"Klack! Klack! Klack!" The gold ingots made when Seth put them on the counter. The blacksmith had deliberately prepared ingots of common gold to sell for travel expenses before the journey.
The clerk looked at the man piling up gold in shock.
They were currently at a shady establishment owned by Golden Miser Peng, the biggest moneylender of Konan. Before going to the Amber Star Pavilion, Mina had mentioned that they had found this place after asking around for a while.
Only Seth had entered, while Mina and Fin stayed in the carriage. He was the only one who could easily hide his face using the
According to what they knew, they could have also gone to an official bank to trade in gold, but they wanted to avoid questions like where it came from, since these ingots had nothing to do with the commonly traded gold of the XiGuang province.
Although Seth's inventory and Legion's space were stuffed full with whatever he deemed worth looting at the Silk River Sect, they decided this was not the right time to start selling artifacts, weapons, talismans, or medicine on wholesale.
"Sir, would you excuse me for a moment. I don't think I'm fit for such a big transaction. i would like to go get my manager," the clerk who resembled a malnourished rat asked, rubbing his hands nervously.
"Sure, go get your manager," Seth answered disinterestedly, as he kept stacking the purposefully crude gold ingots into a small pyramid on the counter. He had already expected it, so he didn't mind. He welcomed talking directly to someone who could actually make a decision.
By the time the manager appeared, Seth was done stacking about half the ingots he prepared into a small pyramid of 45 ingots with a height of roughly 30 centimeters. The manager's eyes sparkled at such a decadent sight.
"Esteemed friend, the scent of ancient gold precedes you. In a city full of brass and fool's gold, a man of your caliber is like a jade among pebbles. I'm Manager Fu. Would you mind accompanying me for a cup of tea in the Back Pavilion? Such treasures should not be glimpsed by the greedy eyes of the common street," he said with a glimpse at the windows and wide open entrance door.
Seth suppressed rolling his eyes at the wordy greeting. "Of course, please lead the way," he said, and the gold vanished in his inventory with a wave of his hand. This move said more than the thousand words the manager just vomited.
It suggested Seth had a spatial treasure, and in this world, only the powerful could afford such treasures. Seth had learned that from Master Mountain. Only talented cultivators had the ability to own and freely show their possessions without fear.
Following the manager, they entered a small pavilion at the back of the building. It was surrounded by a small, well-maintained garden. On the table, a servant had already prepared two cups of tea, as well as a small plate with complicated carving.
"This is the finest First-Pick Dragon Well tea Konan has to offer. Only the best for an esteemed friend," the manager explained while he invited him to sit with a gesture of his hand. Seth gave the plate on the table an appraising look.
"I hope you don't take this as a sign of distrust, dear friend, but I will have to appraise your wares properly to ascertain the right price. This plate allows me to judge the purity of your gold," he explained quickly, when he saw Seth's look.
The appraisal result confirmed his words. The plate was engraved with a formation that could judge the purity of gold based on its conductivity to magic energy, or, in this case, true essence. It was a neat little artifact. Although it could only judge gold.
"Sure, go ahead," the blacksmith answered and began bringing out the gold ingots one by one, while Manager Fu placed them on the formation plate to confirm that they were 100% pure gold, without trickery. Meanwhile, Seth tried the tea and found it quite tasty.
"Say, esteemed friend, where would you have gotten such a hoard? Fear not, with Manager Fu, secrets are as secure as gold in the Imperial Vault," the manager assured him. It was obviously a lie; he could see through it clearly, thanks to
"I found them in an ancient tomb in the north of Yijing, when looking into a rumor about a crypt with one of those ancient weapons discovered lately. However, all I found were secular riches. Since I'm currently on vacation and my funds are running a little low, I considered selling them," Seth lied just as smoothly as the manager.
Master Mountain had told him that it was not uncommon to find riches in old grave sites, and it was usually a story that was easily accepted, at least in this kind of setting. It would have been a little different with a bank, as they would have wanted better documentation about the source of the gold.
He also mentioned the latest grace of grave hunting, where people searched the fake tombs Minas Mar had set up with cursed weapons, to make the story even more believable.
"Oh, so you are a fellow Daoist, esteemed friend. It is a shame you couldn't get your hands on an ancient weapon, but this gold is good for some pocket change, too, right?" the manager said with a smile.
"Since you mentioned it, how much can you give me for it?" the blacksmith mentioned business. He didn't want to let the girls wait much longer in the carriage. They had finished checking the gold a moment ago.
"Of course, let me do the math. I will be right back," he said with a smile and left Seth in the pavilion. When Manager Fu, he carried a tray with stacks of paper bills. If Master Mountain had not given him a couple of these bills, too, he might have doubted the man.
It was kind of weird that the Voracious Cloud Continent dealt with coins, precious metal ingots AND paper money at the same time, but it seemed they did, and what the manager brought out seemed like a lot.
"These are 18 000 Silver Taels in bills," Manager Fu revealed solemnly, placing the tray on the table between them, right beside. Although it sounded like a lot, Seth actually had no idea about the actual market value of gold in this place.
However, he could see through lies, so he just had to see whether the manager's offer was genuine. His face stayed expressionless as he asked with a slight frown. "Is this really the best price you can offer?"
"I'm sorry, my esteemed Friend, but this is really the best we can do," the manager confirmed. It was a lie. So this was still not only below market value, but even below the amount they could pay and still make a good profit.
"I see. Then I guess I will have to bring my business elsewhere," the blacksmith said resolutely. They were not that pressed for money, and there were other places they could try. However, the manager did exactly what Seth expected.
"No, please wait, my friend. no need to be so hasty, Maybe, i could raise the offer a little more," he said, and placed two more bundles of bills in the tray. " 20,000 Taels of Silver. It is really the best we can do in this house, without making a loss," he asserted pitifully.
This time, he said the truth. It seemed like they would rather not scam him than let him leave with all the gold. Seth stayed silent for a moment, just for the dramatic effect.
"Alright, I guess we have a deal then. I will sell you the gold for 20,000," the blacksmith gave his verdict. At this price, it meant that one ingot of his was worth roughly 450 Taels of Silver. he remembered that when Master Mountain explained the money, he said that one Tael of silver was enough to feed the family of a commoner for a month or two.
Just one of the ingots was a fortune for common people. Maybe he had brought out too many at once? On the other hand, the golden Miser Peng seemed to have the money readily lying around. The divide between the rich and the poor was real, no matter what world one came from...
"I'm glad we came to an agreement," the manager said happily as Seth swiped the paper bills, putting them in his inventory, where a new money display appeared beside credits and system gold. He now had 20 112 Taels of Silver. That would be enough for a while.