Chapter 197: The Art of Business

Pan Yun immediately felt the 300 wen per qian of lapis lazuli wasn't expensive; she pulled out a ten-tael silver note and handed it to him. "Give me change."

Chen the shopkeeper smiled as he gave her change. "Suddenly feel richer than the Emperor? At least you're not getting ripped off as badly."

Pan Yun watched his cheerful expression and couldn't help saying, "What are you so pleased about? The taxes from gold and silver mines go to the state treasury—do you think it's the Emperor's personal money? It's the people's money. It's our money!"

Chen the shopkeeper's smile slowly faded.

Pan Yun: "Even if it went into the Emperor's private treasury, it still affects us. When that little Emperor runs out of cash, do you think he'll suffer himself—or make us dip into the state treasury?"

Chen the shopkeeper had never considered these things, and had never heard such views from Pan Yun—he was stunned into silence.

Pan Yun took back her change and the box of lapis lazuli, shoving them both into her sleeve. Seeing his gloomy face, she comforted him: "Why don't you forget everything I just said? Pretend you never heard it. Insult the Emperor again—your mood might improve."

Chen the shopkeeper muttered unhappily, "Now that I know some of the stolen money was mine too, how can I possibly rejoice?"

Pan Yun shook her head, swaying slightly. "So you see—when the knife falls on your own flesh, it hurts. Now you understand how I felt when the price of lapis lazuli suddenly spiked? Like someone stole my own money. Chen the shopkeeper, since you feel the same pain, why not give me a little discount? Throw in half a qian extra?"

Chen the shopkeeper waved her off. "Go, go, go! If some invisible thief steals from me, fine—but now you're stealing too? I'd love to sell you at the old price, but my cost went up. If I sell you at cost, I'll be losing money myself."

He added, "If I could have given you a discount, I would have—after all, you're a longtime customer of our store."

"I don't believe you. You just sound nice. I'm new here, inexperienced—you're the seller. Don't you know lapis lazuli from Long Hushan spikes in price every September?"

Chen the shopkeeper frowned. "Little Immortal, my shop just opened this year—I truly have no experience."

His sincerity was so genuine, his expression so utterly honest, that Pan Yun grew uneasy. No way… no way—he really didn't prepare?

Pan Yun's heart clenched, aching so sharply she could barely breathe. She pressed her hand to her chest, crying out in anguish: "You—you—you didn't prepare at all?!"

A nearby customer overheard and said, "Little Immortal, you're kind. You're more upset than he is that he didn't prepare to make more profit."

Another burst out laughing. "It's because the Little Immortal has no excuse to haggle now—so she's in pain!"

Only Chen the shopkeeper knew she was truly in pain—because the shop's profits were, in truth, partly hers too. Hahaha…

Pan Yun returned to the mountain, clutching her aching chest.

The first thing she did upon returning was write a letter to her senior disciple in the capital, scolding him for failing to instruct Chen the shopkeeper properly.

"Since you studied at the Imperial Academy, you should know when certain goods rise in price and sell best. You should have warned Chen the shopkeeper to stock up early—why leave everything to his guesswork?"

Pan Yun urged him: "Write back quickly. Tell me what other items students will need that will soon spike in price—I'll have Chen the shopkeeper prepare early, and I'll stock up too, along with Miao Zhen and Miao He."

After finishing the letter, Pan Yun sent it via the Academy's postal station.

The journey to the capital took considerable time; by the time Wang Cong received it, the imperial decree had just been issued, and he had already packed his belongings to return to the mountain.

He opened the letter and couldn't help laughing.

Nearby, Yin Qingjun turned to look at him. "Senior Brother, what are you laughing at?"

Wang Cong handed him the letter. "Little Auntie overspent and is upset. She wants to stockpile goods herself and sell them—now that she's a student, she has far better access to students than we do."

Yin Qingjun shook his head. "Does everyone think of profit in every matter? I think she genuinely cares for Chen the shopkeeper—maybe she'll just stock a little for herself, Miao Zhen, and Miao He."

Wang Cong: "Miao Zhen and Miao He might only buy for themselves, but Little Auntie is just like me—she'll definitely stock some for resale. Don't doubt it."

"Then write back and tell her what to stockpile—see if she buys extra."

Wang Cong frowned. "It's already late September. The Academy's exams and holiday are coming soon—what's left to stockpile? If there must be something…"

Wang Cong lifted his eyes. "Then it's elixirs for cultivation."

The Academy differed from other official and private schools.

Those schools taught the Four Books and Five Classics, had very few holidays, little activity, and only a few extra days off compared to government officials—they were, by far, the students with the least vacation in all dynasties.

But the Academy was different.

They cultivated the Dao. The techniques taught here were basic, since students came from various lineages; they taught fundamentals, talismans, rituals, and minor arts.

So they left students time to study with their own sect masters—and to undergo trials.

For cultivators, trials were an essential course.

Confucian students could choose whether to travel for study; Daoist students had no choice. Every year, all students were required to undertake mandatory journeys.

First- and second-year students needed at least fifteen days of travel; third- and fourth-year students needed at least twenty.

Fifth-year students graduated after September; before graduation, they had a six-month trial requirement.

Clearly, the Academy took student travel very seriously—and strictly.

So the Academy usually held exams in early October, granted holiday by mid-October, and gave students one full month to choose their travel destinations.

With one month of flexible time, students had to keep daily journals. First-year students had to complete three Dao-related tasks, big or small—even fortune-telling counted.

Second-year students: five tasks. Third-year: seven. Fourth-year: nine.

From Wang Cong's experience, most students' trials involved hanging banners to read fortunes. Only fourth-year students deliberately sought dangerous places to do dangerous things to earn credits.

"Elixirs sell best," Wang Cong said. "From mid-October to next March, they train under their sect masters or alone, and their resources run low—they have to supply themselves."

Even though cheap, prices would still rise slightly due to supply-demand shifts.

Wang Cong wrote a letter and sent it by fast horse to the Academy, hoping his Little Aunts would catch this pre-holiday shopping frenzy.

Too late.

He received the letter too late—the students had already taken their exams and were waiting for results.

But Pan Yun didn't need his reminder. After realizing lapis lazuli and other cultivation resources spiked in price in September, she began watching what new goods arrived at shops below the mountain, and asked Zhou Wangdao.

"Senior Brother Zhou, what will students most want to buy in October?" "Most want to buy?" Zhou Wangdao thought. "Elixirs, talismans? Don't people always want those?"

"Always wanting them means they can buy anytime. Is there something they'll definitely buy in October?"

"Spirit-Infusing Elixir?" Zhou Wangdao said. "With the holiday coming, some places have less spiritual energy than Long Hushan, and students will leave to travel after break—many will stock up on Spirit-Infusing Elixir. Oh, and Grain Grain Bigu Pills."

Pan Yun wrinkled her nose. "Grain Grain Bigu Pills taste awful. Food isn't that expensive—why eat them?"

"Because during travel, accidents happen—you might not be able to eat, or find food. So everyone prepares Grain Grain Bigu Pills."

Pan Yun pondered. "So next month, Spirit-Infusing Elixir and Grain Grain Bigu Pills will sell best?"

Zhou Wangdao nodded.

Pan Yun understood. She went to Miao He. "Your chance to save your private stash has come!"

Spirit-Infusing Elixir and Grain Grain Bigu Pills? Cheap and easy to refine. Miao He could make three batches a day alone.

Miao Zhen and Pan Yun moved slower—one batch a day was already good.

!. ead

But they weren't interested in alchemy. After refining for two days, they grew restless and gave all the purchased herbs to Miao He—one went back to tinkering with her washing machine, the other returned to cultivation and stargazing.

As for the Academy's mandatory half-month trial, they weren't worried.

The three had already planned: "We'll head south from Long Hushan straight to Changzhou Prefecture, find Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Sister, then follow them back to Mount Sanqing. Round trip—half a month is plenty."

Miao Zhen and Miao He had never traveled far, especially without elders—Pan Yun didn't count—so they were both excited and anxious. "Should we write home? We need Senior Master's approval."

Pan Yun, being a good girl, agreed immediately. "Fine. I'll write to Senior Brother to report."

The letter to Mount Sanqing was short. Wang Feiyin replied quickly, giving them free rein—but warned them to carry Pan Gong's statue always, burn three sticks of incense morning and night, without fail.

Pan Yun's heart jumped. "How long has it been since I burned incense for Master?"

Miao Zhen said, "Little Auntie, don't panic—you just forgot morning incense. You've always done evening incense."

Pan Yun exhaled. "Right, right—I got startled and forgot. No good. Starting tomorrow, I'll do morning incense too."

Her desperate, last-minute piety was obvious.

Miao He refined elixirs and made a fortune before the holiday. Chen the shopkeeper, who had prepared early, also made a good profit for his store.

Pan Yun watched contentedly. She too made money by painting talismans and selling them—this time, she didn't use the name Xuanmiao; she stamped them with her own seal, selling them for five taels each.

But… who cared? She treated it as charity. Everyone was poor students—they bought happily, and Pan Yun sold happily.

Though she earned less than the twenty-tael talismans, her joy was no less.

After earning money, Pan Yun kept only about three hundred taels for herself and lent the rest to Miao Zhen and Miao He.

She feared they'd mismanage the money and lose it, so she planned to make them a sleeve-space.

The sleeve-space array wasn't hard for Pan Yun—but her cultivation base was too low.

Fortunately, her cultivation had improved recently. Though she hadn't yet broken through to the First Marquis realm, she was nearly there.

After the exams, she sat in the Reflection Cliff to meditate, compressing the power in her dantian, practicing finer control. Feeling ready, she excitedly dragged Miao Zhen and Miao He down the mountain to select jade.

Jade was one of the few substances capable of storing spiritual energy. Other materials could too, but none were as common.

Whether fine or poor, jade could store spiritual energy stably.

So in the 26th century, humans loved using jade to make space containers. Besides pure jade, alloys often included jade to make the created space more stable and durable.

But this wasn't the 26th century, when jade was scarce. Here, if they spent enough, they could buy fine jade.

Of course, they weren't willing to spend much.

"Though I'm confident, my cultivation is still low. We must leave room for future upgrades. Let's buy ordinary jade now. When I advance, I'll buy better and carve for you."

Miao Zhen and Miao He were still thrilled at the prospect of sleeve-space. They nodded eagerly. "We trust Little Auntie!"

Unfortunately, all jade below Long Hushan had been carved—jade plaques, carvings, pendants, rings—all bore designs.

Pan Yun frowned. She asked the jeweler outright: "Do you have any uncarved jade?"

The shopkeeper: "You mean raw jade?"

"No, no—I want jade that's been extracted but not carved."

The shopkeeper: "We have some—but they're our raw materials. We don't sell them."

Pan Yun gritted her teeth. "We're willing to pay more."

The shopkeeper asked: "Little Daoist, what are you carving? Anything bought here must be carved by our master."

Pan Yun: "I'm not carving. I just want two smooth jade plaques. Don't worry—I won't ruin your reputation. I won't say they're yours."

The shopkeeper hesitated. "Well… it's not impossible. How much are you offering?"

"Jade quality varies—prices differ. You must let us see the jade first."

The shopkeeper turned to his assistant. "Bring the finest tray of raw jade."

Pan Yun widened her eyes, wanting to stop him and say it wasn't necessary—something ordinary would do—but seeing the eager shopkeeper, she swallowed her words.

(End of Chapter)