Hearing that they had finally gotten to the point, Ye Qingcheng gave a cold smile and immediately retaliated in kind, asking back, "Then why are your grain prices so high? It's all the same grain, yet yours is so much more expensive than ours."
Upon hearing this, the Japanese people were instantly rendered speechless, their mouths agape.
The exorbitant grain prices of the Japanese merchant fleet were known throughout Ningcheng and had once caused quite a stir and widespread criticism. The entire grain market of Ningcheng had seen prices consistently rise due to the intentional price hikes by the Japanese merchant fleet, eliciting sighs of helplessness. On this particular point, they truly had no recourse.
However, several individuals were unwilling to concede defeat. After pondering for a while, they continued to retort with resentment. "Our Japan is so far from here, and we've worked hard to transport grain over, so the price naturally has to be a bit higher."
"Is that so? Then my medicinal herbs were also transported with great effort, so why can't they also be priced higher?" Ye Qingcheng immediately retorted, the mockery evident on her face. Before the other party could find another retort, she slightly raised her chin, her indifferent gaze fixed on Zhu Chang, who sat in the hall. "My lord, our topic has strayed too far. Please make your judgment as soon as possible and punish these villains who deliberately vandalized my medical hall."
Zhu Chang, suddenly called upon, was startled. His gaze involuntarily drifted to Xiao Wangye, a sense of conflict swirling within him. The situation had escalated to a point beyond his control. The trap Ye Qingcheng had dug had caused the Japanese people to fall head over heels, and even he felt suffocated and distressed.
"No! We are not convinced!" At this moment, the Japanese people shouted loudly again, unwilling to accept that they had been tricked. Seeing them jump up and down in anxiety, Ye Qingcheng's lips curved into a cold smile, and she said sarcastically, "Since that's the case, then don't raise your grain prices either, and I won't ask for your medical fees!"
The few of them were instantly choked by her words, their imposing demeanor immediately wilting. Using grain prices to profit had always been the trump card of their Japanese merchant fleet for amassing wealth. Weighing the pros and cons, they could only shut their mouths and swallow this bitter pill. Now that all the reasoning was on Ye Qingcheng's side, and he couldn't show favoritism in front of Xiao Wangye, he could only bang his gavel to conclude the case.
"Very well, as this official rules, you several individuals shall pay this doctor the full medical fees. Furthermore, you must compensate for all the damages caused by the vandalism of the medical hall. As for the specific amount, the doctor will tally the accounts and provide them to you." With the final verdict delivered, the Japanese had no room to argue further and could only cast fierce glares at Ye Qingcheng. The latter, however, paid no mind, her triumphant smile and smug demeanor infuriating them to the point of pulling at their ears. The few of them hated Ye Qingcheng deeply and, after paying the medical fees and compensation, left with great reluctance.
The case concluded, Zhu Chang handed a large sum of compensation money to Ye Qingcheng with an embarrassed smile. After all, Ye Qingcheng's arguments were essentially rebuttals to his own justifications from that day, making any pretense of ignorance futile. Accepting the money, Ye Qingcheng even thanked him with a relaxed expression, showing no intention of dwelling on the past. With the money in hand, she left, and Xiao Wangye followed closely, the two returning to the medical hall one after another. Zhu Chang watched their receding figures, his brows furrowed, a heavy sense of worry welling up in his heart. In the end, he had underestimated the couple, never expecting them to come up with such a stratagem. From this perspective, they could only take things one step at a time.
Meanwhile, in another corner, the same gaze was fixed on Ye Qingcheng with malevolent intent. Those Japanese individuals had not gone far, but rather, gritting their teeth, they stared intently at Ye Qingcheng, holding a deep grudge. The matter of the Japanese refusing to pay medical fees and vandalizing the medical hall seemed to be over, and the authorities had made a judgment, but in reality, the matter was far from concluded.
With the affairs in the prefectural yamen settled, as soon as the onlookers dispersed, the incident of the lawsuit spread like wildfire. From that afternoon onwards, the entire Ningcheng, from its streets to its alleys, buzzed with discussions of the event, which could be heard everywhere. Ye Qingcheng returned to the medical hall with her people, using the compensation from the Japanese to lavishly renovate it. The turn of events was exactly as she had intended. Her original intention of reporting the matter to the authorities was not just to target Zhu Chang, but to blow the incident out of proportion, making it known to everyone.
The focus of today's incident was not her medical hall, nor the high-priced medicinal herbs she had spoken of, but the issue of grain prices. The exorbitant grain prices in Ningcheng, although unbearable for the common people, had become a habit through long-term subtle influence. Ye Qingcheng's argument with the Japanese in the hall about the excessively high grain prices was aimed at awakening the populace, making them clearly realize that the grain prices were not actually that high. Using medicine prices to allude to grain prices was her most ingenious move.
People in Ningcheng paid only one coin for medical consultations, and even with medicinal herbs, the cost rarely exceeded one tael of silver. However, for the Japanese, who were treated for a simple food poisoning, Ye Qingcheng stated that while the consultation fee was not high, the cost of medicinal herbs reached an astronomical fifty taels! This stark contrast, coupled with the tacitly acknowledged artificial inflation of grain prices by the Japanese, allowed people to grasp how much the grain prices in Ningcheng had been inflated compared to their true value. And grain, after all, was the fundamental necessity of life.
On the surface, this incident was merely a topic of casual conversation. However, upon closer examination, people could discern something amiss. Ye Qingcheng did not even deliberately fan the flames of rumors; she let them spread naturally, while she focused entirely on the reopening of her medical hall. The wisdom of the masses was powerful; they would believe things more readily if they figured them out for themselves than if someone told them. The Japanese, unaware they had fallen into a trap, considered it a minor setback, a loss they had to bear. Little did they know that after a day, whispers of resistance against the inflated grain prices began to surface throughout Ningcheng.
Grain prices were directly related to people's livelihoods. Now that the issue had been brought into the open, no citizen would be willing to suffer such exploitation without reason. Thus, word spread from one to ten, then to a hundred, and numerous people united, shouting on the streets and in the alleys to boycott the Japanese merchant fleet's price gouging on grain! Some astute individuals even guessed that behind these grain prices, there might be the involvement of the government. After all, the Japanese merchant fleet had always received tacit support from the government, which led to their arrogance and high-handedness. Had it not been for encountering a tough opponent like Ye Qingcheng yesterday, Zhu Chang would never have given her the chance to speak, but would have suppressed the matter directly. Collusion between officials and merchants was easily suspected but rarely openly accused, as the common folk always knew better than to fight with officials.