Yang Kai laughed heartily and threw an arm around her shoulder. "When we make the money, we'll split it right down the middle."
Die You turned her head and glared. "Get your paws off me!"
After plotting in detail inside the room and settling on their respective roles, Yang Kai took the one thousand Opening Heaven Pills he'd borrowed from Die You, rose into the air, and headed straight for the market.
Not long after Yang Kai left, a piece of news spread like wildfire through the laborers' quarters: over at Die You's place, two Jade Fire Silkworms could be exchanged for one Opening Heaven Pill! The entire laborers' quarters erupted. In an instant, countless people surged toward Die You's dwelling.
It was well known that when the others usually paid their respects to General Sichen, they typically had to feed it three or four silkworms before it would grant them a single pill — and that was when they were lucky. When luck was bad, no matter how many they offered, the General would act as if you didn't exist.
But now, just two Jade Fire Silkworms would guarantee an Opening Heaven Pill from Die You. The deal was a sure profit no matter how you looked at it, so naturally everyone flocked to it. Moreover, the laborers spent a full month at a time in the orchards, and each month they could all catch at least a few of the bugs.
Though they didn't know what Die You was planning, once they had confirmed the news was accurate and personally witnessed someone else exchange two Jade Fire Silkworms for an Opening Heaven Pill, a long line formed outside Die You's door in an instant. Everyone had just returned from the orchards — who wouldn't have a few bugs on hand?
Die You usually had a decent relationship with the other laborers and had a few so-called close sisters among them. At a time like this, they naturally did their utmost to pry for information. But this concerned the interests of both her and Yang Kai, so how could she say a word? She merely smiled faintly and kept her lips sealed.
Only a handful of people, watching the bustling scene, wore expressions of quiet contemplation…
Meanwhile, after arriving at the laborers' market, Yang Kai headed straight for the shop that sold Spirit Wood Boxes and Hundred-Refined Incense, spending ten Opening Heaven Pills on two boxes of the incense.
He had originally planned to spend all the several hundred Opening Heaven Pills he'd earned on Hundred-Refined Incense. After all, he would need to take General Sichen out to catch bugs in the future, and the incense consumption would surely be enormous.
But after hearing Die You's suggestion, he realized her proposal was far better. Had he followed his own plan and done all the work himself, setting aside the fact that he would offend a large number of people, the efficiency would also be dismal. Now, with Die You purchasing the Jade Fire Silkworms from the laborers, it saved effort and time on one hand, and he wouldn't have to offend anyone on the other. Even if others learned the truth later, they would merely think he was lucky enough to have earned the General's favor, and wouldn't hold it against him.
Just as Die You had said before, since ancient times, hogging everything for oneself never ended well. One could even say that with Die You's approach, his own income would likely be even greater.
That said, even though he didn't need to buy incense in bulk, he still wanted to keep two boxes on hand as backup.
After leaving the shop, Yang Kai strolled around the market, originally hoping to find a spot to set up a stall. But after wandering about, he found all the good spots were already taken. The remaining ones were tucked away in corners, completely inconspicuous.
After standing in place and observing for a while, Yang Kai headed straight for one particular stall. When he reached it, he held out three Opening Heaven Pills.
The stall owner was a young boy who stared at Yang Kai in astonishment. "What would you like to buy, Senior Brother?"
"Your stall." Yang Kai shook the Opening Heaven Pills in his hand. "Pack up your things, hand the stall over to me, and these three pills are yours."
The boy hesitated briefly, then cheerfully and decisively gathered up the miscellaneous items on his stall.
"Leave the sign too!"
"It's all yours!" the boy said with a grin. He pocketed the three Opening Heaven Pills, squeezed into the crowd in the blink of an eye, and quickly vanished.
The stall owners on either side glanced over with peculiar expressions. In all their years here, they had never seen anyone buy a stall. The stalls here were unmanaged and always operated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Yang Kai sat down in the spot where the boy had been, picked up the sign, and erased the writing on it. Then he picked up a piece of charcoal from the ground, thought for a moment, and wrote a line of large characters on the sign. He stuck it into the ground beside the stall, and business had officially begun.
The stall owner to his left was a half-aged man who leaned over to take a look and couldn't help but chuckle. Seeing Yang Kai's generous spending, he had assumed he was in some big business. To his surprise, the sign clearly stated that he was buying bugs that grew on the fruit trees in the orchards.
The man knew of those bugs too — every orchard had them. But they were of no real use. Under normal circumstances, once caught, they were simply crushed and killed. He had no idea what this young man wanted with them.
Still, it was someone else's business, and he couldn't be bothered to care. He shook his head, stopped paying attention to Yang Kai, and focused on his own business.
Yang Kai sat there for half a day. He had been ready and eager to get things rolling, but after half a day, while plenty of people had stopped to look, not a single one had even asked a question — leaving him somewhat speechless. Then, a sudden thought struck him, and realization dawned.
Not every Spirit Land had a General Sichen. The idiot chicken of the Fire Spirit Land was a pet kept by the Land Protector, and it just happened to like eating Jade Fire Silkworms. That was why the laborers of the Fire Spirit Land had developed the habit of catching and collecting the bugs. Laborers from other Spirit Lands probably also caught bugs, but they certainly wouldn't keep them.
Once he figured this out, Yang Kai frowned to himself. If that was the case, then his earlier plan wouldn't work at all.
Just then, a timid voice called out, "Excuse me, Senior Brother — what kind of bugs are you looking to buy?"
Yang Kai looked up to see a petite young girl standing in front of his stall. She had delicate features, with a few freckles across the bridge of her nose. When their eyes met, her cheeks flushed slightly.
Finally, someone had come to ask! Yang Kai perked up and said, "The bugs that grow on the fruit trees. Do you have any?"
The girl shook her head. "I don't…"
If you don't have any, why come ask? Yang Kai nearly snapped at her. But seeing how easily startled she seemed, he couldn't bring himself to. He forced a smile and said, "That's alright, Miss. Please, carry on."