The Second Volume: Misty Canyon Chapter 15: Overbearing Attitude

  Yicheng, Ningtai Business Firm

  This is the oldest business in Yicheng, since the beginning of pampas grass cultivation in Yicheng, this store has been handling all pampas grass related businesses, for 600 years, it has never changed its address, although it has undergone several renovations, but still maintains its original appearance.

  Perhaps this business is not the most luxurious or largest in Yicheng, but it is absolutely the most famous and also the most powerful business, because behind this business stands the ruler of the three southwestern states, Ning Wangfu.

  Because Ninteiya has always been in the business of pampas grass, at first it only opened during the pampas grass harvest season. However, as time passed and storage technology for pampas grass improved, Ninteiya also stored large quantities of pampas grass, allowing the business to continue uninterrupted for a full 600 years.

  For over two hundred years, the Ningtai shop has been open for more than 360 days a year, except for five days of inventory. During the peak season of harvesting pampas grass, it was even busier here, with people coming and going all night, but today is not an inventory day for Ningtai shop, yet it is closed.

  The old, black-painted gate was tightly closed, but behind it was a bustling scene. Almost all the bosses of the various shops in Yicheng had gathered here, and in addition to them, there were also the captains of the ships docked at the Yicheng wharf. In total, nearly fifty people had converged on the main hall of the Ningtai Business Firm.

  Wang Guanlan looked at the crowd's excitement and felt a head full of fog. He had been in Yicheng for a whole month, during which time Yicheng had already been turned upside down because of the price and transportation costs of Fengwei grass, yet he, the actual controller of Ningtai Hang, had not shown his face at all and was extremely carefree!

  Ning Tai and other merchant houses have been at a stalemate, with more and more pampas grass accumulating, forming an obvious overstocking phenomenon. Due to the lack of business, nearly 60% of the ships on the dock have also stopped operating. The entire Yi City is in a strange state of stagnation. Until five days ago, when Ning Tai House transported ten large carts of fresh pampas grass to the Ning Wang Fu, things took a subtle turn.

  At this time, transporting ten large carts of Fengwei grass is not ordinary, you know that every year, Yicheng Ningtai Hang has to pay a portion of its profits to the Ning King's Mansion and also be responsible for supplying Fengwei grass to the Ning King's Mansion. However, the supply quantity is actually not much, only one cart per year, which is enough for the Ning King's Mansion to use for a year with some leftover. But there has never been a situation like now, where ten carts are transported at once, enough for the Ning King to use for over a decade. Although the medicinal effect of Fengwei grass can only last for three years and will gradually disappear over time, if it is made into Dan medicine in advance, that's a different story. Even ordinary Dan medicine can preserve its efficacy for over ten years, and some high-grade Dan medicine can even be preserved for over a hundred years.

  Therefore, Ning Taihang's move was seen as seeking support from the Ning Wangfu. Of course, even if he could get support from the Ning Wangfu with ten carts of Fengweicao, this support would not be too much, and the handwriting would be too small, showing a bit of petty bourgeois mentality.

  However, this is also a stalemate. Ning Taihang made the first move. To know that both sides in a stalemate are fragile and any small movement can break the balance. So, after learning about Ning Taihang's actions, almost all the business houses in Yicheng started to put pressure on Ning Taihang from all aspects, wanting to force Wang Guanlan to come out and negotiate.

  Of course, this is also the helpless measure of these merchants. Wang Guanlan was completely different from the opponents they had encountered before. In many cases, he didn't even give them a chance to confront him, not even meeting face-to-face. This time, the merchant sent a representative to negotiate with him about the price of medicinal materials, but he was dismissed by Wang's single sentence. The merchant felt insulted and humiliated, so they began to jointly boycott Ningtaihang. For nearly a month, Ningtaihang's Fengweicao hadn't sold a single plant. Others would have been anxious by now, but Wang Guanlan didn't seem to care at all, as if Ningtaihang wasn't his business. As for the matter of the boat owners on Nuoshui River wanting to raise their transportation fees, he handled it even more extremely. With just one sentence, he changed the shipping method and completely threw this burden onto the major merchants. The major merchants would not agree, but they had no choice but to accept it. Wang Guanlan simply ignored them, rendering their numerous tactics useless.

  Five days ago, Wang Guanlan sent a batch of pheasant tail grass to the Ningwang Mansion. They knew this was a sign that Wang Guanlan was making his move and could no longer sit still. They finally began to collude with each other, joining forces with the ship owner, using all sorts of tactics to put pressure on Wang Guanlan. Sixty percent of the ships on the Angry River stopped, and a large amount of goods were stuck at the dock, unable to be transported out. Eighty percent of the shops in Yicheng closed down, and now people in Yicheng have to run all over the county just to buy a scallion, but still can't get one. Under such circumstances, the first person who couldn't sit still was County Magistrate Yao Yifei. As the county magistrate and the "father" of Yicheng, he naturally couldn't let Yicheng become a dead city again. He finally took matters into his own hands and personally mediated today's meeting.

  Wang Guanlan can afford to not give face to merchants, can leave all the business houses in the city on the dock drinking northwest wind, but as a scholar and representative of Ning Wangfu in Yicheng, he cannot afford to not give face to County Magistrate Yao Yifei, so today he reluctantly appeared in front of everyone.

  The appearance of Wang Guanlan seemed to have given the people, who had been accumulating anger for over a month, a place to vent their anger. Looking at this young and seemingly weak-looking fourteen-year-old prince, each pair of eyes appeared somewhat malicious.

  "I don't like their gaze!" Wang Guanlan looked at these people, a hint of sarcastic smile flashing on his face, "It seems that they are forcing the palace!"

  "It seems that today's matter is not easy to handle!!" Yao Yifei also felt the atmosphere in the hall, and his body slightly leaned towards Wang Guanlan, saying in a low voice.

  "Don't worry, old parents, it's nothing serious, the students will handle it properly!!" Wang Guanlan said with a smile.

  "Alright, it's best to resolve this properly!" Yao Yifei nodded his head. As the county magistrate of this city, he naturally didn't want such a thing to happen either. After all, he was the nominal ruler of this city, and if something really happened, it would also affect his performance evaluation.

  "Alright, everyone, settle down, settle down!!" Seeing that everyone had arrived, the hall was still filled with a cacophony of noise. Wang Qing walked to the front of the hall, cleared his throat and shouted loudly, "Everyone, settle down, settle down!"

  The hall slowly quieted down, and everyone's eyes focused on Wang Guanlan sitting upright in his chair. As for Yao Yifei beside him, he was selectively ignored.

  "Now that everyone is here, including the young master of the 14th household, what are your thoughts and requests? You can discuss them with the young master!!" Qing Yi Wen Shi Yuan Kang had been standing beside Yao Yifei all along, and seeing that the surroundings had quieted down, he spoke up without hesitation, after all, this meeting was initiated by the county government.

  As for the county government hosting this meeting, Wang Guanlan did not have any objections. After Yuan Kang finished speaking, there was another murmur of voices below, seemingly discussing something. After a while, it gradually calmed down, as if some agreement had been reached. A stout middle-aged man slowly walked out from the crowd.

  "This fat guy looks a bit familiar!" Wang Guanlan looked at the fat guy who came out and felt as if he had seen this guy somewhere before.

  "This is the original boss of Ningtaihang, Weng Dingshu!!" Wang Qing hastily added, seeing a puzzled expression flash across Wang Guanlan's face.

  "Ah!!" Wang Guanlan suddenly remembered that this fat guy was one of the ten bosses he had met when he first arrived in Yicheng, and also one of the three bosses who decided to leave later. He thought he would never have the chance to see him again, but unexpectedly, he appeared here at this time and place. Looking at his face with a flying expression, Wang Guanlan had an urge to kick him in the face.

  "Wong Ting-shu has seen the 14th Shao!" This fat man swayed and walked forward, not losing his manners, but that tone, that expression, really made Wang Guanlan very angry.

  Bang!!!

  Only to see Wang Guanlan lift his foot, a white shadow flew out from under his foot and shot rapidly at the fat man. The fat man's body was large and he had only practiced some simple internal skills for health purposes, how could he avoid Wang Guanlan's deliberate kick?

  Then, the white shadow hit Weng Ding Shu's face, and a huge force sent Weng Ding Shu's fat body flying out, heavily hitting the ground, his body colliding with the ground making a dull thud, and then there was no sound.

  The whole hall fell silent!

  Dozens of eyes stared blankly at two places, the ground where the fat man was lying and Wang Guanlan with one foot raised. Wang Guanlan not only had his feet raised, but also barefoot, his shoes were printed on Weng Ding's face.

  Wang Guanlan glanced at Weng Dingshu, who had fainted and fallen to the ground, a strange smile flashing across his face. He swept a glance over the stunned crowd and said, "I don't want to talk to this son of a bitch, get someone else to talk to me!!"

  First, there was a moment of silence, then a commotion. After a while, someone finally came forward. This time, it was an old man who looked somewhat frail and weak. His demeanor was completely different from that of Weng Ding Shu. He had a gloomy expression on his face and was trembling with fear, being extremely cautious.

  "Don't be afraid, I don't know you and won't do anything to you!" Wang Guanlan said calmly. "I just can't stand that scoundrel!" He glanced at the fat man again, "Why haven't you dragged him away yet? Leaving him here is making a scene!"

  Before the words had fallen, Tian Cheng and Tian Yu suddenly flashed to the side of the fat man and dragged him down.

  "Alright, say what you have to say!" Looking at this seemingly frail old man, a hint of coldness flashed in Wang Guilan's eyes. The prosperous and powerful owner of the Wang Da Zhuang shop, Wang Gui Xi, was not someone who could be intimidated by just one shoe!

  Wang Guilan was observing Wang Guixi, but didn't know that Wang Guixi was also secretly muttering to himself, thinking that this Fourteenth Young Master was not simple at all.

  For this meeting, the major business houses in Yicheng made sufficient preparations and even simulated every step and detail, while Weng Ding Shu was a crucial link.

  However, no one expected Wang Guanlan to come up with this at the beginning, suddenly disrupting all their plans. No matter what the plan or layout is, the first step is always the most important. But before they could even take that first step, someone had already cut off their foot. If it were in a different situation, he would have even had the urge to run away with his tail between his legs. But now, in this kind of situation, he was already at a point of no return. The only thing worth being grateful for is that this time their plan was very thorough, and the group of people were very united. No one knew better than him that in a small place like Yicheng, when this group of people came together, how great their power would be.