Chapter 209.2 - I Became the Legendary Emperor Throughout the Ages After I Started Giving Away My Territory

“The Demon Sect is indeed not easy to deal with!”

Lin Yuandong declared with a wave of his hand: “Continue with this approach; victory will surely be ours in the end!”

“But Master, we can hardly hold on any longer!”

“Nonsense! We have plenty of funds; how could we not hold on?”

“Master, we have the money, but we’re running out of stock!”

The steward said with a troubled expression: “Our paper sells out as soon as it’s stocked, and we can’t meet the demand, so we’re almost out of inventory! To continue selling paper, we may have to wait two months!”

Lin Yuandong’s expression also turned sour.

Producing paper takes time, typically 100 days, a little over three months.

Their production and stockpiling were based on regular sales volumes.

Because the sales were very stable, they only kept a two-month supply at most.

But they hadn’t anticipated such brisk sales recently, which had completely depleted their inventory!

And to continue selling paper, they would have to wait another two months!

“Master, should we consider suspending sales temporarily…”

“We can’t stop!”

Lin Yuandong declared with finality. “If we stop supplying now, all our previous efforts will have been in vain. We must hold on! Limit the quantities again and try to last for two more months!”

“Yes, Master!”

Thus, the noble family’s shop once again imposed limits, requiring each person to only buy one bundle.

How much is in a bundle?

Merely 20 sheets of paper, costing just 12 wen.

Consequently, the scholars who came to buy paper were dissatisfied.

“Only one bundle per person, so little? Do I look like someone who can’t afford to pay?”

“Can’t you sell a bit more? 20 sheets of paper will be used up in no time!”

“Don’t be so stingy, okay? Who do you think you’re looking down on? We are scholars, not beggars!”

Yet the noble family’s shop wouldn’t budge no matter what the scholars said.

“Let’s go, let’s go buy from the shop across the street!”

“Even though it’s a bit more expensive, they don’t have a limit. You can buy as much as you want!”

“That’s right, let’s go to the other side. We won’t take this nonsense!”

The business of the Demon Sect actually improved a bit.

Just then, the Demon Sect had almost accumulated enough stock, and under Yaoyao’s direction, the price of their paper soared to 40 wen.

This caused great dissatisfaction among the scholars.

“What’s going on, suddenly raising the price to 40 wen!”

“Just when the market opens up, you raise the price. Your greed is too ugly!”

“Be careful, lest I won’t buy your paper in the future!”

But no matter how much the scholars complained, the Demon Sect continued to do as they pleased, take it or leave it.

……

In the Great Dé Dynasty, at the Lin residence.

“A joyous event! A tremendous joyous event!” The steward ran back excitedly.

Lin Yuandong asked, “What joyous event?”

The steward announced loudly, “Master, the shop across the street finally couldn’t hold on and raised their paper prices up by 20 wen, doubling it!”

Lin Yuandong frowned, “They didn’t lower the prices but raised them instead… There’s something fishy about this!”

He thought hard but couldn’t figure out the reason right away.

“Master, since their shop has raised prices, do you think we should also…”

Lin Yuandong nodded, “Alright! Since the other side has raised their prices, we’ll raise ours too!”

12 wen for a bundle of paper. They really couldn’t bear it anymore!

The loss was too big!

“Master, by how much?”

“Just raise it to… 25 wen. At least we can make a profit of 5 wen!”

“Understood, Master!”

And so, the prices at the noble family’s shop were also raised accordingly.

Although not as high as the original prices, it was still better than before, and they could make some money.

And so, it brought forth a chorus of curses.

At that moment, a scholar walked out of the noble family’s shop, grumbling and cursing under his breath.

“Price hikes over there, price hikes over here, all the true faces of merchants are the same, their hearts are black, only knowing how to make money!”

A shifty-looking person noticed him and approached, whispering, “Young master, are you looking to buy paper?”

“Of course I am! But I was too late, the prices have gone up everywhere. If only I had known, I would have bought more before!” The scholar expressed his regret deeply.

The shifty-looking person continued in a low voice, “I have paper, and I can sell it to you cheaply!”

The scholar’s interest was piqued, and he asked quietly, “How much do you have, and how cheap can it be?”

“I have lots of paper! As for the price…” The other man gestured with two fingers, “20 wen per bundle!”

The scholar was tempted, “Let me have a look first!”

“Follow me!”

A short while later, they entered a secluded courtyard.

The shifty man opened a room and said, “Look, this is my paper, how much do you want?”

The scholar, seeing the room filled with paper, felt his heart pounding, “Can you make it a bit cheaper? I’m buying in bulk.”

“If you buy more than ten bundles, I can give you a 10% discount, which means 18 wen per bundle! This is a rare opportunity, once you miss this chance, there won’t be another like it!”

The scholar bit the bullet, “I’ll take 100 bundles!”

Just like that, the Demon Sect had already begun to secretly move their stock.

The cost price was 12 wen, and the selling price varied between 20 to 18 wen, a profit of over 50%.

Fearing to miss another opportunity, many scholars were quite generous with their purchases, buying dozens or even hundreds of bundles at a time, and the money was quickly recouped.

On the other hand, the noble families were puzzled.

Their paper prices were already very low, at least cheaper than the Demon Sect’s, but they still couldn’t sell it.

They waited and waited, and gradually, they sensed something was wrong.

After an investigation, they finally uncovered the truth.

It turned out that someone was secretly selling paper at a lower price than theirs.

Upon closer investigation, it was discovered that the paper being sold was actually from their own noble family.

Lin Yuandong was furious, “This is clearly hoarding for speculation! Damn it, someone dares to take advantage of our noble family! Send someone immediately to raid them!”

“Yes, master!” The butler immediately led a group of henchmen there.

But it wasn’t long before they returned disheveled, some missing arms and legs, lying on the ground wailing.

The butler, with a bruised and swollen face, said, “Master, we couldn’t raid them, they are people from the Demon Sect!”

Lin Yuandong: “F*ck!”

At this moment, he finally understood the whole story.

The ones hoarding for speculation were people from the Demon Sect.

They had been quietly stocking up, and once they had enough, they deliberately raised the prices.

Consequently, their noble family also raised their prices.

In doing so, they could take the opportunity to offload their stock.

It was a chain reaction!

From beginning to end, their noble family was at a loss, while the Demon Sect made a killing!

Who knows, they might be getting laughed at by the Demon Sect right now!

Lin Yuandon’s whole body was trembling with anger!

This loss was truly massive!

Having understood the whole story, the butler said with a tearful face, “Master, what do we do now? Should we lower the prices?”

“No need. Even if we drop our prices, our limited supply can’t compete with them! For now, let’s just remember this and plan our revenge later!” Lin Yuandong said angrily.

“Yes, Master!”

And this situation was playing out in various countries.

The demons had bought up the noble families’ paper at low prices, and then, when the noble families were short on supply, they secretly sold their stock, making a tidy profit in the process.

Even if the noble families found out, there was nothing they could do but hold their noses and accept it.

Just then, Lin Beifan’s meticulously prepared tragic novels “The Butterfly Lovers” and “The White-Haired Girl” finally hit the market.

***