My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 105 - 94: I Actually Forgot I Was the Boss?

"You’ve really stumped me with that one. How should I put it?"

Wang Donglai, sitting across from Fang Zhen, scratched his head, seeming to think it over seriously.

After a moment, Wang Donglai said, "It’s actually pretty hard to say because the Cinnabar Ore trade isn’t a very mature market at all."

"When I go to stock up, I always go to the legal, state-regulated ore markets—official places with all the proper permits. But once you’re inside the trading floor, it’s like a chaotic bazaar. It’s not just the environment that’s a mess; the prices are all over the place too."

"Let me put it this way. In the same market, you could have two stalls just a few meters apart. I’ll go ask for a price, and the guy has medium-quality Cinnabar Ore. Let’s say he’s asking 20 yuan a gram. Then you walk a few steps, just a few meters away, and another vendor has bags of ore on display—the quality isn’t even as good as the first guy’s—and he’ll have the nerve to ask for 40 yuan a gram."

"And that’s not an isolated incident. The market is just that chaotic."

"Of course, I might be exaggerating a little. Such an extreme contrast is rare, but the principle holds true. It really happens."

"Besides, the transaction prices are always changing. You could go today and get one price, then come back three or five days later, and the same seller with the exact same product might have raised the price by three or five yuan per gram, or dropped it by four or five. That’s completely normal."

"Cinnabar Ore is also a non-standardized product. There are a few general grades, but when you get down to specifics, there are no strict national standards. It all comes down to experience and having a good eye. It’s not quite blind buying and selling, but it really, really depends on your expertise."

"So when you ask me how much one gram is worth, I’m honestly stumped. All I can say is that it’s a very difficult question to answer."

Fang Zhen nodded.

He and Wang Donglai had a great relationship, and since this didn’t involve any major conflicts of interest, there was no reason for him to lie.

Besides, Fang Zhen had seen markets with chaotic pricing like that before, especially at the source of certain products, like fruit. In the same city on the same day, prices could vary by as much as six times. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Of course, that was a rather extreme case, the difference between the wholesale price and the final retail price.

"Just give me a ballpark figure for Cinnabar Ore. There must be a general price range, right?" Fang Zhen asked.

Wang Donglai thought for a moment before saying, "You’re talking about the raw ore, not just common cinnabar rock. That’s more expensive."

"Common-grade Cinnabar Ore goes for five to twenty yuan. Medium-quality can fetch thirty, and high-quality fluctuates wildly—anything from one hundred to five hundred is possible. The market rate right now is probably around one-fifty or one-sixty."

"There’s also an ultra-premium grade of cinnabar that I’ve never even seen. The market demand is pretty low, but this kind can be used in medicine or serve as a collector’s item. The price can break five hundred yuan, and if you find a major buyer, I’ve heard it can sell for several thousand a gram. But that’s just hearsay; I’ve never come across it myself."

At this point in the conversation, Wang Donglai seemed to catch on and asked, "So, Brother Zhen, are you planning on getting into this business?"

"Are you looking to buy Cinnabar Ore, or sell?"

"Haha, sell." Fang Zhen didn’t beat around the bush. Seeing the conversation had reached this point, he directly pulled a piece of the Cinnabar Ore he got from Redstone Town out of his bag and placed it on the table.

"Take a look at this. What would you say its quality is? What kind of Cinnabar Ore is it?"

"Whoa, you actually brought some with you?" Wang Donglai looked surprised, but he still picked up the piece of Cinnabar Ore from the table and began examining it closely.

After studying it for a good while, Wang Donglai put the Cinnabar Ore down and said in amazement, "This ore is pretty high quality!"

"This isn’t the worst kind, the type full of impurities. It’s Cinnabar Ore of a pretty high quality, the kind that’s a bit translucent."

"This is definitely mid-grade or better. And on the higher end of mid-grade at that."

Fang Zhen nodded. It was just as he remembered. He had seen the mid-grade Cinnabar Ore that Wang Donglai had bought before, and it looked similar to this.

Fang Zhen’s Cinnabar Ore was better than the pieces he’d seen Wang Donglai buy before, but there wasn’t a huge gap in quality.

"What’s the difference between mid-grade and high-grade raw ore?" Fang Zhen asked casually.

"Oh, they’re completely different. Mid-grade is translucent raw ore, while high-grade is crystalline ore," Wang Donglai replied.

"Crystalline ore is the best kind of cinnabar ore, that’s universally acknowledged. The piece you gave me isn’t crystalline, it’s raw ore, but the quality is good."

"So what’s the estimated value?" Fang Zhen asked.

"Let me think..." Wang Donglai closed his eyes for a moment. "The lowest price would definitely be over thirty yuan a gram. It’s hard to say what the upper limit is. I’ve never bought anything similar, so I don’t want to get your hopes up too high. I’d estimate around fifty or sixty. A major buyer might offer more, but the fluctuation won’t be too big."

Hearing this, Fang Zhen quickly did the math in his head.

He suddenly realized he had completely underestimated the value of the Cinnabar Ore from Redstone Town.

He had originally calculated it at 15 yuan a gram.

Now, according to Wang Donglai, the lowest was 30 yuan a gram and it could go as high as 60. That was two to four times Fang Zhen’s original estimate.

Two to four times...

1.5 million to 3 million?

’Holy crap, I’ve struck it rich.’ Fang Zhen instantly felt his Spirit surge.

"Brother Zhen, how much Cinnabar Ore do you have? If it’s not a lot, I’ll buy it. I can probably take about six kilograms off your hands. Any more than that and my cash flow will be tight," Wang Donglai said, picking up his coffee from the table to take a sip.

"Around fifty-something kilograms," Fang Zhen replied.

"PFFT!" Wang Donglai spat out a mouthful of coffee.

Luckily, Wang Donglai had quick reflexes. When he started to spray, he was facing the floor. He’d also only taken a small sip, so the ’splash zone’ wasn’t very big.