Chapter 89: The Real Purpose

James Potter truly was a born businessman. Under George’s hints, he argued his case firmly all the way and finally defeated the merchant Wang Qinian. He secured Nohan’s only Tachi from the Sakura Kingdom for the price of 500 Gold Coins.

Of course, this did not come without a cost. To calm Wang Qinian’s growing resistance, James Potter also spent 50 Gold Coins to buy a folding fan with a silk surface made of satin.

The ribs of this folding fan were made from high-quality natural bamboo from the high mountains. After careful polishing, they were decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay and lacquer carving. Thin, silver-white sheets shaped like bamboo, ground from sea shells, were attached to the black fan ribs. Although it was not a perfect match, the pattern of bamboo on the fan complemented the bamboo design on the sheath of the samurai sword quite well.

The silk surface of the fan had been treated with starch, washed, dried in the shade, and baked. It was smooth, delicate, and looked like Xuan paper rather than ordinary silk. The ink wash painting on it depicted mountains and rivers from an unknown place. The rugged peaks and valleys were portrayed vividly, but unfortunately, the craftsmanship was too heavy, and there were no signatures or seals, so it was clearly not the work of a famous artist. Of course, if it were truly made by a famous artist, Wang Qinian would never have been able to get his hands on it. It probably could not even leave the Continent of Karatu.

“Thank you, Lord. If you are free, a ball will be held at my home the day after tomorrow evening. I hope you can honor us with your presence,” James Potter said, bowing to George after receiving the two items.

After returning the bow, George put away his smile and spoke seriously: “If I have no other plans, I will certainly come and bother you. Although this weapon is mostly for decoration, if possible, I still hope that one day it will appear on the battlefield.”

“I think that day will eventually come,” James Potter replied with his sunny smile. However, as he turned to leave, he thought bitterly to himself, ‘I probably won’t have that chance. I wonder if anyone in the next generation will be able to fulfill this wish.’

Once James Potter and his servant waiting at the shop door had walked far away, Wang Qinian immediately wiped the flattering smile from his face. His expression changed, and he grabbed the abacus by the counter and threw it at George.

Wang Qinian was by no means a weak scholar when he crossed the ocean from Karatu to the Western Continent back in the day. You must know that the risks at sea were not just about wind and waves. Pirates of all races, human and non-human, roamed everywhere. If one carried a lot of money but had no physical strength to defend themselves, they would have long been robbed by the sailors traveling with them.

Moreover, he was able to leave his hometown and build such a huge business in the unfamiliar land of Karada. Besides his old connections, if he did not have the ability to protect his achievements, he would have long been lying somewhere dead.

Therefore, the abacus Wang Qinian swung at him was fast and fierce. Unfortunately, George was not an amateur either. With his body strengthened by the Blessing of Order just now, he timed it perfectly, caught the incoming abacus with one hand, then used a slight shake to dissipate Wang Qinian’s force. After stopping it, he used his waist to give a slight shake, making Wang Qinian lose his grip. In a flash, the abacus changed hands.

Anyway, Wang Qinian had been running this shop for over ten years. You know that the daily business of a trading house is very tight. Even if he wanted to, he probably could not spare much time to practice martial arts. Over the long years, his skills had clearly declined. George easily deflected Wang Qinian’s angry strike and said with a cheeky grin, “Hey, I finally helped you sell that stuff that was sitting at the bottom of the box and about to get moldy. Is this how you thank me for my great kindness?”

“Don’t you have the nerve to say that! Because of your one sentence, I lost 100 Gold Coins in income. How do you think we should calculate this?” Wang Qinian’s face turned red, and he clenched his right fist, making a “click-clack” sound.

George did not admit to any of Wang Qinian’s accusations. Instead, he glared at the other man with a sideways look and said sarcastically, “I’m telling you, without me, you wouldn’t have been able to collect even that 500 Gold Coins later. Did you think Potter would buy it at your asking price? You would have ended up with nothing but a bamboo basket full of water.”

“He was already very tempted. If I had just pushed a little harder, he would have paid up immediately,” Wang Qinian cried out in pain, holding his hands in a claw shape and looking up at the sky.

George snorted and asked back, “Are you getting old and your eyesight is failing? You actually thought he was very tempted just now. He was clearly very hesitant. If I hadn’t said that the Tachi was worth 500 Gold Coins, even if you lowered your price to 500 later, he might not have been willing to pay.”

“How can you say that?” Wang Qinian’s tone weakened. Seeing that George was taking advantage of his guilt, he continued, “Besides, this Tachi has been sitting in your hands for a long time, right? Otherwise, the price you gave just now could not have been lower than the quote you gave me last time. Isn’t this exactly helping you recover your funds? If you hadn’t sold it this time, who knows how long this knife would have rotted in your hands.”

“That’s true, but I just can’t accept it,” Wang Qinian muttered softly. George, thinking the other man was a bit greedy, pressed his advantage: “What is there to be unwilling about? According to my estimate, the price you bought this Tachi for originally was around 400 Gold Coins. You made a 100 Gold Coin profit just from this one flip. And for the folding fan later, you also had at least a 15 Gold Coin income. Even the people in the Court Nobility are quite shrewd. Just like Mr. Potter just now, if you had planned to rip him off heavily, I’m afraid it would not have been as easy as you imagined.”

Wang Qinian, who had been thoroughly defeated by George’s words, sighed, “Okay, okay! I can’t argue with you. Anyway, I still made some profit. I won’t count this with you this time.”

“Don’t you have the nerve to say you won’t count it with me? This is your own investment failure. The goods you bought took so long to sell. The money turned into physical goods that were stuck there and could not be used for turnover to earn new money. If you want to transfer the loss, you have to do it slowly. A steady stream of water is the best way. If you want to rip someone off, you have to prepare in advance. You can’t think about that in a situation like today.” George showed even more contempt on his face.

Wang Qinian answered with a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water attitude: “I have always been like this. The fat sheep in Karada are really easy to slaughter. Just like that Mr. Potter just now, I have already ripped him off a few times on some small items before.”

George held his head with his hand and said, “For small items, the total cost is not high anyway. Most people do not pay much attention to them. For a transaction like this that is several hundred Gold Coins at once, it would be strange if they did not be more careful. As for the high-end goods you sold before, I’m afraid you had to scout the spot first and cater to their preferences to sell them at a high price.”

“Since you already know, what is there to say? But at least I sold this money-losing item. Anyway, a stone has been lifted from my heart! The remaining short-term issue is the marriage of the child Jiang Ye.” Saying this, Wang Qinian started stroking his goatee again.

Hearing this, George asked with a mischievous grin, “Speaking of Jiang Ye’s marriage, I remember hearing that the tradition of the Flying Dragon Empire places great importance on the bride’s virginity, right?”

Wang Qinian blurted out immediately: “So what? I told my son he must find a virgin. Otherwise, he is not allowed into the house.”

“Hah! Hah! Hah! This is probably a misunderstanding in translation! Since the Old Empire period, ‘virgin’ in the Western Continent refers to an unmarried woman. This has nothing to do with whether she has had intimate relations with a man before.” George laughed so hard he almost slapped the table.

“This! This! This! It is actually like this.” Wang Qinian was shocked at first, then quickly comforted himself, “But I think my son should understand what I mean.”

But the cold sweat on his back was no lie.

George casually mentioned the general atmosphere of the environment: “To be honest, finding an unmarried girl to marry in the Commoner District is not a small trouble.”

“Morality has collapsed! This place is almost as bad as those Barbarians on the endless wasteland.” Wang Qinian’s face grew darker and darker, and he started cursing.

Seeing the other man’s ungentlemanly behavior, George quickly argued back: “This is also unavoidable! Since the Dark Age, Nobles had the right of the first night. Although it has now been replaced by a marriage tax, the influence generated back then has made people more open-minded about this aspect.”

Wang Qinian, whose face was green with anger, cursed more and more vigorously: “This is because you rulers yourselves are indulgent and wanton, which has led to the bad social atmosphere.”

Not thinking of any other good way, George patiently began to explain: “You cannot say it that way! Back then, people thought blood was impure! Women who kept their first time were generally considered poisonous, dirty at the time, and there were even sayings that men who slept with them would get sick and have their lifespan shortened. In the eyes of those ignorant villagers, only powerful Lords and other professionals could overcome this ‘poison’. They could replace the groom to ‘ward off evil and eliminate disaster’ for the virgin bride. Only then did the powerless grooms dare to sleep with their wives. Back then, for the Lords, this was considered an obligation to protect their people. Some greedy Lords mostly rolled in the hay with those lower-class women because of the salted fish, sausages, eggs, and cheese that the farmers offered them. Later, when concepts changed, it became a means for some unscrupulous Lords to satisfy their own desires.”

Seeing that the other person’s emotions were no longer so agitated, George gave a friendly reminder: “If you want Jiang Ye to return early with a girl who meets your wishes, it is best to be prepared to keep an eye on her at all times! Also, if she is a Maid from a Noble family, there is basically no possibility. As for the poor girls in the Lower District, Old Wang, you know the specific situation well. I don’t need to say what the main source of income for the waitresses in those places is! If you have any questions about this, you can come to me to discuss it.”

“Offering kindness without reason is either treachery or theft. Speak, what do you want me to do?” Wang Qinian looked at George with suspicion.

George placed his left hand on the table and took out a money bag with his right hand, tossing it up and down, and said, “It saves effort to talk to a sensible person. Can you help me buy some books about the ‘Dao’ from Kalatu? If there are materials on cultivation, that would be even better. Of course, I will pay the reward according to my needs.”