Chapter 8: Making Money (Part 2)

Zhang Dakui took the man aside to exchange items, while Guo Shier continued to shout.
A talisman master came over and said, “I don’t have any stored talismans. Could you give me some food in exchange? I’ll offer two talisman coins per pound of meat—what do you think?”
Guo Shier shook his head. “Uncle, that won’t work. I only do exchanges, not sales.”
Everyone present knew the price the talisman master offered wasn’t low, but it was impossible to buy food at such a rate. No one wanted to trade food for talisman coins, as they couldn’t even be eaten.
The man sighed, took out a set of talisman books, and said, “These talisman books… I wonder if you’d consider exchanging them? They were written by a talisman cultivator; I got them by chance.”
Guo Shier knew that only talisman cultivators could create stored talismans, so he was naturally interested in their handwritten works. Yet he showed no signs of excitement and calmly asked, “How do we exchange them?”
The man gritted his teeth and said, “Two thousand pounds of meat!”
Before Guo Shier could respond, someone nearby exclaimed in surprise, “Two thousand pounds of meat for a set of talisman books? That’s absurd!”
“They’re bullying a kid!”
“…”
The man blushed, realizing his price was too high. Seeing that Guo Shier remained silent, he grew impatient and asked, “Then how much do you suggest?”
In truth, Guo Shier was already fully agreeable, but he couldn’t let the exchange price rise too much, as that would harm those who had food and cause public outrage. He said, “Five hundred pounds of meat, plus a hundred pounds of flour.” That was still a significant amount—100 pounds of flour could be exchanged for thousands of pounds of meat, as meat was cheap here while flour was a luxury.
The man said, “Deal!”
Guo Shier obtained two more stored talismans and left satisfied, accompanied by Zhang Dakui.
“Uncle Zhang, how much meat and flour do you still have?”
“Eight hundred pounds of meat and two hundred pounds of flour.”
Zhang Dakui, holding several bags of stored talismans, said, “Shier, in a few days… the price of meat and flour will rise again. Did we exchange too early?”
Guo Shier shook his head. “We can’t be too greedy. Even if we had money, we couldn’t buy them normally. Hehe, if it weren’t for the food shortage, they wouldn’t agree to exchange either.”
Zhang Dakui asked, “Should we go home?”
Guo Shier smiled. “Let’s not rush back. Let’s visit Grandpa Xu first.” He had long wanted to see Xu Zai Kun since returning, but had been too busy with training. Since they were already at the Talisman Masters’ Hall, they might as well make the stop.

The courtyard where Xu Zai Kun lived was much smaller than that of his master Luo Jie, and he had fewer followers—only a dozen or so—along with family members, apprentices, and servants, totaling around a hundred people. After the announcement, a butler came out to greet them. Xu Zai Kun was delighted to see Guo Shier and said, “Shier, you finally came to see me! Hehe, I thought you had forgotten…” Guo Shier replied with a smile, “How could I forget, Grandpa? I’ve just been too busy with my studies.” Xu Zai Kun pulled him to sit down and said, “Let’s eat here tonight.” Guo Shier asked, “Grandpa, do you have enough food now?” Xu Zai Kun smiled bitterly, “Everything is rationed these days; how could there be enough? But don’t worry, Shier. I’m a talisman alchemist and can exchange high-grade talismans for food. Don’t worry, one of my apprentices has gone to do it and should be back soon.” “Master, I’m back,” said Guo Shier. Xu Zai Kun noticed Guo Shier’s strange expression, a half-smile on his face, and couldn’t help asking, “What’s wrong?” Guo Shier tried to hold back his laughter and said, “Nothing, it’s fine.” Just then, Wei Xian entered cheerfully, carrying a talisman bag. As soon as he saw Guo Shier, he exclaimed in surprise, “Huh? What are you doing here?” Guo Shier replied, “Why can’t I be here?” Old Master Xu got angry and shouted, “Wei Xian, what are you doing?” Wei Xian trembled in fear and forced a smile, saying, “Hehe, Master, my apprentice met this young man at the market just now, hehe, hehehe…” Xu Zai Kun asked, “You exchanged four high-grade talismans—how much food did you get?” Wei Xian said proudly, “I got two thousand pounds of meat. Alas, if I hadn’t acted quickly, I might not have gotten even that much.” The old man was shocked and said, “What? Only that much? Are you joking? One high-grade talisman can save a life in a critical moment. Normally, it costs at least two thousand tael—and I might not even agree to sell it! Only two thousand pounds? That’s way too little…” He treated Guo Shier as one of his own, speaking without any restraint. Wei Xian complained, “Master, you don’t understand. Things can’t be measured in money now. Food prices rise three times a day, and no one wants to sell it. We can only exchange it for other goods, and it’s getting harder and harder to do so. By the way, young man, you know… tell Master. Alas, Master doesn’t believe me…” Guo Shier knew there was some exaggeration in Wei Xian’s words. He looked at Wei Xian and smiled. Wei Xian broke into cold sweat from his smile and, behind Xu Zai Kun’s back, subtly bowed his head, clearly seeking help.

Guo Shier smiled and said, “Grandpa, I brought quite a bit of food. Hehe, it’s especially for you.” He signaled Zhang Dakui to take out the talisman bag and said with a smile, “It’s not much, just a small token from me.”
Xu Zai Kun repeatedly said, “Ah, that can’t be. How can I take your things? Besides, food is in extreme shortage now. If I take it… what will you do?”
Guo Shier replied, “Grandpa, I got a lot of food from my master. There’s enough for everyone. Hehe, just consider it my way of showing respect to you. Please accept it. Otherwise, I won’t dare to come again.”
Though the gift was light, Guo Shier’s sincerity was profound. The old man was deeply moved and said, “Ah, ah… I’ll take it, I’ll take it. Good boy.” He handed the talisman bag to Wei Xian and said, “Wei Xian, this is Shier. You two should get closer and help each other from now on, understand?”
Wei Xian smiled broadly and eagerly replied, “I understand, master! I know!” He took the talisman bag and ran out. If not for Guo Shier interrupting, things would have been tough today.
That night, Guo Shier stayed at Xu Zai Kun’s house and had a sumptuous dinner, which included two dishes made with talismans.
Guo Shier had been wondering about something. While eating, he asked, “Grandpa, with so many people in Beifu City, where does the food come from?”
Xu Zai Kun replied, “Flour is mainly imported from outside. Half of the meat is raised in Beifu City itself, another part comes from hunting, and the rest is also imported. Thanks to the talisman bags for transportation, Beifu City never lacks food. This year is special, but I believe the situation will improve soon.”
Guo Shier was puzzled. “Grandpa, I didn’t know there were such large farms. Beifu City has tens of millions of people, and they all eat a lot. How many livestock are needed to meet their needs?”
Xu Zai Kun couldn’t help but laugh. He said, “It’s not difficult. You know the Beast Talisman Sect, right? They have a talisman technique that allows for rapid mass production of livestock. However, only major sects have the ability to use this method.”
Guo Shier was surprised. “If they have this ability, why not speed up production?”
Xu Zai Kun replied, “It takes time to adjust. I estimate it will be about ten more days before meat can be supplied freely.”
Guo Shier was shocked inwardly and asked, “So flour still can’t be supplied?”
Xu Zai Kun nodded. He seemed a bit puzzled and asked, “Shier, why are you so interested in this?”

Guo Shier naturally was interested in this; his profits this time depended entirely on it. He had stockpiled a large amount of food, half of which was meat. If he started selling it all at once, he would suffer losses. He laughed and said, “It’s purely out of curiosity. Hehe, Grandpa, I got quite a few good things this time.”

Xu Zai Kun was astonished upon seeing the set of talisman-making books and said, “These are treasures of the Talisman-Making Sect!” He said seriously, “You must keep these well. It’s fine inside the sect, but you must never let others see them outside. I guess these books were stolen; I just don’t know how that person cracked the code. Maybe they were lucky and found the key talisman right away.”

Xu Zai Kun gave him countless instructions, his concern evident in every word.

That night, Guo Shier stayed at Xu Zai Kun’s house.

The next day, upon returning home, Guo Shier immediately asked his servants to call Aunt Lan and Aunt Xin over. He said, “Aunt Lan, we can sell the meat we’ve stockpiled. Sell it at the black market price within ten days. Keep only enough for ten days—well, maybe fifteen days. Keep stocking up on flour; its price will rise further.”

Everyone got busy again. Meat was in high demand at the time, so it was sold out as soon as it was put on the market. Starting at two large talismans per pound, people were even willing to pay four large talismans per pound by the end. Initially, they had spent over seven thousand large talismans on meat, and now the profit from just meat alone was nearly a million large talismans—more than a hundred times the original cost.

Aunt Lan and Aunt Xin could hardly believe it. In less than two months, they had made so much money. They admired Guo Shier greatly.

By this time, Guo Shier had already arrived at his master Luo Jie’s house.

Luo Jie was sitting cross-legged on the floor leisurely, with a small low table in front of him. On the table were some talisman snacks and a cup of aged wine. He drank the wine and ate the snacks, looking relaxed and happy. When he saw Guo Shier enter, he smiled and said, “What a good coincidence! Did you know your master has something delicious? Come, sit down. Someone, bring another set of bowls and chopsticks. Shier, have a drink with your master.”

Guo Shier didn’t refuse. He sat down smiling and asked, “Master, what’s so happy?”

Luo Jie replied, “In a few days, you can sell the meat. There’s too much; your family can’t eat it all.”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but laugh. He said, “Master, before I came, I already asked Aunt Lan to help sell it. It will take a few days to sell it all.”

Luo Jie took a sip of the aged wine and sighed, “You kid… Well, impressive. Have you sold the flour yet?”

Guo Shier replied, “Flour… Let’s keep it for now.”

Luo Jie couldn’t help but touch Guo Shier’s head and said, “Sometimes I wonder what’s in this kid’s head. He doesn’t seem like a child at all. This time, my master owes you a debt for making such a huge profit. Good, good… haha.”
Luo Luo suddenly walked in and said, “I’m back!”
Luo Jie’s expression immediately turned serious as he snapped, “Do you even know how to come back?”