A Major Customer

"Son, it's only been an hour, and all twenty Mercenary's Sabers have sold. We made a full 3,800 Ka'en. That's almost as much as our shop makes in a month."

Inside the Wonderful Tales shop, Lin Feng couldn't stop smiling.

Lin Qi was calculating their actual earnings.

"Subtract 1,000 Ka'en for materials, and the profit comes to 2,800. A mercenary group also placed an order for thirty more. That'll earn us another 4,200 Ka'en..."

He paused and tapped his pen lightly against the paper.

"In other words, the cards we sold today alone brought in as much as we used to make in a month, and Dad didn't have to go to all the trouble of buying daily necessities and transporting them..."

In the end, Lin Qi came to a conclusion: selling cards was a business with enormous returns for a small investment.

"Dad, we can start stocking fewer daily necessities. We should gradually change the shop's focus to selling cards."

"Change to selling cards?"

Lin Feng's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly.

"Good! We'll do as you say! Selling cards makes a lot more money than selling daily necessities!"

Lin Qi put away the Source Crystal card on the table and stood up.

"I'm going out to stock up on more cards at the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion. Don't save lunch for me."

He knew that the commotion caused by the shop's card sales today would reach the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion's ears before long.

He had to hurry and buy more basic cards while the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion had yet to react. Otherwise, his purchases might be restricted later.

Lin Qi also knew that if he wanted to sell cards in the long term, he would have to cooperate with the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion. After all, he wasn't a card maker and couldn't make cards himself.

But right now, he was still far too weak. He had no leverage to negotiate a partnership with the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion, and if things went badly, they might devour him without leaving even his bones.

That was also why he had made an effort to befriend Kane.

The Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion was a business, after all. Since its employees' promotions depended on card sales, Lin Qi felt that investing in a newcomer like Kane would definitely be better than negotiating with the pavilion's current manager.

With all his savings on him, Lin Qi strode toward the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion.

As soon as he entered, a steward in a black uniform came up to greet him with a practiced smile.

"Sir, how may I help you?"

Lin Qi glanced at the steward's name tag. Lyd.

It seems the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion's management has already noticed the large purchases I made here on my last two visits. Otherwise, a steward wouldn't have come to greet me in person.

Lin Qi looked around and saw Kane still sitting miserably behind the counter. His eyes kept flicking toward the entrance, though, and he had evidently spotted Lin Qi as well.

Lin Qi's lips curled up, and he said to Lyd, "No need to trouble yourself. Please call Kane over. I only do business with him."

The smile on the steward's face froze.

"Sir, I have more authority than Kane. I can give you the best discount."

Lin Qi glanced at him. His tone was calm, but his attitude left no room for doubt.

"Who am I, and who are you? Since when have I needed a discount to save money when buying things?"

"Uh..."

Lyd was left speechless. He stood there, his face turning red and then pale, unsure what to do.

Just then, a gentle woman's voice rang out.

"Lyd, go and call Kane over first."

Lin Qi looked toward the voice and saw a beautiful young blonde woman in a burgundy gown approaching. Her makeup was exquisite, and she carried herself elegantly.

Lin Qi knew her. Fiona was the manager of the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion in Stone Iron City and also the dream woman of all the city's young men.

Once upon a time, Fiona had also been the woman of Lin Qi's dreams in his innocent youth.

Though Lyd was unwilling, he didn't dare disobey Fiona's order. He glared fiercely at Kane, who stood nearby, then turned and hurried away.

Fiona walked up to Lin Qi with a proper smile.

"Sir, I'm terribly sorry you had to see that. Whenever you come to the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion to buy cards in the future, Kane will assist you from start to finish. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

As the manager of the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion, Fiona had noticed the unusual sales figures long ago.

This month, the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion had taken in over 10,000 Ka'en more than usual. Only after checking the records did she learn that nearly all the additional revenue had come from the same customer, and the person who had handled those transactions was Kane, who had only recently been transferred here.

In a small town like Stone Iron City, the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion's main customers were the city lord's manor and the major mercenary groups, and its total monthly revenue was only around 100,000 Ka'en. Lin Qi's purchases alone made him almost equivalent to the pavilion's third-largest customer, so Fiona naturally didn't dare neglect him.

"Thank you."

Lin Qi nodded slightly and gave Fiona a long look.

The woman looked gentle, but her eyes were shrewd. She was clearly no simple character.

He didn't exchange further pleasantries. Turning, he followed the attendant Fiona had provided to a private room on the second floor.

The room was furnished with exquisite comfort, and fresh fruit sat on the table.

Lin Qi picked up the two-star card catalog from the table and leafed through it carefully. After searching for quite some time, however, he found only one two-star Summoning Card: the Skeleton Warrior.

The only other skeleton-related cards were the Soul-Burning Skeleton, the Skeleton Shield Guard, and the Skeleton Strongman. Those were all the skeleton-related two-star Summoning Cards the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion had.

"Creak~"

The door to the private room opened, and Kane came in carrying tea, a nervous smile on his face.

"Sir, sorry for the wait."

Lin Qi put down the catalog and looked up at Kane.

"Kane, why does the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion have so few skeleton-related cards in stock? Can't you stock more?"

Kane replied respectfully, "Please don't be angry, sir. Skeleton-type Summoning Cards have never sold well. These are stock accumulated over several years. Headquarters now considers the profit on this type of card too low, so they hardly make skeleton Summoning Cards anymore."

"What?"

Lin Qi was stunned. If the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion stopped making those cards, how would he improve his strength?

Without enough skeleton cards, getting his Natal Card to advance to blue quality, or even purple quality, was nothing but a pipe dream!

Seeing Lin Qi's expression, Kane hurriedly added:

"But please rest assured, sir. I already submitted a request to the card supply department at headquarters, explaining that a customer in Stone Iron City needs skeleton-type cards. Next month, they'll coordinate with the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilions in other towns and transfer a batch of skeleton Summoning Cards here."

"Good!"

Lin Qi breathed a sigh of relief and said firmly, "When they arrive, I'll take however many there are!"

He stopped dwelling on the skeleton cards, picked up the catalog, and quickly began marking his selections.

"I'll take this Skeleton Warrior, as well as the Soul-Burning Skeleton, Skeleton Shield Guard, and Skeleton Strongman. Also, give me three hundred dust-star Implement Cards, Iron Sword, and one hundred dust-star Implement Cards, Dagger, and..."

As Lin Qi spoke, Kane wrote everything down and calculated the price. The more he calculated, the more excited he became, until his hands were trembling slightly.

When Lin Qi finished choosing, Kane took a deep breath before he dared quote the price. "Sir, the cards you selected come to a total of 80,000 Ka'en..."

Kane swallowed.

Eighty thousand Ka'en! As long as this deal went through, his total personal sales would reach 100,000 Ka'en, and he could be promoted from card salesperson to apprentice steward.

"Charge it to my card."

Lin Qi's casual words made Kane's heart pound uncontrollably.

Kane accepted the Source Crystal card with both hands, his fingertips trembling. He quickly completed the payment, and when he returned the card to Lin Qi, his voice carried a trace of excitement.

"Sir, I'll go pack your cards right away!"

"Sorry for the trouble."

Lin Qi nodded, leaned back on the sofa, and picked up a piece of fruit to eat at his leisure.

Before long, Kane came in carrying a hefty wooden box and handed it to Lin Qi.

"Sir, your cards are all here. You can check them."

Lin Qi took the box and hefted it, then nodded in satisfaction. "There's no need. I trust you."

With that, he rose and headed for the door.

"Next time skeleton cards arrive, remember to notify me right away."

"Of course! Of course!"

Kane nodded hurriedly and escorted Lin Qi all the way to the entrance of the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion. Only after Lin Qi's figure disappeared at the end of the street did he finally give in to his excitement and clench his fists. He was finally going to be promoted!

The Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion had a strict employee ranking system. Apprentice attendants and card salespeople received ordinary treatment, but once their accumulated personal sales reached 100,000 Ka'en, they could be promoted to apprentice steward and receive any green-grade card of their choice as a reward.

"Congratulations, Kane, our new apprentice steward."

At some point, Fiona had appeared behind Kane and was looking at him with a smile.

"Chief steward."

Kane stiffened and quickly turned around, unconsciously straightening his back. There was a hint of fear in his eyes.

He knew how formidable Fiona could be. Few people in the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion dared offend her.

"Don't be so nervous."

Fiona patted Kane on the shoulder and said gently, "You've met the promotion requirements in less than a year on the job. You have a bright future ahead of you. Go fill out your promotion application, and you can also choose that green-quality card."

Kane hurriedly thanked her and ran toward the office, afraid the opportunity would vanish if he was a second late.

Fiona watched Kane leave, the smile gradually fading from her face. She turned toward the direction Lin Qi had gone.

"Three purchase records, and each time he bought large quantities of dust-star Implement Cards and skeleton-type Summoning Cards... He's neither a mercenary group nor a noble family. Is he buying so many basic cards to use as card-making materials, or does he have another use for them?"

Unlike Kane, who only cared about the benefits in front of him, Fiona had long since begun wondering why Lin Qi was buying cards.

After all, in Stone Iron City, aside from the city lord's manor and the mercenary groups, few people bought so many cards at once, especially not Skeleton Foot Soldiers, which were widely regarded as cannon-fodder cards.

Even so, Fiona quickly suppressed her curiosity.

She was a merchant, and Lin Qi was a customer who could bring in substantial revenue. As long as he didn't do anything to harm the Ten Thousand Cards Pavilion's interests, what did it matter to her what he used the cards for?

As long as she could make money, nothing else mattered.