Return to Another World

Even if the material was calculated at the top price, the cost would only be thirty to fifty thousand. Huang Huai's offer of one hundred thousand clearly meant that the labor cost for his father's craftsmanship started at fifty thousand, which was definitely full of sincerity.

Wang Guangzong also didn't expect Huang Huai to be so generous at such a young age. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "One hundred thousand is too much of a rip-off. If the young brother is sure about this, let's just make it eighty thousand."

Huang Huai immediately agreed. He accompanied Wang Chuanye to the storeroom to inspect the material, paid half of the deposit, and arranged to pick up the statue in a month before leaving the shop.

However, as Huang Huai was leaving, he saw the statues all over the shop and seemed to recall something. He picked out another statue in the shop, a majestic Great Spirit God statue. The statue was not large, only about the size of a palm. It was more like a decorative piece than a statue. Huang Huai found it interesting and spent a few hundred yuan to bring this Great Spirit God statue home, wrapping it in red silk and putting it in his backpack.

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In HZ City, Dongshan Province, at the high-speed rail station exit, Huang Huai saw Shi Ting's extremely conspicuous figure from afar. He walked up to him and said with a smile, "I've troubled you this time."

Shi Ting sized Huang Huai up before speaking, "Aren't we brothers? You seem to be living quite comfortably. Look at your complexion; no one would believe you were born frail."

The two walked out of the station while chatting and laughing. Getting into the car, Shi Ting said to Huang Huai in the passenger seat, "Should I arrange a hotel for you first, or..."

Huang Huai directly replied, "Let's go find the incense master you mentioned first."

Shi Ting was not surprised by Huang Huai's choice and immediately started the car, saying, "In that case, let's set off. It'll take at most an hour, and I guarantee you'll meet the master."

Just as Shi Ting had said, it took about an hour's drive. Shi Ting drove to a farmhouse courtyard in a town and stopped.

Although it was called a farmhouse courtyard, it was built in the style of a quadrangle, making it quite conspicuous among the surrounding houses.

Shi Ting parked the car and got out with Huang Huai, saying, "Don't underestimate this place just because it's a small farmhouse. This entire property cost millions."

As he spoke, Shi Ting glanced at Huang Huai and chuckled, "Of course, compared to you, who is destined to inherit a fortune of billions, a few million is nothing."

Then, Shi Ting's loud voice rang out, "Master Li, are you home!"

Soon, footsteps could be heard from inside the courtyard. With a creak, the gate opened, and an old man in a traditional gown looked at Huang Huai and Shi Ting with a hint of surprise.

As the old man approached, Huang Huai felt a faint fragrance wafting towards him. The fragrance was fresh, and he assumed this was the incense master they were looking for.

Before the old man could speak, Shi Ting said, "You are Master Li Maosheng, aren't you? We were introduced and came specifically to buy incense from you."

Li Maosheng glanced at the two of them, then turned and walked into the courtyard, saying, "Come in. What kind of incense do you want?"

Shi Ting smiled and said, "They say your incense-making skills are top-notch. What kinds of incense do you have here?"

Mentioning incense, the old man's spirits immediately lifted. His face flushed, and he spoke volubly, "There are many types of incense, such as sandalwood incense for calming and soothing, agarwood incense for relaxing nerves and regulating emotions, lavender incense for improving sleep..."

The old man didn't stop talking for a long time. After a while, he looked at Huang Huai and Shi Ting with a look of lingering interest and said with a hint of pride, "I have at least dozens, even hundreds, of types of incense here. I can say that whatever you can think of, I can make it."

Under the old man's guidance, they walked through the incense room, looking at the various incense candles displayed there and their introductory plaques. It was truly as the old man had said, a wide variety of incense with different effects. Shi Ting and Huang Huai were truly enlightened.

Shi Ting paused, his gaze falling on a type of incense named Jubilation. The plaque's description was exactly as Shi Ting had imagined, and his expression immediately became strange.

Shi Ting signaled to Huang Huai. Huang Huai glanced at it and couldn't help but twitch his lips. Why did this guy focus on this?

The old man noticed Shi Ting's reaction and didn't pay it any mind. However, Huang Huai was afraid that Shi Ting would say something inappropriate, so he quickly spoke to the old man, "Master Li, we are here mainly to purchase a batch of incense and candles for worshipping deities. I wonder if you..."

Li Maosheng couldn't help but look at Huang Huai and Shi Ting with surprise. He thought they were just rich second-generation youths who came to buy some top-quality incense to show off to their friends. He didn't expect Huang Huai to want incense and candles for worshipping deities.

However, having lived for most of his life, Li Maosheng had seen all sorts of people. He smiled and nodded, saying, "I have specially made God-Worshipping Incense, which is usually used for burning the first incense of the year..."

Huang Huai's eyes lit up. Incense and candles used for burning the first incense of the year must be good, right? After all, some people now spend tens or hundreds of thousands of incense money to be the first to burn incense at famous mountains and ancient temples. One could imagine how good the incense and candles used by these people for the first burn could be!

Shi Ting also asked curiously, "Good heavens, using it for the first incense of the year, the price must not be cheap!"

Master Li smiled without answering. Instead, he directly led the two to a spot in the incense room and pointed to the incense in front of them, saying, "This is my specially made God-Worshipping Incense!"

Huang Huai and Shi Ting both looked over simultaneously. They had to admit that the appearance of the God-Worshipping Incense was truly excellent. It was golden all over, about as thick as a thumb, and upon closer inspection, there were faint dragon patterns on the incense stick. At first glance, it looked like a work of art.

Shi Ting exclaimed, "It's just a stick of incense, but looking at this God-Worshipping Incense now, I don't even want to burn it!"

Huang Huai looked at the God-Worshipping Incense with satisfaction and then asked the old man, "Master Li, what's the price!"

Master Li smiled and held up one finger, saying, "One thousand per stick!"

Shi Ting's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "One thousand per stick? Are you robbing us!"

Huang Huai remembered that in that extraordinary world, the incense stick given to him by the restaurant owner was worth one tael of silver. If converted according to the price level of that world, it would be thousands per stick.

Compared to that, this God-Worshipping Incense could not be considered expensive. If this Master Li's secret God-Worshipping Incense had an even better effect than that incense stick, wouldn't he be making a huge profit?

"Give me a hundred sticks first!"

Shi Ting opened his mouth at this, but he didn't say anything. Huang Huai was not a child. Since Huang Huai decided to buy it, he must have his reasons. As a friend, he just needed to make sure Huang Huai wasn't being cheated.

Soon, Master Li prepared a hundred sticks of God-Worshipping Incense for Huang Huai. After the transfer, Master Li took out a wooden box and handed it to Shi Ting, saying, "This is my specially made Jubilation Incense, which can be used for pleasure..."

Shi Ting's expression became incredibly colorful. Even after leaving Master Li's residence and getting back into the car, Shi Ting was still complaining to Huang Huai, "Huaizi, what did that old guy mean? Jubilation Incense for pleasure, why didn't he give it to you, but to me? Let me tell you, Brother Ting is a seven-time champion overnight..."

The car started, and Huang Huai just listened with a smile. After a while, Shi Ting stopped complaining and looked at Huang Huai, "Huaizi, what's with that expression? Don't you believe in my strength?"

Huang Huai said earnestly, "Brother Ting, have you ever heard of 'protesting too much,' or 'burying three hundred taels of silver in the backyard'?"

Shi Ting immediately shouted, "That old guy is misleading people!"

They chatted and laughed all the way back to the city. Shi Ting had originally planned to treat Huang Huai well, but Huang Huai had already booked his train ticket back for the evening. So, the two simply found a restaurant and had a simple meal.

Shiyan. Huang Huai, covered in dust, got out of the taxi and returned to his accommodation with the day's haul. It was already past nine o'clock in the evening. Huang Huai washed up simply and fell asleep.

The next morning, compared to the previous two times he had traveled, Huang Huai was much calmer. He began to pack the things he needed to bring.

First, he retrieved the Holy Lord Emperor Guan statue, wrapped it carefully in red cloth, and placed it with the box of God-Worshipping Incense and the Great Spirit God statue he had brought back yesterday.

After thinking for a moment, Huang Huai entered another room and opened a wardrobe. What appeared before him was a safe. As Huang Huai entered the password, the safe opened.

Inside the safe, besides more than a dozen bundles of cash, there were several golden bars and some documents such as property deeds.

He took out three gold bars, then restored the safe and wardrobe to their original state, and left the room.

He packed everything into a bundle and slung it over his shoulder. Finally, confirming that there were no oversights, Huang Huai walked into the bedroom, closed the doors and windows, and drew the curtains. The room was immediately plunged into darkness.

As Huang Huai willed it, the familiar portal appeared and gradually solidified.