Chapter 18: Buy Again
"Um, I understand. Let me fiddle around first," Wang Zijia said.
Xu Chenglin watched Wang Zijia's expression and waved his hand. "Alright, as long as you understand the situation. How much do you want to borrow? I don't have much, I don't have the capability of your father. That gold-devouring beast in my house is almost bankrupting me."
"Can you lend me fifteen silver coins?" Wang Zijia asked tentatively.
Xu Chenglin's eyebrows twitched, immediately shaking his head. "No, no, that's a year's worth of allowance. I don't have that much savings. Five silver coins at most!"
'Lu Xun was indeed right, to open a window, you must first remove the roof!'
Wang Zijia's expression remained unchanged as he replied promptly, "Thank you, Uncle Xu"
"Wait for me a moment. I'll go home to get it for you. I don't have that much money on me." Xu Chenglin said. He didn't even have a single silver coin on him. It's likely that only Wang Zijia would carry silver coins among the warehouse workers like them.
"Alright! I'll wait."
Xu Chenglin was also a second-generation warehouse worker. His father was a legitimate warehouse worker of the sect, who retired from the sect and passed down his job of handling corpses to him as an ordinary person.
Therefore, their residence was located on the edge of the inner city, not too far from here.
Not long after Wang Zijia finished his shift, Xu Chenglin came back with the silver coins. Carefully handing over five silver coins to Wang Zijia, he reminded, "Your father is gone, and there are no elders at home. You have to be careful and not get cheated."
"Thank you uncle Xu, I understand!" Wang Zijia replied.
After a few more reminders from Xu Chenglin, he turned and left.
Wang Zijia breathed a sigh of relief with the silver coins in his pocket. He went to the warehouse to collect forty portions of spiritual materials but didn't take them away immediately. He left them temporarily in the storage room. Feeling the remaining two silver coins in his pocket, he left the shop.
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A moment later, Wang Zijia returned to the Wentian Pavilion (Information agency).
This time when he entered, Wang Zijia confidently said, "I'm here to buy, Unit Y, number eleven!"
The shop assistant, prepared to receive him, hesitated slightly before smiling and said, "Alright, please come this way, sir."
Wang Zijia entered the familiar room. When the middle-aged scholar appeared, he paused for a moment upon seeing Wang Zijia, then quickly introduced himself, "Wentian Pavilion, Xun Liang!"
"Wang Zijia!" Wang Zijia replied concisely.
"What does Sir Wang want to buy this time?" Xun Liang didn't chat much and went straight to the point.
"I need information about the city's black market or places where independent cultivators trade," Wang Zijia asked.
"Fifteen silver coins!" Xun Liang replied.
"Huh, why so expensive?" Wang Zijia asked in surprise, feeling puzzled.
Xun Liang was taken aback for a moment, then realized, "Did I misunderstood?"
Wang Zijia also thought about it and then realized, "Oh, I didn't express myself clearly. I don't want information about the entire city, I just want to explore."
Xun Liang glanced at Wang Zijia and said, "One silver coin."
Wang Zijia breathed a sigh of relief, as he only had two coins in his pocket.
He took out a silver coin and handed it over. After receiving the money, Xun Liang quickly wrote down a lot of information on a piece of paper.
"Here is the safest black market in the city, with no entry requirements. I've also included the method of entry." After handing the note to Wang Zijia, Xun Liang reminded, "Although they are the safest place, it's relative. When I say safe, I just mean personal safety. If you want to buy and sell goods, you need to be vigilant yourself."
"I understand!" Wang Zijia nodded.
"Is there anything else?" Xun Liang asked.
Wang Zijia shook his head decisively. If he asked again, he really wouldn't have any money left!
Xun Liang only made one silver coin, but he didn't feel discouraged. He smiled and said, "Then I look forward to seeing you next time."
"Let's not do that. It's not good to see each other too often. My pockets are almost as empty as my face. If I see you again, it won't be bankruptcy but begging," Wang Zijia said with a wry smile.
"Haha!" Xun Liang laughed heartily. "Sir Wang, you're really interesting!"
Compared to the previous formal transaction, this time the two of them seemed much more relaxed.
When Wang Zijia left the Wentian Pavilion and looked back, feeling the silver coin in his pocket, he felt a little envious.
This kind of information trading was risk-free and profitable. It was much faster than earning money the hard way like them. However, this business was not something ordinary people, or even ordinary sects, could do. It was easy to bring disaster to the sect!
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Turning back to the warehouse where he worked, Wang Zijia collected the materials and returned home.
After finishing dinner, Wang Zijia started processing the materials. Although he was proficient in intermediate-level spell and could directly use spiritual materials for casting, he still thought it was worth spending time processing them to increase the chances of success, both for enhancing the value of his skills and because he was poor.
He was almost going crazy from poverty. With just one coin, he wanted to conquer the world. Let's see how it goes!
After processing the materials, Wang Zijia carefully cast the spells.
This time, he felt a difference from yesterday. Even though he was using innate true qi, casting spells didn't feel strenuous for Wang Zijia. It was effortless and smooth.
He even used up seven portions of materials in a row before feeling depleted and somewhat exhausted.
After spending nearly half an hour in meditation to restore his Qi, he began making spell cards again.
Starting work around six in the evening, he worked on and off for six or seven hours before processing over forty portions of materials.
He obtained a total of twenty-seven spell cards, with a success rate of nearly seventy percent. It was much higher than the theoretical sixty percent for intermediate-level proficiency. This also increased the value of his skills a bit, and it wasn't in vain that he had put in so much effort.
Adding the five spell cards from yesterday, he now had a total of thirty-two. They should be able to sell for at least six silver coins, finally starting to make a profit and alleviating his severe financial deficit!
After packing everything up, he realized it was already midnight.
After a moment of contemplation, he moved the spell cards, tools, and other materials back into the secret room and put them in the treasure chest.
Then, instead of going back to sleep, Wang Zijia changed into tight-fitting clothes and quietly slipped out of the courtyard. Turning into a shadow, he avoided patrols and wandered around the city.
Without a specific goal, he roughly headed in the direction of yesterday's battle.
At this time on other days, various night markets would gradually quiet down. But today, more shops had closed early, and the streets were quiet. Patrol teams were particularly abundant.
Wang Zijia roamed around for a while, finding several battle sites of law enforcement teams but couldn't find any opportunities to pick up spoils.
Out of caution, Wang Zijia could only retreat in the end.
Suddenly, while passing through a dark alley, Wang Zijia felt a significant change in his aura and quietly stopped.
The entire alley was quiet, with no lights in the yards on both sides, indicating that everyone had already gone to rest.
Wang Zijia approached a wall based on his intuition and carefully sensed for a moment before using his true qi to float over the wall into the yard.
"Crack, crack..."
Upon entering the yard, Wang Zijia heard faint noises, like rats stealing food.
(End of this chapter)