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    Chapter 41: Excuse me, how do you write “poor”?

    The box at the bottom of the bookshelf opened, revealing a faint glow within. A thin layer of coins lay scattered inside. Grett carefully poured them out, separating them by color and laying them out one by one to count. He counted once, then counted again.

    Ten gold coins.

    Eight silver coins.

    Among the gold coins, there was one that was particularly different.

    Grett picked it up and examined it carefully. Nine of the ten gold coins had the image of a beautiful woman wearing a crown on the obverse, and a rose entwined with leaves on the reverse. He remembered seeing these coins before. The obverse seemed to be the queen’s portrait, and the reverse, he was told, was the royal crest.

    The last coin, however, had a crowned man with a beard on the obverse and a double-headed eagle with outstretched wings on the reverse. The crest was different, the portrait was different. Considering that the reverse of the other silver coins were also rose patterns, it seemed that this oddly shaped coin was from a foreign land.

    As for how it ended up here, what its value was, or if it could be directly spent, Grett searched his memory and found nothing.

    In any case, these ten gold coins and eight silver coins were the last savings left to him by his father. Buried under the bed, pressed beneath the bookshelf, with instructions not to touch them unless absolutely necessary.

    The reason he was given gold and silver coins was because his father feared that a young child, lacking in strength and wisdom, would recklessly spend the gold coins and invite trouble.

    …How much should I take out this time?

    Grett thought carefully for a moment and put eight gold coins back into the box – including the double-headed eagle one, of course – along with three silver coins. He meticulously returned the box to its original position, cleaned up the traces on the floor, and tucked the pouch of money into his pocket. He dashed out of the house, rushing towards the stationery shop.

    In Hartland City, Grett only remembered one store that sold stationery. It was located near the city lord’s mansion, two hundred meters south along the main street, considered a prime location in the city. Carriages with family crests were constantly coming and going in front of the store, and gentlemen and ladies would pass by from time to time.

    Two lanterns hung on either side of the entrance, illuminating half of the street. A doorman actually stood under the lanterns, wearing a white shirt and overalls, holding a wooden board about one foot wide and two meters long, grunting as he nailed it to the store front.

    As Grett arrived, the doorman glanced at him in surprise. His eyes swept over Grett’s obviously altered thin linen shirt, muddy pants, and patched backpack. His lips moved slightly before he put down the board and went to open the door for Grett.

    Stepping into the shop, a counter half the height of a man separated the entire store into two parts. A young clerk sat bored behind the counter, wearing a white shirt and black waistcoat, with a black bowtie neatly tied under his neck, his face a picture of “don’t bother me, I want to go home” dejection.

    There was nothing else on the outer side of the counter. On the inner side, behind the clerk, the shelves were filled with various paper rolls, quills, inks, stationery boxes, and other things, a dazzling array that filled an entire wall.

    Grett stretched his neck to look at the paper rolls. The clerk raised his head and quickly glanced at him, asking lazily:

    “What do you want?”

    “Paper.”

    Grett had only uttered a single word when he was interrupted. The clerk didn’t even bother to raise his eyelids as he casually continued:

    “Parchment is two silver coins a sheet, white paper is four silver coins a sheet. How much do you want?”

    “So expensive?!”

    Grett was shocked. Two silver coins for a sheet of parchment, that was fine, it was made from sheepskin after all; but what did four silver coins for a sheet of white paper mean?

    Was this some kind of premium paper from the Clarity Hall?!

    No, no, no, that wasn’t the point. If ordinary white paper was twice as expensive as parchment, how could the papermaking industry survive? It shouldn’t have been driven to bankruptcy by parchment yet?!

    The young clerk rolled his eyes impatiently. He didn’t answer, but instead clasped his hands together, raised his chin, and added:

    “Minimum purchase of ten sheets.”

    Two silver coins a sheet, ten sheets would be twenty silver coins, or two gold coins… How many sheets of paper would it take to copy the whole book? Would a thousand sheets be enough? If you calculate it, just this alone would be two hundred gold coins…

    Besides the box of alchemy materials and surgical instruments, if he sold the house, furniture, and everything else, he probably wouldn’t be able to afford it. Grett calculated, holding onto a glimmer of hope: “Do you have any cheaper ones?”

    “Cheaper?” The clerk raised an eyebrow. Just as he was about to say a few more words, an old man rushed out from the back of the store:

    “We have, we have! What kind do you want, sir?”

    The old man was even more elegantly dressed than the young clerk. His coat had a velvet trim around the edges, and his round belly had buttons that were shining so brightly that they seemed about to fly off. As soon as he came out, he glared fiercely at the clerk before breaking into a smile:

    “Our shop has all sorts of goods. The cheapest is the writing paper from Walvek, four silver coins a ream. If you want something a little whiter and smoother, there’s the official paper from Northumberland, one gold coin a ream.

    The white paper you just heard about is a permanent order from the Lawmaster’s Tower outside the city. They say it’s better than parchment for copying scrolls and can improve the success rate. Only four silver coins a sheet, that’s still cheap!”

    …So it was specialty paper for copying magic scrolls. Grett suddenly realized: papermaking might be common, but high-end paper products were not so easy to produce. Forget about the fact that magic paper represented real power, even the high-grade Xuan paper from his previous life could sell for tens of thousands of yuan a ream.

    “How many sheets are in a ream?”

    The young clerk rolled his eyes. But the old man didn’t seem to think this question was too elementary. He still had a big smile on his face:

    “25 sheets, absolutely no deductions!”

    Emmmm… Grett quickly calculated in his head. 25 sheets in a ream, 4 silver coins, a thousand sheets would be 160 silver coins – or 16 gold coins. He had a total of 10 gold coins, 8 plus 2, a total of 10 silver coins, plus 7 copper coins. He wouldn’t have enough to copy the whole book.

    A new recruit to the city guard, like him, earned 5 silver coins a month; a squad leader earned 15 silver coins a month. One thousand sheets of paper cost 16 gold coins, nearly a squad leader’s annual income – but would a thousand sheets of paper be enough for a child to learn to read and write in a year?

    Probably not, right?

    In this day and age, reading and writing were truly privileges reserved for the upper class…

    Grett sighed. After sighing, he continued to ask the price:

    “Can I get a discount for buying in bulk?”

    “One case, that’s 20 reams, 7 gold coins and 5 silver coins! Our shop offers free delivery!”

    “What about pens? What about ink?”

    “Quills, a 2 silver coin goose quill can be sharpened at least 20 times! A 4 silver coin fine goose quill can be sharpened at least 50 times, and comes with a pencil sharpener! Ordinary writing ink, 2 silver coins for a 1 ounce bottle, 8 silver coins for a 5 ounce bottle!”

    He was really a good businessman.

    Grett chuckled bitterly. This kind of price discrimination, using techniques to attract customers like family packs, bulk packs, and combo packs in supermarkets from his previous life, how similar were they?

    He weighed his needs and pulled out his wallet:

    “I’ll take four reams of ordinary writing paper and one fine goose quill. I only have 2 gold coins and 5 silver coins. Can you sell me a bottle of the larger ink?”

    Paper, pen, ink, all added up to 2 gold coins and 8 silver coins. Grett was going to cut the price by 10% right off the bat. The young clerk, looking on coldly, couldn’t help but scoff and sneer:

    “If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it! – Do you even have gold coins?”

    Everyone is so busy on weekdays…

    Please give me a collection! – Recommendations, book reviews, all sorts of interactions, let me know you’ve read it…

    (End of chapter)

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