Trafford’s Trading Club

Description

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Luo Qiu became the boss of a ‘club’ by chance.

It was a weird club that sold strange items and with a servant girl that had 300 years of working experience. Countless people with dreams, hopes and ambitions came to the club to exchange anything precious they own for what they want. They would offer their lifespan, items, and even their soul. Every successful trade would increase Luo Qiu’s lifespan by a little.

“Tribute successful, your lifespan has increased by 99 years.”

As thus, Luo Qiu began his endless life as the club’s boss.

Associated Names
One entry per line
特拉福买家俱乐部
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Lord of the Mysteries (4)
Warlock of the Magus World (3)
I’m Really Not The Demon God’s Lackey (2)
God of Crime (2)
Sundering Nature (1)
Illusions, Lies, Truth (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. web novels
  2. An actual attempt at ranking
  3. Novels That I Have Read Over The Years
  4. Masterpieces in their own category
  5. Horror & Mystery [RumiSenpai]

Latest Release

Date Group Release
02/18/22 Steambun v10c46 part2
02/18/22 Steambun v10c46 part1
02/17/22 Steambun v10c45 part2
02/16/22 Steambun v10c45 part1
02/15/22 Steambun v10c44 part2
02/14/22 Steambun v10c44 part1
02/11/22 Steambun v10c43 part2
02/10/22 Steambun v10c43 part1
02/09/22 Steambun v10c42 part2
02/08/22 Steambun v10c42 part1
02/07/22 Steambun v10c41 part2
02/04/22 Steambun v10c41 part1
02/03/22 Steambun v10c40 part2
02/02/22 Steambun v10c40 part1
02/01/22 Steambun v10c39 part2
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60 Reviews sorted by


snsdforever
snsdforever
April 2, 2018
Status: c245
I always prefer a good japanese light novel over any chinese/korean novels. But this one changed my view on chinese novels that they are some absolute gems here also. The main reason I like japanese works is because of the time they put on building the characters. Chinese novels just concentrate on MC and dont even care about female MCs in many cases. Good jap novels have excellent likeable characters which don't leave the characters when the story doesn't need them. And that is what I have found in this... more>> novel. Every character is well written. It somehow reminded me of one piece in which also the characters side stories are given importance. This is a must read novel <<less
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Deathlord
Deathlord rated it
March 26, 2018
Status: c2683
This novel contains almost everything. It has mu*der, mystery and mayhem along with good emotional scenes. Every side story in the novel portrays a vivid picture of human nature and consequences of their greed or desires. Many has nice moral message too, although not always good.

The story has integrated modern world with ancient world along with Eastern and Western beliefs together well (till now at least). The characters are well drawn whether it may be for single side story or the main cast.

... more>>
Spoiler

MC owns a trading club which delivers whatever the customer desires provided he can afford it. No cash payments. Its like devils contracts except the club owner will not be responsible for what happens after the trade.

Its like you want buy a phone just that you don't know which one to buy. So you ask the shop owner for recommendations, here MC will not recommend anything to the customer so the customer has to realize on their own what they want. Its nice concept.

People who like reading novels with "constant fights with rivals" or "arrogant young master lusting after MC's girl/treasure" or "reborn with cheat like ability but decides to something irrelevant" find this one to be not up to their allay.

It has been clearly mentioned in the recent chapters that the club owner has the capability to instantly complete the transactions but our MC personally oversees the process and exerts his abilities instead of wasting them.

[collapse]

Overall I highly recommend this novel for the readers who like story twists and intelligent MC.

EDIT:

I wrote the above review at c267. Now that I have caught up to the raws (i.e., c2683 at the time of writing) my original rating dropped by half a star but still its a solid 4.5 * to me.

I like MC not only because he is overpowered, he doesn't show the common traits of drunk on power Main Characters from the other novels, doesn't b*tch about everyone that hates him or the inconvenience he goes through. He is the ideal narrator. People have said in their reviews that it is slow and plot isn't moving forward or the story arcs are boring and I sometime felt the same when reading, its common to feel that way when you have a 2500+ chapter story that is still in-progress.
These sub-story arcs are there to explain that despite the powers MC has gotten, he hasn't changed much, still the same Boss Luo that readers liked in the beginning of the story.

Spoiler

The latest Canglan arc, he does take on a more active role creating a narrative inside a secret realm about the end of the world by Gorefiends etc. He also fights like a martial artist 'occasionally'.

[collapse]

Spoiler

The author built a deep backstory for MC in the later chapters, it wasn't merely a coincidence that he received the shop. He was a Prince of sort from the Eternal world, an era from which the multiverse originated from and the place where the top powerhouses feels the need to reach.

[collapse]
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SayMrrp
SayMrrp rated it
September 13, 2017
Status: c128
A good novel! Not exactly my type though. Nearly rated it 4 stars, but I went against my personal bias.

It's got a grey sorta feel. Not dark, but not happy and stuff. Of course, there are some happy moments.

MC's a decent character. Not the most interesting, but he isn't tr*shy. Side characters are also okay.

Feels slice-of-life-y so don't expect much plot progression in terms of solving super important mysteries. The stories are mostly interconnected and they have good emotions and twists.

Premise of the story is interesting. Not much romance yet.
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Fares
Fares
September 11, 2017
Status: c126
Well....

First of all the characters names in this novel are good and easy to remember which is really rarer.

Let's start with the MC...

... more>> The novel MC is a weird person not insane nor unique but norm weird person in very special circumstances and in my opinion his character is not connected to his wish but since we still don't know his past maybe its too early to say anything about him but overall its better to not expect much from him and focus on other characters instead.

Now the story is dark psychological type with good written mystery there will be few bad written drama scenes here and there but you can just speed read them. The POV will always be 3rd focusing on a number of characters actions the characters will change depending on the current events except for the MC and the plot is little SLOW based but worth waiting and there will always be some side stories to keep the reader amused so you don't have to worry about getting bored because of the SLOW progress.

In the end if you were looking for a mysterious dark novel about the human nature with good plot and realistic characters to some degree with no actual goal in the story then I recommend this novel for you.. <<less
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Raneday
Hibiki rated it
August 14, 2017
Status: c100
Will you do anything for your life long dream/desire? Are you willing to forsook everything just to obtain them?

Wealth, Fame, Power anything that you could imagine, want and many more. You could obtain them all on Trafford's Trading Club. As long as you are willing to pay the price for them

Trafford's Trading Club, at first tbh the title mislead me which made me to put off the novel to be read on a later date, which I kinda regret since I missed one good novel.

The reason on why I loved... more>> this novel is because it's encompass the human desires, greed and willfulness. It's has deeper plot than you could imagine, Are humans really greedy in nature? How far could you do just to obtain your most wanted thing? They're just the few things being told on this novel. <<less
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kaladin4maheshwara
kaladin4maheshwara rated it
June 29, 2017
Status: c70
It's one of the best Chinese web novels out there. Not one of the usual endless repeating tropes. It's blending western and eastern story telling styles and elements almost perfectly. The closest comparison to its genre would be 'warlock of magus world'. Not that there are any similarities in their story but that it's not just the usual off the mold web novel, which just keeps on repeating the same thing again and again (I know I did the same, which is to make a point). The character development is... more>> one of the best aspects of the story with wit and humor punctuating the seriousness at perfect timing keeping the story from getting dark and insidious. What I didn't find endearing was that the names of people are often mixed-up in the translation, which can either be a translation error or mistake in the original raws. Also I feel the rate of translation is slow considering the chapters are not that long. (Which is mostly a personal opinion as I did not check the actual word count. The review was done at chapter 69. No idea how the story progresses in the future) <<less
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Kalmiya1773
Kalmiya1773 rated it
June 7, 2023
Status: **c312**
Usually, I don't review novels, but this one is an exception. This novel is a breath of fresh air from all the cultivation and fantasy (although this may contain fantasy) novels, mainly how it focuses more on the story characters than the main characters themselves. It tells the customer's story while the boss just watches and intervenes occasionally.

This novel tells of different stories going along a "deal with the devil" plot. The main character is the supposed devil, giving wishes in return for something the customer has.

The best thing I... more>> like about this novel is the stories, which are around 40-50 chapters per story, I estimate. Most of the time, you can never predict the ending because of the plot twists, which is what I like most about this novel. Always leaving the reader thinking of what's happening and how it happened.

Personally, I think this novel is better than Lord of the Mysteries, but since I'm only on chapter 312 right now, and there are more than 3000 chapters, and only 1000 chapters have been translated currently, I can't say for sure if the plot can still be consistently good.

Overall though I'd give this novel a 5/5 for being such an enjoyable read. <<less
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koukana
koukana rated it
October 26, 2021
Status: v10c2 part1
I just caught up with translation, binge reading for a couple of weeks. This novel is a very good read, the MC doesn't struggle with is something I enjoy, and it is more about the side characters growing while the MC observes and makes his trades, frankly if I were to ever become a character in a novel, this is without a doubt the MC I would choose.

It is worth a read for everyone, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
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banjobindlestuff
banjobindlestuff rated it
September 8, 2021
Status: c363
The story is good when it actually follows customers of the club. Anything involving the stepmom is endlessly irritating and the plotline involving international police/shady crime organizations just feels so out of place and it drags on forever. Tai Yinzi is also extremely annoying.
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Lumiin
Lumiin rated it
July 3, 2021
Status: c458
ALL SPOILERS WARNING EVERYTHING IN SPOILERS.

Sharing my thoughts not really a review I personal enjoyed this novel despite being aware of its flaws so I’m biased. Whilst only reading the first 400+ chapters (which isn’t much) along with me getting lucky with the way in which I read the novel only serving to make it a better experience. Long story short I don’t think I can write what I’d qualify as a review and be okay with it which is kinda sad when I think about it. I mean I... more>> super biased towards ED but I don’t care if it doesn’t qualify as a review by my meaning it’s review because I say it is. (f*ck me bro I talk so much sh*t holy f*cking yo. I need to stoooooooooopppppp.)

ah I didn’t speak about the Ear whispers and the cringe mother in-law compilation because I brushed over that sh*t (for the most part) especially in the mother in-laws case so I really enjoyed the interactions their for the most part.

I realise now as I write this that I have an even bigger biased in the aspect of... (be aware grand story on the horizon) Imagine you once tasted a flavour that til this day has remained ever clear in your mind but you forget the exact dish that had said flavour. That flavour is... (drums) cough, cough, cough ready for it... OP MC from the get, living that causal slice of life style with the lowkey over powers on the sly. Trafford’s Trading Club is not that it’s very similar yes and from my experience even better than that flavour which I have scoured the earth in pursuit of. Thank you for the meal. (Ahhhhhhhh I’m f*cking tired bro my mind is f*cking dead bro. Lowkey dying of laughter to nothing.) peace out.

Honestly I enjoyed this novel. I perfectly understand why someone would dislike it I mean it has more than a few flaws. Much like the concept of the story itself I’ve found this novel to make the occasional trades between a goal and just making sense. what I mean is the story felt forced into a certain direction and although it’s not beyond the possibilities of happenstance it always felt off if you get me.

moving on. I can’t get mad at this novel since I’d say anyone whose read it will say it has some pretty solid strong points. I have had my immersion broken several times though because of this novels wording or other factors which was not pleasant. I think I would hate this novel if I hadn’t been a f*cking genius and spread it out over multiple days rather than eating through it in a single sitting.

I hate how Russia was portrayed as underground fights for half just so author could make that fighting nation joke. I lowkey had to search up Russia underground fights just to I don’t know ease myself back into the story. (still enjoyed though author is good at weaving these sort of short episodic stories)

The nationalism seeping through so obviously killed the buzz here and there. I don’t have a problem with an author letting his personal views ‘taint’ a story but rather than view it as something negative like I’ve described it I think any writer would do well to examine their own viewpoints and go out of their way to cater the story in line with those views. I just think it’s better to use something like love and proud for ones country and culture in a more productive way rather than thrusting those views and opinions upon me so bare.

This might just be me but I no joke got to give respect for the monster meatball stuff. Won’t lie my favourite character is Lou Dance she’s so cute and naive though I find such a character unbelievable in real life she feels like a blank slate to me and I find it interesting to look at the world from her perspective. Which is why I like Long Xiruo and Su Ziling because of Dance, (Somethings were kind brushed over like how she no joke tore that mantis to shreds, I mean it wasn’t really elaborated on, I felt it a pity she had no time exploring her deeper thoughts and emotions in regards to her grudge with the mantis.)

This story has no impact. Yes it holds some strong impressions but they lack any depth or impact. Lou Dance a simple and effective character who is very impressionable with her cute and childlike naivety, I like this character because of this impression. I will never truely care about said character because she doesn’t feel real and lacks the impact brought by that realism. (could go on into this character specifically I won’t)

The biggest strength this novel has is its ability to be impressionable, to get you to care about the lives of its vast array of characters in a quick and effective way. This is especially so during their focus time, I find myself giving zero f*cks afterward because as impressionable as they maybe said characters lack the impact to hold a lasting impression.

Impressionability may be this novels greatest strength but it happens to be its biggest weakness as well. I think the author knowingly makes this trade of though and as much of a pity it might be it makes sense. You can’t win them all, I like Lou Dance how she is exploring who emotions in more depth may very well increase the impact said character has on me but it might damage the impression I have of her in exchange.

This happens a lot through out the novel and it’s the moments that are most impressionable that feel force because I believe the author is deliberately going out of his way to force those strong impressions in exchange for impact.

Spoiler

- Corpse Monster Meatball

(I’ll be seriously dumbing down the sequence of events to bare minimum. I don’t want to be here all night.)

i genuinely felt distressed because of this thing. It truely drove the point home for me, yes the unknown is the greatest horror. The author used this meatball f*ck in such vague way that provoked initial curiosity whilst still viewing it as rather useless. When I was reading it lacked presence if you get what I mean. When it was mobilised I was like so... whatcha doin? Then sh*t happens and Dragon Hag and Hanba Dragon Princess get seriously injured and all of a sudden meatball f*ck pops in for a couple cheap blows and now my hearts in turmoil worrying for these characters. They escape and the author throws the meatball f*ck into the background and casually carries on with things like there are no super interesting meatballs of despair just floating around (makes sense) but yes meatball f*cks are floating around and all I can think about is what are they, how dangerous are they, what’s going to happen to them etc.

Now I’m sitting here mind preoccupied and a little chaotic. Unsettled, that’s the best way to describe the state of being I was in. Curious, confused and unsettled. Pretty horrifying. Then things happen MC steps in and everything is settled but my mind is still on the Meatballs and I think is sh*t gonna hit fan? No. sh*t does not hit the fan. Dragon Hag deals with it super easy and I sigh hai... Well played author well played. Forced sure but it is a perfect example of the unknown horrors.

I realised after Long Xiruo easily dealt with the meatball that the only reason I was so curious and fearful towards them is because I was led to act like that. From the vagueness and lack of presence, to it forcing the ‘injured Long Xiruo’ into a bad situation and even it being thrown into the background seemingly forgotten. Only after seeing it so easily dealt with did I realise I had nothing to fear from the start but because I was deliberately led into that state of curiosity and fear towards the peculiar unknown I forgot about basic sh*t like Long Xiruo only being forced into a bad situation by the meatball because she was injured severely before hand and that she’d be able to easily f*ck it up since it’s just the little bit*h of Kuck who is just a little bit*h before Long Xiruo. <<less
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Alex Woods
Alex Woods rated it
July 1, 2021
Status: c400
Not enough impact.

what I dont like about the book is, it focuses on MC's life too much and his life is boring af. Its like 2 chapters on the life of customers then 3 chapters on boring life of the MC and is friends then it goes back to the customer.

This way it fails to delievers impact. We are seeing plot heavy, deep life stories of the customers then suudenly an ads pops up it shows MC and his stepmom, friends some childish humour then it goes to give us... more>> the rest of the story.

The story would be so much better, if the MC was an npc <<less
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NightBird68
NightBird68
June 3, 2021
Status: c362
really like this novel, chars and story... but the more I read the more bored I become, MC just dont move ahead, author throw story`s one after another: (hope MC get more development in his charachter and we know story his maid
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the_black_gift
the_black_gift rated it
February 4, 2021
Status: v8c26
I like this novel to a great deal, I even read chapters on mtl sites and I am somewhere past chapters 600 and re-read it multiple times. It has a slow pacing, but I think you need to read dozens of chapters at once and then you can get some plot. I think you need to let the author take his time and check the progression every couple months.

If the author doesn't drop the novel, then we will eventually reach the end, even if it is 2025 or 2030. And... more>> once you read everything you can re-read the relevant parts again, focusing on the relevant parts. I don't plan to die anytime soon, so I will focus on other things and wait for the completion of this novel, even if it takes a decade.
I honestly like the writing stile of this novel, I think the prerequisite to enjoy this novel is patience and as you can see I have patience in abundance.

To explain this novel in detail:

The writing stile of this novel is particular and it takes time getting used to it. I was close to dropping this novel multiple times before I got used to the writing stile and learned what to expect. It is very slow paced and nearly nothing happens in hundreds of chapters.

This novel is very detailed and has very sparse action and a sort of early romance which takes many chapters, to elaborate: Where other novels take one chapter to contain a certain progression of the main couples' relationship, this novel takes a thousand. The protagonist courts the heroine, but he takes his time, as much time someone would take on the premise of having an unlimited lifespan and the assurance of being guaranteed to spend the next thousands of years with the other person.

If you read this novel with wrong expectations you will be terribly disappointed, but as I have learned what to expect and I read this novel only when I'm in the right kind of mood and want to read exactly this novel, which can take months before I'm in this mood again.

Well, once "Status in COO" reads "completed, I'm gonna start binge reading it with mtl and re-read it completely once the translation has finished as well. <<less
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Armandy
Armandy rated it
June 5, 2020
Status: --
I like this novel because similar things like this novel are rarely found in Chinese novels.

MC is very strong but he also lost his freedom and some of his emotions. I like to go back and forth looking for fun without showing off its strength.

Maybe this is the other side when someone has great power so they get bored with life. Then live as you wish without destroying many things with your strength.

I myself like the concept where you have to pay for what you get. But whatever you pay... more>> for and as perfect as you get won't always get satisfying results.

There are many stories that MC followed in this novel. In the story itself there are interesting problems that often occur in real world life.

Romance in this novel goes quite slowly but to me it feels pretty sweet.

There are many shortcomings in this novel, but if you get bored with cultivation novels looking for strength, then you can read this novel. <<less
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SnowX
SnowX rated it
August 22, 2019
Status: c547
I won't do an in-depth review of the novel, others are already doing that for me.

You know, when in fantasy novels or even real-world legends you read about some "deal with the devil" where someone can exchange something like his soul for wealth or longevity or power, that's exactly it.

If you've ever wondered about the other side of the trade, the "all powerful devil merchant" and if you thought that it would be really nice to know more about it then this novel is made for you.

As the novel is... more>> more focused on the trades and their conseqences with the customer and his surroundings instead of just the returns of the trade for the MC you can read about really interesting situations about the customers. Maybe they're crazy, maybe they're lunatics, maybe they're normal people. You don't know because it wil be slowly unraveled as the story goes forwards.

After all, only a burning desire ca grant access to the shop, be it good or evil. <<less
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ItsmeHoney
ItsmeHoney rated it
September 12, 2018
Status: --
I'm a shallow reader, so what I can say is, this novel has colorful an deep messages of life. Sometimes it's too cynical of life itself, sometimes it gives the reader what being alive truly is. Dark but heartwarming, characters walks through a maze only to start again and find out the exit is right before them.
So far good story building
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Seraphic
Seraphic rated it
April 27, 2018
Status: c200
Recommended: Yes. There are very few novels here that I'd call good enough for print, even among my five star ratings, and this is one of them.

This novel is episodic and laid-back, to the point I'd almost consider it a slice of life, but that doesn't mean it's episodic and directionless. Perhaps a better comparison would be to a television drama, where each episode is its own self-contained plot but there's continuity and connections between characters that show up later and it all builds together to a conjoined whole.

The novel... more>> starts out with the protagonist, a directionless loner, stumbling into the eponymous store and accidentally signing himself away into eternal servitude to a mysterious but seemingly omnipotent being with a taste for emotions and souls. In exchange, he receives a portion of that power, growing ever stronger as he provides more tribute.

This sounds like the setup to a slightly interesting but ultimately pretty generic action novel. But that's not what this is. There's some action, but it's not the focus. The protagonist is indestructible and essentially all-powerful not too far into the novel. If he wanted to, all the novel's situations could be solved near instantly. But again, that's not what this is. The protagonist realizes that ultimately, in his position, the only worthwhile action he can do is try to preserve his own identity and sentimentality, and so he spends his time observing and manipulating events to create wonderful stories from his customers' lives. This, in turn, usually means their souls become "better" and are thus worth more to the god/devil that controls the store.

Trafford's Trading Club takes a broader, more nuanced view of society and history than I'm used to from novels on this site, or even many of the novels off-site. Tone-wise, it's pretty consistently melancholy but hopeful; as one arc puts it, the coldest and the warmest thing is the human heart. There are occasional moments of subtle but absurd humor; at one point I realized I was engrossed in reading about the soul of a 500-year old Daoist getting really into hip-hop and driving a Chinese weeb to despair by stealing his 2D waifu.

The only novel I've read on this site that gives me a similar impression is Apartment for Rent, but in that book the protagonist is malevolent entity who finds satisfaction in pe*verting the lives of his tenants to see the dark parts of human nature, whereas the protagonist of Trafford's Trading Club, while not necessarily benevolent, seems more interested in seeing "growth" or a "story". <<less
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TheOnlyChou
TheOnlyChou rated it
January 24, 2023
Status: c949
Chinese propaganda aside, I absolutely love this novel. It's definitely not the kind of novel for people who want intense action with the MC as the main focus. The story is more about how the MC affects the people he interacts with. If you like stories where the MC is considered a mysterious being by the people around him, this is it.
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Asphyxia778
Asphyxia778 rated it
September 29, 2021
Status: c750
This is a very unique novel. I won't go too indepth about the plot since most reviews explain it better than me.

The world building and lore of the story is really fascinating. I enjoy reading about our MC making trades.

I do think it has some flaws. Specially the plot involving the Chinese dragon. The dragon is given too much focus and made too op even though it doesn't really fit the situation too well sometimes.

While it has it's flaws, this is still a very good CN novel. I would recommend... more>> it. Overall 3.9 stars <<less
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Autumn.crocus
Autumn.crocus rated it
April 23, 2021
Status: v9c5
Interesting!

Completely new style/structure of novel. Other than being slow pace, like it very much.
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