Million Hardship Fee!

"Ning Wangshu?"

When Qin Feng mentioned that name, the other teachers were taken aback. Clearly, they were not very familiar with it.

At that moment, one of the teachers suddenly said, "Teacher Qin, this Ning Wangshu you mentioned... could he be that student from your class who went missing for several months?"

"Yes, that's him!"

Qin Feng replied with a smile.

"Hiss..."

At that, the other teachers all drew sharp breaths.

Ning Wangshu's grades had been quite good before as well. He had consistently ranked among the top few dozen students in his grade, but because he had gone missing for several months, he had not taken the last few mock exams.

That was why teachers from the other classes were not especially familiar with him.

However, his disappearance had been common knowledge among the school's teachers. Now that they were told he was the student who had gone missing for several months, they immediately remembered.

And precisely because of that, they were even more shocked!

"Teacher Qin, this Ning Wangshu from your class is incredible. He went missing for months. Even if he had kept studying, it definitely couldn't have been as effective as studying at school. Yet even so, he still managed to rank among the top students in the entire province!"

"Exactly. Ning Wangshu from your class is truly impressive. I just wonder what his exact provincial ranking is. If he hadn't gone missing for those months, his score would probably have been even higher!"

Seeing the other teachers looking at him with admiration and a touch of envy, Qin Feng felt rather pleased with himself.

As a teacher, especially one teaching a senior class, what could be more worthy of pride than having one's students achieve excellent results in the College Entrance Examination?

Moreover, Ning Wangshu's ranking among the province's best students meant that Qingbei was basically guaranteed.

To Qin Feng, this was not merely an honor. It also concerned his future evaluations, bonuses, and more.

Leaving aside how pleased Qin Feng was at the moment, Ning Wangshu was buying groceries at the vegetable market.

His younger sister still had classes that afternoon, so after eating lunch at home, she had gone back to school.

However, she had specifically asked her teacher for leave from evening self-study that night, intending to give Ning Wangshu a proper celebration at home.

Just as Ning Wangshu finished buying groceries and returned to his front door, he unexpectedly saw Zhang Yong there.

Ning Wangshu could not help but freeze for a moment.

When Zhang Yong saw him return, delight immediately appeared on his face. He hurried over and said, "Ning, you're finally back..."

Ning Wangshu looked at him and asked, "Manager Zhang, why are you here?"

Zhang Yong smiled ingratiatingly. "Ning, I have something I'd like to ask of you. I specifically asked Old He and learned that you live here, so I took the liberty of coming over."

"I hope you'll forgive my intrusion, Ning..."

Ning Wangshu nodded slightly. The Old He Zhang Yong mentioned was obviously He Mingyuan.

A few days earlier, He Mingyuan had come looking for him, specifically to thank Ning Wangshu for helping drive the Evil Spirit out of his nephew's body.

Although He Mingyuan did not have Ning Wangshu's contact information, he did have Ning Ruoxuan's.

Therefore, Ning Wangshu was not surprised that Zhang Yong had learned where he lived from He Mingyuan.

Still, hearing that Zhang Yong had come to ask him for a favor, Ning Wangshu was somewhat surprised. He said, "Manager Zhang, what exactly do you need from me?"

"Could it be that something happened at your Construction Site again? That shouldn't be possible. With those Talismans I left there, any ordinary Evil Spirit that dared to appear would be killed without exception!"

"Besides, so much time has passed. The problem at your Construction Site should have been completely eradicated long ago. Even the Talismans I gave you should have lost their effect by now."

Zhang Yong hurriedly said, "Ning, you misunderstand. Nothing has happened at my Construction Site. I have to say, the Talismans you gave me were truly formidable. Not long after you left that day, many of those Paper figure Evil Spirits appeared at my Construction Site."

"However, they were all struck dead by the divine lightning unleashed by your Talismans!"

"I came specifically to see you today, Ning, because I have another matter to ask of you!"

"Oh?"

Ning Wangshu was somewhat surprised. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Manager Zhang, come inside first. We can talk there."

Since Zhang Yong had already come all this way, Ning Wangshu saw no reason to turn away someone who was being so polite.

"Alright, alright. Thanks, Ning!"

Zhang Yong repeatedly expressed his thanks and followed Ning Wangshu inside.

After inviting Zhang Yong to sit down, Ning Wangshu put the groceries in the refrigerator. Only then did he ask, "Manager Zhang, go ahead. What exactly is this about?"

Zhang Yong quickly replied, "Ning, it's like this. I came this time on someone else's behalf. Because I work in construction, I was fortunate enough to get acquainted with a very influential big shot."

"But recently, that big shot seems to have run into some trouble and has been asking around for a capable expert. When I heard about it, I thought of you, Ning."

"So I mentioned some of your deeds to that Big Boss. He was very interested in you and wanted me to invite you to meet with him on his behalf..."

Hearing Zhang Yong's words, Ning Wangshu smiled and glanced at him. "Manager Zhang, you're using me to do you a favor, aren't you..."

Zhang Yong smiled awkwardly and rubbed his hands together. "Ning, please help me out! As long as you're willing to meet that big shot, no matter how your discussion goes, I'll give you this amount as a hardship fee."

As he spoke, he held up one finger.

Ning Wangshu raised an eyebrow. "One million?"

"Mm!"

Zhang Yong nodded vigorously. After a brief pause, he added, "If you can reach an agreement with that big shot, Ning, then regardless of how much compensation he gives you, I'll personally give you another one million as thanks. What do you think?"

Ning Wangshu fell into thought.

Previously, he had been rather indifferent toward money. After all, he hardly needed to spend much himself, and having several hundred thousand was already enough for him and his younger sister to cover their university expenses for the next few years.

However, after buying back the family home, his thoughts had changed somewhat.

Although they had bought back the house, once he went to Jiangnan University, and his younger sister went there the following year, living in the dormitory all the time would still be inconvenient.

Moreover, dormitories were shared rooms. How could they compare to living comfortably in one's own home?

So over the past few days, he had been considering whether he should buy another apartment near Jiangnan University after enrolling there. That way, he and his younger sister could live in their own place off campus instead of cramming into a dormitory with so many others.

It would also be much more convenient for his younger sister to cultivate normally, without having to deliberately avoid other people.

However, Jiangnan City, where Jiangnan University was located, was the provincial capital. Housing prices there were nothing like those in Linchuan. Even a small apartment would cost at least around two million.

The money he had left was not enough.

Of course, Lin Anguo had said that day that if Ning Wangshu later regretted selling those two Jade Pendants too cheaply, he could go to Lin Qingzhu at any time, and Lin Anguo would make up the difference.

But Ning Wangshu could not possibly do that.

Although he wanted to conserve the resources he had brought back from the Cangyuan Realm, he was not short of one small piece of Spirit Jade. If necessary, he could simply sell another piece of Spirit Jade.

Still, now that Zhang Yong had come knocking, Ning Wangshu was somewhat tempted.