Procuring Materials

"I've already told you the ingredients for the materials, so now you can go take a look around yourselves."

"Here is a list; you need to purchase the materials on it—don't worry, the money is provided by Dream Garden. Your grade for this class depends on the quality of the materials you procure. If you get a high score, I can even apply for rare spell instruction for you." Cen Jing smiled as she handed one list to Jiang Han, then stuffed another into Li Li's hand, while simultaneously giving them the funds for the procurement.

Along with two miniature spatial bags.

"A procurement mission..." Li Li looked at the list in Jiang Han's hand with a speculative gaze.

She already felt that something was off. The shift efficiency at the tutoring center was usually low, and it was rare for a mentor to arrange a substitute teacher immediately after an emergency, let alone a procurement mission like this—she had never even heard of such a thing. Witches usually had to spend money to learn how to identify materials; you had to buy them a few times and get burned a few times to gain the experience, but that kind of situation would never happen at a stingy tutoring center.

"What if we have money left over?" Jiang Han asked after glancing at the list.

"Hmm... that is a question. Whatever you can save, you can keep as pocket money. Consider it compensation from Dream Garden for delaying your normal classes," Cen Jing said with a smile.

Her answer made Jiang Han nod happily, as this would greatly alleviate the predicament of having only 50 in pocket money. Meanwhile, Li Li wore a thoughtful expression, standing quietly to the side, silently staring at the list in her hand.

"What? Is something wrong?" Jiang Han asked.

"...No, nothing."

Li Li felt as if she had found the answer. The identity of Miss Jiang Han before her was extraordinary, though even she didn't quite understand what that extraordinariness symbolized, to the point that Dream Garden, this training institution, kept sending her signals of goodwill. This also sparked great curiosity in Li Li:

The extraordinariness that Jiang Han represented usually fell into only two categories in the world of Witches.

Powerful strength.

Or a noble identity.

She knew that her new partner definitely had a background. The 'special rights' and 'special treatment' granted by the training institution, and even the level of treatment that allowed her to benefit by association, further confirmed the scope of Li Li's conjecture.

Jiang Han was a bit curious as to why Li Li had suddenly stopped talking and become even more silent.

However, she wasn't overly curious; after all, this Fox Witch was quite cold on every topic except for cars and dragons...

Hmm, wait, besides dragons and cars, she also liked tofu, right?

Without continuing to focus on the Fox Witch's mental state, Jiang Han watched the beautiful witch depart and stood in place to study the Dream Garden procurement list:

"180 grams of Amethyst Silver-Filtering Solution, I remember that high-level spells of the Evocation School require it."

"300 grams of Dusk Gold, what a spendthrift."

"50 grams of Emerald..."

She scanned all the materials on the list. Most were minerals, and a small portion were plants. The procurement funds were about the same as the tuition fees for two semesters for a normal elite tutoring student. The price was set quite strictly, forcing Jiang Han to marvel at how professional Dream Garden truly was.

People who could afford the tutoring fees certainly wouldn't be tempted to run off with this money and disappear into the city.

A very precise grasp of the psychological bottom line.

Recalling the stalls that Cen Jing had explained the materials at earlier, Jiang Han already had a rough procurement route in mind and said to Li Li:

"Do you have a lot of things to buy?"

Li Li's fox ears twitched, "A normal amount."

Dream Garden was quite generous. Li Li's procurement list also basically contained a large amount of minerals and a small amount of plants, giving her enough room to benefit from the operation.

This made her even more curious about why Miss Jiang Han was treated so favorably by Dream Garden. It was very likely that she had been specifically pulled out to be her partner because of her.

Li Li wasn't worried about being used or anything. As a beneficiary, she would only express intense curiosity.

"A commission that lets students make money, that's rare," Li Li remarked pointedly.

She put away the list and headed in a different direction first. Before leaving, she glanced at Jiang Han again, "I'm going to buy the plant materials first."

"Oh."

This witch had suddenly become a bit strange. Could it be that procurement missions were rarely... Jiang Han thought that made sense. After all, the tutoring center charged fees and wasn't a charity; a commission that actually allowed students to make money must be rare.

Jiang Han followed another route in her mind. Since Li Li seemed to want to separate from her for the time being, it was best if she didn't just follow her.

That would be impolite.

However, Miss Li Li's black bodysuit and the fluffy blue-and-white cloak worn over it had a sexiness rating of 100 points, making any rash attempt to follow her look like a wolf—oh, no, a lecher. It would be even more impolite...

After imagining Miss Li Li's great figure, Jiang Han turned her attention to the procurement, weaving in and out of the stalls, asking for prices here and there.

Although she had never been good at this, in another world, due to life circumstances and her younger sister's personal teaching, she had practiced a decent ability to haggle. Combined with the lovable and exquisite appearance of this life, she successfully acquired the items on the list at ninety percent of the market price.

"Gemstones, bought... plant materials, also bought... hmm, I still need to buy some Light Mint Tangerine. Hiss, although the data says this stuff can be used as an ingredient for Mana Tofu and as a spellcasting material for certain Evocation School spells, can you really eat mint-flavored tangerines?"

Should I spend a little of the money I saved... Hesitating, Jiang Han arrived at a stall displaying quite a few crucibles.

Those crucibles contained fruits and melons.

The Light Mint Tangerine was among them, a fruit that looked like a ripe persimmon. Jiang Han flipped through her notes and confirmed it was edible.

Jiang Han pulled a food bag from beside the crucible, picked out a bag full of tangerines, and finally picked up one extra, "Checking out."

"This bag is 600." The witch selling the fruit looked quite mature and beautiful, with healthy skin and snow-white skin under her robes—it seemed to be a tan. She held a long pipe in her hand, took a puff, and pointed at the one in Jiang Han's hand, "I'll give you that one for free, as long as you give me your phone number."

"...I don't have a phone." Jiang Han's face turned red naturally. Although she wasn't really shy, this life's body seemed a bit too sensitive; whenever she felt even a little bit shy, her face would flush.

The stall owner took a puff of her pipe, her gaze lingering on her face for a few seconds, then asked her: "Mailing address?"

She really was persistent... Jiang Han, still blushing, asked for paper and pen under the other person's increasingly appreciative gaze and wrote down her home's signal receiver address.

If you write the recipient's signal on the address line when sending a letter, the postman will deliver the mail precisely to the recipient's home without any errors. It might take about a day, but it only takes one day across almost the entire country because of a magical spell called the Anywhere Door. This one-day period is mainly for collecting letters, sorting them, and assigning tasks, so the local postman can head out to deliver them immediately the next day.

After providing the mailing address, the Witch stall owner became exceptionally enthusiastic. In addition to giving her a Light Mint Tangerine, she also gave her a cigarette-box-sized portion of Moon Mint Leaf, which is a material that can be used for making tofu and can also be used to improve the flavor of potions.

After purchasing the materials, Jiang Han took out her list and looked it over. She strolled slowly through the market along her planned route, bought all the remaining materials, and then took out the Light Mint Tangerine.

"You can even eat the peel of this kind of orange..." She took out her wand, tapped the orange, cleaned it with a cleansing spell, then held it in her hands, opened her small mouth, and took a bite.

Her eyes widened, "Mmm, mmm... delicious..." she murmured in vague praise.

This type of tangerine is very sweet, but there is a refreshing hint of mint beneath the peel. Most importantly, the flesh of this orange isn't the mushy kind; it has a firm texture. When you chew it, you can hear the sound of the pulp snapping, followed by an explosion of juice, which is both icy, refreshing, and crisp.

She finished the orange in a few bites and wiped her mouth.

Aside from being expensive, this really is a fruit with no flaws.