"Once I reached Chang'an, there were many more opportunities. I sold the furs from the village and made my first pot of gold. I then bought saws, axes, shovels, hoes, oxen, carts, meat, vegetables, and so forth to take back to further exploit the resources of Black Mountain, such as lumber, gems, ivory, and so on.
"Ivory is a good commodity. The permafrost of Black Mountain concealed many 'fossils' of already extinct mammoths. Their tusks, buried in the earth for so long and infused with minerals, presented a kaleidoscope of colors on their surface. The size of the ivory, along with the type, depth, and pattern of the colors, all affected the actual price.
"The one-person-tall blue ivory decoration displayed in the grand hall of Minister of the Left Pei Su of Yu Country's home was one I led a team to dig up and sell in Chang'an. That single transaction earned me thirty thousand strings of coins."
