Chapter 429 - Chapter 429: 430

Chapter 429: 430

Mei Changqing’s heart was ablaze with anger, originally hoping for a great start, yet he did not expect such a debacle to occur.

Those under his command were truly incompetent, unable to handle even such a trivial matter.

“City Lord, our supply of Huazi can’t meet the demand!”

A cultivator came running in a panicked hurry to report.

“How is that possible? There are at least a hundred thousand Huazi in this city; how could they all sell out in one morning?”

Wang Guan asked with a frown from the side.

“Because the cultivators from the first and second battlefields have all come over, and each person is calculating their purchase of Huazi by the hundreds of packets, so before even half the morning has passed, our inventory is practically cleared out.”

The cultivator explained.

“In any case, this is a good thing. Being able to sell out so quickly shows there is a huge market for Huazi. In the future, we can be confident and boldly source them from the Holy City. How much did we earn this morning?”

Wang Guan nodded and continued to inquire.

“Not only did we not earn anything, but we also suffered a considerable loss.”

The cultivator said somewhat shakily.

“Lost money?”

“How could we possibly lose money!”

“So many cultivators buying, and you’re telling me we lost money? Are you joking with me?”

Mei Changqing was furious, his eyes shooting cold gleams, thunderous roars echoed in the void, pressing down so hard it made it difficult to breathe, and the reporting cultivator didn’t even dare to take a breath.

“Explain how we managed to lose money!”

“Reporting to the City Lord, our Huazi were sold at one Superior Spirit Stone per packet, the same as the purchase price from the Holy City, which means we just changed hands and made no profit. We say we lost money because the Tangneng First-class store was heavily vandalized.”

“After tallying it up, we lost roughly several hundred Superior Spirit Stones.”

The cultivator said.

“I’m so…”

“Then why didn’t you raise the price of Huazi?”

“Keeping the selling price the same as the buying price, have your brains gone to mush?”

Mei Changqing was about to laugh out of anger; after all that hustle, they didn’t see a single advantage; it was as if they served as free porters for the cultivators in the city.

“Reporting to the City Lord, those cultivators said that if we raised the prices too much, they would just go directly to the Holy City. Making a detour is not a big deal for them, so we didn’t dare to arbitrarily hike the prices.”

“However, City Lord, by initially using Huazi at an equivalent price to capture the city’s market, we can slowly raise the prices later. I believe it won’t be long before we can start making a profit.”

The reporting cultivator spoke with confidence; he thought his view was very forward-thinking.

“How long is ‘won’t be long’?!”

Mei Changqing asked.

“The short estimate is three to five months, the long one, half a year. As long as the cultivators develop a dependency on our store, they will stop going to the Holy City.”

The cultivator said confidently, believing his perspective showed great foresight.

“By then, the ship will have sailed, you imbeciles, you are utterly useless, get out!”

Mei Changqing, holding back the urge to slap the other party to death, roared ferociously.

“Yes, yes, I’ll get lost at once!”

The terrified cultivator scrambled away as fast as he could.

“City Lord Mei, what should we do now?”

Wang Guan asked, having originally thought they could easily bring down the Holy City, but now it seemed that the situation was not so simple.

“What else can we do but continue to act as carriers for the Holy City? Also, the research on Huazi must yield results as soon as possible; I need to master the method of producing Huazi quickly!”

Mei Changqing was breathing erratically, today’s developments had seriously infuriated him.

The turn of events was too dramatic, and coupled with the stupidity of his subordinates, he was struggling to adapt.

Early the next morning.

In the Holy City, within the City Lord’s Mansion.

Li Xiaobai was soaking in a bath with others, all with satisfied expressions, when the voice of a cultivator reporting news rang out again from outside the hall.

“Report, Tangneng First-class has been stolen again within the Holy City!”

“Come inside and talk.”

With the experience from the last time, Yang Guang was quite calm and, with a light snort, summoned the cultivator into the hall to speak.

“Reporting to the City Lord, early this morning it was discovered that not only was the water source of Tangneng First-class taken, but even the bricks used to build the bathhouse have been plundered bare. Now, there’s nothing left inside the bathhouse but a bare expanse.”

The reporting cultivator said.

“These people are really going all out, not even sparing the bricks.”

Li Xiaobai inwardly rolled his eyes, already imagining a bunch of bare-butt big shots sitting together, the image simply too beautiful.

“What about the sales of Huazi in the city?”

“Reporting to Young Master Li, Huazi is currently still trending towards stable sales. Compared to normal sales, there’s a slight downward trend, mainly because the markets in the third and fourth battlefields are temporarily saturated, and cultivators don’t have much need for Huazi in the short term.”

The reporting cultivator explained.

“Very well, upon your return, immediately double the price of Huazi. One pack of Huazi for two First Grade Spirit Stones, and after today, bring the price back down.”

Li Xiaobai said indifferently.

“Understood!”

The cultivator was very puzzled, but he did not ask any questions and agreed, then turned and left.

“Young Master Li, what do you think…”

Yang Guang was somewhat unsure, guessing that there must be some sort of formation pattern carved into the bricks for gathering Spiritual Power.

“It’s fine, they are just ordinary bricks after all. If they want them, let them have them.”

Li Xiaobai said with a light smile.

“Then why suddenly raise the price of Huazi?”

Yang Guang asked.

“Well, that’s because we’re about to have a big customer come to make a purchase.”

“There’s no need to worry about the bathhouse matter, I’ll go and rebuild it for them, no big deal.”

Li Xiaobai waved his hand dismissively and got up to walk outside the hall.

Two hours later, amid the joyful exclamations of the cultivators, Li Xiaobai renovated all the shops once again, and everything returned to its original track.

He walked into a good quality shop casually and sat down, where the wall was already marked with the new price set by the owner: one pack of Huazi for two First Grade Spirit Stones.

The shop owners in the city all recognized Li Xiaobai, their God of Wealth and the source of their supply, and they had to honor him.

“Young Master Li, there were already few cultivators buying Huazi lately, so why raise the price? With this increase, won’t there be no cultivators coming to buy at all?”

The shop owner asked, puzzled.

“Hehe, don’t worry, a big customer will be here soon, and we’ll be able to open for business in no time.”

Li Xiaobai said with a chuckle.

While they were speaking, a few cultivators stepped into the shop, all dressed in black with their faces obscured, impossible to identify their true features.

This get-up was not uncommon on the battlefield, as many cultivators used Magic Treasures like face masks to shield themselves from the Blood Qi spewing from Flesh Mountain. However, ever since Huazi came into play, this outdated practice had been abandoned.

“Boss, it’s a big purchase.”

The leader spoke softly.

“Would you gentlemen like to buy Huazi? How many would you like?”

The shop owner’s eyes lit up, realizing that this was the big customer Li Xiaobai had mentioned. Indeed, it was a big customer, as they started with a “big purchase” right away.

The leader in black looked around and said indifferently, “One hundred thousand packs of Huazi.”