"That's true. One cut makes you poor, one cut makes you rich, one cut leaves you in rags."
Upon hearing this, Chu Wu's eyes flashed with admiration.
"My goodness! What you said really hit the nail on the head."
That's really true.
They soon arrived at a nearby alley, and upon entering, they discovered that although it was called an alley, both sides of the alley were lined with small stalls, most of which carried a basket on a back.
Then he placed the goods he was selling on the lid of the basket.
They trade or exchange with each other, and some people even pay to buy.
A wide variety of items are sold, including small daily necessities, small commodities, vegetables, grains, and fruits.
On the fifth day of the lunar month, he led them to a small courtyard with the gate open and people going in and out.
As soon as they entered, they saw someone come to greet them. It was a tall and strong young man.
Judging by his age, he must be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine.
You can tell from his voice that he's from the Xia Kingdom.
"The fifth brother is here."
You've come at a bad time; it's been over a month since I last visited. You have no idea how drastically prices have fallen for everything.
Half of the things you bring with you are never used. Can't you think of something else to replace them?
Even if you trade me grain, it would be better than the little fur you brought.
Chu Wu blushed, clearly knowing that what he had brought was not presentable.
"There's nothing we can do about it."
Brother Jun, look, the village is counting on this to exchange for some things and get some grain.
Otherwise, we'll go hungry again this year.
He hurriedly had someone take the contents out of the basket.
The young man called Jun Ge rolled his eyes, his expression full of disdain.
"Fifth brother, you can do anything, if all else fails, you can work as laborers with those stone sellers."
You said it's better than you relying on the weather for your livelihood.
It's been so many years, and you're still the same. Look how hot it is here.
You said you'd sell me these furs.
The old man was only willing to help you because of your old man, but he passed away a long time ago.
You're saying I can't do charity work, right?
Hearing this, Chu Wu looked embarrassed; it was clear they weren't well-liked here.
"Brother Jun, I know, what if we don't buy these furs?"
Surely you can take these eggs and all this dried goods?
"I'll trade it for anything!"
The usually imposing Chu Wu was a bit humble in front of Jun Ge.
He was being lectured like a grandson by a young man.
"Sigh, you've brought a lot of things, but even if I paid you for these eggs, how much could you get in return?"
Okay, I won't say anything more. Two pounds of eggs can be exchanged for one pound of salt, and five pounds of eggs can be exchanged for one pound of rice.
If it works, then change it. If not, then forget it.
Everyone turned pale upon hearing this.
Ouyang Zhenyu wasn't very familiar with the prices here, but judging from everyone's expressions, he knew that the handsome young man in front of him had probably tampered with the prices.
"Brother Jun, the price has gone up too much, hasn't it?"
"A pound of eggs used to be able to be exchanged for a pound of salt. Now the price has increased so much."
Chu Wu's expression was not good. His mission this time was to exchange a batch of supplies for the village.
They had to exchange their cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar with others to get them.
Other things are fine, but they don't have salt in their village.
People will feel weak and listless if they don't eat salt.
He never expected that the handsome guy in front of him would be so greedy.
He knew that Jun's father had passed away three months ago, and when he came to exchange the money last time, Jun had already increased the price by one-third.
I didn't say anything back then, after all, the person who had a relationship with them was Jun's father, but I didn't expect that this time the other party would be even more aggressive.
This time, ten of them carried nearly 3,000 jin (1,500 catties) of eggs.
I originally thought that these things could be exchanged for a large portion of grain in addition to salt.
The exchange rate has been 1:1 in previous years.
The price of a pound of eggs is actually higher than that of a pound of salt or a pound of grain.
But there's nothing we can do; in this remote and impoverished place, we can only do what others say.
But now, not only does Brother Jun refuse to buy their furs, he's also suddenly raised the price so much.
This isn't just about doubling the price; it's about treating them like suckers.
"So, are you going to change or not?"
If you don't want to change, then do whatever you want!
You can also try to find other people in this town to see if they'd like to trade with you.
Jun stood there with a cold laugh, his arms crossed, clearly having Chu Wu and the others under his thumb.
Jun's father controlled the town's food, seasonings, and daily necessities; everything that needed to be bought had to go through them.
Although he only holds 80% of the market share, others still have to defer to him.
The remaining 20% is in the hands of their rivals, but it doesn't amount to much.
Basically, if people want to do business, they have to do it with Brother Jun.
"Brother Jun, this..."
"Alright, you guys can think about it again. If it doesn't work out, there's nothing I can do."
This is the current market situation; your few eggs won't get you much.
"Otherwise, you can go and exchange them for stones. There's a shortage of supplies in the town right now, and they're happy to exchange stones for eggs. If you don't believe me, go and ask around."
However, whether you can find jadeite after replacing it with stones is entirely up to fate.
"If you accidentally lose everything, you probably won't even be able to take a pound of salt back with you."
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