"System, say something. Do you buy treasures?"
As Gao Shang rubbed the whale rubber in his hand, he called out to the system in his mind.
[Dear, this system can buy back items at eighty percent of their listed price.]
Receiving an affirmative answer, Gao Shang was immediately delighted.
Although an eighty-percent buyback price sounded like a rip-off, it was calculated according to the system's prices.
Leaving everything else aside, the whale rubber, at least, was guaranteed to earn him a killing.
Gao Shang suppressed his excitement, turned to Zhao Gang, and said:
"Uncle Zhao, get me another thousand-year piece, just in case this isn't enough."
Zhao Gang's expression grew even stranger.
A three-thousand-year piece wasn't enough?
Was he eating it like candy?
Still, since the customer wanted to buy it, he couldn't very well ask too many questions. He simply reached out and pushed the other wooden box over.
After paying, Gao Shang left the pharmacy carrying the two pieces of whale rubber. He turned left and right, only stopping and reopening the system panel once he had confirmed that nobody was around.
"System, I want to sell back this thousand-something-year whale rubber. What's the price?"
No sooner had he spoken than the image on the panel changed, revealing a picture identical to the whale rubber in his hand.
Specific information was also provided below.
[1,200-year whale rubber, medium quality. Can increase the Soul Ring endurance limit of Soul Scholars and Soul Masters by 300 years.] [Shop price: 30,000 Gold Soul Coins. Buyback price: 24,000 Gold Soul Coins.] [Confirm sale?]
Gao Shang stared at that string of numbers and blinked.
Thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins?
And this was only average-quality whale rubber?
"Well, damn. No wonder the shop only showed whale rubber under a thousand years old before. So anything older than a thousand years costs this much."
Gao Shang knew that during the Douluo II era, the price of whale rubber had skyrocketed after its effects were discovered.
But he had long since forgotten exactly how high it could rise.
Only now, seeing the system's listed price with his own eyes, did he realize just how big a bargain he had gotten buying whale rubber from Zhao Gang.
"Confirm. Sell it."
The next instant, a pale blue beam shot out of the system panel, enveloping the whale rubber in Gao Shang's hand.
When the beam withdrew, the whale rubber vanished along with it.
Gao Shang stared at his empty right hand, stunned for a moment.
"That really is amazing... Is this spatial transfer, or did it directly break the item down?"
Just as he finished speaking, something suddenly occurred to him.
"Wait, where's the money? System, you haven't paid me yet!"
[Dear, the Gold Soul Coins have been deposited in the system space. The host may withdraw them at any time.]
Gao Shang looked back at the panel. Sure enough, he spotted a Gold Soul Coin icon in the lower right corner, with twenty-four thousand displayed beside it.
With a thought, a Gold Soul Coin immediately appeared in his palm, and the number on the panel decreased by one.
"Heh."
Gao Shang tried it several more times. After confirming that he really had earned twenty-four thousand Gold Soul Coins, Gao Shang finally broke into a smile.
At last, he was no longer short on money.
If he hadn't been worried about attracting the attention of passersby, he would absolutely have let out an Uchiha mad laugh.
After quite a while, Gao Shang rubbed his face, closed the system panel, and turned to head back to the pharmacy.
There was still another piece of thousand-year whale rubber there. Besides that, Zhao Gang might also have quite a bit of hundred-year whale rubber in stock.
As for the three-thousand-year piece, he would keep it for himself.
Returning to the pharmacy, Gao Shang was brimming with confidence this time. He plopped down onto the chair, which still held some warmth, and got straight to the point without even asking the price:
"Uncle Zhao, however much whale rubber you have here, I'll take it all."
Seeing him return, Zhao Gang had thought Su Yuntao had sent him back for a refund and had even gotten the Gold Soul Coins ready.
After all, two pieces of thousand-year whale rubber would make even a eunuch run red-hot.
Yet he had never expected Gao Shang to ask to buy the lot the moment he opened his mouth. For a moment, Zhao Gang even wondered whether he had misheard.
"Wait, Little Gao, what did you say?"
"I said I want all the whale rubber you have here. Just name your price."
Zhao Gang fell silent for a moment and asked no further questions.
He really had thought Su Yuntao needed the whale rubber earlier. Now, it seemed he had most likely guessed wrong.
One or two pieces would still have been plausible.
But dozens? Even if Su Yuntao found himself ten more wives, he wouldn't be able to use it all.
That left only one possibility: Gao Shang, or rather Su Yuntao, was planning to resell the whale rubber in another city.
Heaven Dou City, for example.
There were plenty of nobles there, so demand for whale rubber was greater, and its price was naturally higher.
For ordinary people, making money through this sort of trade between cities was essentially a fool's dream. But Su Yuntao was a Soul Master himself and had Spirit Hall behind him, so it presumably wouldn't be a problem.
Zhao Gang didn't voice his guess. He simply lowered his head and packed up the shop's stock one piece at a time.
The thousand-year whale rubber remained in its wooden box, while the remaining hundred-year whale rubber was all packed into a single bag.
"There are twenty-two pieces of hundred-year whale rubber altogether. Four of them are over five hundred years old, at fifty Gold Soul Coins each. The rest are forty Gold Soul Coins apiece."
"Including that piece of thousand-year whale rubber, that comes to thirteen hundred and twenty Gold Soul Coins. I'll make it thirteen hundred."
"Sure thing. Thanks, Uncle Zhao."
Gao Shang accepted the whale rubber and waved his hand. A pile of Gold Soul Coins immediately appeared on the table.
Looking at the gold coins that had appeared out of thin air, Zhao Gang couldn't help blurting out:
"A Storage Soul Tool?"
He had only ever seen such a method when the deputy city lord came to buy whale rubber.
"That's right. I'm a Soul Master now, too, so I can just about use a Soul Tool."
Gao Shang's tone was casual, but to Zhao Gang's ears, it carried a hint of a reminder.
"Uncle Zhao, count it and see if the amount is right."
"No need." Zhao Gang waved his hand, his smile unconsciously growing a little more deferential. "When have you ever cheated me, Little Gao?"
"All right, Uncle Zhao. I'll be off, then."
Noticing the slight change in Zhao Gang's attitude, Gao Shang knew he had achieved his purpose and turned toward the door.
Just before leaving, he stopped again and looked back.
"Oh, right, Uncle Zhao. Over the next few days, buy up as much of the whale rubber in Nuoding City as you can for me. I'll come see you again in half a month."
"When the time comes, I'll give you a ten-percent commission on the purchase price of the hundred-year whale rubber. For every piece of thousand-year whale rubber, I'll give you an extra hundred Gold Soul Coins for your trouble. How does that sound?"
"Do you mean that?"
Zhao Gang's eyes lit up.
Nuoding City didn't have much whale rubber in stock, but he could still gather a hundred pieces or more. If he could get a few pieces of thousand-year whale rubber as well, the commission would be quite substantial.
If he could earn that money, he might even be able to hire a few Soul Masters as guards and go to other cities to make more money.
"Of course I mean it. Go ahead and buy it, Uncle Zhao. If you run short of gold coins, you can come to my place ahead of time to exchange for more."
"Hahaha, Little Gao, now you're treating me like an outsider!" Zhao Gang laughed and patted his chest. "Don't worry. I'll buy up every last piece of whale rubber in Nuoding City for you."
Gao Shang nodded in satisfaction and waved goodbye.
This trip had yielded quite a haul.
Not only had he resolved the gold coin problem that had been troubling him, but he also had money left over, enough to push his Soul Ring's age up another notch.
Now, all he wanted was to get home as quickly as possible and sell the whale rubber for cash.
And it was time to consume that three-thousand-year piece of whale rubber, too.