Dragon's Origin

Chapter 12: A Way to Make Money

Wang Sheng left the elementary school contentedly, still smiling as he walked.

What puzzled the people around him was that the instructor, who had previously pointed at Wang Sheng's nose and told him to get lost, was now all smiles as he saw Wang Sheng off. They had been chatting happily, with no sign of their previous animosity. It was truly incredible.

After Wang Sheng left, some curious individuals asked the instructor what had happened. The instructor dared not tell the truth and could only shamelessly claim that he had been moved by Wang Sheng's desire for knowledge and had specially given him some guidance on Yuanhun enlightenment.

Naturally, people didn't believe it, but on the surface, it seemed that was indeed the case. The instructor wasn't foolish enough to reveal that Wang Sheng possessed seven assassin tokens from Worry-Free City. If Wang Sheng dared to kill assassins from Worry-Free City, wouldn't he dare to kill a gossipy instructor?

Wang Sheng finally knew what he should do next. Relying solely on his Yuanhun to absorb spiritual energy on its own would take forever. Depending only on spiritual herbs wasn't a good solution either. It was best not to take shortcuts when building a foundation, according to the instructor's experienced advice.

So many large families were wealthy beyond compare, but none of them used spiritual herbs to nurture their offspring during the Yuanhun enlightenment stage. Wang Sheng's Yuanhun was inherently flawed, so using Essence Cultivation Pills wasn't a big problem. However, after the Yuanhun was repaired, he shouldn't use such methods of forced growth.

Cultivation naturally required practicing techniques. Practicing techniques required cultivation methods, which were the true foundation. Large families generally had cultivation methods for their members to practice. Originally, the Song family had them as well, but Wang Sheng wasn't a member of the Song family and couldn't enjoy the Song family's benefits.

The steward was only willing to give Wang Sheng a separate courtyard out of consideration for Miss Song Yan and Wang Sheng's gifts. As for the promised allowance, Wang Sheng never saw a penny of it. As for the Song family's cultivation methods, he didn't even dare to dream of them. Wang Sheng had no such expectations.

Wang Sheng lacked cultivation methods. According to the instructor's guidance, some large commercial firms also sold corresponding cultivation methods, in addition to the large families. However, there were some things in this world that were never cheap. Spiritual pills were one, and cultivation methods were another. For ordinary people, they were the most luxurious of luxuries.

Coincidentally, Baoqing Emporium was one of the leading commercial firms in this small city, and it sold various cultivation methods. However, the instructor said that even if there were cultivation methods, they would only be simple foundation-building techniques, and there wouldn't be anything too profound. Advanced cultivation methods were either in certain large families or sects, or they could only be found at auctions in some large cities.

Advanced cultivation methods were meaningless to Wang Sheng now. What Wang Sheng needed was a basic foundation-building technique, and Baoqing Emporium would be perfect if they had one. The only problem was that Wang Sheng had no money.

He had extorted twenty Essence Cultivation Pills from Worry-Free City a few days ago, which had repaired his damaged Yuanhun. But Wang Sheng had told the shopkeeper that the matter was settled. He had received the Essence Cultivation Pills and would no longer pursue Baoqing Emporium's hiring of assassins to deal with him. If he wanted cultivation methods, he would have to pay for them.

His equipment and weapons, of course, couldn't be exchanged for money. They were his means of survival during this period. However, in this world where many things were still in ancient times, it really wasn't difficult for Wang Sheng to get some money.

Among the necessities of life, there were firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, and sugar. However, among the pile of things Wang Sheng had taken back from Baoqing Emporium, there was sugar, but it was only crude brown sugar, the most rudimentary kind. It only had a sweet taste, but its appearance was really unsightly. Not only that, but there were also many impurities in it.

For a master who had undergone rigorous wilderness survival training, various necessities of life needed to be solved by using local materials. Wang Sheng had not only been trained but also learned a lot of things. Therefore, the yellow mud decolorization method of making white sugar was almost effortless for Wang Sheng.

Two days later, Wang Sheng strolled into Baoqing Emporium leisurely, carrying a fist-sized white cloth bag. There was more than one large commercial firm in the city, but Baoqing Emporium was the largest, and Wang Sheng had already done two transactions there before. It was better to do business with someone familiar, so Wang Sheng still chose Baoqing Emporium.

"Shopkeeper, call the manager, I have business to discuss." Wang Sheng was familiar with Baoqing Emporium. He went straight to the point as soon as he entered.

The shop assistant was about to say something, but when he saw that it was Wang Sheng, he immediately invited Wang Sheng to the back parlor, served good tea, and then went to find the plump manager himself.

Before long, the plump manager sat opposite Wang Sheng, smiling and cupping his hands in greeting.

"I have something to sell. Manager, see how much it's worth?" Wang Sheng was also smiling, looking every bit the businessman. He pointed to the small cloth bag he had placed beside him and pushed it towards the plump manager.

The plump manager wasn't as nervous as he had been when facing Wang Sheng last time. Everyone was doing business, so naturally, they should communicate on equal terms. The last matter was already in the past, wasn't it?

Opening the white cloth bag, the plump manager's eyes lit up when he saw what was inside: "What is this?"

What Wang Sheng brought must be good, but the plump manager didn't recognize it. Only the white appearance was really pleasing.

"Try it!" Wang Sheng said with a smile. He couldn't help but despise them in his heart. They hadn't even seen white sugar before. What a pitiful bunch.

The plump manager stretched out his plump fingers and impolitely pinched a few grains of sugar from the small bag and put them in his mouth. A pure sweetness spread throughout his mouth, sweet without any other taste, and without any other residue. It could really sweeten the heart.

The plump manager dared to swear that this was the best sugar he had ever tasted in his life. In that instant, the plump manager had already imagined how desirable this white sugar would be if it appeared on the tables of those wealthy families.

"Name your price!" Wang Sheng didn't say much and directly asked the price.

"One catty of brown sugar is twenty copper coins. This white..." The plump manager suddenly didn't know what to call this white sugar and hesitated for a moment.

"White sugar, or sugar frost," Wang Sheng added.

"Sugar frost, a good name!" The plump manager directly ignored the name white sugar, which was too straightforward, and chose sugar frost. This choice was exactly the same as the ancients.

"At least one silver coin per catty, how about it?" The plump manager asked Wang Sheng.

"Whatever, it's your ability if you can sell it for one gold coin per catty." Wang Sheng didn't care how much a catty of white sugar sold for. Such a small amount of white sugar wouldn't sell for many gold coins even if it was sold at a high price. What Wang Sheng really wanted to sell was the sugar-making technique: "The method of making this sugar frost, exclusive sale, name your price!"

"Hiss!" The plump manager gasped. Not selling sugar frost, but selling the method of making sugar frost, it was indeed a big business.

"Esteemed guest, please wait a moment. I can't make the decision, I have to consult the owner." The plump manager had been doing business all his life. How could he not realize that this was probably the biggest business he had ever encountered? He didn't care whether it would reveal more of Baoqing Emporium's secrets and directly said that he wanted to ask for instructions.

Wang Sheng made a gesture of invitation, letting the plump manager do as he pleased. Sometimes you can't name your own price when negotiating a business deal, you might suffer a loss. It's safer to let the other party offer a price, and then add to it if you're not satisfied.

The plump manager didn't leave for too long. Of course, he also took that bag of white sugar with him when he left. Only a few minutes later, the plump manager returned to the parlor. However, this time the plump manager was no longer the host, but only a servant. The real owner appeared, but it was a woman wearing a veil.

This should be the real owner of Baoqing Emporium. Wang Sheng didn't understand why she would appear in this small place. Baoqing Emporium was a large chain store. This mysterious woman appeared in this remote area, he didn't know what her purpose was.

Of course, the other party's purpose had nothing to do with Wang Sheng. Wang Sheng only needed to get what he wanted. What did it matter who he did business with?

"The method of making sugar frost, exclusive sale?" The veiled woman sat opposite Wang Sheng and directly confirmed the content of Wang Sheng's transaction as soon as she opened her mouth.

Wang Sheng nodded: "If the owner is interested, name your price!" Seeing that the veiled woman was about to say something, Wang Sheng interjected before her: "I don't know much about anything, and I don't know the market price either. Owner, you can name the price as you see fit, and we'll make the deal if it's appropriate."

The veiled woman was originally thinking of letting Wang Sheng name the price, but now that Wang Sheng took the initiative to say that he didn't know the market price, it made the veiled woman embarrassed. It was human nature for merchants to pursue profits. If she offered a high price, she wouldn't feel comfortable. If she offered a low price, she was afraid that Wang Sheng wouldn't be satisfied. It was really a bit difficult.

"In business, we talk business. How can you guarantee that this is an exclusive sale?" The veiled woman didn't offer a price, but asked a question first: "Please forgive my rudeness. As far as I know, your Yuanhun is only an unrated grade. Even if you swear on your Yuanhun, it won't have much binding force on you. How can you guarantee that you won't sell this method to another family?"

Swearing on the Yuanhun was a restriction on many Yuanhun masters in this world. After swearing on the Yuanhun, if they violated the oath, their Yuanhun would never be able to upgrade for the rest of their lives. This was a psychological constraint, and it was also a common method used by many masters.

If Wang Sheng was also a Yuanhun master, swearing on the Yuanhun could certainly be binding. The problem was that Wang Sheng's Yuanhun was originally an unrated grade. What if it couldn't be upgraded? It couldn't be upgraded anyway, so what binding force was there?

Wang Sheng already knew about the Yuanhun oath from the instructor, so he naturally knew what this veiled woman was talking about. The veiled woman's question was indeed a problem for her, but it was not a problem for Wang Sheng at all.

"If I say I won't sell it, then I won't sell it." Wang Sheng smiled and said: "I can easily come up with ten thousand similar methods. Do you want salt as white as jade? I also know the method. If you have anything you want to improve, I can tell you the method, as long as you can pay the price. Do you think I would ruin my reputation for a small method of making sugar frost?"

As soon as these words came out, the veiled woman didn't see anything, but the plump manager was already gasping for breath several times. The whole person was like a monster that only knew how to inhale and didn't know how to exhale.