Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, three days went by.
During these three days, Chen Fan hired some workers to convert a row of vacant side rooms in the backyard into a distillery.
In this era and world, what people drank were only fermented rice wines, which were bland in taste, with an alcohol content of around ten degrees or so. Moreover, they often contained residues of grains.
No matter what, they couldn’t compare to distilled spirits.
And brewing was the simplest and most feasible industry he could think of right now.
The process was straightforward, the required equipment was easy to obtain, and the development prospects were incredibly promising—perfect for getting started.
Now, with everything ready, all that was left were the raw materials. So, Chen Fan took Lian Yue and the two little maids, Xiao Ke and Xiao Ai, to the streets to purchase grains, wine jars, and other supplies.
But for some reason, as soon as Chen Fan arrived on the street, everyone pointed at him, their expressions filled with disdain, though it was unclear what they were discussing.
It was very strange.
“Young Master, what’s going on?” Xiao Ke asked, looking puzzled.
“I don’t know either, but who cares? Hasn’t the Young Master been pointed at enough before? Come on! I’ll take you all for something delicious first!”
With a calm smile, Chen Fan spoke as he pulled Xiao Ke and Xiao Ai toward a nearby restaurant.
However, before the four of them could even enter the restaurant, they were stopped by a waiter.
“Stop right there! We don’t welcome plagiarists here! Go eat somewhere else!”
The waiter blocked Chen Fan and his companions, his face full of contempt and disdain as he scolded them.
Hearing this, Chen Fan was even more taken aback.
Plagiarist?
Who had he plagiarized?
Had Cao Zhi and Zhang Ruoxu also traveled through time?
Just then, Lin Feng suddenly approached Chen Fan with two lackeys in tow, looking arrogant.
“Well, well!”
“Chen Fan! I never thought you’d dare to come back! How dare you deceive me with plagiarized poems? Hurry up and return my money!”
Hearing this, Chen Fan frowned. “Plagiarism? Who did I plagiarize?”
“Hmph!”
“Still playing dumb! Even now, you refuse to admit it!”
“Chen Guogong Mansion has already confirmed that those two articles of yours were plagiarized from the second young master of the mansion, Liangling’s top scholar, Chen Hao!
Chen Hao even produced his collection of works as evidence. It’s just that he’s naturally low-key, so his collection wasn’t widely known!”
“You actually dared to plagiarize Chen Hao’s work and shamelessly claimed it as your own! Who gave you the nerve!”
Lin Feng sneered disdainfully.
But Chen Fan’s frown deepened.
No wonder everyone in Liangling City was pointing at him! So this was the work of the Guogong Mansion!
Chen Fan truly hadn’t expected that, even after expelling him from the family, the Guogong Mansion still wouldn’t let him go. They couldn’t stand to see him do well at all.
They were determined to tarnish and ruin his reputation!
Were they trying to drive him to the brink?
Thinking this, a cold glint suddenly flashed in Chen Fan’s eyes.
What a fine Guogong Mansion!
“Plagiarism? That bookworm Chen Hao, with his shallow talent—does he even deserve to be plagiarized by me?
And as for me copying him? Even if he had a hundred years, he couldn’t write poems like those, let alone now!”
Chen Fan spoke with utter disdain.
“Hmph!”
“With all the evidence right in front of you, you still refuse to admit it! It seems you won’t give up until you’re utterly defeated!”
“Perfect timing!”
“Because you plagiarized those two essays, many talented scholars have gathered in our Liangling City to pay homage to Young Master Chen Hao. Chen Hao is specifically hosting a literary gathering at Yipinxuan to meet friends through literature!”
“If you refuse to admit you plagiarized, then have the guts to come to the literary gathering tonight and prove to all the talented scholars in the world that you didn’t plagiarize!”
“If you can’t prove it, not only will I make you return my hundred thousand taels, but I’ll also make you give Lian Yue to me!”
Lin Feng spoke with a disdainful and resentful expression, especially as he watched his dream lover Lian Yue gently following beside Chen Fan.
“Another bet?”
Chen Fan responded dismissively, “And what if I can prove it?”
“If it really wasn’t you who plagiarized! I’ll give you a million taels!” Lin Feng said with utter contempt, never even considering he might lose!
“Fine! You said it yourself! Tell Chen Hao to wait!”
With that, Chen Fan spoke disdainfully, glanced back at Lian Yue, and left.
Lian Yue cooperated perfectly, immediately linking arms with Chen Fan, adopting a delicate and dependent posture, and followed him as he departed.
Seeing this, Lin Feng’s face grew even more unsightly, his anger reaching its peak.
“Chen Fan! Just you wait, tonight I’ll make you kneel and beg me, or I’ll take your surname!”
Chen Fan wasn’t planning to buy anything anymore anyway, since he couldn’t get anything, so he led the three of them toward his estate in the outskirts.
“Young Master, weren’t we going to buy grain? Aren’t we buying it anymore?”
Once outside the city, seeing Chen Fan head directly home, Xiao Ai looked puzzled.
“Isn’t it because they won’t sell to us?” Chen Fan said gently.
“Young Master, we could go to Xiangji!” Xiao Ai said.
Hearing this, Chen Fan suddenly frowned, “Xiangji?”
“Yes, actually the best place to buy grain is Xiangji. Farmers usually take their grain to Xiangji to sell, and the prices are much cheaper than in the city,” Xiao Ai explained.
Chen Fan had only transmigrated three years ago, and right after arriving, he embarked on his journey as a profligate young master, so he truly didn’t know there was such a thing as Xiangji.
“Then where is the nearest Xiangji? Let’s go take a look!” Chen Fan said.
“Young Master, we’ll take you there!”
With that, Xiao Ai took Chen Fan’s hand and led him in a certain direction.
Xiangji was not close to Liangling City. It wasn’t until noon that Chen Fan and his companions arrived at Xiangji.
This was Chen Fan’s first time visiting such a place since transmigrating. Although it was somewhat dirty and chaotic, with people coming and going and various agricultural products, it appeared quite lively and full of rustic charm.
Chen Fan soon arrived at the concentrated area for grain sellers. However, compared to other areas, this place seemed rather deserted, with sparse crowds, and the grain sellers all wore worried expressions.
Seeing this, Chen Fan felt puzzled but still approached a small stall to inquire. Only then did he learn the reason.
The rice shops in Liangling City charged thirty wen per liter, but here it was only five wen per liter.
The reason was that the grain business in Liangling City was monopolized by the Lin family. The Lin family didn’t allow farmers to enter the city to sell; if any farmer dared to enter, they would be suppressed and bullied.
Moreover, the grain from surrounding farmers was also purchased by the Lin family. Previously, they could get six wen per liter, but this year, with favorable weather and a good harvest, the Lin family had pushed the price down to three wen per liter.
At three wen, these farmers naturally weren’t willing.
The Lin family stopped coming to purchase, and no one else dared to compete with the Lin family’s business. Therefore, even though it was currently the autumn harvest season, no one came to buy grain!
They’re leaving these farmers with absolutely no way to survive!
Chen Fan’s expression also turned somewhat grim. Although he too wanted to make money, money shouldn’t be earned this way!
Cheap grain harms the farmers!
Such practices would shake the very foundation of the state and could even trigger uprisings and internal strife.
Yet the Lin family dared to push the price this low!
Given the Lin family’s power and influence, who knows how many people they have in the court! No wonder they aren’t afraid of imperial censure.
If he hadn’t come to Xiangji this time, he wouldn’t have known the Lin family’s methods. No wonder they could amass such wealth.
However, Chen Fan suddenly thought of something.
He remembered clearly that the Lin family monopolized the grain industry in Jiangnan. Every year, grain merchants from various regions and even other countries placed large orders for grain with the Lin family.
Calculating the time, it should be almost the delivery period.
Thinking this, a slight smile curled at the corner of Chen Fan’s lips. Leaving aside helping these farmers, just Lin Feng’s attitude toward him alone—
If he didn’t do something about it, he’d truly be letting himself down!