Gift

Besides that, Huang Huai still had many doubts he wanted to verify. Not to mention anything else, why did the statue of the Great Spirit God, brought along with the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, inexplicably shatter? Yet, the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan was unharmed and instead underwent a transformation.

Also, since the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan could manifest in this world, what about other statues? If he were to invite a statue of the Greatly Compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva, or perhaps a statue of Mazu, or even a statue of the Three Pure Ones, would they be able to manifest like Holy Lord Emperor Guan!

Thinking about this, Huang Huai's heart was filled with excitement and anticipation.

Asking his way around, Huang Huai quickly found Horse Family Alley and located Master Ma Xing, the person Du Wu had recommended.

After a conversation, Huang Huai could feel that the other party was a simple and honest person, not good with words. However, after hearing Huang Huai's requirements for repairing the residence, he patted his chest and guaranteed that as long as the materials were prepared, he would renovate the residence to be as good as new, and Huang Huai would definitely not be disappointed.

With the thought of returning to the present world in his mind, Huang Huai naturally wouldn't delay. He immediately invited Ma Xing to go to his residence together.

In the residence, Huang Huai stated his repair requirements to Ma Xing, who nodded and took notes, surveying the entire residence. Huang Huai looked at Ma Xing and said, "Master Ma, I'll entrust the repair work to you. Please give me a quote for the labor and materials."

Ma Xing nodded upon hearing this, muttering softly and occasionally counting on his fingers. After a while, he looked up at Huang Huai and said, "Master, if you want to achieve the requirements you just mentioned, the repairs will cost at least fifteen taels of silver."

As if afraid Huang Huai would misunderstand, he explained, "The main reason is that you require completion within half a month, so I'll need to hire a few helpers, which will increase the labor costs. If you don't limit the time..."

He had spent dozens of taels to buy this house, and he thought that renovating it inside and out would cost at least a few dozen taels. To his surprise, Ma Xing's quote was so low. Huang Huai immediately smiled and said, "Fifteen taels it is. As long as you complete the work with quality and quantity, Master Ma, I'll give you a bonus."

Hearing Huang Huai say this, Ma Xing's wrinkled face broke into a smile, and he repeatedly assured Huang Huai that he would not be disappointed.

Watching Ma Xing leave with the deposit and the money for raw materials, Huang Huai felt that a major matter had been settled.

Originally, there wasn't much that needed his attention in this world. The matter of repairing the residence was handed over to Ma Xing, and he only needed to check on it occasionally. However, there were many things in the present world that required his attention.

Not to mention his parents and younger sister who were coming to visit him, he also needed to spend some effort finding the statues he needed to verify his conjectures.

However, before returning, Huang Huai wondered if he should bring back some local specialties.

He casually closed the door and walked among the crowd. On both sides of the street were various shops, selling all sorts of things.

Unfortunately, as he walked along, Huang Huai awkwardly found that none of the items sold in these shops were suitable as gifts to take back.

It was understandable. In the present world, with its material abundance, anything could be bought with money. Moreover, the manufacturing processes for many items were far superior to those in this other world.

Suddenly, Huang Huai stopped, a smile appearing on his face, and he looked up at the shop in front of him.

"Xue Family Tea House."

It was a tea house. Even standing at the entrance, he could smell a faint aroma of tea.

Thinking of his father, who loved tea, and his master, the Great Daoist Master, Huang Huai unhesitatingly walked into the tea house.

As soon as he entered, the aroma of tea wafted towards him. Influenced by his father and master, Huang Huai had some ability to discern good tea, though he couldn't claim to be an expert.

He saw an old man in a green robe sitting cross-legged, with a tea set in front of him. In the exquisite teacups, steam was rising. Opposite him was a middle-aged man in a robe embroidered with mountains and rivers.

Huang Huai's heart stirred at a glance; this person was a disciple of the Great River Sect.

Huang Huai was deeply impressed by the robe embroidered with mountains and rivers. If he hadn't seen it before, it would be one thing, but Huang Huai had seen the same attire more than once.

The Seventh Elder, wearing a robe embroidered with mountains and rivers, had left a profound impression on him the first time he witnessed the extraordinary.

And then there was Peng Yu, the Peng Family's Third Young Master, whom he had seen with his own eyes yesterday wearing the same mountain and river embroidered robe distributed to disciples of the Great River Sect. Seeing the same attire again, it would be strange if Huang Huai didn't recognize it.

As if sensing Huang Huai's gaze, Han Song looked up at him, took a sip of the tea in front of him, and said to the old man opposite him with a smile, "Mr. Xue's tea art is as exquisite as ever. I'll take this Spilled Jade Tea."

Saying that, Han Song got up, took a can of tea from a nearby table, and floated away.

At this moment, the old man sitting cross-legged picked up a teacup, poured another cup of tea, and looked at Huang Huai with a smile, saying, "Young man, you seem to be someone who enjoys tea. If you don't mind, why not try my tea!"

Huang Huai was slightly taken aback, then reacted. Seeing the old man's demeanor, he didn't stand on ceremony. He bowed to the old man, then sat down cross-legged, unpretentiously picked up the teacup, and took a sip.

With just one sip, the tea was slightly bitter at first, but then a refreshing coolness rushed straight to his head. It felt like someone drowsy on a hot summer day suddenly drank an ice-cold drink, invigorating the entire person.

"Good tea, it truly refreshes the mind and spirit, with an endless aftertaste!"

Hearing Huang Huai's words, Xue Qing's hand stroking his beard trembled slightly. His gaze towards Huang Huai became peculiar, clearly taken aback by Huang Huai's evaluation.

However, Xue Qing quickly recovered and burst into laughter, "Indeed, indeed, young man, what you said is not wrong. This Spilled Jade Tea does indeed have the effect of refreshing the mind and spirit."

Huang Huai said with a hint of embarrassment, "I just like drinking tea, but I only have a superficial understanding of tea. You must think I'm a laughingstock, old sir!"

Xue Qing chuckled and stood up, "Young man, what kind of tea are you looking to buy?"

After a cup of tea, Huang Huai felt refreshed and invigorated. This miraculous change made Huang Huai realize that the tea he drank was probably not ordinary. Suppressing his inner astonishment, he said to Xue Qing, "Old sir, do you have any more of this Spilled Jade Tea!"

Xue Qing raised his eyebrows and looked at Huang Huai, "This tea is called Spilled Jade Tea, and it is a unique spiritual tea from my Xue Family Tea House. Drinking it has the effect of calming the mind and nourishing the spirit, and it is highly favored by cultivators, hence it is also known as Spilled Jade Spirit Nourishing Tea."

As for Xue Qing's statement that the tea had the effect of calming the mind and nourishing the spirit, Huang Huai had already experienced it. He was currently feeling refreshed and invigorated, so he naturally knew that the other party was not exaggerating.

Especially upon hearing that this so-called Spilled Jade Spirit Nourishing Tea was highly favored by cultivators, Huang Huai became even more certain that this tea was extraordinary. He immediately said, "May I ask the price of this tea?"

Xue Qing stroked his beard and said calmly, "Ten taels of gold per liang of tea!"

Huang Huai was not surprised by this. One liang of tea costing ten taels of gold meant that one liang of tea was worth two to thirty thousand yuan. This price was indeed not low. Even the top-tier famous teas in the present world that had fetched sky-high prices would have few that could compare in price to this Spilled Jade Tea.

However, Huang Huai unhesitatingly took a gold bar from his pocket and placed it on the table, saying, "Please trouble yourself to get me two liang of Spilled Jade Tea."

Xue Qing was not surprised. Although Spilled Jade Tea was expensive and highly favored by cultivators, it was far from being a cultivation resource. Compared to many of the cultivation resources that cultivators truly needed, its value was far less.

Holding two cans of Spilled Jade Tea, Huang Huai left the Xue Family Tea House in high spirits. Now he had a gift for his father.