Chapter 1063 – Mo Lan’s Travel Diary 16

After Mo Lan nodded, Talam took Taliro and hurriedly left the general store to go haul the beast hides. He didn’t even have time to take the stack of Gem Coin Cards on the counter, leaving them sitting there casually.

Sylvia watched their retreating figures, then glanced at the faintly gleaming Gem Coin Cards on the counter. She wasn’t particularly surprised.

In her understanding from childhood, witches were naturally trustworthy.

But there was something else she didn’t quite understand.

Once Talam and the others’ footsteps had faded into the distance, she turned around, her small hands gripping the edge of the counter, and tilted her little face up to ask Mo Lan:

“Mama, letting them pay with beast hides instead of Gem Coins… won’t we lose money?”

Mo Lan walked over to her daughter and gently tapped her little nose, eyes full of amusement:

“Of course not! We’ll even make a profit!”

She opened the Card Shop:

“Look, one Material Card—Rock Armored Bear Back Hide sells for 150 Gem Coins in the Witch Card Shop. But if you buy directly from the Tatari, they usually charge only 100 or even less.”

Sylvia blinked. “So… we buy cheap and sell high?”

“More than that.” Mo Lan shook her head. “The Tatari are famous throughout Valen for their hide-tanning craftsmanship—that’s true. But what really doubles the value of these hides isn’t the tanning itself. It’s our subsequent alchemical processing.”

She pulled up the detailed information for several cards on the light screen:

“Take this Level 5 Rock Armored Bear Hide Armor, for example. It sells for 5,000 Gem Coins in the shop. Its main materials are just three premium rock armored bear hides. If we source the hides ourselves and inscribe the alchemy runes ourselves, the cost is 500 Gem Coins at most.”

Sylvia’s little mouth fell open. “Less than 500 in cost, selling for 5,000… a tenfold profit?”

“It can be even more!” Mo Lan continued guiding her. “5,000 is the Witch Card Shop price. If we sell the finished product to outsiders who can’t find a way to buy or craft Level 5 hide armor, they’d fight over it at 10,000 Gem Coins.”

Sylvia was completely stunned.

10,000… her entire trading volume just now had only been a little over ten thousand! And what Mama was talking about cost only 500?

Mo Lan watched the confused yet astonished expression on her daughter’s face, and knew the moment was right.

She closed the light screen and looked Sylvia straight in the eyes, her voice slowing:

“Sylvia, do you understand now? The thing in between that’s truly precious—that multiplies value ten or even twenty times—what is it?”

Sylvia hesitated for a moment, then ventured in a small voice: “Is it… Alchemy?”

“Yes.” Mo Lan nodded firmly. “It’s Alchemy, it’s Magic, it’s our ability as witches to transform ordinary materials into magical items.

“The same rock armored bear hide, in the hands of the Tatari, is just a fine material for keeping out cold and moisture.

“They use their superb craftsmanship to tan it, stitch it, make it more durable and beautiful—but it’s still just ‘hide.’

“But in the hands of an Alchemy Witch, it can become a piece of magical hide armor that automatically regulates temperature, resists advanced magical attacks, and can even activate a temporary shield in moments of crisis!”

She looked into her daughter’s half-comprehending eyes and said, word by word:

“Ordinary craftsmanship can make things better, but Magic can make things different.

“The profits from price differences in the Witch Card Shop are nothing compared to what mastering a truly exceptional form of Magic can bring.”

Mo Lan had brought her daughter on this journey and let her run the general store not so she could learn to buy low and sell high on the Card Shop, living dependent on cards.

Magic was a witch’s foundation.

Cards were merely vessels for Magic—tools that helped Magic spread further and be used more conveniently. They could never replace the process of a witch personally learning, understanding, and mastering Magic.

Sylvia’s small hand unconsciously rubbed along the smooth edge of the counter, her eyes downcast, long lashes casting faint shadows beneath them.

After a long while, she looked up. “Mama, I think I understand. It’s like how Zhizhi is good at math, Clack is good at taking photos, and Sentai has lots of hands—those are all their strengths, and they’re very useful. And Magic is a witch’s strength. Like Alchemy Magic—it can turn cheap things into precious things. If you master that, you can earn more money and live better, right?”

Mo Lan’s heart stirred.

She hadn’t expected her daughter to understand so deeply and articulate it so well.

She reached out and gently pulled Sylvia into her arms.

“Yes, exactly. Sylvia is so clever!”

But Sylvia looked a bit troubled. “But I have to wait until I start school to learn Magic, and that’s still so many years away!”

Mo Lan burst out laughing and comforted her. “You’ll have plenty of chances to learn Magic later! But the days you get to spend with Mama without worrying about studying Magic—those are only these few years!”

Sylvia considered this. “That’s true…”

About half an hour later, Talam and Taliro returned.

This time they brought two other strong young Tatari men with them.

The four of them worked together to carry over two large bundles of hides, tightly wrapped in clean coarse cloth.

The hides were carefully set down in the open space in front of the general store.

Talam personally untied the ropes and pulled back the cloth.

There were three rock armored bear hides, five water python hides, and six moonlight deer hides, all in excellent condition.

“Please inspect the goods.” Talam made an inviting gesture, his tone carrying quiet confidence in his people’s craftsmanship.

Mo Lan stepped forward, and Sylvia followed curiously at her side.

After carefully examining each one, Mo Lan nodded:

“The quality really is excellent. How would you like to price them?”

Talam rubbed his hands together. “100 Gem Coins per rock armored bear hide, 80 per water python hide, and 50 per moonlight deer hide.”

“We’ll take them all!” Mo Lan declared with a sweeping gesture. “Sylvia, give Mr. Talam the cards he wanted, plus an additional 500-denomination Gem Coin Card.”

Sylvia understood immediately.

She first placed the three prepared Level 5 Healing Potion cards, one Level 5 Antidote Potion, and one Level 5 Magic Card—Thornvine Stranglehold neatly on the counter and pushed them toward Talam.

Then, from the stack of Gem Coin Cards Talam had left behind, she carefully counted out one with a face value of 500 and handed it back.

“Transaction complete!” Sylvia straightened her small frame, her voice bright and clear. “Thank you for your patronage!”

Talam carefully tucked the cards into an inner pocket close to his chest, but didn’t leave right away.

He stepped back and once more struck his right fist firmly against his chest in salute:

“Lady Moira, Miss Sylvia. On behalf of the Tatari tribe, I formally invite you both to attend tomorrow afternoon’s hunting festival.

“Please do us the honor. Let us express our welcome and gratitude to you both in the Tatari way.”

Mo Lan didn’t answer right away. She looked toward Sylvia.

The little witch was gazing up at her with sparkling eyes, her small face practically spelling out “I want to go, I want to go, I want to go.”

Mo Lan couldn’t help but laugh, and gave Talam a slight nod:

“Very well, we’ll be there. Thank you for the invitation!” (End of Chapter)