Ink panel: Hunting the sun and surveying the sky from the bow.

Chapter 45: Bullying and Dominating the Market

Shen Qing controlled the reins skillfully, blending in with the numerous convoys, and staggered to the gate of Taiping County again.

The arched city gate was wide open, revealing the main road behind it.

After years of walking, the main road paved with gray bricks has been worn to a shiny black, and snow water has accumulated into small puddles between the bricks.

If you look closely, you can see a few piles of horse manure scattered on top.

Guards wearing old-style armor stood inside the city gate, some leaning against the wall, some sitting on simple wooden benches, with no intention of cleaning up.

The horse manure was constantly crushed back and forth by the wheels of passing vehicles, turning into green manure water.

The guards' eyes wandered casually between the passers-by and the goods.

Occasionally he would look up and ask a few lazy questions, check the luggage as a routine, and after collecting the entrance fee, he would wave his hand and let us go.

It was the morning rush hour for entering the city, and there was a lot of passenger flow.

Shen Qing and the other two had to wait in line for two full minutes before it was their turn.

"Shut up!"

Shen Qing stopped his carriage, calmly took out the silver he had prepared from his bag, and without waiting for the guard to speak, he handed it forward, his movements smooth and natural.

"Half an ounce of silver. I know the rules." Shen Qing smiled calmly, with a hint of sophistication and indifference in his words: "I am a disciple of Lin Feng Hall Master's family. Please give me a favor, brother."

The guard took the twenty coins and was very satisfied with Shen Qing's understanding.

Then he habitually muttered a brief "Go in" and waved his hand lazily to let him go.

After paying the entrance fee, Shen Qing drove his horse slowly through the city gate.

Since we entered the city early this time, we happened to catch the morning market.

As soon as you enter the city gate, waves of sound come towards you like a tsunami.

All kinds of hawking sounds, shouting, and laughter combined together, making it seem particularly noisy and bustling.

The air was also filled with the smell of various fried cakes.

There were no nobles or gentlemen on the street. Most of the people there were vendors setting up stalls, some woodcutters carrying firewood through the streets, and servants who came out to purchase.

Compared to the awkwardness and dissatisfaction he felt the first time, Shen Qing was already very familiar with the routes in the city after just walking through it once.

He took a quick look at the location and then walked towards Wanfeng Building with the "two tigers".

On the way, Shen Qing bought three pancakes and the few of them had breakfast together.

After walking for a while, they arrived at the entrance of Wanfeng Building. After explaining their purpose, they went directly to the backyard of Wanfeng Building.

Now is the peak season for winter hunting, and there are no less than seven or eight hunters from other villages rushing to the backyard of Wanfeng Building.

However, they are basically all retail investors, and there is no one like Shen Qing who has pulled a whole cart.

Even so, looking at the atmosphere, Shen Qing had a bad feeling in his heart.

He asked around with the people around him and found out that the price for purchasing mountain products had been lowered this time.

Shen Qing calculated that under this market situation, his earnings would be reduced by almost half.

Before, he could make a net profit of nearly 700 wen, but now it is only less than 200 wen, and he might even make no profit at all.

Isn't this obviously bullying?

"One hundred and twenty coins in total!"

In the backyard, Wang Qiyao was counting the value of the goods with an abacus in his hand.

An accountant followed beside him, holding a brush and taking notes, preparing to pay the silver.

"These are eighteen hares, how can they cost more than one hundred and twenty coins?"

The hunter was somewhat unwilling to give up and wanted to fight for it again.

"So you're not going to sell it?" Wang Qiyao glanced at him, walked past him and shouted, "Next."

The ignored hunter rushed forward and grabbed Wang Qiyao's sleeve, saying, "No, no, no, one hundred and twenty is one hundred and twenty." Wang Qiyao shook his sleeve and shook the hunter's hand away. He glanced at him and said, "I'm not deliberately making it cheap. Now is the best time for you mountain herders to harvest. You all sell them to me, so these mountain products naturally can't be sold at a high price. After the spring comes, the price will naturally go up again."

The hunter's face showed some disdain.

He knew that what Wang Qiyao said was correct, but by the beginning of next spring, hunting would be banned in the mountains.

Those who dared to go up the mountain at that time either had connections or were simply desperate to take the risk.

The Taiping County government is an expert at coming up with new excuses, if nothing else.

If they catch you, they won't let you go until they have wiped you out.

By then, if those who have no roots go up the mountain, even if their families are not destroyed, they will probably lose a layer of skin and become half-dead.

The hunter seemed to have accepted his fate. He handed over the mountain products he had brought, took the 120-cent reward, and left in frustration.

Wang Qiyao, the manager of Wanfeng Tower, seemed to be accustomed to this. When the hunter was leaving, he casually told him about the mountain delicacies and started to pick the next household.

Shen Qing noticed with his sharp eyes that what the hunter was holding was a pheasant with colorful feathers and good appearance. In the past, it should have been sold for 150 wen, but Wang Qiyao only offered 80 wen for it.

The hunter's face turned pale and blue.

But he had absolutely no solution.

The Song family is the only one in the county that can buy mountain products. If he doesn't want to sell it, he can only eat it himself or let the meat rot, and he won't make a penny.

In the end, the hunter had no choice but to swallow his anger and accept the deal.

At this time, a hunter regretted his decision and came back to break the contract and take his goods away, but was stopped by the servants of Wanfenglou. Wang Qiyao shouted, "After the payment and goods are settled, all the goods here belong to the owner and have nothing to do with you. Throw him out."

The servant of Wanfeng Tower rushed forward, knocked him to the ground with a punch, then lifted him up and threw him high outside the courtyard wall.

"My arm, my arm..."

Shen Xiaohu and Tian Xiaohu couldn't help but change their expressions when they heard the wailing and screaming coming from outside the courtyard wall.

There is really no mercy here.

Shen Qing saw all of this and knew that Wanfenglou was taking advantage of the changes in supply and demand to lower the price.

They must have special ice cellars. At this time, they purchase large quantities of mountain products at extremely low prices and put them in the ice cellars. After the spring comes and there is a shortage of mountain products on the market, they sell them at high prices.

All the money earned comes from these unconnected low-level hunters.

To put it bluntly, Mr. Song is bullying the market.

Just as he was thinking about it, it was his turn to acquire Wanfeng Building.

Shen Qing put away those thoughts in his mind and walked forward with a smile: "Manager Wang, it's been a long time since we last met. I'm here to bother you again."

"You are..." Wang Qiyao felt that Shen Qing looked somewhat familiar. He met many people inside and outside every day and had no impression of Shen Qing.

Shen Qing introduced himself: "I am Shen Qing, from Hongshan Village."

"Oh, it's you." Wang Qiyao immediately recalled and had some impression of it.

"I didn't expect that Manager Wang still remembered me. Please come and take a look. These are the mountain products in our village. There are musk deer, rabbits, goats, pheasants, as well as rare things such as mushrooms and Ganoderma lucidum. Manager Wang, please calculate the price for me." Shen Qing said respectfully.

Wang Qiyao picked and chose, with no emotion on his face.

Crackling.

He calculated the price and said, "You have quite a lot of this stuff. It's worth three taels and five cents in total."

Shen Qing's face looked a little grim.

Last time, a similar item could be sold for ten taels of silver, but now it is only worth three taels and five cents. The difference is not just a little bit, it's a huge markdown.

"Manager Wang, can you raise the price a little bit? This price is too cheap."

"Cheap? Your cart is full of common mountain products. Our caravan has already collected a lot from various villages. This is still a lot for you." Wang Qiyao turned to look at Shen Qing, and said with a confident look on his face: "Do you want to sell it?"

(End of this chapter)