Chapter 22: Turning Wood into Gold, the Art of Making Infinite Wealth

"Then let this general see how Chang'an Jun makes money with a piece of wood! Do you know how to turn stone into gold?" Ji Wuye sat on a chair with his sword beside him, as if he was ready to kill people at any time!
"General, please give me a sharp dagger." Cheng Jiao placed the wooden board flat on the table where the three girls were playing.

"Tiger, give him the dagger."

Emerald Tiger hesitated for a moment, then took out the jewel-studded dagger he always carried with him.

The reason for his hesitation was that he was worried that Cheng Jiao had some conspiracy, such as assassinating Ji Wuye or something. But thinking about it, it was impossible, so he handed the dagger to Cheng Jiao.

Cheng Jiao waved the dagger, wow! What a good thing! He decided to take it! It looks good and is easy to use. It is very stylish to peel an apple!

The three girls were whispering, but Ji Wuye's face was serious and they didn't dare to speak loudly, for fear of doing something wrong and being stabbed by the capricious Ji Wuye.

Cheng Jiao pointed the dagger at the wooden board a few times and started to cut.

What he used was exactly the unlimited wealth-making technique demonstrated by Han Fei in the Nanyang drought case in the original work.

As Cheng Jiao cut the thin wooden board one by one, Ji Wuye and Feicuihu's mentality of "please start your performance" slowly turned into a look of shock!
"This is impossible, absolutely impossible!" Ji Wuye shouted.

The emerald tiger seemed to be thinking about something, as if he had gained something.

The wooden board that was cut into several pieces by Cheng Jiao was put back into its original shape, but with three more small pieces of wood.

The sudden appearance of the wood chip caused the three girls to look around and glance at each other. There was a hint of fear in their eyes when they looked at Cheng Jiao, which was different from the fear they had towards Ji Wuye.

Ji Wuye realized his own gaffe.

"How did Chang'an Jun manage to create something out of thin air?"

Cheng Jiao took out another piece of wood and slammed it on the table lightly, forming a sharp contrast with the wood that had just been cut.

“That’s the answer!”

Everyone began to look carefully and found that the cut wooden boards were not completely fitted together and there were some gaps.

It's just that it's far away, and at first glance, it seems to be exactly the same size and shape as the original.

The three girls suddenly realized that it was just a trick.

Bing Ji: "Oh my! I thought there really was a way of the gods, but it turns out it's just the way of the quacks."

Jia Ji: "Yes, yes, such a small thing is really a laughing stock, don't you think so, General~"

Otohime: "I didn't expect Chang'an-kun to be such a sneaky and cunning person. Haha."

Ji Wuye laughed three times: "Is this how Chang'an Jun makes money? Do you need me to allocate a piece of land for you in the royal city so that the people of Xinzheng can reward you with money!?"

The Emerald Tiger did not follow in teasing Cheng Jiao. Instead, he kept observing the two wooden boards. Finally, he understood!

"General, Chang'an Jun's demonstration was quite meaningful, and Tiger learned a lot."

"Oh? Is there really a way to make a fortune here?"

Jade Tiger pondered and said, "The beauty of this technique of Lord Chang'an is that it allows corruption without leaving any trace."

Ji Wuye was stunned at first. Corruption?

"How much can you be greedy?"

Ji Wuye didn’t care whether he should embezzle or not, but whether he could embezzle and how much he could embezzle.

"At most, 30%. If it's more, it will be difficult to reconcile the accounts." Emerald Tiger estimated a number and said conservatively.

“Thirty percent? Who are you sending?” Ji Wuye said with disdain.

Cheng Jiaolang laughed and said, "It's too small, the pattern is too small. How can such a magical skill only be used on corruption, and only 30% at that? If it were me, I would definitely be able to use 70%!"

Jade Tiger was surprised: "Does Lord Chang'an have other intentions?"

Cheng Jiao coughed lightly, and he was about to start the class!

"Emerald Tiger, do you know what is the way to get rich?"

Jade Tiger said without hesitation: "The way to value goods is nothing more than the calculation and trade-off between cost, risk and benefit."

Cheng Jiao's criticism was blunt.

"That is the way to do business, not the way to make money. The way to make money is bloody, with every pore from head to toe dripping with blood and filth. Primitive accumulation is always accompanied by sin."

When Jade Tiger saw Cheng Jiao denying him, he didn't care. As a businessman, he had already learned to be flexible and tactful. Ji Wuye liked Cheng Jiao's words very much. He just liked to rob. If he killed someone, wouldn't the money be his?
"So, Tiger really wants to hear how Chang'an Jun made his fortune."

Cheng Jiao raised the jeweled dagger in his hand.

"It's mine now, what do you think, Emerald Tiger?"

Emerald Tiger shook his head, "Of course not. Why should I give you something so valuable for no reason?"

"So is it worth the demonstration just now?"

The Emerald Tiger thought about it and nodded his fat head.

"If I use the infinite wealth-making technique I just used to exchange it for you, would you exchange it?"

"of course."

"why?"

“I think it’s worth it.”

Cheng Jiao clapped his hands, "Well, now this dagger is mine."

The emerald tiger smacked its lips and shook its head helplessly.

"Changan Jun has a good eloquence, but this is not a way to make a fortune. It is neither bloody nor risky, and it is not universal."

Cheng Jiao thought to himself, I've gone through so much trouble, and now you just tell me whether this jeweled dagger is mine.

"Can you lend me the gold coins on the table?"

"Of course I can. Tiger may not have much else, but he still has plenty of gold coins."

Cheng Jiao began to divide the gold coins on the table into three parts.

Put three gold coins in one part, seven gold coins in another part, and put the last twenty gold coins as the last part.

"Now let's use the three parts of the gold coin to represent the wealth of Korea. These three are for the general."

Before Cheng Jiao could continue, Jia Ji, who was kneeling under Ji Wuye's legs and serving him, said unhappily, "Why does the general only have three? Whose seven gold coins are they? Who is richer than the general?"

Ji Wuye also narrowed his eyes. Could it be that there are such fat sheep in South Korea?
Cheng Jiao smiled and said, "Those seven belong to someone else, the Korean royal family."

Emerald Tiger suddenly realized that in the whole of Korea, only the royal family was richer than the general.

"What are these?"

Emerald Tiger pointed at the remaining gold coins.

"The princes, nobles, and wealthy merchants of the entire Korea!"

Cheng Jiao spoke slowly.

Ji Wuye was a little impatient. He hated these riddlers the most. He didn't like to use his brain because it would make him look stupid.

"Okay, Lord Chang'an, just tell me how to make a fortune. When you say bloody, do you mean you want me to kill everyone in the Kingdom of Korea? If so, what use do I have for this gold coin! As a burial object? Haha."

Cheng Jiao shook his head.

"Of course not."

After he finished speaking, he kept one gold coin from each of the three parts and gathered the rest between the three gold coins to form the fourth part.

"Now, these three gold coins represent their respective identities, and the remaining ones represent the wealth of the entire South Korea that has been concentrated together."

Cheng Jiao paused when he said this.

"So, with the general's ability, how many gold coins can he grab?"

Ji Wuye walked to the table and stared at all the gold coins.

"How much do you think this general can get?"

The Emerald Tiger was also curious about what Cheng Jiao would say.

Cheng Jiao stretched out his hand and slowly raised three fingers.

(End of this chapter)