A/N: Long time no update sorry
Price
The price of ginseng increases by two coppers. To the regular patrons of Pao's Tea Shop, you would think the Fire Nation had invaded.
(They did invade, Zuko now knows. Changing supply routes to avoid the giant drill embedded in the wall is half the reason for the price jump. He only knows that from the whispers of Ki the delivery girl—who doesn't return the next week.)
The price of ginseng increases by two coppers, and suddenly, Zuko is the subject of as much vitriol as the Fire Nation.
(More, because the war may be taboo, but raging to his face is not.)
Two coppers. It's more than most regulars can afford. Tei Lin switches to a cheaper jasmine. Ling Hua disappears altogether.
(He hopes it's just because of the pricing, and not whatever happened to Ki.)
Uncle's raise, if Pao ever intended to actually deliver it, is delayed for days, a week, indefinitely.
(Two coppers more per day wouldn't have been worth it, anyway. Zuko doesn't intend to buy ginseng.)
