Chapter 107: The Complete Way of Merchant Cultivation

Zhou Tieyi was very curious about Shangjia's path of cultivation, and his previous incarnation had never known about it, so he sat down and asked, "Tell me about Shangjia's cultivation."

Hao Ren's family has been imperial merchants for three generations, helping the emperor run the Jiangnan Weaving Factory. They have basically reached the pinnacle of business, so naturally they know the path of cultivation for merchants very well.

After summarizing his thoughts, he began to speak.

"The ninth level of business is called 'Hearing Voices'. At this stage, business practitioners must collect information extensively and be good at grasping the key elements of the information."

"Practitioners in the Hearing Sound Realm have no combat ability at all, but their thinking speed is very fast and their energy is high. They can go for days without sleep."

Zhou Tieyi complained in his heart, this is really a talent of an ox or a horse.

No, merchants will enslave cattle and horses in the future. They have to be cattle and horses first before they can whip them.

"continue."

After getting Zhou Tieyi's affirmation, Hao Ren's slightly fat round face showed a sincere smile.

"The eighth level of merchants is called 'comprehension'. At this stage, merchants are not only able to discern information, but also need to try to meet different people and guess different people's hearts. They can understand a person's attitude and even social class from his subtle movements and habits, and gather a heart of understanding."

Zhou Tieyi thought, this sounded a bit like a fantasy version of mind reading.

No wonder I met this little fat guy twice. The other party handled it well, but he was just unlucky and ran into the muzzle of my gun.

Zhou Tieyi smiled and said, "What do you mean, you know what I'm thinking?"

Hao Ren smiled bitterly and said, "Master General, you are joking. How dare I guess you? This merchant of the eighth rank, 'Heart of Enlightenment', is like being covered in dust when he meets you. Even if he meets you..."

He glanced at Mei Juncang beside him, swallowed his saliva and said, "When I met Brother Mei, I could only guess a little from his daily habits, and I didn't dare to use my understanding heart to reflect on him."

Hearing Hao Ren talking about himself, Mei Juncang smiled kindly at Hao Ren, and his mirror-like eyes were suddenly more insightful than his heart.

He thought about it, and explained to Zhou Tieyi on behalf of Hao Ren, "No matter how profound the practice of various schools of thought is, it is inseparable from the three principles of essence, energy and spirit. This merchant's enlightened mind is actually the Buddhist 'reflection method'. The mind is like a mirror, and the essence, energy and spirit of others are reflected in the heart."

"Under normal circumstances, he can naturally reflect people of the eighth and seventh ranks, but when encountering extremely special situations, he dares not reflect at all and can only guess."

Zhou Tieyi nodded, indicating that he understood.

Then he asked, "What happened next?"

Hao Ren quickly replied, "Seventh-grade 'Calculation', I practice the [Abacus Algorithm], and am best at handling large amounts of accounts. Of course, other business people practice different methods, and they will perform differently when they reach the seventh grade."

"For example, my second brother practices the [Taotie Method] and is best at cheating."

Zhou Tieyi sneered, "His business career has come to an end."

Hao Ren lowered his head, a hint of joy appeared in his eyes, and then he continued, "I was timid, so I didn't dare to compete with them. Today, I became a disciple of the general flag, and finally found my home and a backbone."

Zhou Tieyi looked at Hao Ren who was bowing his head, and thought to himself, you are not a coward, you have a good plan. "What else?"

Hao Ren continued, "The seventh-grade 'Calculation' has also started to practice Qi, but it is different from the Qi practiced by the military and Taoist schools. We use the Qi of copper."

After saying that, Hao Ren took out a copper coin from his arms.

The copper coin in his hand had been circulating in the world for a long time. It was printed with the reign title of Shenwu, the founding emperor of Daxia. The entire coin had been played with until it was shiny and smooth. Zhou Tieyi used his [Real Vision] to take a look and indeed saw the brass-colored aura lingering on it. This aura was very similar to Moonlight Dew, but it was tainted with the luck of various people, making it extremely mysterious.

Hao Ren lowered his head and only dared to glance at Zhou Tieyi out of the corner of his eye.

When he saw the change in Zhou Tieyi's eyes, he guessed out of habit that the general had indeed seen it!
This is not an easy thing to do.

The smell of money is the core means of merchants. They take the luck of the people as the cornerstone, and the aura of metals such as copper, iron, silver, and gold as the core. It is coupled with the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance in the human heart. Even Buddhists and Taoist practitioners may be deceived if they are not careful!

Logically speaking, it is impossible for a military strategist to detect the smell of money, but the general discovered it!
"How to use this thing?"

Zhou Tieyi took it in his hand and played with it.

"As long as it is used, it can deceive people's minds. Of course, for us business practitioners, we can directly release the smell of money in a short period of time without using it. The effect is best when it is used. It is tangible and intangible, and it is hard to guard against."

"interesting."

Zhou Tieyi took the copper coin and played with it in his hand, "Should I keep one of this?"

Hao Ren could refine this thing again, so he naturally wouldn't be reluctant to give it up. He quickly said, "I'll give you another thousand when I get back."

Zhou Tieyi smiled. This thing is definitely not as easy to get as simple copper coins. He waved his hand and said, "No, I will buy it from you if I need it."

He took the coin, turned it between his fingers, and said to Hao Ren, "What a coincidence, isn't it? As soon as you gave me this coin, I became more fond of you..."

Hao Ren thought of the rumors in the market that Zhou Tieyi liked to let his subordinates guess his thoughts, so he half-knelt down and said, "General, I respect you from the bottom of my heart. How dare I have any greed for money?"

Zhou Tieyi personally stepped forward, helped Hao Ren up, and said to Shen Tuyuan, "Look at him, he got so scared after just a few words. He didn't have the fun we had together that day at all."

Shentu Yuan stood there in a daze, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

Hao Ren changed the subject at the right time. "The sixth level of merchants is called 'Money Transporter'. At this stage, the most mysterious thing is that you have learned the art of transporting things, and you can also influence your fortune a little bit. But I only inferred this from the actions of my family members. I haven't practiced it myself, so I'm not sure if it's all the means."

Zhou Tieyi patted Hao Ren on the shoulder and said, "If you have a chance to practice, continue."

Hao Ren finally felt relieved and said, "The fifth rank is called 'Tong Bao'. Not only is it good at using various treasures, it can also absorb the characteristics of the treasures and bless itself. Therefore, the combat power of the fifth rank merchant is not low, and it even has sufficient treasures. It can be said to be very strong."

"The fourth level is called 'hiding the void'. At this stage, merchants must be good at hiding their wealth and strength, avoiding being schemed against by others, and leaving room for a chance to soar to the sky."

"The third rank is called 'Jianji', which means 'if you are poor, you should take care of yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world'. However, I have no idea about the specific means. Our family has not produced a third rank person for two generations."

(End of this chapter)