Selling Slaves

"This stuff is way too expensive. Do you even want to do business?"

"Hey, talk it over with your boss. Knock off a couple points, and I'll take all these Snake Women."

"I've never seen anyone do business like this. Even Fishmen are priced so high—you might as well go rob someone."

All kinds of voices rang out around the slave-selling platform, but Li Ziran merely smiled casually and ignored them.

Business was sometimes simple to the extreme: you bought, I sold, a fair trade.

There was no padding in the prices Li Ziran had set. On the contrary, he had even left a little room for price increases for those engaged in secondhand reselling.

Though he occasionally sold slaves himself, he never personally stepped forward to haggle with people like a shrew. He posted the price and quietly waited for customers to come.

Li Ziran reclined leisurely against a stone bench, studying the still rather unfamiliar Snake Script.

But the Horse Dwarf guarding the slaves was run ragged. The little fellow had been rattled by all the clamoring voices and was starting to panic, afraid the slaves had been priced too high and would all end up unsold.

"Hey, little guy, talk to your boss. Take off a couple points. Look how long it's been—he hasn't sold a single slave."

"Exactly. Go talk to him. Don't you get a commission when he makes money? Don't be so stubbornly narrow-minded."

"You've seen me before, right? One look tells you I'm an honest man. Your boss doesn't understand business, pricing them like this. He might not sell a single one by tonight. Listen to your big brother and discuss it with your boss. A few brothers here are waiting for your answer."

The Horse Dwarf grew more and more flustered under their persuasion, and in the end, he really did edge toward Li Ziran.

But when he raised his head and looked at Li Ziran, he suddenly became afraid. Though this human appeared gentle and frail, he always gave him an air of authority that could not be defied.

And when Li Ziran had just put him in charge of the business, he had sternly told him not to disturb him.

Between letting the customers profit and satisfying the customers, the Horse Dwarf wisely chose the latter.

No longer daring to hesitate, he strode to the front counter and shouted at the crowd that only looked without buying, "Go on, get lost! Are these goods something you can afford? The prices are clearly marked—not one coin less! Hmph, take a good look at what kind of goods these are. If you can't afford them, stop yammering there."

The abrupt change left the customers rather surprised, yet few of them left in anger.

Since they had stayed, they naturally understood the profit margins in the goods before them.

All of this was within Li Ziran's sight. He had to admit, this little Dwarf had a few tricks up his sleeve. Nor was he in a hurry—good goods never lacked buyers.

Those people had merely gathered together just now in an attempt to force down the price. Since ancient times, there had been shops bullying customers, but sometimes customers could bully shops as well.

If you lacked a backbone in doing things, then you deserved to be cheated.

Sure enough, before the Horse Dwarf's forceful attitude, a Doghead People was the first to soften. Pointing at the three Snake Women chained to the iron pillar, he sighed, "Expensive, truly expensive. Fine, fine, today I'll take this loss. Tie these three Snake Women up for me. Who told me I'm such a kindhearted fellow?"

The Horse Dwarf had seen plenty of things, but seeing the aggrieved look on the other party's face, a trace of contempt still rose in his heart. Still, he was too happy that business had opened to care.

Even if Li Ziran gave him no kickback, the market itself would pay him a certain service fee.

Three bright silver coins went into the account. The Horse Dwarf nimbly tied up the three Snake Women and handed them over to the Doghead People.

Seeing that the most profitable Snake Women had been bought, the others could wait no longer.

Fishmen certainly had plenty of flaws, but they truly were much cheaper than those on the market. And with their exposed fangs and sturdy builds, they clearly were not ordinary laborers.

In less than the blink of an eye, the slave-selling platform was completely empty.

The Horse Dwarf scampered over, smiling ingratiatingly. "Honored guest, all the slaves have been sold." As he spoke, he held the copper coins high overhead.

Li Ziran took the copper coins, counted them, then removed another ten frogs from his waist. Every last one contained Snake Women, and he sent them to the slave-selling platform.

The customers who had returned disappointedly saw that there was new stock and that the prices had not changed. This time, they stopped playing tricks and fought to buy them.

"Hey, hey, hey, is your boss an idiot? Business is this good, and he still won't raise the prices?"

"Exactly! Tell your boss to auction them. Highest bidder wins—wouldn't he earn more too?"

"What's your boss's name? How much stock does he still have? If there's a decent amount, save it all for me."

Before long, customers farther from the slave-selling platform who had failed to buy slaves began shouting directly.

No matter what those people said, Li Ziran ignored them.

He had heard such words until calluses had grown on his ears. Whether they were offering advice, claiming it was for your own good, or asking to wholesale at low prices, the premise was always that profit came first.

Think about it—neither side was related to the other. Why would someone treat you well for no reason at all?

The hardest thing to come by in business was principles.

He did not haggle over these slaves, nor did he raise their prices, much less engage in that sort of bidding war. He simply sold them plainly. Whoever could grab a spot, regardless of status, owned what they got.

Once the goods sold out, he restocked them. In any case, he did not show himself or interfere, leaving the Horse Dwarf free to perform at the front.

This plain and unadorned style instead attracted quite a few people. Those who spent all day mixed up in the market were all sharp old hands; with a turn of their eyes, they could judge the profit margin on any goods.

Li Ziran's goods were displayed right there. Even a slave trader who had just entered the trade could calculate how much they could earn from a resale.

The swarming scene was hardly strange. In less than a quarter hour, most of the frogs at Li Ziran's waist had sold. Seeing the Horse Dwarf standing before the slave-selling platform with an unsatisfied look, Li Ziran smiled, gripped his waist, and pulled out the Goathead Leader.

"Goathead Leader, one silver coin, quick sale!"

There was only that simple line on the sign. Everyone looked toward the goat hanging from the iron pillar like a strip of pickled dried radish, and no one could tell that he was a leader.

The Goathead Leader's value lay in being the finest fighting strength of a flock. He could be regarded as a warrior for sale, but he possessed deeper value as well.

Leadership and management ability. Especially leaders among Ram-headed People and minotaurs—because they led teams year-round, they had developed the ability to manage groups.

Many merchant companies liked to buy such slaves to assist in managing their caravans. Their prices were generally double those of strong warriors, or even higher.

An ordinary goat warrior cost around seventy copper coins, while a Goathead Chief should have been priced at one hundred and forty—1.4 silver coins. Such an obviously low price inevitably aroused suspicion.

"This isn't fake, is it?"

"Too fake. At least wash him up and give him something to eat."

"Hehe, only an idiot would buy something like that. Most of his fur is nearly gone."

Li Ziran smiled faintly from afar. Such words would only deceive amateurs.

Every trade required finding overlooked bargains, and the slave trade especially so. See through the appearance to the essence, and you could become the king of bargain hunters.

He had spent more than two days catching this Goathead Chief, and his experiences in the swamp had left him in such a bedraggled state. If bringing him along had not been such a hassle, Li Ziran would not have been in such a hurry to sell him now.

He could absolutely have priced him at one hundred and forty, but that would have required waiting a while.

He did not intend to remain in Martiner Town for long. Once he converted these slaves into cash, bought corpses, modified his surgical instruments, and replenished his magic potions, he had to set out for the Undead Nest.

The Undead Nest was necromancers' territory, and few merchant caravans passed through it. That meant that for some time to come, he would have to travel alone.

He did not want to waste much time selling such low-grade slaves.

"I'll take this Ram-headed People!" A brown goat walked up and tossed a silver coin to the Horse Dwarf.

The Horse Dwarf had not expected business to come so quickly. Taking the silver coin, he stepped forward to untie the Goathead Chief.

But just then, an even louder voice suddenly shouted, "Wait! I'll pay two silver coins."

It was a Wolf, his face covered in more than a dozen scars. The waves of murderous aura around him made people shudder.

"I came first." Looking at the Wolf, the Ram-headed People who had just bid seemed frightened.

"Haha, does coming first matter? Highest bidder wins." He then looked at the Horse Dwarf. "Right, little guy? Who is your boss giving him to?"

The Horse Dwarf did not dare speak. These Wolves might look all smiles now, but once outside Martiner Town, they were genuine butchers.

The nearby Gray Wolf Town was famous for slaughter. He dared not answer, and could only run to Li Ziran's side. "Honored guest, your goods have sold, but there's a little trouble."

"Oh, trouble? There's trouble in selling things?" Li Ziran rose with a smile. He saw a wolf and a goat facing off, while the Goathead Chief who had become a slave looked toward him as if pleading, as though saying, Sell me to that Ram-headed People.

Wolves and goats were born enemies. If the Goathead Chief fell into the Wolf's hands, there would definitely be no good end for him.

"Boss, according to the rule you just stated, whoever came first took the goods. But this Wolf gentleman is offering two silver coins, so we still need..." the Horse Dwarf said timidly.

Li Ziran waved his hand, signaling that he understood. "Two silver coins?"

The Horse Dwarf hurriedly held the two silver coins high before him. Li Ziran took them and blew on them; they rang with a clear clang, genuine goods at a fair price. He casually slipped the silver coins into his inner pocket, utterly ignoring the goat beastman's flushed face, and said, "Mr. Wolf, he is yours."

After speaking, he ignored everyone's expressions and strolled down the stone steps beside the slave-selling platform alone, entering the market's commercial district.

From far behind him, he could hear the goat beastman's furious curses.

"If you've got the guts, tell me your name! Don't even think about surviving in the Wasteland in the future! You'll suffer the pursuit of our goat clan for generation after generation, you bastard!"

Li Ziran could not help laughing. Could that roar possibly smell sweeter than two silver coins?