Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points

Chapter 90: Chapter 85 Knowledge of Buying Pills and Leather Armor 1

Translator: 549690339

When the price of gold was low, one tael of gold equaled eight taels of silver. Under normal circumstances, one tael of gold equaled ten taels of silver.

This gold bracelet is quite heavy; getting ten taels of silver for it definitely won’t be a problem.

Although she was a rich young lady, her monthly spending money was probably only about five wen silver money.

After all, Wang Furen’s family was just modestly wealthy. They had no worries about food and clothing, but their annual income was very limited. After deducting the family’s expenses, there wasn’t much silver money left for their daughter to spend.

This was also why Wang Furen only had one daughter and no sons.

Otherwise, Miss Wang’s financial situation would have been even tighter.

The idea of valuing sons over daughters was deeply ingrained. Daughters were eventually going to marry off, so the amount of silver money parents would spend on them was definitely calculated.

Ten taels of silver money was already a huge sum for Miss Wang.

If she hadn’t been pushed to the limit, she wouldn’t have pawned the gold bracelet.

Judging from its purity and style, it was likely a keepsake from her mother.

It held great sentimental value for her.

“Please help me buy three Tempering Elixirs on your return. If there’s any change left, consider it your service fee. Thank you.”

Was she secretly cultivating?

Ordinary mortals looking to raise their cultivation could only gain so much from nutritious food and tonics.

The best method was to practice Cultivation Techniques and take Elixirs to quickly strengthen their bodies in the early stages.

Qin Niu was among those who had been quite lucky.

He had bought a damaged Life-Nurturing Technique scroll and had a good talent for cultivation. By chance, he comprehended a trace of the cultivation method within it, eventually allowing his cultivation to make great strides every day.

If she saved up her pocket money, buying a Cultivation Technique common on the streets would definitely not be an issue.

However, those common Cultivation Techniques were often crude and inefficient; they resulted in slow progress in cultivation and relied heavily on the aid of advanced cultivation resources.

Such as Elixirs.

Compared to ordinary nutritious foods and tonics, Elixirs were carefully crafted by Pharmacists using various heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and tonics to create superb products for cultivation.

They were easily absorbed by the body and could help the user rapidly increase their cultivation level.

The Tempering Elixir was one of the most commonly taken by those at low cultivation levels.

It helped users undergo initial body tempering; if coupled with Cultivation Technique practice and food supplementation, it could definitely make the user’s cultivation progress by leaps and bounds.

The market price was not cheap, needing three taels of silver money for one.

Buying three at once meant she was definitely aiming to break through more than just the Onefold or Twofold level of ordinary mortals, likely Fivefold or higher.

Looking at her frail and delicate on a daily basis, I hadn’t expected her to take the path of cultivation.

No wonder she was as light as a feather.

Miss Wang was a very thoughtful girl, completely different from those who only wanted to marry a wealthy man and depend on him.

Her rush to cultivate with Tempering Elixirs was clearly to avoid being controlled by her father and to refuse going to Yichun Garden in Black Tiger City to meet with Young Master Lu for matchmaking.

Qin Niu carefully stored the gold bracelet on his person.

Then he sorted the insects into different cages.

That included the cultivated huge green Giant Hornet and the Queen Bee with a hint of special abilities, two Jin Chans, and the termites.

Also, he took the wild boar skin that he had skinned off.

There were two main tasks for this trip into the city: to apply for the Insect

Master status and to sell some insects.

It was the perfect opportunity to understand the Insect Market dynamics, so that he could target his captures more strategically in future sales.

Currently, he was just searching in the wilderness; whenever he saw insects with special abilities, he caught them.

Doing so could earn him some money, but to make a big profit relied on luck.

If he could target and capture those insects that were highly valued in the market, he could make even more money.

Some insects could only be sold for ten or twenty wen money, while others could be sold for several taels of silver money.

The latter was obviously better.

Gathering his things and locking the door, he hoisted his basket and hurried to Black Tiger City.

Xiao Niu was left at home.

Striding along the official road, he could see traces of the flood’s destruction everywhere. Many fields were ruined, with crops flattened on the ground or completely buried under mud and sand.

A human catastrophe, wounds and scars all around.

This year, the price of grain within Black Tiger City’s jurisdiction would surely rise.

The flood had destroyed this year’s summer grains.

Many households were already running out of food after the New Year’s.

They were hoping for a good summer harvest to tide them over.

Now in the wake of the flood disaster, with most crops destroyed, many families would have to borrow money to survive.

Qin Niu could sense that the purchase of slaves and maids by wealthy families was about to surge.

In times of famine, a child could be sold for just three to five taels of silver money.

The lowest could even be bought for two taels of silver money.

Fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys generally wouldn’t be sold as they could work and support themselves.

Girls, however, were very likely to be married off or sold.

With no food at home and survival at stake, selling or marrying off a daughter could bring in silver money to help the family through hard times.

This also shows that in many people’s eyes, daughters were like ‘property’ that could be liquidated at any time.

Some sections of the official road were still flooded, with a thick layer of undried mud left behind.

Qin Niu had to detour around as he moved forward.

“If only 1 had a mount!”

The image of Official Liu’s black horse flashed through his mind.

The thought was fleeting.

With a price tag of a thousand taels of silver money, it was far beyond his current reach. Even if he did have a thousand taels of silver money, he wouldn’t spend it on a horse. Instead, he would invest in cultivation resources and rebuild his house.

He was definitely going to get married someday.

Living in two rundown mud houses would scare away any girl before she even stepped through the door.

After two and a half hours of trekking, Qin Niu finally arrived at Black Tiger City.

After advancing his cultivation to the Threefold of the Mortal Realm, Qin Niu’s walking speed was noticeably faster than before, and his stamina had also improved.

Previously, a trip to the city would take nearly four hours.

Back then, he could cover eight or nine miles in an hour, and about twelve at a faster pace.

Now with his increased cultivation, he found it quite easy to cover twenty miles in an hour.

Shuangfeng Village was about fifty miles from Black Tiger City, and it took him a total of two and a half hours, which was equivalent to five hours.

If he had a good mount, it wouldn’t even take half an hour.

Two legs simply can’t compete with four!

He thought to himself that Official Liu, who came from the government, already had a Black Steed worth a thousand Silver Money, yet he still wanted to buy his Xiao Nui.

This proved that Xiao Nui was definitely not ordinary.

Once he earned some money by selling insects this time, he could buy two low-level Talismans to form a pact with Xiao Nui, and then he would be able to see its attributes.

While queuing to enter the city, he encountered again that idler in a black robe who had wanted to nab his bear skin the last time.

This person’s status was probably slightly lower than that of an official.

Even though he wore a black robe, he didn’t wear an official’s headscarf.

He glanced at Qin Niu’s basket and upon seeing it was boar skin, his face immediately showed a look of disdain.

The value of pigskin was low, so naturally, he looked down upon it.

A skinned wild boar hide was not much different from ordinary pigskin.

Even the hide of a wild boar wasn’t worth much.

At best, it could sell for a few dozen Wen Money.

Qin Niu, carrying the boar hide, entered the Clothing and Footwear Market.

Because he had a good impression of the owner of Zhenzhen Armor Shop from last time, he went straight to this shop.

“Can you make leather armor here? I have a piece of pigskin that I’d like to turn into armor.”

When Qin Niu took out the pigskin, the shop assistant immediately covered his nose and stepped back two paces.

He also frowned slightly.

“The labor costs more than your material.”

The assistant replied.

“1 want to make leggings and a vest. How much would the labor cost for that?”

“At least it must start from Two Silver Money and go up. You should think it over before coming back,”

the assistant clearly wanted to send him away quickly.

“Then never mind,”

Qin Niu said after hearing this, ultimately giving up the idea of having the armor made.

He had originally thought that, with his improved ability to catch insects, he often needed to venture into the mountains. Having a pair of leggings and a vest would protect him from the thorns, and offer an extra layer of defense when fighting with wild beasts to prevent injuries.

He still bore a scar on his waist from the time he was scratched by a wolf.

“Hold on!”

The stocky shop owner came out from the back.

He felt the pigskin in Qin Niu’s hand.

ii

Is this from the mountains?”

‘Mountain goods’ referred to goods from the mountains, meaning wild boar skin.

“Great eye, boss!”

Qin Niu complimented.

“Judging by the thickness and size of this skin, I estimate it was a wild boar of around two hundred pounds. It’s insufficient for armor making, but if you could hunt a wild boar of five or six hundred pounds, or even a larger Boar King whose skin has been repeatedly rubbed against pine trees and soaked in pine resin, that would be sturdy. Armor made from that kind of pigskin would be durable and tough, difficult for ordinary swords to damage, and compared to iron armor, it is much lighter and more flexible.

Although what the assistant said was somewhat unpleasant to hear, 1 would advise you, young man, to abandon the idea of using this pigskin for armor.

Poor craftsmanship in an armor shop means lower prices, but such armor will crack after a short period of use.

Plus, if it doesn’t fit well, it significantly impedes mobility.

In a century-old shop like ours with good craftsmanship, the prices are generally not cheap. Creating a set of leather armor starts at a labor cost of Two Silver Money, and with that money, you might as well buy a thin iron armor to wear,”

the shop owner said sincerely.

After listening, Qin Niu had already dismissed the idea of using the pigskin for armor.

“Thank you for your honest advice, boss. I’ll come back if I need anything in the future.”

Qin Niu put the pigskin back in his basket and turned to leave, preparing to sell the skin at the shop he visited last time.

H

It’s troublesome for you to carry it back and forth. If you want to sell it, I’ll take it off your hands. Most other leather goods shops would pay up to fifty Wen Money, I’ll offer you sixty in hopes of your future patronage,”

the shop owner said to him.

“Alright!”

Qin Niu knew the price of pigskin wasn’t high and agreed to the deal on the spot.

Selling for sixty Wen Money, the efforts hadn’t been for naught.

The valuable part of a wild boar was its meat.

But it wouldn’t be much more expensive than ordinary pork.

After selling the pigskin, he first visited the Pet Beast Market.

Although it’s called the Pet Beast Market, in reality, the Insect Master Association and the Beast Tamer Association were both there. Inside the market, apart from various wild beasts and mounts for sale, there were also various insects offered.

Controlling insects was a niche profession, and Insect Masters were generally weaker on average, therefore, their status was not as high as that of Beast Tamers.

The name of the market also did not reflect the sale of insects.

Upon entering, Qin Niu immediately felt how upscale the place was.

Many people here wore the robes of Insect Masters or Beast Tamers, all of whom were revered beings.

Those in long gowns were potential Insect Masters or potential Beast Tamers, identifiable by the rust-colored badges on their chests and their waist tags.

Under normal circumstances, it is generally not possible to check someone else’s waist tag.

This is a matter of personal privacy, only officials have the authority to inspect it.

However, there were some who loved to show off and would deliberately expose their waist tags, wishing the whole world could see them.

After all, even a mere potential Beast Tamer held a much more prestigious status than an ordinary person.