Chapter Thirty-Three: Astonishment! The Young Lady Actually Did Such a Thing

When Qin Jing saw the gold bar, a sudden idea struck him: since old banknotes could be directly exchanged for g-points, what about gold? Besides, this little gold ingot had probably passed through countless hands—it was definitely second-hand and met all the conditions for GDP acquisition!

He glanced casually at the mirror by the door, and the information about the little gold ingot immediately appeared in his hand.

Little Gold Ingot (31.3g)

A second-hand currency that can be directly recycled and exchanged for g-points at a rate of 30:1.

Appraised value: 9,233.5 yuan

Searching for buyers (1g)

Interesting!

Rubbing his chin, Qin Jing broke into a wide grin. Gold was indeed different from paper money; not only could it be directly exchanged for g-points, but it could also be sold just like any ordinary good!

To put it plainly, if he stored up plenty of gold, he could convert it to g-points whenever needed; when he didn't need it, he could just hold onto it and sell it slowly. It was a lucrative business, far superior to paper money!

"Heh, feeling good, aren't you, Qin? Then why not sell me a bit more?" Old Song, a master at reading faces, saw the change in Qin Jing's expression and immediately seized the opportunity.

"Old Song, I'll sell you a pound. If you have more little gold ingots, I can sell you other things, like water for cooking rice."

Heaven knows, Qin Jing wasn't just after the gold; he was also considering Old Song's sake.

Unexpectedly, Old Song replied dismissively, "Tch, I only want rice, who cares about water? Even if you say that water is specially prepared like the rice, it still isn't worth a gold ingot."

Qin Jing was speechless, but he didn't insist. This stuff wasn't in large supply—even he had to sell it in limited quantities, not just toss it around.

As the two talked, a pair of beautiful sisters walked in—it was Zheng Qiuyin and Zheng Qiuying.

Zheng Qiuying sniffed the air, curious. "What's that smell? It’s so nice."

She looked over at Qin Jing and called out, "Qin Jing, what are you cooking here?"

It had been a few days since they’d last met, and this young lady seemed to miss Qin Jing a bit. She acted as if they were old friends.

"Zheng Qiuying! How old are you now?" Zheng Qiuyin’s face immediately darkened. She’d always been afraid her younger sister might develop feelings for Qin Jing and had thus delayed coming here to buy his beauty elixirs.

But today, she’d heard that Wang Keng had been expelled from the Phoenix Society for unauthorized actions. A thought struck Zheng Qiuyin—had Wang Keng made a move against Qin Jing? That was why she’d come to check things out today.

Zheng Qiuying shrank back a little, but her eyes turned to Old Song. She was "quite familiar" with Old Song, having met him twice already.

Old Song grinned slyly and whispered, "Miss Zheng, Qin has something good again. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. See over there? He just finished eating—pots and bowls haven’t even been washed yet."

Following Old Song’s words, Zheng Qiuying spotted the pots and bowls set aside. She didn’t show the slightest disgust; instead, she leaned over and sniffed.

"Wow, it really is! Qin Jing, what were you eating? Was it the legendary spirit rice?"

A casual remark, but Zheng Qiuyin’s face changed drastically. She walked straight to the rice cooker, pinched a grain of rice between her slender fingers, and tasted it with her red lips.

In the next moment, Zheng Qiuyin trembled, whirling around to face Qin Jing in shock. "I should have realized earlier—you’re definitely an Awakened!"

He sold beauty elixirs, wasn’t afraid of Wang Keng’s revenge, and even ate spirit rice for his daily meals. Given all these signs, if Zheng Qiuyin couldn’t deduce that Qin Jing was an Awakened, she didn’t deserve to be the leader of the Zheng Chamber of Commerce!

Yet Qin Jing had no fondness for Zheng Qiuyin. He gave a brisk laugh and shrugged. "Miss Zheng, showing up uninvited and helping yourself to someone else’s pots and bowls… can’t you mind your manners a little? Show some courtesy?"

"Pfft—" Old Song nearly spat out his spirit rice at that. What did he mean by “that kind of thing”? She just licked it a little.

Zheng Qiuying blushed and glared at Qin Jing in playful annoyance. Couldn’t he speak properly?

Zheng Qiuyin’s face turned ashen with anger. She stomped her foot and snapped at Qin Jing, "Qin Jing, can’t you behave yourself? You know what I’m talking about!"

"So what if I do?"

With that retort, Zheng Qiuyin was momentarily speechless. Indeed, which Awakened would admit their identity to a stranger outright?

"Forget it, let’s not talk about this. I’m here today to buy your elixirs. I’ve got the money ready. Also, are you selling your spirit rice? I want to buy some too."

Spirit rice wasn’t unheard of on Earth. The resurgence of spiritual energy brought all kinds of changes. In places dense with spiritual energy, spirit grains and plants could appear, and even some beasts could cultivate into monsters. But since the resurgence was recent, these things were extremely rare—rare meant highly valuable, and meant that the average Awakened could hardly obtain them.

Having encountered spirit rice here today, Zheng Qiuyin made up her mind on the spot: even if she didn’t buy the beauty elixir, she had to buy out all the spirit rice—at any cost! For any Awakened faction, spirit rice was an absolute strategic resource, like military rations in ancient wars.

Ever since that night, Qin Jing’s impression of Zheng Qiuyin had dropped from “neutral” to “dislike.” He’d let her come today for one reason only—to “settle the score.”

Qin Jing was never one to be magnanimous. Hathaway’s men had ended up dead or crippled, so what about Zheng Qiuyin, who watched from the sidelines and repaid kindness with betrayal?

If he treated her like an enemy, as he did Wang Keng, that wouldn’t be quite right—after all, Zheng Qiuyin had only played tricks, not tried to harm him directly. Still, her scheming and manipulation were infuriating. Hm, with that full chest and round behind, should he give her a good spanking? Gag, collar, and whip? No, was he really that perverted…?

Amused by these wicked thoughts, Qin Jing said curtly, “Wait your turn. There’s a big deal to close today. If there are any leftovers, you can have them.”

Ignoring Zheng Qiuyin’s reaction, he picked up his phone and called Hathaway.

“Hey, are you coming today? You’ve got one hour. If you don’t show up, I’ll sell to someone else.”

With Hathaway, there was no need for courtesy—he rattled off what he needed to say and hung up with a snap.

“Qin, is this how you treat big clients?” Old Song was dumbfounded by the scene.

“Big client? Hah, where? Qin Jing, is it because you already know about Wang Keng?” At that moment, Zheng Qiuying suddenly piped up, moving closer to Qin Jing and asking seriously.

This girl, who seemed like an innocent airhead, had actually pieced together the situation from all the little details.