Commercial District and General Store

As a city built by a commercial group as heavily steeped in commerce as the Coal and Steel Union, Black Flame City's commercial district is naturally situated in the city's prime location—the Upper East District, which lies far from the production zones and enjoys the prevailing winds. The commercial district of Black Flame City is exceptionally prosperous. Several major commodity exchanges, where a single transaction can intimidate the average person, are established in the bustling heart of this area. Black Flame City's abundant coal and steel production supports the city's prosperity, and from dawn until dusk, it seems that twenty-four hours a day, trains are constantly hauling these local specialties out of the city.

The small grocery store where Zhang Tie works is also located somewhere in this bustling commercial district, though compared to the magnificent storefronts and headquarters of the large merchant groups, free trade organizations, and exchanges, the location of the shop where Zhang Tie works is far more remote and plebeian. Less than three hundred meters from the shop is the Black Flame City train station, where all sorts of people from every walk of life come and go. The shop itself is squeezed right up against a flea market spontaneously formed by local residents and incoming Prospectors; it is quite lively with people coming and going every day. However, one can tell just by their attire that most of the people hanging around this area are small-time characters from the lower-middle class. The reason these people linger here, besides the physiological motivation of filling their stomachs, is the urban fairy tales that have been whispered for who knows how many years—stories that have never been verified, such as a street vendor receiving an incredible item one day and rising to wealth and power thereafter. It is these fairy tales that sustain many ordinary people as they linger in this district day after day, year after year, and they also support batches of Prospectors who surge in from afar, tidying their gear with high spirits to set foot into the unknown lands to the west and north of Black Flame City. Of course, if you have enough luck and a sharp eye, it is possible to unearth some good things here.

When Zhang Tie arrived at the grocery store, the fat body of the shop owner, Tang De, was curled up like a ball on the lounge chair at the entrance. Tang De was enjoying the afterglow of the sunset while half-closing his eyes, indifferently sizing up the crowd passing by on the street. Only when a plump or beautiful woman passed by the shop entrance would Tang De's fat-fish-like head turn slightly, staring at those women until they had walked a good distance away.

As usual, the first thing Zhang Tie did upon arriving at the grocery store was to sweep the shop, then count and organize the shelves and the counter. After that, he began to work the abacus with a "clack-clack-clack" sound to record the accounts. Having stayed here for a year, Zhang Tie felt his greatest gain was learning how to use that strange mathematical tool called an abacus. It was a very practical skill that wasn't taught in school, but Zhang Tie reckoned this skill would be helpful for his future work—his father had been planning to find him a job as a bookkeeper at the Black Flame City coal exchange. Of course, that would only be something to consider after he finished his military service. For ordinary commoners, being able to have a job in the city after finishing military service, no matter what it was, was already quite good as long as it kept them fed.

Just after finishing the accounts, a customer arrived. Tang De's pig-like body remained lying on the chair without getting up, so Zhang Tie closed the ledger and began to greet the customer.

"May I ask, what would you like to buy?" The new customer was in his 40s, still wearing the work uniform of a loader from the Black Flame City train station. He carried a scent of coal dust, and judging by the time, the city's factories should have just let out; this man had likely stopped by on his way home.

"I want to see some white crystals!" The loader in his 40s said while browsing the boxes of crystals behind the counter. Among those boxes, there was a dazzling array of crystals, but most were ordinary first-grade crystals, with a few second-grade ones. Among all the crystals, white crystals were the most common, both natural and artificial. For crystals of the same size and quality, double-terminated ones were more expensive than single-terminated ones, and natural ones were much more expensive than artificial ones. Artificial ones looked prettier in quality, but in terms of effect, they were not as good as the natural ones. It is said that before the Great Cataclysm, the greatest use of crystals was merely as ornaments, and their function and secrets regarding human cultivation were unknown to the public. Now, however, this was something even the aunties selling goods at street stalls knew. Crystals in this era are standard strategic materials and one of the sources of humanity's confidence in surviving this era.

"Is this all you have?" A trace of disappointment appeared on the man's face. It seemed the ordinary goods in the counter could not satisfy him. The man's expression was slightly unexpected to Zhang Tie, as even these ordinary first-grade crystals were not cheap for the average person.

"We have better stock in the store, but the price is higher. Would you like to see them?"

A smile appeared on the man's face, and he casually patted his waist pouch. Zhang Tie stopped speaking, put on a pair of white gloves, and turned to take a more exquisite box from the drawer of the back shelf. He carefully placed it on the counter and opened it in front of the man. Inside the box were four white crystals: two double-terminated and two single-terminated. They were crystal clear with very few impurities. However, the most eye-catching feature was that all four crystals contained a hazy, sand-like shadow that distinctly formed the shape of a pyramid. When looking closely at the pyramid inside the largest and highest-quality double-terminated crystal, each side of the pyramid shimmered with an inexplicable luster—this was the uncanny workmanship of heaven and earth, the natural convergence of energy in the universe. The greatest efficacy of the white Pyramid Crystal is not only to quickly help the user enter a meditative state and calm the mind, but also to allow the user to borrow the power of the pyramid within the crystal during cultivation to absorb cosmic energy faster and stimulate the body's potential and vitality.

Sure enough, the eyes of the man in his 40s could not move away once he saw those pyramid-shadow crystals, much like the expression Zhang Tie had when he first saw them. These third-grade white crystals were already the highest-end goods to be found in this small grocery store, with each one priced at over two gold coins. In Black Flame City, the food one gold coin could buy was enough for an ordinary family of three to live with full stomachs for two months.

The labels under each crystal in the box indicated the price. The man saw the price, but still hesitated as he pointed a finger at a single-terminated crystal and asked Zhang Tie, "This... can it be a little cheaper?"

"218 silver. This price is already very low. Everything in our shop is clearly marked. May I ask, are you buying this as a gift?"

"Yes, my son turns 16 tomorrow. I want to give him a surprise. My son is a genius!" Speaking of this, the man in his 40s smiled, and his face, still stained with coal dust, instantly filled with warmth and pride. The smile on the man's face made Zhang Tie think of his own father.

"I see. Then 215 silver, and I'll throw in a gift box and two taels of Crystal Sand. This is the lowest price and discount we can offer..." Zhang Tie said sincerely; this was indeed the bottom line for a sale in the shop. The loader in his 40s had likely inquired about the situation and reputation of this grocery store, perhaps even being introduced by a friend. This price was very fair in Black Flame City, and upon hearing that there was a gift box and Crystal Sand included, he agreed immediately.

The man carefully took out his money pouch from his clothes, paid two gold coins and 15 silver coins, and left with the items Zhang Tie had wrapped and the gifted Crystal Sand. A transaction of over two gold coins counted as a big deal in the shop. Perhaps the shop's luck for the day had run out; for more than an hour after the man left, there was no other business besides two people who wandered in to stroll around.

Zhang Tie sat behind the counter, resting his chin on his hands, looking at the street outside, thinking about what happened today, and zoning out...

The sun finally set behind the mountains, and the sky outside turned dark. The dead fish sitting on the lounge chair finally moved, twisted his body, stood up with great reluctance, and moved the chair back into the shop.

"What, did you get beaten up today?"

The bruises on Zhang Tie's face made the grocery store owner laugh with schadenfreude.

"No, I tripped!" Zhang Tie said stubbornly.

"Alright, kid, stop pretending. What's there to be ashamed of? When I was your age, I got into three or five fights every day—either beating someone up or getting beaten up. It's perfectly normal. If you lose the field, just win it back!" the grocery store owner said nonchalantly.

At this moment, Zhang Tie's mind was filled with the scene of his embarrassing state being seen by Teacher Daina. Hearing Tang De say this, he just muttered helplessly, "What if I can never win the field back?"

"Kid, that's why you're still green. There is no field that can't be won back; there are only fools and cowards who are afraid to win. If the opponent is stronger than you, then you must use ten times the effort to surpass him, then beat him until he's missing teeth. If you still can't beat him, then play dirty. Cover your face, hit him with a club from behind, strike with a brick—as long as he doesn't know who you are!" The grocery store owner said with a dark heart, gesturing as he spoke. Zhang Tie was slightly dumbfounded. Seeing Zhang Tie's foolish look, the owner seemed quite dissatisfied. He patted Zhang Tie's shoulder hard. "Kid, I only pass on the experience of my decades of life to you because you're not a bad person. When your fists aren't enough, use this to make up for it..." The owner pointed to Zhang Tie's head and raised his head proudly. "Today I'll teach you a famous saying: A soft tongue can break hard bones; a wise head is better than any divine weapon!"

Tang De's last sentence stirred Zhang Tie's heart; the young man felt it made a lot of sense. "Who said that?"

"Tang De!"

"Tch, I don't believe you!"

"Believe it or not, whatever. Hmm, as usual, I won't be keeping you for dinner tonight!" the Iron Rooster said, as stingy as ever.