Making Money

Dawn had barely broken when Ning Ruoxuan slowly woke from her sleep.

The moment she awoke, she instinctively sat bolt upright and looked around. Only when she saw Ning Wangshu sitting cross-legged on the floor to one side did she secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

But then, she frowned.

Just as she was about to speak, Ning Wangshu, who had noticed that she was awake, opened his eyes and smiled. "Ruoxuan, you're awake."

"Hmm."

Ning Ruoxuan responded, hesitated for a moment, then could not help asking, "Older Brother, why didn't you make yourself a bed on the floor? Didn't I get you a mattress and a blanket? Why are you sitting directly on the ground?"

Ning Wangshu smiled slightly. "No need to make such a fuss. Did you forget what I told you last night? Your brother here is half an 'immortal.' Why would I still need sleep?"

Uh...

Ning Ruoxuan opened her mouth, then scratched her head awkwardly. "Right, I forgot about that."

Ning Wangshu smiled, then said, "All right, Ruoxuan. Hurry up and wash up, then go get something to eat. It'll soon be time for morning self-study."

"Okay!"

Ning Ruoxuan nodded, then suddenly asked, "Older Brother, are you... still going to school?"

Ning Wangshu said, "Whether I study or not doesn't really mean much to me anymore."

"But you were right last night. When our parents were still around, their greatest wish was for the two of us to get into a good university."

"So, to fulfill their final wish, I'll definitely attend university, and I'll also take this year's College Entrance Examination. Of course, I won't be going to school today for the time being..."

Ning Ruoxuan was stunned. "Older Brother, do you have something to do today?"

After a pause, she could not help adding, "There's less than half a month left before the College Entrance Examination. Are you sure it'll be okay for you to take it this year...?"

Ning Wangshu smiled. "Didn't I tell you yesterday? I need to earn some money first. Otherwise, how can your body hold up if you only eat vegetables and things like that every day?"

"Besides, we'll need money for university too."

"As for the College Entrance Examination... have you forgotten that I'm a cultivator now? Even though I haven't touched this knowledge in over nine thousand years, I haven't forgotten what I learned back then. And now, I can read ten lines at a glance and remember everything I see."

"I just need to spend a little time reviewing and familiarizing myself with the exam questions again. There shouldn't be any major problem..."

"That's good, then." Ning Ruoxuan paused before asking, "But Older Brother, how are you planning to make money?"

Ning Wangshu smiled. "I have a rough idea. As for the specifics, I'll have to see how things go."

"Hmm."

Ning Ruoxuan responded softly. She had wanted to say something else, but when she thought about how her brother was no longer an ordinary person, she did not say any more.

After thinking for a moment, however, she added, "Oh, right, Older Brother. I actually still have a few thousand yuan on hand. If you need money, just let me know."

Ning Wangshu laughed silently, but he still went along with her. "All right. If I really need it, I'll tell you."

After a brief pause, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Oh, right. I never had the chance to ask you yesterday. What happened to the house? Why did Mom suddenly sell it?"

Ning Ruoxuan's expression stiffened slightly. She looked at Ning Wangshu, her expression somewhat complicated.

She sighed softly and said in a low voice, "You know the mortgage on that house hadn't been paid off yet. After you disappeared, Mom had to look for you, so she couldn't keep running her breakfast stall."

"Our family completely lost its income. On top of that, it cost a lot for Mom to search everywhere for you. She couldn't keep up with the mortgage payments, so she could only sell the house before the payments were cut off..."

"As for the money from selling the house... there wasn't much left, really. Housing prices had fallen too much these past few years. Then I had to arrange Mom's funeral, which also cost quite a bit."

Ning Wangshu fell silent after hearing his younger sister's words.

His nose stung slightly.

He had never expected that his mother had sold the house because of him too...

Taking a deep breath, Ning Wangshu said, "Ruoxuan, where is Mom buried? After school at noon, take me to see her. I'll wait for you at the school gate..."

"Okay! Mom is buried at the cemetery near Qingniu Mountain. Now that you're back, you should go see her..."

Ning Ruoxuan let out a soft breath as she spoke.

After Ning Ruoxuan finished washing up, the siblings left the house together.

After saying goodbye to his younger sister at the school gate and watching her enter the school, Ning Wangshu finally turned and left...

"I'll go take a look near the hospital first. If I can find someone seriously ill, it would naturally be best to treat them and earn some money. If not, I can only sell a piece of Spirit Jade as ordinary jade stone. It would be a bit wasteful, though..."

Ning Wangshu muttered to himself.

With his methods, along with the many spirit herbs and medicinal pills in his Storage Ring, there was basically no illness he could not cure. As long as someone still had a breath left in them, Ning Wangshu was confident he could save them.

He had also considered that they probably would not believe him, but that was not much of a problem.

He could simply treat them first and collect payment afterward.

If he asked enough patients, there would always be someone willing to try treating a dead horse as if it were alive...

Besides, as he had said, if all else failed, he could directly sell Spirit Jade.

Before long, Ning Wangshu arrived at Linchuan City's largest hospital—Linchuan First People's Hospital!

Standing at the hospital entrance, Ning Wangshu watched the many patients and family members coming and going, but he did not rush over to ask around.

After all, ordinary patients certainly would not believe the words of a "green kid" like him and risk letting him treat them.

Only those who were already gravely ill, beyond the help of medicine, might be willing to treat a dead horse as if it were alive and let him give it a try.

"Could I just go straight to the intensive care ward and ask? If I really did that, the hospital staff would probably throw me out immediately..."

Ning Wangshu smiled bitterly.

He watched outside the hospital for over half an hour, yet did not spot anyone who was truly at death's door.

Just as he was pondering how to get in contact with those seriously ill patients, someone suddenly approached him. The person had just come out of the hospital and was merely passing by Ning Wangshu.

But when his gaze happened to sweep across Ning Wangshu's face, he suddenly froze.

Then, surprise appeared on his face. His footsteps stopped unconsciously as he stared at Ning Wangshu with some hesitation and uncertainty. "You... you're that kid from the Old Ning Family? If I remember right, your name is Wangshu?"

Hearing the man suddenly speak, Ning Wangshu was startled. He looked up at him suspiciously. That face felt vaguely familiar, and after thinking for a moment, he immediately recalled who the man was.

He said in surprise, "Uncle He?"

Hearing Ning Wangshu address him, the other man finally confirmed his identity. He immediately grinned and patted Ning Wangshu on the shoulder. "Wangshu, it really is you!"

"Kid, why are you here? I heard from your mom before that you'd gone missing. Your mom even called me to ask whether I'd seen you. What happened?"

Ning Wangshu was about to reply, but in the next moment, he suddenly frowned and stared at the man. "Uncle He, lately... have you provoked some unclean things?"

"Unclean things?"

The man froze. Then, as though he had thought of something, his expression changed drastically. He muttered, "Could it be... there really are unclean things?"

The man before him was named He Mingyuan. He had been Ning Wangshu's father's workmate at the Construction Site, and they had gotten along quite well.

When Ning Wangshu's father was still alive, He Mingyuan often came to their home to drink and chat with him. Later, Ning Wangshu's father suffered an accident at the Construction Site, and He Mingyuan had also helped Ning Wangshu's family on many occasions...

Hearing He Mingyuan's words, Ning Wangshu immediately asked, "Uncle He, can you tell me exactly what happened?"

At that, He Mingyuan looked up at Ning Wangshu, took a deep breath, and slowly began to speak...