Chapter 7 - 6: Workshop Association

Chapter 7: Chapter 6: Workshop Association

Chen Jianghe retrieved a coarse cloth bag from his robes and carefully took stock of his wealth.

His salary from the previous year was fifty-eight grains of Spiritual Sand. His daily expenses over the year amounted to ten grains of Spiritual Sand, plus one grain spent on the year-end gathering, leaving a balance of forty-seven grains. This year’s salary was eighty-one grains of Spiritual Sand. Adding the previous year’s balance, he now had a total of one hundred and twenty-eight grains of Spiritual Sand in his possession, along with fifteen taels of broken silver.

"The ten grains of Spiritual Sand needed for next year’s daily expenses can’t be touched. That means I currently only have one hundred and eighteen grains available to use," he thought. "But that’s enough. Buying a Spirit Awakening Pill for Little Black will only cost one Spirit Stone, leaving eighteen grains of Spiritual Sand as a reserve."

With these thoughts, he properly arranged the uses for the Spiritual Sand in his hands.

Checking the time, he realized that if the purchase of the Spirit Awakening Pill went smoothly, he could return to his 512 Waters today. Pressed for time, he didn’t delay and entered the memorial archway on the east side of the market. This was the Workshop Association where Fishermen and Farmers traded with Loose Cultivators.

The Yun family had three ports, and each port featured a mortal market and a Cultivator Workshop Association. This was his first time entering the Workshop Association. Behind the archway was a winding mountain path. A hundred-meter-long corridor had been built on one side, housing twenty to thirty stalls. However, none of the stall owners hawked their wares like the peddlers in the mortal market. Items for sale were displayed on pieces of coarse cloth, with the stall owners sitting on the ground behind them.

Perhaps due to the Fisherman and Farmer Conference, the corridor of the Workshop Association at Port No.1 was bustling with people, completely packed shoulder to shoulder. Chen Jianghe walked in, squeezing through the crowd, and observed the items on the stalls.

Most of them sold Artifact Refining Materials, Talisman-Making Materials, and Alchemy Materials. As for stalls selling Magical Artifacts, he didn’t see a single one. It made sense when he thought about it. The consumer base of the port’s Workshop Association consisted of Basic-Level Fishermen and Farmers. With their meager incomes, they simply couldn’t afford expensive Magical Artifacts. As for Senior Fishermen and Farmers and Honored Guest Elders, if they wanted to buy Magical Artifacts, they would choose to visit the nearest Marketplace. Not only were the prices clear there, but the quality was also guaranteed.

After wandering around, he only saw two stalls selling Spirit Talismans and one selling Elixirs. The Spirit Talismans for sale were all Lower Grade, and the Elixirs were all unranked, or barely qualified as Lower-Grade Elixirs.

Chen Jianghe arrived at the only Elixir stall in the Workshop Association. Seven or eight jade bottles were displayed on an earthy-yellow coarse cloth. In front of each jade bottle was a wooden board detailing the Elixir’s name, price, and purpose:

Spirit-Encompassing Pill: Lower Grade, priced at three Spirit Stones. Helps mortals with a Spirit Root quickly sense Spiritual Qi and condense their Dantian Qi Sea.

Antitoxic Pill: Unranked, priced at fifty grains of Spiritual Sand. Can cure a hundred mundane poisons.

Qi Nourishing Pill: Lower Grade, priced at two Spirit Stones. Contains pure Spiritual Qi; consumption enhances Early-Stage Qi Refining Cultivation.

Spirit Awakening Pill: Lower Grade, priced at one Spirit Stone. Helps beasts unlock Spiritual Wisdom and sense Spiritual Qi.

"To think a Spirit-Encompassing Pill is worth three Spirit Stones. It seems the Yun family makes quite a large profit from the Large Cyan Fish," Chen Jianghe thought.

The stall owner selling the Elixirs was a woman with fine wrinkles on her face. She wore light rouge and a light brown dress, sitting on a stone stool in the corridor. Her aura was thicker than Old Gao’s but not as strong as Yun Bufan’s. She was likely also a Mid-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator. Given such Cultivation and her slightly aging appearance, it could be inferred that the woman was over sixty years old.

"I’ll buy one Spirit Awakening Pill," Chen Jianghe said, pointing at a blue jade bottle. The wooden token in front of it bore a detailed description of the Spirit Awakening Pill.

"One Spirit Stone," the woman said in a gentle voice, raising her eyes to glance at Chen Jianghe.

The prices of the Spirit Awakening Pills were completely transparent, requiring no haggling. He simply pulled out a pre-packaged cloth bag containing exactly one hundred grains of Spiritual Sand from his robes.

"Spiritual Sand?" The woman frowned and said coldly, "One hundred and five grains of Spiritual Sand. Otherwise, go exchange them for a Spirit Stone with a Yun family Steward before coming back to buy."

"Alright, one hundred and five grains of Spiritual Sand." Chen Jianghe cleanly and decisively took out another five grains of Spiritual Sand and handed them over.

Only then did he recall what Old Gao had told him about exchanging Spiritual Sand and Spirit Stones: one Spirit Stone could be traded for a hundred grains of Spiritual Sand, but a hundred grains of Spiritual Sand couldn’t be exchanged for one Spirit Stone. This was because the Spiritual Qi contained within a Spirit Stone was pure and dense, and could be directly absorbed and Refined by a Cultivator. The Spiritual Qi in Spiritual Sand was thin and contained impurities, making it unsuitable for direct absorption and Refinement. Therefore, converting Spiritual Sand into a Spirit Stone required an extra five grains of Spiritual Sand.

The woman accepted the one hundred and five grains of Spiritual Sand, poured out a Spirit Awakening Pill from the blue jade bottle, placed it in a wooden box, and handed it to Chen Jianghe.

"Since you’re buying a Spirit Awakening Pill, you must be looking to raise a Spirit Pet. I suggest you also purchase a Spirit-Encompassing Pill. It can help your pet achieve an Entry Tier directly and become a Spirit Beast," the woman suggested, her expression softening.

"Thank you," Chen Jianghe responded with a faint smile, turned around, and left.

After leaving the Workshop Association, he entered the market to purchase half a month’s worth of daily necessities. Upon returning to the port and preparing to board his boat, a person blocked his path.

It was a lean middle-aged man with deep-set eyes and a high-bridged nose, giving off a cold and sinister appearance. He was also wearing the short, coarse clothes of a Fisherman and Farmer, indicating he was a Basic-Level Fisherman and Farmer.

Chen Jianghe recognized this person. To the west of his waters was Yu Daniu, and further west was the man before him. His name was Wang Kui. He had a Cultivation of the Fifth-Layer Qi Refining, had been with the Yun family for over twenty years, and was a veteran Fisherman and Farmer.

"Is Little Brother Chen heading back?" Wang Kui wore a smile that scrunched his gaunt face full of wrinkles, making his eye sockets appear even more sunken.

"Yes," Chen Jianghe nodded. He had no prior interaction with Wang Kui; they hadn’t even spoken a single word before today.

"Hehe, why are you heading back so soon? How about I take you to find some fun?" Wang Kui raised his eyebrows, looking at Chen Jianghe with a grinning face.

Chen Jianghe felt that Wang Kui was just trying to make small talk out of nothing. The Fisherman and Farmer Conference was over. If he didn’t head back, what would he do staying at the port? Spend money? How old was he anyway?

"Is there something you need, Brother Wang?" Chen Jianghe asked indifferently.

"Hehe..." Wang Kui let out a dry laugh and said with slight embarrassment, "I do have a favor to ask of Little Brother Chen. I’m about to break through, aren’t I? I still need some Spirit Stones to buy Elixirs, so I want to borrow a little from you. Not much, just fifty grains of Spiritual Sand."

"My apologies, but I just arrived to work as a Fisherman and Farmer for the Yun family. I don’t have any savings," Chen Jianghe directly refused.

"Then forty grains of Spiritual Sand will do," Wang Kui laughed awkwardly.

Chen Jianghe shook his head. "I don’t have it."

"Thirty grains of Spiritual Sand. Rest assured, Little Brother Chen, I will definitely pay you back during next year’s conference," Wang Kui pledged solemnly.

"I don’t have a single grain," Chen Jianghe stated decisively.

He knew of Wang Kui’s track record. Ever since he came to the Yun family as a Fisherman and Farmer, he had been borrowing Spiritual Sand everywhere but had never paid anyone back. He only had a Cultivation of the Second-Layer Qi Refining when he arrived; his ability to cultivate to the Fifth-Layer Qi Refining over these twenty-odd years was largely due to borrowed resources.

"Little Brother Chen, you’re being a bit too unreasonable. I, Wang Kui, am a dignified man; it’s not like I won’t pay you back. Besides, Brother Yu lent me sixty grains of Spiritual Sand just yesterday!" Wang Kui’s face sank, and he feigned anger as he belittled Chen Jianghe.

"Farewell." Chen Jianghe turned around, ready to board his boat and leave.

A fierce glint flashed in Wang Kui’s eyes. He hadn’t expected Chen Jianghe to be this difficult to deal with. Usually, when he borrowed money, others would lend it to him as soon as he lowered the amount. It rarely even reached the point where he had to elevate someone else to belittle them. Yet Chen Jianghe still refused to yield.

Seeing that Chen Jianghe was about to board the boat and leave, Wang Kui had to use his trump card.

"It’s a mere thirty grains of Spiritual Sand! Is Little Brother Chen afraid I can’t afford to pay it back? Are you trying to slap Mr. Wang in the face?!"