Chapter 51

The king quickly decided, "Then first help me buy grain worth 300,000 yuanbao, stockpile that much for now, and later I'll have the artisans who came with the palace make that copper plan for you, free of charge."

He planned to exchange all the yuanbao he had just gotten from selling his assets for grain; having a balance of two thousand yuanbao was fine—he could earn more by setting up a stall, and stockpiling grain was still crucial in Secluded Prefecture.

Bai Yang didn't take it for nothing either, "That's great! I don't want it for nothing either—just sell it to me cheaply when the time comes. But you're asking for too much grain: 300,000 yuanbao converts to 30 million of our currency here. Even though I have a supermarket, I can only supply you in batches; I can't take in too much at once." Since he set up an Ancient Blue Star Food & Sundries Store in the myriad realms and earned money, he opened a big supermarket in the present world as a cover. With funds, he opened it in a bustling district, and frankly it's still quite profitable. Otherwise, ordering that much food and drink every day would be too conspicuous.

Thirty million worth of grain, even if he runs a supermarket, he'd have to buy it in batches.

This king isn't in a hurry anyway—he's also stockpiling grain, and once he's stockpiled enough, he'll conscript laborers to repair the city walls. If Secluded Prefecture's city falls, it's directly a matter of his life, so he must take it seriously.

"What's a supermarket?" the king asked curiously.

"Well, it's an extra-large grocery store, as big as half your street. Inside, food, drinks, clothes, etc., are placed on shelves for customers to pick up and put in baskets, then at the entrance there are barriers and a cashier desk to settle the bill together."

"Then, won't someone just eat all the tasty stuff inside?" In Secluded Prefecture, if someone drops a fried pancake on the ground, the next second a street beggar snatches it away……

Bai Yang: "…Better not try a supermarket in Secluded Prefecture's situation. We're not lacking food and drink here." Just thinking about it is scary, but forget it!

The king clenched his little fists again, "Our Secluded Prefecture will surely become a good place where nothing is lost on the road someday!"

The big sale was made, then he also sold a coral hairpin, after which Bai Yang urged him to go to sleep. The king is still a bean sprout—lack of sleep will affect his height.

The two of them then discussed the scheme to pit the Second Prince, before going to sleep.

After lying down in bed, the king couldn't sleep for a long time—three million taels of silver, who could sleep with that! How many three‑million‑tael sums could his father's treasury hold in a year?!

Excited, he tossed and turned, sat up, lay down, and kept rolling~

Bai Ze painfully jumped out of bed, kicked the sleeping Wei Ni out of the blankets with one foot, and then lay down in Wei Ni's nest.

Wei Ni got up, scratched his head for a moment, still not understanding what had happened. He then glanced at Bai Ze, the big boss in his nest, who, being quite timid, crawled to the edge of the nest and lay down again—sleeping on the ground… just the same.

The next day, because of the Second Prince's arrival, the king finally had a legitimate reason to skip class; after breakfast he took Bai Li Heng out onto the street.

Bai Li Heng stayed in the car the whole time, wrinkling his nose; actually the king couldn't really tolerate the street's smell either, but his current persona is that of a suffering little pitiful thing— the calmer he acts, the more the Second Prince thinks. Outside the prince's mansion, the street always has a sour, rotten smell from fermenting sewage mixed with the sheep dung visible everywhere; it's best not to dwell on it.

After consulting Grand Tutor Xu, the king knew that aside from Long Peace and a few prosperous areas, most cities in the Great Jin were like this, which made him feel a bit better. Of course, the streets full of sheep dung are because Secluded Prefecture lies near the border close to the grasslands, where more people raise sheep than in other cities.

The king has sworn more than once that, given the chance, he'll plan a drainage system—he really can't stand this messy city street.

Upon reaching the central market, the environment improved somewhat, and Bai Li Heng lifted the curtain to take a look at the street scene.

The Aquatic World catches everyone's eye at a glance; even the well‑traveled Second Prince is no exception.

The king stood under the glass window with lots of sound effects, "Ding ding ding~ This is our Secluded Prefecture's specialty shop, the Aquatic World. I spent a fortune buying a big one to give to Father Emperor; judging by the travel time, you should have run into it on the way, right?"

Bai Li Heng was also quite surprised—he had indeed run into them, having heard they were a squad sent by the You King to Long Peace; he thought it was a new "begging for poverty" work, so he didn't pay attention.

"So… these fish can be shipped back to Long Peace?" Seeing such vivid, lively big fish for the first time, swimming in the transparent tank was too beautiful! Apart from a few flower ponds with fish in the palace, the rest are kept in earthenware jars; who has ever seen a fish tank more crystal‑clear than glazed porcelain?

The Second Prince took a liking to it.

"You'll see once you go in; the boss said about half would survive, so buying more is just fine—I bought over thirty for Father Emperor, spending all my pocket money~"

Bai Li Heng hurried in to examine closely, giving his brother a half‑hearted compliment, "At least you've got filial piety."

The king grabbed him, "When you go back you also need to keep mentioning my filial piety to Father Emperor—Second Elder Brother, don't just pay lip service!"

Bai Li Heng: ……

You crafty fatty!

Upon entering the shop, the shopkeeper warmly came over; the king waved and called the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, I'm bringing you a distinguished guest—my older brother from Long Peace has seen all the good things in the world, so introduce him to your finest specimens; don't bother showing the ordinary ones, that'd be disgraceful."

The shopkeeper immediately warmed up, "A distinguished guest from Long Peace? You've come at the right time—our koi are currently the only ones in the Great Jin found in Secluded Prefecture, fresh goods just arrived from overseas. Today we have a few top‑grade unique specimens; originally the Bai family had ordered a batch to sell in Healthy Establishment, but since the distinguished guest arrived, let him pick first—Long Peace still doesn't have this koi!"

The Second Prince isn't short of money; he just lacks a fresh first‑pick.

Having heard that Long Peace doesn't have them, he's already decided to buy big.

The shopkeeper told him about the Zen meaning of the White Ink koi, the wealth‑bringing nature of the Golden Koi, the warding‑off‑evil property of the Red Koi, how lively the Red‑crowned Koi is—when they swim, fish and dragon dance together, most auspicious—and how spiritual and meaningful koi in general are.

Bai Li Heng spent money decisively, "If the lowest we can keep alive on the way back is half, right? Then give me five—no, ten—of the White Ink koi! The Golden Koi is great; I'll send ten to my maternal grandfather! Ten of the Red Koi as well, and ten of the Red‑crowned Koi—I like them all, give me ten each, big ones!" This person buys things without asking the price.

The king half‑heartedly advised from the side, "Second Elder Brother, that's so expensive—how can you buy ten, that many? They just said you can't keep an even number, you have to keep odd numbers…"

Bai Li Heng: "Then change it to eleven."

The king: ……

The shop's assistant clattered away with a scoop, and the shopkeeper then led the wealthy patron to the innermost tanks holding the Secluded Prefecture Three‑Color koi.

"Take a look at this specimen, sir—it's called the Secluded Prefecture Three‑Color. Doesn't the head look like it bears a lucky 'Ji' character? That's the hidden trait of the Secluded Prefecture Three‑Color; when it shows, it's a marked variety. Look at that ordinary three‑color over there—just 200 taels, while this marked one is our shop's treasure, priced at 1,888 taels. We stamp a lucky price on it, though it's actually not for sale. The Secluded Prefecture Three‑Color is the finest variety of koi; would you also like eleven of them? There are five varieties in total, which can be mixed and matched for keeping. Our store rule is: if you purchase at least ten of each of the five current varieties, we give a benefit—we can send you three sets of water‑changers and a set of Crystal Palace underwater scenery."

"What's the point of a shop treasure if it's not a shop treasure? I bought it—haul it out!"

The shopkeeper: "…"

"And what is the Crystal Palace?"

The shopkeeper then brought him to face the three large tanks with the set scenery: one Crystal Palace, one Dragon Palace, and one Rustic Courtyard Style.

With scenery and fish together, it looks even better than the window facing the street outside.

Just add a glass fish tank to this landscape; when bought back, don't raise koi, raise a few small turtles—other small fish are nice too.

Upon learning that the large one costs 3000 taels, Bai Li Heng immediately decided to take three; he also wanted these three scenes.

The Great King, behind, was just about to count on his fingers—his second brother alone outweighs all the rich people of Youzhou! He bought over ten thousand taels of fish, and also nine thousand taels worth of fish tanks.

Still not having figured it out, he heard Bai Li Heng continue ordering: 'This small-sized one is also not bad; give me one too. Make sure it won't break, right?'

Shopkeeper: 'This cannot be guaranteed; on the road, to reduce jolting for the esteemed guest, we will pack it as thick as possible for you, increase cushioning.'

Oxygen tablets are essential for transport; the journey is long and buying them is inconvenient. Bai Li Heng understood their use, thought them a good thing, and directly bought one thousand taels, clearing out the shop's stock.

The shopkeeper attached great importance, giving him all the deliverable gifts, and also had Bai Li Heng leave a few servants to follow and learn the knowledge of transporting koi and fish tanks, to ensure most koi could smoothly reach Chang'an.

It was thorough, very eager to keep this big wealthy patron.

While the shopkeeper went to settle accounts, the Great King took a moment to go over and lower his voice to remind him: 'In a moment, tell him that tomorrow overseas will still send a batch of fresh novelties, landing in Youzhou; if he's interested, he can come take a look this afternoon. I will have someone send it to you in the morning.'

The shopkeeper clicked his tongue, 'What a fat little lamb—can it stand being plucked so much?'

Probably his performance was too obvious; the Great King also noticed, and remarked: 'The world's richest, the Jin family.'

The shopkeeper's face changed immediately, wishing he could squeeze another fifty thousand taels out of him! The Jin family—just a drop in the bucket, a drop in the bucket!

【Note: Yellow millet is what is now called yellow millet. Foxtail millet is foxtail millet. Wheat, needless to say, is wheat flour (˵¯͒〰¯͒˵)】