Big Data Cultivation - Chapter 73:

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Taking Advantage

Feng Jun insisted on examining the two stone balls because the reason was very simple—they seemed to be made of jade.

The burly man was reluctant to agree, and finally handed over the stone balls with great reluctance, “These two stone balls aren’t cheap, if they break, you’ll have to pay up.”

Feng Jun didn’t say much, took the stone balls and looked at them carefully, then walked to one side and took out a magnifying glass to inspect them.

Curious onlookers also wanted to come over and see what he was doing. In the bustling market, idle bystanders were certainly not in short supply.

Ding Lao’er intervened and kept people at bay, “Move along, what are you doing here?”

After looking for a while, Feng Jun felt that there was a high probability they were made of jade.

This was the third time he had seen jade in this realm, and he really didn’t want to miss this opportunity, so he said to the burly man, “I really like this pair of stone balls, name your price.”

The burly man seemed insulted and burst out, “I have already said that these are cherished belongings, and you’re asking me to name a price… Do I look like I’m poor to you?”

Ding Lao’er interjected coldly from the side, “Right, you’re not poor, you just can’t afford to buy cigarettes, that’s all.”

The burly man’s face turned red with anger, “Who, who said I can’t afford them? I just think… the price for these cigarettes is too high!”

Someone nearby scoffed, “Still sounds poor to me!”

The burly man became annoyed, turned his head to snap at the person, but upon seeing who it was, he could only bare his teeth in a smile, “Oh, it’s Lord Wolf.”

Lang Zhen had wandered off somewhere but now came back holding a stick of sugarcane.

He chewed on it heartily while looking at the burly man coldly, “Name a price for this pair of stone balls. I won’t force you to sell.”

The burly man didn’t dare provoke Lang Zhen, yet he was reluctant to be forced into selling, so he put on a smiling face and said, “Lord Wolf, these things aren’t worth much, I just find them handy to use.”

Upon hearing this, Feng Jun asked, “I don’t have to buy them, but can you tell me where you got them?”

“This… I bought them in the prefectural city,” the burly man answered with a smile, “they weren’t expensive, two hundred copper coins.”

Two hundred copper coins… Feng Jun chuckled at the response, “Two silver dollars, will you sell them?”

Two voices called out at the same time, “I’ll sell,” “That’s too expensive!”

The one willing to sell was naturally the burly man. Even if he found the stone balls handy, he couldn’t pass up on a tenfold profit.

Lang Zhen, on the other hand, very succinctly stated, “They’re not worth that much.”

Feng Jun glanced at the stone balls in his hand again and passed them to Lang Zhen, “Are you sure… they’re not valuable?”

“I know what you’re referring to,” Lang Zhen held the sugarcane under his broken arm and casually inspected the stone balls, then nonchalantly tossed them back to the burly man, “Just as I thought, they’re not valuable.”

The burly man clumsily caught the two stone balls, looking somewhat crestfallen, “I told you they’re not worth much, I can indeed sell them for two silver dollars… Lord Wolf, if your friend really wants them, why stop me from making money?”

Lang Zhen paid him no attention and instead turned to Feng Jun, “These are already polished, just two hundred copper coins for the pair. I’ve already told you, I know where to get these.”

Upon hearing this, the burly man was angered yet dared not speak, while Feng Jun was taken aback.

Polishing jade is arduous work, and to think that polished jade balls were only two hundred copper coins here, jade in this place was truly cheap.

Then, he snorted softly, “Right, you told me, but then… there was no follow­up.’

Lang Zhen heard this and curled his lips dismissively, “There’s none nearby… Forget it, if you want to buy them, buy them.”

Feng Jun didn’t hesitate and pulled out two silver dollars, handing them over to the burly man.

The burly man’s face was a mixture of conflict as he took the silver dollars. He was truly reluctant to sell, but he couldn’t resist the allure of the silver dollars, and since he had almost not sold them a moment ago, his emotions were indeed a whirlwind.

Feng Jun received the stone balls and immediately stuffed them into his bag, thinking that no matter what, he had finally made a find this time.

Lang Zhen watched him silently, his own thoughts indecipherable.

Feng Jun was too preoccupied with his own happiness to notice that not far away a young man in white was staring at his backpack, lost in thought.

He was pondering one question: How is it that a simple tug can close this bag?

Here it must be said that the zipper is one of Earth Realm’s most bizarre inventions.

After all, this device has no natural prototype. Airplanes have birds as a point of reference, cameras and infrared sensors are inspired by the compound eyes of insects, and even paper was inadvertently created in nature, which people then observed and emulated.

But the zipper is a product of human imagination, conjured out of thin air, so this realm lacks any similar product.

The young man in white was the one who had come with the stocky young man. He thought for a moment and stepped forward, pointing at the backpack and asking, “How much for this bag?”

Feng Jun glanced at him and replied succinctly, “It’s not for sale, no matter the price.”

The backpack itself wasn’t valuable, but it contained too many things that could not be seen by others. He had no intention of selling it.

“Hmm,” the young man in white nodded, thinking to himself, I just knew it, this one loves to make money when he can.

But in the next moment, he was taken aback, “What… you’re not selling?”

Feng Jun glanced at him, knowing that this person must have some status— especially since he had just closed a deal for four silver dollars, so he patiently explained, “I’m only selling cigarettes and lighters, nothing else.”

The expression on the young man in white’s face immediately turned sour as he said with a tense face, “The price is negotiable.”

The big man who had just sold the stone ball beside him heard this and couldn’t help but snort with laughter, his face full of schadenfreude.

Serves you right for paying a high price for my goods; such is the retribution of Heavenly Dao.

Feng Jun gave him a cool glance and then shook his head, “Sorry, I’m not planning to sell that item.”

“You…” The young man in white glared at him fiercely. After a good while, seeing no response, he huffed and walked away.

Feng Jun shook his head, not giving it another thought, and continued selling his cigarettes and lighters.

The day passed quickly, and he sold a total of five silver dollars plus just over a thousand copper coins. He had distributed just over three packs of cigarettes later, he wasn’t so generous with the cigarettes, sharing a single cigarette among three people.

This kind of situation was rare in the Earth Realm where hygiene is considered important, but in this plane, very few people cared about this detail. Most didn’t mind that the cigarette they were putting in their mouths had just been in someone else’s.

Feng Jun also made his own judgment based on his observations; he believed that resources in this plane were relatively scarce. Not to mention anything else, just the food situation appeared quite tense.

Take Small Lake Village, for example; over one hundred people cultivated a thousand acres of land and also had fruit trees and livestock and poultry. They could go hunting in the mountains during their leisure time. This should have ensured no issue with having enough to eat, but in reality, food was still scarce in the village.

When it came to food, for one, the yield per acre was low; secondly, it was highly dependent on the weather.

Taking Small Lake Village as an example, the village’s geographical location wasn’t bad. Although it was in the mountains, there was no shortage of water, which should have meant distance from drought. However, floods could not be avoided-let alone the possibility of landslides and mudslides caused by prolonged flooding.

Moreover, crops suffered from numerous diseases and pests, so a poor harvest was always a risk.

All in all, although this was said to be a cultivation plane, the basic necessities of life were truly in short supply.

As the sun was about to set, the crowd began to disperse. Those who lived nearby hurried home, while people from Small Lake Village began to prepare their evening meal, planning to rest for a while before continuing their journey while it was still light out.

In this way, by noon the next day, they could reach the place they had rested the day before. After avoiding the scorching sun, they would travel back to the village.

Everyone made arrangements like this, except for Chief Jia, who had social obligations in town.

Lang Family’s oldest sister was cooking porridge. Today at the market, the Lang Family had bought a hundred pounds of grain, so this time’s porridge could be a bit thicker.

However, from the corner of her eye, she was watching Feng Jun.

It was because of this that when Feng Jun packed up his foldable bed and canopy and was about to leave on his motorcycle, she called out to him, “Doctor Feng, where are you headed?”

Feng Jun looked back at her and answered with a smile, “I’m leaving now. After the market is over, it’s time for me to depart. Didn’t you know?”

Lang’s oldest sister certainly knew that. She had been planning to persuade him once everyone had left, but seeing that he was about to leave without a care, she panicked. She slapped her chest and shouted loudly, “Don’t you want what’s here with me… ?”

Her intention was by no means flirty; she was referring to the silver dollars she had concealed in her arms from selling the Spirit Green Bamboo Shoots that day.

It was joint property between the two, and she definitely wanted to share half with Feng Jun. But with so many people around, it wasn’t convenient to mention it openly.

Upon hearing this, Feng Jun was also a little confused, thinking to himself that he hadn’t planned to take anything from her, and this wasn’t the way to dupe someone.

But soon, he understood the implied meaning, and with a chuckling shake of his head, he said, “No need for that; you know my aspirations are grand, why would I care about such small advantages?”

Suddenly, a faint snap came from not far away; it was Jia Xingwang crushing a clay pot in his hand.

Though his gaze did not drift in that direction, everyone could see the veins bulging on his forehead and his body trembling slightly.

He felt stifled, almost spitting blood from the shame of being cuckolded-a humiliation no man could tolerate.

What was unbearable for him was that the despicable foreigner expressed reluctance to take advantage of “such a small perk.”

At that moment, he was so suffocated with frustration that he wanted to kill someone. Damn it, if this was minor, what counted as a major perk?

In fact, he had heard about the Spirit Green Bamboo Shoot at Small Lake Village too, but his mind was now clouded by jealousy, and he was not in a state to connect the two matters.

Indeed, only a dead foreigner is a good foreigner.

Lang’s oldest sister was quite irked by Feng Jun’s attitude, retorting, “What do you mean taking advantage? This is entirely voluntary on my part!”

Jia Xingwang’s fists clenched tightly, his teeth grinding with a grating sound, and the muscles around his eyes twitched uncontrollably.

But Feng Jun, heedless of all that, began to push his motorcycle away while laughingly saying, “I should hit the road while it’s still cool, we’ll have plenty of time in the future.”

“Where can you possibly travel to?” Lang’s oldest sister stomped her foot in anger and shouted again, “Do you even know the way?”

(Updated. During the strong push period, calling for clicks, recommendations, and bookmarks.)