Chapter 104 - 102: Jade Marrow
"I bid two hundred and twenty copper coins per pound." Another vendor merely glanced at the appearance of the Exotic Blood Fish and immediately offered a higher price.
The previous vendor showed displeasure but did not continue to bid.
Though it was annoying to be interrupted, a deal has to be profitable; one cannot act recklessly and throw money around just to purchase goods.
The price exceeded his psychological expectation, making the Silver Horn Fish no longer worth bidding for him.
"I bid eight silver, fixed price." Seeing no one else bidding, Song Changming directly spoke up.
The vendor, who thought he was certain to win, turned his head annoyed and glared at the crowd.
Just as he was about to curse a few words, he noticed the official uniform on Song Changming; his expression was in place, words at the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back down, not daring to make a sound.
"Congratulations, my lord." He forced a smile, cupping his hands.
"Thank you for letting go of it." Song Changming nodded.
Buying this Silver Horn Fish for eight silver was certainly a severe markup, nearly the price of two hundred and seventy copper coins per pound.
The reason Song Changming offered a fixed price was that he was too lazy to compete and waste time; after all, he wasn’t lacking those extra copper coins.
Mostly, out of curiosity, he wanted to taste the flavor of this Silver Horn Fish.
If the fish’s flesh indeed significantly aids his Body Refinement, he would definitely send people to purchase this regularly in the future.
"Later, package this Silver Horn Fish well, and deliver it to the dock to Patrol Guard Liang Zhao Long," Song Changming said, giving out eight silver.
"Alright, rest assured, Lord Official, it will be properly sealed and sent." The stall owner accepted the money and quickly replied with a smile.
Selling it for a high price of eight silver absolutely exceeded his expectations; he couldn’t be happier.
Song Changming then wandered around; upon inspection, the water produce with exotic blood was indeed rare, just a few scattered ones.
Not only fish but other varieties were present, appearing distinctly abnormal, generally with exotic blood.
"If the lord desires more, wait until evening; those returning seafarers will bring more treasures to the fish market," a stall owner couldn’t help but remind Song Changming as he was buying exotic blood aquatic produce.
"Alright." Song Changming nodded.
Indeed, it was still early; most seafarers had not yet returned, and the treasures in the fish market were few.
Seeing this, Song Changming decided to return to the dock and have Liang Zhao Long ignite a fire. They steamed, boiled, and grilled the exotic blood aquatic produce he just bought, tasting it together with his subordinate patrol guards.
After the fish meat entered his stomach, Song Changming instantly felt a warmth in his abdomen, akin to having drunk a bowl of hot wine, very comfortable.
Then this warmth spread throughout his body, causing his heart to beat faster and making him sweat profusely.
Beside him, Liang Zhao Long also lit up after eating, enthusiastically claiming it as good stuff.
The rumors were true; these treasures with exotic blood indeed provide certain benefits to Martial Artists’ body refinement.
Not even inferior to some Cultivation Soups!
Moreover, its taste is delicious, which Cultivation Soups cannot match.
This kind of meat is expensive for a reason.
Previously, Song Changming had not thought much of it, but now as his wealth grows, he could afford exotic blood meat at every meal.
Combining dietary supplements with medicinal supplements to further improve his cultivation efficiency.
The focus was on maximizing cultivation materials.
By afternoon, the inventory of spoils had been sorted out.
Song Changming reviewed the list, with a total value of more than eleven thousand silver coins!
This amount was considerable, mainly because of Dinghai Water Gang’s batch of leftover goods yet to be processed here.
Of course, Song Changming wasn’t naive to think this amount was all; it was merely the list of spoils to be submitted to the Governor’s Mansion.
Song Changming did not delve into it, merely handing it over to Zhuang Ren.
Compared to the spoils, he was more interested in the port fish market at dusk.
At this hour, the bustling at this site surpassed even the busiest street in the County City.
A large number of merchants from Donglai Prefecture’s towns, and some outside trade caravans, flocked in.
The local fishermen returned from the sea, and their harvest would be mostly collected by these people, forming a long-standing industry chain.
Song Changming, accompanied by Liang Zhao Long and several patrol guards, managed the order of the fish market while observing the fishermen’s yield today.
Indeed, the evening brought a lot more exotic blood aquatic produce and many varieties of marine treasures, even cracked stones.
Even if Song Changming didn’t make a purchase, he gained substantial knowledge here.
"One must venture out to see the world; staying confined in one place ultimately narrows one’s view." Song Changming shook his head inwardly.
"Bet on the marrow, bet on the marrow, all freshly dug today!"
Song Changming looked over and saw two fishermen shouting loudly, with several baskets of seashells spread all over the ground.
The seashells were pure white, resembling jade, with many beautiful patterns on them, each tightly closed without any gaps.
"What do you mean by betting on the marrow?" Song Changming asked as he looked at the seashells.
"My Lord Official, these are White Jade Shells from the sea, and inside they can nurture Jade Marrow, like this."
As the fisherman spoke, he took a piece about the thickness of a little finger from a nearby basin, a semi-transparent gelatinous substance, and handed it to Song Changming.
The gelatinous substance felt slightly slippery to the touch, and with a careful look, one could see tiny granular impurities inside.
"This Jade Marrow is the essence of the entire White Jade Shell, it can be consumed as food, either raw or cooked. Low-quality Jade Marrow, apart from filling the stomach, is not of much use and not very valuable.
But high-quality Jade Marrow is a treasure. It’s said that consuming it can cleanse bones and temper the body, rejuvenating oneself. Opening a piece of high-quality Yellow Jade Marrow and selling it for dozens or even hundreds of silver coins is not a problem!
Not to mention that previously, a fisherman here once dug up a piece of Crimson Jade Marrow, which was sold to the Dinghai Water Gang for thousands of silver, and immediately became rich and moved to live in the County City!"
The fisherman spoke, filled with envy.
"Is the Dinghai Water Gang really so honorable? Even willing to spend money on such treasures." Liang Zhao Long, standing nearby, listened with some skepticism.
The fisherman nodded, "For big gangs like them, reputation and rules are most important in the Jianghu. If they resort to force, their gang’s business would not do well in the future."
In fact, compared to the rule-following Dinghai Water Gang, they were actually more afraid of the nearby envious scoundrels when they caught something good.
Theft and robbery often come from the people around them.
Therefore, local fishermen hoped that whether it was the Dinghai Water Gang or the Government, anyone who could maintain security here would do.
"Is it really as good as you say?" Song Changming raised an eyebrow, looking at the semi-transparent Jade Marrow in his hand.
He was referring to the effects of the Jade Marrow that the fisherman had just mentioned.
"Well..." The fisherman scratched his head and laughed awkwardly, "The high-quality Jade Marrow surely fetches such a price, but as for the actual effects after eating it... I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know if it’s exaggerated..."
"Hmm." Song Changming didn’t trouble the fisherman further, and his gaze fell on the other pieces of Jade Marrow opened in the basin.
Without exception, all were semi-transparent, gelatinous, all inferior and of low-quality.
It seemed the probability of opening a piece of high-quality Jade Marrow was very low, especially the highest quality Crimson Jade Marrow, opening it would be like hitting the jackpot.
Therefore, the fishermen came up with some tricks, not opening these dredged-up White Jade Shells themselves, but letting other passers-by buy the shells and bet on the marrow.
If lucky, opening a piece of high-quality Jade Marrow, that would be profit.
However, if they were all low-quality, naturally that would be a loss.
"It seems quite interesting." Song Changming found it amusing, so he stood there watching for a while.
Nearby, people were already spending money to open shells before he came.
Some shells had nothing inside, while some would squeeze out a piece of semi-transparent gelatinous substance like the one in his hand.
If Jade Marrow was produced, at least that White Jade Shell broke even, while if nothing came out, it was purely a loss.
After opening nearly a hundred White Jade Shells, suddenly one person opened a piece of Jade Marrow that looked slightly different.
This Jade Marrow was generally still semi-transparent and gelatinous, but there was a hint of yellow color at the center, like a yellow ribbon floating inside.
"Hmm, not bad, this piece seems to have some quality." The fisherman said with a smile.
"Is this Yellow Jade Marrow?" Liang Zhao Long asked.
The fisherman shook his head, "Not quite Yellow Jade Marrow yet, it’s just starting to transform into Yellow Jade Marrow, carrying a slight effect of it. Such a piece can be sold for one thousand coins."
With that, the fisherman asked the person who bet on the marrow whether he wanted to keep the Jade Marrow or sell it back to him.
"I don’t practice martial arts, trade it for more shells for me." That person was evidently excited, wanting to continue.
"I’ll take this piece of Jade Marrow." Song Changming said, tossing a silver coin to the fisherman.
"Sure, my Lord Official, if you want to try its effects, you can eat it raw; it tastes quite good." The fisherman quickly responded, not daring to overcharge.
Song Changming glanced at it and then put the yellow-tinged Jade Marrow into his mouth.
It had a slightly fresh and salty taste and, when chewed, felt like biting into a tendon, with a hint of sweetness following.
In terms of taste and texture, it was indeed not bad.
After swallowing the Jade Marrow, after a moment, he felt a tingling sensation all over his body.
This feeling came and went quickly.
When he tried to open the panel, he suddenly discovered that his Spiritual Monkey Skill, Martial Arts Experience Value had inexplicably increased by one point!
If he was not mistaken, then this Jade Marrow was indeed useful and had a very direct application for him, like that Mountain Ginseng, consuming it could instantly increase Martial Arts Experience!