"How much is this apple?"

Luca grinned, and held the apple in his hand. He winked at the young lady inquiring, trying to pull off the 'handsome' demeanour to her. "Two silver, mademoiselle. It's fresh, and sweet for palate, and but not too sweet."

The lady giggled, before picking up seven of the apples and placing them into her basket. "I'll take the lot. That'll be 18 silver, right?"

This business thing seemed easy. The apples were the last bunch of the lot he managed to sell. The chickens went for 12 silver each to a friendly old man, a few bushels of grain were sold for a total of 7 silver. All that remained at the shop were the profits of today, and a ox munching on some grass with a lazy gaze in its eyes. The sales totalled 71 silver today.

Zhijiru would be impressed. Or more probably, too horrified to speak. Luca smiled to himself as his fingers traced the coins, one-by-one.

"Hey, mister?" Luca's attention was attracted by a middle-aged man, looking like a veteran farmer by a simple glance. "I see that your shop's empty, but is that ox for sale?"

Luca shook his head, and went back to counting the coins.

"I really need one, and this one is a fine specimen. How about 10 gold coins?"

Luca blinked, and stared incredulously at the farmer. High quality oxen went for 8 gold coins, the last time he recalled. Even if Zhijiru busted his ass to get this one, it would still be a net profit.

"S-sure," stuttered Luca. The farmer placed 10 golden coins (all of them tested by Luca's teeth) on the table, untied the ox, and went his way with a small wave at the young man.

Staring at the 10 gold coins, he began to laugh. He [i]wasn't[/i] sure if Zhijiru had ever seen a gold coin! He still continued to laugh hysterically, even as his friend returned with his dog. Luca did not even notice Jiru's return.