When Xue Cong sat down beside him, he helped her with the few strands of hair that were stuck to her face.

Xue Cong blushed and wanted to dodge away from him, but she stopped when his fingers brushed across her face accidentally.

"Master Lin..." she whispered to him, and he said, "We will be husband and wife soon, don't be afraid."

Xue Cong nodded and lowered her head.

When she was in front of the other servants, she was the woman in charge, but when she was in front of Lin Xuan Qi, Xue Cong was the same person as when he had first seen her.

"You are doing a good job. Keep it up and let me know if you encounter troubles that you can't handle," he said softly while he tilted his head back to look at his masterpiece after he had helped tidy her up.

She was looking much more vibrant now with healthy-looking skin, a far cry from how she was when he got her out from the slavery brokerage.

Xue Cong felt uncomfortable with his gaze on her, but she also felt a sense of happiness for him to be focused on her.

"Let me get Auntie Sue to bring in the dishes." She suddenly recalled that he hadn't had breakfast yet and said.

"Don't worry, we have a long day today," he said and glanced at the teacup in front of him.

A servant girl quickly came over and poured him a cup of tea.

"Long day? Do we need to dispense the charity porridge again?" Xue Cong asked.

He didn't instruct them to cook any porridge, so she asked.

Lin Xuan Qi shook his head and said, "No need for that. We can just relax and wait for news to come."

The battle wasn't here in his mansion but at the Rice Merchant Association and all the rice stores.

All he had to do was wait for things to happen.

And in the meantime, he could finally prepare to focus on other business when it happened.

It had been so long for him to be relaxed and idling.

Now that Xue Cong, Yue Jie, and Yue Xin were capable of helping him with the household.

How could a young master not have time for that?

The garden cried out to him.

After he enjoyed his fishing in the garden previously, he hadn't had time to enjoy it anymore ever since so many things happened.

"Then, I'll summon Auntie Sue." Xue Cong gave a sigh of relief when she heard what he had said and stood up to head for the kitchen.

Yue Jie was also done with taking the measurements and tasking the servants to begin sewing.

The others like Zhi Yong, Liu Shi Shi, and Lee He Song also joined him at the dining table.

Lin Xuan Qi smiled at them and relished the moment for them to enjoy a meal together again.

...

Meanwhile, things were heating up in the Rice Merchant Association.

The rice merchants were at each other's throats in the meeting room.

"You must have released your rice supplies!"

"Me, I wouldn't do that!"

"The price that I've bought the rice at was two times more than it is right now. Why would I do that!"

"If it's not you, then who!"

They were accusing each other of releasing their rice supplies when they heard Hun Xiong Kun had another three hundred kilograms of rice for sale today.

"Silence!" Master Su shouted, but it was to no avail.

Their argument continued.

Each was accusing the other of being the traitor to release their rice supplies.

When Master Su saw what was going on, his heart began to waver.

The Governor succeeded.

Even though no one in the meeting room said anything about the seat on the committee, he knew that it was on the minds of the rice merchants.

And them arguing was only a pretext to what they had tasked their men to do.

He had to act fast before he was the one holding on to all the rice.

Master Su glanced at his man and nodded his head.

His man bowed and exited the meeting room quietly.

Some of the rice merchants saw what happened, and they also gave whatever signals they'd briefed their men on earlier.

No one wanted to be a sucker.

Hun Xiong Kun was busy in his rice store, managing the crowd and asking them to behave.

The queue for his rice was long and winding down the streets.

He had to restrict everyone to only three kilograms of rice each.

The crowd complained, but they knew that it was better than nothing.

Hun Xiong Kun's shop was the only place in the city where they would be able to purchase rice.

The other rice stores kept saying that they didn't have any supplies, but it was clear to them that the rice suppliers were coming into the city with their rice.

Where would all the rice have gone?

They weren't stupid, but they had no choice.

Under the Magistrate, any complaints would be ignored, and if you were unlucky, you might be sent to prison instead of the rice merchants.

Hun Xiong Kun was their only hope, and even though he was selling the rice at twice the price from what it was back then, they understood, and he didn't increase the price ever since.

So, they were willing to buy rice from him.

"Stay in line and don't try anything funny!" Hun Xiong Kun shouted before a man approached him.

"My master has a message for you..." The man who was with Master Su earlier said and bowed at Hun Xiong Kun.

Hun Xiong Kun glanced at the man and frowned.

He didn't know him and asked, "Who is your master?"

The man glanced into the back of his store, and Hun Xiong Kun got his cue.

"Come with me." He led the man into the back of his rice store.

"My master wants to make a deal with you," the man said, and he handed a letter over to Hun Xiong Kun.

Hun Xiong Kun took the letter and read it.

His lips began to curl up while he read what was written on it.

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