Chapter 93

The mixing of the Three Rivers will start at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon, everyone remember to vote!

Holding the intelligence in his hand, Chen Xi's eyebrows twitched violently. Seeing Chen Xi in this state, Liu Ye and the others knew that the matter must have greatly displeased him.

"Take a look." Chen Xi handed the intelligence from Ji Province to Lu Su and the others, feeling utterly speechless. How could such a favorable situation be ruined? Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang were truly incompetent.

After reading it, Lu Su smiled, "Wasn't this expected? What's so strange about it? The Zhen family is a century-old clan, not so easy to deal with."

"But it shouldn't have escalated to this extent. The two idiots even ruined their own reputation." Chen Xi covered his forehead, looking helpless. "I've finished my official duties. I'll handle the matters in Ji Province myself. The Zhen family is truly troublesome!"

Liu Ye didn't say much. As a member of the royal family, he had a detailed understanding of the major families in the land. The Zhen family was among the top tier! It was a joke to think that a couple of merchants could shake the foundations of the Zhen family. Even if Chen Xi were to intervene, Liu Ye wasn't very optimistic. However, since he hadn't fully assessed Chen Xi, he didn't want to dampen Chen Xi's spirits now.

"Write a letter to Mi Zhu and ask if he's prepared. If not, I'll replace the president!" Chen Xi said, clearly frustrated.

Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang held tens of thousands of stones of refined salt, and it was almost a no-cost business. They didn't listen to Mi Zhu's advice and went directly to Ji Province to compete with the Zhen family. Chen Xi thought that even if they didn't do anything else, just flooding the market would severely damage the Zhen family, so he didn't say anything and let the two of them take the salt to Ji Province.

At first, the Zhen family didn't react, caught off guard. By the time they realized what was happening, Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang had already taken over the salt market. Things should have ended there, especially since the Zhen family came to negotiate, offering to buy the refined salt at a low price and sell it as their downstream distributors. However, the two idiots directly mocked the Zhen family, making it clear that they had come with ill intentions.

After that, Zhang and Su continued to sell salt, and due to the low prices, their business grew significantly, spreading throughout Ji Province. All the salt shops were directly under their control, with no downstream distributors...

From supply to sales, they had a complete chain, and then things went wrong. It was easy to buy land, with no one in Ji Province holding them back. But once the land was secured, they were sued...

The Zhen family, holding the promissory notes, sued Zhang and Su. The Taiyuan Wang family, who had lent them the money, didn't intervene. Most importantly, the promissory notes were genuine, and Zhang and Su had signed them.

They had borrowed over 100 million coins, with a monthly interest rate of 0.5%. The Zhen family, citing the need to expand the family, demanded the repayment of the loan, and it had indeed been over three months. The Zhen family had the right to reclaim the loan, and Zhang and Su claimed they had agreed to extend the loan for another six months with the Taiyuan Wang family.

The Zhen family, with a mocking expression, asked, "Do you have any written documents or contracts?"

Of course not. Zhang and Su were feeling very confident at the time, and if they weren't, they wouldn't have done this. They had frequent interactions with the Taiyuan Wang family, and both were wealthy, respectable people. As merchants, they naturally valued credit, so they had only made an oral agreement.

Now, even a fool could see they had been played by the Zhen family. What could they do? Debt must be repaid, and there was only one way to settle it: liquidate their assets. After various devaluations, Zhang and Su were almost reduced to slavery. If not for the Zhen family showing some mercy, they would have been beaten and expelled from Ji Province. Originally, they had returned home in glory, but now their names were tarnished!

When Mi Zhu heard the news, his brows furrowed deeply. What a useless team. If they needed money, why didn't they ask him? A hundred million coins wasn't a problem for him. Besides, he had a lot of subordinates, and even a billion coins wouldn't be an issue.

Looking at Chen Xi's plan, Mi Zhu's brows furrowed even more. What had the Zhen family done to make Chen Xi so angry? Was it really so bad that the entire Zhen family should be reduced to slavery?

However, since Chen Xi had given the order, Mi Zhu couldn't say anything. He began to direct the branches of his merchant guild according to Chen Xi's instructions.

"Mi'er." Zhen Mi's mother looked at her depressed daughter and called out, "Why do you look so unhappy?"

"Mother, I'm thinking about the fate of Zhang and Su." Zhen Mi's delicate face was clouded with worry.

"Since they provoked the Zhen family, isn't it only natural that the Zhen family gave them the outcome they deserved?" Zhen Mi's mother said with a proud expression. The Zhen family had few male members, so the old lady was in charge.

"The Zhen family doesn't reflect on its own mistakes but only seeks to defeat all who challenge it. This is a disaster!" Zhen Mi closed her eyes, as if imagining the scene. "Without reflecting on their own faults, they continue to use their power to crush their opponents. They will eventually fall because of their initial mistakes. Is it really necessary for the Zhen family to go to such lengths for Zhang and Su's wealth?"

"Hmph, Mi'er, you don't understand. If we don't show our strength, other families will think we are weak and vulnerable. That would lead to our decline." Zhen Mi's mother sneered. At that moment, a servant approached, holding a bamboo slip and bowed to hand it to Zhen Mi's mother. "Continue reading. I'll manage the family's business. Read well; you are the hope of our Zhen family. Be good~"

Zhen Mi didn't say anything, just staring blankly at her mother as she left. She couldn't understand why her mother, who had always listened to her, would leave so hastily. She just felt bored. Was money really that important?

Zhen Mi clearly remembered when she was four years old, her father told her that the Zhen family's wealth could support several generations of extravagance. So the Zhen family had already passed the bloody stage of primitive accumulation. Now, they should take the righteous path, not resort to force. As long as they conducted business honestly, no one could defeat the Zhen family. The Zhen family's foundation was beyond others' imagination.

Unfortunately, Zhen Mi's father, Zhen Yi, died soon after, and the Zhen family naturally fell into her mother's hands. Unlike her father, Zhen Mi's mother was unwilling to suffer any loss in any situation, especially after Liu Liang's comment that Zhen Mi was of incomparable nobility and had the demeanor of a phoenix, which boosted her mother's confidence.

As Zhen Mi grew older, she clearly understood the impact of those words and her mother's plans. She read many books, including physiognomy, numerology, and the I Ching. Looking in the mirror, she could only sigh, "Indeed, of incomparable nobility."

However, recently, when she looked, everything seemed blurred. The "demeanor of a phoenix" and "incomparable nobility" were like they had been casually erased, as if someone was dissatisfied with the current state of the world and had casually erased the original situation, rearranging it.

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