Chapter Sixty-Five: Eight Million for Renovations

Yuan Na stared at the quotation in her hand, her face clouded with worry as she complained to the man sitting opposite her, “How can this be? They want eight million just for renovations?”

The man, Li Bin, was the company’s accountant and also managed the budgets for many projects.

Hearing Yuan Na’s complaint, Li Bin curled his lips. “That depends on what you’re renovating. The documents you brought cover three hundred and fifty square meters, and the owner wants to redo the second floor in the front as well as the backyard. The workload is almost equivalent to building a new villa. Eight million? That’s already the internal price.”

He then grinned, adding, “Nana, just take this back. When they see this price, they’ll definitely scale down their demands, and it’ll save us some trouble. To be honest, with all their requirements, we’re not making much anyway.”

Qin Jing’s requirements for the shop’s renovation were all based on the most ideal standards—he wanted it grand yet private, luxurious yet elegant. This was only human nature—everyone wants a spectacular result. Naturally, the cost soared accordingly.

Yuan Na shot him a glare. “Don’t look down on my friend. He may run a small business, but he has money.”

Li Bin said, “Yes, yes, of course,” but inwardly, he scoffed. Money? If he really had money, would he open a shop in Second Alley? That place was full of scrap collectors and people dealing in low-tier antiques. There were no wealthy people there.

Taking the budget list, Yuan Na left in a huff. She knew Li Bin always thought highly of himself, considering even the company’s designers beneath him. She hadn’t expected he’d even look down on others over something like this.

Driving her Smart car, she weaved her way to Second Alley. As she reached the entrance of Qin Jing’s shop, a new worry crept in: this was eight million—would Qin Jing think it was too much?

“No matter. These are Qin Jing’s own demands. If it’s really too expensive, we can just cut some requirements,” she reassured herself, muttering as she pushed open the shop door.

It was just after nine in the morning, and Qin Jing’s shop was still quiet, with only a middle-aged man inside.

“Brother, can I still buy the rice from last time?”

“But it’s still subject to the purchase limit.”

“Hmm, what if I offer a higher price? Can I buy more?”

“Well, in principle, no—unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless you become a major client and enjoy membership privileges; then the purchase limit increases.”

The man in the shop was Wan Anxian.

Qin Jing hadn’t expected Wan Anxian to wait two days before returning, but this time, he was clearly convinced of the spirit rice’s effects. He bought the maximum allowed right away, then asked if he could get more.

Qin Jing wasn’t about to turn away business, so he quickly offered an alternative—what he intended to implement in the shop going forward: clients would be classified by level, and only major clients could exceed the purchase limit. The bigger the client, the fewer the restrictions.

Wan Anxian had spent the last two days verifying the rice’s efficacy. First, he divided the pound he’d bought into several portions, giving one to Tang Peng. He still remembered Tang Peng’s stunned reaction and endless praise, as well as his repeated questions about the rice’s source.

Still not entirely reassured, Wan Anxian had also taken some to a local rogue cultivator he knew in Lenghai. That man’s reaction was even more dramatic—he said if Wan Anxian could provide him with a certain amount, he’d be willing to take him as an apprentice, essentially offering to introduce Wan Anxian to the extraordinary world.

So, over those two days, Wan Anxian became increasingly aware that this shop was an incredible opportunity. He’d told no one, and only yesterday had he eaten his first meal of spirit rice. For ordinary people, especially the first time, the effect was explosive: the spiritual energy instantly improved bodily functions, replenished strength, left a residue of spiritual energy in the body, and even mildly enhanced physical qualities, granting a brief immunity to all ailments.

With such a pronounced improvement, Wan Anxian couldn’t sit still.

He pressed eagerly, “How do I become a major client? How much do I have to buy?”

Meanwhile, Yuan Na was led to a seat by Susan. A bit anxious, she placed the budget list in front of Susan and said, “The budget is out, but it’s quite expensive—mainly because Qin Jing’s requirements are high, especially the backyard remodel. It’s like building a whole new villa back there. The cost is what it is; there’s nothing I can do.”

Seeing the figure—eight million—Susan frowned. She wasn’t sure how much money Qin Jing had; when she was with him, she never had to worry about money. But now, faced with such a huge sum, she suddenly realized: perhaps Qin Jing didn’t care about money, but in modern society, money is essential. The way he lived here suggested he’d never really thought about making money before.

There’s a difference between being able to make money and actually having it.

Qin Jing noticed the situation. Since Yuan Na was here, he didn’t want to discuss anything supernatural, so he gestured for Wan Anxian to wait and turned to ask, “What’s wrong?”

Susan said, “The renovation budget is ready. From front to back, the total is eight million one hundred and ninety thousand. According to Yuan Na, during construction she can keep it within eight million, but you’ll need to pay ten percent upfront to Xin Family Designs.”

Hearing the sum, Qin Jing raised an eyebrow. Eight million was almost his entire fortune. Using all his money to renovate the shop was acceptable to him, but having nothing left in hand left him feeling empty. He’d only just started making money, and now, faced with spending it all at once, he hesitated.

Sensing this, Yuan Na hurriedly said, “Qin Jing, honestly, as a designer I think some of your requirements are a bit too much. You want the front shop renovated, but you also want the backyard turned into a treasure pavilion, with one or two bedrooms added. The high cost is really because of the backyard. There’s no foundation there, so building a treasure pavilion is like starting from scratch—over half the cost is in the backyard alone…”

The backyard was where he’d live in future, so it was necessary, but if Qin Jing didn’t have enough funds…

Wanting to save his pride, Susan said, “Nana, so if we skip the backyard and just renovate the front shop, it would only cost four million?”

Ah, so all that talk about being rich was just talk. When it came time to pay, the real situation was clear. Still, Qin Jing was quite young; being able to put together four million at his age was already impressive. She’d just have to brace herself for more of Li Bin’s scorn.

Thinking this, Yuan Na said, “That’s right. Renovating the first and second floors would only cost about a million, and adding a third floor would be a bit over two million. It wouldn’t even need four million to finish the front.”

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Thanks to I Li Yuqing I for the 500 reward. Please bookmark and vote for recommendations.