Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 149 Buy low, sell high, set up a stall to sell goods

The stall owner picked up the money bag and looked at it; his impatience instantly turned into a warm smile.

"Young man, you have a good eye! This scale from the Black Water Serpent is definitely a treasure. Please take it!"

As he spoke, he picked up the jet-black scale, wiped it with a clean cloth, and respectfully handed it to Chen Ye.

Su Yuan couldn't help but laugh at the change in attitude from arrogant to obsequious.

Chen Ye took the scale, and it felt icy cold to the touch. A pure, cold energy flowed through his palm, invigorating him.

He used his Asura Eye to confirm again that the halo inside the scales was even more intense than he had seen before, so this deal was definitely a win.

"Young man, would you like to take a look at something else? I have quite a few good things here, and I'll give you a discount!" the stall owner enthusiastically promoted.

"No need." Chen Ye put away the scales, turned around and left, too lazy to say another word to him.

Watching Chen Ye's departing figure, the stall owner grinned foolishly, feeling that he had really hit the jackpot today, running into a rich young master who didn't know anything about the market.

At the same time, a melodious bell suddenly rang out from the huge pavilion not far away, followed by a loud voice that spread throughout the entire central square through some kind of amplification array.

"Now we will begin the auction for the grand finale of this event, the Breakthrough Pill. The starting price is 100,000 taels of silver, and each bid must be at least 10,000 taels!"

The moment that sound was uttered, the atmosphere in the entire square was instantly ignited.

"One hundred thousand taels! My God, that starting price is outrageous!"

"This is nothing! Just you wait and see, the final transaction price will probably be several times higher!"

"Sigh, we're just hearing the noise; this kind of treasure is beyond the reach of us rogue cultivators."

The surrounding chatter rose and fell, and everyone's eyes were instinctively drawn to the attic.

Chen Ye and Su Yuan also stopped in their tracks.

Although they couldn't get into the venue on the third floor, they could feel the tense and exciting atmosphere just by hearing the astonishing price.

This is the work of major sects, and also the world of those top experts.

"Twelve thousand taels!"

"One hundred and forty thousand taels!"

"I'll pay 150,000!"

The bids coming from the attic grew louder and louder, and each increase drew gasps of surprise from the cultivators outside.

Chen Ye listened silently, but his mind wasn't on the Breakthrough Pill, since it was something he couldn't achieve at his current level.

He was planning something else.

Although the exact value of the Blackwater Serpent King's scale in his hand was still unknown, it was definitely worth more than one hundred taels. It seemed that buying it for one hundred taels was indeed a profitable deal.

This was also thanks to his Asura Eye; otherwise, anyone else probably wouldn't have been able to see anything special about it.

If that's the case, why not use this advantage to expand the business?

Just as Chen Ye was making his calculations, the bidding in the attic had entered a heated phase.

"Two hundred thousand taels! Biyue Pavilion offers two hundred thousand taels!"

"Two hundred and one thousand! The distinguished guest from the City Lord's Mansion has offered two hundred and one thousand taels!"

Ultimately, this Breakthrough Pill was auctioned off for a staggering 400,000 taels of silver to a mysterious guest in a private room.

As the auction ended, the crowds in the central square not only did not decrease, but instead became even more numerous.

Many cultivators who failed to acquire their desired items at the auction flocked to the outer stalls, hoping to find some good finds there.

With more people, there are naturally more opportunities.

A glint flashed in Chen Ye's eyes. He grabbed Su Yuan, who was still savoring the exorbitant auction, and plunged into the crowd.

"Hey, where are you going again?" Su Yuan was being pulled by Chen Ye, her face still showing a bit of confusion.

"Of course, we'll keep making money!" Chen Ye said without turning his head.

"Keep making money? How?" Su Yuan asked curiously.

“It’s simple, buy low and sell high!” Chen Ye found a relatively quiet corner and stopped to explain his plan to her.

“Look, this is the peak time for the trade fair. Many people want to take the opportunity to sell or acquire things, and that’s where our opportunity lies.”

"I happen to have a good eye and can find some undervalued good things."

"And then?" Su Yuan asked, blinking, not feeling that she had anything to do with it.

"Then it's your turn to make your appearance!"

“Me?” Su Yuan pointed to her nose.

“Yes, it’s you.” Chen Ye nodded. “Think about it, a seemingly innocent and harmless young girl like you standing on the stall, isn’t it easier for people to believe you than those burly men with fierce faces, or old men who are as shrewd as monkeys?”

Upon hearing this, Su Yuan's eyes lit up.

That seems to make sense!

Her appearance is indeed very deceptive.

Back in the sect, her senior brothers and sisters were often completely fooled by her.

“I’ll be in charge of sourcing the goods, which means getting the best items at the lowest price. You’ll be in charge of selling them, using your advantages to sell them at a higher price. One of us will be in the open, and the other will be in the shadows. With this cooperation, the money will come, right?” Chen Ye coaxed patiently.

Su Yuan found it increasingly reasonable as she listened, her little face filled with excitement and eagerness to try it out.

She had never done anything like this before, and found it even more interesting than watching masters fight.

"That's a great idea, it sounds like a lot of fun!"

“However…” Su Yuan changed the subject, saying somewhat awkwardly, “I’ve never sold anything before. What if I can’t sell it, or I sell it too cheaply?”

"It's alright, I'll teach you," Chen Ye said confidently. "It's actually very simple, just one word: pretend."

"Pack?"

"Yes, play the victim, play innocent, play dumb! Just say that this thing was left by your elders and you are in a hurry to get money, so you are selling it. You don't know how much it is worth, and you let others decide how much to pay. The more you do this, the easier it is for those who think they are smart to be fooled and think they can get a good deal from you."

Su Yuan was stunned, and the way she looked at Chen Ye changed.

She used to think that this guy was calm and decisive, but she never expected that he had so many tricks up his sleeve.

How do you know so much?

Chen Ye sighed, "There's nothing we can do; children from poor families have to learn to be independent early."

The two hit it off immediately and got to work. They first found an open space in the stall area. There were no rules here; as long as there was an empty space, they could just lay out a cloth and start selling.

Chen Ye then went elsewhere and found a tattered cloth to spread on the ground, which became their stall.

"You wait here, I'll be right back," Chen Ye told Su Yuan, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Su Yuan sat idly on the tattered cloth, watching the crowds come and go, her heart filled with curiosity.

This was her first time experiencing what it was like to be a small vendor.

Chen Ye activated his Asura Eye, his gaze sharp as lightning, quickly scanning one stall after another.

With ample capital now, his mindset is completely different from before.

Before, he could only look at good things but couldn't afford them. Now, he has the confidence to buy anything under a thousand taels.

His gaze quickly settled on a target.

It was a stall selling all sorts of antique items, and the stall owner was a thin old man who was dozing off.

In the corner of the stall sat an inconspicuous little bronze cauldron, covered in verdigris, looking as if it had just been dug out of the ground.

However, under Chen Ye's Asura Eye, the inside of this small cauldron was surrounded by a pale golden halo, which also contained a faint but pure aura of alchemical fire.

This is clearly an abandoned alchemy furnace!
Although its grade is not high, and it may have been used by a mere alchemy apprentice, its value is by no means as simple as it appears on the surface.

Chen Ye walked over without making a sound, picked up the small cauldron, and pretended to look at it for a long time.

"Old man, how much for this broken cauldron?"

The old man opened his sleepy eyes, glanced at Chen Ye, and said weakly, "Family heirloom, fifty taels, no bargaining."

Another family heirloom.

Chen Ye wanted to laugh in his heart, but his face showed a look of disgust: "Fifty taels? I think this is just a broken incense burner, and it's so dirty. I would think five taels of silver is too expensive."

"Buy it or not, it's up to you." The old man turned over and was about to fall asleep again. Chen Ye wasn't in a hurry. He put down the small cauldron, picked up other things, and chatted idly with the old man.

After much persuasion and negotiation, Chen Ye finally acquired the small cauldron for forty taels of silver.

Holding the small tripod, Su Yuan immediately approached curiously as she returned to her stall.

"what is this?"

“This is our first item.” Chen Ye handed her the small tripod. “Remember what I just taught you, go now.”

Su Yuan took the small cauldron, took a deep breath, and showed a look of resignation on her face. Then she carefully placed the small cauldron on the tattered cloth.

Her stall was so rudimentary, with just a broken cauldron standing there all by itself, that no passing cultivators gave it a second glance.

Su Yuan waited for a long time, but not a single customer came, and she couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.

"Nobody comes at all," she complained quietly to Chen Ye beside her.

"Don't rush, those who are willing will take the bait." Chen Ye was quite calm and composed.

After a while, a middle-aged man who looked like a rogue cultivator finally passed by the stall and immediately noticed the small cauldron, so he stopped in his tracks.

"Young lady, how much is this cauldron?"

Su Yuan was overjoyed and nodded quickly. Then, following Chen Ye's instructions, she blinked her innocent big eyes and said in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry.

"Uncle, this was left to me by my grandfather, but my father is seriously ill and we have no money left, so I took it out to sell to raise money for my father's treatment."

As she spoke, she squeezed out a few tears, her pitiful appearance almost melting one's heart.

The middle-aged rogue cultivator immediately believed him to some extent, and his initial wariness lessened considerably, replaced by a sense of sympathy.

He picked up the small tripod and examined it, confirming his suspicions before asking, "So... how much do you want to sell this for?"

Su Yuan pitifully held up one finger, "My father said this is a treasure, and I can't give it less than a hundred taels."

One hundred taels...

The middle-aged rogue cultivator was overjoyed, because he knew that this small cauldron was actually a pill furnace. Although it had been abandoned, the residual pill fire contained within it could still be used. Therefore, although the price was not low, it was still a profitable deal.

Thinking this, the middle-aged rogue cultivator nodded, "Alright, seeing how pitiful you sound, I won't try to bargain with you."

Su Yuan was overjoyed inside, but on her face she wore an expression of deep gratitude, nodding repeatedly, "Thank you, Uncle! Thank you, Uncle! You're such a kind person!"

The deal is done.

The middle-aged rogue cultivator left contentedly with the small cauldron he had acquired at a bargain price.

Su Yuan, clutching the hundred taels of silver, blushed with excitement.

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

Looking at her pathetic appearance, Chen Ye shook his head with amusement.

However, this also proves that his plan is feasible.

"Well done, keep it up."

With her first successful experience, Su Yuan's confidence soared, and she became even more adept at acting.

Chen Ye continued to move between the various stalls, searching for his next prey.

Over the next half day, Chen Ye made three more moves.

With the help of the Eye of Asura, Chen Ye managed to find a stone containing a faint lightning power, a broken but exceptionally high-quality flying sword tip, and a jade bottle that appeared to be dry but actually still contained a few drops of high-quality elixir at extremely low prices.

These things are useless junk in the eyes of ordinary people, but they have wonderful uses in the eyes of knowledgeable cultivators.

That lightning stone can be used to assist in cultivating lightning techniques, or it can be embedded in weapons to increase their power.

The broken sword tip can be melted down and reforged to extract the fine gold and create a new magical artifact.

As for those few drops of elixir, they were even more precious. Although it was unknown what kind of elixir it was, the spiritual energy contained within was extremely pure. Whether swallowed directly or used to refine new elixirs, it was an invaluable material.

When these treasures arrived at Su Yuan's stall, after her vivid and expressive performance, they all sold for prices far exceeding their cost by more than ten times.

The stone containing the power of lightning was bought by a cultivator who practiced lightning magic for one hundred and twenty taels of silver.

The broken sword tip was bought by a weapon refiner for eighty taels of silver.

The most outrageous thing was that bottle of elixir. Su Yuan only said that it was her family's ancestral elixir that could prolong life, but an old cultivator who was nearing the end of his lifespan regarded it as a lifeline and insisted on buying it for 150 taels of silver.

But the most important item was the scale, which, after some maneuvering, sold for 270 taels of silver, a very lucrative deal.

In just half a day, they sold a full seven or eight hundred taels of silver, and after deducting costs, the profit was quite considerable.

Su Yuan sat on the tattered cloth, her hands tucked with a heavy bag of silver, her mouth practically agape in a wide grin.

However, Chen Ye was not satisfied.

He looked at the still crowded square and frowned slightly.

"What's wrong? Didn't we make a lot of money? Aren't you happy?" Su Yuan asked, puzzled.

"The efficiency is too low." Chen Ye shook his head.

"This is low?" Su Yuan almost jumped up. "You've earned almost four hundred taels in such a short time, and you still think it's low?"

“Look,” Chen Ye pointed around, “How many customers can a small stall like ours get in a day? Most people just pass by, glance at it, and walk away. Very few actually stop to ask the price. So, we rely purely on luck to sell our stuff now; we just wait for customers to come to us.”

"Besides, it's too tiring for you to act all by yourself. What if you lose your voice or can't squeeze out any more tears? Will we still be able to do business?"

Su Yuan thought about it and realized that it did make sense.

She was crying and talking just now, and now she does feel thirsty and her throat is a little sore.

"Then...what should we do?"

"We lack a professional who can actively attract customers and make black seem white," Chen Ye said slowly.

"A professional?" Su Yuan blinked, and a person's image suddenly popped into her mind.

"I think I know someone like that."

Chen Ye realized who she was talking about, and they smiled at each other.

Then Su Yuan stood up and said, "You stay here and keep watch, I'll go find him."

When they first arrived in Qingzhou, they had met Yun Heqing. At that time, Su Yuanwei forced Yun Heqing to leave his contact information, so there was no need to worry about not being able to find him.

Su Yuan left, leaving Chen Ye alone at the stall.

Sure enough, after losing Su Yuan's name and replacing her with Chen Ye, no business came in. Passing cultivators didn't even bother to glance at her and left directly.

Chen Ye wasn't in a hurry and just waited quietly.

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

It was Yun Heqing.

He looked tense and fearful, because he had no idea why Su Yuan had asked him to come over.

If possible, he really didn't want to have anything to do with this great-aunt who was covered in poisonous insects.

But he dared not leave, because Su Yuan had made it clear that if he dared to escape, she would definitely use the Gu worms to track him down, and then he would be in even worse shape.

So when Su Yuan came to visit, Yun Heqing was so upset he wanted to cry, but he didn't dare to resist and could only follow her tremblingly.

"Don't be so nervous. It's just meeting an old friend. Why be so afraid?" Su Yuan said with a smile.

Yun Heqing wanted to cry but had no tears, so he could only bow deeply.

"Master Chen, Aunt Su, may I ask what business you two have with me?"

Chen Ye smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. I've asked you to come here because I have good news."

"Good news?" Yun Heqing looked incredulous.

“That’s right, I would like to ask you, Daoist Master, to help us manage our stall and sell our goods,” Chen Ye stated his purpose succinctly.

"Look...look at the stall?" Yun Heqing was stunned. He looked at the simple stall in front of him, then at Chen Ye and Su Yuan, and couldn't quite process what was going on.

“That’s right,” Su Yuan chimed in from the side. “Our business is booming, but we’re short of a eloquent assistant like you. How about it? You’ll get five taels of silver a day… five taels of silver!” Su Yuan held up five fingers and said generously.

Yun He breathed a sigh of relief, not because of the five taels of silver, but because he was finally certain that Su Yuan had no ill intentions in contacting him.

Chen Ye smiled and shook his head, "Five taels of silver is too little. We'll see how it goes. If it sells well, you'll naturally get your share, Master Dao."

(End of this chapter)