Chapter 305: Underworld Business Opportunities
To be honest, if Xiao Ran hadn’t been concerned about the Taoist priest from Yinshan being desperate, the first thing he would have done if he had the chance would have been to kill this old man.

As for using money to redeem him, haha.

Is that one thousand deposit given for free?

Deposit, deposit, it would be better if this old man was treated as a commodity and kept there forever.

If he didn’t go to redeem it himself, he would also stop Chongshan and the others from having the idea of redeeming it.

Taking a thousand paper money and trapping the old Taoist priest to death is the result Xiao Ran most hopes to see.

So Xiao Ran didn’t feel bad at all about spending the money.

Facing Chongshan’s anxious expression, Xiao Ran did not explain immediately, but hesitated: “Brother, now that you mention it, I forgot about it. But this deal…”

When the boss saw this, his eyes rolled around.

The business of one thousand ghost money is many years’ income for his unpopular shop. If this deal fails, he will probably regret it so much.

It’s not that his business is not profitable, it’s just that there are too few buyers.

“Sir, you bought so many masks, is there a better way?”

“Of course, otherwise why would I buy so many? I only have one head, how many can I carry?”

“Isn’t this simple? You can buy the mask and make a profit from the difference. When you have the money, are you still afraid of not being able to accomplish something?”

“Oh okay……”

Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes and looked at Chongshan.

Seeing Chongshan’s hesitation, Xiao Ran said with a smile: “Brother, what are you afraid of? Master is eating and drinking well over there, with good wine and meat and good service. Now is the time for us disciples to have some good experience. Don’t you trust me, your brother?”

“Big Brother…but if Master blames us, we…can’t bear it.”

Seeing this, Xiao Ran pulled Chongshan aside and said, “Then tell me, did Master do anything to you?”

“Big Brother, don’t you have any?”

Chongshan looked at Xiao Ran in shock.

“Of course not. I am the master’s most beloved disciple.”

Hearing Xiao Ran’s words, the veins on Chongshan’s forehead almost bulged. So for so many years, they worked hard for the old Taoist priest to make money, but in the end, they were not as good as a ruthless senior brother? ?

“Big Brother, our master has put a soul-chasing curse on us. If he moves a finger, we will all be doomed.”

Chongshan rolled up his sleeves, revealing a curse pattern under his arm.

“Can it be solved?” Xiao Ran pulled Chongshan’s arm and studied it carefully. He felt that this should be the effect of some kind of curse. If the curse was brought over, maybe it could be solved.

“Master has a token in his hand that should be able to unlock it.”

“Okay, leave the rest to me.”

Now that he knew the source of the curse, Xiao Ran was willing to give it a try. He turned to the boss and said, “My fellow apprentices and I have agreed that it is better to do business first.”

The boss immediately smiled and said, “Sir, you have good taste. Although our products are not valuable locally, they are very popular outside.”

This is indeed true. These masks do not require spells to activate. Just by wearing them on the face, they can gain 15 points of strength attribute. Just for this reason, if they are thrown into the Bone Spirit Street, they will definitely become a hot commodity.

Especially for those beginners of the [Horizontal Refining] profession, wearing this thing can increase strength by 15 points, and physical fitness which is one third of the strength. Just for this reason, it is not expensive to sell it for 100 ghost coins.

This is definitely huge profits.

No wonder this old guy wanted to keep Chongshan and the others here. Although Fengdu makes people despair, it is simply a treasure trove for beginners.

“Then I’ll go get it for you now.”

When the boss saw that the deal had been made, he was so happy that he was smiling and going to pick up the goods.

“and many more!”

Xiao Ran called to the boss: “The big deal has been negotiated, let’s talk about this thing next.”

Xiao Ran pointed at the pure white mask on the table and said, “You are not a very honest boss. Although this thing is not an ordinary item, it is useless to ordinary people. It is rare that I like it. Name a price and I will consider it.”

The boss was stunned when he heard this. How could he not understand what Xiao Ran meant.

After pondering for a moment, he said, “Sir, you have good eyesight. This thing is indeed extraordinary. Naturally, it can only be worn by extraordinary people. Although things are rare and valuable, it also depends on fate. Since fate has come today, then…”

The boss rolled up his sleeves.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran understood what meant and put his hand into his sleeve.

Chongshan knew that this was called swallowing gold from the sleeve, also known as pulling hands to compare prices, which can be seen in many TV dramas. This was originally a unique method used by Shanxi merchants. Even today, it can still be seen in some livestock markets in Shanxi and Shandong, and in antique streets such as the Liulichang in Beijing.

But there are no cuffs, and a towel is used to cover it instead. In this way, only the two of them know the price, and no one else knows it.

Xiao Ran was not familiar with this, but fortunately his grandfather had taught him how to compare prices when he was a child. After the two of them fumbled in their sleeves, the boss nodded in embarrassment. Xiao Ran took off the mask with a smile and gave all the paper money in the bag to the boss.

The transaction is completed, and all that’s left is to wait for the boss to pick up the goods.

“Big Brother!”

At this time, Chongshan suddenly figured something out, and took out two more notes from his sleeve and handed them to Xiao Ran: “Big Brother, here are 500 notes. Since you want to do business, just take them. When you make money, it won’t be too late to save Master.”

Chongshan was not stupid. Xiao Ran was clearly trying to trick his master. But even if he wanted to stop him, as long as Xiao Ran was unwilling to redeem him, what could they do?

Besides, Xiao Ran still has an official status, so how could these minions dare to offend him easily?

Since you have to take sides, you might as well take the firm side. Anyway, the master won’t be coming out for a while, so it’s better to follow the eldest brother first.

Looking at the banknotes handed over, Xiao Ran did not take them, but just asked: “You gave me this money, how do you live here?”

“We still have a little bit of reserves, enough for a few of us to live in Fengdu. But, Senior Brother, next time you come, please bring more ghee, because that thing is in great demand here.”

“butter?”

Xiao Ran understood as soon as he heard it, ghee is also sesame oil.

This thing is of no benefit to ghosts, but ghosts love to eat it, just like people like to eat candy.

Ghee is something that not only ghosts love to eat, but even gods like it.

This thing is recorded in many books, and the most exaggerated one is in Journey to the West.

As in Journey to the West, Tang Monk and his disciples arrived at Jinping Prefecture. It was the Lantern Festival at that time, so Tang Monk and his disciples went out to the streets to watch the lanterns.

On the Golden Lantern Bridge, Tang Seng saw three large golden lanterns. There were two layers of exquisite attics on the golden lanterns, and the lamp oil inside was emitting a fragrant smell. Tang Seng asked the monks what the lamp oil was, and the monks explained it to him in detail.

It turns out that this lamp oil is called “Suhe fragrant oil”. One tael of this oil costs two taels of silver, and one catty is worth thirty-two taels. During the three-day lantern show, three golden lamps need to consume 1,500 taels of Suhe fragrant oil, a total of 48,000 taels of silver.

Of course, not to mention the prices in Journey to the West, there is also frankincense oil in reality, which is also recorded in the [Book of the Later Han], [Wanli Yewaibian], and [Taiping Yulan], all of which mention it.

Each one is worth an ounce of gold and an ounce of oil.

Of course, Xiao Ran couldn’t get such a great Suhe sesame oil, but getting some high-end ghee might not be a difficult task.

It’s just that the price is a little bit higher, but if you can bring it into the underworld, it will definitely be a huge profit.

“Since you are such a gunner, why doesn’t Master help you get some?”

“This……”

Chongshan smiled embarrassedly: “To be honest, Senior Brother, Master doesn’t care much about our affairs. Besides, it’s not easy to bring this incense oil in. There are many layers of fraud along the way. If you don’t have a backer, you won’t be able to keep this incense oil.”

Xiao Ran understood as soon as he heard it. No wonder Chongshan was so decisive in taking sides. It turned out that the old Taoist priest himself was not a human being. Chunchun just treated Chongshan and the others as a money-making machine. When they were short of money, they would come to him to take some. If he wanted him to help do something, hehe, that would be difficult.

On the other hand, I have the identity of a ghost messenger, and as a beginner, I have the convenience of space, so this deal is simply too easy to do.

“Don’t worry, Junior Brother. I’ll take care of this matter.”

This way of making money is much more profitable than collecting rent.

Thinking about Wu Man setting up a stall outside to pay the rent, Xiao Ran still felt a little guilty.

Only after the boss took the mask from the warehouse did Xiao Ran leave the mask shop with Chongshan. Xiao Ran followed Chongshan for another walk and after spending all the 500 ghost money he had just received, Xiao Ran followed Chongshan to the shop of the ghost merchants.

The shop is not big, and there are various bird cages outside.

There were all kinds of strange creatures in the birdcage, including a beautiful woman, a burly man, and some strange-looking fish that Xiao Ran had never seen before.

Walking into the shop, Xiao Ran looked around at the various goods on the shelves, but he couldn’t name any of them.

However, he did notice that the goods here were extremely expensive.

The prices were often in the four figures, which immediately made Xiao Ran give up the idea of continuing to appreciate them.

“Sir, are you here to pick up the goods?”

When the ghost merchant saw Xiao Ran, he immediately came over with a smile.

“Pick up the goods?” Xiao Ran shook his head like a rattle: “No, no, no, I paid the deposit before, and you haven’t issued me a receipt yet. I’m here to get the receipt and see my master.”

Hearing that Xiao Ran was not here to pick up the goods, the ghost merchant couldn’t help but smile bitterly and asked: “Then when do you plan to pick up the goods? There must be a deadline.”

Xiao Ran shook the [Evil Suppression Order] on his waistband and whispered in the ghost merchant’s ear:
“Then you will see when he dies!”

(End of this chapter)