"Hurry, hurry, hurry, we're late today, the morning class has already started."
"Actually, we're not kids anymore. We've already learned what we need to learn, there's no need to go to the academy every day to be marked present."
"It's about leaving a good impression on the teacher."
"True, and reading through the classics each morning is also revisiting and refreshing knowledge."
"Exactly."
"By the way, Brother Wang, I'm usually late, but you're always diligent and hardworking. Why are you late today as well?"
"Shameful, shameful, last night's indulgence was too much, I woke up late."
"Tsk, tsk, Brother Wang, don't joke, isn't your wife visiting her hometown? You didn't go to Chunfeng Building yesterday either."
"It's not my wife, just the night before last. I went home from Chunfeng Building and met a girl at the doorstep. She came to Tonglin County to seek refuge with relatives, but they had already moved. Now she's penniless, so she's temporarily staying at my house."
"Oh?"
"Hehe."
"Haha, Brother, you're truly lucky!"
"Overpraised, overpraised!"
As they spoke, they quickly passed by Lu Zheng and paced into the County School Institute.
The night before last, a girl...
Lu Zheng's steps halted, and he turned to look at the scholar dressed in a moon-white long robe, sensing that misfortune was looming over him, black aura clouding his brows.
However...
Lu Zheng instead breathed a sigh of relief, since the entity had targeted someone else, didn't that mean he was safe?
Daoist Mingzhang did say that a Corpse Ghost requires considerable time to refine after harming someone and generally doesn't linger in one place for long.
"Snap!"
Lu Zheng snapped his fingers, and his double appeared, feeling relaxed.
Then he swiftly left the area.
If someone is unlucky, it's best for others to keep their distance to avoid catching the bad luck.
...
Lu Zheng wandered aimlessly down Bluestone Street, looking around, but he was actually pondering where to begin his business in Great Jing Dynasty.
Cultivation is certainly necessary, but he also has to live in the Great Jing Dynasty, he can't let his resources run dry and truly learn to beg like the old beggar.
Glass crafts and Divine Weapons indeed have astonishing profits, but he can't frequently sell them.
That would be making himself a target.
Even if he successfully cultivates, he can't be so reckless.
So he needs his own industries, those that won't attract attention but will provide a steady income.
Then, as a noble with identity and industry, Lu Zheng would find it easier to sell modern artifacts.
The response to objections would be low-cost procurement and now selling at increased prices, if dissatisfied, buy for yourself!
And another point is that, even Daoist Mingzhang, who is a cultivator, still needed to open a view, draw talismans and perform rituals, showing that cultivators also need these yellow-and-white things.
Thus, Lu Zheng walked and observed the shops around him, pondering along the way...
First, he ruled out salt and iron, as they are monopolized by the Great Jing Dynasty Court as the backbone of national military strength and essential for residents.
This alone indicates that the Great Jing Dynasty is far from the end of its rule and is absolutely in a period of prosperity.
Lu Zheng initially focused on cloth selling.
Fabric and silk have rich profits and are mainly produced by small workshops, so if Lu Zheng sourced from modern times, he could definitely become the top fabric merchant in Tonglin County or even Yizhou.
However, modern cloth quality far surpasses that of the Great Jing Dynasty. Lu Zheng wouldn't need to gather supplies or open dye workshops. Once the cloth spreads, it's extremely easy to attract the attention of those with intentions.
If confronted then, even if Lu Zheng had a hundred mouths, he wouldn't be able to explain.
Thus, Lu Zheng set his sights on two industries.
Selling medicine and selling sugar.
Firstly, selling medicine, although important, doesn't have the influence of clothing, food, housing, and transportation. The unit price isn't cheap, but the sales volume won't be too high.
Moreover, modern medicine is produced on a large scale, ordinary herbal medicine costs are already very low, Lu Zheng can easily obtain goods from modern times, only buying common and affordable herbs, then reselling them in Great Jing Dynasty.
Meanwhile, he could also collect herbs from Great Jing Dynasty farmers, a dual approach ensuring that no one can cut off his supply, while quietly mixing in inferior products, utterly perfect.
Secondly, selling sugar, although part of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, isn't essential for human survival and can be considered more of a luxury item.
Sugarcane is cultivated in Great Jing Dynasty, and they also have sugar-making methods, and prices aren't expensive, ten cents for a tael of malt sugar, fifty cents for a tael of rock sugar. Even though snacks are slightly pricier, ordinary people can still grit their teeth and buy it.
But in Lu Zheng's view, it's very expensive.
Setting up a sugar workshop and then mixing modern five-dollar-per-pound white sugar and rock sugar to sell.
Perfect once again!
Once his foundation in Great Jing Dynasty is established, he can naturally contact more, obtain more capital, and feed back to the modern times.
In the process, he can also influence more people, gathering more Light of Fortune.
A virtuous cycle begins!
Now, with the business plan confirmed, the only problem is the lack of funds.
Lu Zheng's remaining money after selling a glass lion is just over one hundred coins, not enough to acquire a workshop or a storefront on the main street.
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin, contemplating ways to obtain money while feeling that the current plot style doesn't quite fit, isn't this supposed to be a fantasy novel?
...
"Li Niang, this flower suits you well, bring it home and add some fragrance."
"Really? Thank you, young master."
A crisp and familiar voice brought Lu Zheng back to reality in a second.
He looked to the left and saw that he had arrived outside a flower shop, where the couple speaking at the shop entrance was the Wang scholar he had seen in the morning.
And that Painted Skin!
"What's going on, why is it so coincidental?"
Unexpectedly, Lu Zheng was unlucky enough to run into them on the street.
So Lu Zheng promptly turned, pretending not to know them, and walked away.
"It's almost noon, let's go to Liu's Restaurant for lunch."
"Everything as the young master wishes."
In the next moment, the Peace Talisman in Lu Zheng's pocket began to emit a slight warmth and a faint stench, lingering at the tip of his nose.
"What's happening? Didn't it target that Wang scholar? Why does it still show malice towards me?" Lu Zheng quickly pondered, "Is it grudges from my ignoring it the day before last, or targeting my evil thoughts?"
The warmth of the Peace Talisman increased, and Lu Zheng turned the street corner, completely disappearing from the Corpse Ghost's sight, and the talisman gradually lost its warmth.
Lu Zheng took out the Peace Talisman and saw the burnt yellow curled area had grown larger.
With heightened vigilance, Lu Zheng inhaled deeply, losing interest in continuing his stroll and decisively headed home to traverse back to modern times.
At the community entrance, he casually ate a meal of braised chicken rice, then took a taxi to Ten Thousand Ridges Ancient Sword Hall to retrieve the Brocade Spring Saber sharpened and readied.
After thinking it over, Lu Zheng turned to the security equipment store and bought an explosion-proof shield, a Net-Shooting Gun, and a Gas Mask.
Whether useful or not, it's best to prepare first.