Accept It

As the waiter called out, a middle-aged man dressed in noticeably more upscale clothes soon appeared before Peng Shulan and Yin Yunze.

The shopkeeper cupped his hands in greeting and said politely, "Constable Peng, young master, please forgive me for not greeting you sooner."

"Shopkeeper Li, stop with the formalities!" Peng Shulan interrupted him impatiently, pointing to the silver in the box and saying, "Check it carefully! Exchange it all for gold!"

"Of course I didn't ask if it was gold instead."

Shopkeeper Li readily agreed and then bent down to examine the purity of the silver. Soon, Shopkeeper Li was astonished by the purity of these silver bars.

As the manager of a money exchange, Shopkeeper Li probably handled as much as 100,000 taels of silver a year. But this was the first time he had ever seen silver of this quality, and he hesitated for a moment, wondering what exchange rate he should offer.

Upon discovering that Shopkeeper Li was showing this tendency, Yin Yunze immediately took out an Illusion Character Talisman and injected it into Shopkeeper Li's body.

Immediately, Shopkeeper Li's eyes lost their clarity. "According to the market price, the current exchange rate for silver to gold is eight to one..."

Before Shopkeeper Li finish speaking, Peng Shulan interrupted, "Market price is market price, do you think I don't know how many shady dealings are involved! Last time, the old master also exchanged money with you, and the market price was seven to one, but you ended up giving him six to one! Give me a fair price!"

Hearing Peng Shulan say that, Yin Yunze almost laughed. How could this be compared to the county magistrate?

The county magistrate came here to exchange money, for the perfectly legitimate reason of buying grain for disaster relief. He wasn't planning to lose money to curry favor, but he certainly wasn't aiming to make a profit.

To hold someone to the standards of a county magistrate is indeed asking too much.

Fortunately, thanks to Yin Yunze's Illusion Technique hypnotic effect, although Shopkeeper Li hesitated for a moment, he still gritted his teeth and said, "Since that's the case, for the sake of Constable Peng, and considering the high quality of this batch of silver, I'll give you my bottom line: seven to one. This is the biggest discount I can offer!"

Peng Shulan was taken aback upon hearing this; he hadn't been so accommodating even when dealing with the county magistrate last time. His eyes darted around, and Peng Shulan prepared to press his advantage again. "Shopkeeper Li, I think..."

Unlike Peng Shulan, Yin Yunze, with his practical experience, naturally understood that this was truly the bottom price. Any further haggling Illusion Technique break Shopkeeper Li: "Alright, this is the price. Please, manager, change it for me!"

"Since Young Master Qingqiu has spoken, then let's go with this price..."

As she spoke, Peng Shulan glanced at Yin Yunze with a complicated look in her eyes.

It has a certain feel to it, like looking at a spendthrift son.

With the price agreed upon, the next step is simply weighing the item.

In just over ten minutes, the handover was completed between the two parties.

Although confident in his Illusion Technique, Yin Yunze still had Peng Shulan check the gold before accepting it.

Having delivered the gold and accomplished his most important goal, Yin Yunze thought for a moment and then asked, "Shopkeeper, do you buy jewelry here?"

"This is a money exchange, so we don't accept these." Money exchanges and pawnshops are two different businesses, and it's unlikely that they would have an appraiser here. If you happen to find a bargain, that's one thing, but if you make a mistake and end up with nothing, that could be disastrous.

However, still under the Illusion Technique spell, Shopkeeper Li didn't refuse outright. "However, it's still possible for you to take a look at my eyes, young master."

"Then please, shopkeeper, tell me how much these glass beads are worth?"

As he spoke, Yin Yunze took out a glass bead the size of a plum, crystal clear, without any bubbles or impurities.

"This..." Upon seeing the glass bead, the money exchange manager's eyes widened, and he said, "Young master, let me see..."

It wasn't that these glass beads were actually more expensive than a thousand taels of silver; it was just that Shopkeeper Li was the manager of a money exchange. He wasn't particularly sensitive to things like gold and silver that he handled every day.

This was the first time in Shopkeeper Li that he had ever seen such beautiful glass beads.

Not to mention Shopkeeper Li, even Peng Shulan and the waiter stared wide-eyed at this treasure.

Of course, these top-grade glass beads, which these people had never seen before, were nothing more than ordinary glass beads sold by weight and not worth much to Yin Yunze.

Compared to the silver he handled frequently, Shopkeeper Li examined this glass bead repeatedly for a long time before saying uncertainly, "Young master, I estimate that this glass bead is worth about eighty taels of silver."

To be honest, this price was far beyond Yin Yunze's expectations. Yin Yunze also didn't know how Shopkeeper Li came up with this price.

However, upon hearing this price, Yin Yunze felt that the actual price would most likely be even higher.

It's not that Shopkeeper Li had any ulterior motives; it's just that when it comes to helping with valuations, people usually give valuations that are 20-30% lower than the normal price to avoid trouble.

There's absolutely no ulterior motive involved; it's purely because if you quote them too high, they won't be able to sell it at your price. If it's too high, no one will buy it; if it's too low, they won't be willing to sell it. In that case, you, who were supposed to help, will end up being the one in the wrong.

Upon hearing that the glass beads were worth so much money, Yin Yunze realized that compared to silver, these glass beads were the real money-maker!

However, Yin Yunze didn't know beforehand whether the glass beads were really valuable, so he bought silver as a way to guarantee a return on his investment.

After thinking for a moment, Yin Yunze said to Shopkeeper Li, "Fifteen taels of gold. If you can afford it, this glass bead is yours!"

Fifteen taels of gold, according to the exchange rate we just discussed, is equivalent to over one hundred taels. This is equivalent to Yin Yunze directly raising the price by more than twenty taels of silver, roughly a 30% increase.

Yin Yunze intentionally quoted a higher price. After all, that's how business is done—you ask for the moon and then haggle.

However, Shopkeeper Li hesitated when faced with Yin Yunze's price increase.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Shopkeeper Li nodded and said, "Since you're so straightforward, young master, I won't waste any more time. Fifteen taels of gold it is!"

"Huh? Good heavens, we still sold it at a loss!"

Seeing the joy still gleaming in Shopkeeper Li's eyes even under hypnosis, Yin Yunze knew perfectly well that he had still sold it too low.

However, Yin Yunze didn't seem to have much of a reaction to this.

After all, Yin Yunze had prepared several kilograms of this stuff.

Besides, it's their skill to make money this way, and Yin Yunze can't be envious of it.

Yin Yunze could probably guess that the situation here was deteriorating and some wealthy people were preparing to leave.

When fleeing from danger, it's natural to carry as little as possible.

Even though gold is already very expensive, too much of it is still cumbersome.

And these glass beads, you can easily stuff quite a few into your pocket.

Even if the price drops significantly in other locations, safety is paramount in such situations.

In other words, there is a market for these glass beads for the time being.

However, Yin Yunze does not plan to produce more for the time being.

After all, this kind of thing is valued for its rarity.

When you have one, it's worth fifteen taels of gold. When you have ten, it's hard to say if it's worth five taels of gold. When you have a hundred, it's questionable whether it's worth five taels of silver.

This is, after all, a county town, so there isn't that much market demand.

While exchanging glass beads for gold offers tempting profits, it's not a strategy that can be executed frequently in a short period.

However, even producing just one a month would still be a considerable income.

After recovering the fifteen taels of gold, Yin Yunze instructed Peng Shulan, "Take me to the pawnshop."

When they arrived at the pawnshop, the same trick was used. Using Illusion Technique and Peng Shulan as cover, Yin Yunze sold a glass bead the size of a plum for twenty taels of gold.

After playing those two glass beads, Yin Yunze decided not to continue.

If they continue selling, trouble will follow the gold price drop.

Money can be tempting. Peng Shulan, as a constable, could resist the temptation of one or two glass beads, but he probably couldn't resist the greed that ten glass beads would bring. Yin Yunze also knew the principle of knowing when to stop.

Seeing that Yin Yunze had earned more than 170 taels of gold in just two places, Peng Shulan was completely dumbfounded.

Of course, Peng Shulan didn't dare to actually have any thoughts of being tempted by money.

My only thought is, this fox is freaking rich!

Walking into a small alley, seeing the complex expression in Peng Shulan's eyes, Yin Yunze couldn't help but smile.

Seeing that no one was around, Yin Yunze raised his hand, and a glass bead the size of an egg appeared in his palm.

Previously, a plum-sized piece was worth fifteen taels of gold, and a slightly larger one was worth twenty taels of gold. This egg-sized piece, following this price trend, should be worth thirty taels of gold.

At this moment, Yin Yunze placed the glass bead, worth thirty taels, in front of Peng Shulan.

Seeing the fleeting greed in Peng Shulan's eyes, Yin Yunze chuckled and said, "Peng Shulan, how about you work for me from now on?"