Chapter 28

Leaving Tianqiao Park and crossing the tall pedestrian overpass, Ding Ning once again arrived at Tianqiao Market.

This time, Ding Ning's mindset was completely different. Previously, he was in a hurry to buy talismans, but today he was looking for a medium that could carry the power of lightning.

Today, teaching An Xiaoyue to practice boxing was quite tiring. He walked into a snack shop, ordered two large bowls of mutton soup, and ten baked flatbreads, and slowly ate them by himself.

At a nearby table, two middle-aged men were chatting. One of them said, "Old Wang, have you found anything good these past few days?"

"Old Zhang, don't tease me. I can't make much profit from gold, silver, and jade. Unlike you, who deals in antiques, you might get lucky and strike it rich."

"Who says gold, silver, and jade can't be profitable? Old Wang, do you know about the new shop called 'Jinyu Mantang' that just opened at the street corner?"

"Jinyu Mantang?"

"Yes, it's only been open for three days. Not many people know about it yet. It's full of gold and silver artifacts, jade, and ancient coins and ingots. I took a look, and wow! They even have gemstones. It's dazzling."

"Really? There's such a good place? I can't wait. I'm going to check it out right now."

"Hey, hey, what's the rush? At least finish your soup first."

Ding Ning listened for a while, then picked up his second bowl of mutton soup and gulped it down. After finishing, he put down the bowl, paid, and left the snack shop.

Following the directions given, he searched for a while and finally found the shop called "Jinyu Mantang."

Listening to the conversation, Ding Ning remembered that the medium for talismans didn't necessarily have to be paper; jade could also be an excellent medium.

Of course, not all jade could be used. Jade is divided into many varieties and grades, and only about five or six types commonly used by ordinary people were suitable for talismans.

Since this place was called "Jinyu Mantang," it was very likely that he could find what he needed.

It was still early, and the shop seemed to have just opened. A shop assistant, still half-asleep, was opening the window shutters.

Ding Ning walked directly into the room and was immediately stunned!

The room was lit, and under the illumination, everything was golden!

Directly opposite the entrance was a familiar golden statue of Guan Yu, with incense burning.

The interior space was large, looking like several hundred square meters. The main color of the room was gold, with the most prominent being rows of gilded Buddha statues and various gilded artifacts.

For example, a muscular golden bull, a flying golden eagle, and a neighing golden horse.

Whether it was the golden Buddha statues or the artifacts, they were not what Ding Ning was looking for. He glanced at them briefly and immediately knew whether they were made of real gold or gilded.

It was like a gourmet who could tell at a glance whether the food was delicious. This was almost an instinct for Ding Ning, who was almost a god of wealth.

Walking slowly inside, he stopped after a while.

After the section with the artifacts, the real goods gradually appeared.

Coins from various dynasties, mostly from the Qing Dynasty, including many Yuan Shikai silver dollars, and even two knife-shaped coins from the Warring States period.

These items were all clearly priced, and Ding Ning scanned them, secretly marveling.

The large Qing Dynasty coins cost over a hundred each, and prices in the hundreds or thousands were not uncommon.

Ding Ning, inheriting the path of the god of wealth, had an immense fondness for these items and even felt an impulse to claim them all.

"These are silver ingots!"

Ding Ning took a few steps forward and saw many silver ingots in a display case.

The silver ingots were somewhat dark, looking quite old, and some had the year of casting engraved on the back.

"Unfortunately, they are too expensive. Otherwise, these coins and silver ingots could not only be played with but also used as hidden weapons."

Cultivators' battles were not just about realms and spells; magical artifacts and treasures were also crucial. Often, a suitable treasure could easily change the tide of battle.

Ding Ning, with the memory of a cultivator, was well-versed in these matters. He had tried to obtain some magical artifacts but gave up after a few attempts. Apart from wealth-related items, he had no particular interest in other materials.

This time, coming to Jinyu Mantang, he felt as if he had entered a treasure mountain. These coins and silver ingots, once infused with divine consciousness, would be the most suitable treasures.

Gritting his teeth, he stood by the counter, staring at the prices, wishing he could reduce the zeros.

After a while, a salesperson approached Ding Ning cautiously, saying, "Young man, what would you like?"

Ding Ning gritted his teeth, using all his willpower to resist the urge to buy everything immediately. He asked the salesperson, "Where are the jade items?"

"Over there, past the gold items."

Ding Ning remembered he was there to buy jade. As he passed the gold items, he didn't dare look, fearing that once he did, he wouldn't be able to move. Gold items had a fatal attraction for him.

Almost covering his eyes, he walked past the gold items and arrived at the jade section.

The jade section had over a dozen display cases. He didn't know who owned Jinyu Mantang, but the variety of jade items was impressive. Almost any type of jade you could name was available.

He saw glass-like jadeite, ice-like pendants, white jade from Hetian, purple jade, yellow jade, red jade, and even a vivid imperial green bangle.

However, the prices made him retreat. He had 13,000 yuan in cash and 15,000 yuan in his bank account, but even that wasn't enough to buy a decent piece of jewelry.

After passing the luxury items, Ding Ning finally stopped at the ordinary jade section.

The quality of these jade items was much lower, mostly considered scrap, with many impurities and irregular shapes.

But the advantage was the low price. A hundred yuan was considered expensive, and items for tens of yuan were common.

"These are the ones I want. I'll buy some in bulk."

Ding Ning calculated in his mind. For a lightning talisman, ordinary jade was sufficient. Generally, a glass ball-sized piece of jade was enough for one talisman.

These jade pieces were mostly usable, but they had a drawback: too many impurities, making them unsuitable for repeated use. After one use, the talisman would shatter and become scrap.

Ding Ning estimated that the cost of a jade piece for a lightning talisman, including purchase and polishing, would be around a hundred yuan. He didn't count his own labor costs.

After selecting some discarded white jade, Ding Ning called the salesperson over.

The salesperson had been watching Ding Ning for a long time. This fat man had been there since the shop opened, browsing for a long time, especially at the silver and coin sections, where he stared at the items like a fly on blood. The salesperson felt scared and even considered calling the police.

Hearing that Ding Ning was finally buying something, the salesperson sighed in relief.

"Can I get a discount if I buy a lot of this jade?"

"Everything is clearly priced, no discount."

Ding Ning, lacking the talent for haggling, gave up after one attempt and said, "Then, give me ten thousand yuan worth at this price."

The salesperson looked at Ding Ning as if he were a fool. Someone actually wanted this semi-scrap jade, and in such a large quantity.

Money offered couldn't be refused, so he quickly weighed the jade for Ding Ning.

Ten thousand yuan worth of semi-scrap jade was a large piece. Ding Ning picked it up and went to the jade polishing counter.

"Sir, please polish these jade pieces into the size of a child's glass ball. Hmm... make a small hole in the middle so they can be strung into a bracelet or necklace."

The craftsman looked at it and said, "Sure, we can make about 120 beads. The labor cost is 30 yuan each, so it's 3,600 yuan in total."

Ding Ning took out the money, counted it, and found he had exactly 3,600 yuan left, which he gave to the craftsman.

"It will take some time. Come back at noon to pick up your order."

The craftsman took the money and started working immediately.

Ding Ning nodded in agreement. He would come back at noon. With the morning free, he could browse Tianqiao Market and see if there was anything else he needed.