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Chapter 247 - 240 Master Mo Yang\'s Herbal Compendium_1

Compared to the Seven-Star City Qin Niu had seen two days ago, the city before him seemed quite shabby.

The city walls were three zhang high, with the city gates wrapped in a layer of copper. Four soldiers dressed in leather armor stood guard at the gate, holding long spears, looking quite vigilant.

There were two idlers in black robes at the city gate responsible for collecting the entry fee.

This system was quite similar to that of Black Tiger City.

"Two Wen, two Wen, the entry fee is uniformly two Wen! Please prepare in advance."

One of the idlers reminded the entering civilians.

"You two, that\'ll be four Wen Money in total!"

When the uncle\'s carriage approached the city gate, the fee-collecting idler glanced over and immediately announced the price.

The entry fee was calculated per head.

Goods were not charged.

This was a major benefit for the common people who sold goods.

No wonder I couldn\'t see even one stall outside the city.

"Uncle, let me, let me!"

Qin Niu hurried to pay the money.

"How could I accept that!"

The uncle responded politely but didn\'t push too much. The four Wen Money could be considered as Qin Niu\'s contribution for the carriage fare.

Once inside the city, the streets were much narrower than expected and the buildings were also quite ordinary.

However, one thing was quite good: many places showed people building new houses. The city was populous and commerce was thriving, which revealed a considerable vitality in its development.

"Uncle, where are you going to sell grain? It\'s rare for me to come here and I want to look around. If I find suitable seeds, I\'ll buy some to take back."

Qin Niu looked around at the city\'s shops, which sold grains, seeds, herbs, fertilizer, farming tools, rain gear, and so forth, all well-stocked.

Every place has its own customs and practices.

The Shennong Sect, just like the Black Tiger Gang, was part of an agricultural civilization.

Only, it specialized in cultivation and was somewhat one-dimensional in development.

This was also reflected in the variety of shops in Mai City.

The goods sold by the common people mainly revolved around cultivation and planting.

"Mm-hm, go ahead! I will wait for you at the East City gate later."

"Alright, thank you, uncle!"

Qin Niu got off the carriage and began to wander around inside the city.

He entered a seed shop.

"What kind of seeds would you like to buy, young master?"

The shopkeeper immediately greeted him warmly.

This seed shop wasn\'t big and employed no shop assistants.

"I\'m just looking around. Do you have corn seeds?"

Qin Niu inquired.

"Yes, yes, yes! Here, these are all corn seeds. This one is the soft and sticky variety, this one is crisp and sweet, this one yields high with large cobs and full grains, but the taste is much inferior.

There\'s also this corn, which is a new variety this year, resistant to lodging and diseases, very advantageous, it grows quickly and doesn\'t require good soil..."

The shopkeeper introduced them one by one.

Who knew that the Shennong Sect could develop corn seeds to such an extent.

Each craft has its experts.

Different sects focus on different development directions, excelling in various techniques.

The Nine Insect Gang\'s best development is in insect control.

But Shennong Sect\'s main direction is planting.

In comparison, the Black Tiger Gang seems to encompass everything, versatile in many fields.

In terms of seniority, the Black Tiger Gang is considered a very young sect. In terms of heritage, it might not compare to veteran sects like the Nine Insect Gang, Seven-Star Sect, and Shennong Sect. But it has its own strengths, having carved out a territory in a land shared with dragons and tigers.

Its potential for development should also be one of the strongest among the neighboring sects.

It\'s just that a short time has passed, so it hasn\'t reached a state where all flowers bloom together in splendor.

"I\'ll take five jin of this tasty variety of corn seeds!"

"Alright! I guarantee you\'ll be very satisfied after planting them! Please show me your identification tag to register."

"You need to register identification information to buy seeds?"

Qin Niu asked, somewhat surprised.

"All the seeds sold in our seed shops are legitimate and legal; registering the information of the buyer makes it easier to verify and compensate if problems occur after cultivation."

"I see! I\'m buying these for a neighborly uncle who\'s over there selling grain, I\'ll call him over later."

Qin Niu casually fabricated a lie and then left the seed shop.

As a subject of the Black Tiger Gang, and with both sects at war, he dared not reveal his true identity.

After leaving the seed shop, he wandered ahead and found several bookstores.

The Cultivation Techniques and martial arts skills on sale were mostly street stall items.

On the other hand, books about planting were quite professional.

Qin Niu spent fifteen Wen Money and bought a thick botany atlas.

Although it was a secondhand old book, the content was quite good. And the price was surprisingly cheap.

The labor cost for transcribing and illustrating couldn\'t come down without paying two or three Hundred Taels.

The cost for paper and ink would also not be low, at least a couple of hundred Wen.

But because there were too many similar old books and they were everywhere, considered as common goods on the streets,

the price was remarkably cheap.

At fifteen Wen for such a thick book, the cost was far from sufficient.

"Shopkeeper, do you have an atlas that records some rare medicinal herbs?"

Qin Niu asked the bookstore owner.

"Yes! But that\'s a bit more expensive."

"As long as the book is good, it doesn\'t matter if it\'s a bit more expensive."

Qin Niu now had a fortune of over ninety thousand taels, so this small sum of money really didn\'t matter to him.

Realizing he had a wealthy customer on his hands, the boss immediately instructed his assistant, "Xiao Li, go up to the attic and bring down that rare botanical compendium."

Soon, the assistant came down the ladder, holding a thick book in his arms.

"Young Master, this is a compendium left by the great Master Mo Yang of the Shennong Sect. It contains the rare herbs and trees the master collected throughout his life by various means. Most of the entries have illustrations, with only a few described in text based on what Master Mo Yang learned from others."

The assistant briefly introduced the content of the book.

After flipping through a few pages, Qin Niu realized that this book was chock-full of substantial content.

The first page depicted a towering tree that reached into the clouds, glittering with gold, as if it were made entirely of pure gold.

This tree was known as the Golden Wutong, the foremost of its kind in the world.

It was rumored to be the roosting tree for the Golden Crow.

"Fine birds choose fine trees to rest," that referred specifically to this tree.

The Golden Crow was considered the foremost divine bird in the world, even more famous than the Phoenix. They would only roost on a Golden Wutong.

And this "Wutong" wasn\'t any ordinary Wutong tree, but the Golden Wutong depicted in the illustration.

"Not bad, how much for this book?"

Qin Niu deliberately glanced at the plant compendium he had just bought for fifteen Wen Money.

This was a conscious maneuver to prevent the boss from quoting a high price.

"Er... If the Young Master truly wants it, how about five hundred taels of silver? This book is the treasure of our store, and it\'s the only one we have."

The boss\'s eyes rolled around eagerly as a warm smile spread across his face.

The epitome of a sly merchant.

Of course, Qin Niu was not so easily fooled.

"Hehe, five hundred taels of silver indeed isn\'t expensive; enough to buy tens of thousands of copies of that plant compendium. But it seems you\'d be reluctant to part with it, so you might as well keep it and enjoy it slowly."

And with that, Qin Niu made to leave.

"Hey, wait, Young Master, please wait a moment!"

The boss hurriedly called out to him as he saw Qin Niu walking away.

The price of five hundred taels was just a probe. If by chance he encountered a rich but naive customer, selling just one book could provide enough for him to live on for more than ten years.

"As long as the Young Master truly likes the book, the price can be negotiated!"

"Then you quote a sincere price you\'re willing to sell it for."

Qin Niu was already familiar with these merchants\' tricks.

When it came to psychological warfare, he was even stronger than these cunning merchants.

"Er... How about this, I can tell the Young Master is sincere in his fondness for the book. In our line of work, we sell to those fated with the book, and it seems you have a connection with this one. Why don\'t you name your price?"

The boss was also unsure about this young man.

Initially, seeing Qin Niu\'s youthful appearance and extraordinary demeanor, he had planned to fleece a fat lamb.

Now, realizing the young man was very shrewd and not at all a pushover, the boss decided to probe Qin Niu further.

"Five taels of silver, not a penny more," Qin Niu said, biting down on his back teeth, making it seem as if he had made a great resolution.

"Ah... You, you..." The owner was taken aback by the offer, his eyes rolling back.

Five taels of silver was, indeed, a bit \'high.\'

"Young Master, other people might cut off a bit of flesh when bargaining, but your cut has reduced me to minced meat! Even if I halved my price, I\'d be better off. You\'re not truly interested in buying this book, just go!"

The boss dismissed Qin Niu with a wave of his hand, his face mournful.

"I\'ll add one more tael, six taels of silver. Not a penny more."

Qin Niu was also testing the boss\'s psychological threshold, as that\'s how business is done. Neither party knows the other\'s bottom line.

"Six taels of silver is definitely not possible. If you\'re serious about it, I\'ll give it to you for three hundred taels," the boss slashed his own price from five hundred taels directly to three hundred.

"I\'ll add another five wen of silver, six taels and five wen. Buying a book for three hundred taels that neither allows for cultivation nor enhances strength, just for the sake of seeing something rare—would you agree to that if you were in my shoes?"

It was true that Qin Niu had money, but he was also bound to save where he should.

This money hadn\'t come easy; it was all earned by staking his life and defeating powerful enemies.

He was planning to use it as a nest egg for the future.

"Two hundred taels of silver, that\'s my lowest price."

"I\'ll throw in another five wen of silver, making it seven taels."

Qin Niu continued to gradually increase his offer.

...

"Sixty taels of silver, take it or leave it. That\'s even above my cost price for acquiring it."

"Young Master, my boss bought this book for eighty taels of silver, and it hasn\'t sold for ten years. Now, letting it go for sixty taels, you\'re definitely picking up a bargain," the assistant interjected, finding the courage to speak up for the first time.

Just as the boss and the assistant thought Qin Niu would bargain again, they were caught off guard when he agreed with a surefire laugh.

"Done!"

Qin Niu pulled out a silver note for sixty taels, one with a denomination of fifty taels and another of ten, both exchanged from the Heaven and Earth Bank.

They were as good as hard cash.

"Ah, I\'ve lost a full twenty taels here!"

The boss endured the pain and, with a heavy heart, sold the book to Qin Niu.

When it came to schemes, he realized the young man in front of him was too formidable.

Decades of experience as a veteran merchant couldn\'t best a young man.

After acquiring the book, Qin Niu left the store with great satisfaction.

The assistant, looking like he had just accomplished a great feat, waited for the boss\'s commendation.

"You, Xiao Li, if you had spoken up sooner, would it have killed you?! You\'ve made me lose twenty taels of silver."

"But I was afraid you\'d blame me for meddling!"

The assistant was full of grievance.