87 Extorting So Ruthlessly
Su Ying wasn’t in a hurry to go back. Instead, she walked to the other path branching off the mud road. As soon as she walked over, she saw many people crowding around something in front of her.
“Everyone, stand still. What are you snatching? Whoever tries to snatch will not get anything.”
Su Ying thought for a moment and still decided to walk over. She squeezed her way to the center of the crowd and saw a young man with a number of large winnowing pans in front of him. One person couldn’t wait to open the winnowing pan, and she could see that it was filled with rice and flour.
“Everyone, back off. If anyone dares to squeeze over and snatch it, don’t even think about buying anything from me in the future.”
When those people heard what the young man said, they all stopped and obediently took a step back.
The young man then opened the lids of the winnowing pans and said, “One by one. How many do you want?”
“I want 5 catties of cornmeal.”
“Alright. 5 catties of cornmeal.” The young man weighed the flour and handed it to the other party.
The other party dug out nearly 200 copper coins from his body and handed them to him
Then, it was the turn of the people waiting behind to buy.
Su Ying had already heard about the prices here from Wang Su and the rest, so she wasn’t surprised.
What she was curious about was where these people got the money in their hands from.
The young man didn’t stop selling for even a moment, and soon, all the things in the large winnowing pans were sold out.
The young man counted the money happily.
Su Ying walked over. The man glanced at the shadow on the ground and said without looking up, “We’ve sold out today. Those who want to buy can come back in half a month.”
Su Ying’s expression froze. With the amount of food those people had bought, even if they ate only one meal a day, the food wouldn’t be able to last for half a month.
“I’m not here to buy anything.”
The man quickly put away the money when he heard her before raising his head to stare at Su Ying warily.
He sized Su Ying up and said, “What do you want? If you want to steal my silver, you’ll have to ask the other people in the Tiger Base whether they are agreeable. They have to buy their food from me, and if I get angry and don’t bring in the stocks, no one will have anything to eat. At that point, they can drown you with their saliva when they spit on you.”
“Based on what you said, you’re the only dealer in the Tiger Base?”
The man raised his chin haughtily and said, “That’s right. In the entire Tiger Base, I’m the only one who can give you, the vilest of creatures, a chance to survive.”
Su Ying raised her eyebrows. “With that little amount?”
The man gave a scornful snort. “Are you new here?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder you don’t know the rules. I go to the areas in the east, west, south, and north of the Tiger Base, and I sell more than just these few items.”
“Where did you get these things?”
“Hey, you newcomer! You really don’t know the rules. How can I tell you how I make my living? Alright. I’ve sold everything. I’m too lazy to talk nonsense with you. I’m leaving.”
Su Ying called out to him. “Wait. Do you help people bring things here?”
“I will, as long as you can afford to pay the silver.”
“Even livestock?”
The man laughed flippantly. “I can get you anything except the stars in the sky. As long as you can afford to pay the silver, I can get you anything.”
“Okay. I want 10 young chicks, 10 ducklings, 10 goslings, and I also want 10 catties each of vegetable and corn seeds. How much is it?”
The man frowned and counted with his fingers before saying, “10 taels of silver. Give me 5 taels as a down payment. Pay the balance after you get the goods.”
If Su Ying hadn’t bought so many things in the past, she wouldn’t have known that this man was extorting so ruthlessly from her. 10 taels of silver was enough for her to buy a hundred portions.
Nonetheless, Su Ying still took out 5 taels of silver from her pocket.
“When can I get the goods?”
“The soonest will be ten days later. After ten days, come here and look for me.”
“Alright.”
The man took the silver and turned to leave.
“You can go back first,” Su Ying said to the bandit leader.
The bandit leader did not dare to disobey her and immediately responded obediently.
Su Ying watched as the man turned the corner and then swiftly tailed him.
After the man walked into a narrow path with the winnowing pans, he made multiple turns before coming to a courtyard house. One could tell with just one look that this courtyard house was different from the other mud houses. The entire courtyard house, even the courtyard boundary walls, were made of green fired bricks. This was obviously a big, wealthy family in the Tiger Base.
The man hummed an unknown tune as he walked to the front of the courtyard and knocked on the door. After a while, someone opened the door and let him in.
Su Ying didn’t leave immediately after seeing the man enter the compound. Instead, she circled the courtyard and made sure that there was only one courtyard entry. She then climbed over the wall in the backyard.
The courtyard was huge but very empty. There were two two-story buildings in the front and back.
Su Ying approached the house and heard a woman’s charming voice. “How much silver did you earn today, Master?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t count.”
“Master is really amazing.”
“Well, I can’t help it if I’m so capable.” The man’s voice sounded very smug.
The woman continued, “Master, where exactly did you get those goods?”
It seemed that as long as Su Ying could figure out this person’s supply channel, she would be able to find out where the resources were supplied from.
Su Ying left the courtyard and made a special marking on the wall before returning home.
The sky was already dark, and the mercenaries who had gone to the mountain to chop wood had returned.
As soon as the mercenaries entered the courtyard, they saw a group of unfamiliar faces working. In an instant, countless expressions flashed across their faces. Bewilderment, anger, uneasiness, and finally, a gaze with conflicting emotions fell on Su Ying, who had just walked into the courtyard.
“Mistress, we’ve got more helpers?” Number One felt that his words were very appropriate and clever. Su Ying definitely wouldn’t be able to tell what he was thinking.
To his surprise, Su Ying merely glanced at him indifferently. “Don’t worry. I don’t eat human flesh.”
Number One’s face tensed up, and he smiled awkwardly. The corpses in that wooden building had indeed left some lingering psychological trauma on him. Perhaps he was also afraid that someone as powerful as Su Ying would have a special hobby!
As long as he could still do hard labor, Number One felt that the world was still beautiful!
“Mistress, how did you get injured? Quick! Go inside quickly.”
Aunt Zhao came out of the house and saw the wound on Su Ying’s arm.
Su Ying looked down. There were four obvious scratch marks on her arm, and black blood was seeping out endlessly.
Su Ying had taken medicine that could block poison before she entered Deaf Granny’s courtyard, so she didn’t notice anything strange about the wound. Now that she looked at it, the poison on Deaf Granny’s claws was quite toxic.
“Don’t worry. It’s just a small injury. I can handle it myself.”
Just as Su Ying was about to walk up the wooden steps, everything before her eyes suddenly turned black, and she toppled over to the ground.
“Mother!”
“Mistress!”