Xie Ji, a user whose luck exceeded ninety-nine percent, very unluckily boarded the speedboat bound for a small coastal town.
Getting out of this godforsaken place should have been something to celebrate, but whenever he thought about having to buy a day's worth of food for six people-and pay for it himself-Xie Ji wanted to punch Director He's damn head clean off.
Xie Ji had originally planned to use the money on the black card his parents had given Lu Xunji, but after going ashore and looking around, he was regretfully informed that the little county town was too backward to have a machine that could process that black card.
"There aren't many people in town, and most of the people on the streets are middle-aged or elderly." Lu Xunji walked beside Xie Ji. "That shows how depressed the local economy is. No young people want to stay here, and most leave to find work... If we want to make money here, perhaps we could start with that."
Realization dawned on Xie Ji. "Then I've got an idea!"
Lu Xunji raised an eyebrow. He had merely identified their target customers first and still had no idea where to start. Had Xie Ji already come up with something?
Pulling Lu Xunji along, Xie Ji plunged straight into the busiest square in town.
All kinds of little stalls stood in the square, selling everything imaginable amid an endless chorus of vendors' cries.
Xie Ji dragged Lu Xunji over to a little shop selling jars.
An assortment of bottles and jars sat on the shelves. Xie Ji immediately spotted a particularly pretty set of little bottles: six round ones in different colors, exquisite and attractive.
Xie Ji called out, "Boss, how much for this set of little bottles?"
"This set is our shop's prized treasure. Premium goods! You've got a fine eye!" The owner was a middle-aged man with a full beard who looked anything but easy to mess with. "Each one was carved from a single piece of top-grade jadeite. Look at this green jar-that's genuine imperial green! And this red one, top-grade blood jade! The white one, the finest mutton-fat jade... How about this? Since you two youngsters genuinely like them, I'll let you have the set for forty thousand. Anywhere else, it would cost at least four million. Consider it making a friend!"
Xie Ji grabbed Lu Xunji and started to leave.
Barren hills and foul waters really did breed wicked people. Forty thousand for a set of lousy bottles!
If he had forty thousand, would he need to stand here worrying?
Unexpectedly, Lu Xunji stopped after two steps and glanced back at the bottles in the owner's hands. "Agate."
The owner immediately glared at him, then guiltily glanced at the other customers in the shop. "What are you talking about? Don't spout nonsense!"
Lu Xunji pointed at the bottles and spoke at a moderate volume. "Not jadeite, not mutton-fat jade. Agate. But natural agate generally isn't this brightly colored, so bleaching and resin injection can't be ruled out. This sort of stone sells very cheaply. These bottles are worth forty at most altogether."
The owner strode over in a few quick steps, looking thoroughly intimidating.
But Lu Xunji didn't retreat an inch. His gaze fell on a teacup nearby, and he spoke again. "This wasn't fired from purple clay either. It should be ordinary dyed ceramic. And..."
"What proof do you have?" The owner stepped over to the customer who was about to buy a purple clay teapot and gave an apologetic smile. "Don't listen to his nonsense. My purple clay teapots are absolutely guaranteed authentic!"
Lu Xunji picked up the pot and examined it, then said mildly, "Handmade purple clay teapots use clay slip to bond the body and the base. The slip has a lower moisture content than the body and base, so firing produces a ring-shaped physical shrinkage pattern. Fakes don't have this pattern. It's determined by physical properties and can't be changed."
The customer about to buy the pot listened in bewilderment, not quite understanding.
Lu Xunji summed it up. "In short, if there's a pattern on the bottom, it's real. If there isn't, it's fake."
That, the customer understood. Taking the pot from Lu Xunji and checking it, he found that there was indeed no pattern!
He immediately put the pot down and turned to leave.
Unwilling to give up, the owner blocked him. "Don't listen to his rubbish..."
The customer shook off the owner's hand. "This young man is so good-looking. Wouldn't I know whether he was talking rubbish? Besides, he explained it! Scientific evidence, physical properties-that already sounds more reliable than your purple clay pot. I'm not buying it!"
With that, he turned and stormed off.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Xunji noticed someone else in the shop choosing a vase. Just as he was about to speak, the owner gestured in front of them and lowered his voice. "You just want this set of jars, don't you? Four hundred. Take them!"
Xie Ji seized the chance to borrow his authority. "Forty! Not a penny more! Boss, you wouldn't want my friend to appraise everything in your shop, would you?"
The owner ground his teeth in hatred. "Since when did this little town get people like you? Have a conscience when you haggle! This young man just said forty was the cost price! Look at these jars, every one painstakingly carved. They might be agate, but I carved every line of those patterns myself. That takes time, all right? The four hundred is for the workmanship!"
"Oh," Xie Ji said flatly. "Then put the stone you carved off back on."
The owner: "..."
He had never been so speechless in his life.
Before he could think of a solution, Xie Ji deliberately raised his voice a notch. "Master Lu, look at this vase..."
"Forty! Forty it is!" the owner hurriedly said. "I'll consider them thrown in the trash. Just get out of here!"
In the end, Xie Ji successfully bought six bottles for forty and left the jade stall with Lu Xunji, thoroughly satisfied.
"I never knew Young Master Lu had such a deep understanding of jade." Xie Ji cheerfully patted Lu Xunji's shoulder. "A wealthy young master through and through. So knowledgeable and talented."
"Mm." Lu Xunji rubbed his fingers together. "I don't know much."
Xie Ji said, "Then what was all that about patterns and no patterns and physical properties?"
"Made it up."
"Bro, on the spot?"
Lu Xunji lowered his eyes and gave him a cool glance. "Is there a problem?"
Xie Ji gave him a thumbs-up. "No problem whatsoever. Bro, do me a favor."
Lu Xunji said, "Go on."
"When I'm old, don't scam me into buying your health supplements."
Lu Xunji: "..."
Already accustomed to the way Xie Ji's mind worked, Young Master Lu could now change the subject perfectly calmly. "What are you buying these jars for?"
Xie Ji took out the Whitening Pill and Hair-Growth Pill he had obtained from the system shop. "Buying some fancy packaging for my money trees. Selling them for nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-fucking-nine won't be a problem."
Lu Xunji paused. "This is your idea? Selling health supplements?"
Xie Ji said gravely, "This town is too ordinary. It's time its residents knew-they've reached the age where health supplements scam them out of their money! Besides, mine aren't a complete scam. They work very well. The effects just have a time limit..."
Lu Xunji said, "Selling health supplements requires pharmaceutical qualifications and a business license. May I ask which of those two you have?"
"Neither, but I have the most important thing. With it, I can sell health supplements without either of those." Xie Ji put on a stern little face.
"Such as?" Lu Xunji was filled with solemn respect. Could there actually be a shortcut even he didn't know about?
Xie Ji slapped his thigh. "My two legs, for example. If urban management comes, I'll run like hell. As long as they can't catch me, I'm not selling medicine without a license."