After Liu Old Lord left, Zhuang Buzhou did not leave the Other Shore Space. Instead, he smiled and looked at a newly opened door in front of him.
Through the door, a familiar figure appeared: it was none other than Zhao Si, whom he had seen at the casino entrance earlier.
“As expected, he came.”
Zhuang Buzhou was secretly delighted. He was waiting for these gamblers to come and trade.
Just now, he had traded a full sixteen and a half years of time with Liu Old Lord. This time naturally came from his own body, stripped away for the transaction.
He previously had fifty years and six months left. After this transaction, he only had thirty-four years remaining.
Fortunately, when trading time, his time was not reduced tenfold; he traded exactly the amount specified.
Otherwise, even if he were killed, he couldn't produce it.
With only thirty-four years of his own time left, calculated at a tenfold consumption rate, it was only enough for Zhuang Buzhou to live for a little over three years in this world.
Now, the most urgent need was to replenish his time.
And the target for acquiring time was naturally gamblers like Zhao Si.
These gamblers, for money, would absolutely do anything, including selling their own time, without much consideration.
As for how long they could live after selling their time, Zhuang Buzhou would not show any pity.
Once involved in gambling, nine out of ten are worthless.
Dying early is better; they are truly not worth sympathy.
Their value, therefore, was to provide time.
Moreover, this was a fair transaction, with freedom to buy and sell.
Whether to trade or not was entirely up to their own will.
No one could force anyone else.
These gamblers would certainly want to exchange for money.
This was also why Zhuang Buzhou wanted to trade with Liu Old Lord first; only Families like his could possess large amounts of wealth for a single harvest, and then use that gold and silver to buy time from gamblers.
From left hand to right hand, the profit was immeasurable.
“Where is this?”
Zhao Si felt his feet on the ground and instinctively looked around. Seeing the smooth and clean environment, his heart was unconsciously filled with awe.
He couldn't even distinguish the Materials of this pavilion-like house, but he was certain it was absolutely no ordinary place.
“This is the Other Shore. Here, anything can be bought, and anything can be sold.
I am the master here; you can call me Mr. Zhuang.”
Zhuang Buzhou said with a smile, “Your name is Zhao Si. You are very short on money right now, and this place can meet your needs.”
His voice seemed to possess an irresistible allure, causing Zhao Si to instinctively move and sit down in front of Zhuang Buzhou.
Upon hearing that he could get money, his eyes lit up involuntarily.
“Can I really get money here? But I don't have any valuable items to pawn or mortgage.”
Zhao Si asked, a mix of excitement and apprehension on his face.
He was penniless now, having lost everything in the casino. He was wandering outside, unsure how to explain things back home, when he accidentally discovered an invitation card that had appeared on him at some unknown time.
Instinctively, he entered this place.
The instant transfer from Qingyun City to here, this Mysterious method, greatly increased the hope in his heart.
“No, you do. For example, your lifespan, which is, your remaining time.”
Zhuang Buzhou said calmly.
“Time? Lifespan? Can that be traded too?”
Zhao Si heard this and couldn't help but show a look of surprise on his face.
Before this, he had never known that a person's lifespan could actually be traded.
How terrifying, how incredible this was.
“Of course. Here, any personal item can be traded; it's just that the value varies.
But the value of time is constant and will not depreciate in any way.”
Zhuang Buzhou smiled.
“Then, may I ask, how much time, how long of a lifespan do I have left?”
Zhao Si took a deep breath and asked nervously.
“Zhao Si, thirty-one years old. Remaining time: sixty-three years, seven months, three days, eleven hours, twenty-one minutes, thirteen seconds, twelve seconds, eleven seconds...”
Zhuang Buzhou glanced at him and said slowly.
At the end of his words, the constantly decreasing seconds gave off a strange sense of pressure and fear.
That was time being consumed; that was his own life flowing away.
He hadn't felt it before, but now that he heard it, he felt the fear within.
But then came a burst of joy; he still had over sixty years of life, meaning he could live to over ninety years old.
This was a long-lived species, a true long-lived species.
“More than sixty years, selling some lifespan shouldn't be a big deal, right?”
A thought unconsciously emerged in his mind.
Immediately, he was eager to try, showing a look of excitement.
“May I ask, Mr. Zhuang, how is this time traded, and how much money can it exchange for?”
Zhao Si asked cautiously.
“An inch of time is an inch of gold, and an inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time. This saying is an ancient proverb.
However, on the Other Shore, it is not unchangeable.
But it still adheres to the rule of an inch of gold for an inch of time.”
Zhuang Buzhou said with a faint smile.
“May I ask how much an inch of gold is, and how much an inch of time is?”
Zhao Si swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked curiously.
“An inch of gold is one jin of gold, and an inch of time is one year, which is three hundred and sixty-five days.”
Zhuang Buzhou said calmly.
“What?!”
Zhao Si's body trembled, and his eyes shone with an unprecedented light. It wasn't fear, but a kind of ecstasy; yes, it was complete ecstasy.
One year could be exchanged for one jin of gold.
What was the concept of one jin of gold? One jin of gold was equal to ten jin of silver, and ten jin was one hundred taels of silver.
Could an ordinary commoner earn ten taels of silver in a year? That was quite difficult, especially for the lower-class people.
Even one tael, one fen, had to be carefully accounted for.
One hundred taels was enough to buy more than a dozen mu of fertile land and establish a Family fortune.
Those who could earn one hundred taels in a year were absolutely few and far between in Qingyun City.
If word got out about the price of one hundred taels per year for silver, there would definitely be a flood of people, like carp crossing a river.
At least Zhao Si was completely overwhelmed with ecstasy now.
One hundred taels! How could he, having lived this long, ever possess one hundred taels of silver?
This was an astonishing sum.
“Sell! I want to sell time! I want to sell ten years—no, twenty years!
I still have over sixty years of life. I don't need to live that long; time is plentiful.
I'll use my surplus time to exchange for a richer, better life.”
Zhao Si's eyes gleamed as he spoke excitedly.
“Very good. Here is the transaction contract.
Sign and affix your fingerprint on it, and the transaction will be established.
Before the transaction, please consider carefully whether you truly want to proceed.
This is twenty years of time, also twenty years of your lifespan.
Once the transaction begins, there will be no opportunity for regret.”
Zhuang Buzhou reminded him calmly.
“Trade! I'll sign, I'll sign now.
How can time compare to money? Only with money can one live better.”
Zhao Si began to sign the contract without hesitation.
He couldn't write, but he could directly affix his mark and then his fingerprint; the validity of the contract was the same.
The contract also clearly stated that Zhao Si exchanged twenty years of time and lifespan for two thousand taels of silver.
Even if he couldn't read, by looking at the contract, he could understand its terms and content; it was clear, simple, and direct.
“Very good, the contract is established, the transaction begins!”
Zhuang Buzhou nodded slightly. As his voice fell, a light flashed above the contract, and a scale appeared before him.
On the left, glittering silver coins appeared out of thin air, precisely two thousand taels—no more, no less.
For ordinary commoners, this was an astronomical sum, enough wealth to bring about earth-shattering changes in their lives.
Whoosh!
Next, on the right side of the scale, a divine light fell upon Zhao Si.
Golden time gold coins, condensed from time, immediately flew out of Zhao Si's body.
These could also be called eternal coins or other shore coins.
They quickly fell into the scale, and in the blink of an eye, a thick stack had accumulated.
Twenty years of time meant one time gold coin per day, adding up to seven thousand three hundred coins.
As the scale returned to balance, the contract was fulfilled. Instantly, over seven thousand other shore coins naturally flowed into Zhuang Buzhou's body.
He instinctively felt a surge of excited exhilaration throughout his body.
His own time had instantly increased by twenty years. He could feel that his total remaining time had reached fifty-four years.
In and out, his time not only didn't decrease but actually became more.
And the money obtained from Liu Old Lord was only a small portion consumed, completely negligible.
With that money, he could certainly purchase more time.
This was just the beginning.
“It's really silver! I have money! I finally have money! Two thousand taels of silver, I'm rich!”
The stripping of time had no apparent effect on Zhao Si's surface, nor did it show signs of aging.
What was taken was his future time. It would not affect his present.
“This is an invitation card to the Other Shore. If you wish to come to the Other Shore again, you can use it to return here.
I hope you won't need to come again in the future.”
Zhuang Buzhou watched, smiling faintly, and handed an invitation card to Zhao Si.
If this card were used, it could potentially lead to an even larger transaction.
Of course, he also hoped that day would not come.
If a gambler can turn over a new leaf, then life is naturally the Other Shore everywhere; why come here?
“Thank you, Mr. Zhuang. My wife is still waiting for me at home. I'll head back now.”
Zhao Si immediately received the money, two thousand taels of silver, which was already placed in a box before him.
Then, Zhao Si excitedly hugged the box and left the Other Shore Space.
As for whether he would return, he didn't think too much about it.
With so much money, what couldn't he do?
I'm going to live a good life, and I'll never gamble again.
“A prodigal son returns? Nine out of ten who return are still prodigal.”
Zhuang Buzhou shook his head and sighed.
【Thanks to pirated old bookworm for the reward】