Chapter 268: Chapter 118 Alchemy Master! Bull Demon King!_1
“Indeed.”
Su Changkong’s heart stirred, and he nodded in agreement.
“How much?”
The man in the sheep-faced mask once again inquired through Secret Voice Transmission.
“As much as there is… but at least twenty jin.”
Su Changkong didn’t hide his intentions, and conveyed the same through Secret Voice Transmission.
“Does this person want to forge an exceptional weapon with Star Pattern Gold?” The sheep-faced masked man was obviously stunned.
Under normal circumstances, even if someone were to buy Star Pattern Gold, acquiring one or two taels was enough to incorporate into a weapon to forge one of fine quality.
As for forging an entire weapon out of Star Pattern Gold? That would be exorbitantly priced!
In the whole Dafeng State City, it was estimated that only few individuals such as the Four Great Generals of Dafeng Iron Cavalry, State Governor Pei Yang, could afford such luxury.
It was said that State Governor Pei Yang possessed a set of battle armor made entirely of Star Pattern Gold, costing at least three to four hundred jin of Star Pattern Gold, extravagant enough to make one faint!
Twenty jin of Star Pattern Gold, although not to that extent, was still beyond what most people could afford.
The sheep-faced masked man pondered with his head down; after a long while, he looked up at Su Changkong and said through Secret Voice Transmission, “Fine, but I have a condition.”
“Hmm?”
Startled by the man’s words, Su Changkong hadn’t been hopeful, thinking that even if the sheep-faced masked man possessed Star Pattern Gold, there wouldn’t be much of it. Yet it appeared the man truly had a way to produce that much Star Pattern Gold—but he had other conditions.
“Let’s hear it,” Su Changkong asked, eager to know the sheep-faced masked man’s conditions.
The sheep-faced masked man’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, “I can’t produce twenty jin of Star Pattern Gold all at once; the transaction needs to be spread out over time! We’ll trade once a month, and I will give you between 2 to 5 jin of Star Pattern Gold each time, until both goods and payment are settled between us!”
The sheep-faced masked man had access to Star Pattern Gold, but it was unlikely to acquire twenty jin all at once, hence the need for time and multiple trades.
“That’s fine,” Su Changkong agreed without much deliberation, as he hadn’t expected to gather twenty jin of Star Pattern Gold all at once.
“Secondly… The cost for me to obtain Star Pattern Gold is substantial, involving considerable risk and payouts. If things go wrong, I could even take a loss. Therefore, the price per tael of Star Pattern Gold will be 15,000 taels of silver!”
The sheep-faced masked man stipulated his second requirement.
One tael of Star Pattern Gold equals a thousand taels of gold, or 10,000 taels of silver, which is the rate it circulates at in the black market. But what Su Changkong needed wasn’t one or two taels, but twenty jin!
To secure that much Star Pattern Gold was a mammoth task, so the sheep-faced masked man immediately raised the price to 15,000 taels of silver per tael of Star Pattern Gold, which was fifty percent more than the black market rate!
“11,000 taels, not a fraction more,” Su Changkong firmly stated, not willing to spend that extra money.
“I can give you a discount, 14,000 taels,” the sheep-faced masked man bartered with Su Changkong.
“Then forget it. I don’t want the Star Pattern Gold that badly. Worse comes to worst, I’ll just spend more effort and time buying it elsewhere. Goodbye.”
Su Changkong stood up, dusted off his buttocks, and turned to leave the Ghost Market.
One step, two steps, three steps… Ten steps.
“Hold on!”
As expected, the call came from behind him from the sheep-faced masked man.
Su Changkong stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.
“12,000 taels of silver per tael of Star Pattern Gold… That’s the lowest I can go.”
Out of necessity, the sheep-faced masked man transmitted his final offer reluctantly through Secret Voice Transmission to Su Changkong.
“Then it’s 12,000 taels,” Su Changkong agreed without further haggling. He knew securing a large amount of Star Pattern Gold wouldn’t be easy. If the sheep-faced masked man had a way, Su Changkong was prepared to pay a bit extra for the convenience.
“We’ll trade on the 18th of next month. The first trade will take place at Big Wind Ridge, and after each transaction, we’ll arrange the next meeting place,” the sheep-faced masked man set the time and place for the transaction with Su Changkong.
“That’s acceptable.”
Su Changkong nodded his head. The sheep-faced masked man was cautious, not only splitting it into multiple transactions but also changing the location each time.
After the deal was set, Su Changkong didn’t linger. He bid farewell to the sheep-faced masked man and departed.
“This sheep-faced masked man has a way to get Star Pattern Gold… but I actually don’t have enough money. For twenty jin of Star Pattern Gold, at the rate of 12,000 taels of silver per tael, I need to pay 2.4 million taels of silver. My previous purchases of other medicinal ingredients have already cost me a bit of my savings, and I don’t yet know how much the 300-year-old Blood Jade Spirit Ginseng will cost; conservatively estimated, it could be between 500,000 to 1 million taels of silver.”
Su Changkong calculated his expenses. He needed at least 3 million taels of silver to secure these items, and he clearly didn’t have enough on hand.
“I can make money through Alchemy. If I work hard for a few months to half a year, earning 3 million taels of silver should be no problem,” Su Changkong hadn’t forgotten his proficient skill.
Alchemy, especially at the beginning, is a skill that burns through money. An accomplished Alchemist had to invest a massive amount of resources before achieving success.
And Alchemy had been Su Changkong’s main occupation while at the Giant Whale Gang; his Alchemy had long reached the 6th realm, having mastered the pinnacle. He could absolutely rely on producing and selling Pill Medicines to earn this money!
Certainly, many twists could arise, such as the sheep-faced masked man harboring ill intentions, perhaps not really being able to obtain enough Star Pattern Gold, and instead planning to ambush him, coveting his wealth.
However, Su Changkong hoped that the sheep-faced masked man would do just that! In that case, it was not certain who would be robbing whom!