Chapter 38: Reconnaissance in Enemy-Occupied Territory (2)

  Tianhu and Li Fei immediately rushed to the entrance of the store, where they saw several Japanese soldiers dragging out a woman while laughing. A young girl's cries and the Japanese men's beastly cheers could be heard from inside the house.

  Li Fei was about to charge over, but Tianhu quickly pulled him back: "Don't forget our purpose here."

  The old shopkeeper also came running out, telling Tianhu and Li Fei: "If you want to buy ginseng, come in. I'll close the door. If not, leave and don't cause trouble here. We can't afford to provoke them."

  Tianhu quickly pulled Li Fei into the store.

  The shopkeeper immediately closed the door and locked it.

  He turned to Tianhu and Li Fei, pointing inside: "Go in, go in. Let's talk inside."

  "How can the Japanese be so cruel? It's like they're beasts!" Tianhu exclaimed after sitting down.

  "Get used to it, get used to it. It happens every day," the shopkeeper replied. "Let's not discuss this. Drink some more ginseng tea and we'll talk about the price."

  Tianhu noticed that whenever the shopkeeper mentioned the Japanese, his face turned pale and he became tense. He decided not to ask further questions.

  After drinking some more tea, Tianhu asked: "The ginseng is good, but what's the price?"

  "It can't be sold for a good price now," the shopkeeper replied, holding up three fingers.

  Tianhu shook his head.

  "This is already the lowest price. Before the Japanese came, it was impossible to sell for less than this amount," the shopkeeper said, holding up six fingers.

  Finally hearing the shopkeeper mention the Japanese, Tianhu asked: "I'm also here to buy ginseng for the first time. How was business before the Japanese arrived?"

  "Very good. Every day, people came to buy ginseng on the streets. This kind of ginseng is always auctioned off," the shopkeeper replied, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

  "Why did business get worse after the Japanese arrived?" Tianhu asked. "Are they so bad that they won't even let people do business?"

  The shopkeeper quickly covered Tianhu's mouth with his hand: "You want to die? Don't talk like that. Let's not discuss this. Is this price okay? It's already very low."

  "I know the market is bad now, but if I buy at this price, I won't make any money," Tianhu said. "And with the Japanese setting up checkpoints everywhere and collecting tolls, it's increased our costs. We really can't accept this price."

  The shopkeeper seemed to have made up his mind and suddenly held up two fingers: "Fine, I'll give you this price. It's already a loss for me."

  Tianhu rubbed his nose and smiled wryly: "If not for your kindness, I wouldn't be able to buy at this price. Let's just say...I'll buy 500 grams. Can you weigh it out and package it?"

  "500 grams?" the shopkeeper asked skeptically.

  "Yes," Tianhu replied. "Small business, small profits."

  The shopkeeper thought for a moment before sighing: "Fine, I'll sell it to you. It's better than letting it rot in the store. I'll go weigh it out."

  As he went to weigh out the ginseng, the shopkeeper muttered to himself: "Buying so little...it's not even enough for personal use. What kind of business is this? These days, there's no choice...selling it, selling it."