Chapter 43

Looking at the pile of tokens.

Gu Jinnian and Wang Fugui fell into deep thought.

Su Huaiyu's personality was truly beyond words.

He acted decisively and cleanly.

His decisions were swift and ruthless.

He seemed to know everything and be capable of anything.

And his mind was crystal clear.

At this moment, Gu Jinnian really wanted to say,

"Why don't you be the main character?"

Su Huaiyu's behavior and demeanor were very suitable for the template of a powerful protagonist, the kind who opens one punch to avoid a hundred more.

The idea was good, but the problem was whether to go to jail or not, his thinking was too unique.

However, Gu Jinnian did not feel any aversion; instead, he found Su Huaiyu more and more likable.

"Brother Su, you have so many tokens. Can you give me two? I am willing to pay in silver."

"Brother Su, any amount of silver is fine."

Wang Fugui's voice sounded.

His eyes were burning as he stared at the tokens.

These were the pass tokens for the second round, worth a thousand gold each.

Gu Jinnian, standing nearby, reacted to the mention of silver.

It wasn't that he was greedy, but rather that he saw an opportunity to make money.

"Brother Wang, how much do you think these two tokens are worth?"

Gu Jinnian looked at Wang Fugui, speaking very seriously.

"I am willing to pay five thousand taels of gold."

Wang Fugui was very generous, offering five thousand taels of gold right away.

He really didn't treat money as a big deal.

"No."

"Brother Wang, you misunderstood. What I mean is, if we were to sell these, how much silver do you think would be appropriate?"

Although Wang Fugui was rich, Gu Jinnian didn't want to take advantage of him. They were friends, and there was no need for that.

"But why not take advantage of others?"

"Selling them?"

Wang Fugui frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then answered.

"Your Highness, these are the pass tokens for the second round, and they are very valuable."

"Moreover, they are rare, which means we can set a high price."

"One such token is worth a thousand taels of gold, but since this is an examination, selling them might displease Mr. Wenjing."

Wang Fugui gave an answer.

A thousand taels of gold per token.

But it could easily displease Mr. Wenjing.

Mentioning this, Gu Jinnian was indeed a bit worried.

Indeed, these were for the examination, and selling them would definitely cause trouble.

But with a clear opportunity to make money, Gu Jinnian couldn't just let it go.

Just as Gu Jinnian was thinking, Su Huaiyu's voice sounded.

"Selling them is not very meaningful."

"Every time I obtained a token, I noticed someone recording it in secret."

"They are likely recording how you obtained it."

"In other words, the method of obtaining the token must be reasonable, otherwise it has no value."

Su Huaiyu's words made Wang Fugui fall silent instantly.

Recording how the tokens were obtained?

Gu Jinnian was surprised.

But he quickly thought it through.

If that was the case, did it mean that if he collected all the tokens, he could force the rules to be changed?

If the rules weren't changed, he wouldn't sell them.

After all, it wouldn't be him who suffered.

After all, there was no rule that one person couldn't obtain multiple tokens.

Thinking of this, a plan formed in Gu Jinnian's mind.

Wang Fugui stood up and looked at Su Huaiyu.

"Brother Su."

"May I ask where the remaining tokens are? I will remember this favor."

Wang Fugui understood Su Huaiyu's meaning but still wanted to know where the tokens were.

"Not very clear."

"I am cautious and take what I can."

"The time is not early. I suggest you go out and try your luck. If you wait any longer, you might not find any."

Su Huaiyu said calmly.

Yes, very much like Su Huaiyu.

Hearing this, Wang Fugui was a bit disappointed but immediately stood up and said,

"Since that's the case, I will take my leave. After the examination, I will definitely set up a banquet in the capital to entertain the two of you."

"I hope you won't mind my company."

Wang Fugui was indeed anxious. Su Huaiyu had taken most of the tokens, and there were few left. If he didn't act quickly, it would be too late.

"Brother Wang, take your time."

"After the examination, I will set up a banquet."

Gu Jinnian stood up and bowed, while Su Huaiyu just nodded, showing no social graces.

Too rigid and easy to break.

Wang Fugui left.

The private room was left with only Gu Jinnian and Su Huaiyu.

Su Huaiyu was still eating heartily.

Gu Jinnian was thinking about how to make money.

The biggest issue was the attitude.

Would Mr. Wenjing allow this?

After careful consideration, it shouldn't be a big problem. He could collect the tokens first and see what Mr. Wenjing would say.

Thinking of this,

Gu Jinnian made up his mind.

No matter what, he would do it.

"Brother Su."

"Want to do a business deal?"

With his mind made up, Gu Jinnian looked at Su Huaiyu.

"You get seventy, I get thirty."

However, Su Huaiyu didn't waste words and immediately divided it.

"No, I get seventy, you get thirty."

Gu Jinnian shook his head and switched it.

"Reason."

Su Huaiyu didn't get angry; he just glanced at the tokens and asked for a reason.

"There are still a certain number of tokens outside. I will find them."

"Once found, we will have a monopoly."

"But having tokens is not enough. To sell them, we need to consider the situation. Brother Wang said a thousand taels of gold, but selling too high might cause trouble."

"I am confident I can sell them for two thousand taels of silver, and I will bear all the responsibility. I will come up with the plan and take the responsibility, while you just turn a pile of useless things into treasure."

"I get seventy, you get thirty, it's a good deal for you."

"You can consider it a huge profit."

Gu Jinnian said without hesitation.

He wasn't trying to deceive but had analyzed the pros and cons.

"If you can find the remaining tokens."

"I agree."

"If you can't, I get seventy, you get thirty."

Su Huaiyu didn't waste words and only made one request.

"Alright."

Gu Jinnian didn't waste words either; he liked doing business with straightforward people.

As for finding them,

It was simple.

The ancient tree had the ability to predict, right?

Just spend money.

"Brother Su, wait here. I'll be back soon."

Gu Jinnian said.

After saying that, he left.

"Okay."

Su Huaiyu nodded.

But at the end, he added,

"Ask the waiter to bring more dishes."

He was very serious.

Gu Jinnian paused but didn't say anything and left.

After leaving, Gu Jinnian was very direct.

He found out the location of the money house from the innkeeper and immediately went there.

The ancient tree could only absorb gold, not silver notes, so he had to exchange them for gold.

The money house wasn't far.

Gu Jinnian exchanged his thousand taels of gold in silver notes and the two thousand taels of silver from his mother into gold.

Although Xiaoxi Village was called a village,

Its population and wealth could rival a town.

After all, being near the capital, it wasn't much worse.

With 1,200 taels of gold in hand,

Gu Jinnian asked the money house to arrange a private room for him to rest.

In ancient times, money houses didn't give interest but charged a commission, so they were friendly to big customers.

In the private room,

Gu Jinnian quickly took out several gold ingots and started spending.

He focused his mind to get information about the other tokens.

To avoid being cheated, he spent fifty taels of gold at a time.

Equivalent to five hundred taels of silver for one piece of information.

As the gold disappeared, the ancient tree formed a fruit.

After picking it,

A message instantly appeared.

[Xiaoxi Village, Zhou Daniu]

With the message, Gu Jinnian breathed a sigh of relief.

He was afraid it would cheat him.

If it said something like "it will rain tonight,"

Gu Jinnian would really be angry.

Fifty taels of gold could buy information, and Gu Jinnian didn't hesitate. He spent the remaining 1,150 taels of silver, giving him twenty-three chances.

But on the last try, a new message appeared, making Gu Jinnian pause.

[No tokens]

Ah... this...

No tokens but still charged?

Even capitalists would cry.

Without further complaint, Gu Jinnian left.

He followed the clues one by one.

Twenty-three pieces of information.

Gu Jinnian searched one by one.

If he didn't know, he asked people.

The whole process took two hours.

Finding people, doing good deeds, writing in the diary, and then taking the tokens.

Gu Jinnian thought he was quick, but he still missed a few, as others had already taken them.

But it didn't matter much.

After everything was done,

Gu Jinnian returned to the private room in the inn.

Su Huaiyu was still eating.

But there wasn't much left on the table, and the "clean plate" campaign was worth promoting.

"Do you need more dishes?"

Walking into the private room, Gu Jinnian asked.

"No, it's the second round."

Su Huaiyu was still brief.

"You have such a big appetite?"

Gu Jinnian couldn't help but be surprised.

"Warriors need to supplement their qi."

"Transforming qi into blood, nourishing the body, balancing yin and yang, and refining through martial arts. Do you understand, Your Highness?"

Su Huaiyu said a bunch of terms Gu Jinnian didn't quite understand.

"Sort of."

"This is better than prison food."

"Is that what you mean?"

Gu Jinnian nodded and answered.

Su Huaiyu: "......"

A faint resentment gathered.

This time, Gu Jinnian was pleased.

He thought this guy had no emotions, but it seemed he was just human.

"Your Highness is quite eloquent."

Su Huaiyu said indifferently.

Gu Jinnian didn't waste words and directly laid all the tokens on the table.

"These are the remaining tokens outside."

"Without any surprises, we have a monopoly."

Gu Jinnian said confidently.

"Twenty-two tokens."

"Although we can't be sure there are no more outside,"

"In just two hours, Your Highness found so many tokens, proving you are no ordinary person."

"This deal is accepted."

"But what do we do next?"

Su Huaiyu was also surprised.

He obtained so many tokens because he discovered them first.

Gu Jinnian