A good-for-nothing bully who understood business?
Not even a ghost would believe that.
Wang Youcai thought he’d misheard. He picked at his ear with a finger and asked again,“You want to talk business with me?”
Shen Qingyue nodded solemnly.“I happened to obtain a rare treasure—its craftsmanship is exquisite, absolutely one of a kind. I heard it’s even a royal tribute item.”
“What treasure?” Wang Youcai grew interested. “Take it out and let me see.”
Shen Qingyue pretended to close the private room door, then mysteriously produced an item wrapped in red cloth and placed it on the table.
She said to Wang Youcai, “Brother Wang’s family does business—you should know your goods. Take a look. What do you think this is?”
Wang Youcai lifted the red cloth suspiciously.
A crystal-clear glass goblet appeared before his eyes!
Wang Youcai couldn’t help exclaiming,
“It’s a liuli cup!”
He carefully cradled the goblet and examined it up close, his tone full of shock.
“There isn’t a single impurity in the body of the cup! The artisan’s skill is truly miraculous—how on earth was this made?”
Of course Shen Qingyue wasn’t about to tell him it was just an ordinary glass cup she’d bought from the system mall for three star-coins, perfect for fooling ancient people.
“Brother Wang, what do you think this liuli cup is worth?”
Although Wang Youcai was an idle rich, having grown up under the influence of his tycoon father, he still knew a thing or two about business. He instantly guessed that Shen Qingyue wanted to sell him the cup.
Naturally, he wouldn’t reveal the real price.
After a brief moment of thought, he said casually,
“It is a fine item, but… those who own liuli ware are either wealthy or noble. The origins of your cup are unclear, Brother Shen. If it ends up offending someone we shouldn’t offend, wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?”
Shen Qingyue curled her lips. If he truly didn’t want it, he would’ve refused outright—beating around the bush meant he was trying to push the price down.
“Brother Wang, your family is in business—since when did you become so timid? It’s only a liuli cup. If it truly belongs to some noble, helping them retrieve it would even count as a merit.”
“Let’s be frank. Do you want to buy this cup or not? If you’re not interested, I’ll find another buyer.”
As she spoke, Shen Qingyue snatched up the cup and turned to leave.
Wang Youcai hurriedly chased after her and blocked the way, quoting a price.
“I’ll offer fifty taels! That’s equivalent to five years’ income for an ordinary farming household. Brother Shen, I’m being generous, aren’t I?”
In an era with backward industry, a liuli cup was worth at least a thousand taels. Wang Youcai offering only fifty made him a real profiteer.
Shen Qingyue raised two fingers.
“Two hundred taels.”
Wang Youcai frowned.“Brother Shen, that price… is far higher than what I had in mind.”
Shen Qingyue calmly named another number.
“Two hundred and fifty taels.”
“What? How did it become two hundred and fifty?” Wang Youcai said solemnly.“Brother Shen, your quotes are getting more and more outrageous. If you want a deal, you have to be sincere.”
Shen Qingyue remained expressionless and was just about to raise three fingers when Wang Youcai stopped her.
“Two hundred and fifty taels—deal! I’ll go get the money right now!”
Afraid she’d raise the price again, he hurriedly agreed.
“Brother Wang really is decisive. I’ll wait for you here,” Shen Qingyue thought with a laugh to herself. Her own family did business too—how could she not see through such little tricks?
If Pingyang County weren’t such a small place, she could’ve pushed the price to a thousand taels. But she urgently needed cash—two hundred and fifty was good enough.
After all, it was just an ordinary glass cup.
Wang Youcai soon returned with a silver note. Money changed hands; so did the cup.
The two lackeys had never seen so much money before. Of course their eyes burned with envy—but they quickly looked away and didn’t mention anything about splitting it.
The liuli cup belonged to their boss, and the idea had been hers too. They’d only helped a little—being treated to a meal would already be generous.
Who would dare dream of sharing the silver?
From the moment she got the money, Shen Qingyue had been watching their reactions. Seeing that they weren’t the kind of friends who went blind at the sight of cash, she generously gave each of them fifteen taels.
“Thanks for your help today. This is your labor fee.”
Feng Shuanzi and Zhang Tieshi’s eyes lit up—they hadn’t expected the boss to actually give them silver!
Fifteen taels was a year and a half of income for a farming household— and that was in a good year with favorable weather. In famine years when crops wouldn’t grow and even basic survival was a problem, spare money simply didn’t exist.
The two immediately swore loyalty:
“Boss, from now on, whatever you need, just say the word! I, Feng Shuanzi, will go through fire and water for you!”
“Boss, me too!”
Shen Qingyue waved a hand.“I understand your intentions. Now that you’ve got money, buy some things for your families—don’t just spend it all on yourselves.”
After dismissing the two, Shen Qingyue went to the money shop.
She exchanged some of the silver note into loose silver and copper coins, and converted two hundred taels into twenty taels of gold.
Being a local bully had its advantages—doing things didn’t attract too much attention.
She walked to a deserted corner and spoke silently to the system.
“System, sell the gold.”
The system’s voice immediately sounded:
【Recycling twenty taels of gold. One hundred star-coins per tael. Total: 2000 star-coins.】
Shen Qingyue continued,
“Activate the automatic detection of recyclable items within a hundred-meter range.”
【Acknowledged, Host. Function activated.】
Shen Qingyue was very satisfied. With this ability, hunting for wild goods in the mountains would be much more convenient.
Her account balance now stood at 1000 star-coins.
In dangerous situations, she could buy self-defense items from the mall—greatly boosting her safety factor!
She still had twenty taels of silver on her person.
of course it was time to shop!
She went from shop to shop and stall to stall, first buying four bolts of cotton cloth and four pairs of soft-soled shoes. Then she stopped at the butcher’s and bought ten jin of pork with a good mix of fat and lean, plus five jin of rice and five jin of fine flour.
Finally, she didn’t forget to stop by the general store to weigh out two jin of brown sugar and pick up oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings.
After making the rounds, her hands were completely full.
She simply bought a bamboo basket to carry on her back.
In her former wealthy life, Shen Qingyue would never have believed that after one transmigration she’d be personally shopping for rice, flour, grain, and oil.
Sure enough—when it comes to survival, people can learn anything.
She really missed her lazy modern life of wealth, good looks, and a smartphone. She didn’t know whether she could still go back—or what price she’d have to pay to return.
For now, she’d just focus on earning star-coins. With the system as her golden cheat, anything was possible.