Fang Yuan looked somewhat awkward as he spoke to Jia Jin Fu. "You see... the matter is regarding Fang Zheng and his ability to... work in the clan. Now, I love Fang Zheng more than I cherish the air in my lungs," Fang Yuan, who would sell Fang Zheng into slavery without a second's hesitation if the benefits were high enough, said, "as I am sure that you can understand, being an elder brother yourself."
"Ah, no it isn't like that sadly," Jin Fu said, waving his hand. "Jin Sheng... despite my attempts to reach out to him... he doesn't seem to understand certain things. I have other brothers beside him, though I truly wish that our relationship was as good as that between Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng. With that said, no doubt, I can understand and elder brother's concern for the younger."
"I don't know if you've heard of the incident that happened with Fang Zheng," Fang Yuan said. This was an idiotic question as there was no one on the mountain who hadn't heard of it, and would've been one of the first things that Jin Fu would've been told about the moment he came, but he posed it nonetheless.
"Yes, I have, quite tragic what happened to him- did you ever find the perpetrator behind the attack?"
"Sadly, no."
"If it had been something that happened to my family- I would be livid, so I can understand your anger," Jin Fu said. "But then what does this do with trying to send him away?"
"The issue is that he has had a falling out with the rest of the clan because of this," Fang Yuan said, sighing. "As hard as it is to admit, he seems to greatly resent the rest of the clan after his fall in talent. I... I actually think it might be better for him to seek his fortune elsewhere, rather than where such awful memories lurk." Most people would rather choose to stay with their clan compared to strangers even if they were facing hardships for the simple fact that blood ran thicker than water but this was not true for all. Some people joined the merchant caravan because they wanted to get somewhere along the ride, others joined to make a fortune, some joined because they were kicked out by their clans (like Fang Yuan in his first life), and some joined as they wanted to see the wider world. "Of course, I don't intend to send him off on his own right now. I wanted to wait until he became Rank 2 at the very least."
Fang Yuan knew the internal politics of a merchant caravan very well- Rank 1 Gu Masters were little better than mortals and could only work as low-level employees. It was only at Rank 2 that they could gain some semblance of autonomy- and it was the Rank 3 who were usually the top brass within the caravan. Most of them did not have a Rank 4 Gu Master like Jin Fu's did.
"I see, and you want to discuss how he would do so?"
"Yes."
"I can get him started on his own business within the caravan, though this will have to come at an upfront cost, of around one thousand primeval stones," Jin Fu said. "Either that, or if he were to come along with us along with a large supply of Moon Orchid Petals it would also be a different thing."
"Of course, I just wanted to inquire about what his prospects would be like," Fang Yuan said.
The two of them talked for a while longer before Fang Yuan left, thanking Jin Fu as he walked away.
Jin Fu, on his part, had a slight suspicion within his heart. Did Fang Yuan truly think of sending Fang Zheng away for his own good- or was there a more devious reason behind this supposed move? If Fang Zheng's reputation was truly so bad that he could not fit in within Gu Yue village without causing massive issues, it would also greatly benefit Fang Yuan, a future elder, to get rid of his brother and to avoid associating with something that could stain his own name.
Fang Yuan, for his part, did not care for what Jin Fu thought or reasoned- as he had already accomplished his goal.
The results of the auction were soon declared towards the end of when the merchant carvan stayed.
"I was actually outmaneouvered?" Yao Ji said, seeing that the Liquor Worm had been sold to someoen else.
"Grandma!" Yao Le began to whine.
"Don't worry, dear," Yao Ji said. She turned to one of the Rank 1 Gu Masters. "Who dared to buy the Liquor Worm? Tell me?"
"Madame I cannot..." the man trailed off. He did not dare oppose her, but at the same time, he had to follow the rules of the caravan. "...we cannot divulge the information of our buyers."
"Hmph! Let me speak to your boss!" Yao Ji snapped.
The boss, a male Rank 3 Gu Master, immediately walked by and gave her a firm smile. "Madame, we still cannot tell you who the buyer was."
"So be it- I just want to know how much they paid," she said.
"That I also cannot freely divulge but..." the manager of the store began to say, but paused. Yao Ji had great influence among the Gu Yue clan, and he did not want to offend her. "...given that you wish to buy the Liquor Worm, I can definitely have one taken out of our warehouse for you. I won't ask for anything higher than your original bid."
Yao Ji shook her head. "No! I demand that the price be the same as the one who bought this Liquor Worm!"
The manager had a troubled look. Since when did customers start haggling the price up? Ultimately though, he agreed to her request, and Yao Ji was shocked to find that the bidding price was just 30 primeval stones more than what she had offered!
'I should've bid a bit higher...' she thought to herself. She did not lack that many primeval stones, but would've felt somewhat cheated if she had paid that price initially given that her offer was already rather generous. Looking at it though, there was someone else within the village who thought that it was more than fair.
A bottle of water might only cost a dollar on Earth, but a man stranded in the desert dying of thirst would give up his fortune for it. Clearly the buyer of the Liquor Worm had a similar thought and did not mind the excessive price.
There was a similar situation with Chi Lian when he found out that Cleansing Water Gu had also been sold, but he did not have the widespread influence that Yao Ji did and could not do anything other than grit his teeth, wondering who else in the village even needed that gu worm. He could only look forward to next year.
The two Red Steel Relic Gu had remained unsold, at least, that was how most people thought of it.
As Fang Yuan wandered through the streets of the village, someone tugged on his sleeve. "Momma! Where are you leading me?"
Fang Yuan turned to see a young girl, who had a confused look upon seeing Fang Yuan's face. "Wah- you're not Momma!"
The child had gotten lost at some point, and thought that Fang Yuan from behind looked enough like her mother to have followed her far from wherever she had originally been. Seeing that she was lost, she began to cry.
Fang Yuan gently took out a handkerchief and began drying her tears. "There, there, are you lost little one? Let us look for your mother together..."
He gently led the girl away, only returning home after finally reuniting her with her mother, who seemed to be borderline panicked at having lost track of her.
"Thank you! Thank you so much kind sir!" she said.
"It was nothing," Fang Yuan said, turning to the child. "Just remember to be more careful in the future, alright?"
"Of course!" the girl said, thinking 'This senior brother is really kind and friendly! I wanna grow up to be just like him!'