Chapter 4121 — A Grand Opening
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
One has to remember, this was no auction—just the ordinary business of a small shop. No one would be foolish enough to bid wildly, and Wei Zhao had deliberately kept his prices low. For first-day sales to reach six figures was already an astonishing feat; even many of the great merchant guilds could boast no better.
Of course, Di Xingdao deserved some of the credit. Had his appearance not set off a buying frenzy—had his very presence not kept drawing in more and more customers—the sales figures would likely have been less than half what they were.
A six-figure take on opening day left Wei Zhao and the others merely delighted. Cai Zhongxuan, however, a seasoned man of the trade, nearly choked when he heard the number, and for a long moment was struck so dumb with shock that he could not utter a word.
"Young Hero Lin, are you aware that our Five Elements Merchant Guild had the mighty Central Island Pill Hall at its back? Do you know what our sales were on our first day of business?" Cai Zhongxuan asked, his expression strange.
"How much?" Wei Zhao and the others asked, curious. The Five Elements Merchant Guild was indisputably the foremost guild of them all; its figures could almost be taken as the industry record.
"Ninety-six thousand spirit jades," Cai Zhongxuan said with a bitter smile. "From what I know, that already left every other top-tier guild far behind—a record without precedent. But set against your Heaven Pill Pavilion, Young Hero Lin, tsk tsk..."
At this, Wei Zhao and the others exchanged glances. Founding the Heaven Pill Pavilion to sell pills had been no more than a passing impulse, its sole purpose to give Tianchan and Xueli a foothold on Central Island—nothing more.
Yet never had they imagined that, almost by accident, they would outstrip even a colossus like the Five Elements Merchant Guild. Had these words not come from the mouth of Cai Zhongxuan, vice steward of that very guild, none of them would have dared believe it.
"Brother Wei Zhao is a heaven-sent prodigy—is it any wonder he outdid the Five Elements Merchant Guild? To my mind it is perfectly natural. Your honored master, Old Zhang, may be an unreasonable freak himself, but he truly has no head for business. Had he not founded the Pill Hall early and made its name, I reckon your Five Elements Merchant Guild would not have earned even a fraction of the Heaven Pill Pavilion's take on its first day," Di Xingdao said with a hearty laugh.
"Quite so. The grade may not be high, but with so many top-quality pills, there is really nothing surprising about selling at that figure," Hou Guanqi put in with a nod, then asked curiously, "By the way, Young Friend Wei Zhao, where on earth did you get all these top-quality pills?"
"Yes, I have been wanting to ask that myself. At the auction on the Far North Island, Hong Zhong was clearly cornered by a joint effort, yet all at once he produced more than a hundred top-quality pills. The tale has become a legend in the trade. That would not have anything to do with you, would it, Young Hero Lin?" Cai Zhongxuan asked, equally curious.
Their curiosity was understandable. Outsiders might merely be astonished, assuming the Central Island Pill Hall possessed such strength and simply did not display it ordinarily. But the two of them, as registered disciples of Zhang Lifeng and core figures of the Pill Hall, understood the situation far more clearly than any outsider.
Unless Zhang Lifeng himself took up the furnace, even the combined strength of the entire Central Island Pill Hall could hardly produce so many top-quality pills on short notice—unless the strategic reserve warehouses were opened.
"To be frank with you both, Seniors, I am myself an alchemist. These pills were refined by my own hand," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.