Chapter 101 Do you regret it?
Day 4.
Before dawn, a long queue had already formed in front of Song's Grain and Oil Store.
The shopkeeper peeked through the crack in the door and saw an endless line of people outside. He was so excited he almost trembled.
"Boss, there are so many people outside... so many people."
Song Hui hummed in agreement, though she appeared calm on the surface, her heart was churning like boiling water.
She could almost see the grain in the warehouse, peck after peck, all turned into gleaming silver.
Countless, enough to make one's blood boil.
"It's time, open the door."
She took a deep breath and instructed the shop assistant, "Put today's rice price up for display."
The shop assistant removed the door panel, grabbed the wooden sign that had been written on earlier, and ran out to hang it on the front door.
The words on the sign were very clear.
Today's grain prices: Rice is five taels of silver per catty, millet is one tael of silver per catty, and beans are eight hundred cash per catty.
The crowd in line let out a chorus of groans.
"Five taels of silver a catty? Damn it, how are we supposed to survive?"
"In previous years, millet would cost less than two hundred coins at this time, but now it costs one tael of silver."
"This means we won't even be able to afford beans."
Of course, while some complain about being poor, others can afford it.
Some families with some wealth lined up to buy.
In no time at all, the 500 jin of grain that Song Hui had ordered the shop assistants to move into the shop in advance was gone.
"Boss, we're running out of food. There are still a lot of people queuing outside. Everyone is getting anxious because the shop is almost empty."
As Song Huiqing counted the silver notes and loose silver she had received, her eyes were full of smiles, and the pent-up frustration in her heart over the past few days vanished.
With a wave of his hand, he instructed the workers, "Go to the warehouse and bring two more large carts of grain. Tell them not to worry, there's plenty of grain."
The servant went out to deliver the message, and sure enough, the commotion outside quieted down.
Soon, the workers brought two more cartloads of grain.
Song Hui instructed the workers to unload the grain and was about to tell the manager to continue selling the grain.
Suddenly, a commotion arose in the crowd.
Someone came running over, panting.
"Oh dear, why are you still buying expensive grain here? There's grain available over in Beitao Hutong too."
Where can we find grain?
"The warehouses over there in Beitao Hutong are opening for sale today. I heard that fine rice is 400 wen per jin."
Millet costs two hundred cash per catty, and beans cost eighty cash per catty.
An uproar erupted around them.
"How much did you say per pound? Say it again."
The visitor raised his voice and repeated the story to both families. His words were like a drop of oil falling into a pot, instantly causing the water in the steamer to boil.
"My God, this is the price of new grain in previous years."
"They are simply our saviors!"
"Let's hurry to Beitao Hutong, or there won't be any grain left and we'll have to come back and buy this expensive grain again."
"Hurry, hurry, let's go!"
With shouts and cheers, the long queue scattered in an instant.
Only a few dozen people remained.
These people had just bought grain at a high price, and now that they heard there was grain at a lower price, they were making a fuss and demanding a refund from Song's Grain and Oil Shop.
"We're not buying your grain anymore, give us our money back!"
"That's right, refund the money! Refund it immediately!"
Song Hui watched helplessly as so many people ran away in an instant, completely bewildered. When she heard these people demanding refunds, she immediately became furious.
"In business, the principle has always been to settle the transaction between cash and goods. I've never heard of the idea of returning something you've already bought."
"If you cause trouble here, I'll have someone report you to the authorities."
“Since my family can afford to run a grain and oil shop, we must have connections in the government. You should think it over carefully, or you'll end up being punished.”
Although those who bought the expensive grain were indignant, they were also afraid of the government and had no choice but to give up in frustration.
He left, grumbling and cursing.
"Bah! You heartless, rotten merchant, you deserve to die a horrible death!"
Someone, unable to contain their anger, grabbed a handful of mud from the ground and threw it at Song Hui.
*Splat*
A clump of foul-smelling mud splattered onto Song Hui's face, covering her completely, and even getting some mud into her mouth.
"Ugh! Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey..."
Song Hui screamed, spitting out the mud from her mouth in a disheveled state while wiping the mud off her face with a handkerchief.
After finally cleaning it up, there was no one left at the door.
There wasn't a single person left to buy grain.
She was trembling with anger and immediately called to the shop assistant, "Quick, go and find out what happened? Where did they just say they were going to buy grain?"
The waiter ran out and returned in less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.
"It's a warehouse over in Beitao Hutong. They say it's grain that merchants from other places used to store up, and they're opening it up to sell now."
The servant went to check, and found that the row of warehouses was piled high with grain, amounting to a full seventy or eighty thousand bushels.
Song Hui's heart sank.
"Have you found out who the owner is?"
"I heard his surname is Huang, and he's a one-eyed man; he's blind in his left eye."
"Surname Huang? One-eyed?"
Song Hui's heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look at the shopkeeper.
"Isn't this the man who sold us the grain back then?"
The shopkeeper's face was also very unpleasant.
"His surname is Huang, he's one-eyed, that's him! Boss, this is bad, I'm afraid we've been tricked by him."
Song Hui gritted her teeth, "We have no grudge against each other, why would he lie to us? Let's go talk to that guy surnamed Huang. We're all in business, why block other people's way?"
She hurriedly led the shopkeeper to Beitao Hutong.
In just a short while, Huang Sheng had emptied both warehouses.
Looking at the empty warehouse, he patted the wooden box full of silver notes beside him and smiled with great satisfaction.
Making money feels amazing!
"Manager Huang, how have you been?"
Song Hui tried her best to suppress her anger and walked in with a forced smile.
Seeing the empty warehouse, he almost couldn't even maintain his smile.
"Manager Huang, business is business, and every industry has its rules. If you maliciously drive down grain prices so low, how are other grain merchants supposed to survive?"
Huang Sheng touched his blindfold, and the smile on his face disappeared.
"What makes you say that, Master Song? Besides you, who else in Bianjing still has grain on hand?"
"You...you deliberately tried to harm me?"
"No, why would I harm you if we have no grudge against each other? You're the one who harmed Master Song; it's your greed that's to blame!"
"You're talking nonsense!"
"Other grain merchants took advantage of the high grain prices a few days ago and sold at a good price. You want to make more money, so you're holding back your sales."
Things didn't go as planned. Now that grain prices have fallen, you're not making any money. Don't you think your greed ruined you?
Song Hui was trembling with anger, but she managed to control her rage and discuss the matter with Huang Sheng.
"Isn't the drop in grain prices due to your malicious price reductions? Manager Huang, let's discuss this and see if both sides can compromise."
I'll lower the grain price a bit, and you'll raise it a bit, so we can both make a profit.
You say you've lowered grain prices so low, what are you going to make money from? Why go against your own interests?
She humbled herself and discussed the matter with Huang Sheng.
Huang Sheng spread his hands and uttered three words.
"It's impossible."
"You... surnamed Huang, don't be stubborn and refuse to listen to reason."
Huang Sheng sighed.
"It's not that I'm making things difficult for you, but you don't know yet, the Ministry of Revenue has already procured enough grain."
Relief food will be distributed to refugees no later than tomorrow, and I heard that even more food will be transferred to Bianjing from other places.
In less than two days, the price of grain in Bianjing will drop below two hundred coins. I'm already kicking myself for it. Do you regret it?
These words were like a sharp dagger, piercing Song Hui's heart and then stabbing downwards into her intestines.
The color drained from Song Hui's face.
After a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly turned and ran outside.
Huang Sheng glanced at her retreating figure, touched his left eye patch, and chuckled.
Just as Song Hui returned to the shop, the shop assistant rushed in again.
"Something terrible has happened, Master! Your sister, the Lady of the Marquis of Anping's Heir, she..."
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