Chapter 37 – 34: At the Grand Gathering, 2 cultivators
“Is this the big market?”
Lu Qing looked at the bustling scene in front of him, somewhat surprised.
This market was even busier than he remembered.
The stalls on both sides were well-organized, exactly like the markets he had seen in some small towns in his previous life.
“That’s right, this is the big market,” Brother Da An nodded, pointing ahead, “Do you see those stalls there? Those are for long-term rent, only those who are in the business for the long haul rent those stalls.”
Lu Qing noticed that the stalls Brother Da An was pointing to were mostly selling meat, cloth, or grain.
Brother Da An continued, “Further back is an empty space, where one doesn’t need to rent a stall, but if you want to sell something there, you must pay a copper coin in stall fees.”
“If you want to sell fish, Ah Qing, you don’t need to rent a stall, just go directly to that empty space.”
“Who should I give the money to?” Lu Qing asked.
“Ma Gu,” Brother Da An pointed to a certain place, “Do you see that man wearing blue cloth? He’s Ma Gu, the person responsible for collecting temporary stall fees here.”
Following his gaze, Lu Qing saw a middle-aged man in blue cloth, slightly thin, smiling as he walked through the market.
At the same time, he noticed a few other men in similar attire patrolling the market, maintaining order.
It seemed Lu Qing and Brother Da An’s gazes had attracted Ma Gu’s attention; the man suddenly turned his head, his gaze somewhat piercing.
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Seeing that they were just two young peasants in old clothes, his expression softened, and he casually moved his gaze away, continuing to stroll.
Lu Qing’s heart tightened.
Being able to sense their gaze from so far away, Ma Gu was no ordinary man.
He dared not stare directly at him anymore, just keeping him in the corner of his eye.
Soon, he saw a rich white light emanating from Ma Gu.
[Ma Gu: Deeply thoughtful, fair in his actions, with a sharp eye, he commands respect from people at the market.]
[Cultivation: Physically strong, newly entered the Postnatal Muscle Bone Realm.]
Receiving the information provided by the superpower, Lu Qing’s face showed no change, but his heart was stirring.
A cultivator, Ma Gu was a cultivator!
No wonder his senses were so keen; he was indeed an extraordinary cultivator.
This was the second cultivator Lu Qing had encountered since coming to this world.
The first was naturally Elder Doctor Chen.
However, even though both were cultivators, Lu Qing noticed a difference.
Firstly, the superpower light emanating from Ma Gu was still white, while that of Elder Doctor Chen was red.
Clearly, in terms of cultivation, Elder Doctor Chen must be more profound than Ma Gu.
Was the difference in their realms?
Lu Qing noticed that according to the superpower’s evaluation, Ma Gu’s cultivation was just entering the Postnatal Muscle Bone Realm.
And Elder Doctor Chen’s was in the Postnatal Internal Organ Realm.
Did this mean the Internal Organ Realm was stronger than the Muscle Bone Realm?
Were there other realms between these two?
Lu Qing’s thoughts shifted as he slowly calculated.
“How about it, Ah Qing, you’ve seen the big market, didn’t you say you wanted to buy something? What are you planning to buy?”
At this moment, Brother Da An interrupted Lu Qing’s musings.
Lu Qing set aside his thoughts and smiled, “I need to buy quite a few items, I might need your help, Brother Da An.”
“You need to buy a lot of items, Ah Qing, did you strike it rich?” Brother Da An’s eyes widened.
Lu Qing just smiled and did not answer.
Brother Da An also realized it wasn’t appropriate to discuss this matter there.
He didn’t ask further, but patted his chest, “Don’t worry, no matter how much you buy, I can carry it all back for you!”
“Then thank you in advance, Brother Da An.”
Lu Qing walked towards the stalls ahead.
He first headed to the meat stall.
The stall was selling pork, and the quality of the meat, naturally, did not look as good as the meticulously bred pork from his previous life.
But in Lu Qing’s eyes, it still looked exceptionally enticing.
It had been a long time since he had eaten large pieces of meat!
He picked two large chunks of fatty meat and a few pieces of partially lean meat, ready to pay.
However, the stall owner looked troubled when he saw the silver pieces Lu Qing took out.
“Young Master is probably joking with me, how can I make change for these silver pieces?”
“Can’t make change?” Lu Qing was stunned.
“Can’t make change, I’ve just opened my stall today and haven’t had much business yet, these silver pieces of yours must weigh nearly half a tael, I don’t have enough copper coins to give you change,” the stall owner honestly said.
Brother Da An was also taken aback by the silver Lu Qing had taken out, and he quickly covered Lu Qing’s hand that was holding the silver, pulling him aside.
“Ah Qing, where did you get this silver?”
“Grandpa Chen gave it.”
Lu Qing directly used Elder Doctor as a shield.
Anyway, when they came down the mountain yesterday, Elder Doctor had instructed him that if anyone asked about the origin of the silver, to say that it was given by him.
“Elder Doctor is really good to you.”
Brother Da An immediately showed envy, wondering why he couldn’t be the doctor’s disciple.
But he quickly realized something.
“No, even if the silver was given by Elder Doctor, you shouldn’t have just taken it out like this. Who comes to the market to buy things with silver!”
“But I don’t have any copper coins, just this piece of silver.”
Lu Qing of course knew the value of silver, but, who could blame him when his home was almost out of food, and he wanted to buy many items this time.
Not to mention not having copper coins at home, even if he did, it would have been inconvenient to carry them.
“It seems to make sense.”
Knowing the situation of Lu Qing’s family, Brother Da An scratched his head, not knowing quite what to say.
“Young Master, do you still want the meat?”
The butcher on the other side called out.
It was a rare business opportunity with such a big order, and he didn’t want to miss it.
“I would like to, but didn’t you say you couldn’t make change for this silver?” Lu Qing replied helplessly.
The butcher paused.
Now, both sides were having difficulty.
“What’s going on here?”
At that moment, a gentle voice spoke up.
Lu Qing turned around and saw the middle-aged man Brother Da An referred to as Mr. Ma, standing behind them.
“Mr. Ma!”
The butcher and Brother Da An both quickly bowed to greet him.
“Hmm, I heard some noise over here, what happened?” Mr. Ma asked.
“It’s like this, Mr. Ma,” the butcher spoke first, “This Young Master took out a piece of silver to buy meat, I couldn’t make change, and everyone was having trouble.”
“Oh?”
Mr. Ma immediately looked towards Lu Qing.
People coming to the grand market with silver were rare even for him.
When he saw what Lu Qing was wearing, Mr. Ma’s eyes revealed a hint of surprise.
Lu Qing, indeed, did not look like someone who would have silver.
“Young man, may I know where your silver comes from?” Mr. Ma asked.
“Why, do I have to explain the source of my money when I come to the grand market to shop?” Lu Qing asked indifferently.
“That’s not it, I was impolite,” Mr. Ma slightly bowed, as an apology, his face smiling, “I was just curious. You, as a young man, don’t seem like someone who would possess silver.”
While Mr. Ma was smiling, the butcher and Brother Da An nevertheless felt an inexplicable pressure, and sweat began to seep from their foreheads.
Lu Qing also seemed to be pressured.
A nervous expression appeared on his face.
He hesitated for a moment, but finally said, “This silver was given by my master.”
“Oh, may I know who is the Young Master’s teacher?” Mr. Ma’s face remained smiling.
“I don’t know my master’s name, but everyone calls him Elder Chen.”
“What, that Elder Doctor?”
Mr. Ma’s expression suddenly changed.