Zheng Zhong hesitated; a little over one coin per jin (500 grams) was indeed a very tempting price.
If you agree to do business with this person, you can earn more than a hundred taels of silver a year, which is a lot of money!
But a voice in his head kept reminding him that one must be grateful and repay kindness, and not be an ungrateful wretch.
He subconsciously recalled his first time doing business in this area, when nobody recognized sugar beets or knew their uses.
He hadn't eaten a single meal in three days. If it weren't for Chen Qingqing's appearance, he probably would have starved to death in a foreign land long ago.
A person can be without money, but they must never be without a conscience.
Only those who know how to be grateful will receive help from others when they encounter difficulties.
Those who are ungrateful will only be despised and scorned.
Thinking of this, he stopped worrying and smiled faintly.
"I'm sorry, brother, as the saying goes, every profession has its rules and every path has its principles. There's a proper order to things. If you want to buy beets, I can send you some extra next time, but I absolutely cannot sell you this batch."
Upon hearing this, Liang Fugui's smile immediately froze on his face. He was somewhat incredulous that there could be such a fool in the world who would pass up such a good sum of money. Wasn't that just being an idiot?
He was still unwilling to give up. "Brother Zheng, don't rush to refuse. Think about it again. This is a business opportunity that's been delivered to our door. Many people would beg for it but can't get it."
Zheng Zhong snorted coldly with a stern face, "A gentleman has things he will do and things he will not do. A person cannot stand without integrity. If I were to break my promise for this little bit of money, would I still be a human being?"
Liang Fugui was so embarrassed by these words that he blushed and was speechless.
Chen Qingqing, who was outside the crowd, heard their conversation clearly.
The heavens can be measured, the earth can be measured, but the human heart cannot be guarded against.
This Liang Fugui is truly shameless; he actually set his sights on Zheng Zhong.
Brown sugar was a rare commodity in those days, and not many people could afford it.
She now supplies all the brown sugar for the entire Qingshui Town and Anyang area.
Doesn't Liang Fugui worry about sales?
It seems he has already found a buyer, otherwise he wouldn't have wanted to take on this 10,000 jin of beets.
Chen Qingqing didn't believe Liang Fugui had such great power; it was impossible for him to come up with so much money all at once.
Someone must be directing him from behind. Who is that person?
Chen Qingqing couldn't figure it out at all. Fine, whoever it is, bring it on!
She'll meet force with force and water with earth, she'll deal with whatever comes her way...
In a flash, Chen Qingqing pushed through the crowd and approached, then sneered, "What a scoundrel! How dare he inflate prices and disrupt the market here."
When Liang Fugui saw Chen Qingqing suddenly appear, he was instantly stunned.
He felt utterly ashamed, after all, it was Chen Qingqing who gave him the opportunity to earn money when his family was struggling to make ends meet.
Now they're secretly doing bad things, stealing other people's business, and harming others for their own benefit. Isn't that just being ungrateful?
Mrs. Liang was initially taken aback, but she quickly recovered and smiled dismissively.
"Qing girl, you're wrong about that. What do you mean by 'price gouging'? I'm willing to pay a high price, and nobody can stop me."
As the saying goes, "Money shouldn't be earned by one person, nor should it be spent by one person." If you eat meat, you should also let us have some soup.
"Since you can make brown sugar, why can't we do it?"
"Yes, yes, we didn't steal or rob anyone, we just conducted business with them openly and honestly."
Hearing his wife say this, Liang Fugui felt more confident. After speaking, he looked at Zheng Zhong.
"Mr. Zheng, as you just said, we will reserve 10,000 catties of beets for the next batch."
“This…” Zheng Zhong looked troubled and glanced at Chen Qingqing.
Chen Qingqing curled the corners of her lips and smiled faintly, "Uncle Zheng, business is business, there's always a buyer and a seller, you don't need to make things difficult for yourself."
“Miss Chen is very generous. I will accept this deal.” Zheng Zhong clasped his hands in thanks to Chen Qingqing, then turned his gaze back to Liang Fugui. “Brother Liang, since you have ordered 10,000 catties of sugar beets, you should pay half of the deposit first.”
“Okay, money is no problem.” Liang Fugui raised his chin and took out fifteen taels of silver from Liang’s cloth bag with a smug look on his face, and handed it to Zheng Zhong. “This is the deposit, you can keep it safe.”
"Wait a minute."
As the voice faded, a man with high cheekbones, gaunt cheeks, and a sharp, mean-spirited look squeezed through the crowd.
He glanced at the silver in Liang Fugui's hand and chuckled.
“Brother, it’s better to be lucky than early. You wanted beets, right? They’re nothing special where we’re from. I have a whole 10,000 jin of them.”
Upon hearing this, Liang Fugui's eyes lit up, and his heart trembled with excitement. "Brother, are you telling the truth?"
"Why would I lie to you for no reason? If you don't believe me, come with me and see for yourself, it's on the boat."
After the tall, thin man finished speaking, he chuckled wickedly twice.
"However, my beets cost at least four coins a pound; I won't sell them for less."
"It's all three coins, don't try to raise the price!" Liang Fugui was a little unhappy; he didn't want to spend more money than he was entitled to.
The tall, thin man scoffed dismissively, "If you think it's too expensive, then wait until next month. I'm not in a hurry."
"Brother, don't go yet." Eager to make money, Liang Fugui quickly stopped the man who was about to leave. "Don't rush, let me think about it."
"Hurry up, good stuff doesn't wait for anyone."
"Okay, please wait a moment, I'll be right back."
As he spoke, Liang Fugui pulled his wife toward a corner outside the crowd.
Zheng Zhong's expression changed drastically when he saw who it was. "Zheng Xi, you, what brings you here?"
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