Chapter 67 - 67 Bargainingi
Following the same path back, Wang Ba quickly found the meeting point he had arranged with Ye Lingyu.
From a distance, he spotted Ye Lingyu standing there with a long face, apparently having been waiting for a while.
As soon as Wang 13a saw Ye Lingyu,
she likewise noticed him in the crowd and waved excitedly, “Uncle, over here!”
Feeling the gaze of the crowd, Wang Ba somewhat nervously hastened his steps toward Ye Lingyu.
Not for nothing, standing next to this inner sect disciple, he felt reassured.
“Miss Ye, 1 just found…”
Wang Ba was just about to tell her about the upper grade Spirit Chicken he had found in Baishou Garden, when he was interrupted by an impatient Ye Lingyu.
She pleaded:
“Uncle, uncle, do you know how to haggle?”
“Uh…”
At the mention of haggling, Wang Ba immediately recalled his bitter experience with Shopkeeper Lu.
He felt even more unsure.
But thinking of his previous successful haggling experience, he slowly regained some confidence.
Still cautious, he asked carefully:
“Miss Ye, do you need me to haggle for you?”
“Yes, yes!”
Ye Lingyu said vexedly, “1 found the ‘Wanbao Pavilion’, but the Spirit Chickens there are so expensive, 1 can’t bear to buy them. 1,1 tried to bargain but I couldn’t… It’s so infuriating!”
This was the first time Wang Ba saw Ye Lingyu so frustrated and annoyed.
Even when she was angry, this seemingly foolish girl still exuded a dumb and dumber air.
Well, to put it in a nice way, she was naive.
For some reason, Wang Ba, who was originally planning to seize the opportunity to persuade Ye Lingyu to buy the Spirit Chicken from Baishou Garden, ended up saying:
“Let’s go, we’ll haggle together.”
“Really?!”
Ye Lingyu’s eyes widened in surprise.
Upon receiving an affirmative reply from Wang Ba, this seemingly not very bright girl was hopping in excitement.
This instantly attracted a lot of attention from the crowd.
Wang Ba immediately regretted his impulsive decision.
He wished he could vanish into one of the cracks in the cobblestone beneath his feet.
However, he was forcibly dragged by Ye Lingyu to the entrance of the Wanbao Pavilion.
The entrance looked ordinary enough, but as they stepped in, they found that the interior was surprisingly vast.
It was much larger than Baishou Garden.
Its decor and style were more luxurious.
And there were two more floors upstairs.
However, they didn’t need to go upstairs since the Spirit Beasts were on the first floor.
Once Ye Lingyu entered the Wanbao Pavilion, she acted as if she had backup, striding confidently towards the Spirit Beast area with Wang Ba in tow.
Wang Ba, on the other hand, kept his head down all the way; he was genuinely intimidated by this girl.
Nevertheless, Ye Lingyu’s entrance had caught the attention of the shopkeeper of the Wanbao Pavilion, who quickly came over to greet them.
“Miss, you are back again?”
The proprietor of the Wanbao Pavilion, a refined and elegant middle-aged gentleman with a pleasant demeanor, feeling somewhat puzzled seeing Ye Lingyu with a layman by her side, yet greeted them with a beaming face and a bow.
“Yes, yes, I’m here to buy the upper-grade Spirit Chicken!”
Ye Lingyu quickly pushed Wang Ba forward and preened, “I’m making him negotiate for me!”
“Him?”
Looking at Wang Ba in surprise, the very observant manager of the Wanbao Pavilion noticed specks of chicken droppings on Wang Ba and was even more puzzled.
He didn’t expect that this female disciple would put so much trust in a layman, which was quite rare.
But if she trusted him, it was not his place to question it. He courteously replied, “Young man, as I have already told your master, these upper-grade Spirit Chickens are extremely rare, especially the hens; they are in high demand. 1 priced them at 324 spirit stones due to the fact that both she and I belong to the same sect. If she wants to bargain, 1 would find it difficult to accommodate.”
He is my uncle!”
Ye Lingyu protested on the side.
But the shopkeeper of the Wanbao Pavilion didn’t mind and assumed Wang Ba was Ye Lingyu’s relative from her mundane life who she had specially brought to the sect.
He calmly looked at Wang Ba.
Feeling the shopkeeper’s unmasked cultivator’s aura, Wang Ba, despite his nervousness, managed to grit his teeth and say:
Sir, let’s cut to the chase. Give us your lowest price. If it’s reasonable, we’ll take them. If not…”
“This is the lowest price.”
The shopkeeper of the Wanbao Pavilion responded calmly.
He had seen from the beginning that this little girl was a newbie, well-off, and most importantly, she had shown a must-buy attitude.
And by coming a second time, bringing someone to haggle, she confirmed her determination to buy.
Given that, he definitely couldn’t lower the price.
He wasn’t afraid of this young lady pulling strings to cause him trouble, after all, he wasn’t forcing her to buy, and besides, he had a pretty powerful backing as well.
Therefore, this so-called haggling had been under his control since the beginning.
Of course, to avoid pushing her to look elsewhere, after this layman attempted to haggle a few times, he would pretend to reluctantly lower the price by ten or more, no, at most by four, to get rid of a zero…
“Miss Ye, let’s go.”
Wang Ba bluntly said.
Without any hesitation, he turned around and exited.
Shopkeeper of Wanbao Pavilion:”???”
Ye Lingyu was also taken aback, wanting to say something, but seeing Wang Ba’s resolute steps, she chose to trust him and hurriedly followed.
Walking alongside him, she whispered, “Why are we leaving?”
“It’s too expensive; let’s go elsewhere.”
Wang Ba’s voice was incredibly calm.
“Oh.”
Ye Lingyu obediently nodded. Since even the uncle said it’s too expensive, they would have to look elsewhere.
Hopefully, it can be cheaper.
Although she thought this, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of disappointment within her.
Wang Ba, on the other hand, was inwardly anxious at this moment.
He naturally hadn’t given up.
After a simple comparison of the prices between Wanbao Pavilion and Baishou Garden, he knew that the shopkeeper of Wanbao Pavilion was purposely taking advantage of them.
If he continued to haggle with the shopkeeper regarding the price, they wouldn’t be able to agree on a suitable price.
So he simply decided to make a move to leave, forcing the shopkeeper to make up his mind.
To do the business deal, or to not do it?
If they were to do it, then he needed to take the initiative.
There were other options in the market, after all.
He was betting that the shopkeeper of Wanbao Pavilion wanted to make this deal.
In his mind, he began a silent countdown.
Three!
Two!
One!
“Please wait, both of you!”
Finally, the shopkeeper of the Wanbao Pavilion relented.
“Success!”
Wang Ba internally sighed in relief.
However, he turned around without showing any emotion, “May 1 ask if the shopkeeper has any other instructions?”
One length of incense later.
Wang Ba, looking utterly exhausted, stepped out of the Wanbao Pavilion.
Once the shopkeeper of Wanbao Pavilion had taken the initiative, what followed was just a matter of bargaining.
So after some intense negotiating, he finally managed to successfully bargain for Ye Lingyu.
But he was not happy.
Because his plan to acquire the Spirit Beast Bag by taking Ye Lingyu to buy a Spirit Chicken from Baishou Garden had failed.
Despite this, he was the one who had facilitated this.
“Alas! What an oversight! Something that was clearly a win-win-win situation…”
Wang Ba constantly sighed in his heart.
He didn’t know why he helped Ye Lingyu bargain when he could have easily taken her to Baishou Garden where the owner sold his goods, Ye Lingyu obtained her Spirit Chicken, and he got his Spirit Beast Bag, making everyone happy.
Yes, Ye Lingyu might have spent a few more Spirit Stones, but she sure can afford it.
However, he inexplicably chose to help Ye Lingyu negotiate.
He succeeded in bargaining, but the Spirit Beast Bag he could have had slipped through his fingers.
Upon reflection though, if given the chance to choose again, he would probably still choose to help Ye Lingyu bargain.
The reason is simple; his nature didn’t allow him to take advantage of other’s trust for his own benefit.
Even in something as seemingly win-win as this.
Thus, Wang Ba considered himself naive, even irrational and foolish.
But, he must admit, this was also the reason why he was who he was.
Despite this, the disappointment of missing out on an opportunity would, of course, hurt. He didn’t know when his next chance to possess such a treasure would be.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.
Luckily, seeing the excitement on Ye Lingyu’s face made him feel a little better.
“Uncle, you’re too amazing?! You managed to negotiate the price of a 324 Spirit Stone hen to 210 Spirit Stones each!”
“I bought five, so you effectively helped me save over 400 Spirit Stones! That’s amazing!”
Uncle, if I’m buying something next time, I’ll ask you to help me bargain!”
Ye Lingyu was overjoyed, hopping along excitedly the entire way.
Whatever you do, don’t!
Wang Ba’s thought internally, rejecting the idea.
Just at this moment, Ye Lingyu seemed to remember something. She fumbled inside her sleeve, fetching something and presenting it to Wang Ba:
“Uncle, here’s the extra Spirit Beast Bag for you!”