I just like to see you guys looking at me with displeasure but having to put on a smile and pay for food.
Shopkeeper Tai sat at the counter, supervising the work and collecting money from the accountant while watching the people in front of the counter waving their money bags to buy grain. He was so happy. When he announced that the price of grain would increase by 10 coins per stone, everyone complained. But what does it matter? No matter how unhappy you are, you still have to take out your money bags obediently.
The 600 kilograms of food that were limited for sale in the morning were sold out in just one meal.
There were still many people who had not bought any food, and they were clamoring excitedly, asking Manager Tai to sell them food.
"It's gone, it's really gone. The food won't be delivered until noon. Please come back early this afternoon."
Shopkeeper Tai was already accustomed to this kind of scene. He stood up, waved his hand, and explained with a smile.
After sending away the reluctant people, Shopkeeper Tai counted the silver with shining eyes, confirmed that it matched the account, not a single copper was missing, and smiled with satisfaction. After counting it again with enjoyment, he counted out ten coppers, gave them to the two servants with a painful look on his face, counted out another ten coppers as a reward to the accountant, picked out the broken silver and put them all into the purse in his sleeve, and locked the rest of the coppers in a special iron box.
"After I leave, the three of you will close the door and guard this store. Wait until Lai Fu and his men bring in the grain at noon. After you weigh it, put it in the cellar and lock it up! You can open the door when I come in the afternoon. I don't know how much grain Lai Fu can bring this time! If it's less than 3,000 kilograms, I will scold him no matter if he is my brother-in-law or not."
Shopkeeper Tai rolled up his sleeves, gave some instructions to his clerk and the accountant, and walked out the door.
Lai Fu was his brother-in-law, the second brother of his first wife. He could read a few words but was eloquent. With the recommendation of his wife, he went to work as an errand boy in his family's grain store. Because he was eloquent and could read a few words, he quickly rose to prominence and became the manager in charge of grain purchases.
However, the flood also caused a food shortage in the granaries of Jiangnan, and it became increasingly difficult to buy food. Lai Fu went out to buy food several times, each time he went farther and spent more money, but the amount of food he bought back was less and less.
This time, the bottom line that Manager Tai could accept was three thousand kilograms, which was enough to sell grain for at least two days.
Of course, he still had some food stored in his cellar, but it was very limited and could only last for a few days. It seemed that after Lai Fu came back, he would have to take his men to the north again and go to Shandong to buy food.
As soon as Manager Tai walked out of the door, he saw Manager Lu from the Yongfeng Grain Shop across the street also coming out.
"Haha, Lao Lu, you're sold out too. It's still early, where can we go for a drink?"
Shopkeeper Tai clasped his fists and greeted Shopkeeper Lu with a smile, thinking of finding an opportunity to ask Shopkeeper Lu some questions and inquire about the purchasing channels and situation of his Yongfeng Grain Shop. Shopkeeper Tai also had another idea. He wanted to form a partnership with Shopkeeper Lu and go to Shandong to purchase grain together. There would be strength in numbers and it would also be safer. In recent days, Lai Fu and others said that the road was not safe either. When the victims saw the grain trucks, their eyes lit up like hungry wolves.
However, after saying hello, Shopkeeper Tai noticed that Shopkeeper Lu's face looked a little strange and he seemed a little flustered.
It shouldn't be like that. Ever since the flood, our grain shop's business has been getting better and better. It's like making money like crazy. It can be said that there have never been better times than these days.
The business of Yongfeng Grain Store is just like the business of Fengtai Grain Store, both are very good and make a fortune every day. These days, Shopkeeper Lu is as happy as Maitreya Buddha every day, and his mouth can't close.
When we met this morning, wasn't Shopkeeper Lu smiling like a flower? How come he became like this after a while?! He looked panicked, as if he was out of his mind?!
Business is booming these days, and he's making a lot of money every day. Shouldn't Shopkeeper Lu be like this? !
Could it be that Shopkeeper Lu and his Yongfeng Grain Shop were unlucky and didn't buy any grain today? ! Or was the grain they bought stolen by the disaster victims on the way? ! There was a problem with the grain purchase, and the grain in Yongfeng Grain Shop was probably only enough to sell for a few days. These days, the grain shop has been making a lot of money every day. If it sells less for one day, it will be a loss of a lot of money. Shopkeeper Lu, who loves money like his life, would be surprised if he didn't feel pain, so it's understandable that he looked flustered.
His former competitor had run into trouble, and when Manager Tai thought about it, he couldn't help but feel a little gloating.
"Old Tai, Old Tai, did you hear that?"
Seeing Shopkeeper Tai, Shopkeeper Lu seemed to have found someone similar. He trotted over to Shopkeeper Tai, looked at him with panicked eyes, and spoke without beginning or ending.
"Have you heard anything?"
Shopkeeper Tai's gloating expression grew even stronger. After hearing what Shopkeeper Lu said, he became even more certain that there was probably something wrong with the grain in Shopkeeper Lu's grain shop.
"Oh, my old Tai, something bad has happened, something bad has happened." Shopkeeper Lu grabbed Shopkeeper Tai's hand, cold sweat streaming down his fat face, and his panic was evident in his words.
There really is a problem with Yongfeng Grain Store, but that is your problem, and the trouble is your trouble, what does it have to do with me... Shopkeeper Tai was extremely certain in his heart, and the gloating on his face at this moment, like the panic on Shopkeeper Lu's face, was beyond words.
"Lao Tai, my Lao Tai, you...how can you still laugh?" Shopkeeper Lu caught a glimpse of the smile on Shopkeeper Tai's face, and he sighed deeply, feeling very disappointed with him.
This is your trouble, not mine, so why can't I laugh
"Did I laugh? Ahem, how could that be? You must be dazzled, Old Lu."
Shopkeeper Tai shook his head vigorously, refusing to admit that he laughed, but no matter how hard he tried to suppress the gloating smile on his face, it was still visible at a glance.
"My old Tai, a great disaster is about to happen. Today, Zhang, the manager of my shop, went to buy food. He passed by Taizhou Prefecture and saw the owner of the Mi's Grain Store in the prefecture, Mi..."
As Shopkeeper Lu spoke, his face turned increasingly pale, with visible beads of sweat dripping down his forehead.
"What happened to Shopkeeper Mi? Did he make things difficult for Manager Zhang? The Mi family is too overbearing. They don't allow us to go to the city to sell grain, and they don't allow us to pass by the city?!"
Shopkeeper Tai said disapprovingly that Shopkeeper Mi was very domineering, but Shopkeeper Tai and Shopkeeper Mi had some indirect relationship as relatives, and he felt that Shopkeeper Mi would never make things difficult for him.
"What? Shopkeeper Mi of Mi's Grain Store and Shopkeeper Wang of Shiweitian Grain Store were both executed in the street by the prefect on charges of driving up grain prices, sabotaging disaster relief, and profiting from the disaster!"
Shopkeeper Lu angrily shook off Shopkeeper Tai's hand, stamped his feet, and said with lingering fear.
“Wha…what?!”
Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Tai was so frightened that his face turned as pale as window paper. His legs went limp at once, and if he had not held onto the crooked tree by the roadside, he would have collapsed to the ground.
"Linhai County, which is right next to the city, arrested three grain merchants on the charge of driving up grain prices and put them in jail! I heard that Taiping County next door has also started arresting people."
Shopkeeper Lu was like a crow, throwing bad news one after another to Shopkeeper Tai.
Plop!
It was no use holding onto the tree, and the shopkeeper collapsed to the ground with a pale face.