Striking It Rich

"Thank you, Elder."

Upon receiving the promise, a knowing smile appeared on Li Fengheng's face.

The two chatted for a few more minutes.

Perhaps noticing the plate of steaming meat buns on the table, Li Fengheng quickly and tactfully excused himself and left.

Before leaving.

He ordered his men to carry all the prepared gifts into the house.

"Mr. Li, there's no need for that trouble. I haven't done anything for you, how could I dare to trouble you with such expense?"

While verbally refusing, Li Mubai moved the tables and chairs aside, creating a large open space to make it easier to place the boxes.

Although he verbally declined, his actions spoke volumes.

Li Mubai was overjoyed at the gifts the other party had given him.

With two more people in the family, he was already worried about money. After all, his salary from the Spirit Hall was no longer enough to support the family's expenses after he spent it on entertainment at brothels or doing other things.

Originally, Li Mubai planned to start a business and open a winery, then have Zhao Shuran manage it, so as to earn some money to supplement the family income.

Now it's all right.

The gifts that Li Fengheng presented were probably worth a fortune.

It's like a pillow being delivered just when you're about to fall asleep.

Now he doesn't have to worry about how to make money.

"Elder Li, you're too kind. It's my greatest honor to have you visit. These are just small gifts, nothing more."

See through it but don't say it.

Although Li Fengheng had already seen through the other party's 'genuine rejection,' he did not expose it. Instead, he continued to direct the servants to move all the items into the house and pile them up together.

He wouldn't feel at ease if the other party didn't accept the gift.

As for now?

He was completely relieved because the other party didn't reject his gift; on the contrary... they seemed quite happy and eager to receive it.

Soon.

Several large boxes, along with some small gift boxes, filled the corner of Li Mubai's house, piling up to form a small mountain.

After all the gifts had been moved into the house, Li Fengheng, who was standing at the door supervising the servants, then took his leave.

"Elder Li, I shall take my leave now. If there is anything I can do to help you, please don't hesitate to ask."

In front of the main gate.

Under the watchful eyes of his entourage and some onlookers, Li Fengheng maintained a respectful and polite demeanor.

"Please take care."

Li Mubai nodded with a smile.

The other party helped him solve a major problem, so his attitude was naturally very good.

Now, the construction of the new city is all set, just waiting for the right opportunity. Next, he needs to go to the eastern part of Spirit City to survey the terrain and prepare the blueprints.

Once the planning drawings are completed, they can be submitted to Bibi Dong for review and approval.

Once Bibi Dong finalizes the blueprints, construction can begin on the new district.

Certainly.

Before that.

We also need to invite prominent figures from the business world to a mobilization meeting, where Li Fengheng can take the stage and give a speech, thus harvesting a large number of gullible investors.

After everyone left.

Zhao Shuran then came out of the bedroom.

Looking at the boxes piled up like a small mountain in the corner, she curiously went over to take a look.

"Brother Bai, this is..."

"Oh, the gift from that merchant earlier. I don't know what's inside. Could you open it for me and take a look?"

Li Mubai sat on the table, holding a steamed bun in one hand, and turned to her.

"I'll drive?"

Zhao Shuran pointed to her nose with her slender, delicate hand.

"Go ahead and open it. I haven't had breakfast yet, I'll eat first. As for what's inside, I'm quite curious too."

Li Mubai continued eating, his voice somewhat muffled.

Hearing the sound.

Zhao Shuran felt Sisi warm current flow through her heart.

She had vaguely overheard their conversation in the room, and from the content of their conversation, she knew that the visitors were no ordinary people.

A gift from someone like that must be quite valuable.

And Li Mubai trusted her so much, letting her open these boxes without his permission—wasn't he afraid she'd steal the contents?

She glanced gratefully at the back of the person diligently cooking, then squatted down and chose a large box right at her feet.

The box was very large, and it was made of the most solid sandalwood.

The box itself was already quite expensive.

The items stored in such boxes will certainly be more valuable than the boxes themselves.

What's inside?

With a hint of curiosity, Zhao Shuran reached out and gently pried open the lid of the box, then pushed it backward.

The box was not locked.

So with just a gentle push, the box opened.

A wisp of gold suddenly shot out from the crack.

Upon seeing this golden light, Zhao Shuran did not stop her movements. With a little more force, she pushed the lid of the box open completely.

Upon seeing what was inside, Zhao Shuran utterly shocked.

Her lips parted slightly, and she was about to cry out in shock at the scene before her.

But.

As soon as she opened her lips, she realized what was happening and quickly covered her lips with one hand to avoid losing her composure.

Only.

Looking at the box full of Gold Soul Coin, she was still too shocked to speak for a moment.

How many gold coins could there be in such a large box?

Zhao Shuran estimated that at least ten thousand gold coins would be needed!

Ten thousand gold coins—that's more than she could earn even if she worked diligently selling tofu for a hundred years.

And now.

Such immense wealth is within reach, right before your eyes!

Zhao Shuran watched with an inexplicably excited expression.

Despite being amazed by the box of gold coins, she was more curious about Li Mubai's identity.

For a high-ranking merchant to send such a lavish gift, just how distinguished must Li Mubai's status be?

"During the conversation just now, that guest kept mentioning 'elder,' could it be that Brother Bai is an elder from some Soul Master sect?"

Zhao Shuran didn't hear the entire conversation clearly, but she did catch some things vaguely.

"If that's really the case, then Brother Bai..."

Zhao Shuran suddenly realized that there was an insurmountable chasm between the two of them.

Li Mubai is like Bai He standing atop a mountain peak, while she is like an ugly duckling on the ground. How could she possibly compare to him?

Li Mubai was completely unaware of Zhao Shuran's inner thoughts.

He had already finished the last meat bun on his plate and also took a sip of the soy milk that Zhao Shuran had prepared beforehand, which she had brought with her when Zhao Shuran moved.

Li Mubai took out a silk handkerchief and wiped his greasy lips before asking:

"Sis, what's in the box?"

As he spoke, he had already rounded the corner and arrived beside Zhao Shuran.

Upon seeing the opened box, Li Mubai couldn't help but blurt out, "Holy crap!"

Inside the box, everything was gleaming gold.

Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the box and making it shimmer like twinkling stars in the sky, captivating all who looked upon it.

As expected of a famous and wealthy businessman, he truly has money, casually giving away a large box of gold coins.

Unlike me, I'm a penniless wretch...

I thought that once I became powerful enough, I wouldn't be short of money, but I never expected this?

Why...

Li Mubai sighed inwardly.

Only.

This gloomy mood vanished in an instant, washed away by the chest full of gold coins before him.

Li Mubai became excited again.

He estimated that this box must contain at least ten thousand gold coins.

"What should we do with this money? How about we go to the Mandarin Duck River to admire the most beautiful courtesan?"

As he thought about it, a smile involuntarily appeared on Li Mubai's face.

"Brother Bai, should we open the other boxes?"

Zhao Shuran's voice brought Li Mubai back to reality.

Looking at the several large, unopened chests, Li Mubai nodded, a hint of excitement in his voice:

"Open! Of course we should open it!"

The first chest was overflowing with gold coins. What would be in the chests that followed?

He was also very much looking forward to what was in the other boxes.

Zhao Shuran gave a light snort, then looked at another large box, placed her hand on it, and gently pushed it.

The lid then opened.

What appeared before Zhao Shuran was a box full of egg-sized, silvery-white pearls, which shone with a silvery-white luster under the light, their pearls displaying a myriad of colors!

"East Sea Pearl!"

Zhao Shuran could no longer contain her shock and immediately cried out in alarm.

"What the heck? A pearl from the East Sea??"

Li Mubai looked completely bewildered.

After he came into this world, he immediately began the arduous path of cultivation. He knew very little about other things, or high-end and valuable items, and had no understanding of them at all.

Therefore, he had no idea what kind of treasure this so-called East Sea Pearl was.

After all, those pearls from my previous life weren't very valuable.

But.

Judging from Zhao Shuran's horrified expression and her tone just now, Li Mubai could guess that this so-called East Sea Pearl must be an extremely precious treasure.

After all, Zhao Shuran didn't scream when faced with a box of gold coins, but when faced with a box of pearls, she couldn't help but scream and break down.

This is quite evident.

The value of this box of pearls should be far greater than the value of the box of gold coins in front of it!

"Sister, what kind of pearl is this from the East Sea?"

Li Mubai made no attempt to hide his ignorance and immediately asked.

"You don't know what this is?"

Zhao Shuran somewhat puzzled.

In her view, Li Mubai was no ordinary person; the fact that the wealthy merchant addressed him as "elder" showed him great respect, indicating that he must be very knowledgeable.

So she never expected that Li Mubai wouldn't know about this.

However, she didn't feel any contempt in her heart. Instead, she patiently and gently explained things to Li Mubai:

"East Sea Pearls are produced in Great Yellow Bay on the eastern coast of the Heaven Dou Empire."

Only in this place can you find pearls of such high quality, such large size, and such beautiful color.

And the value of this pearl lies not only in its beauty.

It also has medicinal value. Many famous healing pills or beauty products must use it as one of their main ingredients.

In addition, the production capacity of Great Yellow Bay is limited.

Because things are rare, pearls produced in this area are quite valuable.

Often, a single pearl can be worth thousands of gold coins.

And this was a price from several years ago.

As time goes by, the output in the producing area will inevitably decrease sharply.

So.

The value of this pearl has certainly increased considerably.

However, I don't know exactly how much higher it is.

Zhao Shuran spoke, her eyes became vacant and lifeless, as if she were lost in some kind of memory.

"That's really exaggerated?"

Li Mubai was immediately dumbfounded after hearing the explanation.

He gazed at the box full of pearls before him.

If what Zhao Shuran said is true, then the price of this box of pearls would be outrageous!

Once this idea arose...

Li Mubai, who had been staring intently at the gold coin box, immediately shifted his gaze to a pile of pearls inside.

In a daze.

The scene before Li Mubai's eyes was completely transformed; it was as if the whole world was raining down gold coins.

That's right.

At this moment, the pearls in Li Mubai's eyes seemed to have turned into a huge pile of gold coins.

"So, does that mean I'm now considered middle class?"

Li Mubai's eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

"Brother Mubai, Mother, what are you doing?"

A childish voice suddenly rang out behind the two, and Xiao Yu'er appeared beside them.

As soon as they arrived.

Xiao Yu'er's big eyes were immediately drawn to the silvery-white pearls in the box on the ground, and she couldn't take her eyes off them.

Obviously.

She really liked this shiny silver thing.

"Yu'er."

A maternal glow spread across Zhao Shuran's face as she explained, "Your mother and your brother Mubai are counting the gifts."

"Brother Mubai, what is this?"

Xiao Yu'er stretched out her chubby hand and pointed to the silvery-white pearl in the box, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"This is called the East Sea Pearl."

Li Mubai knelt down, affectionately ruffled Xiao Yu'er's hair, then reached into the box, took out a pearl, and handed it to Xiao Yu'er.

"Yu'er, you can take this pearl and play with it."

"Really?"

Xiao Yu'er was overjoyed. After Li Mubai nodded gently, she immediately took the pearl in her hand, played with it, and examined it carefully.

"Yu'er, don't be rude! Quickly return the pearl to Brother Mubai."

Zhao Shuran was startled and immediately scolded Xiao Yu'er.

These pearls are far too valuable to be given to a little child to play with.

The little girl's joy at receiving the treasure vanished instantly upon being scolded by her mother, replaced by a Sisi fear.

Zhao Shuran rarely loses her temper or scolds people.

So.

Upon hearing Zhao Shuran's voice, Xiao Yu'er was immediately at a loss.

"Sister, there's no need for that. This pearl is for Xiao Yu'er to play with. I've been teaching her to read and write, and to recite ancient texts and scriptures. I've long considered her my disciple. Can't I, as her teacher, even give her a small pearl? Let alone a pearl, even if she wanted the stars in the sky, I would find a way to pluck them from the sky and bring them to her."

Li Mubai waved his hand, interrupting Zhao Shuran, while looking at the little girl with eyes full of affection and a smile as gentle as a spring breeze on his face:

"Don't be afraid, little girl. Your brother will decide this. You can take this bead and play with it; your mother's opinion doesn't count."

Zhao Shuran looked at Li Mubai and opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something.

But in the end, she forced her lips together.

Upon hearing Li Mubai's comforting words, the fear on Xiao Yu'er's face immediately vanished.

She looked at her mother again.

Upon noticing that the latter's previous seriousness had vanished, replaced by a helpless expression, the little girl immediately held the pearls in her hands and smiled happily.

At this moment, she...

It's about a child who got a new toy.