At the first light of dawn, the county’s main streets were already bustling with activity.

The wooden shutters of several grain shops were taken down one after another, and yawning shop assistants began hauling sacks of grain outside. Groups of commoners gathered nearby, craning their necks to peer in, yet no one stepped forward to buy.

“Forty wen? Why has it gone up instead of down?” someone asked in disbelief, staring at the price board on the wall.

The shop assistant merely nodded without answering.

A wave of jeers rose from the crowd.

“Didn’t they say prices would drop today?”

“They lied! Prices are still climbing!”

“The magistrate said within three days. This is already the fourth…”

The murmuring grew louder and louder, until the crowd became a dense, dark mass. Then suddenly someone shouted from within:

“Let’s go find the magistrate! Didn’t he say if prices didn’t come down, we could collect rice at the yamen?”

“That’s right! Let him answer for this!”

With that cry, the crowd erupted into motion. Dozens surged onto the street, cursing loudly as they headed toward the county yamen.

Inside the Qian family grain shop, Fatty Qian personally sat watching through narrowed eyes. Seeing the crowd move toward the yamen, the corners of his mouth curled upward, the flesh on his face quivering with satisfaction.

It worked.

He beckoned a servant over and lowered his voice.

“Go follow them. See how big a disturbance they can make.”

The servant hurried off.

Fatty Qian turned back into the shop, poured himself a cup of tea, and settled in happily to watch the show unfold. But before he could even finish one cup, chaos suddenly broke out outside.

He poked his head out and saw that the crowd which had been heading toward the yamen had somehow turned around and was now rushing toward Willow Tree Alley and the city gates instead.

Fatty Qian’s heart skipped.

He grabbed another shop assistant.

“Go see what happened!”

The man sprinted away.

At the entrance to Willow Tree Alley, several large carts stood in a row, piled high with grain sacks. Mei Chengsi himself stood in front of them, shouting at the top of his lungs:

“Line up, line up! One at a time! White flour, twenty wen a jin! Millet, eighteen wen! No shoving!”

The city gates were equally lively.

The head of the Zhuang family personally supervised his men unloading grain and weighing portions, sweating profusely from the work. More grain carts kept arriving in an endless stream from the distance.

At the very front of the line, an old man accepted a jin of white flour. He held it in both hands, staring at it over and over again. His lips trembled. Suddenly he crouched down, buried his face in the flour, and inhaled deeply.

“It’s flour… real white flour…”

The people beside him helped him back up. His eyes were already red with tears.

“Old brother, twenty wen! It’s really twenty wen!”

The crowd exploded in excitement, everyone shoving forward desperately. Several constables rushed over, slamming their staves against the ground before order was finally restored.

The people who managed to buy grain left beaming with joy, clutching their sacks tightly.

“Heaven has opened its eyes—there really is fair-priced grain!”

“The magistrate didn’t deceive us. Prices really dropped!”

At that moment, someone in the crowd suddenly raised his voice.

“Wasn’t it said grain prices rose because wholesale prices increased? Then where did all this cheap grain come from?”

The crowd stopped and turned.

It was a middle-aged man in plain clothes, shouting indignantly.

“That’s right! If cheap grain exists, why were those shops charging more?”

“They must’ve colluded to cheat us!”

“Let’s settle accounts with the Qian family grain shop!”

Like a tidal wave, the crowd turned and surged toward the Qian family store.

Inside the shop, Fatty Qian paced anxiously while waiting for news. Before his messenger could return, thunderous shouting erupted outside.

“Qian! Get out here!”

“Give us an explanation!”

Fatty Qian peeked outside—and his legs nearly gave out.

A black mass of people was flooding toward his shop.

Trembling, he forced open the door a crack and shouted with false bravado:

“What do you people want? If you don’t get lost right now, I’ll report you all to the authorities, you filthy peasants!”

That was like kicking a hornet’s nest.

“He still dares insult us!”

“Beat him to death!”

The doors shook violently under the pounding. Several young men kicked them open and rushed inside. Fatty Qian fled in panic with his head covered, taking several punches before diving beneath the counter, screaming miserably. The townspeople smashed everything they could get their hands on, turning the shop into complete ruin.

“Stop!”

A sharp shout suddenly cut through the chaos.

The crowd instantly quieted.

Xu Ke rode into view from the corner of the street, followed by more than a dozen constables.

Seeing him was like seeing a savior. Fatty Qian crawled out from beneath the counter and stumbled toward him, clutching at his horse’s leg while bawling loudly:

“My lord! Save me! These unruly peasants are trying to kill me! You must uphold justice for me!”

Xu Ke looked down at him, expression calm.

“Master Qian, what is the grain price in your shop today?”

Fatty Qian’s crying abruptly stopped.

Xu Ke dismounted and swept his gaze over the smashed-up store before turning toward the surrounding crowd.

“I asked you: what is the grain price today?”

Fatty Qian opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Someone nearby shouted:

“Forty wen! Even higher than two days ago!”

Xu Ke nodded and turned back to Fatty Qian. His voice was not loud, but every word rang clear.

“Why did you raise prices again?”

Fatty Qian trembled violently.

“Th-the wholesale price rose again, so naturally…”

“The wholesale price rose?” Xu Ke pointed toward the city gates. “Then what exactly are the Mei and Zhuang families hauling into the city? Grass?”

Fatty Qian was speechless.

Xu Ke let out a cold laugh.

“Colluding to raise prices. Manipulating the market. And you still dare deceive this official. According to Great Yan law: forty lashes. As the ringleader, your punishment increases by one degree. Men—”

Several constables stepped forward.

“Seal the Qian family grain shop. Give Qian Ming forty lashes in the street as a warning to others.”

Fatty Qian’s face turned deathly pale as he collapsed to the ground.

“My lord, spare me! Spare me!”

Xu Ke didn’t even glance at him. He merely waved a hand.

The constables pinned Fatty Qian to the ground. The whip came down, and his screams echoed through the streets and alleys.

Cheers erupted one after another.

By the time the forty lashes were finished, Fatty Qian was barely breathing. He was dragged away like a dead dog.

Xu Ke then turned back toward the crowd.

“As for the Sun and Li families—because they failed to lower prices today, each household is fined one hundred taels, to be confiscated for public use. Any future cases of price gouging will be punished the same way.”

Another wave of cheers swept through the crowd, and someone shouted:

“A just and righteous magistrate!”

Xu Ke raised a hand to quiet them, then spoke louder.

“I also have good news. At the small valley in the eastern outskirts, this official is opening a workshop. We are hiring workers—men and women alike. Wages paid daily. Anyone interested may go to the notices by the city gates, where someone will explain the details.”

The crowd instantly exploded with excitement. Forgetting even the magistrate’s presence, they surged toward the city gates once more.

Xu Fu stepped closer, grinning broadly.

“Master, today was truly satisfying! I’ve wanted to deal with that Fatty Qian for ages. He’s always been the loudest troublemaker.”

Xu Ke smiled faintly.

“There’s more waiting for him yet. Have the arrangements at the restaurant been made?”

“All arranged. The gentry are already there, just waiting for you.”

“Good. Today’s a happy occasion. I should drink a few extra cups.”

The restaurant hall had been entirely reserved by Xu Ke for the day.

By the time he arrived, it was already filled with noise and laughter. Seeing the magistrate enter, everyone hurriedly rose to greet him.

Xu Ke waved them down with a smile.

“My apologies for the wait, gentlemen. I was delayed while dealing with a petty nuisance.”

The gentry laughed obligingly.

Taking the seat of honor, Xu Ke swept his gaze across the room. Ge Datong, Mei Chengsi, the head of the Zhuang family, and every other gentry member who had attended yesterday’s banquet—none were absent.

He wasted no time and directly produced a stack of documents.

“I have remembered everyone’s contributions today,” he said, scanning the room. “I invited you all here for one matter only—the subscription of dry shares.”

Opening the ledger, he announced loudly:

“As discussed yesterday, the Shenjing venture will be divided into two hundred thousand shares. You gentlemen may take forty-five percent of them: ninety thousand shares total.”

He paused and looked toward Ge Datong and the others.

“Those who contributed grain, manpower, and carts today will receive an initial purchase quota of five thousand shares. Everyone else gets three thousand.”

The hall erupted instantly.

The faces of those who had hesitated yesterday turned green. The difference between five thousand shares and three thousand shares was two thousand shares—a yearly dividend difference of six hundred taels. Over ten years, that was six thousand taels lost.

Someone could not help but stand up.

“My lord, yesterday I—”

Xu Ke raised a hand and interrupted him.

“No need to rush, gentlemen. After purchasing these initial five or three thousand shares, if you wish to acquire more, you may exchange land for shares.”

He paused deliberately.

“And only land.”

His gaze swept slowly over the room.

“You all know how your land was acquired. Exchange land for shares, and in the future the workshop dividends will earn more than scratching profit from the soil ever could. You can do the calculations yourselves.”

The hall fell silent except for the rapid clicking of abacus beads.

The head of the Zhuang family was the first to stand.

“My lord, I subscribe to ten thousand shares.”

Xu Ke raised an eyebrow.

“Ten thousand? The Zhuang family truly has deep pockets.”

The patriarch gave a bitter smile and withdrew a thick stack of land deeds from his sleeve, offering them with both hands.

“These are deeds for two thousand mu of land, exchanged for five thousand shares. The remaining five thousand shares will be paid in silver.”

Xu Ke accepted the deeds, glanced through them, and nodded before setting them on the table.

“Very generous, Patriarch Zhuang. Record it.”

Xu Fu immediately bent to write.

That was all it took. The assembled gentry could no longer sit still.

“My lord, I subscribe to five thousand shares! Two thousand purchased with silver, three thousand exchanged with land!”

“I’ll take four thousand shares! Two thousand silver, two thousand land!”

“Six thousand for me!”

The hall instantly became deafening. Everyone shouted out numbers, scrambling to secure their place for fear of falling behind. Those who had hesitated the previous day were now red-faced with panic, squeezing toward the front and repeatedly shouting, “My lord, I subscribe!” terrified that if they were late, nothing would remain.

Seated at the head of the hall, Xu Ke watched the scene with the faintest smile curling at his lips.

Xu Fu was drenched in sweat from the chaos, while Jia Yun stood beside him helping direct the crowd until his voice was nearly hoarse.

Once the frenzy finally subsided, Xu Fu presented the ledger and reported quietly:

“Master, seventy thousand of the ninety thousand shares have been subscribed. We’ve collected fifty thousand taels in silver and eight thousand mu of land.”

Xu Ke nodded inwardly.

These gentry families truly were wealthy.

He raised a hand for silence.

“The shares subscribed today are now finalized. Starting tomorrow, bring your silver and land deeds to the county yamen for transfer and exchange them for share certificates.”

He paused briefly.

“These shares may not be sold privately. Anyone wishing to transfer ownership must register it at the yamen and update the records. When dividends are distributed, only the share certificates matter—not the person holding them.”

The crowd nodded repeatedly.

With business concluded, the banquet grew even livelier. Cups were raised and exchanged amid endless laughter. Xu Ke seized the opportunity to strengthen ties with the gentry who had drawn closest to him that day.

The feast continued from noon until nightfall before finally dispersing.

Xu Fu escorted the drunken Xu Ke back to the county yamen and busied himself once again.

Yingchun arrived with Siqi and Xiuju, all three fussing over him in a flurry. Lying on the bed, Xu Ke muttered endlessly about how great today’s accomplishments had been—how much land they had reclaimed, how many commoners could now be fed, how many workers the workshops would hire…

Siqi giggled.

“The master’s truly drunk. Even now he’s still worrying about the common people.”

Xiuju laughed too.

“Exactly.”

Yingchun said nothing. She merely listened quietly while wiping the sweat from Xu Ke’s forehead.

Candlelight danced across his face. His brows were relaxed, and even in sleep the corners of his lips still carried a smile.

Softly, almost to herself, she murmured:

“Following the master… everyone’s lives will get better.”

Siqi and Xiuju exchanged a glance and smiled.

Outside, the night lay deep and silent. Inside, candlelight flickered gently, filling the room with peace.