Chapter 23 The Wealthy Man

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To reach the Tower Mountain Megacity where the Azure Sea lies, one would have to pass through Plain City after departing from Giantwood Town and then continue westward, crossing the Desert of Death. In the midst of the Desert of Death lies the City of Death, which is the next stop.

The reason why the Desert of Death is named so is due to its peril; without significant strength, it's very difficult to traverse, and even those with great strength face a certain risk of death attempting to cross it.

Within the Desert of Death, there are many dangerous areas inhabited by Death Sand Dragons—those indestructible, headache-inducing dragons that could not be slain or smashed. Unless you're a top fighter, an encounter would mean certain death.

For the average person, crossing the Desert of Death is a daunting task. Thus, although it's well-known that the Death Series Dragon Crystals in the City of Death are very expensive, very few dare to engage in such trade.

Those without the strength find it very difficult to cross the Desert of Death safely, and those who do possess the strength to make the crossing, they wouldn't care about such small money. Not to mention others, just take Xin Yun from the last life, who became too embarrassed to continue such trade in the later stages.

Carrying a hundred Death Series Dragon Crystals, Xin Yun returned to the warehouse. When the two arrived back at the warehouse, Ah Da had already returned, with hundreds of delicate and graceful thin sheepskin bags, each branded with noble patterns, neatly stacked there.

Picking up a sheepskin bag casually and examining it, Xin Yun nodded in satisfaction and said to Yi Luo Xiang and Ah Da, "Alright, time is of the essence. Let's get started, begin bagging immediately."

Upon hearing Xin Yun's words, Ah Da opened his mouth as if about to ask something, but then he remembered Xin Yun's earlier words and refrained from inquiring further. Instead, he turned and opened the hemp sacks containing the mushrooms, beginning to pack the mushrooms into the sheepskin bags.

Following Xin Yun's design, these sheepskin bags appeared large, but were actually quite narrow inside. They looked like they could hold a pound of dried pine mushrooms, but in reality, they could only hold slightly more than half a pound—about six or seven taels. After three busy hours, 300 pounds of dried pine mushrooms were incredibly packed into 500 bags!

After packing the last bag of dried mushrooms and sealing it, Xin Yun let out a satisfied sigh, casually picked up a thin sheepskin bag to inspect, and nodded contentedly, "Not bad... really not bad!"

The thin sheepskin bag looked bulging, as if filled with a good amount of dried pine mushrooms. To the eye, it would definitely seem like there was more than a pound inside, but in actuality, there were only about six taels—a perfect deception of sight.

This method wasn't invented by Xin Yun. On Earth in a previous era, there was a kind of drink—cola—which used this same tactic. The bottles looked beautiful, with streamline shapes resembling a woman's curves, but these curves greatly reduced the bottle's volume, tricking consumers into thinking they were getting more drink than they actually were.

The sheepskin bags had two sides. On the front side, noble patterns were etched with a branding iron, creating a rustic look. Through the gaps in the patterns, one could clearly see and smell the distinctive fragrance of the mushrooms within, allowing buyers to see at a glance how neat and high-quality the goods inside the bags were!

Of course, the purpose of these hollowed-out patterns was not just to provide gaps for viewing the goods; more importantly, these noble patterns elevated the class of the goods. Just by slipping the mushrooms into a bag, their appearance was immediately transformed, resulting in a dramatic increase in perceived value!

Certainly, this alone was not enough. On the back of the bags, black ink was used to write lavish praises of the mushrooms inside, blowing their reputation sky-high.

These ordinary pine mushrooms, purchased from Giantwood Town, were described as rare delicacies gathered from the jungles where dragons lived, around the habitat of Gold level Giant Dragons, amidst millennium-old pine trees—collected at the risk of one's life—presented in a flowing narrative of hundreds of words that praised the mushrooms as if they were the finest in the world!

Apart from the elaborate descriptions, Xin Yun had also specifically given this product a name—Millennium Old Pine Mushroom—elevating the value of these mushrooms to the highest degree.

As Xin Yun nodded in satisfaction, looking at the piles of mushroom bags on the ground, Ah Da's eyes shone brightly as he looked at Xin Yun, tremblingly saying, "I see, boss, I understand now. By using these bags, it appears we've packed a lot, but in reality, each bag contains less than it seems. We have indeed sold 300 pounds of mushrooms as 500 pounds. Haha... that's like conjuring up 200 pounds of mushrooms out of thin air!"

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Smiling and nodding, Xin Yun opened his mouth and said, "That's right, as the saying goes, 'no merchant is not cunning.' As a merchant, pursuing profit is the iron rule. However... your vision is still too short-sighted!"

At this point, Xin Yun raised the bag of mushrooms in his hand with pride and declared, "This place might not be a Mega City, or even a big city, but there are plenty of rich people here, heh heh... So, the role of these skins is not just to make the mushrooms more numerous; we also need to raise the price!"

"Ah! Raise the price..." Upon hearing Xin Yun's words, A-da's mouth hung wide open, almost drooling...

Calmly nodding, Xin Yun continued, "Hmm... There are a total of five hundred bags of mushrooms that could originally sell for 24,000 copper, which is about 50 copper per bag, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Hearing Xin Yun's words, A-da nodded repeatedly. Although he might not be good at other things, surveying the market and crunching numbers were A-da's strengths; he wouldn't make a mistake with these calculations.

Seeing A-da's excited look, Xin Yun smiled and went on, "That price is just for ordinary dried pine mushrooms. Ours are Millennium Old Pine Mushrooms, which are extremely rare. Moreover, collecting them involves risking one's life, so the price must go up, and substantially so!"

"Ah!" Upon hearing Xin Yun's words, A-da cried out in disbelief, "Aren't our mushrooms collected from Giantwood Town? Where are these Millennium Old Pine Mushrooms? What life-threatening dangers? And we have them in large quantities; they can't be considered rare at all..."

Calmly glancing at A-da, Xin Yun affirmed, "Whether they are or not is not for you to worry about. You just need to remember, as a seller, if you say it is, then it is!"

Facing Xin Yun's words, A-da blinked his small eyes, unable to utter a single word. Yi Luo Xiang laughed out loud, her laughter ringing as she explained, "Don't worry, if we say they are, then they are. There's no way to verify it. Even if some people doubt it, there's no way to expose us. Sure, there will be skeptics, but we don't need everyone to believe, just the buyers, right?"

Xin Yun laughed and said, "That's right, Yi Luo Xiang makes a good point, but it's still not comprehensive. In fact... our mushrooms are meant for the wealthy to eat, isn't that right?"

Hearing Xin Yun's words, A-da readily nodded and said, "Of course, even ordinary dried pine mushrooms aren't something ordinary families can afford, let alone the Millennium Old Pine Mushrooms that we have hyped up!"

"Hmm..." Nodding his head, Xin Yun continued, "Since our mushrooms are sold to the wealthy, then we must analyze the psyche of the rich. Tell me, what does it mean to be wealthy?"

Upon hearing Xin Yun's words, A-da became dazed and naively said, "What does it mean to be wealthy? People with lots of money are naturally wealthy, isn't that obvious?"

Hearing A-da's remark, Xin Yun smiled noncommittally and turned to look at Yi Luo Xiang. Under Xin Yun's gaze, Yi Luo Xiang pondered for a moment and then continued, "The so-called wealthy wear exquisite clothes, use luxurious items, live in noble residences, frequent upscale venues, and never have to worry about money."

Nodding in approval, Xin Yun smilingly said, "You're right, but it's still not precise, not specific, not vivid."

"Ah!" Looking at Xin Yun in confusion, Yi Luo Xiang asked, "Then you tell us, what really defines a truly wealthy person?"

With an easy smile, Xin Yun raised a finger and said, "Remember this, the so-called wealthy person is one who, no matter what they buy, does not look for the right one; they only seek the expensive one. The more expensive, the more welcome. If not, how could they show they're wealthy?"