Chapter 193 - 193. Profiteer
“No one?”
Yang Rubing pulled open all the clothes in the closet, but she didn’t find anyone hiding inside. She turned around and saw that her sister was also confused, so she walked to the bed where she could hide and lifted the bed curtain.
Yang Rubing said softly to the bed, “Come out; I won’t hurt you.”
Yang Ruxue wasn’t so afraid after hearing her sister’s words. Since she couldn’t hide it anymore, she would let Xi’er come out and see her sister. If her sister pitied Xi’er, she could return and plead for Xi’er.
It was too dirty under the bed, and it was so low. Xi’er must be suffering under it. Yang Ruxue helped her sister shout,
“Xi’er, she’s your second aunt. She won’t hurt you.”
However, no one answered after Yang Ruxue shouted. Yang Ruxue became anxious. Ignoring her weak body, she knelt and looked under the bed.
Yang Rubing quickly pulled her up. “The ground is cold. How can you kneel on the ground with your weak body?”
” Xi’er, come out quickly. Don’t worry; Auntie won’t hurt you.”
Yang Rubing pulled her sister up and called out to the bed, but there was still no answer.
“Where’s Xi’er? Xi’er?”
Yang Ruxue panicked. She called out her daughter’s name loudly, pushing her second sister away. She lay on the floor and looked under the bed. It was empty. Where was she?
Yang Ruxue collapsed and sat on the ground with tears streaming down her face. She called her daughter’s name in a daze,
“Xi’er, Xi’er, come out quickly.”
Seeing that no one was in the room, Yang Rubing felt she was overthinking. When her sister was sick, she would call Xi’er’s name and often say that she was back. Yang Rubing saw her sister torturing herself and hugged her to comfort her,
“Ruxue, don’t be sad. Xi’er will come back.”
“Sister, she’s back. Xi’er is back.”
Yang Ruxue leaned helplessly into her sister’s arms and cried her eyes out. She couldn’t believe that this was her dream again. Her daughter was hugging her so sincerely. Her daughter’s embrace was very, very warm.
“Sit down and drink some water.”
Yang Rubing felt like her heart was stabbed when she saw her sister in pain. She regretted mentioning Xi’er again.
When she helped Yang Ruxue sit down, she saw a letter on the table with a packet of medicine.
“This is?”
Yang Rubing picked up the letter and saw a line of words:
” Father, Mother, Xi’er will help Mother find a thousand-year-old Lingzhi. She will be back once she finds it. Don’t worry; this packet of medicine is for Mother to recuperate. I hope that you will take care of yourself!”
Although it was only a short sentence, it proved that Xi’er had returned!
Su Qing left the Su residence from the roof. She turned around and looked at this warm home, feeling a trace of reluctance in her heart.
When she had just been reborn, she only had one thought: to have a warm home and live a life of peace.
However, she had to leave to protect her parents and younger brother. Finding the thousand-year-old Lingzhi was also her top priority. She had to save her poor mother.
After Su Qing left the Su family, she didn’t go to the cloth store, afraid her father would look for her there. She thought of his agreement with Ji Shuisheng, who should have left Luo City by now.
Su Qing was not in a hurry to leave. Having no grain on the long escape road was terrible, so she went to the grain store to buy food first.
She found a shop called Yongwang Grain Store. This grain store was huge, with more than a dozen rooms. There were not as many people at the grain store at noon as in the morning, so she only needed to queue for a cup of tea to get there.
However, as soon as she got in line, she saw the waiter come out with a sign and change the original price.
The price of one tael of silver and four stones of brown rice had risen to one tael of silver and three stones. This price was like a robbery. The commoners at the back of the line exploded.
“Why did you suddenly raise the price?”
“There’s no such thing as a scam. Are you raising the price twice a day? Why did it increase so much? You’re too black-hearted.”
Su Qing’s expression was also hideous. However, he was a profiteer who raised the price when he saw many people buying. No one said anything about raising the price early in the morning.
“Why are you making so much noise? Refugees are everywhere now, and the food can’t be transported in. The price will rise tomorrow. If you think it’s expensive, don’t eat it. It’s cheaper to eat soil.”
The waiter was very rude. When he saw the commoners raise their opinions, he glared at them and shouted. The commoners were furious, but there was nothing they could do. No matter how angry they were, they had to buy it, or the price would increase tomorrow! It was a disaster year now, and the one selling grain was the boss.
Seeing that he had stopped the people buying food, the shop assistant was happy to see Su Qing’s luxurious clothes and cold gaze. He did not dare to shout at Su Qing as he had shouted at the people. He smiled and asked,
“Young Master, how much rice do you want to buy?”
The shop assistant thought, “This young Master is wearing such good clothes. He can’t possibly buy brown rice. The common people eat that thing.” He directly asked Su Qing how much polished rice he wanted to buy.
Su Qing pointed at the brown rice.
” I want this. One hundred stones, according to the price just now.”
The shop assistant was stunned. Does he want brown rice?
” Young Master, I really can’t give you this. The grain can’t be shipped in, and the price is soaring. We can’t sell it at a loss, right? ”
Su Qing didn’t listen to his nonsense and said coldly,
“I’ll knock out a dog’s tooth for every cent I pay!”
Seeing that she was not to be trifled with and that he could not make the decision, the shop assistant nodded and bowed to Su Qing apologetically.
“Young Master, please don’t make things difficult for me. I’m just a waiter. The shopkeeper sets the prices.”
Su Qing’s gaze became even colder. Seeing Su Qing’s unyielding attitude, the waiter quickly returned to report to his boss.
A middle-aged man in a dark robe and holding a teapot looked out of the room. Seeing that Su Qing was dressed like a rich and noble person, he gave a few instructions to the waiter. When the waiter returned, he lowered his voice and said to Su Qing in a flattering manner,
“Young Master, why don’t you ask for less? I’ll sell it to you. You asked for too much. I don’t have that much brown rice in my shop. I’ll leave some behind for the people.”
“Fifty.”
Su Qing cut the number by half. Today’s situation was unique, and she didn’t want to cause trouble. Otherwise, she would have directly killed profiteers who profited from national disasters and raised prices when she was the God of War.
The shop assistant looked troubled. He asked Su Qing to wait for a while before he ran back to report.
Su Qing glanced at the shop and saw the man talking to the waiter. He was hidden in the shadows, and when he sized people up, he gave off a feeling of a wily old fox.
Seeing Su Qing looking at him, the boss nodded at her and gave an order to the waiter. The waiter ran back happily.
“Young Master is fortunate. Our boss said that he wants to befriend you, so he will prepare the amount of food you requested.”
Su Qing raised her head and saw the owner smiling at her. However, that smile was full of schemes, making one’s scalp tingle.
Su Qing frowned slightly. The owner of this grain store was not an ordinary merchant.
“Young Master, will the food be sent to what manor?”
The waiter went to weigh the grain. Fifty stones of brown rice were packed into fifty sacks, so he came to ask Su Qing where to send it.
“Leave it here first. I’ll call a taxi.”
Su Qing ignored his good intentions and left.
When the people behind saw that she had bought it at the original price, they wanted to buy it at the same price. The shop assistant changed his humble attitude towards Su Qing and shouted at the people.
After Su Qing left the front door of the grain store, she did not rush to find a cart. She found the backyard of the grain store and found that many people were busy unloading grain. The words on the grain bag caught her attention..