Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Ninety-Six: Transactions at the Dinner Table

"Only about ten thousand were still intact; the rest were all broken beyond recognition, which is why I didn't bring any back." Xiao Chong held up a finger and waved it in front of Hengshan's eyes.

After a long while, Hengshan finally came to his senses and let out a long sigh, saying, "These sandworms are extremely rare. If you're lucky, you might only be able to find ten or eight at a time. Brother, you must have gone through a lot of hardships to be able to hunt so many this time. I don't know whether to say you're unlucky or too lucky."

"It was indeed dangerous; I almost lost my life. But at least I came back alive, so it was worth it." Xiao Chong still felt a tingling sensation on his scalp when he recalled the scene.

"So, what are you planning to do with these sandworms, brother?" Yokoyama asked again.

Xiao Chong said, "Although the weather is cool now, this stuff shouldn't be stored for too long. I plan to smoke a batch, air-dry it, and store it. The rest I'll take to the restaurant. Of course, I'll send someone to deliver your share to you later, Brother Heng."

Yokoyama nodded in satisfaction and said, "Thank you for your trouble, brother. Since there's so much of this, let's make this one as an appetizer today."

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Xiao Chong nodded. “However, I have a novel way of eating it. I wonder if Brother Heng would be interested in trying it?”

Yokoyama asked curiously, "This stuff is nothing more than frying, stir-frying, and boiling. What other novel ways can you possibly prepare it, brother?"

Xiao Chong had Hengshan summon a cook and said with a smile, "You can clean this sandworm, coat it with honey, and then roast it over charcoal. When it's almost cooked, sprinkle it with salt, cumin, and a little chili powder. When it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, you can slice it and serve it with sake. The taste will surely leave you wanting more, Brother Heng."

"Then hurry up and go!" Yokoyama's stomach was rumbling with anticipation, and he kept urging the cook on, smacking his lips.

After the cook left, the servant changed Yokoyama's teacup, and the two began to drink and talk again.

"I've never heard of such a huge number of sandworms before. I never imagined that you would encounter one, brother," Yokoyama remarked casually.

Xiao Chong's smile faded, and he said seriously, "I was just about to discuss this matter with Brother Heng."

"You said."

"When I first went out to search for spiritual veins, I encountered a pack of Crimson-Eyed Flame Wolves. I wonder if Brother Heng has heard of them?"

"Such a thing exists? I've never heard of it." Yokoyama shook his head. "But could these two things be related?"

Xiao Chong took a sip of tea and replied, "I don't know if these two things are related, but whether it's the Crimson-Eyed Flame Wolf or the Sandworm, they should both be species that only exist in the depths of the Southern Wilderness. But now they are appearing one after another on the outskirts of the Southern Wilderness. Doesn't Brother Heng find that strange?"

Upon hearing this, Yokoyama remained silent for a moment before asking, "There is something strange about this. Does my brother mean that something has changed deep in the Southern Wilderness, or that these two events were deliberately manipulated?"

"We don't know for sure yet," Xiao Chong replied. "But Brother Heng should understand the principle that something unusual must be going on, so it's best to take this seriously."

Yokoyama pondered for a moment, then said, "Brother's concerns are not without merit. After we finish eating, I will send someone to investigate this matter, so that we don't end up being schemed against without even realizing it."

"Hmm, I'm relieved now." Xiao Chong picked up his teacup and took another sip.

The two chatted while drinking tea, and the pot was quickly finished. When the second pot of tea was almost gone, the food was finally served.

"Come on, have some food. It's nothing special, but please make do with this." Hengshan filled Xiao Chong's wine cup, then looked at Yin Feng standing to the side and asked, "May I ask how this young man is addressed?"

“His name is Yin Feng, the son of Yin Changkong. He also came to the Southern Wilderness with me this time,” Xiao Chong answered on his behalf.

"Yin Changkong? Is he the martial artist in your team?"

“That’s right.” Yin Feng nodded quickly when he heard Yokoyama mention his father.

“They’re not outsiders, so sit down and eat with us,” Yokoyama said with a smile.

Among the various forces that came to the Southern Wilderness this time, there were not many with martial arts cultivation. He still had a good impression of Yin Changkong.

Yin Feng glanced at Xiao Chong, who nodded slightly. He then bowed to Hengshan and carefully sat down in a corner of the table.

"Eat your vegetables, eat your vegetables, they'll get cold if you don't eat them soon," Yokoyama urged warmly once again.

"Brother Heng, please go first." Xiao Chong smiled slightly, gestured for him to go first, but remained seated without moving.

There's something strange about that kid's smile; there's probably more to come!

Seeing that Xiao Chong hesitated to pick up his chopsticks, looking as if he had something to say but was holding back, Hengshan's heart stirred and he asked, "Brother, is there anything else you want to say? If so, just say it, there's no need to beat around the bush."

Xiao Chong leaned forward and said, "What we just talked about was just idle chatter. I have a private matter to discuss with Brother Heng."

As expected, it's like a mouse carrying a shovel; the real action is yet to come. No, keeping him in suspense like this is too passive; I need to curb his arrogance.

After making up his mind, Yokoyama leaned back in his chair and said slowly, "Speak freely. If it is within my power, I will definitely help."

Huh? Why did the other party change their attitude as soon as we started talking about personal matters? Is this a sign that they're going to leave me hanging? Xiao Chong immediately grasped Yokoyama's psychology based on his behavior and decided to give him another shock.

"I have a big deal in mind, and I'd love to cooperate with Brother Heng for a win-win situation. I just don't know if Brother Heng can handle it," Xiao Chong said methodically, pursing his lips.

This kid is trying to provoke me! But he doesn't even know who I am. Is there any business in the entire Tiannan Town that I, Hengshan, can't handle?

Yokoyama chuckled inwardly and casually asked, "How big of a deal?"

Xiao Chong pointed to the empty gift box next to him and said softly, "There are quite a few more than this one."

"Cough...cough..."

Just as Yokoyama was about to drink a glass of wine, before he could even swallow, he heard Xiao Chong say that the value of this deal was even greater than ten thousand sandworms. He was immediately startled and choked on the wine, coughing violently.

No wonder he lost his composure like that.

It's important to know that rare and exotic beasts like sandworms are seldom seen on the market. Occasionally, someone will sell one, and each one will fetch several thousand taels of silver, with live ones reaching tens of thousands of taels.

Although the price will drop after Xiao Chong supplies a large quantity in the restaurant, it will still be possible to sell one per thousand li.

Although Tiannan Town has a large population, most of them are miners brought by their families, so the number of people with the ability to consume is actually very limited.

This is also why Xiao Chong smoked the sandworms.

Even if not all of these sandworms can be converted into cash, their value remains undeniable. If we disregard sales channels and only consider their monetary worth, they are worth at least tens of millions of taels of silver.

I'm so excited just thinking about it!

After coughing for a while, seeing that Xiao Chong was just smiling and silent, Hengshan quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said somewhat awkwardly, "I haven't drunk alcohol for a long time, so I drank a bit too fast. Please forgive me, brother."

"Keep pretending!" Xiao Chong thought to himself, secretly amused by the other man's embarrassed expression.

He didn't expose him at the moment, saying, "Brother Heng, please drink slowly. I have plenty of time to keep you company. There's no rush."

After saying that, he picked up his wine glass, pretending to savor it slowly.

Now Yokoyama couldn't sit still any longer and pressed, "Brother, you just mentioned you had a business deal to make, but what kind of deal is it? How risky is it?"

Xiao Chong laughed and said, "For Brother Heng, there is no risk at all, and he doesn't need to do anything. He can just sit at home and collect the money."

"Such a good thing?" Yokoyama asked, half incredulous. "Then why don't you do it yourself instead of letting someone else benefit from it?"

Xiao Chong said mysteriously, "Only Brother Heng and I can do this together; no one else can do it even if they want to. Besides, how can Brother Heng be considered 'anyone else'?"

Yin Feng watched the two of them perform, one after the other, and was almost dumbfounded.

Before the meal, they were all like brothers, laughing and joking. How come they all became so hypocritical as soon as money was mentioned?

Yin Feng said he was very uncomfortable with the way the two people acted.

But no matter how uncomfortable you are, you still have to watch it. Not only do you have to watch it, but you also have to carefully study it and learn it seriously, and finally make it your own.

This was the real lesson he needed to learn on this trip. Therefore, Yin Feng observed very carefully and was very focused.

"What is it? You're really being unfair by teasing your foolish brother like this." Yokoyama finally became impatient.

Xiao Chong felt that it was about time, so he stopped being mysterious and said frankly, "I recently acquired a batch of gold and silver jewelry, which is very inconvenient to carry around. Therefore, I would like to ask Brother Heng to help me exchange it for Yuanli cards."

"I wondered what kind of deal could be so easy, but it turns out it's this. Why didn't you say so earlier? I would have replaced everything for you!"

Yokoyama blinked rapidly, then changed his tone at the end, saying, "But as you know, Yuanli Cards are scarce and always in short supply, so they can't be exchanged at the usual price. Therefore, the fee..."

Xiao Chong interrupted the other party, saying, "Brother Heng, there's no need to say more. I naturally understand the key points. That's why I said that this deal can only be done by the two of us brothers working together."

"I'm glad you understand, brother." Yokoyama pondered for a moment, then held up five fingers and said, "How about exchanging it for 50% of the market price?"

This is outrageous! What happened to the brotherhood we were promised?

Xiao Chong leaned forward and shouted, "Fifty percent is too little, ninety percent!"

"Sixty percent?"

"Eighty percent!"

"Seventy percent, at most seventy percent!"

"Okay, 70% done, deal!"

With the price settled, the two exchanged a smile and raised their glasses to drink it all in one gulp.

Both of them felt that they could accept the exchange rate quite happily.

In Xiao Chong's mind, although he lost some money, it was still worthwhile to be able to exchange that money for Yuanli cards in one go.

As Yokoyama said, Yuanli Cards are in high demand and often there is nowhere to buy them even if you have the money.

In particular, the transaction amount was enormous; if Yokoyama were not from a truly powerful family, no one else would be able to come up with the funds even if they wanted to trade.

But Yokoyama had a different thought. Earning millions of taels of silver without lifting a finger was a rare and fortunate opportunity.

While the purchasing power of gold and silver jewelry isn't as robust as that of Yuanli cards, that's for ordinary people. With the Heng family as his backer, he has at least a hundred ways to use that money to buy resources equivalent to Yuanli cards.

"Come on, Brother Xiao, try my cooking. I'm not bragging, but you really can't find another one like it in Tiannan Town."

Yokoyama was overjoyed to receive such a huge benefit out of nowhere; he couldn't stop smiling.

"No rush, I have another gift for Brother Heng." Xiao Chong smiled mysteriously again, but did not say what the gift was.

“There’s…there’s also…” Yokoyama’s hand tightened, and the chopsticks he had just raised snapped in two with a “crack”.