Such an important item, yet this clan had brought it out to sell.
For a moment, Xie Hongyuan couldn't decide whether the people behind this were confident or just naive. But the Blood Rice—its production must be considerable. If she could trace the source, it would be a huge boon for her clan's development, earning her significant merit.
Her mind raced, formulating a plan. The Blood Rice itself was secondary, but it couldn’t be overlooked. If she brought it back, the clan could study it and perhaps cultivate it themselves. And as for these people—she needed to uncover their origins.
The other two clan representatives had also changed expressions slightly after tasting the Blood Rice. Clearly, they shared her thoughts.
All four of them were pillars of their respective clans. They knew the value of what was in front of them.
Shi Jian, who had tasted it first, sighed inwardly. It was bad enough that he had revealed its value, but now that the others had tasted it, he had lost any hope of monopolizing it. Still, he wasn’t about to give up without trying.
"This rice is good," Gan Di said with a nod, smiling faintly.
Shen Li, his voice raspy, added, "Indeed. I’d like to buy some. How is it sold?"
"Thirty jade coins per cattie," Chen Tianjing replied, keeping the price firm despite the obvious interest from the four great clans.
"Hold on," Shi Jian cut in. "There should be an order to things, right? I already said I’d buy all the Blood Rice. Are you all planning to break the rules?"
Before the others could respond, Xie Hongyuan let out a laugh. "Brother Shi, you’re joking. If you had already paid, or if the seller had agreed to sell only to you, I wouldn’t interfere. But since neither of those things happened, how is it against the rules?"
Gan Di and Shen Li remained silent, watching with amused smiles. But inwardly, both had already decided—they wouldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
Shi Jian clenched his fists but had no retort. He turned to Chen Tianjing instead. "I’ve already offered to buy everything on behalf of my clan. You won’t go back on your word, will you?"
Chen Tianjing frowned. If only one clan were involved, it would be simple. But with all four here, selling to one would offend the others. Yet refusing Shi Jian would offend the Shi clan.
He was just here to sell some rice—how had things become this complicated? His father hadn’t prepared him for this.
Before he could answer, Xie Hongyuan laughed again. "When it comes to buying, the highest bidder wins. How about this? I’ll offer thirty-five jade coins per cattie on behalf of my clan."
That wretched woman! Shi Jian cursed inwardly. Xie Hongyuan's status in the Xie clan was no lower than his in the Shi clan. And while the Shi clan was wealthy, he personally didn’t have that many jade coins on hand. Claiming to represent the clan was easy to say but meant little in this situation.
"Then I will also represent my clan and offer thirty-five jade coins," Gan Di said indifferently.
Shen Li followed without hesitation. "Same here."
Shi Jian scowled. If they kept bidding, only the rice seller would benefit. Even though his clan had wealth, they still had to be prudent.
After a moment of thought, he composed himself and said, "We’re all from Yong’an City. There’s no need to fight over this. Since we all want it, why don’t we split it?"
"I arrived first, so I’ll take fifty percent. The rest can be divided among the three of you. Does that sound fair?" He looked at the others expectantly.
"Agreed," Shen Li said before Xie Hongyuan could object. The Shen clan wasn’t as wealthy as the others. For him, securing any portion of the Blood Rice was enough to report back. There was no need to push further.
Gan Di nodded as well. The exact amount didn’t matter—so long as they had some. After all, these people wouldn’t be able to escape scrutiny.
Xie Hongyuan’s smile vanished. "No. You can only take forty percent. I’ll take thirty percent of the remaining share."
Gan Di snorted but didn’t argue. The Xie clan had always been dominant in Yong’an City. There was no need to press the issue over a little Blood Rice.
With that, the four of them quickly divided the contents of the bag.
The price remained at thirty jade coins per cattie.
Chen Tianjing said nothing about it. If he had insisted on thirty-five, he would have risked offending all four clans. Given the circumstances, this was the best outcome.
Even after an eighty percent discount, the dozens of hides from Body Tempering-stage beasts sold for fifteen hundred jade coins.
As for the two hundred or so pounds of Blood Rice, they fetched six thousand two hundred jade coins.
The onlookers’ eyes gleamed at the sight of so many shining jade coins.
But the clan members were indifferent. They casually stuffed the jade coins into their bags. To them, these coins had no real value beyond the fact that they could be exchanged for goods. In the Chaotic Burial Mountain, they were useless.
Despite their compact size, the jade coins still filled half a cloth bag. However, their total weight was only about thirty pounds—an easy burden for a Body Tempering martial artist.
This time, the clan had collected 7,700 jade coins. A large sum, yet still not enough for what they truly needed.
For instance, a single Tian Nan Star plant cost 5,000 jade coins. Their earnings today would only buy one and a half.
But this was only a small portion of what they had. The previous Blood Rice harvest had been plentiful. Even after meeting the clan’s daily needs, several hundred pounds remained.
If they continued selling in Yong’an City, it would fetch a fine price.