Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Grand Market in Yunzhong City

Lin Jiang noticed that there weren't many people around and started to daydream. He was calculating his expenses for the past two years in Yunzhong City. Lin Jiang had a habit of keeping track of his major expenses.

In the first year, Lin Jiang spent about six thousand eight hundred spirit stones and earned three thousand five hundred. In the second year, he spent seven thousand two hundred spirit stones and earned four thousand two hundred. In two years, he used up his savings of six thousand three hundred spirit stones.

"Income and expenses are imbalanced. If I earn three thousand a year, I can only survive for a little over ten years."

Lin Jiang sighed. If he didn't have savings, he would have gone bankrupt a long time ago. Either he could choose to share an apartment with others to reduce expenses, or he would have to endure the difficult days in Yunzhong City.

Lin Jiang looked down at his magical charm. The items on his stall were increasing, indicating that sales couldn't keep up with his production, resulting in a stockpile. He still had hundreds of them in his storage bag. Ultimately, he couldn't bear to sell the store because it would be too much of a loss.

"Big brother, big brother..."

The sound echoed in Lin Jiang's ears again, but he felt that the little guy had grabbed his hand. Lin Jiang quietly activated his spiritual power and flicked away Zhang Ruifeng's hand.

"What's the matter?"

Lin Jiang tried to appear indifferent. He was truly helpless with this Zhang Ruifeng. He was too familiar and had no sense of boundaries. Clearly, Lin Jiang had no interest in him, yet he kept pestering him to chat every day.

"Big brother, you don't use your stall all day. Can I use it after you leave?"

Zhang Ruifeng said, "In the market of Yunzhong City, stalls can be resold, rented, or loaned. The city doesn't care as long as they receive the payment."

"No."

"Come on, big brother, don't be so stingy. I'll pay you rent. The stall fee is one spirit stone per day. I'll rent the remaining days at the price of three spirit stones per day."

"Why come to me? Go find someone else."

"I don't know anyone else, but my brother is the best."

"If I let you rent the stall, will you stop bothering me?"

"Okay, I promise."

"Alright, after I close the stall, you can use it."

As soon as Lin Jiang heard this, he immediately agreed. Whether it was about money or not, he just didn't want to be bothered anymore. Lin Jiang felt that he had become a bit introverted, and he couldn't stand this talkative person.

Speaking of these two siblings, they were quite unique. Zhang Ruifeng, the older brother, was talkative, while his younger sister obviously had social anxiety. Having known her for over a year, he had never heard her say more than twenty sentences. She would just stare off into space at the stall every day, making others think she was mute.

"Thank you, brother."

Zhang Ruifeng was overjoyed when he saw that Lin Jiang agreed. Now, he could bring even more medicinal herbs to sell.

"Little brother, why don't you rent my stall too?"

At this moment, a person who sold things at a stall to Lin Jiang's right spoke. She was a beautiful young lady with attractive features. She also seemed to know most of the stall owners on this street.

"Taoist friend Jiang, what can I help you with this time?"

"It's still the same, Energy Nourishing Pill, Spirit Gathering Pill, they all have to be top-quality."

Lin Jiang said, "Medicinal pills are classified into different qualities: top-quality, high, medium, and low. This is quite vague in the Lin family neighborhood and Anhua City, but in Yunzhong City, it's very clear."

Different qualities of medicinal pills had different prices. The better the quality, the milder and more abundant the spiritual energy, and the fewer side effects there were. If you took a low-quality pill, it would take several days to recover, otherwise, harmful substances would accumulate, and the consequences would be serious. In the future, if you took the same pill again, the effect would be greatly reduced, or unexpected accidents might occur during the crucial breakthrough process.

(Translated by Gravity Tales ????)

"Okay, Taoist Friend Jiang, I will arrange for someone to deliver it right away."

The steward smiled. Straightforward customers like Lin Jiang were rare in Yunzhong City. Most of the lower-level cultivators lived difficult lives, so they tended to be petty. Lin Jiang was different from them. He had always been straightforward.

"The medicinal pills are correct, they are spirit stones. Please check."

"No problem, Taoist Friend Jiang won't be wrong."

"I'll leave first."

"Wait a moment, Jiang, my Taoist friend."

"Is there anything else?"

"Well, Taoist Friend Jiang, you see, our Duobao Pavilion holds regular exchange meetings as a way to give back to our customers. During these meetings, senior experts in the Building Foundation Period come to host and answer members' questions. We also organize impromptu auctions and trading sessions. At our Duobao Pavilion, only customers who have spent a certain amount of spirit stones are eligible to participate. I wonder if Taoist Friend Jiang is interested."

"When?"

"At the beginning of each month."

"I will go and take a look then."

"In that case, you can come to Duobao Pavilion earlier and I will personally take you there."

"Okay."

Lin Jiang nodded and then left. He had heard about such exchange meetings before. Many people in the bustling market area boasted about it as if being able to participate in these meetings was a symbol of status for independent cultivators.

And indeed it was true. Lin Jiang had spent at least five thousand spirit stones at Duobao Pavilion to receive the invitation. Regular independent cultivators had no qualifications whatsoever.

Half a month later, Lin Jiang attended his first exchange meeting. As a newcomer, Lin Jiang was very cautious and didn't say a word from beginning to end. He also didn't participate in the resource exchange. This time, he considered it a learning experience.

However, this exchange meeting opened Lin Jiang's eyes. There were countless cultivation techniques and various spiritual objects in the world that Lin Jiang had never seen before. It was his first time seeing them.

"Usually, the exchange meetings are organized every two to three months, lasting four to six hours. It doesn't take up much time, but the gains are substantial. You should participate more in the future."

Lin Jiang made up his mind. He wanted to attend more of these exchange meetings because isolating himself and relying solely on his own knowledge was not advisable. He realized that he knew very little about the cultivation world. Moreover, the information shared by the majority of elite participants in the exchange meetings was much more reliable than what independent cultivators at the marketplace provided.