Where Did the Money Go?
"The ironware market?" *2
Upon hearing Ling Yi's opening question, both Long Ang and Qingqiu Li frowned, wondering why this topic had suddenly come up.
It's important to know that they are blacksmiths, and they also have a fairly powerful family behind them, so naturally they also run businesses related to ironware.
After all, blacksmiths naturally have an advantage and convenience in the buying and selling of ironware.
However, if asked about the ironware market in their respective cities, the two could provide some relevant data. But what Ling Yi asked about was the entire ironware market of the [Water Wood Duchy], including the many high-level blacksmiths present today, which were spread across the duchy's three major cities, dozens of smaller towns, and many more townships.
Therefore, the two Soul Ancestor level experts did not give their answers immediately.
We can't very well say that we don't know anything about the outside world except our own family's situation, can we?
We're all respectable people; we can't show our weakness.
Therefore, Long Ang stopped mentioning that he was a straightforward person. Like Qingqiu Li, he looked at Ling Yi with an interested and eager-to-hear-more expression, like an enlightened elder who gave his juniors the opportunity to speak freely.
Having done his homework beforehand, Ling Yi was fully aware of the two men's situation, but he still politely changed the subject, saying, "As you two seniors probably know, the total transaction volume of the ironware market in the [Water Wood Duchy] last year was around 1.83 million Gold Soul Coin..."
The self-answering was very smooth, but Long Ang and Qingqiu Li, who were sitting opposite Ling Yi, both had their pupils suddenly shrink.
Ling Yi lowered his gaze at the opportune moment, looking precisely at the papers spread out on the table, and continued:
"Of these 1.83 million Gold Soul Coin, over 387,000 Gold Soul Coin were traded in the various blacksmith shops within ' Wood Plant City,' ranging from ordinary farm tools, kitchen utensils, and common knives, axes, and clubs to all sorts of high-quality weapons and implements of the Hundred Refinement grade..."
The transaction volume in the cities where the two seniors reside, ' Cold Wind City ', is around 320,000 Gold Soul Coin, while in ' Azure City ' it's less than 300,000 Gold Soul Coin ...
"The total value of all ironware traded across the towns and villages under the duchy is approximately fifty to sixty thousand Gold Soul Coin..."
Upon hearing this, apart from Old Master Jin, Fu Shan, and Li Qiang, who already knew, both Long Ang and Qingqiu Li couldn't help but frown.
Even the three of them, including Old Master Jin, had a somewhat complicated expression on their faces at this moment.
"Um... Ah Yi... I'm older than you, so like Mr. Jin, I'll call you Ah Yi ~"
Just then, Qingqiu Li spoke up. He first glanced at Long Ang, whose expression was relatively calm, and then looked back and forth between Old Master Jin and Ling Yi, saying as he did so.
As Ling Yi nodded and smiled, Qingqiu Li continued, "Although my data isn't as comprehensive as yours, I imagine there are three Blacksmith in this capital city with connections to you, so your data shouldn't be wrong, Ah Yi..."
After a pause, Qingqiu Li gave Ling Yi a deep look and asked, "Could you tell me where the other nearly half of the ironware transactions went?"
The total value of the three major cities in the [Water Wood Duchy] is around one million Gold Soul Coin: 387,000 for Wood Plant City, 320,000 for Cold Wind City, and less than 300,000 for Azure City, or more precisely, a little over 291,000.
Even including areas outside the city limits, the total transaction amount is just over one million.
To be honest, this data was somewhat beyond his and Long Ang's expectations.
But what surprised them even more was that the total value of ironware transactions in the entire [Water Wood Duchy] reached 1.83 million Gold Soul Coin!
So, where did those nearly 800,000 Gold Soul Coin go?!
In the Douluo Continent, where a single Gold Soul Coin can cover the normal living expenses of an average family of three for several months, what is the concept of 800,000 Gold Soul Coin?
In the original novel, Tang San worked at the Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy for three years and only earned one Gold Soul Coin.
Of course, ordinary people are ordinary people, and Soul Master are Soul Master.
One-Ring Soul Master can receive one Gold Soul Coin from the Spirit Hall each month, Two-Ring Grand Soul Master receives ten Gold Soul Coin, and Three-Ring Soul Elder receives one hundred Gold Soul Coin!
Becoming Soul Master is a class leap in the values of everyone in the Douluo Continent. Apart from strength, the substantial amount of money involved is also a major factor.
Money isn't everything, but it can solve many of the world's troubles and problems.
With enough money, without considering other factors, one can even buy the most coveted treasures in the Soul Master World — Soul Bone!
Ordinary people need to spend money on food, clothing, housing, and transportation, and Soul Master also need to spend money, and the expenses are even higher.
Any Soul Master who aspires to strength will never skimp on their diet. While they might not eat Soul Beast every meal, they certainly won't just consume plain porridge, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables. Changing their diet and trying something new is extremely rare.
In this situation, who wouldn't want more Gold Soul Coin in their pocket?
In the original story, Bai He, the patriarch of the Speed Clan, a dignified Soul Douluo, was stumped by a mere few hundred Gold Soul Coin. This was because they had a grudge against the Spirit Hall. Otherwise, the younger generation of the clan alone could have made a lot of money off the Spirit Hall every month.
Although the family has many expenses related to food, drink, and cultivation, it's never as bad as it was when they first appeared in the original story.
Therefore, as Soul Master himself, and with a family to support, Qingqiu Li and Long Ang, he became concerned about the nearly 800,000 Gold Soul Coin lost in the ironware transaction!
Although this is just the transaction amount, after deducting the cost of purchasing raw ore, the cost of ore during forging, charcoal consumption, labor, transportation and other expenses, the gross profit may be less than half, but it is still three or four hundred thousand Gold Soul Coin!
Such a huge sum of money is something that few people in the entire [Water Wood Duchy] can ignore!
If Ling Yi wasn't lying, if such a transaction really happened, if these ironware transactions were completed under his control...
Thinking of this, both Qingqiu Li and Long Ang unconsciously breathed a little heavier.
He stared intently at Ling Yi, waiting for his answer.
Ling Yi smiled faintly at this, tapped the table with his finger, and said, "They ran this way—"
Following Ling Yi's direction, Qingqiu Li and Long Ang looked up and saw that the general topography and city distribution of the [Water Wood Duchy] were outlined in ink on the white paper.
But Ling Yi's hand did not land anywhere within the [Water Wood Duchy].
Looking at the blank sheet of paper that Ling Yi pointing to, Qingqiu Li and Long Ang felt a jolt of unease.
At this moment, Ling Yi's voice rang out. "Actually, the two seniors probably knew, but subconsciously chose not to think about it—"
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