Chapter 359 Falling into a Trap
The tea shop was packed with people, all crowded at the door, arguing angrily with the shop assistants.
When Mrs. Lin saw this scene, she felt the winter chill invading her whole body, and her hands and feet became cold.
Before coming to the tea shop, she had imagined that four or five old customers would come to cancel their orders.
Unexpectedly, nearly 30% of the people came.
The shopkeeper got off the carriage at the back and saw the grand scene in the shop, his face turned pale.
Because they were old customers, the shopkeeper recognized these people as servants of high-ranking officials.
If we don't handle this properly today, the tea shop might suffer a disaster.
"Madam, please don't show up. I'll handle this..." The shopkeeper hadn't finished speaking when he saw Madam Sun helping Madam Lin get out of the carriage. He said anxiously, "The shop is crowded and chaotic. These uncouth servants don't know the importance of etiquette and might bump into you..."
Madam Lin interrupted him: "Any official can crush you to death, can you handle it?"
The shopkeeper was speechless.
Old Madam Lin walked towards the tea shop with her cane and heard a noise coming from afar.
"You said that all this year's tea had been sold out and there was no extra tea to sell elsewhere, so you took the opportunity to raise the price several times. Our master thought that tea was in high demand and a scarce commodity, so you named the price and he paid it without a penny less."
"The result? A new tea shop opened in the capital, selling the same tea as yours, and the price is even cheaper than your original price. Not only is the quality outstanding, but the supply is also sufficient."
The leading servant said angrily, "Is this how you treat your regular customers?"
"Isn't it? Their boss told our master that next year's new tea might not be enough to supply, and the price of new tea would have to double. Our master trusted their boss and paid the full amount without hesitation."
"It's more than that! Your master bought a few days ago, and a pound of special-grade Maojian tea was only a hundred taels. Our master bought a few days later, and he asked for several hundred taels per pound. The shopkeeper said that the supply couldn't keep up with the demand, so he had no choice but to raise the price. That's fine, after all, things are valuable because they are rare. But who would have thought that the tea our master paid such a huge price for could be bought at other tea shops for less than a hundred taels per pound, and the quality is even better than this tea shop."
The more they listened, the angrier they became: "Give us back our money, we won't buy it!"
The shop assistant was overwhelmed and sweating profusely: "If you have something to say, please talk it over. Arguing won't solve the problem."
The crowd was completely unable to listen, and they shouted louder and louder: "Return the silver, return the silver——"
After hearing this, Mrs. Lin sorted out the reasons and consequences of the old customer's request to cancel the order.
Because a new tea shop has opened in the capital, the tea sold there is of good quality, in sufficient supply, and at a reasonable price.
In contrast, regular customers who bought tea from her not only had to pay a high price, but also could not get the tea in stock.
That would have been fine, but half a month later, the price of tea had depreciated significantly.
No one wants to be blamed and be laughed at behind the back as a foreigner.
The old customer couldn't swallow this humiliation, so he sent his servant to return the money.
"Everyone, please be quiet." Old Madam Lin stood in front of the crowd, leaning on her cane. She said calmly, "We are open for business and will definitely not defraud you. You are all regular customers of the tea shop, and you should know that we are honest and trustworthy."
When everyone saw Mrs. Lin appear, some of them looked surprised, as if they had not expected that this tea shop belonged to the Lin family.
The other group of people were very calm because they followed their master to buy tea, had met people from the Lin family in private, and knew very well who the owner behind the tea shop was.
Even so, they are not afraid of the Lin family.
Because the Lin family has lost power and is no longer as prosperous as before.
Their master's status in the court is higher than that of the Lin family, and they are the target that the Lin family wants to win over. Therefore, they are not nervous when facing Old Madam Lin and are very confident.
Everyone sneered, "If you value honesty, why would you lie to us and say you're out of tea? And why would you take advantage of the situation and raise the price?"
"We in Northern Qi are definitely out of tea to sell. Now that several countries are trading with each other, the new tea shop that opened in the capital might be sourcing its tea from other countries."
Madam Lin explained, and said sincerely, "This was our mistake, and we are willing to lower the price. Your master has paid a certain amount of silver, and we will supply you with tea at the market price."
"Our master couldn't buy tea immediately, so he ordered new tea for next year. Now that we have tea, why wait until next year?" Everyone was stern and unyielding, saying, "Either give us the tea or return the money."
Seeing that they were determined to achieve their goal, Mrs. Lin clenched her cane tightly.
She was born into wealth and had a smooth life. When had she been forced to this point?
Or was he forced by a group of inferior people.
Mrs. Lin's face looked very ugly, but she was helpless.
Because in order to make money make more money, she lent all the remaining money she had at high interest rates. How could she return the money to them?
Now, if they want to calm the situation and not offend their master, they can only give them tea.
Madam Lin gritted her teeth and said, "I'll find a way to transfer the tea to you."
The moment she agreed, someone quietly left the crowd to inform Shen Qingtan.
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