Chapter 19: Earning One and a Half Golden Dragon

"Phew."

Duke took a moment to consider and decided to take on this big deal: "This is worth a 10 silver dragons binding contract... But I must mention in advance, Mr. Ronnie, you must pay the full amount upfront. Our store won't be able to gather the high price of 27 gold dragons even if we sell our shop."

He took out a contract he had prepared from his pouch.

Black characters on white paper, possessing extraordinary spirituality.

Since he introduced the proxy purchase service, he had bought a contract as a kind of gimmick to display his honesty, not intending to actually use it – after all, the money for purchasing a spiritual card didn't warrant using a contract.

Now it came in handy.

"Alright, but you have to go to the Union Card Shop to buy it, because only there can your safety be ensured and you won't be targeted... I don't want to waste money, and if it weren't for my own concerns, I wouldn't entrust a half-grown kid like you with this proxy purchase," Ronnie signed his name on the contract Duke had presented.

The authenticity of the name didn't matter; the contract was akin to a magical spiritual card, carrying an irresistible binding force.

Duke quickly signed his own name.

Then the contract dispersed into countless gleaming lights, vanishing into the air. Both Duke and Ronnie felt themselves wrapped in a spiritual aura, which soon faded away.

The Spirit Dragon Cards were swiped against each other, and 27 gold dragons were exchanged.

Duke extended his hand and shook Ronnie's hand. "I'll set out for Chenjiao City as soon as possible. You can wait at home, Mr. Ronnie."

"Secrecy, remember to keep it secret. Otherwise, I might lose just a few gold dragons, but you might get robbed or even killed... Snakehead Town is on the border of the Federation, it's not as safe as you might think."

"Don't worry, I understand."

Fortunes are made amidst risks, but this was just a proxy purchase.

A binding contract was sufficient to ensure that Ronnie didn't harbor malicious intent. Otherwise, the spiritual power within the contract would eliminate any party with ill intentions.

As long as Ronnie had no ill intent, Duke would be cautious, and this deal wouldn't attract unwanted attention.

After seeing Ronnie off, Sally asked curiously, "Boss, what kind of spiritual cards does he want to purchase?"

"Just an Illusion Card, worth two gold dragons. The store gets a fee of five silver dragons for the proxy service... It would be great if we had people coming in for proxy purchases every day," Duke laughed.

Sally also smiled, "Occasionally having a proxy purchase isn't bad either. Now you don't need to worry about Bast Card Repair Shop's competition."

"True."

Soon, Steve returned from a delivery and brought some news, "Boss, it's not good news. When I was making a delivery, I ran into Bob from Bast Card Repair Shop. Guess what he was doing? He's also doing street sweeps. Could this have an impact on our shop? Don't let him snatch all our customers."

"Bob is doing street sweeps too?" Duke wasn't surprised. "It's fine, just normal business competition."

"Are you sure it's not a big deal?" Sally was a bit worried.

Duke reassured her, "Not only is it not a big deal, on the contrary, it's good news. Only when Bast feels the crisis will they emulate our door-to-door service. It means Bast Card Repair Shop hasn't had an easy time these days. We'll keep working as usual; the more than 20 years of reputation of Little Sam's Card Repair Shop will be our trump card."

Bast Card Repair Shop's move wasn't a concern for Duke.

He rested for the night and read many of the new books he had bought, expanding Xiaoyi's database to aid in her evolution.

By the next morning, he rushed to the station and took the Black Beetle Car to Chenjiao City.

After smoothly arriving in Chenjiao City, he didn't rest but hurriedly went to the wholesale market, card disposal stations, and other places to buy or scavenge various materials for card repairs.

"This Dragon Spirit Card is severely damaged, but Xiaoyi judged that there's a relatively intact energy line within it, which can be extracted for patching."

"This Magic Lantern Card is almost scrap, with no usable value."

"This Massage Card looks damaged, but Xiaoyi's sensory abilities, combined with my own, judge that with slight repair, it can be restored."

Combining Xiaoyi's judgment with Duke's sensory abilities, he had an advantage while scavenging at the card disposal station.

Almost all the scavenged cards had some reuse value, with very few instances of oversight. Occasionally, he would find pleasant surprises, like cards that could be restored. This was where Duke's confidence lay in managing Little Sam's Card Repair Shop – in terms of cost savings, he outperformed even Old Sam.

What could Bast possibly use to compete against him?

After selecting the discarded cards, paying a little money to the disposal station, Duke headed straight for his next destination – the Union Card Shop.

The Union Card Shop was an official industry of the Seven Pagoda Federation, somewhat similar to a government-run bookstore. The products sold there were undoubtedly more expensive than those in other card shops, but information security was well-maintained.

Once inside, Duke immediately picked ten Arcane Cards.

"27 gold dragons,"

 the card seller reported with a smile.

"I'm buying ten at once, give me a discount, how about 25 gold dragons?"

"Sorry, the Union Card Shop doesn't haggle."

"There's no store that doesn't haggle. I've bought spiritual cards from the Union Card Shop before. I'll pay 25 gold dragons right away." Duke had no embarrassment about bargaining.

His experience in managing a small factory from before his transmigration had honed this skill.

The card seller hesitated, "I'm sorry, but we really don't haggle at the Union Card Shop."

"How can that be? Get the manager here, I'll negotiate with them... How about this, 26 gold dragons. Your employees must have access to discounts, you can give me a discount, and I'll specifically come to you in the future... I specialize in proxy card purchases, and I'll definitely be buying cards frequently."

After several rounds of bargaining, the card seller finally relented, "Alright, 26 gold dragons then. Just remember to come to me for card purchases in the future."

"Don't worry, I'll be back in a few days!"

After swiping his Spirit Dragon Card and chatting with the card seller named Kalia for a bit, Duke placed the ten spiritual cards into a pocket close to his body. Then he left the Union Card Shop in a relaxed manner.

Without being overly cautious, but vigilant nonetheless.

Once he confirmed he wasn't being followed, Duke took the tram back to the small inn where he was staying and let out a sigh of relief. This era wasn't a place for the rule of law; murders and robberies were common occurrences, and finding culprits was rare. Carrying ten valuable Arcane Cards, he had to be a little careful.

"It's all worth it. A single proxy purchase and I've earned one and a half gold dragons. That's worth three months of running the shop!" With a few more deals like this, he would have enough resources to cultivate a spiritual root.

"However, deals where people are unwilling to sign a contract must be avoided to prevent falling into a trap."

"Running Little Sam's Card Repair Shop conscientiously and occasionally scavenging for old cards to repair at the disposal station will also provide enough resources for my cultivation."

"And it's safer."

After all, it was a transcendent world, and one couldn't be too cautious.