"We had a fight, and during the argument, a Luminous Pearl was shattered. Afterwards, it took me a great deal of effort to agree to lend him some money again so he could explain the situation to his wife. Only then did he forgive me."
Cao Zhen felt that Elder Copper Plate had it really tough. Despite having compensated, others still thought he had orchestrated the whole thing for a hefty profit. In reality, it was Li Ke, that girl, who made a killing.
In the end, Elder Copper Plate still helped Cao Zhen to gather materials. Borrowing Cao Zhen's words, he said, "Making money, after all, is not embarrassing."
Yet Cao Zhen knew that Elder Copper Plate mostly wanted to help him.
Yi Sheng's instructions on how to collect materials were very detailed, including the reasons for doing so.
For instance, one shouldn't collect all the materials right away, as that would affect the ability of people from various Taoist Institutions to make talismans.