Chapter 6

The merchant also looked at Lin Mo with a surprised expression; could this person really be Young Lady Tingyun's benefactor?

But the next second, he became confused; did this person even know how to choose which piece?

Under Tingyun's interested gaze, Lin Mo nodded: "I'll take them all."

Tingyun: "?????"

The maid: "?????"

The merchant: "?????"

Hearing Lin Mo's words, Tingyun's body went stiff; what the hell, take them all?

Did this guy know how valuable a single Zhu Zhao-grade mineral was?

If one could take them all, would she have bothered choosing just now?

She had only been thinking of saving some money and haggling a bit, but this fellow went and demanded them all directly, nearly causing Tingyun to spit out a mouthful of old blood.

"Young Master, I could tell from the start that you possess an extraordinary bearing."

At this moment, the merchant spoke to Lin Mo with a face full of excitement: "You are truly generous with your spending."

He had been wondering which piece the Minghuo Chamber of Commerce would select, but now Young Lady Tingyun's benefactor wanted to take them all; if the Minghuo Chamber of Commerce bought everything, he would make a killing on this deal!

It was simply a blood-soaked profit!

Moreover, since it was Young Lady Tingyun's benefactor speaking, he could surely influence Young Lady Tingyun's opinion.

Concerning his three Zhu Zhao-grade minerals, the merchant suddenly became extremely obsequious toward Lin Mo, wishing nothing more than for Lin Mo to purchase them all right now.

PS: I am an experienced author; those familiar with my work know my updates are solid, and I never make empty promises like 'ten chapters on day one if data is good.'

During my previous Genshin novel, even during the new book period, I updated 30,000 words daily for a month, then 20,000 words; half a month ago, my comprehensive martial arts novel updated 20,000 words a day, all verifiable; after any book goes on sale, I update around 20,000 words daily, or even more from the start.

For this Star Rail novel, a minimum of 10,000 words daily is certain; the specific amount will be however much I can write, since flowers, ratings, and comments are motivation—seeing them makes me type incredibly fast!

After all, this is truly encouragement for an author.

Nowadays I rarely like splitting chapters; sometimes a single chapter being over 3,000 or 4,000 words is normal.

Every book I start has a complete chapter outline, general outline, and plot thread; when I publish, it is guaranteed to support around 200,000 words, and I am skilled at writing long novels!

So everyone need not worry; to be honest, I began conceiving this book when the game server launched, but I hadn't sorted out the plot thread until now; I originally thought to store over 100,000 words before releasing, but decided to publish now; although I don't have over 100,000 words stored, the current plot is sufficient to write over 100,000 words without issue.

Of course, I still have some stored manuscripts on hand, just in case of emergency.

"Wait!"

Seeing the merchant approach Lin Mo to pitch his wares, prompting Lin Mo to buy everything, Tingyun spoke with an expressionless face: "Let us consider this further."

Saying this, Tingyun directly pulled Lin Mo's hand, walking to the side, then leaned close to his ear and lightly gnashed her silver teeth: "Benefactor, this humble woman only needs one piece of Zhuzhao-grade mineral; otherwise, I would not have started selecting in the first place. Buying them all would be wasting three times the credit points—no, two times."

The words this fellow had just spoken nearly gave her a cerebral hemorrhage.

She had only intended to select one piece of good quality to save a considerable amount of money, yet this fellow wanted to take them all.

If taking them all were an option, she would not have started selecting in the first place but would have chosen to buy the entire stock immediately.

Such matters did not need to trouble the subordinates who were unable to handle them; it required her to make the decision.

"Waste, hmm..."

Hearing Tingyun's words, Lin Mo pinched his chin and nodded gently: "Indeed, I did not think of this aspect just now; my consideration was lacking."

Tingyun: ".........."

"When you buy things, do you not consider credit points?"

Seeing Lin Mo lost in thought, Tingyun looked speechless; did this fellow have any concept of credit points at all?

How could one possibly not consider credit points when buying things?

"If everything requires considering credit points, it is equivalent to having one's hands and feet bound by credit points in all matters."

Lin Mo shook his head, leaving Tingyun looking utterly confused.

Lin Mo then continued calmly: "Credit points are naturally currency, but currency is not naturally credit points."

Tingyun: "????"

"Chief, what you are saying sounds like economics."

Nearby, a fox-eared little maid spoke softly; she had heard everything Lin Mo just said.

"So this fellow, although very knowledgeable about macroeconomics, does not understand how to save small amounts of money."

At this moment, Tingyun also realized that what Lin Mo said was knowledge of economics, and his understanding seemed quite profound.

However, since he understood, he should be even better at saving money!

Why was this fellow the opposite?

"Do not waver."

Looking at Tingyun gnashing her silver teeth, Lin Mo shook his head, smiled faintly, and spoke calmly: "Even if credit points bind one's hands and feet, I still have methods to solve problems even under such constraints."

"The identification of the quality of those ores just now was indeed tricky; regardless of whether a raw ore is good or bad, its texture, color, and internal patterns will not differ significantly."

"Only after the mineral is crafted into a finished item will one discover that some products are simply unfit for display."

"At that point, if you go back to argue with those unscrupulous merchants, they will make excuses claiming your casting technique was poor or that you failed to control the fire temperature during refinement."

"Not bad."

Seeing Lin Mo speaking eloquently, Tingyun's expression shifted from gnashing her silver teeth to one of surprise.

This fellow actually knew so much, completely exceeding her expectations.

Whether it was his understanding of minerals or his knowledge of purchasing, he was familiar with the usual tricks merchants used to swindle people, explaining everything logically and clearly.

But if he knew so much, why did he not know how to bargain!

"However, a true method of identification does exist."

Lin Mo spoke calmly: "True insiders still know how to distinguish them."

Through the mineral knowledge in his mind, Lin Mo discovered that mineral identification was the same regardless of location.

Zhuzhao-grade minerals were the top-tier minerals, known by different names in different places.

"You can identify Zhuzhao-grade ores?"

Hearing Lin Mo's words, Tingyun's pupils contracted sharply, and the fox-eared little maid beside her also froze in shock.

Was it true or false that one could identify Zhuzhao-grade ores?

It was impossible, surely.

After all, every single Zhuzhao-grade ore was top-tier and of immense value; even ordinary appraisers could not determine their true quality!

Nor had anyone ever heard of someone capable of identifying minerals of this Zhuzhao grade.

If someone truly could identify them, would they not be able to use this method to trade extensively and rapidly accumulate wealth?

Although the universe was vast and contained all manner of wonders, and Tingyun dared not say definitively that such a person existed, at least she had never encountered one.

As the Chief of the Minghuo Chamber of Commerce and part of the Beyond-Heaven Merchant Caravan, she had traveled to other worlds for trade, yet she had never heard of anyone capable of identifying Zhuzhao-grade minerals.

"Like a fool pointing at the moon, watching the finger but not the moon."

Lin Mo spoke calmly, leaving Tingyun stunned: "What does this mean?"

"When you point your finger at the moon, a wise person understands you are pointing at the moon, but an unwise person sees only the finger before their eyes, not the moon."

Tingyun: "????"

Tingyun's eyelid twitched; was this fellow calling her unintelligent?

"Patterns, outer shells... these are all fingers."

Lin Mo paid no attention to Tingyun and continued speaking eloquently: "For Zhuzhao-grade minerals, brightness is as important as the moon in the sky; the top-tier jade, which is high-quality Zhuzhao-grade mineral, possesses greater affinity for fire attribute power. In other words, under high temperatures, the ore that shines brighter and appears bluer has better quality."

"It is actually so simple?!"

Hearing Lin Mo's words, Tingyun's face showed shock; was the method to identify Zhuzhao-grade minerals really this simple?

Was it true or false? She had never heard of such a thing.

For a moment, Tingyun subconsciously looked at the little maid beside her, who also wore a confused expression; could one really identify Zhuzhao-grade minerals just by using high temperatures?

"I have already told you the secret of the jade world worth a thousand gold."

Lin Mo smiled faintly: "The rest is practice."

"If this is true, then it is indeed worth a thousand gold, or even priceless."

Hearing Lin Mo's words and seeing that he did not look like he was lying, Tingyun secretly drew a sharp breath.

If this were truly the case, she had completely uncovered a major secret; at the very least, before others found out, she could massively gather ore, continuously identify Candle-Illumination grade minerals, and make a huge profit!