How Could I Be This Busy?

Before doing anything, people should make a complete plan so they could better achieve their goals.

So, in order to "get back at" Dad and empty the money from his pockets, Bai Yang began drawing up a detailed plan.

Since he had only just moved in, he turned the place upside down and failed to find even a scrap of paper. He could only make the plan in his phone's notepad. After racking his brains for ten minutes, Bai Yang typed out a complete plan.

One: Go over there and look for precious timber.

Two: Bring the timber back and sell it to Dad, emptying out his pockets!

"The plan is perfect. Now it's time to put it into action." Bai Yang nodded at the flawless plan he had painstakingly devised after ten minutes of hard thought.

The plan was admittedly a little too simple, but never mind such details.

Once again, he gave thanks to the all-powerful internet. With a casual search online, Bai Yang found plenty of information about precious timber.

Red Sandalwood, Huali Wood, Golden Nanmu, Tiger Stripe Wood, Golden Camphor, Red Rosewood, Chicken Wing Wood, Grass Pear Wood, Flower Branch Wood, White Rosewood, and the like—these precious timbers people often mentioned were all dream materials for furniture-making. A single set of furniture made from such wood could easily fetch an astronomical price, and some could even be made into bracelets and sold for one or two hundred thousand.

These precious woods were only broad categories. Their values also varied according to factors such as where they grew and their age. Bai Yang could not be bothered to figure out such specifics. He only provided raw materials, a porter for nature. All he needed to do was save their appearances and identification methods on his phone.

What did the grain of each kind of wood look like? How beautiful was it? What tremendous benefits did it have for the human body? What did any of that have to do with Bai Yang? He only needed to bring it back and sell it to Dad for money.

If anyone thought Bai Yang was heartless and carefree, then they were dead wrong. He wanted to use this method to give Dad a hand and push his business one step further. How could he turn a blind eye to all those years of care and upbringing? If not for that, why would he waste time hauling wood instead of exploring a brand-new world?

Still, it seemed selling timber like Red Sandalwood was against the law? Without the relevant permits, trading it recklessly would probably bring no small amount of trouble...

Scratching his head, Bai Yang selectively ignored those details. Whatever. He would first find some precious timber over there. Dad worked in solid wood furniture, so he probably understood the ins and outs better than Bai Yang did. There was no rush to bring it back; he could ask Dad first.

"Then all that's left is to carry a saw into the woods over there and look for precious timber. Sigh, where's my saw...?"

Only then did he realize that when he moved, he had forgotten the saw—the one thing with the least presence.

He slapped his forehead. Fine, he would go back and get it.

His gaze swept over the two jars and cloth bundle in the bedroom, and Bai Yang frowned. One jar contained the Tiger Penis Wine he had brewed; the other jar and the cloth bundle had been gifts from the white-bearded old man when he returned.

"Their local specialties, maybe? Let's see what they are."

The moment he opened the crude black jar, a rich, soul-soothing fragrance of alcohol flooded the entire room. Bai Yang did not drink much, yet just smelling it made him feel as though he could get gloriously drunk...

"Isn't this the kind of liquor that knocks me out in one cup?"

Bai Yang stared blankly at the emerald-green liquor in the jar. He had not expected their local specialty to be this stuff. He clearly remembered how he had downed one bowl in a daze, started bleeding from the nose, and passed out cold. He did not dare touch it at all, so he shook his head and sealed it back up.

Next, he opened the cloth bundle wrapped in coarse strips of fabric. He unwrapped it layer by layer like a mummy, until something dropped to the floor with a plop.

"Holy shit... isn't this the legendary... ginseng?"

Bai Yang stared blankly at the thing on the floor that looked like a dried carrot.

This thing was simply too famous. Even someone like him, who knew absolutely nothing about Chinese herbal medicine, could recognize it at a glance.

Actually, even ginseng was not that big a deal. But the ginseng on the floor was nearly a foot long, with densely tangled roots, and that was a little frightening. Anyone could tell with their buttocks that it was the most authentic Wild Ginseng. Bai Yang did not understand its age or quality, but he knew this thing was probably worth a king's ransom.

"This thing could probably fetch a million or two without breaking a sweat, right? And earlier, I tossed it around like it was garbage?"

Fine, Bai Yang was not about to think of himself as wasteful. At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind: those savages next door all seemed to be fucking rich. They casually gave him a single ginseng root, and he was about to strike it rich.

He pulled out his phone and checked the time. It was only three thirty in the afternoon. He was quite pleased with how efficiently he had moved, and with so much time to spare, he had no choice but to change his plans.

"Wild Ginseng is useless sitting around—it's best turned into money. If I took it to a pharmacy to sell, I'd be a complete idiot. I need to find an auction house to maximize the profits. Sure, they'll definitely take a cut, but it'll be safe and reliable. Otherwise, wouldn't I get taken for a ride like some grandson? And since this jar of emerald-green liquor was gifted alongside Wild Ginseng, it's probably good stuff too. I should take some to the quality inspection institute for testing..."

Looking at the two items, Bai Yang swiftly formed a plan.

But with that, he suddenly realized that he seemed rather busy. Just a few days ago, he had been bored out of his mind...

One thing at a time. After pondering for three seconds, Bai Yang arranged his next itinerary: go home to get the saw, drop the Wild Ginseng off at an auction house along the way, then take a little liquor to the quality inspection institute. After that, he could still mooch a meal at home before returning with the saw.

The itinerary was perfect!

He acted as soon as he decided. Taking out his phone, he searched for nearby auction houses and quality inspection institutes. The quality inspection institute was a government department, so there would be no shady business. Getting something tested only cost money, and everything went through the proper procedures. Auction houses were another story; there were too many tricks involved. But that was fine. The bigger the name, the fewer tricks they would pull for the sake of their company's reputation. Looking for the biggest one could not go wrong.

He found the customer service number for Wanbao Pavilion, S City's most famous auction house, and called. A girl with a rather pleasant voice answered. He made an appointment to bring something over within an hour for auction consignment. OK, he could go straight there later.

"After all, it's a major nationwide chain auction house. Their standards are beyond reproach. There wasn't any of that looking down on people nonsense. Then again, no industry is easy these days. Having a bad attitude toward customers is no different from aiding the enemy. No boss with any sense would allow employees like that to stick around."

As he muttered to himself, Bai Yang deftly took a small stainless-steel flask from the box holding his outdoor gear. He opened the liquor jar and filled it with roughly thirty milliliters of emerald-green liquor, slipped it into his pocket, and set off.

Bai Yang had great faith in the security of this villa complex. He was not worried at all about leaving the Tiger Penis Wine and that jar of who-knew-what liquor in the villa. The only trouble was that it was hard to hail a taxi inside the complex, and he had to walk more than ten minutes before reaching the main road outside...

"My temper's about to explode. I can't be walking in and out every time, can I? I can't afford something with four wheels, but isn't something with two wheels easy enough?"

Seeing a shop selling motorcycles across the road, Bai Yang suddenly got the urge and headed straight over.

Electric bikes and motorcycles filled the store in a dazzling array, but Bai Yang bought things purely by feel. He had originally wanted an electric bike for getting around, but then he saw a flashy sport motorcycle and could not take his eyes off it.

"Twenty-nine thousand eight hundred? These two wheels are seriously that expensive?"

With a pained heart, he swiped his card and nearly thirty thousand vanished just like that. He even stubbornly haggled until the shop owner filled the tank for him, then rode off on the brand-new black sport motorcycle.

"What a spendthrift. He bought a thirty-thousand-yuan motorcycle without even asking the price," the shop owner sighed as he watched Bai Yang speed away.

But Bai Yang's thoughts were entirely different. How precious was his time? He could casually go over there and bluff his way into getting two carrots—no, ginseng roots—and that would be enough to buy the whole shop. Who had time to nitpick over a thousand or eight hundred yuan with him...

It was not that Bai Yang was too heartless and carefree. It was simply that one had to keep an open mind in life. Why fuss over every last detail and wear oneself out? Of course, if Bai Yang did not have enough money but desperately wanted to buy something and was too embarrassed to ask his family for it, the shop owner would probably be haggled until he vomited blood...

It was not yet quitting time. Bai Yang rode his sport motorcycle, weaving and darting through traffic. In such scorching weather, nothing felt better than cruising on a motorcycle. In less than ten minutes, he arrived at the Wanbao Pavilion branch.

Worthy of a major nationwide chain, it had directly rented two floors of a more than thirty-story office building. Since he had made an appointment in advance, Bai Yang was led into a spacious reception room by a sweet-looking girl.

Bai Yang had no time to haggle with some so-called manager. He simply took out the ginseng, tossed it over, and said, "You handle it. I trust your company's reputation."

When the female manager, who was no less attractive than a movie star, saw the ginseng Bai Yang had produced, she was left at a loss. After making a phone call, half an hour passed; Bai Yang had already drunk several cups of tea when a whole crowd of old men came rushing in...

The rest was simple. They appraised it right in front of Bai Yang, filmed and documented the entire process, and signed a bilateral consignment contract under a lawyer's witness.

After being promoted for a while, the ginseng would be auctioned at an Autumn Auction at the end of the month. Bai Yang only had to wait to count his money.

Bai Yang did not care much about the appraisal result. It was going to auction anyway. The only clause that pleased him was the one stating that if anything happened to the ginseng, the other party would compensate him eight million unconditionally.

"Those old men are kind of pitiful too. They looked at a piece of ginseng like they'd seen their dead father come back to life. Is it really that good? I don't feel a thing at all..."

Bai Yang strode away with copies of the consignment agreement and appraisal certificate in hand, muttering to himself all the while...

(As usual, please send recommendation votes and add it to your collection.)