The Full Story

At first, only two or three farmers came to make trouble in front of a grain shop.

Because there were so few of them, and they looked as though they were merely putting on a bold front, Steward Feng only had the shop hands drive them away. The An Family was already in troubled waters; with An Changfu dead and no one to lean on, they did not want to blow the matter up.

Yet only a few days later, the farmers who had been driven away returned to the grain shop and kicked up a huge fuss. Each of them acted as though they feared nothing, and some even rushed into the shop to seize grain. Of course, they did not succeed.

Steward Feng was a clever man. What had happened a few days earlier had sounded an alarm for him. Why had those people chosen to cause trouble only after An Changfu's death, when the An Family no longer had a master of the house? Though there had only been two or three of them then, he had still hired five strong, able-bodied thugs to guard the shop, precisely to prevent this moment. As it turned out, his guess had been right.

The farmers who tried to seize the grain were beaten out of the shop by the thugs' flailing clubs, their heads split and blood streaming.

Intimidated by the five thugs, the troublemaking farmers could only lower their banners and beat their drums for the time being, leaving with their injured companions.

But that had merely been the prelude. Two days later, the matter finally erupted in full. Seven or eight farmers might have been manageable, but a dozen or twenty were not. A crowd of farmers stormed into one of the grain shops under Steward Feng's management, each one crazed as they snatched grain. Though the grain in the shop's storeroom escaped disaster, everything on display in the storefront was taken clean.

Only afterward did Steward Feng learn that the shops managed by the other three stewards had suffered the same thing. Realizing that disaster was at hand, they finally came to the An Family.

After hearing them out, An Ziran fell silent.

Seeing that he said nothing, Steward Feng and the other three secretly shook their heads. It seemed he was still too young.

Although Steward Su had said that the young master was different from before, they had not held out much hope. What could a sixteen-year-old child do? A successful merchant needed broad vision, but boldness was equally important. The young master was still too young, his experience limited.

"How could farmers make trouble for no reason at all, even going so far as to seize grain?"

Just as the hall fell into utter silence, An Ziran's calm voice suddenly rang out. The four stewards looked over, and the moment their eyes met his black gaze, they somehow found themselves unable to look directly at him.

Steward Feng, the most senior among them, was the first to recover. He hurriedly said, "Young Master, we also feel there must be a reason. That is why I sent people to investigate, but they found nothing. There was not a single clue beforehand; it was as though it had happened out of nowhere. We suspect that someone may be stirring up trouble in the shadows, deliberately causing problems for the An Family."

Steward Feng and the other three were all shrewd old hands. Earlier, they had heard that An Changde and his wife had stormed out of the An Family residence in a fury. Given their temperaments, it was not impossible for them to do such a thing.

Even before An Changfu passed away, An Changde had already been eyeing the An Family's property greedily. If An Changfu had not been such a capable man, he might have made a move against the An Family long ago. With the nature of that husband and wife, it was entirely possible.

Moreover, they had another important reason for suspecting An Changde. The An Family controlled a vast amount of grain in Anyuan County. By reckoning, nearly eighty percent of the grain shops in all of Anyuan County belonged to the An Family. If the An Family refused to sell grain to those farmers, then unless they traveled a thousand miles to buy it in another county, they could only sit and wait to starve to death.

That was also one reason why, despite deeply hating An Changfu, the common people had not dared to resist. The An Family practically held Anyuan County's lifeline in its grip, forcing them to fear breaking the rat's vessel for the sake of the porcelain.

An Ziran pondered for a long while. "We must find a way to resolve this matter. Otherwise, more people will follow suit in the future. The four of you served under my father for over a decade, and your experience is far richer than mine. Do you have any ideas?"

Steward Feng and the other three immediately looked at one another. If they had a solution, they would not have come to the An Family.

The atmosphere sank into silence as no one spoke. After a while, another steward surnamed Liu finally said, "Young Master, I believe we can report this to the authorities. According to Da Ya's laws, those who openly rob grain may be exiled to the frontier if the offense is light, while those whose crimes are serious may even be executed. To make them understand the gravity of this matter, we must kill a chicken to frighten the monkeys."

"The method is good, but there is something improper about it." An Ziran's chubby fingers suddenly tapped lightly against the tabletop.

Steward Liu froze, then asked, "May I ask, Young Master, what is improper about it?"

An Ziran said calmly, "If my uncle is behind this, he must have thought of that already. To ensure his plan goes smoothly, he should have informed Magistrate Zhang in advance. If we go rashly, not only will we fail to achieve the effect we want, we may instead be struck down by a counterattack. If we want to prevent Magistrate Zhang from shielding them, we must first make some preparations."

Though commoners did not fight officials, the An Family was the great landowning family of Anyuan County. While An Changfu was alive, he often used money to pay respects to influential and powerful figures, lest the An Family become a third-rate merchant house looked down upon by others. Thus, he knew some high-ranking officials and nobles. If the An Family were pushed too hard, there was no guarantee they would not ask those people to step in.

Magistrate Zhang had dealt with An Changfu many times and knew some of his background. Therefore, even if he wanted to shield those tenant farmers, he could not do so openly and flagrantly, to the point of treating the law as nothing. They could make use of this very point now.

At his words, surprise instantly appeared in the eyes of the four stewards.

For the An Family's eldest young master to say such things, he absolutely could not be a worthless fool.