Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Brother is Not Short on Money

Translator: 549690339 |

The minor officials couldn’t discern the value of the lighter and the rolled cigarettes, so they raised their voices to ask, “How much are these items for sale?”

Feng Jun hadn’t managed to reply when Ding Lao Er spoke first, “Enough, they’re just one copper coin.”

As he spoke, he took out a copper coin and handed it to the other party.

The minor official wouldn’t have it, “Stand aside, it’s not your place to say how much should be collected.”

Ding Lao Er1 s face darkened, and he said ominously, “I’m saying, do you think you’re tougher than Wang Er?”

There was nothing to be done; this was how people here talked—very directly and without any finesse when threatening others.

Of course, the minor official knew Wang Er had hit a snag last night, after all, he was someone even Lone Wolf supported, rumored to be a Divine Doctor.

But he was from the tax office, not the Arrest House, so upon hearing this, he really felt a bit helpless, “I’m saying, the town provided you the venue, isn’t it right for you to pay taxes accordingly?”

Ding Lao Er’s eyes bulged, and he spoke with a nasty tone, “You speak so oddly, have we said we won’t pay taxes?”

Feng Jun actually didn’t mind paying a bit of tax, even if he couldn’t sell the items, it was no big deal, but unfortunately, he didn’t have a single copper coin in his pocket and could only let Ding Lao Er foot the bill, so he couldn’t interject.

Yet, the minor official felt very aggrieved, “The things you’re selling, they’re definitely not cheap, one copper coin is really quite little.”

He had already heard about it, the transparent little gizmo wasn’t only delicate and clear to look at, but it could also produce fire with a press, certainly no ordinary item.

“It’s not too little,” Ding Lao Er replied harshly, “unless you’re saying if we can’t sell, you’ll refund the money?”

Seeing this, Feng Jun couldn’t help but laugh, accustomed to Ding Lao Er’s honest demeanor, he hadn’t expected him to have such a side.

Hearing the laughter, Ding Lao Er glanced back at him and then explained, “Divine Doctor, it’s not that we’re being devious, but there are many in the market who don’t pay taxes. The fact that we’re willing to pay is already giving them plenty of face.”

After saying this, he gave another glance at the two minor officials, speaking proudly, “It’s just one copper coin, not a coin more. Take it or leave it!”

The lead minor official flushed with anger and didn’t even accept the copper coin, turning around to leave, “You’ll regret this.”

Ding Lao Er scoffed disdainfully, then blew a whistle at the retreating figure.

Then, he turned to Feng Jun with a smile, “Don’t mind him. We’ve put up with those birds long enough. Now that Lord Wolf has our back, if we don’t give them a hard time, we’ll be at a huge loss… You spare them, they won’t be grateful.”

Feng Jun merely smiled nonchalantly, “Actually, I don’t really care much for money.”

“I know that,” Ding Lao Er nodded, knowing the Divine Doctor didn’t even charge for medicine, “But all this stuff you have is top-notch. Folks in Shuangxi Town really might not be able to afford it, why bother paying taxes?” “Oh really?” Someone snorted nearby, “Such big talk, what’s so special that people from Shuangxi can’t afford?”

The speaker was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old stocky teenager, flanked by another similarly aged boy in white. Behind them were five or six strong men, clearly figures of status.

The stocky teenager stepped forward, pointing with his riding crop, and asked brazenly, “What’s for sale at your place?”

Knowing the newcomers were of no ordinary status, Ding Lao Er immediately answered, “They are tobacco rolled in paper, along with items for starting fires.”

“Tobacco, huh,” the boy said, losing interest as he didn’t smoke, “How much for this fire-starting item?”

Feng Jun picked up a lighter, demonstrated it twice, and then called out the price, “One silver yuan each.”

“One silver yuan?” the stocky youth exclaimed, “Why don’t you just rob me? It’s just a fire-starting item. How different can it be from flintstone?”

Truth be told, the difference was quite significant, at least in terms of convenience, but Feng Jun had no intention of explaining and simply replied indifferently, “I’m not forcingyou to buy.”

At this, the young man’s eyes widened, “What did you say… forcing me to buy?” By then, Feng Jun couldn’t even be bothered to respond to him.

It was Ding Lao Er who cleared his throat, “The Divine Doctor’s wares aren’t something just anyone can afford. If you’re not buying, young master, better step aside and not block our business.”

“Divine Doctor?” The stocky youth took a thoughtful look at Feng Jun, pondered for a moment, and then raised his hand, “Come, buy one of these fire-starting items… give it a try. If it’s a scam, smash this fellow’s stall.”

“Hold on,” Fengjun spoke up, “Since you put it that way, now I really won’t sell it to you!”

“Eh?” The stocky teen turned his head in surprise, “Bold of you to refuse to sell to me. Do you know who I am?”

“Likewise,” Fengjun answered expressionlessly, “Do you know who I am?”

His tone was remarkably calm. The stocky teen was keen to make a scene, but seeing Feng Jun’s unique attire, he forcibly held back, only sneering coldly, “You’re truly not going to sell it to me?”

Feng Jun lifted his chin and pointed to a man not far behind, “Brother, could you let me have a look at those stone balls in your hand?”

The man was about forty years old, clenching two stone balls in his hand, each with a diameter of seven or eight centimeters, and twirled them nonstop. He had been watching Feng Jun debate with excitement, but when the conversation shifted towards him, he shot Feng Jun an annoyed glance and then turned to leave, muttering, “Sicko!”

Feng Jun just shrugged his shoulders and couldn’t be bothered to care, reaching into his cigarette case to light one up.

The short and stocky youth felt like he had thrown a punch into the air. Watching the other smoke, he had an idea and asked, “This way of smoking looks kind of interesting… How much are the cigarettes?”

“A pack of twenty cigarettes,” Feng Jun replied dismissively, “one silver dollar.”

Another man holding a tobacco pipe beside him jumped at the answer, exclaiming in shock, “Fifty copper coins for one cigarette? You might as well go rob someone!”

In his view, the amount of tobacco in one cigarette was about the same as a full pipe of his tobacco. He smoked about twenty pipes a day, adding up to just fifty or sixty copper coins a month—damn it, one of yours costs me a month’s worth of smoking.

But Ding Laoyi looked down on him with disdain, “Your tobacco and ours are the same?”

The man hadn’t quite grasped a concept: many who smoked grew their own tobacco leaves. Those with surplus leaves might sell them, but wouldn’t fetch much money; often, they would even be given away for free, much like vegetables grown in fields.

In this realm, tobacco wasn’t really a major industry.

Upon hearing this, the man’s eyes darted around, “You say it’s different, then let me try one first.”

What could you say about that request? It was actually quite reasonable. You can taste fruits before buying them, try on shoes before purchasing, and even on Earth Realm, test top-range perfumes before making a decision.

However, trying one meant consuming a whole cigarette, which was a bit too costly.

But Feng Jun didn’t see it that way; he thought that since this realm did not have rolled cigarettes, you had to let people try them if you wanted to make a sale.

Since he didn’t plan on making money from this anyway, he nodded his chin upwards, “Ding Er Ge, give him one to try.”

The man took the cigarette, lit it with a lighter, and began to puff out clouds of smoke before the crowd.

Seeing this, others immediately wanted to try smoking as well, and soon enough, three or four dozen smokers had gathered—when it came to taking advantage of freebies, all realms were similar.

The short and stocky youth had been watching the whole time. Seeing the Divine Doctor give away two packs of cigarettes and even open a third, he was quite surprised: three silver dollars, just gone like that?

He actually wasn’t short on money. His skepticism about the price of the lighters was because he didn’t want to be cheated—a sentiment quite similar to Wang Haifeng from Earth Realm: I don’t mind spending money, but I don’t want to look like a fool who can be easily scammed.

Seeing Feng Jun handing out cigarettes so freely, he couldn’t help but blurt out a question, “Are they good?”

The forty or fifty people blowing smoke could hardly say they were not enjoyable—how could they not wait until they finished smoking to comment?

In fact, cigarettes produced by a factory were sure to be better than homemade tobacco.

Someone gave an objective assessment after finishing one, “Not bad, but fifty copper coins… that’s a bit pricey.”

The short and stocky youth wasn’t stupid; he could tell that the cigarettes were better than ordinary tobacco. So, he immediately made a decision, “Give me two lighters and two packs of cigarettes.”

Although he didn’t smoke himself, there were smokers in his family, and the gifts would be decent—after all, he wasn’t short on cash.

As for whether itwas worth fifty copper coins, that didn’t matter. Being better than ordinary tobacco was good enough; high-quality goods should be sold for a higher price.

And just like that, Feng Jun had earned four silver dollars, which wasn’t too bad.

However, as more and more smokers caught wind of this, they rushed over, and in no time there were four to five hundred people around the field bed blowing smoke into the air, making for quite the spectacle.

Ding Laoyi had initially felt envious of Feng Jun’s business, but when he saw that more than twenty packs of cigarettes were given away, he became anxious; that was over twenty silver dollars worth, “Hey, you can’t just keep trying them for free. If you think they’re good, buy some.”

When people heard this, some did spend money to buy, but not by the pack. They purchased them one by one, each for fifty.

For Ding Laoyi, the situation seemed a bit hopeless, but Feng Jun didn’t care. In his opinion, in a poor place like this, you couldn’t expect to make money from luxuries. It was the affordable daily necessities that were the real money­makers.

Take this market for example; looking around, more than half of the stalls sold food and daily essentials—that was the mainstream of the market.

For Feng Jun, acquiring some silver dollars from this realm to spend was a success. He was unconcerned about the cost.

Just then, a burly man approached, also wanting a cigarette to try.

It was none other than the fellow who had left earlier, still spinning the two stone balls in his hands with a “whirring” sound.

Fengjun shook his head, then pointed at the man’s hand, “You can’t try one for free unless you let me take a look at those two stone balls.”

The big man was dissatisfied, “I’m used to these, why do you need to see them?”

But Feng Jun insisted, “You let me see them, and I’ll give you the cigarette. Goodwill should be mutual, shouldn’t it?”