Money Begets Money

Although he knew that Lu Cheng's talent for alchemy was rare in this world.

But now, surrounded by so many people, Old Pi didn't feel very confident.

Seeing Lu Cheng come downstairs, Old Pi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fifty portions of Blood-Activating Powder were not many, each only the size of a palm.

But when they were laid out in front of everyone, package by package, Old Pi's reliability immediately rose significantly.

Those who had harbored doubts in their hearts cast aside their concerns, raising their silver and urging Old Pi to start selling.

As Old Pi struck the gong beside him with a "dong," the scene instantly exploded.

Before he could even speak, someone immediately wanted to order five portions.

With someone taking the lead, the rest could no longer hold back.

One person said they wanted five, another said ten; even those ordering three were looked down upon by others for wasting time.

"I'll pay two taels to buy these ready-made Blood-Activating Powder!"

Suddenly, someone shouted, and the noisy crowd quieted down significantly.

Waiting three to five days to save four mace of silver was a choice most people would indeed make.

But when someone suddenly wanted to buy the ready-made Blood-Activating Powder, everyone's train of thought seemed to be pulled back.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.

Although this so-called "pre-sale" medicine was cheaper, it was just starting, and what if something unexpected happened?

For those unwilling to take any risks, spending two taels of silver to buy a freshly made Blood-Activating Powder was not a bad deal.

After all, the market price was three taels, and other reliable channels were also around two taels.

With that in mind, many people decided to buy the ready-made stock as well.

This scene far exceeded Old Pi's expectations, and for a moment, he didn't know how to respond.

"This..."

In such a situation, the worst thing is to lack confidence.

Since there was stock on hand and people willing to pay more for it, why not sell?

Old Pi's hesitation immediately sparked suspicion in some.

Even those who had been holding up silver to place orders began to waver, lowering their hands.

"Are you selling or not? Say something!"

"Exactly, don't tell me you only have these fifty portions?"

Those with sinister looks standing in the crowd seemed to have found a breakthrough and began to shout.

Old Pi shook his head repeatedly, just about to say "sell," when suddenly Fatty squeezed through the crowd holding a contract:

"Where is the Blood-Activating Powder I ordered? Fulfill mine first! Fulfill mine first!"

Seeing this, Old Pi reacted quickly.

He breathed a sigh of relief and said to the person who had offered two taels:

"This customer, I'm sorry, these medicines already have buyers. If you want to buy, you'll have to wait in line."

Seeing this, the man retreated unwillingly.

Before Fatty's ten portions of Blood-Activating Powder were even taken, several others squeezed in one after another.

The fifty portions of medicinal powder were redeemed in an instant.

As the fifty portions of Blood-Activating Powder were all "redeemed" by Fatty and the others, the scene instantly exploded.

The onlookers, who had been left half-doubting by that man's question, now saw that people were actually redeeming them. Thinking that they had the Black Market as a guarantee anyway, what was there to worry about?

They all raised their silver and surged forward again.

The role of the five contracts held by Fatty and the others was originally meant to build atmosphere, but unexpectedly, it solved an unforeseen problem.

The two hundred shares for five and ten days were sold out almost instantly.

The shares for one month later were also being purchased rapidly.

Almost everyone was buying five or ten portions at a time.

Some even had ideas of reselling, signing large orders for fifty portions directly.

It wasn't just people from the Black Market who swarmed over.

People from outside who heard the news kept rushing to the Black Market.

Outside Old Pi's shop, the area was soon packed to the point of being impassable.

Half an hour later, all shares were sold out.

Even Old Pi was astonished by this result.

Once the crowd dispersed, the group returned to the shop Lu Cheng had rented.

Old Pi flipped through the ledger he had hurriedly recorded:

"Five-day term, one tael and six mace, one hundred copies, totaling one hundred and sixty taels, with eighty taels actually received."

Half of the money from each contract had to be paid to the Black Market, so out of the one hundred and sixty taels, only eighty taels were currently in hand.

Liu Chang'an quickly stacked up eighty taels of silver:

"Eighty taels, full amount."

Liu Wan'er wrote "eighty taels" in the ledger.

Old Pi:

"Ten-day term, one tael and five mace, one hundred copies, seventy-five taels."

Liu Chang'an:

"Seventy-five taels, full amount."

Old Pi:

"One-month term, one tael and four mace, two thousand copies, one thousand four hundred taels."

This time, it took Liu Chang'an quite a while to stack it all up:

"One thousand four hundred taels, full amount."

Liu Wan'er finally spoke:

"The total is one thousand five hundred and fifty-five taels."

Looking at the large chest of money, Old Pi and the others swallowed hard more than once.

Lu Cheng nodded and said to everyone:

"We currently have one hundred and ten sets of medicinal ingredients, one hundred and ninety sets of Blood-Activating Powder, and over three hundred taels of silver."

"These three hundred taels, along with the eighty taels we will receive in five days, will all be taken by Old Pi to purchase ingredients for the Blood-Activating Powder."

"In this way, we will have a total of one thousand and sixty sets of Blood-Activating Powder, enough to handle the upcoming deliveries."

"As for this silver," Lu Cheng said, patting the pile of over fifteen hundred taels:

"We will continue to use it to exchange for contracts from the Black Market."

"We're still exchanging?" Fatty asked.

The others also looked at Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng nodded and laid out the subsequent steps of his plan:

"One thousand five hundred and fifty-five taels of silver can be exchanged at the Black Market for at least two thousand two hundred contracts for delivery in one month."

Everyone calculated silently in their minds and found that the result was indeed as Lu Cheng had said.

Each contract required half of its value to be paid to the Black Market as a guarantee, which was seven mace of silver per contract.

Therefore, the current silver could indeed be exchanged for two thousand two hundred contracts.

Old Pi asked:

"And then what? Won't these contracts just be stuck in our hands?"

Lu Cheng nodded:

"The next part of the plan is to use these contracts we hold to get things moving."

"These contracts are guaranteed by the Black Market, and with the timely delivery of the one hundred sets of Blood-Activating Powder in five days, our reputation will not be questioned."

"We will take these two thousand-plus contracts and mortgage them at a pawnshop."

"In this way, we can secure three thousand and eighty taels of silver."

"After that, we repeat the process; three thousand and eighty taels of silver can become six thousand one hundred and sixty taels."

Old Pi was stunned for a long moment before slapping his thigh:

"Brilliant! What a way to make money breed money!"

"If we keep mortgaging and purchasing, purchasing and mortgaging, repeating the cycle, couldn't we end up with a million taels?"

"Hiss!"

Everyone except Lu Cheng gasped.

Lu Cheng looked at Old Pi as if he were an idiot and shook his head:

"Wouldn't that just be throwing interest away to the Black Market and the pawnshop for nothing?"

The Black Market charged a half-share interest, which was seven mace of silver per contract.

And the pawnshop was even worse than the Black Market, charging interest based on time.

If the duration was long, it could even exceed half the value.

Old Pi asked, puzzled:

"Then what do you intend to do?"

Lu Cheng said:

"Six thousand-plus taels of silver is enough; by then, it will be time for the second step of the plan."