The merchants who reached the village saw that the villagers were waiting for them and felt happy.
They then entered the village market area under the guidance of the village chief and started unloading the spices and ironware for sale.
Soon, they set up weighing machines on one side, with a middle-aged man in rich clothes sitting next to it with a book in his hand.
The village chief and the villagers went to him and discussed the cost of grains.
After extensive discussion, everyone reached an agreement, and the village chief and the merchant who came to buy the grains happily shook hands.
Then the village chief came aside and announced the increase in the selling price of grains for this session, as the empire had decided to buy them for more than the last session to the villagers who were listening from the side.
The price of one kilogram of unculled rice increased from 7 bronze coins to 10 bronze coins. Ryan's field yielded at least 1,500 kilograms of rice this season, and after paying a tax of 750 kilograms to the village chief, Ryan and his grandfather were left with 750 kilograms. They stored 250 kilograms for their own use until the next harvest and brought the remaining 500 kilograms to the marketplace to sell, finishing by evening.
Ryan received 50 silver coins for selling 500 kilograms of rice.
A general household in the nearby town can survive there with one to 3 silver coins a month, so these 50 silver coins can make them both survive for an entire year if the cost of daily necessity didn't increase too high.
Ryan had an ominous premonition after hearing about the sudden increase in food prices. Generally, food prices only go up due to a plague, drought, or, in extreme cases, war preparations.
Ryan immediately went to the merchants who were selling goods and asked if there were any droughts or plagues spreading. He received the answer that there were no current droughts or plagues. Ryan then went to his grandfather to discuss the situation and convinced him to buy spices and salt as reserves.
Ryan spent 30 silver coins on salt, spices, clothes, and iron pots for his home from different merchants after extensive bargaining. The remaining 20 silver coins were handed to his grandfather. Ryan carried the goods back to his house and started arranging the items by type in specific places.
The spices he bought are enough for two years. Ryan then stored the extra spices in the attic after keeping only the required amount in the kitchen.
He then asked his grandfather to rest at home, returned to the marketplace, and began to squat there, observing every merchant in the village.
After extensive observation, Ryan found the merchant selling small trinkets suspicious. There were only a few small children around, and they were quickly pulled away by their parents after being scolded for asking to buy the expensive items.
The merchant never once stopped the parents to convince them to buy the small trinkets for their children, as he was busy observing his surroundings.
Most of his attention was on the farmers, who were acting as guards, and the weapons in their hands. From time to time, he would take a notebook and write in it whenever a farmer discreetly sold his rice to the grain merchant.
Ryan with doubt began observing him and found he didn't even try selling one items until the last farmer has sold his rice and loaded them onto the cart.
only after noting down the details after the farmers who has sold the rice, he then actively began selling the items on his cart.
Ryan went to his cart and began checking the items and selected one bracelet made of small piece of jade and asked the price.
After watching Ryan's clothes which were obviously patched here and there the merchant with disdain coated a high price and asked him to leave immediately if he isn't going to purchase it.
Ryan didn't feel any resentment upon hearing the merchant's disdain but looked intently for a second and asked if he heard about the robbers who has attacked the neighboring village.
The merchant has taken aback by the sudden question and immediately denied about hearing any news of the robbery or the bandits.
Ryan then acted while showing disappointment after hearing his denial and stated that he saw the merchant noting the details of the farmers in a book and thought he was a well-educated person who knew the news about the incident which made the merchant perspire immediately.
The merchant immediately denied doing any such thing and placed the bracelet which Ryan has asked about the price into Ryan's hand and sent him off from there while asking him to no speak wrong information about him to other villagers and spoil his business.
Ryan was now 100 percent sure he is the one who is sending the information about the village and the amount of money present in their coffers to the bandits.
Ryan then took the jade bracelet and quietly left the place without making a scene. No one would believe him if he exposed the bandits, and he didn't want them to attack the village suddenly and catch everyone off guard. Instead, it was better to keep the details hidden and let the bandits attack when the village was on high alert, catching them all in one sweep.
After leaving the stall Ryan immediately went to the valley to retrieve the vine seeds which he has been soaking for nearly 10 days.
There upon opening the tank Ryan found the seeds has increased swollen into small marbles size with a radius of half centimeter.
Ryan picked the seeds by hand and placed them into a cloth bag. A few spoiled seeds were discarded on the ground and crushed into paste by stepping on them. Ryan then counted approximately 70 seeds in the bag.
Ryan never thought the rate of production will exceed 70 percent which was unexpected happy thing.
He then picked the cloth bag and tied it near the waist and went back home in a happy mood.