The stall owner was a man in his early thirties, but he only looked like a junior student and looked like a girl. So when a little girl suddenly asked him a question, he rudely replied: “There is no special event today.”
But, Bai Zhi asked another question: “So why there are so many people? I didn’t see a lot of people in the market before.”
The stall owner looked around and sighed: “I heard there was a flood in the south. People who got affected fled in their hometown. Many refugees choose to come to Qingyuan Town. With all these people, do you think the town government can manage them? Will they take care of all these people? If there will be more people in the town, then the price of the food might increase, right?”
Bai Zhi suddenly had a realization: “It turned out to be the people are busy to buy foods!”
The stall owner sighed: “Don’t mention it, my meat has been sold out for a reason. I also need to buy foods. I heard that the price of rice grains had increased, but people still turned them upside down. If I go any latter, I’m afraid I won’t be able to buy anything.”
Seeing the stall owner running in a hurry, Hu Feng hurriedly pulled Bai Zhi’s sleeve and asked: “Don’t we need to buy something too?”
Bai Zhi nodded her head: “Of course, in this kind of situation, it will not take long before the price of rice grains increase again. It’s good that we came here today.”
*
There were long queues in the grain and oil shop. People who came and lined up keep complaining. At ordinary times, they can buy 5 stone meters of rice grain for 1 silver coin, but today, they can only buy 3 stone meters at most.
The Rice Seller Boss shouted: “Stop yelling, come back here tomorrow again and see if you can buy 3 stone meters of rice grains for 1 silver coin.”
People keep complaining, but they still purchased rice grains. The flood that happened in the south was not the first time. Every time a lot of refugees came in the town, the food prices multiplied every day. People with good eyes could see clearly what will happen.
With a clear picture in mind, people wanted to save rice grains early. And so, they were rushing to buy rice. They were also praying for the flood to stop early this year.
However, the biggest reason for the prayers was, they don’t have enough money to save foods.
When it was Bai Zhi’s turn, the Rice Seller Boss’s asked: “How much?” But, he already picked up the rice grains. A little girl who looked like this will definitely only buy 1 stone meter of rice and nothing more.
Bai Zhi smiled and said: “Boss, I want to buy 10 stone meters of rice, can you give me a little bit more of discount?”
The Rice Seller Boss was slightly stunned and then stared at the little girl in front of him. The little girl looked thin and frail, she looked like a typical child from a farmer family. And although she was wearing new clothes, she doesn’t look like from a rich family.
“Do you know how much the 10 stone meters of rice is?” The Rice Seller Boss asked.
Bai Zhi nodded her head: “I certainly know that 3 stone meters of rice cost 1 silver coin. But, wouldn’t it better to buy the rice as a whole? Giving you 3 silver coins for 10 stone meters of rice is good enough, right?”
The Rice Seller Boss has been selling for half a day now, but only sold a total of 6 stone meters of rice. But, the little girl wanted to buy 10 stone meters. His warehouse will be empty for a while, it’s not that bad to earn a bit less. So, he laughed and said: “Of course, you can pay it here. Did you bring the money?”
Bai Zhi pulled out her purse and took out a total of 4 silver coins, then handed it over to the Rice Seller Boss: “Boss, here is the 3 silver coins for the rice and another 1 silver coin for the noddles. Please help me put them all to the ox cart.” Bai Zhi pointed her finger to the ox cart opposite to the road. Hu Feng was standing beside the ox cart and looking at her.
The Rice Seller Boss was so happy, and busily ordered his men to send the rice and noodles to the ox cart.
Hu Feng looked at the ox cart that was filled with rice and noodles, then frowned his eyebrows: “Do you really need to buy so much? How are you going to eat them all?”
Bai Zhi turned around and looked at the boss of the grain and oil shop. She can see that the Rice Seller Boss’s smile almost reach up to his ear. So, she said: “Just wait and see, this unscrupulous businessman who made fortune out from the crisis, will sooner or later get the lessons he deserves.”