Fleeing from famine? Not a chance; the divine healer's wife made her fortune.

Chapter 215 The Difficulty of Obtaining Special Materials

The difficulty of obtaining special materials

Hearing Old Zhang's calculating laughter, Su Yunlan cursed him inwardly as an old fox.

Five hundred taels of silver is enough for an ordinary family to live on for several years. This old man is really asking for an exorbitant amount.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her dissatisfaction, but still had a faint smile on her face, and said, "Mr. Zhang is indeed a straightforward person. However, the quality of this starstone seems to be somewhat different from what I expected."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhang's expression changed slightly. What he feared most was encountering a knowledgeable customer.

He squinted, scrutinizing Su Yunlan, trying to glean something from her expression.

"Young lady, what do you mean by that? My starstones are famously high-quality, and I never cheat anyone!" Old Zhang raised his voice, seemingly trying to cover up his guilty conscience.

Su Yunlan calmly took out a starstone from her package, examined it carefully in her hand, and then picked up the starstone from Old Zhang's stall and compared them, saying, "Boss Zhang, look, the luster of your starstone is obviously not as good as mine, and it also has more impurities. So, the quality is naturally a bit lower."

Although Young Master Xiao didn't understand these things, seeing that Su Yunlan spoke so logically, he chimed in, "Yes, Boss Zhang, your starstone is indeed not as good as the one this lady has. Shouldn't we discuss the price again?"

Old Zhang felt a little guilty after being talked to by the two of them, but he still stubbornly said, "Hmph, this star stone is a natural product, so it's normal for there to be some differences. Besides, my price is already very fair. If you don't buy it, there are plenty of other people who will."

Seeing his firm stance, Su Yunlan knew that a direct confrontation would not work.

She rolled her eyes and figured it out.

“Mr. Zhang, I won’t lie to you, my lantern shop recently received a big order that requires a large quantity of star stones. If you can give me a reasonable price, I guarantee that all my star stones will come from you from now on,” Su Yunlan said sincerely.

Upon hearing this, Old Zhang rubbed his hands together and tentatively asked, "Oh? A big order? How big?"

“At least a thousand starstones are needed,” Su Yunlan said calmly.

Old Zhang gasped. A thousand star stones—that was no small sum!

He looked at Su Yunlan and began to make plans in his mind.

"Young lady, don't try to fool me. A thousand star stones is no small sum. If you can't come up with that much silver, I won't waste my time with you." Old Zhang was still somewhat skeptical.

Su Yunlan smiled slightly, took out a silver note from his pocket, and handed it to Old Man Zhang.

“This bank note is a deposit. If Mr. Zhang thinks it’s okay, we can sign the contract immediately,” Su Yunlan said confidently.

Old Zhang took the silver note, examined it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, his face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Hahaha, young lady, you are indeed a straightforward person! In that case, let's sign the contract!" Old Zhang said impatiently.

Looking at Old Man Zhang's money-grubbing appearance, Young Master Xiao felt utterly contemptuous.

He couldn't help but say, "Mr. Zhang, your change of attitude is too fast! Just a moment ago you were acting like you didn't care whether we bought it or not, but now you're treating us like gods of wealth."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhang's face stiffened, but he quickly regained his smile.

"Young master, you flatter me. In business, harmony is paramount. I was just joking to lighten the mood," Old Zhang said shamelessly.

Su Yunlan was too lazy to waste words with him and said directly, "Mr. Zhang, let's talk about the price first."

Old Zhang cleared his throat and said, "Young lady, since you want such a large quantity, I'll naturally give you a discount. How about this, four hundred and fifty taels of silver per piece? What do you think?"

Su Yunlan shook his head and said, "Boss Zhang, your price is still too high. I can only accept four hundred taels of silver per piece at most."

"Four hundred taels? That won't do. The price I paid for the goods was more than that." Old Zhang shook his head hurriedly.

"Mr. Zhang, I know you're definitely making a profit, but don't be too greedy. If we can't agree on a price, I'll have to look elsewhere." Su Yunlan made a move to leave.

Seeing this, Old Zhang quickly stopped her, saying, "Hey, hey, young lady, don't rush off. We can discuss the price some more."

After some haggling, Su Yunlan finally reached an agreement with Old Man Zhang for 420 taels of silver per piece.

After signing the contract, Su Yunlan breathed a sigh of relief, finally settling the matter of the starstone.

However, when she prepared to buy other special materials for making lanterns, she discovered that these materials were also monopolized by Old Man Zhang.

"Boss Zhang, this is going too far! You've monopolized all the special materials, how are we supposed to do business?" Young Master Xiao said angrily.

Old Zhang smiled smugly and said, "There's nothing I can do. Who told me to be so well-informed and stockpile all these materials in advance? If you want to buy materials from me, you'll have to pay a good price."

Su Yunlan looked at Old Zhang's treacherous face and felt a deep sense of disgust.

She knew that getting the materials from him would likely come at a higher price.

"Mr. Zhang, name your price. How much are these materials?" Su Yunlan asked helplessly.

Old Zhang held up three fingers and said, "Three hundred taels of silver for each material."

"Three hundred taels? Why don't you just rob me?" Young Master Xiao Twenty-Seven roared.

Old Zhang shrugged and said, "You think it's too expensive? Then don't buy it. Anyway, I'm the only one who has these materials. If you don't make lanterns, someone else will."

Su Yunlan felt a wave of powerlessness.

Without these special materials, her unique lanterns could not be made.

Looking at Old Zhang's smug face, she was filled with anger, but there was nothing she could do.

Just when she was at her wit's end, she suddenly thought of her own space.

In her space, there are some things that can replace some of the functions of special materials.

She made an excuse to rest, pulled Young Master Xiao aside, and quietly took out some substitutes from her spatial storage and handed them to him.

"Twenty-seventh brother, take these things to Boss Zhang and tell him that these things can replace some of the special materials," Su Yunlan said in a low voice.

Although Young Master Xiao didn't know where Su Yunlan got these things from, he still followed Su Yunlan's instructions and took the things to Old Man Zhang.

Old Zhang took the things handed over by Young Master Xiao and examined them carefully. He found that these things could indeed replace some of the functions of special materials.

His face immediately turned ugly.

He knew he couldn't ask for an exorbitant price anymore, otherwise Su Yunlan might use these substitutes to replace his materials.

"Alright, young lady, seeing how sincere you are, I'll give you a discount. Two hundred and fifty taels of silver for each material, how about that?" Old Zhang said helplessly.

Su Yunlan was secretly delighted to see that he had finally relented.

After some haggling, she finally bought some special materials for 230 taels of silver each.

Although we managed to acquire some special materials, it wasn't enough.

Su Yunlan knew that she needed to find other ways to obtain the remaining materials.

But how easy is that?

Su Yunlan gazed into the distance, her heart filled with worry.

With the Lantern Festival approaching, she must find the remaining materials as soon as possible, otherwise her unique lantern will not be completed on time.

"Yuhan, let's figure out a way to get the rest of the materials," Su Yunlan said softly, her voice tinged with weariness.

Xiao Yuhan looked at her with heartache, held her hand tightly, and said, "Don't worry, Yunlan, I will definitely help you."

Su Yunlan nodded, her heart filled with gratitude.

With Xiao Yuhan by her side, she felt full of strength.

The two walked side by side on the bustling street, their figures gradually disappearing into the crowd.

"Tell me, where did she get those substitutes from?" Old Zhang asked, watching Su Yunlan's departing figure.

He couldn't figure it out and always felt that Su Yunlan was hiding some secret.

"Hmph, whatever her secrets are, as long as she can make money, I don't care." Old Zhang snorted coldly, turned around and went back to his stall to continue his business.

However, he didn't realize that he had missed an opportunity to learn the truth, and also missed an even bigger business opportunity.

Will Su Yunlan and his friends be able to gather all the materials before the Lantern Festival? What interesting things will happen at the Lantern Festival?