Chapter 12: Our Great River Market Has Its Own National Conditions

In front of the blue stone slab, an old man held a spicy beef jerky, his eyes brimming with an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

In front of him stood a tall, handsome, and suave man, one hand behind his back, the other holding a long piece of beef jerky, speaking confidently.

"Don't understand? I'll teach you!"

"Brand value is the additional value that people add to a product beyond its inherent value."

"Still don't understand?"

Seeing the old man's puzzled look, Luo Chen sighed and pointed to the scattered cultivator market with his beef jerky.

"There are at least three shops that have been selling low-tier talismans for a long time in this market!"

"Right, right. Lu Heng, Mao Wuya, and I are the ones who have been selling talismans for a long time." Elder Chen quickly interjected.

"Then what do you think of them? And what about yourself?"

Elder Chen sneered, "Lu Heng is a mere child, lacking in skill. He buys his talisman paper from me, not worth mentioning!"

"What about Master Mao?"

"He's a latecomer, his skills are on par with mine, but he's ninety-three years old, just a dried-up corpse in a grave!"

"And what about you, Daoist Chen?"

Elder Chen stroked his white beard confidently, "I started working at the Divine Talisman Pavilion at twenty, learned the art of making talisman paper in five years, and began my talisman practice at thirty. Since I put up my sign, I've been running this stall for twenty-five years. I'm young and strong, and my skills are unparalleled. If a scattered cultivator comes to the market to buy talismans, they must first come to me!"

Clap, clap, clap!

Luo Chen clapped his hands, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Daoist Chen, that's right. Your talismans already have a basic brand value, which comes from your experience at the Divine Talisman Pavilion, your twenty-five years of consistent stall operation, and the stable quality of your talismans."

Elder Chen was quite pleased but then felt something was off.

"But why haven't my talismans been able to command a high price over the years?"

"High prices are indeed rare, but compared to others, aren't your prices generally higher?"

"It seems so, but they still can't match the Divine Talisman Pavilion. Those who need to buy a large number of talismans still prefer the Divine Talisman Pavilion."

Luo Chen rolled his eyes, "The Divine Talisman Pavilion is backed by the Divine Talisman Sect, one of the six major sects in the Far East Six Realms. Their brand value is given by Golden Core cultivators and Nascent Soul Realms. How can you compare?"

"That's true." Elder Chen regained his self-awareness.

"So, the brand value of your stall has its limits. In this situation, you need to find another way out!"

"Like what?"

"Give your individual products brand value."

"More details!"

"Give them a story!"

Xiu Ping was taken aback, "Zongmiao Pill? Yunzhong Crane? Yunhe of the Joyful Union Sect?"

"You can be taught!"

Hard!

Hard!

His fists hardened!

After the hardening, Elder Chen fell into a state of clear-mindedness.

"You mean I need to give my talismans a story, just like you?"

"Exactly."

"Is it that simple?"

"It's that simple!"

"Then why did you talk so much before?"

"Wouldn't it be a waste of your fifty spirit stones for the spirit stone loan if I didn't say more?"

Inhale! Exhale!

Taking a deep breath, Elder Chen decided not to get angry. He was sixty-five and needed to take care of his health.

"But how do I tell the story?"

Luo Chen looked at his stall. He knew all the types of talismans Elder Chen sold.

There were six in total: the lowest tier Cleaning Talisman and Wind Control Talisman, the mid-tier Fireball Talisman and Earth Spike Talisman, and the Earth Wall Talisman and Qi Concealment Talisman.

The most sold were the Fireball Talisman and Earth Spike Talisman, but their prices were low, one and a half spirit stones each.

The highest-priced were the Earth Wall Talisman and Qi Concealment Talisman.

The former cost two spirit stones each, and the latter started at three spirit stones, sometimes reaching five or six spirit stones or even higher during peak demand.

Talismans are very popular among low-tier cultivators.

They are slightly less powerful than spells but release faster and consume much less spirit energy.

Especially those related to defense and survival, they are very popular.

Pointing to the Qi Concealment Talisman, Luo Chen's mind raced. Combining his knowledge from the "Six Realms Chronicles," he came up with a story outline.

But the specific details would need to be filled in by Elder Chen, who had more experience.

Luo Chen also suggested that he tell the story to new customers but keep the old routine for regulars.

However, the Qi Concealment Talisman needed to be redecorated, no longer looking so dull. Without affecting its use, he could add two gold borders.

This way, even without telling the story to regular customers, he could try to raise the price.

After giving his advice, Luo Chen couldn't hold back any longer.

Like a gust of wind, he rushed into the scattered cultivator market with a large sum of money.

Buy! Buy! Buy crazily!

The night was deep, and the moonlight shone brightly on the ground.

A young man, carrying two large snake-skin bags, walked quickly on the road.

The bags were made of real snake skin, tough and spacious.

Today's market was delayed because he had to sell the Zongmiao Pills and talk with Elder Chen.

After purchasing in the evening, it was already this late.

Walking on the dry yellow earth road, Luo Chen's breathing was heavy.

Although his feet moved quickly, his eyes constantly scanned the shadows between the wooden houses.

The Great River Market strictly prohibited fighting, but only in the inner city.

In the outer city, they didn't care about the scattered cultivators.

The spirit stones collected monthly were only used by the big shots in the inner city to deal with beast attacks.

Therefore, the outer city often saw strong people robbing and killing for treasure.

It was better during the day, but at night, such incidents were frequent.

One could only say that the Great River Market had its own national conditions.

Luo Chen had no spirit stones on him, all his wealth was in the two large snake-skin bags on his back.

But to be honest, the value was only a hundred spirit stones.

And they were scattered, making it very troublesome to sell.

But what one thinks and what others might think are two different things.

"Damn, when I have spirit stones, I must move to the inner city!"

Luo Chen cursed under his breath, walking nervously on the dirt road.

Perhaps it was the bright moonlight, or perhaps his ragged clothes and the ugly snake-skin bags on his back.

In any case, Luo Chen returned home safely.

Sometimes, when a person is so low, even robbers don't bother.

Luo Chen didn't feel bitter. After a brief rest, he sorted the various materials in the bags and placed them on the shelves.

With a hundred spirit stones, he bought nineteen sets of Zongmiao Pill raw materials, spending ninety-five spirit stones.

The remaining five spirit stones, three were used to buy some Spirit Grain Pill materials. According to his success rate, he could at least refine thirty bottles of Spirit Grain Pills. Selling them at one spirit stone for five bottles, he could earn six spirit stones, with a net profit of about half, three spirit stones.

The other two spirit stones, one was used to buy ten pounds of spirit rice, and the other to pay two months' rent at the city hall.

Yes, his house on the outermost edge cost half a spirit stone per month, so he paid every two months.

Pouring the spirit rice into the rice bin, Luo Chen slumped onto the wooden stool in the living room, smiling as he smelled the scent of the herbs filling the room.

Although he was tired, he was in a good mood.

Tomorrow, he could start expanding production!

(End of Chapter)