Is the Beauty Free?

Feng Jun was placing orders for another expedition. Last time, he had only ordered goods worth a little over ten thousand yuan. This time, with money in hand, he went big.

He wanted both motorcycles and tricycles. When the time came, he could find a secluded spot—use a motorcycle when he wanted a motorcycle, and a tricycle when he wanted a tricycle.

Of course, that was only a plan. Who knew how long it would be before he could freely enter and leave the space without worrying about energy points?

Still, people had to have dreams. What if they came true?

After paying the deposit, the young man from the real estate agency happened to contact him and ask him to inspect a property.

The kid was really working hard. He had actually found a suitable listing in a single day.

The house was beside Xinguang Cement Plant, a single-story home with a small courtyard. The property rights belonged to the cement plant, and it was connected to the plant's electricity.

The agent had found the captain of the plant's security team. The captain said the courtyard could be rented to them for ten thousand yuan a month. They could use as much electricity as they wanted, and he could even underreport it a little. "But... you can't let us work for nothing. You understand."

The young man from the agency had done his homework. He quietly told Feng Jun, "The cement plant uses a huge amount of electricity—several thousand kilowatt-hours an hour. If you use a few hundred amps, it won't stand out at all."

At 220 volts and 500 amps, it would only be a little over a hundred kilowatt-hours per hour. Compared with several thousand kilowatt-hours, it was nothing.

But Feng Jun had a question. He quietly asked, "As far as I know, Xinguang Cement Plant is a private enterprise, right? Who is this Captain Chen that he dares take kickbacks?"

The young man answered dismissively, "The Cai brothers started the place. The three brothers are fighting now, and everyone below them is on edge. No one cares about this sort of thing."

Feng Jun himself did not have any moral hang-ups. At the very least, he was quite familiar with going to bars and chatting online.

But he still felt that this was not the best choice. Places full of disputes were prone to trouble.

So he said he needed to think about it.

The young man immediately grew anxious. He had dealt with plenty of clients; this was clearly a polite refusal.

So he immediately said, "If you don't mind expensive electricity, I have another place. Let's go take a look together."

This place was fairly far from Yang City, about thirty kilometers away. It consisted of two small hills not far from the riverbank.

The agency kid drove the company car, so the distance did not matter. As they traveled, he introduced the place.

The two hills had been privately contracted for reforestation. The forest itself was nothing special, but the contractor was a businessman whose attention was not on this place. He treated it only as a fallback and did not care whether it brought in income.

The man already had a green card from Mairui Country and was in the process of immigrating. Since he had not stayed in Mairui Country during the first half of the year, he had to remain there during the second half. Otherwise, forget immigration—his green card would be voided too.

In short, his whole family was currently in Mairui Country, serving out the so-called immigration residency requirement. It was a necessity.

Apparently, they would not consider returning to the country before August next year.

Once someone went abroad, their property still needed someone to watch over it. Otherwise, by the time they returned, the forest here would have been stripped bare.

The owner had asked a distant relative to look after the place and was paying him for it.

Halfway up the hills, facing the riverbank, the contractor had built a huge villa covering nearly two thousand square meters. Land here was cheap, after all.

In short, a lot of money had been invested here. Roads had been built, wells dug, drainage ditches laid, and a row of dormitories constructed for temporary workers to eat and sleep in.

Most importantly, the power supply here was unreliable, so the contractor had bought a generator and built a dedicated pump house. The generator, distribution room, and well were all inside.

It was easy to imagine that the owner had originally intended to run the place seriously. It was just that... at least for now, he had no time to care about it.

The expensive electricity the young man had mentioned referred to power generated by the diesel engine.

What delighted Feng Jun was that the electrician at the pump house told him the generator had an output of 800 kilowatts and a rated current of 1,500 amps.

The contractor's distant relative also showed up and said, "Rent is ten thousand yuan a month. I'll give you however many rooms you need. I won't charge you for electricity either. When you arrive, the generator's diesel tank will be full. When you leave, just refill it."

He had only one requirement: no bringing in shady people!

Feng Jun was simply too satisfied with the place. The mountains were clear, the waters beautiful, and there was no one around. In the enormous villa, there were only him and the contractor's distant relative. Everyone else stayed in the temporary workers' dormitories at the foot of the hill.

The distant relative did not ask what Feng Jun planned to do. There was no need for him to worry—everyone here worked for him anyway.

As long as he barred Feng Jun from bringing in shady people, what could a young punk like him possibly do?

As for the ten-thousand-yuan monthly rent, it was a little expensive. This was a villa, sure, but it was in the middle of nowhere. Even if he invited others to stay here, they might not be willing.

But Feng Jun did not care. He only needed a place where he could charge up. Fifteen hundred amps? Perfect. If he charged for a full day and night, he could enter and leave the space twice. There could not be a more suitable place than this.

So he made the decision on the spot. "All right, this is the one. I'll stay here tonight, and tomorrow we can go to the agency together to handle the paperwork. Sound good?"

After thinking it over, the distant relative still asked, "Are you going to use electricity tonight?"

Only then did Feng Jun realize that he had arrived empty-handed, carrying only a small bag. If the generator suddenly started guzzling diesel under those circumstances, it would be hard to explain.

So he had no choice but to suppress the thought. He gave an awkward laugh. "No electricity tonight. I'll just stay here and get a feel for the place, see whether it matches my aura."

The distant relative scratched his thinning hair, thinking, You're renting a house and talking about auras? Are you sick?

But to him, renting out the house meant extra income, so he smiled and nodded. "All right. I'll give you one courtyard to stay in. Do you want the front courtyard or the back?"

The villa was huge, divided into front and back courtyards, with roughly the same layout.

Feng Jun chose the back courtyard, worried there might be surveillance cameras in the front. The chances of cameras in the back were lower.

He did not care that much about cameras, but if he could avoid them, why would he not?

Finally, he called over the electrician and said, "Fill the diesel tank first, then help me buy some spare diesel. I won't make you work for nothing."

The electrician happily agreed. Who would not be pleased at the chance to earn some extra money?

Feng Jun felt a little sentimental. When he had asked Sixth Master to help buy diesel, the old man could also earn a markup, but he had not seemed nearly so happy—after all, Feng Jun had bought much less then.

In short, money spent in the right place made everything better.

Early the next morning, the distant relative came to find Feng Jun and drove him to the real estate agency to handle the paperwork.

Both of them were eager to settle the matter, so they completed the procedures within five minutes. Feng Jun immediately transferred twenty thousand yuan—just as agreed, one month's rent and one month's deposit.

The distant relative was quite pleased. "I drove here. Let me help you move your things over."

But Feng Jun had other ideas and politely declined.

He had formed a preliminary plan. During the day, he could do other things, then go sleep at the villa at night and charge while he slept. When he woke up, he would have just enough energy points to enter and leave the space once.

In short, he was very satisfied with this house. The matter that had worried him most had finally been resolved rather perfectly.

Then he called Wang Haifeng again, only to find that the guy still would not answer.

After hanging up, Feng Jun had no idea what he should do. He actually felt a little lost.

After thinking for a moment, he simply sat on a roadside bench, opened ChatChat, and entered his conversation with Ye Qingyi.

"Is the beauty free at noon?" He typed the line, hesitated, then deleted it. Instead, he selected a photo and sent it over.

It was a photo of Mutton-Fat Jade Seed Material that he had taken earlier.

Two minutes later, Ye Qingyi sent back a questioning emoji.

When Flowers Fall: Lady expert, could I trouble you to appraise this jade for me? What do you think of it?

Ye Qingyi: What lady? I'm just an ordinary person [shy]. Where did this jade come from?

When Flowers Fall: Of course it's mine [picking nose]. I found it at Confucian Temple Secondhand Market. How much do you think it's worth?

Ye Qingyi: You're joking. Something like this couldn't possibly appear at the Confucian Temple.

When Flowers Fall: All right, I was joking. Your keen eyes are truly impressive, my lady. I admire you deeply! [cupped hands]

Ye Qingyi was silent for a while before sending another line: But it does look quite like jade.

When Flowers Fall: Really? It really is jade? [ecstatic] Great! I'll go sell it right away.

Ye Qingyi: Wait, I want to see it in person. This piece of jade is quite extraordinary.

When Flowers Fall: Too late. I already sold it. [smirk]

Ye Qingyi: ...I knew it. So it really isn't your jade. Where did you see it? It might be Mutton-Fat White Jade. I want to broaden my horizons.

When Flowers Fall: What do you mean, where did I see it? It's mine, all right? But your eye is pretty good. It really is Mutton-Fat White Jade! [strong][strong][strong]

Ye Qingyi: Stop joking. Do you know how much such a large piece of Mutton-Fat White Jade is worth?

When Flowers Fall: At least a few hundred million, right? [silly grin]

Ye Qingyi: Not necessarily a few hundred million. I don't know jade prices particularly well, but the price differences for mutton-fat jade can be enormous.

When Flowers Fall: I sold this jade for six million. Was that a loss? [question]

Ye Qingyi: Stop joking around [angry]! How could you possibly own jade like that?

When Flowers Fall: But it really is my jade... [awkward]

Ye Qingyi: [wiping sweat] Fine, even if it is your jade, can you let me see it and broaden my horizons?

When Flowers Fall: I sold it. I really sold it... [awkward][awkward][awkward][awkward][awkward]

Ye Qingyi: ...

Ye Qingyi: Who did you sell it to, and for how much?

When Flowers Fall: I sold it to Liang Haiqing from Henglong Jewelry. I already told you the price—six million. [happy]

Ye Qingyi: You're joking, right? [playful]

When Flowers Fall: Everything I said is true! [going crazy]

Ye Qingyi: ...All right. Do you still have photos of the jade?

When Flowers Fall: Yeah, I even have videos of it.

Ye Qingyi fell silent again for a while before finally sending: Why didn't you ask me to appraise it when you sold the jade? [angry]