Cold snow ends among the plum blossoms; spring wind returns upon the willows.
Before he knew it, winter had passed and spring had arrived.
The frozen mountain stream began to gurgle and flow once more. Icicles and tree frost beneath the eaves of the bamboo building dripped crystalline droplets in the sunlight.
In the morning, the tavern was somewhat quiet, with few patrons about.
Fang Yuan sat inside, near the window. Per his request, wooden board screens had been set up around his seat, forming a private booth.
A light breeze drifted in through the window, carrying the fresh, fragrant scent of earth that cleared the mind and refreshed the spirit.
Jiang Ya sat directly across from Fang Yuan, his face plastered with a grin.
"Here are the Yuan Stones from this batch. Please verify." He placed four bulging money pouches on the table and slid them toward Fang Yuan.
Inside the pouches, naturally, were all Yuan Stones.
Fang Yuan did not open each one to inspect. He simply picked them up and weighed them in his hand.
In his previous life, he had spent over a hundred years trading. However many Yuan Stones were placed in his palm, a quick weigh told him the count. He would notice immediately if even a single stone was missing.
This skill was nothing remarkable.
On Earth, there was the old oil seller who placed a copper coin over a bottle's mouth and dripped oil through the coin's tiny hole in a single thread, without spilling a single drop. There was the divine marksman who shot leaves from a hundred paces away, hitting his mark every time. The veteran butcher who had spent years at his trade could weigh meat by hand and know the exact jin and liang — put it on a scale and the measurement was perfect to the last fraction.
How did one develop such skill?
Nothing to it — practice makes perfect!
The accumulation of experience could, sometimes, stack up into a miracle.
After his rebirth, this intuition born of experience naturally came with him. Fang Yuan weighed each pouch in turn, found no issues, then pulled a small cloth bag from his robe and handed it to Jiang Ya.
Jiang Ya hurriedly accepted it with both hands, opened the mouth of the bag, and counted carefully.
Although Fang Yuan had the Nine-leaf Vitality Grass in hand, he did not sell it directly. If it were Guye Dongtu, he would have leaped at the chance — it would have been beneficial for maintaining social relationships and increasing his influence.
But Fang Yuan had no interest in doing so. It would waste far too much time and energy. So he sold all the Vitality Leaves to Jiang Ya, who, as the shop's owner, handled the external sale of these First Transformation healing Grass Gu.
Jiang Ya was Jiang He's younger brother. Fang Yuan had met him while searching for the Wine Worm. His older brother, Jiang He, was even something of a half-ally to Fang Yuan. Having him serve as an agent — handling the sales face-to-face — was relatively safe and reliable.
"One, two, three… nine. Indeed, nine Vitality Leaves, as expected." Jiang Ya counted three times before closing the bag and carefully tucking it against his body.
Then he raised his cup and toasted Fang Yuan: "Lord Fang Yuan, a pleasure doing business. This one's on me!"
The gaze he directed at Fang Yuan concealed a thick envy — even transforming into a trace of jealousy.
Just one year ago, also in spring, he had first met Fang Yuan. Back then, Fang Yuan had been nothing more than a student at the Academy, not even qualified to wear a Gu Master's martial robe.
But now, Fang Yuan not only wore a full martial robe — a crimson belt was fastened at his waist, with a square iron plate set at its center. He was already a Second Transformation Gu Master!
Meanwhile, Jiang Ya himself remained stuck at the First Transformation, still wearing a green belt.
That alone would have been one thing, but what truly made Jiang Ya's eyes burn was that after receiving his inheritance, Fang Yuan had vaulted from a penniless boy into a wealthy man.
The tavern, the bamboo building, and the Nine-leaf Vitality Grass he controlled were wealth that Jiang Ya might never amass in a lifetime of toiling!
However, Jiang Ya dared not let that jealousy show.
Fang Yuan sold him the Vitality Leaves, and he profited from the markup. Fang Yuan had become his cash cow, and Jiang Ya certainly could not afford to offend this young man standing before him.
"Sigh, comparing yourself to others is the death of joy…" Jiang Ya held his cup, his face still grinning, but inside he sighed deeply.
Fang Yuan also raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.
Jiang Ya's expression was subtle, but Fang Yuan was old enough to see through such things — how could he not notice?
Fang Yuan did not take it to heart. If Jiang Ya did not feel envy, it would mean he harbored grand ambitions, which would actually earn Fang Yuan's respect.
But to burn with jealousy over Fang Yuan's fortune alone — that spoke to a petty scope, hardly worth mentioning. Drinking a cup with him was simply because he had some marginal use for the time being.
Jiang Ya set down his cup and said excitedly: "The clan's Vitality Leaves sell for fifty-five Yuan Stones each. After following your instructions, we priced our Grass Gu at only fifty Yuan Stones, and demand has been overwhelming! My lord, why not produce more Vitality Leaves every day? That way, we could earn even more!"
Fang Yuan heard this and slowly shook his head, refusing outright: "No. Producing nine Vitality Leaves already pushes the limit — it wastes a great deal of my cultivation time."
This was the difference between Fang Yuan and worldly men like Jiang Ya.
In Fang Yuan's view, Yuan Stones were nothing more than resources for cultivation — tools. Everything served the path of cultivation. Jiang Ya, on the other hand, treated Yuan Stones as the ultimate goal of life, cultivating only to earn more of them.
Even so, with Fang Yuan producing just nine Vitality Leaves per day and earning over four hundred Yuan Stones daily, after days of accumulation, the wealth in his possession had grown to a considerable degree.
Seeing Fang Yuan refuse, Jiang Ya dared not press further. He could only smack his lips in regret, then dutifully refilled Fang Yuan's cup before pouring one for himself.