Bargaining

Following the sound, an old man around sixty years old walked out of the house.

Although he had white hair and a white beard, and looked a bit tired, everything else about him was in good condition. His body was covered in calluses, clearly from frequent exercise, and his skin was dark and shiny.

"Excuse me, are you Shopkeeper Liu?"

"Young man, I am. What can I do for you?"

Shopkeeper Liu looked at the young man before him and asked with confusion.

After all, in his eyes, these two weren't here to buy anything. It had been a long time since any artifacts had been refined in his workshop.

Furthermore, someone so young wouldn't be here to discuss selling the workshop. What young person would want to take on such a difficult job?

"Yes, Shopkeeper Liu, it's like this. I noticed you seem to be intending to sell this workshop, as there's a notice posted outside. My brother and I are interested in the workshop, so we wanted to talk to you about it. What do you think, Shopkeeper Liu?"

Lu Wanyuan spoke slowly, looking at the other man.

"Just the two of you? You're not here to mess with me, are you? My workshop requires 1000 Spirit Stones. Did you see the selling price I posted earlier? Can you afford it? And even if you take it over, can you actually refine artifacts and run it as an artifact refining workshop?"

Shopkeeper Liu glanced disdainfully at Lu Wanyuan and his brother, a look of contempt on his face, and fired off several questions.

Seeing the other man's aggressive attitude, Lu Wanshan's expression immediately turned grim, completely losing his earlier cheerfulness.

It was true, as the other man said, he definitely couldn't come up with that many Spirit Stones right now. Even if his Eldest Brother could help, it wouldn't be much. After all, for the past year or so, all the Lu Family's expenses had been covered by his Eldest Brother, whose income came from the few acres of crops in the Lu Family's backyard. There probably wasn't much revenue.

He probably couldn't come up with that many Spirit Stones all at once. Initially, he had planned for his brother to provide some and he himself to provide the rest, but now this Shopkeeper Liu was actually asking for 1000 Spirit Stones.

However, after hearing what the other man said, Lu Wanyuan didn't react further. Instead, he calmly looked at him and said, "Thank you for your concern, Shopkeeper Liu. My brother and I are genuinely here to discuss the sale of the workshop with you."

"Although we are young, we know our limits and won't act recklessly. Please rest assured, Shopkeeper Liu!"

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu immediately retracted his dismissive thoughts. He felt that the other party was genuinely here to do business. After all, they hadn't shown any displeasure when he had confronted them, but instead had explained things logically.

"Well, that's good to hear. I do indeed want to transfer this workshop. I've already stated my price. If you can meet it, we can continue our discussion. If not, then you should go back the way you came."

"Shopkeeper Liu is truly straightforward. We also want to be straightforward, but we don't have that many Spirit Stones on hand right now, so we probably can't pay in full at once!"

"If you can't afford the price, why are you lingering here? You should leave early. I need to go inside and rest."

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu immediately issued an eviction notice.

"Slow down, Shopkeeper Liu. We are truly very interested in this workshop. You must have stopped operating for a few months, otherwise, it wouldn't be in this state."

"It's likely that many people have come to talk during such a long period, but you weren't satisfied, right? It didn't meet your expectations."

Upon hearing Lu Wanyuan's words, Shopkeeper Liu immediately responded, "Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here. This place was built through my hard work. I won't give it up so easily, especially at such a low price!"

Lu Wanyuan continued to look at him, as if he hadn't spoken, and said, "But if things continue like this, it will likely be a few more months. During these months, you probably won't be able to do anything, just stuck here. Perhaps next time, you might meet your expectations, or perhaps not!"

"It took so long to reach this expectation, isn't it a bit of a loss? Besides, if the expectation isn't met, does Shopkeeper Liu still want to keep waiting?"

"Where does this lead? Continuing like this will definitely delay Shopkeeper Liu's other matters. I think Shopkeeper Liu must have some ideas."

As Lu Wanyuan spoke, Shopkeeper Liu's face turned green, then white, changing several times.

He had actually wanted to sell it long ago, but this place was something he had worked hard to build. Selling it cheaply so easily made him unwilling, but if he continued, his place would have already dismissed employees and stopped refining artifacts, with no more income.

For a moment, he was truly in a dilemma. If he weren't truly unable to continue, he would have kept fighting.

But he was only a cultivator at Qi Refining Level Three, and he was already so old. If he continued to be stuck in this Cultivation World, it would definitely be a loss. Therefore, he had decided to sell it and use the money to become a wealthy man in the mortal world. Perhaps it would be good to have descendants with spiritual roots.

The young man before him had spoken directly to his heart. He could neither advance nor retreat.

The most critical thing was that continuing to persist here would lead to a bleak future.

"Then young man, what is your suggestion?"

Shopkeeper Liu asked again after thinking for a moment.

"Mmm, Shopkeeper Liu, you've been in this Bayberry Market for so many years, haven't you? In this Cultivation World, it's definitely not easy for rogue cultivators like us, especially when we get older. Time waits for no one. I deeply sympathize with this."

"We originally came to the Cultivation World with the dream of cultivating to immortality, but who knew our Cultivation Realm would never advance? Years passed, and we grew old and faded. Gradually, we found that our dream of eternal life was getting further and further away from us."

"In view of this, I am willing to offer the condition that Shopkeeper Liu mentioned, 1000 Spirit Stones. But there's a prerequisite: you need to agree to certain conditions for us before we will pay you the 1000 Spirit Stones!"

"Young man, you first. What are your prerequisite conditions?"

Shopkeeper Liu immediately responded when he heard the other party say this.

"For you, it will definitely be very simple. First, you need to tell us your channels for sourcing raw materials. Second, you must leave us your experience in refining and your artifact refining skills, or at least guide us!"

"This isn't very good, is it? This is something I acquired through decades of hard work. Giving it to you so easily?!"

"There's nothing wrong with it. You just need to make a copy for us. It won't affect you selling it to others if you wish."

"I think you will definitely be entering the mortal world, right? Since that's the case, why not leave these inheritances behind? Because these will be of no use to you when you bring them into the mortal world!"

Shopkeeper Liu looked at the flagpole in the courtyard, and the entire courtyard. After a moment of thought, "Okay, I agree to your suggestion. I can give you my artifact refining inheritances and experience."

"But I don't have time to personally impart them to you here. After all, I want to get the Spirit Stones quickly and leave this place. I hope you can understand this."

"Good, no problem!"

Seeing the other party's response, Lu Wanyuan immediately agreed.

"Eldest Brother, isn't 1000 Spirit Stones a bit too expensive? How about we wait a bit longer?"

Lu Wanshan, standing beside him, saw his Eldest Brother actually agree to pay 1000 Spirit Stones and quickly whispered to stop him.