During this period, the entire Yangzhou was very lively, with medicinal material merchants from various regions coming and going, directly increasing the GDP of the Yangzhou area.
Especially in the various pleasure boats and brothels in Yangzhou, business has been booming during this period, and the girls are so tired that they can hardly close their legs.
Although the businessmen have invested most of their wealth in Artemisia annua, they still have money for daily enjoyment.
Even if they are really short of money, the brothel is happy to let these big businessmen buy on credit or pay on a monthly basis.
In the eyes of the people in the brothel, as long as these merchants sell the Artemisia annua in their hands, they will make plenty of money!
However, these people did not realize how shameless the opponent they were about to face was, nor did they realize what a disaster they would face next.
Xiao Jinquan sat on the second floor of the teahouse, sipping tea while listening to the storyteller talking about the past and present.
The people sitting around him were all big businessmen, and they all had large amounts of Artemisia annua in their hands.
There is not much Artemisia annua on the market nowadays. As long as someone is willing to release it, someone else will immediately buy it.
Xiao Jinquan put down his teacup with a smile and said, "Everyone, I heard that the three ships of Artemisia annua shipped by the imperial court are about to arrive. Instead of sitting here with me, why don't you go to the dock and see if you can get some."
"Shopkeeper Xiao, you're joking. How could you possibly get this kind of stuff at the dock? Anyone with connections would have already secured a share before the ship arrived."
This is the truth. These ten medicinal material merchants present all have people behind them. They had already taken a certain proportion before the ship transporting the medicinal materials set off.
This is also the reason why these people can sit here so peacefully. Those smaller merchants have already run to the dock to grab goods.
Xiao Jinquan smiled smugly and said, "I heard this is the last batch of Artemisia annua the imperial court can provide. After this batch is sold out, we should start looking for that imperial preceptor to negotiate a price again."
Everyone was excited when they heard this. After working so hard for so long, they were finally going to see the benefits.
Once all the Artemisia annua shipped from the court is cleared out, their bargaining power will be firmly in their hands, and they will have the final say on the price of Artemisia annua.
Not to mention eighty taels of silver for one penny, even if it was one hundred taels of silver, some people would still sell it in order to survive!
What? Can't afford it?
If you can't afford it, that's your own problem. You should reflect on whether you have worked hard over the years and why you haven't earned enough money.
If you can’t afford it, won’t you sell your children? If you can’t afford it, won’t you sell your house and land?
Just as Xiao Jinquan was thinking about how much prime farmland he could buy after clearing out the Artemisia annua, a servant hurried in and said, "Oh no! Oh no! Master, there aren't three ships coming over the dock, but four!"
"What the hell are you doing? You idiot! What's wrong with four ships? Four ships are even better. I have some spare money, so I can just take some more."
"Hahaha, I didn't expect the imperial court could squeeze out so much Artemisia annua. Not bad, not bad. Let us get it for free!"
Xiao Jinquan looked at the allies around him and felt extremely at ease. Now the businessmen in Yangzhou have become united as one. As long as everyone unites together, even the imperial court will have no way to deal with them.
Xiao Jinquan then said with a smile, "Yes, even if another ship comes, we can still handle it. And it's not just us, there are many merchants here who are waiting to restock."
That night, the medicinal material merchants in Yangzhou held several banquets, which were quite grand, as if they were demonstrating to Lu Chen.
At the banquet, the drunk Xiao Jinquan even said directly that no matter how much Artemisia annua the court could send this time, they would accept it all!
For a while, this group of businessmen were in the limelight. They felt that they could do anything and that they were the people with the most say in Da Qi.
However, when they woke up from their hangover the next day, they were told that three more ships had arrived from the imperial court, and all three ships were loaded with Artemisia annua.
This news made some businessmen feel a little uneasy, but more of them were delighted and disdainful.
"Look, there are only three ships this time. What does this mean? It means the court is running out of Artemisia annua. As long as everyone works harder, victory is just around the corner!"
This was indeed the case. On the third day, there were two ships transporting Artemisia annua. Two days later, there was only one ship transporting Artemisia annua.
At this moment, the businessmen who had invested their fortunes and lives in the business were all red-eyed, and they felt that victory was just around the corner.
They continued to hold banquets and drink until they were drunk. These two days were so exciting for them that it was worth savoring for a lifetime.
The reason why they are living a life of drunkenness and debauchery is that these businessmen are also under tremendous psychological pressure.
I don’t know when it started, but their confidence is not as strong as before.
They need alcohol to numb themselves and need to draw strength and faith from their companions.
The old man of the Qiao family is old and can no longer live a life of drunkenness and dreams, so these days are really tormenting for him.
Especially in the past two days, a shipload of Artemisia annua was delivered every day. It felt like his nocturnal urination, intermittent and rumbling, which was very uncomfortable.
"Master, drink a bowl of ginseng soup. If you keep doing this, your body will not be able to bear it."
The housekeeper thoughtfully brought over a bowl of ginseng soup, but Mr. Qiao shook his head and said, "Put it aside for now. Is there any new news from Yangzhou?"
The butler shook his head and said, "Our people haven't returned yet. I guess there's no new news."
The old man of the Qiao family sighed. He was indeed old. He should not worry about such things in the future. This way he could live two more years.
The housekeeper was right. This period of time was extremely torturous. He felt that he was almost exhausted.
Just as he was wondering whether he should drink the ginseng soup and take a nap, another steward came running in and said, "Master, great news! The imperial ship didn't arrive today, and the imperial supply of Artemisia annua has finally been used up!"
What! ?
This unexpected good news startled the Qiao family's grandfather. Then, a look of ecstasy appeared on his face. He said, "Great, great! It seems my Qiao family deserves to be rich! Go, get everyone in the family over and tell them the news. Let them be happy together."
The butler beside him nodded and was about to go down.
But at this moment, another person suddenly ran in from outside, crying, "Grandpa! It's bad, something terrible has happened! Artemisia annua, Artemisia annua is not a cure for malaria! Fourth Master, Fourth Master has jumped off the building!"
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