Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 790 - Chapter 790 Chapter 790 Mutual Deception

Chapter 790: Chapter 790: Mutual Deception Chapter 790: Chapter 790: Mutual Deception Feng Jun’s encounter with this business dispute was a case where both parties seemed to have a point.

But speaking impartially, Feng Jun was at some fault, since what he desired to buy was the Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi, not its pot.

This was like buying clothes on Earth Realm in the flattering store lighting, only to find they didn’t look the same at home.

You couldn’t blame the clothing store for not selling you the lighting… You bought clothes!

Similarly, Feng Jun wanted the Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi; he didn’t say anything about buying the pot, so naturally, it was fair for the vendor to switch pots. In fact, if the vendor had dumped the Spirit Plant and soil into a plastic bag, he’d still have to accept it.

In this matter, the vendor clearly had tricks up his sleeve, waiting for someone to stumble upon a bargain, then using the opportunity to sell the Spirit Plant at a high price.

One could call him crafty, but he made use of the rules fairly; after all, the Fang Market didn’t recognize the act of “exploiting loopholes”.

You could call him shameless, but… who asked you to try and exploit loopholes first? Who asked you not to clarify you were buying the pot?

If you didn’t try to take advantage, you wouldn’t be taken advantage of; that’s what is meant by “bringing trouble upon oneself”.

The short and stout vendor’s behavior was somewhat rogue-like, but it was a direct retaliation against certain customers’ “improper actions”.

The mistake he made was only some “inappropriate psychological suggestions”, unlike Feng Jun, who simply wanted to take advantage, how the market managers would see this issue goes without saying–when have you ever seen someone bend their elbow outwards?

Huang Fu Flawless coughed lightly, and this was an appropriate time for her to step in–Tiantong held significant influence in all the major Fang Markets.

Feng Jun didn’t even look at her but said indifferently, “Tell me the price of this pot, I’ll buy it as well.”

“This pot is a Magic Artifact,” the vendor looked at him as if he were an idiot, “I depend on this pot to cultivate these Spirit Plants… How could it possibly be for sale?”

“Where is there something not for sale?” Feng Jun said proudly with a smile, though anger was already simmering in his eyes, “Same as before, for this pot… name your price!”

“This pot… fifty thousand Spirit Stones, non-negotiable,” the short and stout vendor grinned mockingly at him, “Do you even have that many Spirit Stones?”

Feng Jun glanced at Huang Fu Flawless, that look suggesting he was thinking of borrowing money from her.

But what others didn’t know was that this was a pre-arranged signal between the two.

“Cough,” Huang Fu Flawless coughed lightly, thinking that it was finally her turn to enter the scene, “Friend, may I ask a question that’s unrelated… For a cultivator at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, pretending to be at the Second Layer of detachment must be quite tiring, right?”

The short and stout vendor was taken aback, then gave her a glance and twitched his mouth, swallowing his saliva, “I… I was originally at the Second Layer of detachment, but I accidentally fell in my cultivation level. I’ll recover soon.”

“Oh,” Huang Fu Flawless nodded, then took another glance at the pot, her eyes flashing, “You said this is a Magic Artifact?”

The short and stout vendor hesitated but still nodded, “Indeed, it is a Magic Artifact; I rely on it to cultivate Spirit Plants.”

“Never a true word in your mouth,” Huang Fu Flawless spoke coldly, “Now, return the thousand Spirit Stones, and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

The short and stout vendor struggled internally; he knew all too well that the pot was not a Magic Artifact but had instead paid a friend to “modify” it.

Those Spirit Plants were actually obtained through all means by him, planted in the pot to be sold at a high price.

However, his real goal was to sell the pot at a high price, although he had also been making good money selling Spirit Plants at a high price all along… steady streams make a river.

There were quite a few people he had swindled, but how to say it? Scavenging for bargains wasn’t really a respectable trade, and everyone agreed to “lose fair and square”.

If you had sharp eyesight, you snagged bargains; if not, some losses were deserved.

Many who entered this trade were the offspring of great clans, yet after suffering losses, most couldn’t afford to lose face and reclaim their dignity–too much pride at stake.

Then there were a few who were shameless enough to try and get back what they lost, but… did they truly think the cultivators from the Municipal Administration Office were just for show?

The cultivators from the office were publicly selected by the various great powers. Some might have their own interests, but maintaining the order of the Fang Market was their indispensable responsibility.

As the vendor was caught up in his dilemma, Feng Jun spoke up, “The pot is a Magic Artifact, and the price is fifty thousand, right? I’ll take it!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Huang Fu Flawless raised her voice, “Remember, you are Luo Hua in season, not one to carelessly throw away Spirit Stones!”

“He already said it’s a Magic Artifact,” Feng Jun glanced at her discontentedly, “I just find this pot to my liking.”

“A fake,” Huang Fu Flawless scoffed disdainfully, then turned toward the short and stout vendor, “Come on, tell me, is this a Magic Artifact? Dare to say one more time it’s a Magic Artifact, and I will call someone from the Municipal Administration Office right now!”

Sweat poured down the short and stout vendor’s head; he wasn’t afraid if someone “exploited loopholes”, but if they firmly accused him of “forging a Magic Artifact”, he could not get past the Municipal Administration Office either.

The cultivators of the Municipal Administration Office might be predisposed to favor their own, but first and foremost, they cannot explicitly make mistakes, as producing and selling counterfeits is a clear violation of market order. Even the most biased individual cannot claim such actions are right.

Especially since the opponent wasn’t some unknown cultivator, the Tiantong Commercial Alliance, a huge business titan, has great cooperative relationships with various Fang Markets. Before, he could stand firm because he was in the right, but now it was different.

In fact, given Tiantong’s good cooperative relationship with this Fang Market, he even suspected that the punishment might be strictly enforced against him, meaning he could face the ‘one counterfeit, fivefold penalty’–for one fake product, a fivefold fine!

Even if the penalty were slightly lighter, it could still be ‘one counterfeit, threefold penalty’.

He attempted to gain fifty thousand Spirit Stones, so at least he would have to pay a fine of one hundred fifty thousand Spirit Stones!

Therefore, he had no choice but to opt for the next best thing, “Alright then, I’ll refund you one thousand Spirit Stones. That settles it, right?”

Feng Jun narrowed his eyes and smiled at him, “Don’t even think about it, I’ve set my sights on this flowerpot.”

“Please, we haven’t even completed the trade for the flowerpot,” the short and stout stall owner spoke up loudly, “Sorry, but I won’t sell this flowerpot anymore!”

It was at this moment that Huang Fu Wuxia spoke up, “Fellow Daoist Feng, this flowerpot is just a fake magic artifact. I have the Treasure-Appraising Eye, many people in the Fang Market know this… it’s nothing more than a semblance created by some clumsily imitated Meteoric Iron and Golden Essence, mixed with a bit of Tianchen Sand.”

The short and stout stall owner didn’t want to admit it at first, but seeing Feng Jun insist on buying, he had no choice but to tough it out and answer, “This… well, I’m not fully informed either. Since this fellow Daoist has the Treasure-Appraising Eye, perhaps what she’s saying is true.”

“Perhaps it’s true?” Someone in the crowd sneered, “You don’t recognize the famous young miss of the Huang Fu Family, what kind of blindness do you have? If she didn’t have the Treasure-Appraising Eye, could she manage an area in Tiantong?”

The complexion of the short and stout stall owner grew increasingly unsightly.

Huang Fu Wuxia again advised Feng Jun, “Fellow Daoist Feng, this so-called magic artifact really isn’t worth many Spirit Stones, you should just take back the one thousand Spirit Stones.”

This time, even the short and stout stall owner couldn’t help but feel grateful towards her, thinking to himself that the female cultivator from the Huang Fu Clan was indeed quite generous.

But Feng Jun shook his head, stubborn in his opinion, “I fancy this flowerpot and I must buy it.”

The stall owner was having none of it; he felt that Feng Jun was out to frame him, likely aiming for a ‘one counterfeit, threefold penalty’ or even a fivefold one.

He spoke with a darkened face, “Fellow Daoist, if a deal cannot be made, let’s remain civil. Your friend from Tiantong has made things very clear, and you still insist on buying, are you trying to deliberately make trouble for me?”

“Shut your mouth!” Huang Fu Wuxia’s face fell as she coldly interjected, “Fellow Daoist Feng is an honored guest of my family, I can give him suggestions, but you… you’re not qualified to be troubled by him!”

Then she turned to Feng Jun and suggested again, “This flowerpot is pointless, why buy it?”

“I just like it,” Feng Jun raised an eyebrow and smiled, “When you like something, there’s no need for reasoning, and besides… I don’t want anyone else to be deceived.”

Huang Fu Wuxia turned her head towards the stall owner, “Did you understand what he said?”

The stall owner began to understand it was a case of ‘guilt by association’! Upon realizing that Feng Jun was an esteemed guest of Tiantong, he felt even more anxious, “I said I would refund the money. If the esteemed guest is unsatisfied, I won’t bring out the flowerpot again in the future, is that satisfactory now?”

“No,” Feng Jun shook his head decisively, “I’ve said it, I’m set on this flowerpot… You claimed that this flowerpot is used to hasten the growth of Spirit Plants.”

Is this to verify my selling of counterfeits? The short and stout stall owner was enraged and stiffened his neck, “This is a counterfeit product, I was just joking earlier, and now I refuse to sell it, can’t I?”

He was resolutely flipping the table over: Fine, if I can’t deal with you, will it satisfy you if I admit this is a fake product? After all, the transaction for the flowerpot hasn’t started yet; you can’t just accuse me easily.

Just as he finished speaking, Huang Fu Wuxia let out a fierce rebuke, “Shut your mouth! Are you someone who dares to offend Fellow Daoist Feng?”

The short and stout stall owner felt truly wronged, “Can’t I just never show up here again? The transaction clearly hasn’t started! Even if it’s a fake, he can’t just set his mind on fining me one hundred fifty thousand Spirit Stones.”

The onlookers nearby heard “one hundred fifty thousand Spirit Stones” and couldn’t help but take two steps back, shocked by the amount.

Feng Jun, however, spoke out loudly, “Who said I wanted one hundred fifty thousand Spirit Stones? I just want that flowerpot!”

“Alright, let’s give the Municipal Administration Office some face,” Huang Fu Wuxia tried to calm him down, then looked towards the stall owner, “So, let’s go back to what was said earlier, he pays one thousand Spirit Stones, and buys your Nine Splendors Qiong Zhi and the flowerpot.”

“How could that possibly be?” the stall owner cried out, “I spent over two thousand Spirit Stones just to buy this flowerpot… I even thought it was a magic artifact.”

So, it turns out he was also deceived when he stumbled upon this flowerpot, feeling that it was primal and substantial, somewhat resembling a magic artifact, and the seller also claimed it was a damaged magic artifact.

After he bought it, intending to repair it, someone informed him that it was purely an imitation, and a terribly sloppy one at that, with obvious errors too numerous to count.

Regretting the Spirit Stones he invested, yet knowing it would be hard to sell, he simply had someone make the pot seem more authentic and aged it, coming to the Fang Market to swindle money.

But after reflecting deeply on his past pain, instead of relying purely on counterfeit goods to trick money, he invented a more complex scheme–selling Spirit Plants at high prices for no reason, and if by chance a gullible fool came along, he would also sell the fake magic artifact.