Chapter 73

"He's quite a capable flipper."

Li Rui watched the back of the monkey-like man as he left.

In the black market.

There is a very special group of people who are both buyers and sellers.

The black market is a mix of fish and dragons, hiding many good treasures.

These people rely on their keen eyes to pick out valuable items from the vast amount of goods in the black market, then resell them to earn the price difference.

They call themselves "flippers," and each one has extraordinary discernment.

Flipping goods is a technical job.

But because they don't engage in production, they are often treated as hooligans by government officials, have low status, and are often looked down upon.

Selling all the herbs in one go.

The old herb seller packed up his stall happily, already thinking about how to show off to his wife at home.

Little did he know, a spiritual herb originally worth a hundred taels had been bought for eighty wen.

Li Rui never had any intention of exposing it from beginning to end.

Wealth and status are determined by heaven.

Both buyer and seller act entirely of their own volition.

Everyone makes a living based on their own ability.

The old man couldn't see the preciousness of the herbs, but the monkey-like man could, so that wealth should be enjoyed by the monkey-like man.

And if it weren't for that flipper, the old man wouldn't have been able to sell all his herbs so smoothly.

Li Rui was no longer a young man new to the Jianghu who felt injustice at everything he saw; naturally, he couldn't do something as impulsive as standing up for justice for others.

He walked with his hands behind his back.

Continuing down the black market street.

"Little brother, this porcelain of yours is not bad, sell it to me cheaper."

"Alright, three hundred wen."

"Cheaper."

"Two hundred wen."

"Two hundred and fifty wen, take it or leave it."

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll sell it to you, consider it my loss."

On the other side, the two customers, each with their own motives, satisfactorily reached the deal.

That porcelain was an old item that could sell for at least ten taels in the hands of an expert; if that young stall owner knew, he would surely be angry enough to vomit blood.

Another flipper.

Li Rui remained like a passerby.

With no intention of intervening at all.

Flippers often make mistakes, spending money to buy worthless things and losing money, so one cannot say that all flippers are black-hearted.

They are just making a living by their craft.

"There are indeed some good treasures."

Li Rui smiled.

As he walked, he observed the items on the stall owners' stalls.

Soon.

He stopped in front of a small stall.

Squatting down.

He asked with a smile: "Little brother, are the herbs you're selling authentic?"

A round little fatty squinted his eyes into crescents: "Li Ye, I run an honest business, never cheating the young or old!"

"You know me?"

Li Rui was a bit surprised.

"Of course!"

The little fatty nodded: "Who in the black market doesn't know you, Li Ye."

Li Rui smiled faintly: "I've been lacking herbs for my cultivation recently; if you have spiritual herbs, I'll take them all."

As he spoke, he observed the little fatty calmly.

The reason he said this was that the little fatty in front of him was a flipper and must have hidden good things.

The little fatty heard this.

His eyes lit up immediately; he first hesitated for a moment, then, as if having made up his mind, he pulled out a withered branch from somewhere.

"This is my family's ancestral Oolong Wood, a genuine spiritual herb. Since you want it, Li Ye, I'll give you a twenty percent discount and sell it to you for two hundred taels."

Two hundred taels!

Li Rui sneered.

Did he really think he was a sucker? He possessed the Spiritual Eye; this Oolong Wood was indeed real, but its grade was low, and its spiritual substance was pitifully scarce.

"Fifty taels."

"This..."

The little fatty was stunned upon hearing Li Rui's offer.

He had originally thought this person would at most cut the price in half, but he hadn't expected such a massive cut in one go.

The little fatty immediately looked mournful:

"Li Ye, you know I'm running a small business here, the absolute minimum is..."

He made a gesture of eight.

"Eighty taels."

After speaking, the little fatty looked at Li Rui with trepidation.

The old man in front of him was the person in charge of the black market; if he got angry and robbed him, he would be helpless.

Li Rui: "Fine, eighty taels it is, just come to the building to get the money. By the way, I also need some Cold Dew Grass recently, consider these as a bonus and give them to me."

"Alright."

The little fatty was overjoyed.

The previous Tiandi Alliance deacons were all arrogant types who never paid for things. The new Wu Zhishi Li was actually paying!

He nimbly wrapped the Oolong Wood and the Cold Dew Grass in oil paper separately and handed them to Li Rui.

These Cold Dew Grasses were worthless anyway.

Giving them to Li Rui as a bonus could also earn some favor.

He was naturally more than willing.

His heart was blooming with joy: "This Oolong Wood has been withered for years and has long since lost most of its medicinal efficacy; at most, it would sell for thirty taels at a pharmacy. Eighty taels is still a profit for me."

Although this new black market deacon is old, his discernment is still too green.

He wasn't worried about offending Li Rui and being unable to survive in the black market later.

Most flippers are rootless duckweed; at worst, he'd just take his money and go to another county to make a living. This deal was enough to feed him for quite a while.

Taking the items.

Li Rui continued walking leisurely.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

He carried the Oolong Wood in his left hand and the free Cold Dew Grass in his right.

In the eyes of others, the Oolong Wood was certainly more precious.

But in the eyes of Li Rui, who possessed the Spiritual Eye, it was a completely different scene.

That bundle of Cold Dew Grass, which many herb gatherers found too troublesome to pick, was actually emitting a dazzling golden light, even overshadowing the Oolong Wood.

Indeed, a rare spiritual herb was mixed among these Cold Dew Grasses.

Because its appearance was almost identical to Cold Dew Grass, even the most experienced flipper would make a mistake.

This spiritual herb was of an extremely high grade.

Worth five hundred taels!

If that little fatty flipper knew he had lost such a treasure, he would probably regret it until his intestines turned green.

Being a flipper requires not only good discernment but also good acting skills.

When encountering a treasure, one must also remain calm and composed.

For this reason, the flipper world has summarized three sets of methods to deceive others.

One is like the monkey-like man from before, buying all the goods in one go, hiding the real treasure among many items.

Another is like the person who bought the porcelain just now, pretending to haggle, making the stall owner feel they've taken advantage, becoming excited, and thinking only of selling the items as quickly as possible, using this psychology to paralyze the other party.

The last one, called 'making a feint to the east while attacking in the west,' is if you discover a treasure, first spend a high price to buy something else, then let the boss give you the real treasure as a bonus.

Li Rui used the last trick.

There are 360 trades, and every trade has its masters.

These flippers go to great lengths for their livelihood.

If you ask why Li Rui understands these things... because he was also a flipper for a period of time.

It's just that his discernment wasn't good enough, and fortunately, he stopped in time, ending up neither making nor losing money, finishing with dignity.

Now he possesses the Spiritual Eye.

Times are different now.

The black market is the place most suitable for him to dominate!

(End of chapter)