As prosperous and peaceful as Yangzhou was the day before, today Yangzhou is littered with corpses.
For the vast majority of medicinal material merchants, this day is gloomy, hopeless, and impossible to survive.
In fact, there were already signs of the collapse of Artemisia annua prices, but many medicinal material merchants gathered here, and no one believed it, and they kept encouraging each other.
When the imperial court first shipped in shiploads of Artemisia annua, the merchants in Yangzhou were already struggling.
If it weren't for the fact that the number of subsequent ships was gradually decreasing, many people would have been unable to bear the pressure and sold their Artemisia annua.
At that time, everyone was gritting their teeth and persevering, hoping to make it through.
Later, the imperial court finally had no ships to transport Artemisia annua here. At that time, I don’t know how many people were celebrating.
However, something happened that made everyone despair. They expected that the price of Artemisia annua might collapse because the price was indeed ridiculously high, which did not match the value of Artemisia annua itself.
But they never expected that the reason for the collapse was that Artemisia annua did not have the effect of treating malaria!
When the news of this "cutting off of the source of funds" came out, all the medicinal material merchants knew that they were finished!
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Why didn't they say before that Artemisia annua isn't a specific drug for treating malaria?"
Xiao Jinquan roared crazily, his red eyes were bloodshot, and he was on the verge of collapse.
Some other medicinal material merchants had the same expression. Some of them looked lonely, some had dull eyes, and some were equally crazy and hysterical.
The reason why the price of Artemisia annua was driven up was because they heard the news that this thing was an effective medicine for treating malaria.
If this thing has no effect now, then what is its value? It's just like ordinary hay.
No, its value is even lower than that of ordinary hay, because ordinary hay can at least be used to feed livestock such as cattle and sheep, but cattle and sheep may not like to eat dried Artemisia annua.
Someone with a bad temper rushed to Xiao Jinquan, grabbed his collar tightly with both hands and said, "This news originally came from you. Now that things have turned out like this, you need to give us an explanation!"
These words served as a reminder to everyone present, and they all looked at Xiao Jinquan with red eyes, as if they were going to eat him alive if he couldn't come up with an explanation today!
Xiao Jinquan muttered to himself with a pale face, "Impossible, this is impossible. Artemisia annua is the specific medicine for treating malaria. This is absolutely true! I have people around Lu Chen and people in the four cities. They say that the drug for treating malaria is called artemisinin, and this thing is extracted from Artemisia annua!"
After saying that, Xiao Jinquan kicked the person in front of him away. He glanced around fiercely and said through gritted teeth, "When we made money together, we were brothers. Now that we're losing money, we're enemies? All the problems are on me? I don't believe that those of you who dared to take on business and decided to make a big bet didn't go find a doctor to inquire about the uses of Artemisia annua. Medical books also record that Artemisia annua can treat malaria!"
This is the truth. It's impossible for everyone to believe you, Lu Chen, just because you say that Artemisia annua can treat malaria. With such a large amount of money being invested this time, everyone must do some research in advance.
It is indeed recorded in medical books that Artemisia annua can treat malaria. Since it is recorded, it must be correct.
At this point, Xiao Jinquan's face suddenly flashed with a fierce look. "Liar, lie! This must be a lie from Lu Chen! He saw that he couldn't lower the market price after selling all the Artemisia annua, so he resorted to this desperate measure. How despicable!"
After hearing this, the businessmen around him seemed to have found their backbone, and they all nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, that must be the case. What a vile and shameless trick! Pah! I've fallen for this kid's trick!"
"Yes, everyone must remain calm at this time. We must not lose our minds, and we must not sell off our Artemisia annua. We agreed before that we must all stand together on this matter. As long as we can grit our teeth and continue to maintain the high price of Artemisia annua, we won't lose money!"
"That's right. When we unite, we can't back down. As long as we hold on for a while longer, the court will definitely give in when they see no results!"
"I just don't believe the imperial court can just leave the people of the four cities alone. Are they planning to force the people to revolt?"
Soon the merchants in the restaurant reached a consensus that they must maintain the high price of Artemisia annua.
But at this moment, a servant ran in in a panic. Seeing Xiao Jinquan, he shouted, "Master, this is bad! The price of Artemisia annua has dropped!"
Upon hearing this, the faces of all the merchants present changed. Xiao Jinquan hurried forward, grabbed the servant and asked, "How much has the price been reduced?"
"It was 88 taels per qian before, but now it has dropped to 80 taels per qian."
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces turned unhappy. It was obvious that someone had already secretly shipped the goods.
Xiao Jinquan frowned and said, "Don't panic, everyone. This is just normal market fluctuation, and it's still within our acceptable range. What we need to do now is to quickly consume the Artemisia annua that has been circulated and make sure to maintain price stability."
"I still have some money, so please give me some. Even if it's only eighty taels to one qian, we can still make a lot of money."
"Yes, yes, yes, Shopkeeper Xiao is right. When we first bought Artemisia annua, the price was ridiculously low. Let alone eighty taels of silver per penny, even if it was eight taels of silver per penny, we would still make a lot of money."
"No more words, I'll buy some too. If you want to make a lot of money, you have to be willing to invest!"
Xiao Jinquan nodded, looked at the servant beside him and ordered, "Spread the word. I'll buy whatever Artemisia annua is available on the market at eighty taels of silver per qian!"
But just as he finished speaking, another merchant's servant ran in from outside and hurriedly said to his master, "Master, this is bad. The price of Artemisia annua has dropped to sixty taels and one qian, and no one is buying it on the market. You must find a solution quickly!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces paled. Someone suddenly stood up and said, "Excuse me, brothers. I suddenly remembered that my mother is giving birth at home. Please excuse me for a moment."
"Yes, yes, my dog at home also needs to be bred. If I don't stay by his side, I'm afraid it won't work."
"My good friend who has been dead for many years is planning to come visit me today, so I have to go back and see him."
In just a few cups of tea, the restaurant that was bustling before was now empty.
Xiao Jinquan looked at the scene where everyone had left and the tea had gone cold, and sat down on the ground with a look of despair in his eyes. He muttered to himself, "It's over, it's all over!"
The servant beside him said anxiously, "Master, what should we do next?"
"Haha, what should we do?" Xiao Jinquan looked at the servant with a sad smile and said, "How much money is left at home? Go and prepare a good coffin for me..."
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