Chapter 81 - 81: Selling Grain at the Price of Gold, the Steady Zhou Sui l
Chapter 81: Selling Grain at the Price of Gold, the Steady Zhou Sui l
Translator: 549690339
By dusk.
Many loose cultivators returned from the city center, dejected, empty-handed, and utterly depressed.
“What happened? You couldn’t buy any food either?”
Someone asked.
“To hell with buying, stores are closed now, no one is doing business, even if you have spirit stones you can’t buy any grain.”
A grey-robed cultivator cursed under his breath, entirely infuriated. He had never experienced anything like this before.
“This is too ridiculous, how could there be no food, could we cultivators really starve to death?”
Someone else complained.
“Ah, you don’t know how astonishing the prices of food are right now, they’re changing three times a day.”
A white robed monk spoke with a terrified heart.
In the morning, he could just afford the price of the rice but thought it too expensive, so he didn’t buy it.
Who would’ve thought that by midday the price doubled, and he started panicking.
By evening, even when he raised the price tenfold, no one was selling.
“Isn’t that the truth? Earlier, I tried to exchange a lower-grade magic artifact for some grain. But, I found that one magic artifact could only exchange for thirty catty of spirit rice, more than that, people simply ignored.”
“This is too outrageous, a lower-grade magic artifact can only exchange for thirty catty of spirit rice, is this spirit rice some Foundation Pill? Why is it so expensive? This is too absurd.”
“And that isn’t even the worst, someone pulled out a Yellow Dragon Pill, but no one would exchange it for rice.”
“Wow, since when did the price of spirit rice becomes more expensive than pills? That’s just insane.”
“It can’t be helped. Rarity breeds value. It’s all due to those demonic cultivators who burned the granary of Misty Cloud City so now there is hardly any spirit rice left.”
“Right, pills can’t be used as food and won’t fill the belly. Now, spirit rice is far more valuable than any pill.”
“Ha, I don’t believe that all the spirit rice was burned, there must be a lot stored somewhere.”
“Indeed, a lot of spirit rice is stored, but people are hoarding it, not willing to sell, instead raising the price. It’s blatantly profiteering and bleeding us dry.” “Those unscrupulous merchants deserve to die. With Misty Cloud City on the verge of famine, they are raising the price of spirit rice. They clearly want to starve us.”
“If it really comes to that, let’s fight the Immortal Mist Sect to the death. I would rather open Misty Cloud City’s seventh-order formation than starve to death.”
Many loose cultivators were discussing, their faces extremely bleak.
They had thought that going to the city center could provide an opportunity to buy food.
But who could have thought that food shortage would lead to grain prices skyrocketing to absurd extents.
Many of the loose cultivators couldn’t afford to buy spirit rice, left destitute, to the point where they could only eat dirt.
Basically, there was no spirit rice in circulation anymore, and money might not even guarantee a purchase.
Some cultivators had become desperate. If the Immortal Mist Sect truly made a final stand, they would rather fight them than starve to death within Misty Cloud City.
But for now, they hadn’t been pushed to the brink, as some had stored a portion of grain in their storage bags, capable of barely supporting them for a while.
Inside the room, at this moment.
The table was filled with a variety of dishes, aromatic, and abundantly stocked.
A stark contrast from the cultivators outside.
Zhou Sui, Mu Ziyi, Ji Bingyu, and Xia Jingyan had noticed the outside situation. The shortage of rice and meat was worse than they had imagined.
Many of the loose cultivators were in a state of hunger, making them extremely irritable.
They weren’t mere commoners from the mundane world but cultivators who held power.
If these cultivators started rioting, it would undeniably result in formidable destruction.
“Dear, outside our sect, cultivators are short of food, and the prices are exorbitantly high. We’ve stored so much food, why not sell it at a high price and rake in a lot of profit?”
Mu Ziyi admitted she was a little tempted. It seemed extraordinary that she could exchange a few dozen pounds of Spirit Rice for a magic artifact or a Yellow Dragon Pill. It was a gold mine.
It was like exchanging a bowl of rice for a nugget of gold. The profit was huge.
It was hard not to entertain the idea of selling grains at sky high prices.
Wouldn’t a few deals make it easy to earn tens of thousands of Lower Grade Spirit Stones?
“No, we can’t make money this way.”
Zhou Sui waved his hand, “Is there a business more lucrative than our spiritual wine dealing? Turning regular wine to spiritual one—profits are beyond description. We don’t lack Spirit Stones right now.
Once we start selling grains on a large scale, no matter how cautious we are, we’d inevitably get noticed. Other cultivators would realize we might be storing a massive amount of food.
Once they’re aware of it, they won’t act gratefully and wouldn’t think about trading with us. Instead, the only thought left would be to rob us of our grains.
The family cultivators can gain huge profits from the grain trade because they have overwhelming strength. Even if they have to face a cultivator riot, they can suppress it without breaking a sweat. We are not capable of this.
Of course, if some Loose Cultivators offer to exchange valuable treasures, small scale trading can be an option. If it is not a treasure, there’s absolutely no point.”
Although such business could certainly bring a large number of Spirit Stones and potentially make him rich overnight, he lacked the strength to hold onto such a risky venture.
If his movements were exposed, he would certainly be besieged by the Loose Cultivators.
Endangering himself for a few Spirit Stones was like giving up a watermelon to pick up sesame seeds.
The loss outweighs the gain.
“You’re right, darling. Just dealing spiritual wine is enough to fill our coffers. There’s no need to risk it. Our most important goal now is to stay safe, lay low and be as inconspicuous as possible.”
Ji Bingyu nodded, agreeing with him.
“Indeed, there’s no need for us to risk.”
Xia Jingyan also agreed. Her beloved husband had always been prudent, taking careful steps.
Even after becoming a Seventh Layer Qi Cultivator, his disposition never changed.
However, this steady character of his gave her a great sense of security.
She knew some couples before. Generally, the husband would usually go on adventures to hunt Demonic Beasts and die accidentally, leaving the female cultivators widowed.
Such was the result of conflicts. Similar incidents were not uncommon.
“Seems like you all are refreshed after having your fill these days.”
“Even started contemplating on such odds and ends.”
“Wait a bit, go freshen up and watch how I will teach you.”
Zhou Sui waved his hand broadly.
“Dear.”
At hearing this, Mu Ziyi’s legs trembled a little, blushing as if she was aware of what was coming.
“Okay, dear, I’ll be there soon.”
Ji Bingyu chuckled, giving Zhou Sui a flirtatious glance.
“Hmph, little man, I want to see how you’re going to teach me.”
Xia Jingyan looked at Zhou Sui provocatively.
A moment later, the room was filled with the warmth of spring, shadows swaying, completely ignoring the fuss of the outside world..