C67 Money, Money, Money!

Meng Yuan City:

The massive limestone walls were 30 meters high, majestic, and covered with mottled historical marks.

This city had existed for a very long time.

Inside the city, all streets were paved with limestone.

There was an endless stream of pedestrians.

"Phew..."

Zhan Tianming heaved a sigh of relief.

"Finally here."

Looking at the bustling streets, Zhan Tianming felt that this trip was worth it.

Traveling a hundred miles alone wasn't easy.

Although the city was wondrous, Zhan Tianming didn't have any plans to live here for long.

It was definitely better than Nanqing Village.

However, it wasn't close to Purple Cloud Mountain.

After all, he only had 10 years to complete the mission.

Within these 10 years, he planned on spending every living, breathing moment leveling up, exploring, and unlocking the mysteries of the Nine Dragons Continent. If he were to fail the mission, only a terrifying punishment waited for him.

Just imagining an ugly woman forcing him to sleep with her gave him the willies.

"Forget it. I won't think about it. The thing I should be thinking about is the reward, not the punishment. If I complete the mission, I can become the strongest man in Nine Dragons Continent, and I can even sleep with the most beautiful women and drink the finest wines," The more he thought about it, the stronger his motivation got.

Even as he stood there as a weak pauper, he couldn't help but fantasize about his future: beauty in the left and the finest wine in his right hand.

"Haha!"

Zhan Tianming could not help but laugh out loud.

'This is life!'

"Is that person stupid? Why is he standing in the middle of the street and giggling?"

"I guess that person must be a country bumpkin. He saw the resplendence of our city for the first time and went crazy."

"Bi'er, come over here, don't get near that idiot."

"Mother, is he really an idiot?"

"…"

Seeing Zhan Tianming standing in the middle of the road and laughing idiotically, everyone around him kept their distance and pointed at him.

Zhan Tianming came back to reality and looked around.

"Damn! You're the fools; your whole family is full of idiots."

After rolling his eyes, Zhan Tianming left with wide strides.

All the passersby rolled their eyes at him.

After asking for directions, Zhan Tianming went to an old shop that collected all kinds of groceries.

"Heng Yuan Xiang?"

"Holy shit! Did Shanghai's Heng Yuan Xiang really open a franchise store in this foreign world?"

"Ugh... Something doesn't seem right."

Zhan Tianming looked carefully.

Looking at the characters, he found that they were slightly different from the Hong Yuan Xiang on Earth.

'Forget it, forget it.'

He walked into the old store.

"Dear guest, what do you need?" A shop assistant stepped forward to welcome him.

The shop assistant welcomed him while looking at Zhan Tianming's attire.

He wore a set of refined leather armor, leather pants, leather shoes, and leather gloves. He definitely seemed like a rich man.

And the rules of all worlds—not just this world or Earth—stated: treat wealthy customers like kings.

"Do you accept leather goods here?" Zhan Tianming casually asked.

"Accept, of course, we accept." The clerk nodded.

With a flip of his hand, Zhan Tianming took out leather armor, leather pants, a pair of leather shoes and placed them on the counter.

When the clerk saw Zhan Tianming materializing stuff out of thin air, his eyes immediately lit up.

'Cosmic Bag!'

'It must be the Cosmic Bag.' The clerk was certain.

Anyone who possessed a Cosmic Bag was an absolutely loaded customer.

The shop assistant's attitude became even more respectful, and he carefully inspected the leather armor and the other items.

They were all handmade and were definitely of top quality.

Zhan Tianming said calmly, "This is just a sample. If the price is fair, I'll trade large amounts of leather goods with you."

When the clerk heard this, he hurriedly said, "Sir, please wait for a moment. I will go and invite the shopkeeper."

"Go." Zhan Tianming waved his hand.

Moments later, a middle-aged man, who looked rather fat, entered the shop from the back door under the clerk's lead.

Obviously, there was a courtyard behind the shop.

"Respected guest, this old man is Guo Nian. May I know how to address you?" When the fat middle-aged man arrived at the shop, he saw the leather armor and confirmed it was indeed of the highest quality. Then, he recalled what the shop assistant said before. This young man in front of him also had a Cosmic Bag.

"New Year?" Zhan Tianming was startled. (Note: Name means New Year in Chinese.)

'What a name!'

'There is actually someone named "New Year?"'

'Wait! Why New Year and not New Year's Eve?'

"It's Guo Nian as in the year of New Year's Eve." Guo Nian knew that Zhan Tianming was mistaken. However, Zhan Tianming wasn't the first time this had happened, so he just explained briefly.

"Oh, oh, got it." Zhan Tianming nodded, "My name is Zhan Tianming."

He then pointed at the leather armor on the counter.

"Shopkeeper Guo, you can take a look and then offer a price. If the price is fair, then I will only supply you guys with my leather goods."

"Don't worry, little brother. This is a hundred-year-old shop. The price is always fair."

Guo Nian nodded, then looked at the clerk beside him. "Hurry up and make the best tea to serve the guests."

"Yes, shopkeeper." The shop assistant nodded and left.

Guo Nian carefully examined the leather armor and other items on the counter.

After a while, the waiter brought the teacup.

Zhan Tianming was not polite and raised his head to take a sip.

The taste was good.

Before long, Guo Nian stretched out five fingers.

"Leather armors, leather pants, they are all top quality goods. Exquisite workmanship, one piece for fifty silver."

Soon after, his fingers became three.

"Shoes, superior goods, exquisite workmanship, a pair for 30 taels."

"Shopkeeper, is that all?" Zhan Tianming revealed a slightly dissatisfied look.

Actually, he had no idea if this price was fair or not.

However, he did know about the common tactics of bargaining.

There was certainly room for improvement in the shopkeeper's bid.

"Little brother, this price is already quite fair." Guo Nian shook his head, refusing to raise the price.

"What if the level of my raw material increases?" Zhan Tianming asked.

"This... It depends on what kind of material it is," Guo Nian said.

"What if it's a demonic beast?" Zhan Tianming asked.

Hearing that, Guo Nian's eyes revealed a hint of joy. "Haha! Little brother, if your raw material really is the skin of a demonic beast, you have my word that this shop will buy it at a sky-high price. Furthermore, all you other good made out of ordinary and vicious beast hide will enjoy a 10% rise in cost."

"Alright, it's a deal." Zhan Tianming was straightforward.

Without wasting any time, he walked to a spacious and empty land.

He raised his hand and waved it.

Bump...

A pile of furs fell on the ground.

Soon after, Zhan Tianming took out a few pieces of leather made from demonic beast hide.

Guo Nian and the shop assistant were both dumbfounded.

'Oh my god!'

'So much leather?'

After an incense stick of time, the transaction was finally completed.

Guo Nian took out more than 80,000 silver tales and handed them over to Zhan Tianming.

"Little brother, your leather goods are worth a total of 83,000 taels. Please count them."

"There's no need to count. It's just a small sum of money; should I be worried that you'll cheat me?" Zhan Tianming laughed.

However, his heart was actually beating like a drum right now.

He never thought that the skin products made from demonic beasts hide would be this valuable.

It was simply a super treasure trove.

Half of these 80,000 taels of silver were made from the demonic beast's leather.

Guo Nian smiled but didn't reply.

"Alright, Mr. Guo, I will always bring my business here in the future."

"We would really appreciate that."

"Also, can you take a look at these..."

After saying that, Zhan Tianming took out a few iron tools he had forged himself.

And some game meat too.

Since Guo Nian owned something akin to a supermarket, he took everything.

Soon, the system space was empty again. Except for a few items that he would use, Zhan Tianming sold everything.

Walking out of the Heng Yuan Xiang, Zhan Tianming was still surprised.

Heng Yuan Xiang didn't look like a luxurious store, but it could still fork out 100,000 silver taels in a blink. Guo Nian didn't even frown as if they could buy all the goods, no matter how many came.

"Supermarket in an isekai, indeed."

Muttering to himself, Zhan Tianming turned and left.

He asked for directions and soon arrived at a place called Myriad Treasures Store.

The moment he took his first step toward the tower, he heard a shout coming from inside.

"Get out!"