ebookland Chapter 763 Four Major Grain Merchants
Chapter 763 Four Major Grain Merchants
Under immense pressure, Jia Zhenzhen had no choice but to send a servant to make an appearance.
He was in it to sell grain, so this kind of situation was actually advantageous for him.
The servant practically squeezed through the crack in the door, which was quickly closed.
Faced with the sea of heads, the servant was somewhat panicked; he had never seen such a large scene before.
"Cough cough cough." The servant coughed a few times, as if to encourage himself.
He was terrified of being drowned in someone's spittle or trampled to death by someone's shoe; in short, he knew he was doomed.
Upon seeing the servant, the hundreds of people immediately fell silent, all turning their gazes to him.
Faced with hundreds of eyes, the servant became even more flustered, his body trembling.
"My boss said that the highest bidder wins!" the servant finally mustered up his courage and said.
The highest bidder wins?
In other words, the goal is to get these wealthy businessmen to bid against each other.
The news immediately caused an uproar among the crowd. The reason they were blocking the entrance to Jia Zhenzhen's grain store was because he had offered a price of three hundred coins per dou (a unit of dry measure).
If he also raises the price to four hundred coins, there's absolutely no need to buy from him.
The vast majority of these so-called wealthy businessmen are small-scale operators and cannot even be considered prominent families.
They don't need much food, as it can be bought from the market. The reason they come here is simply because the price is low.
Some people complained immediately, but most decided to give it a try.
After all, there is a certain price difference between 300 and 400 coins. If the deal can be completed at 350 coins, a small profit can be made.
As the saying goes, "No merchant is without guile," and Jia Zhenzhen's actions are perfectly justifiable.
After a brief discussion, someone finally offered a price: "I'll offer three hundred and ten coins."
A one-time price increase of ten coins is a significant one, and most people chose to wait and see.
Some people wanted to speed things up, shouting loudly, "Three hundred and twenty coins!"
"Three hundred and thirty coins!"
……
In the blink of an eye, the price of grain had been driven up to 350 coins, which was the bottom line for most people. If it were just one more coin higher, some people would probably back out.
As expected, after a fierce bidding war, most of the wealthy merchants calmed down and began to raise the price penny by penny.
When the price reached 360 coins, everyone fell silent; it was beyond their budget.
Moreover, the person who offered the high price was just a third-rate family, who couldn't possibly afford all the grain. After he bought it at a high price, there would inevitably be a re-bidding, and it might even be lower than 350 coins.
"If no one raises the price further, the first batch of grain will be sold to Boss Wang," the servant said with a smile.
At first, he was afraid of being beaten to death, but when he heard the wealthy businessmen bidding enthusiastically, he felt relieved and even a little happy.
Although Jia Zhenzhen was a cunning merchant, she treated her servants fairly well. If she made a lot of money, she would reward them handsomely.
Besides, he took the blame for Jia Zhenzhen, so he must have received the most reward money.
Three hundred and sixty coins, hmm... that's a good price.
"How much grain does Boss Wang want to buy?" the servant asked with a fawning smile.
Boss Wang chuckled and held up one finger.
This is an intriguing number; it could be 10,000 shi, 100 shi, or even none at all.
Hundreds of eyes were fixed on Boss Wang. If he were to buy 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), everyone would be in trouble.
Even if Jia Zhenzhen were a major grain merchant, he would only have 20,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) in stock, and it would be impossible for him to sell them all at once.
Based on He Li's analysis, he could sell at most 10,000 shi of grain.
"One hundred shi (a unit of dry measure)." Boss Wang smiled awkwardly.
One dou of grain costs 360 wen, and one shi of grain costs 3,600 wen, which is equivalent to 3.6 liang of silver. One hundred shi of grain costs only 360 liang of silver.
No wonder he dared to raise the price; it turns out he couldn't buy much.
This is enough for Mr. Wang to pay his taxes, since his shop's business has been dismal for the past six months, with very little transaction volume.
"Please come with me to the warehouse to get the grain, Mr. Wang," the servant said with a long face.
I thought I could make a fortune, but I ended up with a low-paying job. Isn't this just a waste of breath?
In other words, most of the grain had to be sold for less than 350 coins, which was very unpleasant, so the reward money was halved.
"Wait!" Just as Boss Wang was smiling and heading towards the granary, a cold voice rang out.
This voice is not only refreshing but also magnetic; it would make any boy's heart flutter, let alone a young girl in her prime.
"It's Young Master Gu, so handsome..." A young girl began to swoon.
"The Gu family is one of the four great families in Kyoto, and Young Master Gu is the future head of the family."
"Not only that, he's the most handsome man in Kyoto, how could he come to such a lowly place?"
Almost all girls are infatuated with him, starting by discussing his wealth and later his handsomeness.
Some even thought that Gu Chenyu, a refined gentleman untouched by worldly affairs, shouldn't come to such a vulgar place.
The crowded people automatically made way for Gu Chenyu, and the girls on both sides were already completely captivated by her.
Gu Chenyu was used to being the center of attention and didn't care.
However, two women remained unmoved, merely glancing at him out of curiosity before casually turning away.
These two were Meng Qingge and Yun'er.
Strangely enough, Yun'er wanted to take a few more glances at this famous handsome man, but after seeing him, she didn't feel any spark at all, and even muttered to herself, "He's just so-so."
It wasn't because Gu Chenyu wasn't handsome, nor because Yun'er had bad eyesight, but because the much more handsome Lin Ping was always in front of her, so naturally she wouldn't think Gu Chenyu was particularly outstanding.
Sorry, I'm getting tired of this aesthetic.
If Yun'er is like this, Meng Qingge is even less likely to be an exception.
Gu Chenyu was somewhat annoyed by their reactions, and deliberately flicked his sleeves as he passed by them.
Not handsome enough? That's right, far from it.
Gu Chenyu felt a sense of frustration and hurriedly inquired about their origins from the servants.
Meng Qingge was a wealthy young lady, well-informed and knowledgeable, so she didn't take it to heart. But Yun'er was just a maid, yet she was so indifferent.
"Both master and servant are blind."
This was the only explanation Gu Chenyu could think of.
Only young girls in the throes of first love were moved by his handsome looks, while wealthy businessmen were moved by his wealth.
"Young Master Gu? Could it be that he's here to acquire Jia Zhenzhen's grain store?" Everyone was very curious.
The way these large families operate is beyond the comprehension of most people. They don't go to the barbershop just for a haircut; they go to acquire the entire industry.
Jia Zhenzhen's servant, with a beaming smile, respectfully asked, "May I ask what brings Young Master Gu here?"
“I’ll pay four hundred coins for the grain,” Gu Chenyu said slowly, revealing a row of white teeth.
"Four hundred coins?" Everyone was shocked. This was a true wealthy family. They never wasted time on things that could be solved with money.