How It Happened

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

Since there were few of them and they seemed to be putting on a show of bravado, Steward Feng merely had the shop hands drive them away. The An Family was already going through troubled times. With An Changfu dead and no one to rely on, they did not want to make a big deal out of it.

Yet only a few days later, the farmers who had been driven away suddenly returned to the grain shop and kicked up a huge fuss. Each of them acted as though he 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 put him on alert. Of all times, those people had chosen to make trouble after An Changfu's death, when the An Family had no head of the household. Though there had only been two or three of them, he still hired five strong thugs to guard the shop, specifically to prepare for this very moment. As it turned out, his guess had been right.

The farmers who tried to seize the grain were beaten out of the shop with clubs, their heads split and bloodied.

Intimidated by the five thugs, the farmers causing trouble had no choice but to temporarily back down and leave with their injured companions.

But that had only 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 group of farmers stormed into one of the grain shops managed by Steward Feng and frantically snatched grain. Though the grain in the warehouse remained untouched, everything in the storefront was looted.

Only afterward did Steward Feng learn that the shops run by the other three stewards had suffered the same thing. Realizing the situation was serious, they came to the An Family.

After listening, An Ziran fell silent.

Seeing that he said nothing, Steward Feng and the other three secretly shook their heads. 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 not only broad vision but also courage and decisiveness. The young master was simply too young, and his experience was limited.

"Why would farmers cause trouble for no reason, let alone resort to seizing grain?"

Just as the hall had fallen utterly silent, An Ziran's calm voice suddenly rang out. The four stewards looked over, and the moment they met his black eyes, they somehow felt unable to look directly at him.

Steward Feng, the most senior among them, was the first to react. He hurriedly said, "Young Master, we also felt there had to be a reason for this, so I sent people to investigate. But they found nothing. There were no clues beforehand, as though it had happened out of nowhere. We suspect that someone may be stirring up trouble in secret to cause problems for the An Family."

Steward Feng and the other three were all shrewd men. They had heard earlier that An Changde and his wife had stormed out of the An Family home in a rage. Given their personalities, it was not impossible that they would do such a thing.

Even before An Changfu passed away, An Changde had already coveted the An Family's assets. If An Changfu had not been such a capable man, he might have made a move against the An Family long ago. Given the nature of An Changde and his wife, it was entirely possible.

Furthermore, they had another important reason for suspecting An Changde. The An Family controlled a vast amount of grain in Anyuan County. By all accounts, nearly eighty percent of the grain shops in the entire county belonged to the An Family. If the An Family refused to sell grain to those farmers, they could only either travel a great distance to buy it in another county or wait to starve to death.

This was also one reason why the common people, despite hating An Changfu so much, had not dared to resist. The An Family practically held Anyuan County's lifeline in its grasp, forcing them to hold back for fear of consequences.

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

Steward Feng and the others 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, Steward 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 borderlands in minor cases, while those whose circumstances are serious may even be executed. To make them understand the gravity of this matter, we must kill a chicken to scare the monkeys."

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

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

An Ziran said calmly, "If my eldest uncle is behind this, he must have already considered that possibility. To ensure his plan proceeds smoothly, he has likely informed Magistrate Zhang already. If we go rashly, not only will we fail to achieve the result we want, we may instead have the tables turned on us. If we want to prevent Magistrate Zhang from shielding them, we must make some preparations first."

Though commoners did not contend with officials, the An Family was a major landowning family in Anyuan County. While An Changfu had been alive, he had often used money to curry favor with influential people so that the An Family would not become a third-rate merchant family looked down upon by others. As a result, he knew some high-ranking officials and nobles. Thus, if the An Family were pushed too far, there was no guarantee they would not ask those people to intervene.

Magistrate Zhang had dealt with An Changfu many times and knew some of his background. Therefore, even if he wished to shield those tenant farmers, he could not do so so openly that he disregarded the law. They could make use of this point now.

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

The eldest young master of the An Family, capable of saying such things, could not possibly be a useless fool.