Wasting Heaven's Gifts

Gao Jing had never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that such overwhelming strength could be contained within Shan Guo'er's "tiny" body!

That big, burly brat had been utterly unable to withstand a single blow.

Not only had he suffered a crushing setback on the spot, but the children he had crashed into were dragged down with him.

Some became human cushions, some landed sprawled on their backs with limbs flung wide, and some slammed their heads heavily against the stones beside them.

Bang!

Even Gao Jing watched with his heart pounding.

If this had happened in the Main World, how much would old Wizard Shan Yan have had to pay to settle it?

Yet this pack of brats quickly scrambled back up and surrounded them again as if nothing had happened.

None of them cried or threw a tantrum, nor did they get angry. They simply laughed and giggled, clearly used to it.

Even the fellow who had hit his head merely scratched his scalp, without the slightest sign of injury.

They clustered around the little girl, chattering over one another as they pleaded with her.

"Shan Guo'er, just let us have a look!"

"Yeah, yeah! This little person looks so interesting, so fun!"

"Let him play with us!"

"Shan Guo'er..."

No, I'm not interesting at all.

And I'm even less fun!

Gao Jing, miserably subjected to their gawking, felt so small and helpless.

More terrifying than one brat was a whole pack of brats!

And these were giant brats at that!!

"Go away, go away!"

Shan Guo'er had no intention whatsoever of indulging them.

She lifted her little chin and said haughtily, "He's my grandfather's guest. I'm taking him to look around our village now. All of you, go away. Don't block the road!

"All right then."

The brats actually obediently made way on the mountain path.

They stood at the roadside and watched Shan Guo'er skip downhill.

Like guards seeing off a queen.

Only then did Gao Jing fully understand.

Though Shan Guo'er was exceptionally well-behaved before the old Wizard, she was actually the ringleader of Mountain Tribe's children.

Or perhaps a little tyrant?

Gao Jing could not see anyone who dared refuse to accept her authority.

Clearly, it was not all because of her status.

The terrain sloped downward, and the mountain path leading toward the valley entrance twisted and turned. Houses built by the villagers lined both sides.

Although the village buildings were scattered here and there without any unified planning or design, and the craftsmanship of the houses varied greatly, giving the place a somewhat disorderly look.

The entire village was remarkably clean and tidy. Whether on the mountain paths or around the houses, there was no trash or filth to be seen.

Nor was there any of the vile sight of excrement and urine strewn everywhere.

Wildflowers and grasses grew thick along the stream, and a faint Purple Sandalwood fragrance drifted through the air.

One small goal, two small goals, three small goals...

Sitting on Shan Guo'er's shoulder, Gao Jing counted silently all the way down.

He gradually went numb, on the verge of becoming warped!

Every wooden house here had been built entirely from Purple Sandalwood.

Most were made from unpeeled logs, while a small number had been simply cut and worked, exposing their dark red heartwood.

Even though Gao Jing was no expert in Purple Sandalwood, he could tell that all these huge timbers were of exceptionally high quality.

Clearly, to Mountain Tribe, Premium Purple Sandalwood that could sell for hundreds of thousands or even over a million per ton in Gao Jing's world was merely the most ordinary, cheapest building material.

What a waste of Heaven's gifts!

Gao Jing could not help sinking into wild fantasies.

If he moved all the wooden houses in this village back to the Main World, would he become the richest man in the world?

Of course that was impossible!

The economic logic was very simple.

The value of Premium Purple Sandalwood lay in its scarcity, along with the artificially inflated value created by speculation.

It was actually much like natural diamonds, with a great deal of its value coming from marketing and publicity.

Once the market was flooded with large quantities of identical goods, its price would inevitably collapse in an instant. It would not be worth much more than ordinary lumber.

So Gao Jing could never become the world's richest man by selling Purple Sandalwood.

Still, achieving a few small goals would not be a problem.

And Purple Sandalwood was not the only thing in the village. Beside every house lay piles of firewood, more or less.

Gao Jing could not tell what kind of wood the firewood was. Presumably, it was the sort that was easy to burn and split.

There were not many tribal villagers in the settlement that morning. Aside from the pack of brats from earlier, most of those staying behind were elderly people and women.

Some were making wooden wares, some were weaving ropes and hemp cloth, while others were drying foods such as dried fruit and cured meat.

Gao Jing noticed that the tools they used were extremely primitive, and were basically all stone tools and bone tools.

He did not see a single metal implement!

Gao Jing did not know whether metal deposits were too scarce in the Great World, or whether Mountain Tribe simply did not understand mining and smelting.

Recalling how the tribal hunters had surrounded and killed the wild ox yesterday, he quietly committed it to memory.

"Shan Guo'er!"

Whether men, women, old, or young, everyone in the village warmly greeted the little girl whenever they saw her.

"Grandpa Shan Gen, Auntie Shan Chun, Uncle Shan Yao..."

Shan Guo'er responded to them all along the way.

It was clear that she was extremely well-liked in the village. Everyone liked her very much.

The tribal villagers also noticed Gao Jing sitting on Shan Guo'er's shoulder, and most wore curious expressions.

But no one deliberately came over to pry into the matter.

The dogs wandering through the village, on the other hand, seemed to have caught some scent. They barked incessantly from far away.

Their eyes, fixed on Gao Jing, were filled with apprehension and vigilance.

But after Shan Guo'er scolded them a few times, they wagged their tails and fawned over her again.

"Little Guo'er..."

An old Giant sitting before a doorway smiled and beckoned to the little girl. "Come take a look at the stool I just made."

"Grandpa Shan Teng!"

Shan Guo'er immediately ran over.

The old Giant handed her the small stool he had just finished. "Try it."

"Okay!"

Shan Guo'er sat down and wriggled her bottom. Her little mouth was sweeter than honey as she said, "It's great! Grandpa Shan Teng, your craftsmanship is the best!"

The old Giant laughed heartily, so delighted he could barely contain himself.

Gao Jing guessed that in his youth, he must have been a valiant warrior.

Though the merciless years had taken away his powerful physique, leaving his towering body hunched beneath its burden, the deep scars across his cheeks and arms silently told the story of his past.

Yet Gao Jing could not sense the slightest trace of hostility or bloodlust from this old Giant.

Kind, benevolent, honest.

As Gao Jing observed the old Giant, the latter also noticed his presence.

"So this is the Ancient Remnant Race Shan Hu and the others brought back?"

A trace of curiosity shone in the old Giant's eyes.

"Mm."

Shan Guo'er nodded. "Grandpa asked me to show him around our village."

The old Giant suddenly understood. "Ah."

He broke into a broad smile at Gao Jing. "Guest from afar, welcome to our Mountain Tribe."

Because of the deep scars on his face, his smile looked rather fierce.

But Gao Jing could feel his goodwill.

Gao Jing leaped down from Shan Guo'er's shoulder and landed on the ground.

In the past, an action like this would at the very least have cost Gao Jing both legs.

Now, however, he landed steadily without the slightest injury!

Raising his right hand to his chest, Gao Jing bowed to the old Giant. "Hello."

Gao Jing spoke in the Great Wilderness Language.

It was very halting, but entirely understandable to the other party.

The next moment, Gao Jing froze.

He stared blankly at the scattered scraps of wood on the ground.

These scraps had been shaved off by the old Giant while making the stool, waste material that could no longer be used.

Of course, their size and volume were not small at all to Gao Jing.

Most importantly, every piece of "waste" displayed beautiful patterns, its surface densely covered with tiny golden stars.

This color, these grains, this scent...

This was fucking Little-Leaf Red Sandalwood!

And it was the finest, most striking kind: cloud-patterned, water-rippled, scale-grained Premium Full Golden-Star Grain material!!

The longer the name, the more badass it was.

The steel dealer Gao Jing knew had a Full Golden-Star Grain bracelet that he treasured like a priceless jewel. He played with it all day long and never let anyone else touch it, refusing to sell it no matter what price was offered.

But Full Golden-Star Grain was still a tier below Premium Full Golden-Star Grain.

The latter was a top-grade precious material that could only be encountered by chance, never sought after!

Gao Jing had never seen Premium Full Golden-Star Grain himself, only admired photographs of it.

Yet the piles before him, practically no different from garbage, were all goods of the same grade.

How many beads could be turned from them and taken back?!

Although Gao Jing had already seen countless Purple Sandalwood logs earlier, he was still stunned senseless at this moment.

He did not even hear what the old Giant was saying.

It was not until Shan Guo'er gently poked him with an outstretched finger that he came back to himself.

"It seems you really like this kind of wood?"

The old Giant smiled. "There's plenty more in my home. Take as much as you want."

Gao Jing swallowed hard on instinct.

He knew that the "plenty" he understood and the "plenty" the other party meant were two completely different concepts!

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