not.

After a while, Wu Zhe mustered up his courage and asked, "Um... just now you told Li Bo in the grain shop that if there are people deliberately raising grain prices or hoarding grain and refusing to sell, you should go and ask them. I want to ask, if they are really like what you said, what are you going to do?"

"Then don't blame me for being impolite."

Jiang Ning made no attempt to hide his answer and replied directly.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhe's brow twitched.

Hey!

How exactly are you being impolite?

I'm a government official, after all. Can you please not make it so obvious?

Wu Zhe coughed, not asking what Jiang Ning meant by "rudeness," nor did he speak further.

Seeing that Wu Zhe didn't ask any more questions, Jiang Ning didn't bring up the topic either, and the two continued on their way in silence.

What a wonderful day.

Wu Zhe thought to himself.

The two returned to the government office. Wu Zhe was going to report to the Xi'an prefect, so Jiang Ning waited in the hall.

"Master Futai."

Wu Zhe stepped forward and bowed.

The Xi'an prefect was surprised to meet Wu Zhe.

"Why are you back so soon?"

The Xi'an prefect was surprised, saying that purchasing grain would take a long time, and Wu Zhe's return so quickly made the Xi'an prefect frown.

Is the grain harvest going poorly?

"Your Excellency, this is a list of grains stockpiled in some small grain shops that I have compiled."