Ancestral Grotto, Capital City

Yu Lingxin walked through the bustling streets of the capital city, her eyes scanning the crowds for any sign of Jin Ju. She had been searching for him since they had exited closed cultivation, but so far, there had been no luck.

After her closed cultivation, what she found out was he had applied to work as a gu worm salesman at a store. With renewed hope, Yu Lingxin began to ask around for the store's location.

It didn't take her long to find it. Above the door hung a wooden plaque with the store's name carved into it - Jade Gu Palace. However, as she stepped inside, she realized that the store was nothing like she had expected. It was a small, ordinary shop with nothing particularly remarkable about it, apart from the fancy name.

Ignoring the merchandise on display, Yu Lingxin walked further in until she saw Jin Ju.

He was in the middle of a sale, explaining the benefits of a particular gu worm to a customer. She watched him for a moment, fascinated by the confidence and ease with which he spoke. This was not the same timid and reserved young man she knew.

After an incense stick of time, the sale was complete, and the customer left the store with a smile on their face. Jin Ju turned to put away the primeval stones and noticed Yu Lingxin standing there.

"Yu Lingxin!" - He exclaimed, surprised.

"I had no idea you were so good at this." - She said, smiling.

Jin Ju smiled with embarrassment. He wasn't used to getting any praise.

"I didn't know you had a side like this. You seemed so shy and reserved before, but here you are, selling gu worms all serious."

"It is just business after all. It's all about knowing your product and your audience." - Jin Ju laughed it off.

"Plus, I've had a lot of practice over the years." - He said in a subdued voice.

"Oh, how so?"

Jin Ju paused for a moment. Where should he even begin?

"Well, let's just say ever since I was a slave, I always wanted to open my own small store." - Jin Ju explained.

"But when I realized how much it would cost here in the capital, I had to settle for becoming a salesman for this store."

Yu Lingxin was taken aback. She had never heard about Jin Ju's past as a slave before.

"I had no idea!" - She said.

"How did you end up as a slave?"

Jin Ju took a deep breath before answering.

"My parents sold me to clear their debt, I never even knew them." - He said plainly.

"So I was raised by a traveling merchant named Xing Zan. I learned everything I know about trade under him."

Yu Lingxin listened intently as Jin Ju told her about his experiences with Xing Zan. He explained how Xing Zan would unscrupulously overcharge his customers as much as he could, and when they returned with complaints, they would already be on their way to the next city where they didn't know him.

"He was a greedy and shortsighted man. He looked at all his customers as mooches to exploit and forget as soon as he closed a deal." - Jin Ju said, his voice filled with bitterness.

"When it was my turn to peddle the wares, I would try to get to know the buyers. Figure out what they needed and wanted exactly. I charged only what was right, no more and no less!"

"I knew that I wanted to do things differently, to be honest and fair with the customers. Because they aren't just walking purses of primeval stones... They are purses with feelings and thoughts too! I got my share of beatings from the old man for not listening to him and selling better."

Jin Ju started to explain with greater momentum, this was a topic close to him.

"A satisfied buyer will come back to buy again! Just think about how many connections a single person has. If you treat them well, with respect, they will remember you and mention to their friends and acquaintances. People love to brag about how good a deal they got. And it is my job to get them the perfect gu for the perfect price. So when a buyer steps out my door, that is not the end of a sale, no. It is the beginning of a hundred new sales!"

Yu Lingxin nodded, understanding.

"But when you turn away a buyer who returns with complaints or finds out you gave him an offer way worse than other places, you can bet he will tell others not to do business with the crooked Jin Ju. Instead of gaining customers you lose them even before they had the intention to buy from you."

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"The old man, could not get this through his thick head. Even though he traded all his life, he couldn't think of the sales of tomorrow, only the quick gains of today were worth anything in his eye." - Jin Ju shook his head.

"I can see that you've learned a lot from your experiences. And you seem to be doing a great job here at Jade Gu Palace." - She said encouragingly.

At the next moment the door of the shop opened and a middle aged gu master walked in.

The two of them glanced at the newcomer.

"Aren't you going to receive him?" - Asked Yu Lingxin.

"Not yet. Give him a moment. I don't want to scare him."

"Scare him?" - Yu Lingxin looked at him with a strange smile.

"It is easier to show you. Here, take this gu worm and put it in your ear."

Jin Ju also placed a small gu in his ear as well.

The man was standing in front of the wares on display, biding his time.

Jin Ju nonchalantly walked up to the same shelf and started to look at the gu on the selves as well.

The man glanced at Jin Ju briefly, but he saw the young man not even acknowledge his presence, he turned back to the wares.

"It is important to know the mindset of a buyer. When they enter the shop, they are already mentally prepared for a confrontation. They expect to get haggled or swindled out of their hard earned money by crafty salesmen." - Jin Ju transmitted as he picked up a gu from the shelf.

Yu Lingxin observed them from the other end of the store.

"They are cagey, a bit panicked. They say, they are just looking. They'd rather just walk back out before a deciteful salesman can get to them. But they can't, since you have the thing they came for. So they stay. But even then, they are still scared. Everyone knows what kind of people salesmen are." - Jin Ju continued to transmit.

"I heard this Green Pouch Toad gu is quite a reliable storage gu." - Jin Ju turned to the middle aged man for advice.

"The moment this man stepped in, I looked at his clothes. I look for the details, are they immaculate or worn, maybe torn at places, any jewelry or other things to consider? In this case, his clothes tell me a story of a rank three gu master who works with his hands. He came personally without any servants. He is either in a financially rough spot or doesn't care about appearances. This is why I picked out the Green Pouch Toad gu, a middle-of-a-road pick, not the cheapest, and not the best either." - Jin Ju's words rang in Yu Lingxin's ear.

"This Green Pouch Toad is not bad, but I feel the size is just too small, only a bit better than the Large Belly Frog." - The man replied.

Jin Ju nodded and put back the gu on the shelf. Seemingly pondering to himself, he took off another one.

"His answer told me what I needed. Now I need to gauge his upper limit. Notice how I already disarmed his wariness by mimicking his actions. I'm only looking at the wares just as he is. I'm not here to pressure him into a deal but to find out more and put him in a better state of mind. Selling to him is only possible if he decides on his own, I can only help with it." - Jin Ju transmitted to Yu Lingxin.

"You are very knowledgeable, Sir. What do you think, how would this gu compare?" - Jin Ju spoke again.

"Drop the Sir, young man, call me just Yang Jian. And that's the Earthly Dragon Swallow, it's the most extravagant storage gu on the market. But feeding it is no small matter." - The man replied.

"Ah, thank you! The name's Jin Ju, pleased to meet you."

Jin Ju nodded. This gu was clearly too expensive, most people could buy two cheaper storage gu and still have some primeval stones left.

Next it was Yang Jian's turn to pick up a gu from the shelf. He saw how casually Jin Ju handled these gu, even the expensive Earthly Dragon Swallow gu. Why wouldn't he do so too?

"Now I have narrowed down his price bracket. The next step is finding the most suitable gu for his usecase. For this I just make some small talk. Is he from the lower southern district? I just came from there too. Is he a rock dissecting master? I just ask him how the rock gambling business is going. The point is to let him feel close by having a common topic. I let him talk, and I listen. He is the important one now, I don't try to compete with his stories whatever he tells. He might be talking about his personal life experiences, but I'm talking business. Whatever he needs to hear, I will tell." - Jin Ju narrated his actions through the gu in his ear.

"That's just lying to them. You can't base trust on lies." - Yu Lingxin countered.

"It is only as much of a lie as an actor acting in a piece. You know they are acting and don't mean the things they says yet you believe the characters they are playing. It is the same here, I'm playing the role of a salesman, because now I'm a salesman and that is the truth." - Jin Ju clarified.

After a while of back and forth of small talk with Yang Jian, Jin Ju picked out another storage type gu worm: the Golden Pouch Toad.

"Here, try this one." - Jin Ju handed the gu to Yang Jian.

"The most important part after getting to know your customer is to sell the smell. One thing is looking at and talking about gu. But another is when you have the gu in your palm. You control it and it moves to your will. I probably can't tell you anything new you don't already know about gu worms, but I can give you the feeling of using the gu, and that can't be just substituted." - Jin Ju transmitted.

"Are there really this many intricacies to selling gu?" - Yu Lingxin transmitted back.

"Haha, this is just the basics." - Jin Ju giggled in his mind.

"This gu has a nice, firm feel to it." - Yang Jian caressed the Golden Pouch Toad on his palm.

Jin Ju's smile curved a notch higher.

"Give it a try, put something into it." - Jin Ju encouraged.

"Can I?" - Yang Jian looked around the store, there was nobody at the counter, only a girl was browsing the wares on the store's opposite side.

"Of course, it's fine, I know the owner of this place." - Jin Ju reassured him.

Yang Jian activated the gu and transferred some of his belongings from his current storage gu.

Jin Ju noticed the old gu was generally in a bad state. It could perish any day now.

"Your old gu, it's a rank three Large Belly Frog. I see that you took good care of it for it to last this long." - Jin Ju complimented again.

Yang Jian nodded as he glanced at his Large Belly Frog gu. This gu was with him for the longest time, but his needs have outgrown its capabilities. A change was in order.

Jin Ju felt the crucial moment was here. He turned to face Yang Jian directly.

"I can give you a good deal on the Golden Pouch Toad. Remember if you come across another store that gives you a better deal, I'll match it. And if you want to trade in the Large Belly Frog, I can even halve the price. Give me a thousand primeval stones for now and you can take this Golden Pouch Toad right now." - Jin Ju said.

"When talking about the matters of money. Do not start by asking questions, especially questions that can be answered with a simple no. Always assume a yes, and be direct. They are here to buy gu, I'm here to provide my time and close a deal that leaves us both satisfied. Don't hesitate and don't tell them that you'll need a deposit or need to talk with the store manager, that just leaves them room to back out. Since I've asked for a thousand primeval stones directly, he would have to come up with a reason why we don't go ahead." - Jin Ju pointed out.

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