Chapter 235 - 23: Buy Low, Sell High at a Stall

Chapter 235: Chapter 23: Buy Low, Sell High at a Stall

The middle-aged Loose Cultivator walked away, satisfied with the small cauldron he had snagged for a bargain.

Meanwhile, Su Yuan clutched the one hundred taels of silver, her face flushed with excitement.

"I... I made money!" she said excitedly to Chen Ye. "We bought it for forty and sold it for one hundred taels. We just made sixty taels in one go!"

Looking at her giddy display, Chen Ye shook his head in amusement.

However, it also proved his plan was viable.

"Good job. Keep it up."

Bolstered by her first success, Su Yuan’s confidence soared, and her acting became much more convincing.

Meanwhile, Chen Ye continued to weave between the stalls, searching for his next target.

Over the next half-day, Chen Ye struck three more times.

Leveraging the advantage of his Asura’s Eye, he acquired a stone containing a faint Power of Thunder and Lightning, the tip of a broken Flying Sword made from extraordinary material, and a Jade Bottle. The bottle appeared dry, but it actually contained a few drops of high-quality Elixir Liquid.

To an ordinary person, these items were useless junk, but to a knowledgeable Cultivator, each had its own unique and valuable use.

The stone with the Power of Thunder and Lightning could be used to aid in cultivating a Thunder Technique or embedded in a weapon to increase its power.

The broken sword tip could be melted down and reforged to extract the Refined Gold within, perfect for creating a new Magical Artifact.

The few drops of Elixir Liquid were even more precious. Though it was unclear what kind of Elixir Pills they came from, the Spiritual Qi they contained was exceptionally pure. It was an incredibly rare material, whether consumed directly or used to refine new pills.

And once these treasures reached Su Yuan’s stall, her passionate and dramatic performance sold every one of them for prices more than ten times what they had paid.

The stone containing the Power of Thunder and Lightning was bought for one hundred and twenty taels by a Cultivator who practiced a Thunder Technique.

An Artifact Refiner paid eighty taels for the broken sword tip.

The most outrageous sale was the bottle of Elixir Liquid. Su Yuan merely claimed it was her family’s heirloom Immortal Water, capable of prolonging one’s life. An old Cultivator nearing the end of his lifespan latched onto it as his last hope, insisting on buying it for one hundred and fifty taels of silver.

But most importantly, after some maneuvering, the scale sold for two hundred and seventy taels. The profits were truly substantial.

In just half a day, they had earned a total of seven to eight hundred taels of silver. After deducting their initial costs, the profit was substantial.

Su Yuan sat on their tattered cloth, clutching the heavy silver with a grin so wide she could barely close her mouth.

Chen Ye, however, was not satisfied.

He looked out at the still-bustling square, his brow furrowed slightly.

"What’s wrong?" Su Yuan asked, confused. "We made a lot of money, didn’t we? Why do you look so unhappy?"

"It’s too inefficient," Chen Ye said, shaking his head.

"You call this inefficient?" Su Yuan nearly jumped to her feet. "We made almost four hundred taels in no time at all, and you’re still complaining?"

"Look," Chen Ye said, gesturing around them. "For a small stall like ours, how many customers can we possibly get in a day? Most people just glance as they pass by. Very few actually stop to ask for a price. That means right now, our sales are purely based on luck. We’re just passively waiting for customers."

"Besides, relying on you to do all the acting is exhausting. What if you lose your voice or can’t squeeze out any more tears? What will we do then?"

Su Yuan thought about it. ’He does have a point.’

All that crying and talking had left her mouth dry and her throat a little sore.

"Then... then what do we do?"

"We need a professional," Chen Ye said slowly. "Someone who can proactively attract customers, someone who can convince people that black is white."

"A professional?" Su Yuan blinked, and an image of a certain person suddenly popped into her head.

"The kind of person you’re talking about... I think I know someone like that."

Chen Ye realized who she meant, and they exchanged a smile.

Su Yuan then stood up. "You watch the stall. I’ll go get him."

They had run into Yun Heqing when they first arrived in Qingzhou. Back then, Su Yuan had forced him to give her his contact information, so finding him wouldn’t be a problem.

Su Yuan left, and Chen Ye stayed behind to watch the stall alone.

Sure enough, without Su Yuan as the main attraction, business dried up. With Chen Ye at the stall, passing Cultivators wouldn’t even spare it a glance before moving on.

Chen Ye wasn’t worried. He simply waited.

Just half an hour later, Su Yuan returned to the stall, leading a familiar figure.

It was Yun Heqing.

His face was a mask of nervousness and panic, as he had no idea why Su Yuan had sought him out.

If he had any choice in the matter, he would want absolutely nothing to do with this fearsome woman and her poisonous insects.

But he didn’t dare to leave. Su Yuan had made it perfectly clear that if he tried to run, she would use her Gu Insects to hunt him down, and his fate would be even more miserable.

So when Su Yuan had shown up, Yun Heqing’s heart had filled with despair. But he didn’t dare resist, so he had no choice but to follow her, trembling with fear.

"Don’t be so nervous. We’re old friends getting together. What’s there to be so afraid of?" Su Yuan said with a cheeky grin.

Feeling utterly miserable, Yun Heqing could only offer a deep bow.

"Master Chen, Eldest Granny Su," he began, "to what do I owe the honor of this meeting?"

Chen Ye smiled. "Don’t be nervous. We’ve brought you here for a wonderful opportunity, Daoist Master."

"A wonderful opportunity?" Yun Heqing’s face screamed disbelief.

"That’s right. I want to hire you, Daoist Master, to help us run the stall and sell our wares," Chen Ye explained succinctly. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"R-Run the stall?" Yun Heqing was stunned. He looked at the shabby setup before him, then back at Chen Ye and Su Yuan, unable to process what was happening.

"That’s right," Su Yuan chimed in. "Business is booming, but we need an employee who’s as silver-tongued as you. So, are you in? We’ll pay you... five silver coins a day!" she declared magnanimously, holding up five fingers.

Yun Heqing breathed a sigh of relief, not because of the five silver coins, but because he was finally certain that Su Yuan truly meant him no harm.

Chen Ye, however, just smiled and shook his head. "Five silver coins is too little. We’ll see how things go. If sales are good, Daoist Master, you’ll certainly get your fair share."