Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There were several ways to improve competitiveness within business: product quality, service, and price.

The citizens living in the current era only expected to keep themselves alive. High quality customer service meant nothing to them. What they aimed for was always to feed themselves with the least amount of money.

Therefore, the grain stores could only choose to decrease their prices if they ever intended to compete with Jiang Pengji. Ultimately, however, it helped Jiang Pengji achieve her goal if they decreased their prices.

Price battles were never fair. The one with the advantage could play harder while the competition grew more furious. The ones at a disadvantage could only let the others lead them by their noses. Her main goal had never been to make a profit, anyway.

The rest of the grain stores would find that they were trapped in a deep hole if they kept competing with her. The inside people they had prepared were merely a way for them to mislead the rest of the grain stores.

“Yes,” Xu Ke replied.

Jiang Pengji pulled down the curtains of her wagon. She schooled her expression and asked him abruptly, “Who do you think should take the pot for this incident?”

Xu Ke was confused. “Pot?”

“Whose fault is it?” Jiang Pengji asked him once more. Clearly Xu Ke didn’t get the meaning of “pot.”

Xu Ke thought it through; he had a rather serious look.

It was a test he had received from his Langjun. If he happened to have a terrible performance, it would affect his evaluation.

After the period of time they had spent together, Xu Ke had learned one thing: His Langjun valued capability only from a person she wanted to use. If he left an incompetent impression on his Langjun, it was very likely he would never be valued. However, the question from his Langjun was too wide and vague. Xu Ke couldn’t be sure of it.

“Is it hard to answer?” Jiang Pengji asked.

Xu Ke responded quickly, “I’m sorry that I’m incapable, but I do have my modest opinion about it. From the surface, it should be the Meng’s in Cang Prefecture. It’s their fault the civil turmoil has impacted the daily life of the citizens in Hejian County. When I dig deeper, though, it does not seem as simple as that.”

Jiang Pengji didn’t deny him. “What else?” she asked.

Xu Ke ventured to answer, “It might be the responsibility of the gentry clans.”

Jiang Pengji’s eyes flew onto Xu Ke’s face. The viewers in the streaming room could see vividly that Xu Ke’s face was turning black.

Zuizhan Baishegeng: “Haha, quit doing that, host. You are scaring Xu Ke.”

Niupai Rousi Ximian: “But Xu Ke was truly asking for it. Our host is part of the gentry clan and he dares to say that the gentry clans should take the blame. He is literally asking for punishment.”

Laosiji Lianmeng: “#Chin Resting Emoji. That doesn’t sound right. Our host is not fond of the gentry clans either, all right?”

“This answer is too obscure, which is going to work for any random questions. What I want to know is something more detailed. You were saying it was gentry clans’ fault, and then what?” Jiang Pengji wasn’t offended by Xu Ke; she just was simply not satisfied with his answer.

Xu Ke was just stunned; he didn’t know what he could say.

“It is not an easy question for you, I have to admit. But why don’t you think about why the grain price is increasing rapidly with no limit? Why couldn’t the government take some measures to protect the interest of the citizens? It was nine times more expensive than the original price! It was like the grain stores have talked about it and they raised their prices as they wished. They increased the price one after another. They filled their wallets but left a number of citizens with no other choice but to starve.”

Xu Ke felt shame and said, “The grain stores are mostly the belongings of the noble gentry clans. They have sufficient stock but there are no regulations to restrict them.”

What was more, the government officers were mostly from the gentry clans. Why would they turn against their own families?

Jiang Pengji had a dirty look on her face. She wouldn’t feel much better even if they got a good result from suppressing the grain price. If she wasn’t in a good mood, no one else would be, either.

Holding onto that idea, she resolved to take over the grain market of Hejian County within the next two months.

“If you were the Hejian County Chief, what would you do to save your citizens?” Jiang Pengji threw another question at him. Xu Ke was bitter but he couldn’t complain.

Who didn’t know that the Hejian County Chief was merely a puppet who didn’t have the power or back-up? There was no way for him to hold down the rampant gentry clans with such a title. Whoever was in the position, even if he had the kindest heart in the world, could only act indifferent about it.

But Xu Ke was not a normal person. He struggled to consider the question and he had a bold assumption.

My Langjun never obeys the rules. He has a quick mind and he acts profligate and unrestrained. If it is so, why don’t I try to change my method of thinking? I might have some different answers. An idea flashed through his head and he came up with a solution.

“If I was the Hejian County Chief with veracious gentry clans watching me––if I had no power but a false title and I had no way to stop the grain price from growing––then why shouldn’t I encourage the grain stores and businessmen to continue the increase of the price and make the price higher? The higher the better.”

Jiang Pengji had a beam of light in her eyes and there was a light smile on her lips.

The viewers in the streaming room were all startled.

Weren’t they talking about suppressing the grain price? Why did Xu Ke’s answer receive such approval from the host?

Laosiji Lianmeng: “I think I understand him. He is encouraging the grain price to a level that no one can afford so he can send people to do some advertising to the towns nearby in order to advocate for people in the grain business to ship more grain to Hejian County. Once there is a relatively large supply but the demands remain the same, the price will automatically decrease.”

Businessmen pursuing profit was a norm for any era.

“But this solution can only be used once.” Jiang Pengji nodded at him with a content look, she was rather pleased by his answer.

He was a person with talent that she took seriously, after all, and Jiang Pengji needed him to be more useful. She was in a desperate need of people with talent.

Before she could find anyone who could assist her, her only hope was Xu Ke could become more competent. At the same time, Xu Ke felt a chill at his back and he had a bad hunch.

The other grain stores had sent some customers to wander around their gates before. They were potential customers even though they were not going in for transactions. It had been half a day and those people had all disappeared. The managers of the grain stores who were getting ready to make a load of money were all bewildered.

They sent their clerks to poke around and find out the reason. They received their response very soon.

“Who is acting so boldly?” The manager of the grain store stormed out. It was exactly like snatching food from a tiger’s mouth. He went silent when his clerk told him who was behind the affront.

It seemed like a competition between the grain stores. But if it went nasty, it was inevitable that the powers behind the stores would become involved.

The clerk fretted and asked the manager, “Manager, what should we do?”

“D*mn, what can we do? Let it be for now. I need to go to the owner’s mansion first and report to the butler about the situation.”

Most of the managers of the grain stores in Hejian County made the same decision around the same time.

Opening a grain store was a business that they wouldn’t make a great fortune on, but it wasn’t easy for them to lose money. Therefore, those gentry clans didn’t put much effort into the business and left most of the affairs to the managers themselves.

The managers came around, and they believed that it wouldn’t harm them much if they were not going to make too much. It was not going to change the fact they were still making a profit out of it. They might as well decrease their prices to match Jiang Pengji’s.

But they didn’t expect that Jiang Pengji would give an order to decline her prices by another twenty percent right after she heard the news.