Chapter 82 The truth comes out
Although the grain business in Jizhou is very profitable, hiring an escort company is also a considerable expense for several shopkeepers.

So after a few times, the shopkeepers let down their guard.

But once these shopkeepers did not hire the escort agency, an extremely arrogant man appeared on the right side of the ear.

This went on several times, almost forcing several shopkeepers to stop doing business, and they all thought about returning to Qingzhou.

Fortunately, Yizi'er had a bottom line in doing things. He always robbed food but did not kill people. Moreover, he did not rob every batch of food. He would usually rob once every two or three trips. This left room for the shopkeepers to survive.

At this point, Yizier chuckled and said, "The reason why I know the movements and arrangements of the shopkeepers is all because of Lu Guancheng's tip-off."

"Every time he took away your food, Lu Guancheng would buy it back at half the price. To put it bluntly, the food sold in his store belongs to all the shopkeepers."

Several shopkeepers were in disbelief. In Jizhou, they had almost followed Lu Guancheng's lead, but they did not expect Lu Guancheng to treat them like this.

However, Yizier is just a bandit, how credible can his words be?

Or maybe Wang An found out that several of them were often robbed by Yi'er, and he happened to catch Yi'er, so the two of them teamed up to put on a good show to deceive everyone.

Wang An looked at the faces of the five shopkeepers and immediately guessed what they were thinking. He chuckled and took out the secret letter that Lu Guancheng had written to Yizier from his arms.

Chen He immediately stepped forward to take it and handed it to the fat middle-aged man.

The obese middle-aged man opened the secret letter and immediately recognized it as Lu Guancheng's notes. He was so angry that his blood boiled and he almost fainted.

Several shopkeepers came forward to support him, and the fat shopkeeper handed the secret letter to them.

After several people took a look, they all had the same reaction as the fat shopkeeper.

Now that there was evidence, the last bit of doubt in the minds of the shopkeepers disappeared.

They all started cursing angrily, wishing Lu Guancheng could come back to life so that they could beat him to death again.

After the emotions of the few people calmed down a little, Wang An raised his hand and said, "Although the money lost by the shopkeepers is irrecoverable, now that Lu Guancheng has been brought to justice, it is somewhat comforting."

The fat shopkeeper immediately stood up and said, "Please forgive us, Your Highness. We were too conceited and thought that Your Highness was..."

Wang An laughed and said indifferently: "There is no need to mention the past. What's important is the future."

"Although I sell grain at a fair price, it is not a long-term solution after all."

Wang An's current food supply is mainly purchased from his uncle, Prince Fu.

People will only give me the preferential price of nine cents of silver because of my status.

But this kind of thing can only happen once. People open their doors to do business to make money. If Wang An always comes to buy food at a preferential price, and buys a lot.

If this goes on for a long time, even relatives will become enemies.

Therefore, Wanan knows very well that this channel cannot last long.

Therefore, to stabilize the grain prices in Jizhou, hope still lies on these shopkeepers.

Several shopkeepers were moved by shame at this moment. Upon hearing this, they immediately promised solemnly: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, we are willing to adjust the price of grain to one tael of silver and sell it at a fair price." However, Wang An did not show much joy. Instead, he shook his head and said, "Absolutely not."

Everyone, including Chen He, was stunned.

What surprised Chen He was that these Liangshan people were rarely willing to take the initiative to lower the price of grain. What did Wang An mean by not only not agreeing immediately but also refusing?

The fat shopkeeper and others were surprised and doubtful, wondering if Wang An was not satisfied with the price of one tael of silver. Just as they were thinking about whether to lower the price by another penny, Wang An spoke again.

"All the shopkeepers came to Jizhou just to make money. As the saying goes, businessmen pursue profits, and this is not a derogatory term. After all, this is how you make a living, so there is nothing to be ashamed of."

Several shopkeepers looked embarrassed but did not say anything in rebuttal. It was obvious that Wang An hit the nail on the head.

Wang An continued, "I also know that you are willing to lower the grain price at this time not because of Lu Guancheng, but because you are sincerely willing to do something for the people of Jizhou."

"However, I have also been to Qingzhou City and know the price of grain at this time. Even in Qingzhou, the cost of grain is between seven and eight cents. After mobilizing a large number of people to transport it to Jizhou, the cost will undoubtedly increase by two to three cents of silver."

"That is to say, the cost of transporting grain to Jizhou has reached about one tael. If you were asked to adjust the price of grain to one tael, wouldn't that mean you would not make any money?"

When several shopkeepers heard Wang An's sympathy, they nodded and said, "I didn't expect that the prince, who is in a high position, could sympathize with the difficulties of merchants like us. We are really touched."

Wang An chuckled and said, "You don't have to be touched. I am just doing business. No one in this world wants to do business at a loss."

"And what this king wants is long-term peace and stability, not temporary gains and losses. So this king believes that if you all really want to do something for the people of Jizhou, it is not necessary to adjust the grain price to one or two taels."

The fat shopkeeper asked, "In your opinion, how much would be the most appropriate weight for these two?"

Seeing that they were getting to the point, Wang An said with satisfaction, "One tael and two cents, maybe not as lucrative as before, but it's a long-term profit and can earn you a good reputation. And I can guarantee that your grain transportation routes will be peaceful in the future. So, your profits are not low."

Several people looked at each other and nodded, "Then it's up to Your Majesty to decide!"

It was indeed as Wang An said, originally when these shopkeepers transported grain back to Jizhou, they would prepare a guard to rob it one out of three times. If the cost was spread out evenly, the cost of each stone of grain had already exceeded one tael and two cents.

But now Igor has been captured by Wang An, and the culprit Lu Guancheng has also been brought to justice.

In addition, with Wang An's guarantee, if the grain routes are unobstructed in the future, everyone's food costs will be controlled below one or two taels.

So the selling price of one liang and two qian may seem to be three qian less than the original one liang and five qian, but the actual profit is not much lower than before.

And now that Lu Guancheng is gone, the remaining five people can divide up the remaining market share in Jizhou.

As Wang An said, this is a long-term strategy.

For several shopkeepers, lowering grain prices not only does not result in losses, but is also a stable source of income.

As a result, both parties were happy, the shopkeepers solved the mystery of the robbery, and at the same time they also let out a sigh of relief.

The people of Jizhou can also get evaluated grain.

(End of this chapter)