Chapter 171: Raising Prices Indiscriminately

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

By the time Su Ying arrived at the Tiger Base, Tiger Might and the others had already prepared all the horse carriages. As all the carriages were carrying charcoal, they could only ride on the horses.

Su Ying looked at Tiger Might, who had mounted his horse. “Have you recovered from your injuries?”

Tiger Might laughed valiantly. “It’s been so long. I’ve recovered a long time ago. Don’t worry, Madam Su. My fists are very hard now.”

Su Ying could hear the vigor in his voice. His internal injuries should have mostly recovered.

“Let’s set off now while it is still early,” Su Ying said as she mounted her horse.

“Big Brother, I’ll go with you,” Qiao Yang also rode his horse over.

Tiger Might glared at him. “You stay in the base camp obediently. If I find out something has happened to the base camp when I come back, I’ll hold you responsible.”

Qiao Yang’s face sank as he looked at Su Ying with a dejected expression. However, Su Ying had already galloped ahead on her horse.

Qiao Yang could only wave at them. “You guys must come back early.”

The Tiger Base was not far from the exit of the northern wilderness. If they were fast, they should be able to reach the border of the Chu State in the afternoon.

Tiger Might rode his horse at the front of the group, while Su Ying followed at the back. After an unknown amount of time, they finally left the northern wilderness.

Outside the northern wilderness, everything was barren as far as the eye could see. It was as if that exit segregated two completely different worlds.

Su Ying looked around. This was the first time she had left the northern wilderness after entering it.

After leaving, Su Ying could feel the strong sandstorm outside, stinging her face until it hurt. It might be the northern wilderness was surrounded by mountains, blocking the north wind on the outside and weakening it.

When it was close to noon, they finally saw the border gate of the Chu State.

“Stop the team at the side. I’ll go to the border pass to see if anyone has come.” After Tiger Might instructed the people around him, he spurred his horse and galloped toward the pass.

Su Ying had the men pull the carriages to an inconspicuous place to stop. From afar, she could see that there were quite a number of people waiting to do business outside the Chu State’s border. She instructed the guards to look after the goods while she rode her horse towards the street vendors who had set up mobile stalls outside the pass.

“Pancakes! Fresh pancakes! You can eat your fill with just two copper coins.”

“Rouge! Pretty rouge! Young lady, do you want to bring some rouge back? My rouge is famous for its good quality. There are many people inside the border pass who have specially run out to buy a box of rouge from me.”

Su Ying looked at the rouge box in the peddler’s hand, shook her head, and continued moving forward.

There was a long line of mobile stalls. Many vendors simply pulled their carts here to sell their goods. There were quite a number of people selling things here. Although this place didn’t quite sell everything that one needed, one could still buy some daily necessities here.

Su Ying walked to the front and noticed someone selling charcoal. She walked to the front of the stall and asked, “How much is this charcoal?”

When the peddler saw that someone was inquiring, he quickly greeted her warmly, “Young lady, you want to buy charcoal? This bundle costs too copper coins. If you buy more, I can give you a discount.”

Su Ying saw that his charcoal was also bundled into a cylindrical shape, but it was smaller in size and the quality of the charcoal wasn’t as good. “I’ll look around first.”

As she walked further, she met two other charcoal sellers. Upon inquiring, she found that the prices were similar to the first seller’s. The better quality charcoal was more expensive.

Su Ying turned around and left the stall, only to see Tiger Might leading a middle-aged man toward the group.

“A few days ago, we made a lot of charcoal. Take a look and see if you can accept them,” Tiger Might said to the middle-aged man.

The man walked to the side of the carriages to check the quality of the charcoal. After looking at a few bundles, his expression did not change, making it difficult for others to guess what he was thinking.

After checking them, the man took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands. “This charcoal won’t do.”

Tiger Might frowned. “This quality is not good enough?”

The man murmured his reply. “The rich want the best high-grade low-smoke charcoal. You can’t sell these for a high price. But I understand your situation. It’s not easy for you to come all the way here. How about this? I’ll give you half a silver tael for a carriage of charcoal. If you’re willing to sell it, I’ll take it.” Half a tael of silver for a carriage? He could dream on!

There were 20 to 30 bundles in this carriage. Based on the prices she had found out just now, one carriage could fetch at least two to three taels of silver. That guy was really pressing the price down by a lot.

“Since we can’t sell them for a good price, then we won’t make things difficult for you, Brother Tong.” Tiger Might knew that the man was deliberately pressing down the price. He was also not willing to sell at such a low price.

The man was not in a hurry. He knew that Tiger Might and the others would be short of grain every year when they came to this pass. Moreover, he was the only channel through which they could get grain in the Chu State. If he did not help them, it would be even more troublesome for them to go elsewhere to buy food. Every time at this juncture, he would take the opportunity to earn more money from them.

“I know that the price is not high, but I have no choice. Charcoal is not something that everyone can afford to begin with. The market is small. You guys didn’t know, but previously, when the Chu State and the Nan State almost fought, the price of grain at the border suddenly soared. Previously, you could buy a catty of brown rice for 5 copper coins, but now it costs 10 copper coins. It has doubled outright.”

Tiger Might’s brows furrowed even deeper. “There’s no discount even if we buy more?”

The man shook his head with a troubled look. “If I hadn’t stockpiled the goods previously, I might not have had the goods for you. I only have 1,000 catties left. If you don’t want them, I reckon there won’t be any left in two days.”

Of course, Tiger Might wanted the goods. However, the price had increased so much in an instant. He felt the pinch somewhat. After all, it was not easy for them to accumulate some silver.

“How much is a catty of refined rice?” Su Ying asked.

The man gestured with two fingers. “20 copper coins.”

If one catty was 20 copper coins, then one picul was two taels of silver, and 1,000 picul was 2,000 taels of silver. This price was more than double what she had paid in the past.

They had a limited amount of money, to begin with, so Su Ying didn’t want to spend so much money.

When the man saw that they were hesitating, he immediately made a ruthless move. “How about this? You guys can discuss it again. I have an appointment with other people today. They also said that they want to buy grain. Let’s discuss it as soon as possible. Otherwise, if someone from the other side orders it, I won’t have so many goods in my hands.”

“Er…”

“Alright. Thank you.” Su Ying stopped Tiger Might, who was about to speak.

The man glanced at Su Ying and nodded. Sure enough, he turned around and returned to the town.

Tiger Might was a little anxious when he saw that the man had left. “Madam Su, you don’t plan to do business with him? He’s the only one whom we can go through to get goods from the Chu State. Without him, we won’t be able to buy what we want here.”

“Don’t be anxious. There aren’t any large-scale disasters in the Chu State this year. The price of grain won’t increase for no reason. The matter of war is even more ridiculous. The war is going to start soon, but they still allowed so many people to go through the border pass. That person clearly wants to raise the price indiscriminately.”

“Then… if we don’t buy it from him, who should we buy it from?”