Upon hearing this, Yan Xiao's face immediately fell. She stopped and turned to look at Shen Muzhi, raising an eyebrow in displeasure.
"General, you're telling me this because you want me to raise the purchase price, aren't you?"
Seeing that Yan Xiao had misunderstood, Shen Muzhi quickly shook his head and denied it.
"I didn't mean that. I'm just letting you know that your crayfish business might not be able to continue."
"It can't be done? What do you mean?"
Shen Muzhi thought for a moment before explaining the reason to Yan Xiao.
As Shen Muzhi spoke, Yan Xiao also understood the reason.
Because crayfish are becoming increasingly difficult to find, some new migrants are trying to raise the price. They are demanding 30 yuan per catty (approximately 0.5 kg), otherwise they will not sell any more crayfish they catch.
The former refugees are now very grateful to Jiangbei City and did not cause any trouble.
Now that they have money, they want to occupy good locations and settle down as soon as possible. They don't have time to go to distant places to compete with newly arrived refugees for crayfish, which may lead to a situation where no one is willing to sell to them later.
After figuring out the situation, Yan Xiao showed no sign of panic. Instead, she sneered and said disdainfully:
"Ha, this is truly insatiable greed! Not selling? Fine, I'm not buying it then."
"Not buying it anymore?"
Shen Muzhi sized up Yan Xiao for a moment, then asked with a smile:
"You're not going to make this money?"
"Of course I'll make money! But I'm not worried. I won't starve even if I don't do crayfish business for ten days or half a month."
But what about them? If they don't sell, they can just keep them and eat them slowly. After the crayfish season is over, let's see what they'll eat then. Who's afraid of who?
They've really gotten away with not knowing their own worth after a few good meals.
Yan Xiao was genuinely angry. She had initially priced the crayfish at 20 yuan per pound because her ingredients were expensive, so the price of the crayfish wouldn't be low.
However, if the price for purchasing crayfish is too low, it will dissatisfy both customers and those who catch and sell crayfish.
For example, if you buy something for only ten coins per pound, but then turn around and sell it for thirty coins per half pound, people might be willing to do it at first, but it won't last long.
Especially later on, the crayfish become much harder to catch.
Therefore, it would be better to make crayfish more expensive from the beginning, so that they can be sold more easily. This is a way to raise their own value.
But she underestimated the greed of human nature; people always want more after getting what they want.
In this day and age, offering them 20 coins per catty would clearly be a win-win situation, yet they've created this mess for themselves simply because the previous refugees had it easier than them.
She dared to say that if crayfish had been hard to find from the start, she would have offered 20 coins, and these people would have happily gone to catch them, feeling incredibly pleased with themselves.
The reason things are like this now is simply because of comparisons; people feel unbalanced, so they've come up with the idea of raising prices.
Yan Xiao wasn't buying it. It wasn't her fault that they were latecomers; it was their own bad timing, their own fate. Why should she pay for their bad luck?
Seeing Yan Xiao's huffy expression, Shen Muzhi wanted to say a few words of comfort, but remembering that his words always had the opposite effect, he obediently chose to keep quiet.
After hesitating for a moment, I told Yanxiao about another matter as well:
"There's something else I need to tell you. It's no secret that crayfish are edible these days. Some towns that have crayfish have already started to follow the example of Jiangbei City and have begun to do crayfish business."
"That's all?"
Yan Xiao saw that Shen Muzhi was suddenly so serious and thought he was going to say something, but she didn't expect him to say this.
She waved her hand dismissively:
"Let them learn if they want. I don't care about people from Jiangbei City, let alone people from other cities. Anyway, the taste can't compare to mine."
Although it is a chaotic time, some goods still travel between towns and cities, but the checks are much stricter than before.
So the matter of crayfish couldn't be kept secret, and Yan Xiao was well aware of this, and never thought of stopping others from doing it.
After all, he can only survive in Jiangbei now and can't compete in other towns. No matter how ambitious he is, it's useless. As long as the secret recipe hasn't been stolen, that's enough.
Shen Muzhi was somewhat surprised by her open-mindedness, but he felt more relaxed and smiled:
"However, other towns are experiencing quite a stir because of the crayfish issue."
Yan Xiao immediately became interested upon hearing this: "Making a scene? Tell me about it."
"It's nothing, it's just that some town officials want to profit from it, so they don't allow the refugees to capture them privately, and they don't allow them to sell them."
But the starving refugees wouldn't listen. Now, many refugees, just for a bite to eat, directly attack those who come out of town to catch crayfish, and even government troops can't suppress them.
When Shen Muzhi said this, a hint of disdain and sarcasm inadvertently appeared on his face.
Not to mention Shen Muzhi, even Yan Xiao had to admire the brains of those corrupt officials. Calling them good-for-nothings was an understatement.
Even someone as greedy as her wouldn't dare do something that would make her a target of public criticism; wouldn't that be forcing the refugees to rebel?
It's no wonder that the Qing Kingdom was destroyed.
However, logically speaking, towns with crayfish should not be too far from Jiangbei, which should be an opportunity for Shen Muzhi. Why is this person still chatting with him so leisurely?
Just as Yan Xiao was thinking this, she heard Shen Muzhi say:
"I will leave Jiangbei tonight, and my return date is uncertain. I have arranged everything in the city. The city gates will be partially closed for the next period of time. If you need anything, just tell Zhao Qian to take care of it. Take care of yourself."
Upon hearing this, all the thoughts that Yan Xiao had in her mind vanished instantly.
Logically speaking, Shen Muzhi should be relaxed and happy since he's leaving and won't see her for a long time.
But when she actually heard that the person was leaving, she felt inexplicably uneasy.
She frowned in annoyance, wanting to say something, but the words that came out were just a faint:
"Okay, I understand."
Shen Muzhi, who had been looking forward to it, drooped his eyebrows and eyes after hearing Yan Xiao utter those few words so lightly.
"That's it? Doesn't Madam have anything else to say to me?"
Yan Xiao asked, puzzled, "Others? What?"
"I......"
Shen Muzhi was momentarily speechless, thinking that Yan Xiao hadn't understood him, and quickly added:
"I mean, I'm going to war. Don't you have anything else to say to me?"
Yan Xiao was completely bewildered and asked blankly:
"Didn't I already say I knew? What else do you need to say?"
At this point, she seemed to understand something slightly, and nodded rather perfunctorily.
"Oh, by the way, have a safe journey and return home victorious soon."
Just as Shen Muzhi was waiting for his wife to bid him a reluctant farewell and give him her earnest advice: ...
How come this is different from what others have said?
Shen Muzhi couldn't hide the disappointment on his face. He gave Yan Xiao a resentful look before turning and leaving, his back view full of desolation.
Yan Xiao was puzzled by Shen Muzhi's gaze. Hadn't she already said goodbye to him and given him her blessings? What else did he want?
She wasn't too worried about Shen Muzhi. He was the male lead, the darling of the world, with the protagonist's halo. He wouldn't die no matter who died.
She should worry more about herself, the fragile and soon-to-die supporting female character, than the male lead.
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