章 8: Chapter 8 Market, Trade_1
Deacon Li, shaking his big belly, left. It was clear that he was very satisfied.
However, for Wang Ba, having no money left was unbearably hard.
He put his head down and finished the day's work. While it was still daytime, he pocketed a few Precious Chicken eggs that he'd saved and planned to go to the West Garden market to trade for some grain.
Fortunately, over the next few days, the Precious Chickens delivered quite well, laying many eggs. Not only did they meet the sect's targets, but they also exceeded it a bit.
Otherwise, he'd be starving.
"What? A Precious Chicken egg is only worth 5 taels of silver?"
At the entrance of Chen's Grocery Store, Wang Ba couldn't help but raise his voice.
Five taels of silver could buy hundreds or thousands of eggs in the mortal world, which is not a small amount, but it depends on the comparison.
In the market, the price of a Precious Chicken egg started at 10 taels.
And in here, the price of ordinary rice was extremely high, a pound costing one to two taels of silver. In the mortal world, a few copper coins would suffice.
It was helpless. In the immortal sect, because many wealthy mortals brought money into the sect and seldom money flowed out, the inflation of silver was too sever. Spirit Stones were the real hard currency.
But, Spirit Stones were not something a mortal like them could use.
"This is the price. You can weigh it yourself."
Shopkeeper Chen sits lazily in his lounge chair, acting like he doesn't care if he sold it or not.
His store was called a grocery store, but it sold not only grains but also all kinds of food.
Chicken, duck, fish, meat, such as Precious Chickens, Treasure Pigs, Colorful Ducks, and so on.
It was somewhat like the community food fair at the gate of the neighborhood in his previous life.
Of course, the variety here could not be compared with that.
Wang Ba gritted his teeth and finally chose to sell the four Precious Chicken eggs in his hand in exchange for ten pounds of rice.
He had no choice, as Chen's Grocery Store was already one of the fairer ones in the market.
The other grocery stores pressed even harder.
Just then, a middle-aged man in an official Sect Daoist robe, holding a covered black basket suspiciously, came to the front of the grocery store.
Wang Ba couldn't help moving his nose.
He smelled a very familiar scent.
Seeing the man glance at him suspiciously, Wang Ba wisely walked away.
However, he kept an ear out and as he walked not too far away, he perked up his ears.
He faintly heard some conversation.
"...Spirit Chicken... twenty..."
"...No, ... this is the maximum number..."
"Spirit Chicken?!"
Wang Ba was startled!
The middle-aged man was selling Spirit Chickens!
Recalling the familiar smell he sensed from the man, he was more than certain!
Because that was the most obvious chicken manure smell in the chicken coop!
"Spirit Chickens can also be sold?!"
Wang Ba was quite shocked.
He had always thought that since the sect valued them so much, they naturally belonged to the untradable category.
But this trade instantly opened up Wang Ba's mind.
He had an idea in his heart.
He hid in the dark and observed for a while and found that the middle-aged man soon left with a bulging package.
Looking at the size, more than half of it was most likely paid in Spirit Stones.
Not daring to delay, he hurried back to the manor, put on Old Sun's patched Daoist robe.
He had not discarded it before, thinking that it would just be perfect for bedding in the chicken nest.
Now it came in handy.
The size of Old Sun was similar to Wang Ba, so wearing Old Sun's clothes and specially smearing his face a bit, it was difficult for anyone but a very familiar person to recognize him.
"Cough...cough..."
After trying to adjust his voice, making sure that he wouldn't be recognized, he returned to the West Garden market. Instead of going to Chen's Grocery Store, he looked around and chose a different shop.
He didn't say a word upon entering the store, just looking around.
Shopkeeper Lu in the store didn't chase him away either.
Since they were in the same sect, maybe they were related, or even backed by someone. There was no need to make an enemy.
He just sat leisurely behind the counter and said as usual:
"Feel free to look around, sir."
Seeing that there were no other customers in the store and that the errand boys were not nearby.
Only then did Wang Ba approach the store owner and said in a low voice:
"Shopkeeper Lu, if I have good things to sell, will you buy them?"
"Good things?"
Shopkeeper Lu couldn't help but raise his head to take a closer look at these seemingly unkempt fellow disciples.
After hurriedly matching the person's image with the people in his memory, and coming up with nothing, he slowly spoke:
"Everyone in the West Garden market knows, if even our 'Lu's Grain Shop' doesn't accept it, no other shop in the market will. Please, feel free to tell us what you have."
The tone was calm, but filled with confidence.
However, Wang Ba was not surprised.
He had been in the sect for more than two months and naturally knew a thing or two.
'Lu's Grain Shop' was established by a high-ranking disciple of the outer sect.
It was considered top-notch among the markets of the mortals in the surrounding areas.
Not only was its reputation good, but it also had the backing of a high-ranking disciple from the outer sect, which gave people peace of mind.
Of course, the prices they offered for purchases were quite low.
If it were about selling eggs, he absolutely would not come here, as it would not be cost-effective.
But...
"I have a Spirit Chicken."
Wang Ba said softly.
With Wang Ba's words, Shopkeeper Lu, who initially didn't care much, suddenly became serious and quickly asked:
"What grade? Male or female?"
This caught Wang Ba off guard!
Whether it's male or female, that's easy.
But what is grade? Spirit Chickens also have grades?
Seeing Wang Ba's puzzled face, Shopkeeper Lu also realized:
"It seems you are not aware of the grade of the Spirit Chicken."
"Simply put, Spirit Chickens, like Spirit Beasts, naturally need to be categorized in terms of grade."
"Class I is equivalent to the Qi Refining stage of a cultivator, normally divided into lower, middle, upper, and top grades."
"If you trust our 'Lu's Grain Shop', why not bring the Spirit Chicken here, and I'll have a look for you."
On hearing this, Wang Ba hesitated.
Bringing the Spirit Chicken for others to see, wouldn't that be handing over the initiative to them?
Shopkeeper Lu, worldly-wise, saw through Wang Ba's hesitation and didn't get annoyed. He smiled and said:
"Well, if you don't trust me, you can go to the talisman shop and buy a 'Low-Rank Spirit Light Talisman'. It is not expensive, twenty taels each, and it can determine the grade of a Class I Spirit Beast."
Seeing the shopkeeper's assertion, Wang Ba was seventy percent convinced.
However, he was not in a hurry to leave and asked:
"I wonder what the prices are for each grade?"
Shopkeeper Lu avoided answering, and counter-questioned: "Is it obtained in a legal way?"
"Absolutely no problem!"
Wang Ba said resolutely.
Shopkeeper Lu stroked his beard and said:
"If it is obtained legally, then a Class I lower-grade female Spirit Chicken is worth six lower grade Spirit Stones!"
"If it's middle grade, it's worth fourteen."
"If it's upper grade, it's worth thirty."
"If it's top grade, even a hundred can't hold it back!"
"If it's a rooster, cut at least half off the above prices!"
The price was completely different from what Wang Ba thought.
It was far from Old Sun's equivalent of seventeen or eighteen Spirit Stones.
"Why are roosters so cheap?"
Wang Ba couldn't help asking.
Shopkeeper Lu was quite straightforward:
"Roosters contain less spiritual energy than hens, and are not good at mating. They are useless for other purposes, while hens can lay eggs. The eggs of Spirit Chickens are also beneficial for cultivators in the Qi Refining stage."
Wang Ba finally understood.
Then he cupped his hand and said, "Thank you for clearing my doubts, shopkeeper. I do not have the Spirit Chicken with me at the moment. I will bring it to you later."
"It doesn't matter."
Shopkeeper Lu, aware of Wang Ba's hesitation, did not press him, but said seriously:
"Our guest, be reassured, our purchase price is definitely the highest in this area. If you intend to sell it, please consider our shop."
Wang Ba nodded his head and left.
He visited several other grocery stores for price inquiries and took a tour of the only talisman store.
After going around and ensuring that no one was following him, he finally left the market.
He walked a little further in a direction opposite to the manor's.
Still not noticing anyone following him, Wang Ba finally exhaled slowly.
"It seems I was overthinking things. Nonetheless, it's always better to be cautious."
After thinking about it, he already had a plan for the four Spirit Chickens in the manor.
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