"Shopkeeper Cheng."
Lin Jing walked into a shop named Yu Ming Commercial Firm.
After inquiring for the past few days, Lin Jing knew that this shop had a good reputation in Fang Market,
so, for the first sale of Spirit Rice, he chose Yu Ming Commercial Firm.
Hearing the voice, a middle-aged man who was playing with an abacus behind the counter looked up.
Seeing Lin Jing approaching, Shopkeeper Cheng's face broke into a smile.
"So it's Young Master Lin, has your Spirit Rice matured and you wish to sell?"
Lin Jing had already visited this place two days before and had spoken with Shopkeeper Cheng, mentioning that his family had Spirit Rice they wanted to sell.
Since it was the harvest season for Spirit Rice, during this time, members from various families often came to sell their Spirit Rice.
However, regarding Lin Jing coming by himself, Shopkeeper Cheng took him to be a key member in charge of his family's finances.
Therefore, Shopkeeper Cheng harbored no suspicions.
Moreover, the amount Lin Jing spoke of was considerable; after some discussion, they had settled on a price of one to fifty, that is, one Spirit Stone for fifty catties of Spirit Rice.
This ratio was already quite generous.
"I've brought the Spirit Rice. Where would Shopkeeper Cheng prefer to inspect it?"
"You've brought it?" Shopkeeper Cheng was taken aback.
Seeing Lin Jing by himself and looking outside, he saw the street was empty, without a cart to transport Spirit Rice in sight.
"Right here," said Lin Jing, taking off the Storage Bag at his waist and shaking it.
"Oh..."
Shopkeeper Cheng suddenly realized.
"It seems my guess was not wrong, Young Master Lin indeed holds a unique status within the family."
"Not only in charge of selling Spirit Rice but the family even equipped you with a Storage Bag."
After speaking, Shopkeeper Cheng then reminded him,
"Young Master Lin, it would still be best to be cautious in the future. It's safe enough here in Fang Market, but it can be quite risky outside."
"Especially since you're carrying such valuable goods, if someone takes notice, at the least you could be robbed, or at worst it could cost you your life."
Shopkeeper Cheng knew that Lin Jing's cultivation was not high and attributed Lin Jing's boldness in coming alone to the market to his exceptional skill and bravery.
"Thank you for the reminder, Shopkeeper Cheng."
"However, you worry too much, Shopkeeper Cheng."
"I naturally came out with the elders of my family, it's just that the family elders still have other matters to attend to, and they want to train my abilities."
"That's why it's only me by myself."
After Lin Jing finished speaking, Shopkeeper Cheng slapped his forehead.
"I thought so..."
"That explains it."
Then Shopkeeper Cheng laughed.
"Hahaha, indeed I worried needlessly."
"Young Master Lin, let's go to the backyard. There's a grain storage there."
After that, Shopkeeper Cheng called a clerk to help watch the store.
"Young Master Lin, please."
Shopkeeper Cheng led the way, guiding Lin Jing toward the backyard.
Having reached the backyard's grain storage, Lin Jing opened the Storage Bag and took out all the Spirit Rice inside.
"This is a total of two thousand catties. Please check the quality, Shopkeeper Cheng."
"Young Master Lin, please wait a moment."
Then, Shopkeeper Cheng opened one of the sacks, reached in, and grabbed a handful of Spirit Rice.
First, he examined it carefully, then sniffed it underneath his nose, and finally took a few grains and tasted them meticulously in his mouth.
"Not bad, the quality is excellent."
After that, Shopkeeper Cheng randomly selected a few more bags of Spirit Rice and inspected them one by one.
"Every time we purchase Spirit Rice, we must inspect it carefully. I hope you don't take offense, Young Master Lin."
"That's how it should be, I understand," Lin Jing said.
"Shopkeeper Cheng, how about this Spirit Rice?"
Shopkeeper Cheng's smile squinted into his eyes:
"This Spirit Rice is of good quality, I'll take it all, just at the price we agreed upon before, what does the young fellow think?"
"Good," Lin Jing nodded in response.
Then, Shopkeeper Cheng continued:
"Lin, you mentioned earlier that this is just the first batch, and there will be more to come."
"I just don't know how much more you're referring to, but I want to buy it all."
Seeing Shopkeeper Cheng's eagerness, Lin Jing lowered his head to think:
"I had originally planned to sell the Spirit Rice in separate batches, but seeing Shopkeeper Cheng like this..."
"It seems that I underestimated the Spirit Rice market in the Fang Market before."
After pondering for a moment, Lin Jing decided to tell the truth.
"Eight thousand jin," Lin Jing said, gesturing with his hand.
"Good," Shopkeeper Cheng's eyes lit up.
"Lin, we have a deal then. I'll take all eight thousand jin."
"About the remaining eight thousand jin, how many days will it take to harvest? I will bring them to you after they are harvested in a few days."
"Alright, I'll be waiting for you, Lin," said Shopkeeper Cheng.
Afterward, the two left the storeroom.
While walking on the road, Lin Jing asked, "Shopkeeper Cheng, do you have any seeds here?"
"Of course, we do. What kinds of seeds does Lin want?"
"Superior Spirit Rice seeds, one hundred jin."
"Then, I'll also take some Seven-Star Grass seeds, let's go with fifty jin."
"Seven-Star Grass seeds? Does someone in your family happen to be a Talisman Maker?" Shopkeeper Cheng turned his head to look at Lin Jing and asked.
Seven-Star Grass is a type of Spirit Grass specifically used to make talismans, and it requires a higher spiritual energy to cultivate than Spirit Rice.
Of course, the price is also higher.
However, with the current density of spiritual energy in the System Space, there would be no problem cultivating Seven-Star Grass.
"Shopkeeper Cheng misunderstands; I've just heard that Demon Beasts are causing trouble frequently, and the price of Seven-Star Grass keeps rising, so I thought about cultivating some to sell next year."
"Hehe..."
"It seems the young fellow has done his research. Indeed, the price of Seven-Star Grass has been soaring, nearly doubling."
Shopkeeper Cheng spoke seriously:
"I just have to warn you that an average Spirit Field cannot cultivate Seven-Star Grass; if the spiritual energy is insufficient, the Seven-Star Grass won't survive."
Lin Jing nodded, "I'm well aware of that."
......
When Lin Jing left Yu Ming Commercial, he didn't have more Spirit Stones; in fact, he had spent some.
The price of Seven-Star Grass had skyrocketed, and so had the seeds. Fifty jin of Seven-Star Grass seeds cost him fifty Spirit Stones.
Adding one hundred jin of Superior Spirit Rice seeds, the total was sixty Spirit Stones, whereas Lin Jing's two thousand jin of Medium Grade Spirit Rice had only sold for forty Spirit Stones.
In the end, Lin Jing ended up owing Shopkeeper Cheng twenty Spirit Stones.
Once Lin Jing was back at his home, he had hardly any time to rest before entering the System Space.
Now, in the System Space, there was still a lot of unused land.
Not using the available land would be wasteful.
Following the principle that waste is shameful, Lin Jing's first task upon returning was to farm the land.
By the time Lin Jing was transmitted out of the System Space, it was already the early hours of the following day.
Because the flow of time speed in the System Space was different from the outside world, the hours he seemingly vanished were, in fact, over ten hours of non-stop labor in the space.
Even so, more than half of the land in the System Space remained unused.
After being transported out, Lin Jing fell asleep immediately; he had been too busy lately, busy to the extent that he didn't even have time to practice his Elixir Technique.
"Once these next few days pass, I must seriously study Alchemy and the Controlling Fire Technique, essential for Alchemy. Senior Han has said that I should also diligently cultivate it."
As Lin Jing thought, he slowly drifted into sleep.