Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 143: Too Late
In business, seizing opportunities is crucial; grasping a business opportunity can lead to substantial profit. However, understanding how to seize that opportunity is equally important. Grasping an opportunity means taking action at the right time; otherwise, the desired effect may not be achieved.
In comparison to business opportunities, the ability to seize them is even more vital. How do successful merchants make their money? They go with the flow, providing what people need. With a little strategy, they can maximize their profits.
Currently, those merchants are waiting for the right moment. Once the time is right, they will release the news, which will cause food prices to soar, allowing them to reap significant profits.
What puzzled Kun Zheng and Laura was why the Versailles Family had not reacted yet. Did they have enough food to withstand the crisis? Or had they managed to eliminate the pest disaster?
That couldn’t be the case. Laura had been receiving constant updates from Charging Bull Fortress over the past few days. The pest disaster there had not improved; instead, it had become more severe. In just a few days, it was reported that tens of thousands of acres of wheat fields had been destroyed. Moreover, up until now, there had been no news of effective measures from the Versailles Family to combat the infestation.
While Kun Zheng and Laura were discussing how to handle the current situation in the study, a servant suddenly walked in and bowed to Laura, saying, “Miss, an elder of external affairs from the Versailles Family requests an audience.”
Laura and Kun Zheng exchanged glances, both seeing hints of impatience in each other's eyes. They truly hadn’t expected the Versailles Family to react so slowly—only now did they think to seek their help, but it was already too late.
What they didn’t know was that the Versailles Family initially believed they could quickly extinguish the pest disaster, so they hadn’t worried too much. However, they soon realized their mistake: this pest disaster was far more terrifying than any they had encountered before. They had deployed all their available resources but still couldn’t eradicate the infestation, and it had now reached an irreparable point.
At this moment, the Versailles Family finally thought about stockpiling some food to cope with the impending significant reduction in food production. They had encountered similar situations before, so they immediately considered consulting various merchant associations to see if they could prepare more food to handle the upcoming food crisis.
However, the Versailles Family did not expect that this time, the major merchant associations would not provide a clear answer. Instead, they all spoke evasively, which gave the Versailles Family an unsettling feeling.
The Versailles Family found themselves in a predicament. Although they had faced food crises several times before, none had been as severe as this one. They understood very well that if things went wrong, the Ika Plain might face a complete crop failure, a situation they had never encountered before.
Because of this, their response lagged behind those major merchants, who were already prepared to make a profit in the Versailles Principality and would not let this opportunity slip away.
Having fallen behind, the Versailles Family was now at a disadvantage. This time, they sent their elder of external affairs, Stern, to make contact with Laura. Stern was a high-ranking elder responsible for handling external affairs.
Laura naturally recognized why Stern had come. She couldn’t refuse to receive him, so he was invited to the living room due to his high status.
When Laura and Kun Zheng arrived in the living room, Stern was sipping Kaya. Despite the ongoing crisis faced by the Versailles Family, Stern, as an elder of a prominent family, maintained his composure.
He had already interacted with several representatives from other merchant associations, but the results were not promising. Those people had spoken evasively. With Stern’s seasoned experience, he could tell at a glance that they were stalling; clearly, they intended to take advantage of the Versailles Family.