A city in Guangdong province.
The weather in the south was warm in mid-March. Although it was evening, it was a good time to go out for the people who lived there. The temperature was suitable, so it was very suitable for shopping, eating, walking, and chatting.
However, the streets had gradually become deserted in recent days. Today was an extreme day. Seventy percent of the shops on the streets were not open.
Not only were most of the shops closed, but there were also fewer pedestrians walking on the streets. Occasionally, there were passersby walking, but their pace was very fast, and they seemed to deliberately keep a distance from each other.
Many people were wearing masks, but most of them were cheap disposable masks, as well as cotton medical masks that were popular in the last century. People hoped that these masks could help them resist the virus that was constantly spreading outside, but they did not know that these masks were actually useless against the virus.
However, even such masks were sold out.
On the cold street, there was only one pharmacy that was doing very well. There was a long queue at the door, but although the queue was long, it was not very dense. Everyone automatically kept a certain distance from the people in front and behind them. There was a huge red poster at the door, on it was written: Indigowoad Root Latest Arrival, Only 120 Yuan/Bag, Limited Quantity, Welcome to Buy!
The people in the queue were all here for the Indigowoad Root.
Originally, everyone wanted to rush in like a swarm of bees to buy it, but two shop assistants wearing masks kept stopping them and insisted that they line up.
Similar situations were common in Guangdong province, the surrounding provinces, and even all over the country. People knew that the virus was coming, and they were all on tenterhooks. Now, the only thing that could give them a sense of security was those rumored things that could resist the virus. If they got it, their hearts would be a little more relaxed, but if they couldn't get it, their hearts would always be on tenterhooks.
A middle-aged woman walked out of the pharmacy, holding a bag of Indigowoad Root in her hand. She was both happy and distressed.
She was happy because this medicine was said to be able to prevent the infectious disease, but she was distressed because this thing was more than 20 times more expensive than usual. In the past, such a big bag would sell for 5 yuan at most, but now it was 120 yuan. Not to mention that there was no bargaining, they were not allowed to buy more, and each person was only allowed to buy one box.
Her luck wasn't bad. She was the first in line. No matter what, she had already bought a box. Her heart immediately felt a lot more relieved. There were 25 small packets in the big bag of Radix Isatidis. She calculated that if she, her husband, and the child got a packet a day, it would only last for eight days. She had to think of a way to buy more.
At this time, the people who were still queuing outside saw her coming out with the indigowoad root and asked her from afar, "Excuse me, does this store have a lot of stock?"
The middle-aged woman shook her head. "I'm not too sure, but I heard them say that it's not a lot, so each person is only allowed to buy one pack. We also have to see their ID cards."
"What? Do you need to see my ID? " The woman who asked her suddenly became anxious, and many others in the queue also anxiously stamped their feet. "I didn't bring my ID card. What should I do?"
The middle-aged woman hurriedly explained, "Don't worry. If you don't have your ID card, just leave your ID number. They need to register it."
The others finally heaved a sigh of relief. If it wasn't for the fact that this shop had Radix Isatidis, no one would take the risk to line up on the street. If they couldn't buy it, they would really cry.
The entire Guangdong province had long fallen into this kind of panic.
Before today, there had been all kinds of rumors about the infectious atypical pneumonia in the Guangdong province. These rumors had been relayed and reprocessed countless times, and had spread to some extent, causing people to panic all the time. Today, things seemed to have risen to a new level. This was because YY had released a major piece of news today, making everyone truly aware that the epidemic was coming, and it was coming in a menacing manner. Even the WHO had issued a global warning. This was the World Health Organization, after all. The people of the country had always had an inexplicable sense of authority toward the organization that started with the word 'world'.
Therefore, the rush to buy related supplies in Guangdong province was even fiercer today. The prices of the stores were also inhumane. Originally, the indigowoad root could be bought for 80 to 90 yuan, but today, it was sold for 120 yuan.
A middle-aged man in the queue said that 120 yuan was already not bad. He lived in the neighboring district a few kilometers away. The pharmacy downstairs of his house was sold for 150 yuan, but it was all snatched up. He had no choice but to ride his motorcycle here to try his luck. He didn't expect that there would be goods here, and the price of 120 yuan was considered fair.
That was true.
When the others heard this, they immediately felt a lot more relieved. A bowl of rice was not worth three to five cents, but when one was starving to death, three to five hundred yuan was not a big deal. This was the law of commodities. No one lacked it. You would not buy it even if it was ten cents a ton. When everyone lacked it, you still had to queue up for it at a dollar a gram.
After the first middle-aged woman who bought the indigowoad root came out, another two people came out with a big bag of indigowoad root. The people in the queue asked the same question again and received the same answer.
The middle-aged man who rode the motorcycle sighed again. "Aiya, this store is really conscientious. It's much better than the pharmacies in our district. The pharmacies in my district can't wait to sell out and close down. So when someone asked for ten to twenty bags in one go, they still sold them. In the end, no one else could buy it! I'm so angry that I'm dying of anger. My wife heard that there was a pharmacy that still had indigowoad root. She went to line up early in the morning and waited for more than an hour. Seeing that it was almost her turn, a guy bought the remaining thirty or so bags in one go! In the end, she didn't even get a small bag. It's really infuriating! "
When he said this, the surrounding people all nodded.
An old man sighed. "These days, there are too many unscrupulous businessmen, and too few businessmen with integrity. It's really rare to see a store that can sell in limited quantities and limit each person to one bag. Furthermore, their price is cheap. They only sell it for 120 yuan. They are indeed very conscientious."
"Sigh!" A woman sighed. "Everything is going up. Masks are usually sold for ten cents each, but now they're selling for more than one yuan. That 84 disinfectant is even worse. It's out of stock. I wanted to buy some 84 disinfectant for my house, but I couldn't find it anywhere. In the end, I could only buy two bottles of white vinegar. That was expensive! Two bottles of white vinegar cost me a hundred yuan! "
"Don't talk about white vinegar. It's the same for my house. When we boil the kettle to boil white vinegar, the whole house smells like vinegar! The smell makes me want to vomit! "
A middle-aged woman hurriedly said, "Aiya, sister, you don't understand. White vinegar kills germs by the vinegar smell. If you breathe in the steam from the white vinegar, the germs in your body will be killed!"
"Is it that amazing?" Someone was obviously skeptical and said, "If 84 disinfectant can disinfect, I'll definitely admit it. After all, it's a proper disinfectant. But this white vinegar … It's food seasoning! If it can kill germs, why can't soy sauce? "
"You don't understand!" The middle-aged woman said seriously, "The couple downstairs are both doctors. They said that vinegar has something called acetic acid in it. It can really kill germs. When you eat fried rice noodles outside, some careful shopkeepers will stick their chopsticks in vinegar and soak them in it to kill germs. But vinegar is too expensive now, so I don't think anyone will do that anymore."
"Oh …" The person who was originally skeptical nodded and said, "That seems to be the case. Now that you mention it, I remember."
At that moment, an angry roar came from the store. "I'm Grenade-Throwing Mother. I have money, so I want to buy more. Why won't you sell it to me?!"
The female shop assistant tried her best to explain something, but her voice was too soft. No one outside could hear her clearly.
Clang!
Something in the pharmacy was smashed. The angry roar came from the store again. "Isn't it just money? I have money. Can't I just pay you more? How many indigowoad roots do you have? I'll buy them all for one hundred and fifty a pack! "
As soon as this was said, there was an uproar outside.
A hot-tempered member of the National People's Congress roared, "Hey, so what if you have money? Everyone is waiting in line. What right do you have to buy them all? Besides, it's too immoral for people like you to drive up the price! "
At that moment, a middle-aged man with a fierce face came out of the pharmacy. He took out a stack of one hundred yuan from a leather bag under his armpit and said to the person who shouted, "Is it illegal to buy things? I'm f * cking rich. What's it to you? I don't steal, I don't rob, I don't cheat. I'm buying things with cash. What right do you have to yell at me? And you say I'm driving up the price? Please don't be so self-righteous. I'm here to buy them all. What bullshit are you talking about? Hurry up and leave. I'll take all the indigowoad roots here today. "
After saying that, the middle-aged man turned around and slapped the stack of cash on the cashier counter. He shouted, "This is twenty thousand yuan. How much stock do you have in your store? Take it all out and give it to me. If it's not enough, I'll call someone to send it over now. I have a big business and a lot of relatives. I'll buy it and drink it as tea!"
"You …"
"This …"
Not only was the person who was yelling outside stunned, but even the cashier girl was stunned.
Although this guy was arrogant, he wasn't wrong. He had money. He was willing to pay a high price. Who could stop him? Even if the police came, he would still be in the right. Besides, most of the people in the line were women. There were only a few men. The man who was yelling at him didn't dare to continue arguing with him. If they really fought, he definitely wouldn't be able to gain any advantage. Moreover, this person really looked like a nouveau riche. An ordinary person probably couldn't afford to offend him.
Therefore, everyone's hopes could only be pinned on the salesperson.
They hoped that the salesperson could maintain the integrity of their store. They said that one person was limited to one pack, so it was one pack. They said 120 yuan, so it was 120 yuan.
However, at this time, the salesperson was also a little dumbfounded. She said timidly, "Big Brother, I have to ask our boss …"
The fierce-looking man immediately nodded and kept tapping his fingers on the table. He said, "Please hurry up. I'm in a hurry."
At this time, a few women outside suddenly became nervous and hurriedly said, "Little girl, isn't it too much for you to raise the price temporarily?"
The girl said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. As you can see, we're not going to raise the price temporarily. It's just that this customer wants to buy at a higher price …"
"That won't do!" The woman was unhappy and said, "If you do this, what about us people who have been waiting in line for a long time?"
The girl said very politely, "After all, we're doing business. We're taking such a big risk to open for business. We also want to make more money. Please understand."
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