I'm back.
I'm really back.
Looking at the familiar furniture and appliances—air conditioners, water heaters, and all the other products unique to modern civilization—Su Jie nearly shed tears.
Over the past six months, he had suffered quite a bit at Ghost Ridge Palace.
Every day, he had to cultivate while scrambling to make a living, all the while guarding against the cruel competition within the sect. He had been living on tenterhooks.
"It's been six months. Do you know how I've spent these six months?"
Su Jie gazed at the ancient mirror in his hand, myriad bitter emotions surging through his heart.
Fortunately, half a year of tempering had made his mentality exceptionally resilient. Within just a few seconds, he had calmed himself.
Facing the teleportation portal once more, Su Jie stepped through, and sure enough, he had returned to Tianyuan World.
After trying several times, Su Jie confirmed his guess.
This ancient mirror could carry him freely between Blue Star and Tianyuan World. With it, he could travel back and forth between the two worlds.
"Hiss, I admit I was a little loud just now. Magic Mirror, Magic Mirror, you really are a wonderful treasure."
A smile that he could not suppress hung from the corners of Su Jie's mouth.
Having witnessed a world of treacherous upheaval and mysterious cultivation, he did not intend to flee back to the real world for good.
Although the real world was safe, without any danger to his life, and offered pleasures far beyond that world,
compared with the temptation of immortality, money and power were no more than drifting clouds. Su Jie knew perfectly well which was more important.
Su Jie merely wanted to borrow Blue Star's resource advantages to assist his cultivation in Tianyuan World.
Otherwise, with his terrible cultivation aptitude, he would have no hope of rising above the crowd even if he cultivated until death.
After finding his phone on the bed and plugging it in to charge, he saw several missed calls and text messages. They were all from his landlord, urging him to pay the rent.
Back then, Su Jie had paid six months' rent in one lump sum, and it was now nearly due to expire.
Next, he checked his savings. The mere five-digit figure was clear at a glance.
"I need to make money."
At that moment, Su Jie immediately understood what he needed to do.
To make use of modern resources, he absolutely had to have money.
"The total is thirty-two thousand six hundred and three yuan. Whether in Tianyuan World or on Blue Star, I'm a bona fide member of the impoverished population!"
Su Jie gave a self-mocking smile.
Su Jie's birth mother had divorced his father and lost contact with him when Su Jie was little. His father had contracted a serious illness while Su Jie was in college. Even after selling their house and car and exhausting their savings, they had failed to save him.
By the time Su Jie graduated from college, this was all the wealth he possessed.
If this had been right after his graduation, Su Jie would probably have been anxiously worried about his rapidly dwindling nest egg.
But now that Su Jie possessed supernatural powers, if he wanted to make money, setting aside crimes and the like,
he could rely on his skill at training insects to put on a performance show or appear on a program and make money with ease.
However, Su Jie had no intention of continuing to work for someone else.
That way of making money was too troublesome, and the earnings were too little.
With the differences between the two worlds, he could make a fortune simply by acting as a profiteer!
Speaking of which, what products from Tianyuan World were valuable in modern society?
"Trading gold and silver? Tsk, no, no. I could make a little money at first, but once the volume got too large, it would become troublesome."
Su Jie pondered rapidly, first eliminating gold, silver, and jade.
In either world, these hard currencies were extremely valuable and difficult to obtain.
Even if there was a price difference, trading them back and forth could easily draw attention. Large-scale transactions in precious metals would especially attract the notice of government agencies.
Before his strength had grown, Su Jie did not intend to be so conspicuous.
"Antiques don't seem viable either. Blue Star wouldn't recognize antiques from Tianyuan World!"
Su Jie furrowed his brows and racked his brains. Tianyuan World's overall social environment was that of a feudal era, so it certainly did not lack antiques and curios.
But the two worlds did not share a common culture. Without the weight of history behind them, those items could not command a high price.
One option after another was eliminated. Su Jie paced back and forth in his rented apartment, failing to notice when he bumped into the corner of the table.
A red mark appeared across his waist, but Su Jie paid it no heed. Instead, he stared fixedly at the wooden table, and an answer suddenly flashed through his mind.
"That's it—wood! I can sell wood! I'll go into the timber import business."
Su Jie slapped his thigh, coming up with an extremely sound idea.
In the mountains around Ghost Ridge Palace, verdant ancient trees several hundred or even a thousand years old could be found everywhere.
Among them were some precious species that were exceedingly rare on Blue Star.
For example, Golden Silk Nanmu, xiaoye red sandalwood, Huanghuali, and other trees.
After a thousand years of logging on Blue Star, these tree species had become critically endangered and exceedingly scarce.
But in Tianyuan World, they were merely ordinary trees, and no one went around recklessly cutting them down.
Su Jie only needed to treat the timber as imported from overseas and establish a company with import-export credentials—or operate under a company that already had them—to sell it domestically legally.
"Hiss, this plan has real potential!"
Su Jie's eyes lit up. Hua Country imported more than 100 million cubic meters of timber annually, and the timber trade was extremely prosperous.
After searching online for more information, Su Jie became even clearer about his target. He planned to start by cutting down a tree called xiaoye red sandalwood.
This tree had already gone extinct in ancient Hua Country. Only old timber passed down through generations remained, while similar trees were now produced only in Country A.
He could cut down the trees himself, then use spiritual power to dry them rapidly, or directly make them look aged, after which he could sell them reasonably and legally.
Because this tree had already vanished from Hua Country, he naturally would not risk illegal logging. Nowadays, the xiaoye red sandalwood sold in many timber markets either came from family inheritances or was imported from Country A, and all of it was sold openly.
At this thought, Su Jie could no longer contain his excitement. He turned around and stepped back into Tianyuan World, searching for precious trees to cut down.
Following his plan, Su Jie first sold a small amount of precious metal to obtain funds in the millions, then began setting up shell companies at home and abroad, paying people to smooth out connections and secure import-export credentials.
Once everything was ready, Su Jie began his plan.
Blue Star, Linping City, Cold Lily Home Furnishings Company.
Su Jie stepped out of a taxi. Looking at the company building before him, which stood more than a dozen stories high and belonged exclusively to Cold Lily, he thought over the company's information as he walked inside.
Cold Lily Home Furnishings was a well-known home-furnishings company in Hannan Province. It focused on the high-end home-furnishings sector, with products reaching every part of Hua Country.
"Hello, sir. How may we help you?"
The two young women at the front desk smiled professionally as they asked Su Jie his purpose.
"I'm a representative of Hengyuan Company. I'm here to discuss a partnership with your company. We spoke on the phone before. I'd like to see the manager of your purchasing department."
Su Jie got straight to the point. He had come to make money. As for Hengyuan Company, it was a shell company he had hired someone to register, making transactions more convenient.
"Of course, sir. Please wait a moment while I make a call."
One of the receptionists made a call, then quickly said to Su Jie, "Sir, Manager Liang would like you to go to his office. I'll take you up now."
A few minutes later, Su Jie successfully met the purchasing manager of Cold Lily Home Furnishings, Liang Lianjun.
"May I ask your surname?"
Liang Lianjun lifted his gaze from the computer screen. His bottom remained planted in the chair, and his attitude was neither warm nor cold.
"My surname is Su. I wanted to ask whether Cold Lily purchases raw timber?"
"Mr. Su, Cold Lily has always had stable suppliers and overseas purchasing channels. May I ask which timber mill you represent?"
Liang Lianjun's attitude grew even colder. He assumed Su Jie was a salesperson from some timber mill trying to break into Cold Lily's supply chain.
Cold Lily Home Furnishings had no shortage of partners and suppliers. Hua Country was currently the largest timber importer on Blue Star, with timber mills as plentiful as hairs on a cow. Countless people wanted to hitch a ride on Cold Lily's fast-moving wagon.
"Manager Liang, take a look at this first."
Su Jie did not answer immediately. He took out his phone and opened his photo album.
Inside were the results of his two days of hard work cutting timber in Tianyuan World. He showed them to Liang Lianjun.
"Mr. Su, Cold Lily has stable raw-material channels. Beech wood, Pine logs, rosewood, oak, Black Walnut, Cherry wood, and so on—we're not lacking any of them. I'm afraid cooperation—"
Liang Lianjun had not finished speaking when he seemed to see something unbelievable.
He rubbed his eyes, then abruptly leaned closer, staring intently at the photographs on Su Jie's phone screen.
"This is... top-grade xiaoye red sandalwood, at least eight hundred years old. Mr. Su, you aren't joking with me, are you? You... you have the goods? You really do?"
Liang Lianjun's voice trembled. He sprang to his feet, excited and agitated, as though he had just seen the woman of his dreams.
This was top-grade xiaoye red sandalwood!
This tree was known as the king of timber. It was dense, hard, highly resistant to decay, and capable of withstanding insects and dampness.
Moreover, xiaoye red sandalwood grew slowly—five years for a single growth ring, and a century before it could barely become usable timber. Since ancient times, furniture made from xiaoye red sandalwood had mostly been reserved for imperial households.
Today, xiaoye red sandalwood had been extinct within Hua Country for hundreds of years. The stock of old timber was scarce, to say nothing of such top-grade material.
Cold Lily specialized in high-end furnishings, yet even it rarely managed to obtain raw materials of this caliber.
"I don't like joking. Manager Liang, I have the goods on hand. You're welcome to come inspect them. But let me make one thing clear first: this batch of timber was inherited from my ancestors. Your company will have to handle the paperwork yourselves."
Su Jie put his phone away. Seeing Liang Lianjun's expression, he knew that his plan had already succeeded halfway.
"Of course, of course. Is it convenient to inspect the goods now? If the raw materials are fine, everything else can be resolved. Cold Lily will buy the entire batch."
Liang Lianjun did not consider the matter a problem. Capital dared to trample every law when enough profit was at stake. Besides, this was a major company. Whether the timber was truly inherited or not, they could wash it clean.
"I can make the transaction at any time."
"Then there's no time to lose. I'll have the company send a car right now."
Liang Lianjun was overjoyed. He eagerly brought Su Jie tea and water, the little air he had put on earlier long gone. Now he was the one begging Su Jie to sell him the goods.
Top-grade xiaoye red sandalwood like this was a case of the quick-handed getting it and the slow-handed going without. It was completely a seller's market.
If his negligence caused the deal to fall through, it would practically be a crime.
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