Chapter 648: First Volume, Chapter 648: Amnesty for Merchants

First Volume, Chapter 648: Amnesty for Merchants

The clerks of Qin Shi Trading House couldn't help but sneer.

"Heh, now you've come back? Back then, our Lin Shopkeeper nearly begged on her knees for you—what did you do?"

"I already told you all: Qin Shi Trading House won't fall!"

"Just look at who our patron is!"

"Even the Zhao Clan, powerful as they are, are nothing but dirt beneath our Young Master's feet."

Every merchant present turned red with shame.

At the same time, a wave of shock surged through them.

The day before, the Zhao Clan had nearly seized control of the entire Yanshou County.

Even the Qin Family Grain Merchants branch could not withstand the Zhao Clan's fierce assault.

And yet…

Since Qin Feng arrived, it had taken barely a day for the Zhao Family to collapse.

This was utterly unbelievable!

The merchants whispered among themselves.

"How exactly did Qin Feng defeat Zhao Li and Zhao Zan?"

"If he'd crushed the Zhao Clan with money, we could understand."

"But when Qin Feng came to Yanshou County, he was lightly equipped—we all saw it, he brought no silver at all."

"Could it be silver notes? But no one heard of Qin Feng exchanging silver at any bank."

They racked their brains but could not fathom how Qin Feng had done it.

All they knew was that upon waking, the Zhao Clan had begun packing, preparing to withdraw from Yanshou County.

"With the Zhao Family's wealth, even a powerful clan couldn't destroy them in such a short time, could it?"

A middle-aged northern merchant turned pale.

He thought: even the Zhao Clan had fallen so easily before Qin Feng.

His own small merchant group was nothing more than ants.

"Too terrifying!"

"This… this is Qin Feng's power?"

Among the crowd, Chen Kang secretly rejoiced—he had not followed the crowd and sold all his grain to the Zhao Clan.

Otherwise, he would have suffered catastrophic losses.

Immediately, under the merchants' collective urging, he stepped forward and bowed to Lin Ziyi.

"Lin Shopkeeper, please be magnanimous and do not hold our actions against us."

"We were driven to desperation."

"We simply could not afford further losses—we were forced to grasp at any straw."

"If Lin Shopkeeper is willing to forgive and forget, we are prepared to sign written agreements: for the next three years, regardless of market conditions or competition from other trading houses,"

"We will prioritize supplying all grain to Qin Shi Trading House."

The other merchants present quickly echoed their agreement.

"Lin Shopkeeper, please accept our offer."

"We admit our mistake."

Lin Ziyi felt a complex mix of emotions—since becoming shopkeeper of Qin Shi Trading House, she had never been so valued by merchants.

Lin Ziyi knew these men were not honoring her—they were honoring Qin Feng's presence in the shop.

Yet Lin Ziyi still felt a quiet pride.

"Chen Dongjia, don't rush yet."

"I cannot decide on grain purchases yet—this matter must be settled by our patron."

Hearing this, Chen Kang's heart sank.

Everyone knew Qin Feng held grudges.

This time, the merchants had collectively betrayed Qin Shi Trading House—given Qin Feng's nature, he would punish them severely.

The thought filled Chen Kang with despair.

Yet he could not send the grain back the way it came.

Chen Kang had prepared for the worst: to sell half his grain at a loss to appease Qin Feng's rage.

Chen Kang had already made the worst psychological preparation, ready to sell all the grain at half price to appease Qin Feng's anger.

Every merchant present showed a flicker of fear in their eyes.

No one knew how Qin Feng would retaliate for their betrayal.

They held their breath, staring at the Door of Qin Shi Trading House.

As time passed, Qin Feng finally appeared in their sight, accompanied by Ning Hu and Qin Xiaofu.

The previously noisy crowd fell utterly silent.

"The Young Master has come out."

"It's over—given the Young Master's methods, he won't spare us easily."

"Ah! We knew we'd be punished, but we had no choice—Yanshou County now has only Qin Shi Trading House as a major grain merchant."

"Now you're afraid? Too late! What were you doing before?"

A young merchant who had never left Qin Shi Trading House all along lifted his head, smug and triumphant.

A young Merchant who had never left the Qin Shi Trading House held his head high, beaming with pride.

"As a merchant, you must have your own judgment."

"If you only blindly follow the crowd, you deserve to lose every last coin."

"Hmph, from the very beginning, I had full confidence in the Qin Grain Shop."

"No matter how dire the situation, I firmly believed the Qin Grain Shop could turn defeat into victory."

"The reason is simple: this Qin Grain Shop was founded by Qin Feng!"

The merchants felt ashamed, but there was no regret pill in this world.

Under the watchful, trembling eyes of the crowd.

Qin Feng walked to the door, hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the merchants present.

Anyone who met Qin Feng's eyes lowered their head in guilt or quickly turned away.

Even Chen Kang, who had traveled far and wide for years, felt a chill run down his spine when meeting Qin Feng's gaze.

Finally, Qin Feng's light voice broke the oppressive silence.

"Gentlemen, I have three announcements to make."

"First, regarding your abandonment of the Qin Grain Shop and your defection to the Zhao Clan."

The merchants were already on edge.

Hearing this, their hearts sank halfway to ice.

Instantly, murmurs rose and fell like waves.

"Of course—Qin Feng is going to retaliate against us."

"We should run while we still can."

"Run? Where to? Once the Zhao Clan withdraws, every small merchant in Yanshou County is in peril."

"They fear Qin Feng will fly into a rage and uproot the entire county."

"Even if we gave our grain away for free, the local small grain dealers wouldn't dare take it."

"Accept your fate: right now, across all Thirty-Six Counties of Jingdu, no one dares do business with us without Qin Feng's approval."

At these words, everyone fell into despair.

All they could hope for was that Qin Feng wouldn't be too cruel—just leave them a whole corpse.

Chen Kang clenched his teeth and suddenly knelt on the ground, banging his head against the earth before Qin Feng.

His trembling, desperate voice echoed down the entire street.

"Young Master Qin, I beg you to show mercy."

"If you must punish someone, punish me alone."

"Let the other merchants go—they're all small operators; they simply can't withstand such turmoil."

"One word from you decides whether they lose their families and homes."

Chen Kang was not noble—after all, merchants place profit first.

Yet at least one-third of the merchants here had come with Chen Kang.

Chen Kang bore undeniable responsibility.

Moreover, Chen Kang could barely bear the loss of his own grain—he had a large business to fall back on.

To save the other small merchants, it would be worth it.

The merchants present wore expressions of deep sorrow.

Some even covered their faces and wept openly.

Just as everyone had fallen into utter despair.

Qin Feng stepped forward swiftly, pulled Chen Kang to his feet, his eyes holding not a trace of resentment—only admiration and respect.

"Master Chen, please rise at once."