Chapter 636: First Volume_Chapter 636: The Rube on Horseback

First Volume_Chapter 636: The Rube on Horseback

The moment Zhao Zan spoke those words, it immediately stirred up an enormous uproar at the scene.

The visiting merchants from the North present looked at Zhao Zan in disbelief.

They knew Zhao Zan was no good sort, but they hadn't expected him to reveal his true colors so quickly.

Quite a few merchants had already begun to plead desperately.

"Young Master, you absolutely cannot do this."

"Give us one extra share of profit just to break even; if you cut even one share, we'll surely lose every last coin."

"So many of us have left our homes and businesses behind, traveled a thousand li to Yanshou County, just to earn a bit of money to feed our families."

"Have a heart, please."

Faced with the merchants' pleas, Zhao Zan's face remained impassive. He gave a cold snort: "If that's the case, what are you all standing around for?"

"Why aren't you rushing to grab a spot!"

The quick-witted merchants at the scene had already started running toward the Zhao Family Grain Shop.

Once the first one ran, the merchants surged toward the Zhao Family Grain Shop like madmen.

To lose a little less, people spared no effort, nearly cracking their heads pushing through the crowd.

Seeing this, Zhao Zan burst into loud laughter.

"Hahaha, Shopkeeper Lin, did you see? This is human nature!"

"If even merchants are like this, the commoners are even more unruly."

"Your Qin Family Grain Shop ended up shut down for good for the sake of these worthless creatures—was it worth it?"

Faced with Zhao Zan's mockery, Lin Ziyi was filled with righteous indignation.

"Zhao Zan, you've gone too far!"

"Is there nothing too unconscionable for you to do, all for the sake of money?"

The moment those words left her mouth, Zhao Zan's eyes instantly turned fierce.

"Unconscionable? Heh! Men die for wealth, birds die for food."

"These merchants, these commoners—they're all hopeless losers."

"I only had to use a tiny trick, and they started fighting among themselves. Heh, only you and the Qin Family would waste energy propping up such trash."

Zhao Zan's face was full of contempt; he loathed the commoners and merchants to the bone.

In his view, Shedynasty's prosperity today depended entirely on great merchants like the Zhao Family.

As for those commoners and merchants—besides holding Shedynasty back and requiring endless relief—what value did they have?

Only fools like the Qin Family would waste their time on this bunch of useless people.

Lin Ziyi clenched her fists and argued her case forcefully.

"Without the common people, where would Shedynasty come from?"

"The people are water, the ruler a boat; water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

"The Qin Family isn't just helping the common people—they're helping Shedynasty's future."

The moment those words left her mouth, Zhao Zan's wild laughter echoed through the entire North Street.

"Hahaha, you're killing me."

"The Qin Family are fools, but you're even more foolish than they are!"

"Birds of a feather really do flock together."

Zhao Zan looked Lin Ziyi up and down, greed flashing in his eyes.

Such a youthful age, a face like a flower—tsk tsk…

Zhao Zan shifted his tone and said with a grin: "Shopkeeper Lin, I advise you to wake up."

"Following a grain shop like the Qin Family's gets you nowhere."

"If you'd come work for my Zhao Family Grain Shop, you'd still be the shopkeeper, and in both pay and treatment, there's no comparison to what the Qin Family can offer."

"A man should know his place and adapt to the times."

"If you don't want to keep showing your face in public, with your looks, becoming my concubine would mean a lifetime of wealth and glory you couldn't exhaust."

This was no longer just vicious business competition.

It was outright personal insult, trampling on dignity.

Lin Ziyi, torn between grief and fury, could not help but cry out angrily: "Zhao Zan! Don't you dare take liberties with me!"

"I have the Qin Family behind me. If you keep talking nonsense, don't blame me for—"

Before Lin Ziyi could finish, Zhao Zan had already started cursing.

"Stinky woman, giving you face and you won't take it."

"The Qin Family? What do the Qin Family count for!"

"I am the Second Young Master of the Zhao Clan. You probably don't know this yet, but behind my Zhao Clan stands the might of the Central Plains Imperial Party!"

"Forget the Qin Family—even if Qin Feng himself came, I wouldn't flinch!"

"Hmph, Lin Ziyi, you're far too naive."

"Setting aside whether Qin Feng even has the ability to protect you—even if he did, he's the sort who stays deep in Jingdu."

"How could he possibly care about a mere little hired hand like you?"

"If you fall, he can just replace you with someone else."

The grain merchants of Yanshou County present, seeing Lin Ziyi's cause was lost, stopped sitting on the fence.

They joined Zhao Zan's side one after another, launching a verbal assault on the lone-standing Lin Ziyi.

"Heh, a little girl whose fuzz hasn't even grown in yet—what place do you have to speak here in Yanshou County?"

"Exactly! You're way too full of yourself—you're just a dog of the Qin family!"

"Everyone says a dog barks loudest when backed by its master; now I finally understand what that means."

"Lin Ziyi, stop struggling—just find a man and marry him. Business isn't for a woman like you."

"Hehe, I think the young master of the Zhao family would be a perfect match. Lin Ziyi, it's your fortune to catch his eye."

Lin Ziyi's face flushed red, filled with shame and fury.

As a woman, it was already hard enough for her to show her face in public.

Now, she was being publicly humiliated by every merchant in Yanshou County, united as one.

Anyone with weaker mental fortitude would have collapsed already.

Lin Ziyi clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and struggled to hold on—but inside, she was utterly hopeless.

Never mind a small branch—even the entire Qin Grain Shop meant nothing more than a single hair from a cow's tail to the Qin family.

The Qin family would naturally not devote much attention to this Grain Shop.

If even the Headquarters of the Grain Shop is ignored, how could the Qin family possibly notice a mere branch shopkeeper like her?

The thought of her branch collapsing under her care...

Made Lin Ziyi's chest tighten until she could barely breathe, her eyes stinging with tears.

Just as Lin Ziyi was about to give up...

A sudden outcry shattered the standoff.

"Good heavens!"

Someone screamed out—and all eyes in the crowd turned toward the source.

Three men on towering horses were slowly approaching.

The man on the left was broad-shouldered and muscular, clad in Light Armor, radiating fierce authority.

The man on the right, though dressed as a servant, held his head high with unmistakable arrogance.

The man in the center, young in age, wore a plain white long robe, his face carrying a faint, elusive smile.

At first glance, he seemed approachable.

But when one met his eyes, a chill ran down the spine.

The light in those eyes pierced through with a sharpness capable of seeing straight into the soul.

Seeing these three men...

Most in the crowd were utterly baffled.

Zhao Zan snorted, sneering: "Who the hell are they? Never seen them before!"

"Riding horses and thinking they're Young Masters? Ridiculous! Don't you know where you are?"

Lin Ziyi also furrowed her brows, knowing nothing of these three men.

She only sensed an air of extraordinary origin about them all.

Especially the young leader—somehow, he gave Lin Ziyi an inexplicable sense of safety.

The merchants of Yanshou County, too, snapped out of their confusion—and burst into disdain.