Chapter 127: Buying and Selling Books
Chapter 127: Chapter 127: Buying and Selling Books
Zhu Ge wanted to turn to the third page of the *Sheji Chart*, but two words immediately appeared on the book.
One Gold.
One gold coin!
A single gold coin could buy a low-grade Spirit Level Spiritual Artifact.
’But here, it can only buy a book that’s basically a newspaper?’
Zhu Ge sighed.
’I’m still too poor.’
The Raincoat Fisherman had left him a generous inheritance, though not exactly willingly.
This inheritance included a full sixteen gold coins.
Sixteen gold coins!
To put that in perspective, even in Yuan Yang City, the seat of the Red River Prefecture’s Pavilion Master, a house cost only seven or eight silver coins.
’And this book in my hands is worth one gold coin?’
But when he remembered that this book was written by someone like the True Monarch of the Lantern—the Guyu Official in charge of keeping records—Zhu Ge felt it was well worth the price.
’Wait...’
Zhu Ge suddenly recalled what the True Monarch of the Lantern had said.
’Leave a mark in the Historical Record...’
The True Monarch of the Lantern had implied that leaving a mark in the Historical Record was extremely difficult.
’Could that have meant getting my name in the *Sheji Chart*?’
Zhu Ge looked up at the bookshelf. It was filled entirely with the four quarterly issues of the *Sheji Chart* from various years. He wondered how many volumes there were in total and what year the records had begun.
’After all, the *Sheji Chart* is written by Historians. Could the True Monarch of the Lantern’s words about "leaving a mark in the Historical Record" be related to the *Sheji Chart*?’
’And True Monarch Minmian did say that as long as I could leave a mark in the Historical Record, he would take me with him.’
’Maybe I should... buy one?’
Zhu Ge gritted his teeth and finally made his decision. He would buy one.
The *Sheji Chart* had numerous benefits. It would broaden his horizons, allow him to learn about the paths and deeds of the world’s greatest talents, and make him aware of his own deficiencies.
Still, Zhu Ge put the book back on the shelf for now. He would wait until he was finished browsing; if there was nothing else he needed more, he would buy it then.
He then turned his attention to the next book.
*The Rise and Fall of the Great Zhou*, *The Dali Notes*, *History of Nanyue Mianhuang*...
There were also some Cultivation Techniques for the Martial Dao, Confucian Dao, and the like, but their prices were all five gold coins and up.
One by one, he picked up books only to put them back down.
Even just reading the first couple of pages or the preface of most of these books gave him a wealth of new information.
In the end, he selected three books.
*Records of Yunjiang*, the Spring Rain List edition of the *Sheji Chart*, and *Yuan Chu’s Notes*.
*Records of Yunjiang* described the culture, geography, and other affairs of Yunjiang’s three prefectures—Red River, Dali, and Dianchi—which would be very helpful to Zhu Ge.
*Yuan Chu’s Notes* was similar. It was a collection of notes from a Great Power named Yuan Chu, who had measured the world with his own two feet, recording his observations on its mountains and rivers, lakes and seas, and its various races.
These three books were the foundation upon which Zhu Ge would build his understanding of the world!
What surprised Zhu Ge, however, was the price. The *Sheji Chart* cost one gold coin, while *Records of Yunjiang* and *Yuan Chu’s Notes* cost only one silver coin and three copper coins, and sixteen copper coins, respectively.
After all, while the official exchange rate might have been ten copper coins to one silver coin...
...in the actual market, you could trade one silver coin for ten copper coins, but it wasn’t always possible to trade ten copper coins for one silver coin.
The exchange rates weren’t the same going both ways.
So, judging by price, the value of the much thicker *Yuan Chu’s Notes* was actually lower than that of *Records of Yunjiang*.
But Zhu Ge understood the reality of the situation. For those who could afford books, especially the major families, practically everyone already owned a copy of *Yuan Chu’s Notes*.
After all, the geographer-historian named Yuan Chu was likely long dead, and his work was considered complete.
Furthermore, Yuan Chu had published the book himself after his travels across the land; it hadn’t cost the Da Sheng Dynasty any resources to produce.
*Records of Yunjiang*, on the other hand, was compiled and updated by people dispatched by the Da Sheng Dynasty, which meant there were ongoing costs to account for.
That was why the *Sheji Chart*, which had to be compiled and updated quarterly, was even more expensive.
Of course, having decided on his purchases, Zhu Ge felt quite pleased.
One had to understand the world to form a coherent worldview.
A person with no worldview, or one that was too narrow, would never get far in life.
"Sir, I’ll take these three books."
Zhu Ge took the three books to the owner, his demeanor respectful and polite as he brought out the silver and copper coins.
It was clear that the prices for these books had to be paid in the specified denominations of gold, silver, and copper coins.
"Mm." The owner didn’t even look up. With a sweep of his hand, he collected the coins.
Then, with another wave of his hand, three wisps of Spiritual Power shot into the books, and the restrictive seals on them were instantly removed.
Sensing the fluctuation of Spiritual Power, Zhu Ge realized the owner was an expert of the Immortal Dao’s Second Realm, the Golden Core Realm.
It was just that he seemed to have learned some kind of concealment technique, which was why Zhu Ge hadn’t been able to sense his Cultivation.
This made Zhu Ge realize that Jianshui City’s true war potential had yet to be fully tapped.
The day everyone was conscripted would likely be the moment of true, existential crisis.
Of course, that made sense. Few among the Demon Race, even those led by the Plague God Sparrow, were truly willing to risk their lives to storm the city.
The Human Race’s determination to defend the city, however, was a matter of life and death.
"By the way, sir," Zhu Ge asked, "do you buy books here?"
"You have books?" The bookstore owner looked up, surprised. "Are they on ordinary paper or Spirit Paper?"
’Spirit Paper?’
Zhu Ge replied, "They’re all on ordinary paper."
He took out several books, all from the Raincoat Fisherman’s collection.
He had already thoroughly studied and mastered several Martial Arts Secret Manuals, and he had finished reading most of the other books, so there was no point in keeping them.
The owner looked slightly surprised when he saw the books.
He sized up Zhu Ge’s shabby clothes, then sensed the faint Literary Energy within him and frowned. "And the source of these books is...?"
Seeing the owner’s expression, Zhu Ge calmly replied, "I picked them off a corpse I found outside the city."
"You picked them up?" The owner’s brow furrowed. He studied Zhu Ge, clearly weighing something in his mind.
His gaze then fell upon the muscles of Zhu Ge’s arms, and he studied Zhu Ge’s calm eyes for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Alright, I’ll give you a price. You can tell me what you think, sir." The owner shifted his attention from Zhu Ge to the books.
"Hmm, *Xu Family Rain Swift Fist*, mid-grade Spirit Level..."
The owner appraised each book as he picked it up. The final total came to a surprising fifteen gold coins!
The most valuable by far was the *Xu Family Rain Swift Fist*, a mid-grade Spirit Level Martial Art. The owner offered a full ten gold coins for it, while all the other books combined were only valued at five.
Zhu Ge could tell this was a lowball offer, so he haggled fiercely and managed to sell them for eighteen gold coins.
Judging by the owner’s expression, however, he would still be making a good profit at eighteen gold coins.
But for Zhu Ge, the exact amount wasn’t important right now. What mattered was converting the money into tangible strength.
The owner had offered to sell them on consignment, saying that no matter the final price, he would only take a single gold coin as his commission.
But Zhu Ge didn’t have time to wait around for a buyer, and setting up his own stall outside didn’t seem to be an option.
So, once they settled on eighteen gold coins, he didn’t press the matter further and simply handed over the books.
"Done!"