The premium for Level A honey might be slightly higher, so Boss Gao also offered a price higher than 3 Spirit Stones to purchase it, just like Sister Nan.
Qi Ping naturally accepted this.
One of the great advantages of trading with Boss Gao is the simplicity and directness, without all the haggling and back-and-forth probing.
Qi Ping despised those bosses who would come up with a bunch of reasons just to lower prices, it was especially annoying to argue back and forth.
"No problem! I have always trusted Boss Gao's offers."
"Win-win cooperation, right? It's only lasting when everyone benefits. Just patronize my little shop often in the future..."
"If you want to buy something expensive in the future, you can also talk to me, I know Qingshi County inside and out, and I can find you the most cost-effective options!"
While counting Spirit Stones for Qi Ping, Boss Gao introduced his new business to him.
This service of finding and purchasing high-value items for others is a money-making venture that Gao Zhiyuan recently developed.
Because he's very familiar with the Cyan Stone Marketplace and has some connections here, he can often buy things that are more cost-effective than what most people can find.
This business came to him a few months ago when a regular customer proactively asked for help in purchasing some items, giving him the inspiration.
It's only been open for a short time now, and it's already earned him quite a lot of Spirit Stones. Even though he's tithed quite a bit, it's still pretty good for a cultivator at the sixth-layer of Qi Refining, especially since it doesn't affect his previous business.
It's possible to earn double!
"I just happened to want to buy something and was thinking of asking Boss Gao for help!"
Qi Ping was planning to talk to Boss Gao about it anyway, but didn't expect him to bring it up first.
Sister Nan had already told Qi Ping about this business while they were on the road, which is why he thought of asking Boss Gao to help look into Spirit Beasts.
Since there are few Beast Taming cultivators in Qingshi County, there aren't any large trade associations here dedicated to selling Spirit Beasts, making it difficult to buy a suitable Spirit Beast here.
It's possible that even if Qi Ping visits the Cyan Stone Marketplace ten times, he might not find a suitable Spirit Beast!
Besides the time spent, the risk of the journey to the Cyan Stone Marketplace is something Qi Ping can't accept!
"Is that so? How coincidental! What's Brother Qi planning to buy?"
Boss Gao's expression showed a hint of surprise, he didn't expect business to come so soon.
"I want to purchase a Spirit Beast. Does Boss Gao have any channels for that?"
Qi Ping wasn't sure if Boss Gao had resources in this area.
"A Spirit Beast?"
Boss Gao's expression became even more surprised when he heard Qi Ping wanted to buy a Spirit Beast.
Because Beast Taming isn't a simple thing!
Everyone knows that a powerful Spirit Beast can be of great help, and the Blood Contract Technique isn't hard to find.
But even with these conditions, there still aren't many people in Qingshi County who choose Beast Taming, which shows the problem.
The main reason is twofold.
The first reason is that nurturing a Spirit Beast is akin to nurturing a money-burning beast.
The cost of nurturing most Spirit Beasts often exceeds the expenses cultivators incur on their own cultivation, and that's not even taking into account the cost of purchasing the Spirit Beast.
For most people in Qingshi County, their cultivation resources are squeezed out from their teeth, where would they have extra resources for nurturing Spirit Beasts?
Even a slight surplus would be more practical to use on themselves rather than elsewhere.
And a Spirit Beast that hasn't been nurtured to grow up doesn't possess combat power, it's not even enough to survive a single slash.
For the majority of cultivators in Qingshi County, the resource issue alone is enough to forestall Beast Taming.
Another issue is the high difficulty of Beast Taming.
The imagined Beast Taming: after signing a blood contract with the Spirit Beast and gaining familiarity over a period of time, one would achieve telepathic communication with the owner, and it can fight alongside and even die for its owner.
This is just wishful thinking!
The reality of Beast Taming:
The Spirit Beast's unwillingness complicates forced contracting...
Due to intelligence and language barriers, communication is extremely difficult, especially with Spirit Beasts that are inherently unfriendly...
During combat, it might slack off or even rebel...
It's very disobedient, easily causing trouble if not constantly watched...
...
There are just too many problems!
The average cultivator encountering any one of these issues would have a failed Beast Taming attempt to declare.
And most Spirit Beasts are difficult to tame, especially the more powerful ones, some even possess a bloodline-based hostility towards the Human Race.
Hence Beast Taming becomes a specialized cultivation path, requiring a specialized Beast Taming Sect even.
From selecting a Spirit Beast to increasing its favorability, nurturing, training, and combat, all these issues require specialized knowledge and cultivation techniques!
A good Beast Taming cultivator can help an ordinary Spirit Beast grow into an exceedingly powerful entity, possessing power beyond its own bloodline.
This is why Boss Gao was so surprised when he heard Qi Ping wanted to buy a Spirit Beast.
However, he didn't dwell on it; probing too much into customers' matters is a taboo for merchants, and Boss Gao was well-versed in this principle, naturally he wouldn't be that foolish.
As long as Qi Ping has a need, he provides a solution and earns the Spirit Stones, that's all there is to it.
After thinking a bit, Boss Gao said to Qi Ping:
"There are, of course, channels. Even though there are few Beast Taming people in Qingshi County, I still know some people who can acquire Spirit Beasts, and because competition is low, Spirit Beast prices are slightly lower than in many other places…"
Hearing this, Qi Ping couldn't help but feel glad, he found the right person indeed!
"Does Brother Qi have any specific requirements for the type of Spirit Beast?"
"Hmm... Those of the avian category would be best, otherwise, if the cost-performance is high, other types are also fine, I'm more inclined towards smaller Spirit Beasts..."
"And what about the price range you're thinking of?"
"Within two to three hundred Spirit Stones. If it's higher, and the quality is good, it could be considered, but I'll need some time to gather those Spirit Stones..."
Qi Ping said this cautiously, two to three hundred Spirit Stones wouldn't surprise anyone if he or Old Zhou took it out, but more than that would seem a bit much.
That's why Qi Ping mentioned having to think of ways to gather more; this is also to avoid missing out on higher-priced yet highly cost-efficient Spirit Beasts.
Boss Gao understood Qi Ping's point. Two to three hundred Spirit Stones can be managed, if slightly higher, it can still be scraped together. So with this in mind, he knew what price range of Spirit Beasts to consider for Qi Ping.
"Do you also have any age requirements for the Spirit Beasts?"
Generally, the younger they are, the easier the contract difficulty, and they are more suitable for cultivating rapport, hence they are priced higher correspondingly.
"All are fine, adult Spirit Beasts can still be an option if the cost-effectiveness is high, just that the price should be lower!"
...
Afterward, Boss Gao asked several more questions, some of which Qi Ping hadn't thought of himself.
I must say, Boss Gao is too professional in his work; in a few words, he grasped Qi Ping's specific needs.
"I understand, once I find some suitable Spirit Beast information and prices, I'll provide them to you, then you can choose which one suits you best!"
"Great, thanks so much, Boss Gao!"
"Not a problem at all, Brother Qi and Sister Nan place their trust in me, which is my honor, so I will certainly do my best to fulfill your requirements!"
Sister Nan, Qi Ping, and Old Zhou are all long-term customers he has collaborated with for a while. He would only proactively offer his purchasing service to these customers.
If not, he prepares very good spiritual fertilizer raw materials yet Sister Nan doesn't need them, and he exhaustively finds several suitable Spirit Beast sellers, only for Qi Ping not to need them, it would just be wasting his Spirit Stone earning time, wouldn't it?
This purchasing service relies on his network and information resources. Once a transaction is reached, it's a benefit for both him and Qi Ping.
But all of this is founded on trust.
After finishing the transaction at Zhiyuan Chamber with Sister Nan, Qi Ping, and Old Zhou, they bid farewell to Boss Gao, who immediately started searching for the Spirit Beast information for Qi Ping.
This order from Qi Ping is not small. If he fulfills this commission successfully, he could make a nice profit from it.
Earning is not easy, every earning opportunity for Spirit Stone is precious, especially when it's something with no inherent danger.
Moreover, he noticed that Qi Ping mentioned cost-effectiveness many times during their conversation, so if he could find those high-quality Spirit Beasts that are hard to sell for some reason, there's a good chance Qi Ping would take interest!