Chapter 294: Tangent (6)

People who look at Qing tend to start speaking with an “Ahem” and a fake cough.

The reason was simple.

First they’re stunned by her face, then belatedly realizing it looks like a great rudeness or foolish behavior, they let out an embarrassed cough.

The leader of Daewan Trading Company was no exception, so even though she was a completely unwelcome guest, he was momentarily at a loss for words after beholding her graceful beauty, and had to clear his throat to break the awkward silence.

“Ahem. I am Cao Xiaoyao, leader of Daewan Trading Company.”

“I’m Ximen Qing. Leader, the city is now-“

Qing was about to cut to the chase and get straight to the point.

But someone of the trading company leader’s level wouldn’t have a weak tongue, so he cut off Qing’s words and said his piece.

“Look here, according to the law, gatherings of over 50 able-bodied men in one place without prior notice are treated as rebellion, except for weddings, funerals, and labor exchanges. It seems you’ve acted without knowing the law, but this is a very serious matter.”

The implication was: Do you think you can gather people like this? If you disperse now, I’ll pretend not to have seen it, so get lost.

Qing replied:

“Leader. I’ve come to purchase grain for relief efforts.”

The leader’s face contorted.

Qing’s response was to pretend not to have heard.

It was such a clean dismissal that he seriously wondered if he had only thought it and not said it out loud.

“Now that disaster has struck the city-“

“No, no, didn’t you hear me? I’m saying big trouble will happen if people gather like this.”

“I want to distribute relief grain, but I’m worried how long Taecheong Company’s supply will last. I’ll generously pay double the market price. Will you sell me all your grain?”

Finally, Qing said everything she wanted to say.

“Look here, the law is strict-“

“Leader? Will you sell me the grain? I’ll pay 90% more than market price.”

“I’m telling you there will be trouble if you gather like this!”

“Leader? I’ll pay 80% more than market price.”

“No, what I mean is-“

“I’ll pay 70% more than market price. Leader? Don’t you understand now? How kind-hearted are you to try to give me an even lower price?”

The price drops 10% with each sentence.

The leader jumped up at this.

“How can you call that talking! Right now it’s a time when grain is traded in gold per bushel, how can you-“

“60%. Ah! Right.”

Qing suddenly raised her sword.

“It seems the leader is having trouble calculating, I just realized I didn’t show you this. Here. Look. Sword force. Sparkling.”

Qing lifted Moonlight Sword (No. 8) and showed off her sunset-colored sword force.

The leader’s heart sank.

This bitch, she came fully prepared to threaten.

“Leader? Since the leader is here, does that mean Nakryeong land is, Geol Taran, what was the name here again?”

“It’s Daewan Trading Company.”

“Right. Can I take it to mean that Daewan Trading Company rose and established itself in Nakryeong? You’re from Nakryeong, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“Then we’re all neighbors and the company’s current prosperity came from Nakryeong, but now that the city has fallen into great disaster, you’re going to take excessive profits on precious grain?”

“Look here, isn’t it natural for prices to rise when things become scarce? Right now-“

“Leader? There are many ears listening? You should choose your words carefully?”

The leader flinched at this and looked at the crowd gathered like clouds behind Qing.

There was faint anger in their eyes, and if he said he couldn’t sell now, even if they left for now, he wouldn’t be able to walk around Nakryeong comfortably in the future.

“Now. This is my final request. I’ll pay double the market price. As far as I know, the market price already includes a profit margin, so if I pay double, wouldn’t that be a big profit for you, Leader?”

The leader had never heard the words “final request” in his life.

It was a terrifying phrase he had never even imagined could exist before.

“Well. I.”

The calculations of merchants and non-merchants are different.

If you buy something for 1 tael and sell it for 2 taels, you make 1 tael.

But if you could have sold that item for 10 taels, you didn’t make 1 tael, but lost and suffered a loss of 8 taels.

But loss or whatever, if he refused, there would be future trouble, no, looking at the momentum, not future trouble but immediate trouble, golden trouble.

“Alright. I’ll sell at double the market price.”

At this, Qing smiled sweetly and made a respectful salute.

“Thank you for your decision for the city. Now, everyone, here is the leader who willingly gave up big profits for the city. Shall we all thank him together?”

“Thank you!”

“You saved us!”

People responded loudly.

“Ahem. No, well, there’s no need for all that.”

It was close to extortion, no, it was just extortion, but by turning it around and giving him face afterwards, at least his reputation was somewhat preserved.

Amidst the rising voices of thanks, a slight worry arose in the leader’s heart.

Should I just participate in the relief efforts at this point, since I’m taking a loss anyway, couldn’t I gain goodwill…

But even selling at double price was actually selling well.

As Qing said, the market price already included a profit margin, so double the market price was a huge amount that would be pure profit.

The leader struggled between preserving profits and gaining goodwill, but in the end decided on preserving profits.

Of course, not all merchant leaders were like that.

“You’re doing a good deed! Our Yujia Trading Company will lend a hand to Miss Ximen’s relief efforts!”

As Qing went around the merchant district buying grain, some smaller merchants with less stock even gave it for free, saying to just take and use it.

Even in the merchant district, everyone has eyes and ears, and it takes time to visit one by one, so after hearing from people sent ahead, they were all waiting resignedly, having already made their decisions wondering when their turn would come.

So after finishing the circuit on the left side of Taecheong Company, heading to the right, visiting in order, and heading to the next estate.

Somehow the next gate seems quite far.

It meant the estate was that large.

And whispers from behind:

“Isn’t the next one Jangheung Trading Company?”

“Hmm. Is it okay?”

“What’s Jangheung Trading Company to the Immortal Maiden?”

“Still…”

At this, Qing asked Geol Taran:

“When Jangheung Trading Company is mentioned, everyone seems to hesitate? Is it that big a company?”

“Jangheung Trading Company is famous as the number one trading company in Shaanxi.”

Qing didn’t know, but it was a huge company that had a tight grip on an entire province.

To begin with, a company large enough to take on water control projects couldn’t be compared to small-scale hole-in-the-wall shops that barely connect a few cities.

“Doesn’t that mean they have a lot of money?”

“Miss, if they have a lot of money, wouldn’t their backing be amazing too? There are rumors that they spread so much money to the authorities that the company leader is sworn brothers with the Shaanxi governor.”

“Ah. They’re in bed with the authorities? Is that how they got the water control project too? Ah. Certainly.”

Qing understood in one go.

Click clack, Qing climbed to the top of the hill, and in the open view, soldiers with spears had gathered to form ranks.

And at the front, a middle-aged man wearing a hero’s hat lost his mind at Qing’s beauty for a moment, then as everyone usually does, opened his mouth with a fake cough.

“Ahem, stop!”

At this, Qing obediently stopped walking.

Since her steps stopped, only her mouth moved.

“This girl is called Ximen Qing. May I ask who you are, sir?”

“How insolent! How dare you not show proper respect to the county magistrate!”

Strangely, the answer came from the man standing on the right.

A county magistrate is roughly the second-in-command of a city, about equivalent to a deputy mayor.

And the guy who just shouted is probably in charge of helping with miscellaneous tasks and flattering.

“So you’re the County Magistrate.”

Qing made a salute.

At this, the man on the right flared up again-

“How insolent! Will you not immediately kneel before the heavenly grace bestowed by the Emperor!”

Originally, the authorities’ way of establishing dominance is all the same, relying on the Emperor’s august authority to make people kneel first before getting to the main point.

However, strictly speaking, there’s no real reason for commoners to kneel when it’s not even receiving an imperial edict.

Well, there is a reason. Because they’ll be arrested if they don’t kneel.

In fact, Qing’s knees are cheap.

For Qing, kneeling is truly just loading one foot to gain momentum, a standby state to launch with superhuman leg strength.

But the county magistrate and his right-hand man were no different from bandits covered in evil karma, so there was no reason to kneel and rely on momentum for such petty villains.

“I don’t want to?”

“Wh-what!? How dare a lowly bitch like you try to infringe on the Emperor’s authority! You must be harboring rebellious thoughts! I knew it from when you were gathering and leading around commoners!”

“That’s strange. So, you’re saying to show full respect to the County Magistrate here as if to the Emperor! So, you’re saying the County Magistrate and the Emperor! are on the same level. Wow, isn’t this treason?”

“Wh-who said such a thing!?”

“Everyone! The County Magistrate here is telling us to show the respect due to imperial royalty! In all my life, now a mere city magistrate is invoking the Emperor’s authority and telling us to kowtow and prostrate ourselves! How can anyone say who has rebellious thoughts!”

The blood drained from the face of the county magistrate who had been watching with a relaxed smile.

“Wait! I never had such, such thoughts in the slightest!”

“Then why did you carelessly tell us to kowtow! Isn’t that the utmost respect shown only to the Emperor, the ruler of all under heaven! Didn’t you, County Magistrate, just say that you are in the same position as the august Emperor! That you are the Emperor in this Nakryeong land! Didn’t you say that!”

The tongue can certainly be a deadly weapon.

Not in the sense of stabbing with force on the tongue, but because words spoken in front of such a large crowd immediately become rumors spreading far and wide as if they were facts.

To stop such rumors, nothing short of a figure like the Son of Heaven himself raining down artillery fire to massacre all the ears that heard this would suffice.

“No, it’s slander, slander!”

“Slander, you say. Then, the man on the right must have made up words to frame the County Magistrate for treason! He was the real traitor!”

At this, the man on the right jumped up.

“No, you bitch are twisting words-“

“County Magistrate? What are you doing? You have a great criminal by your side. Could there be a separate reason you’re keeping and protecting someone harboring such outrageous rebellious thoughts? Could it be that you, County Magistrate, also harbor rebellious thoughts?”

“Don’t, don’t dare utter such terrible words! No matter what anyone says, my utmost loyalty is already as firm as Mount Tai!”

“Then why do you keep that cunning traitor around? Didn’t you place soldiers behind you? If you don’t immediately throw him in prison, the reason must be because you also harbor rebellious thoughts.”

“Men! Arrest this man at once!”

“Oh no, sir! I’ve been wronged! Don’t you know! I was only-“

“Enough, be quiet! Won’t guilt or innocence be determined later! For now, just quietly accept the arrest!”

Qing watched this farce with a crooked gaze.

From the start, the very act of blocking the road like this was extremely offensive.

In the midst of going to such efforts to obtain relief grain, for these so-called authorities to not help but instead form ranks to protect Jangheung Trading Company or whatever, of course it would make her blood boil.

“I’ve been wronged! Sir, siiiir!”

As the man on the right was dragged away wailing like that, Qing finally smiled sweetly and said:

“Well then, County Magistrate. This girl only has business with Jangheung Trading Company, so will you please step aside?”