Chapter 502: Chapter 440: How Is He Still Alive?

"This is wonderful!"

Gu Dezhao rubbed his hands together vigorously, his face beaming. "Spirit Pearls are a profitable business. If that’s the case, then we absolutely have to buy this Spiritual Vessel!"

He paused, scratching his head. "But what are we going to do? We don’t have that much money."

Zhao Lin was also at a loss for a moment, but then he made a decisive call. "We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Let’s order the Spiritual Vessel first and figure out the money later!"

A quarter of an hour later, the three of them walked out of the Treasure Ship Hall. Zhao Lin was holding a receipt for a four-thousand-Spirit-Coin deposit.

"Five hundred and sixty thousand Spirit Coins, due in half a month. Where are we going to scrape that together?"

Back at the Golden Core Hall, Gu Dezhao’s excitement had worn off, and he started to worry again.

"Old Gu, please double-check the accounts. See exactly how many Spirit Coins we’re short and give me the number. I’ll figure something out."

Zhao Lin pondered for a moment before adding, "Oh, and increase the discounts for the next few days. Let’s try to recover our capital as quickly as possible."

"Alright, I’ll get right on it."

Gu Dezhao agreed and quickly walked out of the tea room.

A moment later, he returned. "Shopkeeper Zhao, we have about four hundred and ten thousand Spirit Coins in our accounts right now. We’re still short one hundred and fifty thousand for the Spiritual Vessel."

Zhao Lin calmly poured himself a cup of tea and smiled. "I understand. You can go back to your work, Old Gu."

Seeing Zhao Lin’s composed expression, Gu Dezhao felt much more at ease. He cupped his hands in a salute and left.

After he left, a bitter expression appeared on Zhao Lin’s face. ’One hundred and fifty thousand Spirit Coins won’t be easy to come by.’

Borrowing from a money-lender was an option, of course. But for such a large amount, a short-term bridge loan for a few days might be manageable. Any longer, and the high interest would suffocate the shop.

The shop already had enough debt. Unless it was a last resort, Zhao Lin had no intention of going to a money-lender.

After thinking it over, his only option seemed to be borrowing from Lu Yuanxiu.

Zhao Lin picked up a brush and started writing a letter. Halfway through, he crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it away.

’Lu Yuanxiu is my backer, so borrowing money shouldn’t be difficult. But doing so would undoubtedly lower his opinion of my capabilities.’

Zhao Lin decided to wait a little longer. The rewards from the sea expedition would be distributed in a few days. It should amount to several tens of thousands of Spirit Coins, though the exact sum would depend on the contents of the confiscated storage bags.

「Harmony Hall.」

"Lord Tenzou, Zhao... Zhao Lin... he’s not... not dead!"

The clerk, Yang Quan, burst into the inner hall without so much as a greeting and blurted out anxiously.

"Wh... What!"

Shopkeeper Tian was about to scold him, but upon hearing his words, his face paled in shock. He could hardly believe his ears. "Say that again."

"I saw Zhao Lin."

Yang Quan repeated, panting twice. "On the same street as the Imperial Boat Pavilion."

"How is he still alive? Weren’t all the elites sent out?"

Shopkeeper Tian muttered under his breath, and his expression darkened. "We haven’t received any news from Red Tail Island. Could something have gone wrong?"

He paced back and forth a few times, then waved his hand. "Send someone to keep an eye on him. I’ll contact headquarters and find out what happened."

...

For the next two days, Zhao Lin went to the Merit Hall in Dongfu County daily to ask if the mission rewards had been settled, but unfortunately, there was no news.

On the morning of the third day, just as Zhao Lin returned to the shop, he saw a cultivator with a soft gauze turban on his head and a full, bushy beard loudly complaining to Gu Dezhao about something.

"Didn’t I tell you three days ago? I came to pick up my order today, so how come there isn’t a single dharma robe? Does your shop have any integrity at all?"

the bearded cultivator demanded aggressively.

Gu Dezhao was pressed until he was speechless. When he saw Zhao Lin return, a pleading look appeared in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist, is there anything I can help you with?"

Zhao Lin understood the situation. Gu Dezhao had mentioned a few days ago that a cultivator from another sect had come to the shop to buy dharma robes. This must be him.

He coughed, deliberately feigning ignorance, and walked over to ask.

"Who are you?"

The bearded cultivator glanced at Zhao Lin, and seeing that he was just a young cultivator, didn’t feel like bothering with him.

"My surname is Zhao, and I am the Chief Shopkeeper of this establishment. I was away on business for the past few days. If our shop has offended you in any way, I ask for your forbearance, Fellow Daoist."

Zhao Lin said with a smile.

"That’s right! He’s the Chief Shopkeeper, and I’m the Second Shopkeeper."

Gu Dezhao hurriedly added.

"So you’re the one in charge."

The bearded cultivator was slightly surprised. He turned to face Zhao Lin directly. "Alright then. I ordered dharma robes from your shop, but when I came today, there wasn’t a single one. Don’t I deserve an explanation?"

Zhao Lin said, "Oh?" and asked, "How many dharma robes did you order, Fellow Daoist, and did you pay a deposit?"

The bearded cultivator snorted. "One each of the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth silk dharma robes. Three of the blended Metal-Earth dharma robes, and two of the blended Water-Wood ones."

"That’s ten robes in total. I paid a five-hundred-Spirit-Coin deposit."

Zhao Lin looked at Gu Dezhao, who quickly said, "That is indeed the case, but..."

"I understand."

Zhao Lin raised a hand to interrupt him and said to the bearded cultivator, "This is our shop’s fault, but there is a reason for it. We’re approaching the end of the year, and dharma robes are in high demand. If you want to get your order immediately, you’ll have to pay in full."

As he spoke, he picked up the abacus on the counter, flicked the beads a couple of times for show, and said with a smile, "The five-element robes are eight thousand Spirit Coins each, and the blended robes are ten thousand each, for a total of ninety thousand Spirit Coins."

Gu Dezhao’s eyelids twitched. He understood what was happening—Zhao Lin wanted to use this money to buy the Spiritual Vessel.

The bearded cultivator’s eyebrows shot up. He said angrily, "Paying in full on top of a deposit? That’s absurd!"

Zhao Lin shrugged apologetically. "There’s no other way. Your order is too urgent, so we have to place a rush order for the materials."

"How about this? Since we were in the wrong first, if you’re willing to pay in full, we’ll give you a discount. We’ll take two thousand Spirit Coins off the total. What do you say?"

The bearded cultivator hesitated for a moment, then asked, "If I pay, when can I get the robes?"

Zhao Lin replied, "Five days. We will prioritize your order to ensure you get them."

The bearded cultivator was still wary. "What if you take my money and run?"

"Absolutely not."

Zhao Lin had Li Sancai fetch the shop’s deed and presented it to him. "Fellow Daoist, please take a look. This shop is funded and established by the provincial government."

The bearded cultivator finally agreed. "Fine. I’ll pay now. But if you dare to cheat me, I’ll go straight to your provincial government!"

Zhao Lin laughed. "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. You can see how well our business is doing. Would it be worth it for us to close shop over ninety thousand Spirit Coins?"

The bearded cultivator said no more and took out a stack of Spiritual Tickets from his storage bag.

Zhao Lin and Gu Dezhao exchanged a look, both thinking the same thing: ’We’re still short sixty thousand Spirit Coins.’

...

Another two days passed in a flash, and the rewards from the sea expedition were finally distributed.

"This old man misjudged you. I never thought that not only would you survive, young friend, but you’d also earn so many merit points and Spirit Coins."

The old steward of the Merit Hall remembered Zhao Lin. He had even offered him a word of warning when Zhao Lin accepted the mission. He spoke in astonishment after checking the merit points Zhao Lin had earned.

Zhao Lin was eager to see how many Spirit Coins he had earned. As soon as the steward finished recording, he immediately took the Body Stone to inspect it. A wave of relief washed over him: ’I finally have enough money for the Spiritual Vessel!’

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