The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 107 Limited Edition Tea
"Dad, Mr. Prefect, I secretly hope that you can sell tea at a reasonable price." Shang Jinliang returned home dejected and told Shang Mingshu about his setbacks in the government office. Shang Mingshu took the opportunity to intensify her lobbying.

"Why do you trust Mr. Cheng so much?" Shang Jinliang didn't understand.

Shang Mingshu has always been calm and composed, with a unique vision that even he couldn't match, and she's not one to act on impulse. She must know how big a crisis Xiang Ming Zhai would face if this matter went wrong.

Not to mention anything else, all the Shang clan members hated them.

Moreover, they didn't have much tea in stock at Xiangmingzhai, and with the crazy demand for tea these days, they couldn't last even half a day.

"Dad, we're limiting the quantity and time of tea sales." Shang Mingshu knew Shang Jinliang's biggest concern. "We'll take inventory and use a three-day supply. Each person will be limited to a daily purchase. The price will be 10% higher than usual. We'll select some smart tea vendors, and if anyone asks, they won't answer."

Not only did Shang Mingshu not answer, she also privately instructed these tea vendors with a mysterious smile, giving these people endless speculations and prompting them to reflect calmly.

"Let us decide?" Shang Jinliang frowned. "In the tea market these days, whoever sells tea will be looted. If we drive down the price of tea and cut off their income, the tea merchants, led by the Shi family, who are speculating on the price of tea, will inevitably unite. They don't need to think too much, just fan the flames, hire a few daring scoundrels, and they will rush to Xiangmingzhai and loot it. How can we stop them?"

There weren't enough guards in the palace, and the tea market was packed with people. Accidentally injuring civilians would lead to another complicated lawsuit...

"Dad, I have a plan..." Shang Mingshu knew that Shang Jinliang was willing to sell tea, and as long as order could be maintained, she had an idea in her mind.

Pests in the tea trees in Guangdong and Guangxi have made tea hard to come by in the tea market of Huizhou Prefecture. The price of ordinary tea has increased by dozens of times, and some precious teas have a premium of nearly a hundred times.

Many people immediately set off for Guangdong and Guangxi to buy tea, and some of them were tea merchants who came from Guangdong and Guangxi thousands of miles away.

The tea stockpiled by tea merchants in Huizhou Prefecture was sold out in just five days. Some tea merchants closed their businesses and hired their own boats to carry the tea across the river to Guangdong and Guangxi.

Xiang Ming Zhai opened its doors to sell tea at this time, with each type of tea only priced at twice the original price. Tea that originally cost twenty or thirty cents now cost forty or fifty cents. When this price was posted, many people rubbed their eyes, thinking that the two was just a word.

After the selling price was confirmed again and again, a long queue formed at the door of Xiang Ming Zhai. Everyone wanted to buy the goods, but there were two rows of strong men surrounding the door of Xiang Ming Zhai. These strong men stood back to back, with their arms around each other, one row facing outwards and the other facing inwards, looking very aggressive.

The steward banged drums and gongs and shouted, "Xiang Ming Zhai sells tea. We sell 1000 kilograms of tea every day. Each person is limited to 10 kilograms. If you want to buy, please queue up. It's first come, first served. We will close when we are sold out. After the hundredth person, please don't waste time queuing. If anyone causes trouble, we will hand them over to the authorities and will not tolerate it!"

"What tricks is Xiang Ming Zhai playing?"

"Since you're selling tea, why don't you just sell it all at once? Why do you control how much people buy? Why can't I buy as much as I want?"

"Tea belongs to Xiangmingzhai. Merchant, you can buy and sell it however you want. If you think it's too little, you can leave!"

Leave? Only a fool would leave. There are only a few tea shops open now. If you can grab 10 kilograms of tea, you might earn enough to support yourself for a whole year!

Xiang Ming Zhai foolishly set the price of tea so low, even if it cannot be sold, he will not lose anything!
The limit is one kilogram per person, some people are dissatisfied, while others applaud.

What is worrying is not the scarcity of tea but the inequality of its distribution. There are so many people who are getting anxious because they can’t get any tea. Finally, they see hope. It’s good to have limited supply, so everyone can get a share.

"Mingshu, your idea is good." Shang Jinliang and Shang Mingshu were not in the Xiangmingzhai of the tea house. He was nervous and stood on the second floor of the tea house in the distance with his three daughters, taking in everything at the entrance of the tea house.

These people were truly obedient, lining up. The praise was far greater than the noise. "Fifty guards, a tight circle, how many dare to make a scene?" Shang Zishu watched closely, figuring they were so calm and accepting because, firstly, they were desperate to buy tea, secondly, Shang Mingshu's method could please more people who wanted to buy but couldn't, and thirdly, they were intimidated by the ferocious-looking guards.

"Not necessarily." Shang Mingshu smiled faintly.

"We sell 1000 kilograms of tea every day, which doesn't cause much trouble to other tea merchants. They shouldn't fall out over this..." Shang Wenshu was puzzled.

Shang Jinliang wants to do good deeds, which will not affect their continued sale of tea at high prices. Anyone who targets Shang Jinliang will not be disgusted by the government, right?

The government currently has no reason to intervene to control the situation, but anyone with a brain understands that the government would certainly be happy to see Shang Jinliang behave like this.

Just because Shang Jinliang refused to make huge profits with them, his greedy face was revealed to the government. If they could block him in the future, the business would plummet.

"If it's just like this, how can we achieve our goal..." Since Shang Mingshu promised Cheng She, she would do it well.

Xiang Ming Zhai isolated all the people who were buying tea outside and let them in one by one. The people in the queue began to talk.

"Why do you think Xiangmingzhai sells tea at such a low price?" The price of Xiangmingzhai's tea is so low now that people worry about fraud. Until people who buy tea, they are stopped by countless people to personally verify that the tea is indeed good tea.

Although their suspicion that Xiangmingzhai tea was fraudulent had faded, they were still puzzled.

They admit that Shang Jinliang is a kind person, but Shang Jinliang is also a businessman. He has been able to run Xiangmingzhai to its current state. How can he be an ordinary kind-hearted person?

"I'm not sure what Xiangmingzhai is up to."

"Why do you care whether he means well or ill? As long as there is no problem with the tea we bought, that's fine." Someone who didn't want to think too much said impatiently.

"The tea is fine, but what if there's a problem selling it?" someone asked worriedly. "We buy and stockpile tea, even at prices several times higher than in previous years, just so we can sell it at a higher price. What if we can't sell it..."

"Don't talk nonsense!" someone shouted. "The tea trees in Guangdong and Guangxi are suffering from insect infestation. The government has issued a notice. The court can't deceive us like this!"

"How do you explain Xiangmingzhai's actions?"

Everyone who was discussing was speechless for a moment, and even those who were eavesdropping didn't know how to explain.

"You say..." someone hesitated, "Now that the imperial court knows about the insect infestation in Guangdong and Guangxi, will they import tea from other places? If the Shang family learns of this, then even if we send the stolen tea to Guangdong and Guangxi, we won't be able to fetch a high price."

This sentence made everyone's scalp tingle and they took a deep breath.

Anyone interested in making a fortune must have some knowledge of business. Since the imperial court had made the tea plantations public, how could they not take action and allow the tea markets in other cities to become unstable?

The few people specially arranged by Shang Mingshu said what they needed to say, pretended to look at each other, and quietly left the queue.

It made many people feel uneasy.