The Martial Doctor-Chapter 135 - 124: Discovering Peanuts

No matter how good the goods are, if they can’t be sold, the funds can’t be recouped, and they’re all tied up in inventory, he won’t be able to continue stocking up and earn more money.

"Then what’s the price of these peanuts?"

"Four taels of silver per pound."

Lin Miao looked at him with a slight smile and shook his head. He knew well the rules of bargaining when buying things, which is to cut the price in half and then offer 80% of that.

Of course, this applies to honest merchants. As for the unscrupulous ones, they’ve already figured out the consumer psychology, and even using this rule for bargaining, they might still make a big profit. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Three taels and six qian, this is my cost price, little lord. Any lower, and I won’t make any money..."

Lin Miao continued to shake his head.

You haggle, I counter; in the end, Lin Miao cut the price of raw peanuts from five taels to one tael and eight qian. The merchant almost cried, never having seen someone so adept at bargaining. If the price were pushed any lower, he wouldn’t make a profit and might even incur a loss.

But Lin Miao also gave him a big order, taking all the raw peanuts at this price, to be delivered to his home.

Lin Miao wrote down an address for him, asking him to deliver the goods directly to the Lin estate at Xiuyue Square, and to find Mr. Xie for payment with his note.

That’s how peanut crisps and peanut candy came to be. Moreover, although peanuts aren’t a native species, it doesn’t mean they can’t be cultivated locally.

There are many sandy areas in the northwest; if they could be grown locally, that would be a good industry for the future.

There’s also corn and sweet potatoes, which at least he hasn’t seen around here at the moment. Whether they’re available in the Southern Wilderness, he’s not sure.

This merchant is probably just a secondary vendor, maybe even a tertiary one, getting goods from others and then transporting them to Dongshan City to sell.

These aren’t urgent, so he’ll deal with them when there’s a chance later on.

It took a whole hour walking on Shanglin Street for 800 meters, stopping and going, to finally arrive at the mountain gate below Shanglin Temple.

Temples are generally built on mountains.

Shanglin Mountain is the only mountain extending into Dongshan City, and this city was actually built against this mountain range.

Looking up.

An ancient temple built against the mountain, with red walls and green tiles, shrouded in trees, with chants lingering, solemn and mysterious. The ninety-nine eighty-one steps climb up gradually, leading to the huge mountain gate of the temple.

This Shanglin Temple is famed as the No.1 temple in the northwest; looking up, amidst the trees, one sees the austere Buddha halls with varied appearances, far superior to the Heaven-Reaching Temple where Lin Miao and Sun Youwei once spent the night.

Dong!

The bell of the temple rang, deep and powerful, extraordinarily penetrating, as if possessing a magical power to cleanse the human soul.

Ascend the steps.

"Sister, can you make it? Do you want me to carry you?" Lin Miao worried about Sun Youwei. Her health was poor, and after walking for an hour, she was greatly fatigued, making him fear she couldn’t handle the stone steps.

"No problem, junior brother, I can do it." Sun Youwei’s jade-like nose was beaded with sweat, yet she stubbornly refused Lin Miao’s help, insisting on climbing the steps to the mountain gate herself, as if this was the only way to express her inner devotion.

Lin Miao had no choice but to guard behind her step by step.

For Lin Miao, climbing eighty-one steps took just a few breaths, but for his martial-less sister, it took about as long as half a cup of tea before she made it up from below.

"Sister, rest a while and drink some water." Lin Miao took a water bottle from his chest and unscrewed the cap.

"Junior brother..." Sun Youwei was somewhat out of breath, her face flushed, and the tip of her nose was sweating profusely.

"It’s alright, it’s warm water, kept warm inside." Lin Miao pointed to his chest.

Sun Youwei was deeply moved, took the water bottle and drank two sips before handing it back. Lin Miao supported her to the stone bench outside the mountain gate to rest a bit before preparing to enter Shanglin Temple.

The heavy wooden door swung open on both sides, with weathered yellow paint telling of the 800-year-old temple’s extraordinary history.

The temple gates opened, revealing a spacious courtyard paved with flagstones, spotless. Huge incense burners with smoke wafting, chants echoing, visitors coming and going in an orderly manner entered through the right and exited through the left.

Inside the temple, the air was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood.

A towering hall stood before them, the core building of Shanglin Temple, the Shanglin Treasure Hall, where the "All-Purpose Spiritual Treasure" Bodhisattva was venerated, constructed with solemnity and grandeur, splendid in gold, showing the temple’s apparent wealth.

Each year, the offerings from worshippers must be considerable. Otherwise, maintaining such an ancient temple requires a substantial annual renovation budget, not to mention feeding and providing for hundreds of monks who don’t produce anything, allowing them to meditate and practice Buddhism in peace.

Following others’ footsteps, they entered the hall through a side door.

Raising their eyes, they saw walls adorned with vibrant murals depicting stories of the "All-Purpose Spiritual Treasure" Bodhisattva’s enlightenment. Flickering oil lamps cast light and shadow on intricately carved beams, exquisite designs filling the space.

In the center of the hall, a golden statue of the Bodhisattva sat solemnly on a lotus throne, gazing downward as if responding to the pleas of the kneeling masses below.

Massive blue stone platform lined either side, monks in gray robes holding magic artifacts, chanting with deep and powerful voices, wholly undisturbed by the worshippers kneeling and praying.

After accompanying his sister for sincere prayers.

Hand in hand, they left the hall and entered a large courtyard where ancient trees towered in an orderly fashion. Slivers of sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the flagstones.

The warmth of the winter sun brought peace of mind.

Wind chimes hung from the eaves of the surrounding corridors, and a gust of wind brought forth clear and melodious ringings, akin to heavenly music.

Every brick and tile here spoke of historical vicissitudes, as if the secular world was both excluded and melded into it, without distinction.

Shanglin Temple’s vegetarian meals are quite famous; many who come to Shanglin Temple to offer incense will try the vegetarian meals. But to eat the vegetarian meals requires luck, since the number available each day is limited.

During holidays and temple fairs, some extra slots might be added, but generally not too many.

So one must act early and catch the right timing.

"Sister, are you hungry? Why don’t we try Shanglin Temple’s vegetarian dishes?" Lin Miao suggested, and Sun Youwei nodded. Thus, hand in hand, they headed toward the dining hall.

The dining hall was large, and surprisingly there were still quite a few seats available. Lin Miao and Sun Youwei were delighted, and upon entering, they saw some young monks in gray robes serving and delivering dishes. Judging by their movements and postures, they clearly had martial arts training.

Though Shanglin Temple is a temple, it’s akin to a martial sect, with martial monks, and accepts a certain number of secular disciples.

A large donation box was placed at the exit of the dining hall.

The vegetarian dishes are free, but anyone who has eaten them might feel embarrassed to leave without placing some offerings in the donation box.

These monks, with full bellies and idle minds, probably spend a lot of time pondering human nature.