Chapter 3744 — Wooing
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
And right in the center of the spirit jade card, a number was displayed: four hundred!
Wei Zhao turned his head toward Hong Zhong in surprise. Did this mean the man was simply returning that extra pouch of four hundred spirit jades in the form of a card?
Hong Zhong smiled at just the right moment. "A small token of our shop's regard—please accept it with our compliments. Should you ever find yourself with a great quantity of spirit jades, you need only seek out a large establishment like our Hong Clan Trading Guild and have them credited to your spirit jade card."
He paused, and seeing that Wei Zhao still seemed a little doubtful, went on: "Rest easy, Young Hero Lin. The spirit jade card is protected by a special miniature formation. Once you channel your true qi to activate it, the formation within will register the unique signature of your true qi. No one else can impersonate you, still less alter or damage it. And when you wish to make a transaction, you need only channel your true qi to link it with another spirit jade card, and payment or transfer is done—convenient and secure. Since every use of the card at any of the great trading houses leaves a record with the Merchant Alliance, even accidental loss is no cause for worry; you may simply apply to the Alliance for a replacement."
Put that way, was this not simply a UnionPay card authenticated by one's personal true qi?
If it was truly as Hong Zhong described, then the security of this spirit jade card was remarkably high. Even fingerprint authentication could be beaten by chopping off the owner's finger and presenting it—but with the spirit jade card, unless Wei Zhao himself channeled his true qi to let it recognize him, no one could transfer out so much as a single spirit jade, even if they killed him.
"Then I thank you, Steward Hong," Wei Zhao said with a nod of gratitude.
True, the space within his jade pendant meant he need not trouble himself over such things as storing spirit jades—but if he wished to buy treasures at a place like the Hong Clan Trading Guild, there was still some inconvenience.
To keep the secret of the jade pendant's space from being exposed, he had to do as he had today: first retrieve the spirit jades somewhere deserted, then haul them to the trading guild before he could buy anything.
A few hundred spirit jades, as today, was no great matter—hauling them was hauling them. But what if in days to come he needed thousands, or even tens of thousands? Surely he could not lug them back and forth trip after trip?
So the spirit jade card was exceedingly useful at such times. And since the Merchant Alliance, whose reach spanned all five great islands of the Heaven Tier, stood as guarantor, credit was no concern either. Since they had brought it to him of their own accord, there was naturally no reason to refuse.
"You are too kind, Young Hero Lin. For an important guest such as yourself, preparing a spirit jade card is a matter of mutual benefit—it will make it all the easier for you to favor our business in future. So there is no need for thanks. Oh, and one more thing: if you use the spirit jade card at any of the trading houses under the Merchant Alliance, you enjoy a ten percent discount," Hong Zhong said with a smile, all courtesy.
A ten percent discount? Wei Zhao raised an eyebrow. Then in future, should he use this card to buy some great treasure, he could save no small amount of spirit jades. It seemed the Merchant Alliance had truly laid out considerable capital to court its major clients.
In fact, Wei Zhao was mistaken on this point. Though the spirit jade card was indeed an important measure the Merchant Alliance had introduced to keep its major clients, in essence it was also a symbol of status—and not so easily obtained.