Chapter 166: Losing so much money that I don’t even have pants to wear

Hao Zhao saw it more clearly. In all likelihood, today's incident was related to Cheng Jitang. That old fellow had someone behind him who was in charge of the Five Cities Army. Today's incident was just a matter of a word from the person behind him.

This means that the whole thing was orchestrated by Cheng Jitang, specifically targeting small cotton merchants like Hao Zhao.

Their purpose is to have the whole thing to themselves, and to exploit these small cotton merchants like leeks, and then they just sit back and reap the benefits!

"Cheng Hongbo, let's get straight to the point. Did you call the Five Cities Army?"

"Yes, you guys are really bullying people when you become a family. The way you eat is really too ugly!"

"Just for a mere 6,000 kilograms of cotton, you're willing to resort to such despicable means. You guys are really good at starting a family!"

…

Everyone pointed at Cheng Hongbo and accused him, but Cheng Hongbo turned a deaf ear to them, as if he didn't take it to heart at all.

It was indeed true. The more they scolded each other now, the more uncomfortable Cheng Hongbo would make them feel later. Since the other party had already guessed it, there was no need to hide it anymore. They could just go straight to each other.

Many cotton merchants soon realized what was happening. Looking at the calm Cheng Hongbo, their eyes were filled with fear. Only then did Cheng Hongbo slowly begin to speak.

"Oh, you're done. Why do I feel like some of you haven't finished yet? Keep going, keep talking. I have time anyway, and I love to listen!"

The cotton merchants looked at each other, and one by one they fell silent and stopped talking.

"You're not going to talk anymore? That's all you can do?" Cheng Hongbo scoffed. "Then it's my turn to talk."

"Since you've already guessed it, I won't beat around the bush. You have to sell this cotton today, whether you want to or not. Of course, you can choose not to sell it, and then wait for the cotton in your hands to rot in the car!"

"I'm telling you straight up, from today on, not even a pound of cotton will be allowed into the outer city of Yingtian Prefecture unless I give you my permission. So, do you have any other ideas?"

"Amazing! I admire you! I admit defeat!" An elderly cotton merchant in the crowd sighed with regret. "You deserve to get married and make a fortune. This trip is just me running errands for you. Young Master Cheng, name your price."

Someone took the lead, and the other cotton merchants looked at each other. Many were interested, but most of them were in a dilemma.

After all, everyone is trying to make money in this business, but now it seems that not only will they not make any money, but they will also lose a huge sum!

But even if they knew, what could they do? The enemy had already revealed their claws, and everyone was helpless. If they continued to waste time, the only ones who would suffer losses would be the cotton merchants present.

The weather is bad today. If it really rains tomorrow, it won’t rain much. If it rains here for half a day, all the cotton we bought will be ruined. Even if we want to sell it at a low price, I’m afraid no one will want it!

Hao Zhao was also tempted. He had the largest amount of cotton in his hands, which was three thousand kilograms. The pressure brought to him by so much cotton was quite great.

But he could understand better the principle that the people should not fight against the officials. It was obvious that the Cheng family was bullying the cotton merchants and trying to monopolize the market in order to take over the business of the Baochao Tizhusi.

But who can blame Hao Zhao and his gang for not being as powerful as the man behind Cheng Jitang?

If he could break even, even if he lost a little, it would be acceptable. Hao Zhao decided to wait and see. If Cheng Hongbo offered a suitable price, he would sell it off and just treat it as a dog bite when he went out.

"Oh, Shopkeeper Yu is a wise man. If that's the case, please give me a price and see if I can afford it!"

Cheng Hongbo's words made the faces of the cotton merchants present change suddenly. The other party seemed to have something else to say, and it didn't sound like a joke.

"The lowest price is eighty cents." The old man who was called Yu Zhanggui by Cheng Hongbo, who spoke first, gritted his teeth and shouted out the price, causing an uproar among the cotton merchants present.

Eighty wen was almost the bottom price. The price they paid for purchasing cotton was basically between fifty and sixty wen, and some even exceeded sixty wen.

But after taking into account the shipping and labor costs, eighty cents basically does not make any profit. Everyone can see that Shopkeeper Yu is really anxious, otherwise he would not have directly offered the lowest price.

But the problem is that the price offered by Shopkeeper Yu exceeded the psychological price of the cotton merchants present.

Cotton merchants like Hao Zhao present here all had a psychological price of around 100 wen. Any lower would mean a real loss, and the more cotton they had, the more they would lose, so everyone was terrified.

"Eighty cents? Lao Yu, you really dare to ask that!" Unexpectedly, Cheng Hongbo's next words made everyone turn pale.

"You're taking me for a ride! I rarely do good things out of kindness, and this is how you treat me? You're so greedy, so inhumane, so outrageous, so heartless, and so shameless!"

"I'm telling you, Mr. Yu, forty coins per pound is the highest price I can offer you, and it's only for you. I respect the elderly, so think carefully. If you miss this opportunity, you'll never get it again!"

Upon hearing Cheng Hongbo's words, the cotton merchants present were instantly furious.

"Cheng Hongbo, you are going too far!" Shopkeeper Yu almost vomited blood.

He shouted out the price of eighty cents under pressure, just to avoid getting entangled here, but he didn't expect that Cheng Hongbo was so greedy that he actually cut his price in half, which was simply killing him!

The cotton merchants present also started to make a fuss, pointing at Cheng Hongbo and criticizing him again.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, at this price, you're dreaming!"

"That's right, even if new cotton were on the market, it wouldn't be priced this way. What's more, we're buying it at a high price this time. Cheng Hongbo, you're being too greedy!"

"You're the one taking advantage of others' misfortune. You're driving us to our death!"

"Why waste time talking to him? Just don't sell it to him. I really don't believe that there is no law in Yingtian Prefecture!"

…

"Yes, Yingtian Prefecture has its own laws!" Cheng Hongbo laughed and interrupted everyone, "The Five Cities Military Commission is the law. You don't have to sell it, I don't care!"

"And to tell you the truth, today it's forty cents a pound, but tomorrow it won't be that price anymore. If God is kind and it rains again, no one will even want four cents, let alone forty cents!"

After Cheng Hongbo finished speaking, he turned around, jumped onto the carriage, and sped away.

The cotton merchants watched Cheng Hongbo's departing carriage, each of them stunned on the spot. An indescribable emotion suddenly surged in everyone's heart, and despair was revealed in almost everyone's eyes.

However, no one still thought of selling their cotton to Cheng Hongbo, because that guy was such a greedy person.

Forty cents per pound. For a cotton merchant like Hao Zhao who has thousands of pounds of cotton on hand, the compensation would be so great that he wouldn't even have enough to wear his pants.

Watching Cheng Hongbo's carriage disappear at the end of the road, Hao Zhao gritted his teeth, called over his most capable servant, and after giving him some instructions, the servant quickly entered the city and headed straight for the inner city.