Chapter 103: Locust Plague Rumors
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The old farmer pleaded in a trembling voice.
Qiu Tong saw that he was wearing a cloth shirt with several patches on it. The straw sandals on his feet had also been patched many times. Feeling a twinge in her heart, she took the initiative to interrupt the shop assistant’s arrogant and hateful words. She placed a hand on the old man’s cart.
“Uncle, your grain looks good. Why don’t you sell it to me?”
“I’ll pay double their price. What do you think?”
The old man looked at Qiu Tong hesitantly, afraid that she was a liar.
The boss of the food stall, Shu Yuanwei, was hiding in the dark and watching. When he realized that Qiu Tong had come out to ruin his plans, he coughed and walked out of the shop. He threatened the old farmer fiercely. “Don’t believe her. There have been swindlers on the market recently…”
“Swindlers? I think you’re the ones who are cheating the farmers, right?”
“You used your monopoly power to maliciously lower the buying price from suppliers, but then turn around and raise the selling price to customers. Doesn’t your conscience prick you when you earn such ill-gotten money from others?”
Qiu Tong rebutted Shu Yuanwei angrily. The surrounding crowd pointed at him and discussed Qiu Tong’s words.
Shu Yuanwei was a little embarrassed, but he quickly put his hands on his hips and scolded Qiu Tong angrily, “What do you know?”
“The grains that the old man pushed over are all old. New grains will be released soon. When the time comes, everyone will definitely buy fresh grains!”
“Whoever buys these old grains will end up on the losing end!”
“We’re businessmen, not charity workers! Do we have to buy whoever looks pitiful at a high price?”
Shu Yuanwei found a lame excuse. Qiu Tong ignored his quibbling and ridicule, taking out some money and handing it to the old farmer.
The old man was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. He raised his sleeve to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes and thanked her profusely. “You have done a good deed. You will be rewarded!”
Qiu Tong narrowed her eyes and smiled gently. “You too. Go buy some new clothes and shoes.”
With that, she took out some brand new notes and stuffed them into the farmer’s hands.
Shu Yuanwei looked at her actions and said in disdain, “Idiot, do you really think you’re a living Buddha who saves people from suffering?”
He wanted to turn around and return to the shop in disdain, but one of his shop assistants ran over anxiously from the other end of the street!
The shop assistant pushed through the crowd and stood in front of Shu Yuanwei, raising his hand high. “Boss, look!”
“I found this in a nearby wheat field. It’s a locust larva!”
“There are already many larvae covering the majority of the fields! I’m afraid there will really be a locust plague!”
He was speaking rather loudly. When the crowd who had wanted to leave heard these words, they all stopped in their tracks and surrounded him to look at the larva in his hand.
Everyone’s expression changed and they exchanged looks. “It is indeed a locust larva!”
The news that a locust plague was going to happen spread very quickly with the food stall as the starting point, causing the civilians to panic.
Shu Yuanwei suddenly rushed in front of the shop assistant. He snatched the locust larva and threw it to the ground. He crushed it and cursed, “Idiot!”
They could have suppressed the news of the locusts’ outbreak and secretly purchased grains to raise the price when the plague broke out, so that they could achieve high profits! But this idiot’s words had already spread, and the food stall might not be able to gain any advantage now!
Across the shop, the children’s business suddenly exploded.
“Give me two bottles!”
“Me too! I want 10 bottles!”
News of the locust plague spread very quickly. Many people rushed to Qiu Xingyuan’s stall to buy locust pesticide. The crowd fought over the pesticide and the bottles were rapidly sold out.
Apart from some of the more foolish civilians, most people in the city understood that it was too late to kill the larvae now that they had developed to such a stage.
There was no way to stop a locust plague from erupting. The only thing they could do was stock up on food!
The crowd quickly ran around, trying to buy grains from the farmers. The market price rapidly increased…
There were even some people who saw that Qiu Tong had yet to take the grain cart away, and directly offered three times the price to purchase it.
Qiu Tong raised an eyebrow at the livid Shu Yuanwei and shook her head in refusal.
“How is it? Boss Shu, I don’t think I lost any money. I can still make a small profit.”
“But for you, you’ve been suppressing the buying prices for the farmers and haven’t bought much grain. It would be a little difficult for you to deal with the locust plague now, right?”
Qiu Tong deliberately poured salt over Shu Yuanwei’s wounds.. The situation in the market was a slap in the face for him. He wished he could swallow his earlier words!
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