Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies
Chapter 46 - 45 Bullying the Market by Song and Dong Family

Shen Qing expertly controlled the reins, blending into the numerous caravans as they made their way to the city gate of Taiping County once again.

The arched city gate was wide open, revealing the road behind it.

Over the years, the gray-brick paved road had become dark and shiny, with snow water pooling into small puddles in the gaps between the bricks.

Upon closer inspection, there were several scattered piles of horse manure on it.

The guards, dressed in old-style armor, stood inside the city gate, either leaning against the wall or sitting on simple wooden stools, showing no intention of cleaning up.

They let the passing carriage wheels repeatedly crush the horse manure, turning it into green dung water.

The guards' eyes wandered leisurely over the passing pedestrians and goods.

Occasionally, they would lazily ask a few questions and routinely inspect the bags before waving people through after receiving the city entrance fee.

It was the city's morning rush hour, with a considerable flow of people.

Shen Qing and his party had to wait for nearly two quarters before it was their turn.

"Whoa!"

Shen Qing stopped the carriage, calmly pulling out the silver taels he had prepared in advance. Without waiting for the guard to speak, he handed them over naturally and fluidly.

"Half a tael of silver, I know the rules." Shen Qing smiled faintly, speaking with a hint of experienced nonchalance, "A disciple of Linfeng Hall, brother, please make it convenient."

The guard took the twenty wen large coin and was very pleased with Shen Qing's understanding.

He habitually muttered a brief "Go ahead" and lazily waved them through.

After paying the entrance fee, Shen Qing drove the horse slowly through the city gate.

Since they entered the city early this time, they arrived just in time for the morning market.

As soon as they entered the city gate, a tide of noise hit them like a tsunami.

Various shouts, hawking calls, and laughter combined to create an exceptionally noisy and bustling scene.

The air was filled with the smell of various fried pancakes.

There were no nobles or young masters on the street, only vendors setting up stalls, and some woodcutters carrying firewood through the alleys and servants out shopping.

Compared to the initial awkwardness and dissatisfaction, having walked through once, Shen Qing was already quite familiar with the routes within the city.

He glanced at the location and then led the "two tigers" towards Wanfeng Building.

Along the way, Shen Qing casually bought three pancakes, and the group made do with breakfast.

After walking for a while, they arrived at the entrance of Wanfeng Building, and after explaining their purpose, they went directly to the back courtyard.

It was the peak season for winter hunting, and there were no fewer than seven or eight hunters from other villages in the back courtyard of Wanfeng Building.

However, they were mostly individual sellers, with none like Shen Qing who had brought an entire cartload.

Even so, seeing the atmosphere, Shen Qing had a bad premonition.

He inquired with those around him and learned that the price for purchasing mountain goods had been lowered this time.

Shen Qing calculated that at this rate, he would earn almost half of what he expected.

Previously, he could make a net profit of about 700 wen, but now it was less than 200 wen, barely breaking even.

Wasn't this obvious exploitation?

"A total of 120 wen!"

In the back courtyard, Wang Qiyao was holding an abacus, calculating the value of the goods.

Next to him was an accountant, holding a brush to record the transaction and prepare to settle the payment in silver taels.

"This is a full eighteen wild rabbits, surely worth more than 120 wen?"

The hunter was a bit reluctant, wanting to negotiate further.

"So you're not selling it then?" Wang Qiyao glanced at him and walked past, calling out, "Next one."

The ignored hunter hurriedly rushed forward, grabbing Wang Qiyao's sleeve and pleading, "No, no, 120 wen it is."

Wang Qiyao shook his sleeve, freeing it from the hunter's grip, and glanced sideways, "I'm not cheap on purpose, it's just that this is the best time for you mountain drivers to harvest and you're all selling to me now, so these mountain goods can't fetch a high price. When spring arrives, prices will naturally go back up."

The hunter's expression was somewhat disdainful.

He knew there was truth to Wang Qiyao's words, but when spring came, hunting would be forbidden by the mountains.

Anyone daring to go then would either have connections or be reckless enough to risk their lives.

The county government of Taiping was notoriously good at coming up with charges.

If they caught hold of something, they wouldn't let go until they stripped you clean.

When that time came, those without backing who ventured into the mountains might end up with their families ruined, even if they survived barely.

The hunter resignedly handed over the mountain goods he had brought, took his 120 wen of payment, and left gloomily.

Manager Wang Qiyao of Wanfeng Building seemed accustomed to this. As the hunter was leaving, he casually instructed him about the mountain delicacies and moved on to the next hunter.

Shen Qing noticed keenly that the hunter was holding a brightly feathered pheasant with great appearance, which could have sold for 150 wen in the past, but Wang Qiyao only offered 80 wen.

The hunter's face turned from pale to blue, but there was nothing he could do.

In the county, only the Song family collected mountain goods. If he didn't want to sell, his only option was to consume it himself or let the meat rot, with no profit at all.

Ultimately, the hunter had no choice but to swallow his anger and accept the deal.

At this moment, another hunter regretted and returned wanting to cancel the deal and take back his mountain goods, but the servants at Wanfeng Building stopped him. Wang Qiyao shouted, "Once cleared financially, these goods belong to the boss, they have nothing to do with you anymore. Throw him out."

The servants of Wanfeng Building rushed forward, punched him to the ground, then lifted him and tossed him high, throwing him outside the courtyard wall.

"My arm, my arm..."

Hearing the cries and screams from outside the courtyard wall, Shen Xiaohu and Tian Xiaohu's faces couldn't help but change.

There was no room for emotion here indeed.

Shen Qing saw all this and realized that Wanfeng Building was taking advantage of the supply and demand changes to forcefully lower the prices.

Surely, they had dedicated ice cellars to store the mountain goods collected at extremely low prices at this time. When spring came and mountain goods became scarce again, they would sell at high prices.

The profits came from these low-level hunters who had no connections.

Simply put, the Song and Dong family were engaged in monopolistic practices.

While pondering this, it was Shen Qing's turn for the purchase at Wanfeng Building.

Shen Qing put aside these thoughts, approached with a smiling face, and said, "Manager Wang, long time no see, I'm here to trouble you again."

"You are..." Wang Qiyao found him vaguely familiar, but with so many people met daily, he didn't recall Shen Qing clearly.

Shen Qing introduced himself, "I'm Shen Qing from Hongshan Village."

"Oh, so it's you." Wang Qiyao immediately remembered and had a vague impression.

"Didn't expect Manager Wang to remember me, please take a look at the mountain goods from our village. We have roe deer, rabbits, goats, pheasants, and rare items like mushrooms and lingzhi. Please kindly calculate the price," Shen Qing said respectfully.

Wang Qiyao picked through them without any emotional expression.

He moved the abacus and finally announced a price, "You have quite a lot here, all together worth three taels and five maces."

Shen Qing's expression turned sour.

Last time, similar items could fetch ten taels of silver, now just three taels and five maces; the difference was not just a little, it was drastically discounted.

"Manager Wang, could you increase the price a bit, this is too cheap."

"Cheap? Your cart is full of ordinary mountain goods; our caravan has collected a lot from various villages. I'm already giving you more." Wang Qiyao turned to look at Shen Qing with a confident expression, "Do you want to sell or not?"