Zheng Baorong, who was already on tenterhooks, could no longer hold back.
He hurriedly said: "That's not right. If you encounter such a situation, why don't you go to the government to report it?"
This time the woman didn't say anything, but a middle-aged man next to her, carrying a hoe, rolled up his trouser legs, and with mud on his feet, who seemed to have just come from the fields, sneered: "Report to the government? It's useless, they all
Officials protect each other, so if you don't report it, it's okay. Once you report it, at least you won't be able to buy it, or at worst, you'll be beaten."
"A few days ago, my brother came from out of town to visit relatives. He was still a minor water transport official in Jiaozhou. After reporting the report, he was not beaten, but he was taken out of the capital that night. My family still can't buy salt.
I can barely survive by relying on the help of my neighbors.”
Li Chen frowned deeply and asked: "So the price of rice has increased. The rice sold by these rice shops is collected from the hands of ordinary people and landlords. Has the purchase price increased?"
"Even so, the purchase price must have increased a lot, right?" Zheng Baorong asked eagerly.
Li Chen turned his head and looked at Zheng Baorong expressionlessly, "Will you die if you don't speak?"
Zheng Baorong immediately shut up, lowered his head and did not dare to say anything.
The middle-aged man said at this time: "It has gone up, of course it has gone up."
Zheng Baorong, who had just lowered his head, looked happy.
If the purchase price had also increased, then my sin would not be so serious.
But then, he heard the middle-aged man say again: "It's just that the price Mihang purchased from the landlords has been slightly increased by 50%, but it's useless. Most of the bosses of Mihang are big landowners themselves. They
It's just that the left hand is transferred to the right hand."
"As for the purchase price for tenants and ordinary farmers, it has fallen instead of rising. The world is not peaceful, and transportation and storage costs have to rise. In short, there are various reasons to suppress the purchase price. If you don't sell, it's not enough. When you encounter someone who doesn't want to sell,
They just come to rob people, and killing several people at every turn is nothing new."
Li Chen's face became darker and darker as he listened, and he said: "Is it so serious? Is there any evidence?"
The middle-aged man laughed, lifted up his shirt, revealing his scarred chest and a collapsed rib, and said, "Master, does this count as evidence?"
Li Chen took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth: "Forget it."
Another older man said to Li Chen: "Master, maybe you are really chivalrous, but you can't control this kind of thing. These rice shops dare to increase the price, and it has been fine for so long. There are all these people behind it."
Someone is backing them, and I heard that His Royal Highness the Prince of the East Palace is the master behind them, how do you care?"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince?"
Li Chen said in a deep voice: "If the prince really supports these people, then this prince is not worthy of being called a prince."
When these words came out, the faces of the people nearby changed drastically.
The old man even said anxiously: "Be careful what you say! Be careful what you say! This is the capital, under the emperor's feet, and the roads are full of Dongchang's fangs. If you tell them what you say, you will be taken to Dongchang and tortured.
.”
Li Chen said: "Old man, I know you have good intentions, but what I am talking about is the truth. Not to mention the capital city, even in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the truth is the same. Wrong is wrong, right is right. The prince will never
May support this pest."
As soon as Li Chen finished speaking, a voice came from inside the store: "Hey? I heard crows cawing when I woke up today. I knew something bad was coming. Sure enough, a few unknown wild dogs came in front of my store.
Hu barking, who do you think you are and how dare you speak ill of my Highness the Crown Prince?"
