Doted By The Regent King
Chapter 161: Grain Prices Rise

Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Grain Prices Rise

The Old Zhou family’s minor disturbance went unnoticed by Wufu and the others; even with the scorching weather baking like fire, they kept their doors closed and carried on with their little lives as always.

However, Madam Zhou took a detour to her parents’ house while out buying tofu in the village, yet she never saw any of her relatives, nor did Lady Liang come to visit, which puzzled her.

What she didn’t know was that it wasn’t because Lady Liang didn’t want to visit; Old Lady Zhou had found Lady Liang and expressed her displeasure with her socializing with Madam Zhou and the others, advising her to avoid them if possible.

As a new daughter-in-law, Lady Liang dared not defy her mother-in-law, and although she felt unhappy and disdainful in her heart, she could only temporarily obey and stay away, for in-laws can be difficult to deal with.

After Madam Zhou roamed for two days, she probably guessed the situation and felt disheartened but said nothing.

Two days later, the grain shops in town suddenly raised their prices; grain that normally cost a dozen wen per jin now demanded double.

The following day, the price doubled again, finally sending the common folk into a panic.

The common people, already living in poverty, found this grain price inflation life-threatening, as many earned just a few wen money or a dozen wen money—how could they cope with such increases?

Wufu frowned as she watched the commoners, with their cloth bags, jostling in the grain shop.

"We’re sold out for today; come back tomorrow," the shop assistant began to drive people away.

"How can you do this, you clearly have grains, why don’t you sell them to us?"

"Exactly, who knows if it will still be the same price tomorrow?"

"Move along, move along, the grain is ours to sell if we want and not to sell if we don’t. If you want to buy, then come back tomorrow," the assistant pushed and shoved the commoners.

One of the grain buyers, an elderly person, fell to the ground wailing, "Heaven doesn’t leave us a way to live, nor do you!"

A gaggle of children also started crying.

"This is so vexing!" Wufu’s expression grew grim.

Shopkeeper Lin, standing beside her, let out a sigh, "In years of famine, it’s always like this; it’s still not too bad around here, in other places, they have it even worse."

Wufu said, "But with the grain prices rising like this, and they have grain but won’t sell, doesn’t the Government Office care?"

"They can’t do anything about it," Shopkeeper Lin lowered his voice and said, "Many grain shops have backers, with layers of connections up high; not getting directives is already a blessing, let alone regulating them."

Wufu read between the lines of his words, her expression darkening even more.

This meant that the grain shops acted this way because they had protectors above them, and the interests involved were not limited to the shops but extended to officials as well.

"A nation in decay, riddled with corruption," Wufu gritted her teeth.

She blurted out these words abruptly, startling Shopkeeper Lin so much that his face turned pale, and he quickly pulled her back, whispering, "My goodness, you can’t say things like that."

"Did I say something wrong?" Wufu glared at him.

In a year of disaster, officials should be thinking about how to provide relief, but instead they exploit layer upon layer. Isn’t that decay? Isn’t that corruption?

"You’re not wrong, but if someone hears you and you get taken away, what then?" Shopkeeper Lin wished he could roll his eyes and said, "You still have your mother to think about; you must think twice about everything, not just speak to satisfy your own feelings."

So young yet so reckless, has she never considered the disaster that comes from careless talk?

Wufu knew he meant well. Looking over at the grain shop, now with its doors shut and the crowd dispersing, she felt an overwhelming sense of frustration and said, "I’m going back to work."

Out of sight, out of mind; seeing such a scene, she felt powerless to help, and it was better to just look away.

Watching her indignant face, Shopkeeper Lin sighed deeply, his hands clasped, and he murmured, "What can we really do by complaining? We’re just ants trying to shake a big tree."