The life of Lao Liu since 1944

Chapter 173 Blackmail

"You're right. Ever since Yongchang Grain Store issued the grain book, all grain sellers in Sijiu City have been trading based on it. Those with good credit will not only be given discounts to attract old customers, but will even be allowed to delay payment for some time. Those with poor credit, don't even think about buying cheap grain. They will sell you high-priced grain, and they hope you won't buy grain. Sijiu City is so big that there is no shortage of these people doing business."

Xu Fugui was even more worried because he worked for Lou Bancheng. If he knew about this, he would most likely lose his job. He couldn't let anyone catch him at all! He lost face and begged Hou Jie for help.

Xu Fugui was smart. He knew Xu Damao was close to Hou Jie, so he used his son as a cover. "Chunsheng! You have to help your uncle Xu! If your uncle Xu loses his job, I won't be able to support your brother Damao!"

He Daqing also followed suit and spoke appropriately, talking about his son Sha Zhu. "Chunsheng, since Zhu and you are good friends, please help me!"

The remaining few people also cried miserably and cried about their poverty.

Seeing that the atmosphere was almost tense, Hou Jie decisively raised the price, intending to blackmail them. He sighed and pretended to be very sympathetic to them.

"Okay! I'll take this job."

Everyone's faces were filled with joyful smiles, but before they could be happy for a few seconds, the joyful atmosphere was instantly broken by Hou Jie's words. Hou Jie said to everyone with a serious look that the originally estimated budget of 300 yuan now seemed a little difficult to achieve. His words were like a basin of cold water, instantly extinguishing everyone's high enthusiasm.

After pondering for a moment, Hou Jie made a new suggestion: "How about this, each of you contribute some more money, and I can help you with just 500 yuan. This amount should be safer." His tone revealed a sense of helplessness and determination, as if this was the best solution he could think of at the moment.

However, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. 500 dollars was not a small amount for them. Hou Jie saw their hesitation and continued:

"It's still the same. If I don't have enough money when I get the service done, I will make up the difference myself."

Although this sentence brought a little comfort to everyone, it also meant that Hou Jie himself needed to bear a considerable part of the risk.

Yan Bugui, who was good at calculating, was shocked when he heard that the price had suddenly increased. Wouldn't it cost him his life if he spent more money? He was the first to object, "Chunsheng! You are blackmailing me. You can't do this. Didn't we agree that it was 300 yuan?"

The rest of the people, although they knew that Hou Jie was raising the price temporarily, were all prepared, but they didn't care too much. 500 is 500! Although it's a little bit more expensive, it's still within the acceptable range.

Hou Jie knew that some of them would object, so he took advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble.

"Since you think so, I won't interfere in this matter. Never mind! Go find whoever you want! It will save you from being blamed and causing unnecessary trouble."

Yi Zhonghai immediately suppressed Yan Bugui and told him not to speak.

Yi Zhonghai quickly said, "Chunsheng, stop making trouble, let's talk business, give your godfather some face."

Hou Jie made sarcastic remarks with his little mouth, and the strong taste of disdain in his tone was self-evident.

"Alright! For godfather's sake, I won't bother. Since ancient times, when you ask someone to do something, you always bring gifts. You guys just come here so casually, and I really don't want to help you.

"Let's make it clear in advance! We'll do things in a humble way first and a gentleman's way later. Once the matter is done, the 500 dollars will not be refunded, no matter whether it is spent or not! If you agree, we'll do it, if not, forget it."

"Okay, that's settled."

Yi Zhonghai resolutely stood up and took the lead in agreeing to this matter. He knew very well that if he did not take timely action, there might be new changes, which would not only disrupt the existing plans, but also cause unnecessary troubles and losses.

"Okay then! Let's go out and collect the money and give it to you tomorrow."

After saying that, he led everyone out of Hou Jie's house to discuss how to deal with the matter.

"Ok."

After Hou Jie answered, he had a premonition that the yard was about to become lively again.

As expected, a fierce fight broke out in the yard again the next day.

Let’s not talk about the scale and intensity of this fight, but it caused quite a bit of noise, and we don’t know how it was distributed specifically.

During the whole process, Jia Zhang became the target of everyone's attacks and was beaten three times in one day. Her older son also suffered an unexpected disaster and was beaten half to death.

Jia Zhang's loud voice shook the whole courtyard and even reached the neighboring courtyards. People who couldn't help but be curious were deeply attracted by this scene and climbed on the wall to curiously peek at this lively scene.

Hou Jie was so excited that he fell in love with this courtyard. He was doing very well in this courtyard.

The future uncle Yi Zhonghai is his godfather, and the deaf old lady is the ancestor of the courtyard. She is coaxed by her godmother and is very happy. As long as he doesn't commit suicide, no one dares to bully him.

Knowing that the deaf old lady was a greedy person, he would occasionally give her some delicious food. He believed that she would protect him.

He is Hou Jie, the invisible prince of the courtyard and the little bully.

In the evening, when it was getting dark, Yi Zhonghai and his companions finally handed over the collected funds to Hou Jie.

Hou Jie took the money and asked them for all the grain certificates. He told them that he would deal with it as soon as possible and asked them not to worry.

Seeing Hou Jie so confident, Yi Zhonghai and others felt more at ease, so they left with peace of mind and returned home to wait for news.

After breakfast, Hou Jie cleaned up the dishes and hurried out of the house. He had to pretend, because these people were still watching him! He was also upset.

When I passed the middle courtyard, I deliberately went around to He Daqing's door and greeted him warmly. "Uncle He, are you busy? Have you just finished lunch?" I asked.

He Daqing raised his head, a simple smile appeared on his lips, and responded: "Well, I have eaten. Have you eaten?"

Hou Jie did answer the question irrelevantly, saying, "Leave the grain tax to me. I promise I'll take care of it for you."

He Daqing had a very interesting look on his face. I asked him if he had eaten, and this was your answer.

He Daqing showed a puzzled expression on his face. He was obviously dissatisfied with Hou Jie's answer, so he asked again: "Chunsheng, I'm asking you, have you eaten?"

Hou Jie continued to play dumb and said, "Uncle He, are you asking if it's difficult to find connections? It is a little difficult, I will try my best."

Hou Jie's answer made He Daqing even more confused, and he slowly understood the meaning.

He Daqing rolled his eyes. This guy was afraid that others would not know what to do! He was too lazy to continue teasing him.

"I know. Uncle He knows that you have to go out and use connections to get things done. Okay! Get out of here right now, you little brat."