Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 236 - 156: Spring Plowing and Autumn Harvesting

Chapter 236: Chapter 156: Spring Plowing and Autumn Harvesting

Garoya believed that the ways to accumulate wealth in this world were always traceable. No matter where one was or what kind of civilization one faced, as long as one mastered the mysteries, profit could be made.

And this mystery was very simple—once you grasped the customers’ needs, you effectively grasped their wallets.

If the customers had no needs, then it was up to her to create them.

In her view, Qing Chi Mountain was hiding endless business opportunities.

The monsters on the back mountain were a natural treasure. To Garoya, Yunhai Academy’s way of dealing with monsters was nothing but a waste of resources.

The relationship built on mutual affection and friendship had been outdated for centuries; only interests could tighten the relationship between people.

Her first bucket of "get-rich-quick" gold would come from this natural treasure.

The first 25 Bei was spent on hosting guests. Her identity as a representative of the Chamber of Commerce brought convenience to her actions, and it was not difficult to find monster enthusiasts among the students.

That was a girl named Tang Qianqian, the class representative of the "Magical Monsters" elective course. She had her own companion monster, unlike most students in the academy, and was a "practicalist." These 25 Bei bought the notebook of "Magical Monsters."

She and Tang Qianqian sat in the shady spot of the drink shop, with fruit-flavored drinks provided by the proprietor on the table. Garoya listened to Tang Qianqian recount interesting stories from the "Magical Monsters" course, silently committing to memory the various habits of the monsters.

The second transaction of 20 Bei was for buying fruit baskets, seeking the lowest-priced fruits to win with volume.

Tang Qianqian’s notebook mentioned that the monsters on the back mountain were very naive; as long as you gave them gifts, they would consider you their best friend, and they didn’t care about the actual value of the gifts.

Before noon arrived, Garoya visited the Crane clan dwelling on the back mountain, carrying the fruit baskets. A Crane girl named Yun Lin welcomed her.

The Cranes were messengers of Qing Chi Mountain and one of the monsters most adept at dealing with humans. But more importantly, as mentioned in the notebook of "Magical Monsters," the Crane clan had the habit of molting, and the feathers they shed each autumn would fall all over the mountaintop.

The god of trade was with her as always, and it was the season when the Cranes were molting.

Yun Lin, holding the fruit basket, beamed with joy.

Miss Garoya was truly a good person, not only for giving them the fruit baskets as a welcome gift but also for volunteering to pick up the feathers they had shed.

The third transaction of 25 Bei was to bribe the guard of the Elixir Pavilion.

Carrying the collected Crane feathers, and armed with books borrowed from the library, Garoya found the Chief Disciple of the Elixir Pavilion.

What did the academy’s students most desire?

To better understand the monsters, know their true thoughts, and become closer to them.

This was also the most frequently mentioned question in the "Magical Monsters" course.

However, Jiuyue’s answer was elusive—patience, sincerity, and courage. These elusive concepts were the hardest to quantify, and based on Garoya’s experience as a businesswoman, customers usually didn’t like such uncertain merchandise.

They hoped there was an elixir in this world that they could buy with money, which, after ingestion, would make them on good terms with the monsters.

Jiuyue said no such thing existed in this world.

Garoya, however, held a different opinion.

As long as customers had needs, there would be corresponding products in this world.

The academy’s "Elixir Charts" recorded an elixir called "True Restitution Elixir," with effects similar to a Truth Serum. Its side effect made the user become extremely excited, excited enough to muster the courage to rush to the back mountain and reveal their hearts to the monsters.

See, patience, sincerity, and courage could all be bought with money.

Jiuyue’s theory wasn’t wrong; it seemed that she just hadn’t researched the "Elixir Charts" thoroughly.

In fact, interacting with the monsters wasn’t difficult as long as one could overcome social anxiety and suspicion and be rewarded for it.

This didn’t sound hard, yet her potential customers firmly believed that only by consuming a certain product could they undergo change.

But the "True Restitution Elixir" was not good enough.

It had a common and widespread name, an entry-level elixir that even a novice Alchemist could produce. If others learned of the "prescription," many competitors would immediately appear on the market.

So the next step was packaging.

Renaming the "True Restitution Elixir" to "Dream-Returning Pill" and adding ground Crane Feathers to the original recipe, the Crane itself and its feathers had no intrinsic effect, yet they could be endowed with some miraculous properties.

The Chief Disciple of the Elixir Pavilion seemed to harbor some doubts about this, but it was easy to resolve.

The money earned from the "Dream-Returning Pill" would be split fifty-fifty.

When making the promise, Garoya leaned slightly forward at the table, an angle that better allowed the other party to appreciate her slender figure.

The Chief Disciple was a guy who spent all his time in the Elixir Pavilion, and alchemy classes were never a popular elective, they were always inconspicuous and had never had the experience of discussing business with a beautiful woman.

The deal proceeded smoothly; the Elixir Pavilion had all the necessary materials and so there was no need to spend extra money.

When she stepped out of the Elixir Pavilion, it was lunchtime.

Yunhai Academy was bustling with students coming and going without end.

Garoya paused to admire the scene; she particularly liked the innocent and carefree demeanor of the students.

There was a certain transparent foolishness.

The 70 Bei wager had been placed, much like spring planting and autumn harvesting, the Chief Disciple said the first batch of "Dream-Returning Pills" would be ready before dark.

All she needed to do was find a place to sit down and wait for the good news.

Garoya returned to the beverage shop, sitting elegantly with her legs crossed in a shady corner, she flipped open another book she had borrowed from the library.

Fox Demon Chronicles.

It seemed to be a popular book, having been flipped through countless times recently.

A glint shimmered in her eye.

If monsters were treated as "products," and if they were classified into tiers, then undoubtedly, Fox Demons would be considered the most treasured and expensive top-tier.

Garoya quickly immersed herself in the legends described in the book; she was always patient, especially when waiting for a potential harvest.

The longer a fruit grew, the fuller and more succulent it became, fetching a better price.

The day passed by serenely.

The fourth piece of bad news arrived at 6 in the evening.

The Elixir Pavilion exploded.

Students and teachers gathered around the base of the Elixir Pavilion, pointing and gesticulating as thick, black smoke billowed from the third floor of the Elixir Pavilion—right where the Chief Disciple’s room was located, where he had been making the elixirs.

Garoya’s graceful smile froze on her face as she stood at the base of the Elixir Pavilion, craning her neck to look up.

It took her several minutes to finally confirm that the Elixir Pavilion was on fire.

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the Elixir Pavilion, Duan Mingyuan gazed at the exploded Alchemy Furnace in contemplation.

Duan Mingyuan believed that the ways to accumulate wealth in this world were always traceable, no matter where one was or what civilization one faced, so long as one grasped its mysteries, one could profit from it.

He also believed that his past investment failures were not entirely due to luck but because he had not grasped the core technology.

Today, a true investment expert had come before him.

With an open mind willing to learn, he watched the actions that Garoya took throughout the day and emulated the successful paths of others.

And now, he had come to understand another small piece of common knowledge in alchemy studies.

Combining objects with uncertain components at random could cause an explosion.

Duan Mingyuan glanced at the Chief Disciple, who had collapsed into unconsciousness on the floor, and at the Pill Furnace that had been burnt to a crisp.

Alchemy,

indeed was a profound field of study.