Bottom Line and Conscience

After returning to the provincial capital, the first thing Gao Jing did was find a consulting agency.

Then, through them, he registered a personal company on Hong Kong Island.

This was the first layer of disguise Gao Jing had put on for his future business.

The consulting firm Gao Jing chose had been established for many years and enjoyed an excellent reputation. Its registration fees were also quite reasonable.

Expedited processing cost only 3,500 yuan and covered all procedures.

Gao Jing named his first company: Hong Kong Island Great World Import and Export Trading Co., Ltd.

Originally, the name "Great World" had already been registered on Hong Kong Island, but the previous company had long since been deregistered. Since the three-year restriction period had passed, he was able to pick it up again.

Otherwise, he definitely would not have been able to use it.

After the registration was completed, Gao Jing opened both a corporate account and a personal account at Henghui Bank on Hong Kong Island.

Henghui Bank was Hong Kong Island's largest licensed bank and one of its three note-issuing banks. It had over a thousand branches and offices throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including the mainland.

Its strength was beyond question.

Cloud City also had a Henghui Bank branch.

To Gao Jing, registering a Hong Kong Island company and opening bank accounts were merely the first step in expanding his business.

His next step would be to personally travel to Hong Kong Island and find another local agency to register a new holding company.

As well as an offshore company in the Virgin Islands.

With layers upon layers of shareholding, he could perfectly conceal the fictional boss behind the scenes.

While he himself operated openly as an agent.

It was not that Gao Jing suffered from persecution delusions.

It was simply because he was still far too weak!

Some preparations were necessary.

After settling the company registration matters, Gao Jing rented a warehouse near Cloud City's decoration market.

It covered roughly one hundred square meters.

Then he bought an electronic scale, a cutting machine, an electric drill, and other tools.

Once he had gathered all the equipment, Gao Jing went into the warehouse.

He pulled down the rolling shutter door and took the Red Serpent's corpse out of the Copper Anchor.

Although it had been stored in the storage space for a long time, the snake corpse was exactly the same as when it had first been put inside.

The storage space possessed an extremely useful trait: anything placed inside would not rot.

Gao Jing still did not know how long that preservation could last.

This great snake was very fresh.

He turned and positioned the corpse, then plugged in the cutting machine he had just bought.

Time to cut!

One hour later.

Drenched in sweat, Gao Jing helplessly gave up.

The Red Serpent's hide was far harder than he had imagined. Sparks flew as the grinding wheel struck its scales. Whether he used fiber-resin cutting discs or diamond cutting discs, every single one was ruined in the end.

He had nearly burned out the motor!

After putting himself through untold hardship, the only result was a shallow mark left on the scales he had tried to cut.

Motherfucker!

Still unwilling to give up, Gao Jing brought out a high-powered electric drill and alloy drill bits.

The result was not much different.

He finally understood just how fortunate he had been back then.

To have killed that terrifying thing!

The only weak point on this great snake was where the crossbow bolt had pierced it. Every other part was impervious to blades and weapons.

The front and the back included.

Thinking about it now, it was truly unbelievable. Gao Jing even felt as though the goddess of luck had deeply favored him!

Lucky as he was, he still could not make use of this extraordinarily valuable trophy for the time being.

Originally, Gao Jing had wanted to skin the snake corpse, remove its bones, and break it down.

The snake meat was probably a great tonic too. Eating it might even help him transform once more.

The gallbladder could be soaked in liquor, the bones collected, the skin made into armor...

The idea was wonderful, but reality was far too cruel!

To prevent it from decaying, Gao Jing could only put it back into the Copper Anchor.

Not only had he wasted his time and feelings for nothing, he had also spent quite a bit of Faith Power.

After leaving the warehouse, Gao Jing drove to a nearby farmers' market.

He had not forgotten his promise to the old wizard.

Inside the market, Gao Jing quickly found a shop that wholesaled salt.

After asking around, he learned that the wholesale price of the edible coarse salt he needed was currently 2.5 yuan per kilogram.

2,500 yuan per ton.

Gao Jing calculated that he would need to bring at least eighty tons over.

That would be 200,000 yuan!

This expense greatly exceeded the funds currently in his account.

"Boss."

Seeing Gao Jing frowning in thought, the shop owner eagerly asked, "How much do you need?"

"If the quantity is large, the price can be negotiated, and besides..."

He smiled. "I also have cheaper coarse salt here. The quality is quite good too—it works just the same."

Gao Jing saw the lewd smile on his face, along with the large gold tooth exposed when he opened his mouth.

He immediately turned and left.

Being ugly was not a problem, but if someone's character was a problem, there was no need to waste time.

Gao Jing knew perfectly well what the man meant.

There were two types of coarse salt: edible salt and industrial salt. Edible coarse salt was produced in far smaller quantities than industrial salt.

After all, people normally ate refined salt, while coarse salt was generally used for preserving food.

Industrial salt was much cheaper.

Gao Jing had checked online before. Depending on its use, prices ranged from several hundred to over a thousand yuan per ton.

The cheap coarse salt this salt dealer mentioned was definitely industrial salt!

It was normal for him to want to make a sale.

But the phrase "it works just the same" thoroughly disgusted Gao Jing!

Gao Jing did not have an obsession with moral purity, but he had a bottom line for how he conducted himself.

As well as a conscience and pride.

Granted, even the cheapest industrial salt was vastly superior in quality to the salt stones the old wizard had shown him.

What kind of stuff was that?!

Gao Jing believed that bringing industrial salt over would be more than enough to satisfy the other party.

But how could he answer to his own conscience?

He had chosen edible coarse salt only because refined salt grains were too fine, and its color and quality were too pure. He feared that might cause problems.

It was not a matter of price.

Buying industrial salt would completely cross his bottom line.

So, thoroughly disgusted, Gao Jing went to another shop.

This time, he successfully reached a deal with the wholesaler and ordered eighty tons of edible coarse salt at 2,430 yuan per ton.

Gao Jing paid a deposit and specifically requested that there be no writing whatsoever on the packaging.

Although the request was a little strange, it was not anything difficult.

The supplier simply had to use unprinted bags.

The owner readily agreed.

After arranging the delivery time and location with him, Gao Jing left the farmers' market.

Just as he was about to head to the parking lot, he suddenly changed direction.

He came to a pastry shop outside the market.

The shop made and sold its goods on the spot, and the glass display case at the front was filled with all kinds of pastries and snacks.

A sweet fragrance drifted into Gao Jing's nose.

Pointing at the peanut sesame candy in the display case, he asked, "How much is this per jin?"

The shop owners were a middle-aged couple.

The husband was using a knife to cut up freshly baked pastries on the worktable, while the wife watched the counter.

Seeing Gao Jing ask, the wife replied with a beaming smile, "Twenty-two yuan. We're a little more expensive than other places, but our peanuts and sesame seeds are all good-quality ingredients. Try some."

She picked up a piece with tongs and handed it to Gao Jing. "Everyone who eats it says it's fragrant!"

Gao Jing took it and put it into his mouth, chewing.

This shop's peanut candy was made from malt sugar, peanuts, and black and white sesame seeds.

After trying it, Gao Jing found it truly fragrant, crisp, and sweet.

He could not help wondering what expression Shan Guo'er would wear when she tasted the peanut candy he brought her.

She would definitely be very happy and blissful!

As he thought about it, Gao Jing could not help smiling.

"Mm, not bad."

He nodded. "If I buy a lot, can it be cheaper?"

The owner's wife asked, "How much are you buying?"

"Two thousand jin."

Gao Jing's answer left the owner's wife dumbfounded. "Huh?"

"I'm buying two thousand jin."

Gao Jing emphasized, "But I have one request. Don't cut it into small pieces. I want each piece to be ten jin."

The owner's wife carefully examined Gao Jing.

Once she confirmed that the handsome young man before her was not joking, she hesitated before saying, "If you want that much, I can give it to you for twenty yuan per jin. Making it into large blocks is no problem, and it even saves us trouble, but..."

"This is the deposit."

Before she could finish, Gao Jing opened his handbag, took out a stack of banknotes, and slapped it onto the counter.

Although electronic payments had now spread even to beggars, it had to be admitted that large amounts of cash had a stronger impact.

The owner's wife was convinced.

Since the quantity was so large, it would take several days to process everything.

So Gao Jing likewise arranged a delivery time and place with her before leaving at an unhurried pace.

His purchasing operation still had to continue.

But without selling the rosewood, Gao Jing had no choice but to reach out to Boss Ma once again.

He maxed out his Huabei and Jiebei credit limits.

But that was only a small matter. Once he returned from the Great World again—

He would surely become enormously wealthy!

First update delivered.

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