Chapter 50

"Daddy."

"Hmm?"

"Pipi is so smart!"

"Mm."

"Daddy."

"Hmm??"

"Why is Pipi so smart?"

"Um..."

"Hehe!"

On the way to the temporary stall, the little girl's attention was firmly captured by her new companion.

Pipi was incredibly lively, like a prisoner newly released from jail, freely venting the joy of regaining its freedom.

It hopped from Bao'er's left shoulder to her right, then occasionally fluttered down onto her hand, chirping nonstop.

Along the way, it drew the attention of countless passersby.

This hyperactive budgerigar undoubtedly brought Bao'er more happiness, as well as a fresh sense of novelty and curiosity.

Taike was certainly an excellent companion, but Pipi's ability to speak was something the former simply could not match.

It was so intelligent that it amazed the little girl.

Zuo Yi, on the other hand, felt that the little fellow was a bit too smart and far too talkative. Had he known, he would have fed it less Wisdom Spring—at most, a quarter of a drop would have been enough.

In truth, Zuo Yi had brought this upon himself. Besides feeding Pipi Life Spring and Wisdom Spring, he had also given it a Spirit Seed containing common knowledge about everyday life. Otherwise, how could it have known so much?

Zuo Yi had never expected the combination of Wisdom Spring and a Spirit Seed to be so powerful, forcibly transforming a tiny budgerigar to this extent.

But what was done was done, and Bao'er was so happy. He might as well let things take their course.

Following the market signs, Zuo Yi found the stall he had rented, No. 157 in Zone C2.

The Xixi Underground Trading Market was mainly divided into two sections. About three-quarters of its area consisted of permanent shops, while the remaining quarter was allocated to temporary stalls.

Although the temporary-stall area was much smaller, it was far more popular than the shop area. Many people came here specifically to hunt for bargains and hidden treasures, making it exceptionally bustling.

Naturally, the situation here was also far more complicated than in the shop area. When Zuo Yi arrived with Bao'er, he noticed several Jackals moving through the crowd, earnestly swindling clueless newcomers.

One of them had even set his sights on Pipi, but after Zuo Yi gave him a glance, he sensibly slipped away.

West Market was tightly managed. Surveillance cameras were everywhere, and security personnel patrolled back and forth. So despite the sheer number of stalls and people, everything remained orderly, and ordinary people did not dare cause trouble.

"Daddy..."

Bao'er asked excitedly, "Is this where we're setting up our stall?"

"That's right."

Zuo Yi smiled and rubbed her head.

The temporary stall, at fifty yuan an hour, was in a fairly good location with heavy foot traffic nearby. It was less than three square meters in size, quite small, but more than enough for Zuo Yi.

The stall also came with a display table and two stools. Two adjustable lamps hung down from the crisscrossing metal trusses overhead, providing considerable convenience for both vendor and customers.

The stalls on either side were not directly adjacent, with enough space left between them for a person to pass through.

It was still early, so Zuo Yi did not rush to display the Golden Inch Swords. He first set the wooden box on the display table, then picked Bao'er up and placed her on a stool to rest.

"Tired from walking?"

Zuo Yi tenderly wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead. "Rest for a while first."

"I'm not tired!"

The little girl shook her head playfully. "Not tired at all!"

"Not tired, not tired, not tired!"

Pipi landed on her shoulder and cried, "Bao'er isn't tired at all!"

Bao'er giggled at that.

This time, Zuo Yi shook his head. He took out a bottle of mineral water and unscrewed the cap. "Here, have some water."

"Mm."

Bao'er obediently accepted it and said sweetly, "Thank you, Daddy."

Zuo Yi rubbed her rosy little cheeks and smiled. "Why are you being so polite with Daddy?"

Bao'er said seriously, "Auntie Qing said Bao'er has to be a good child who knows manners."

Zuo Yi gave her a thumbs-up. "Good girl."

Bao'er narrowed her eyes in delight and took a big drink from the bottle.

"Bao'er, Bao'er."

Standing on her shoulder, Pipi called out, "I want some too!"

After talking so much, it really was thirsty.

"Okay!"

Naturally, Bao'er was not stingy. She directly held the bottle over to let Pipi drink.

But then she realized that was not right and held out one hand to Zuo Yi. "Daddy, can you give me the bottle cap?"

Zuo Yi handed her the cap.

She held the bottle in her right hand and pinched the cap in her left, then carefully began pouring mineral water into it.

"Careful."

Zuo Yi understood at once and hurriedly helped her steady the bottle.

Though this was a small bottle of mineral water specially bought for her, it was clearly still a little too large for her tiny hands. She found it difficult to hold securely with one hand.

With Zuo Yi's help, Bao'er filled one capful of mineral water and handed it to Pipi. "Drink."

Pipi lowered its head and, in the blink of an eye, drank every drop from the cap.

Bao'er poured it another capful.

Woof woof!

Taike, who was squatting beside the stool, raised his head and barked.

"You want some too?"

Bao'er did not neglect Taike the foodie and quickly said, "I'll give you some right away."

Zuo Yi reminded her, "Take a few more sips first before giving Taike any."

"Mm."

The little girl obediently took another two sips, then jumped down from the stool and fed the remaining water to Taike.

Taike smugly glanced at Pipi, then began greedily gulping from the bottle with loud smacking sounds.

In fact, the fellow was not really thirsty. With its extraordinary magical-beast physique, it would have been fine even if it went without food or water for dozens of days. It had simply become jealous after seeing Bao'er affectionately feed Pipi water.

Now it was satisfied.

Zuo Yi could not help smiling, choosing not to expose Taike the foodie's clumsy act.

It was an Abyssal Cerberus, after all. He should leave it some dignity.

Just then, Zuo Yi suddenly sensed something unusual. Turning his head, he saw the owner of the neighboring stall looking over at him curiously.

When their gazes met, the other man smiled awkwardly and greeted him warmly. "Hello, brother. Brought your daughter here to try your hand at stall vending? Your daughter really is..."

He raised a thumbs-up.

Zuo Yi smiled and asked, "Hello. Why are you running a stall here? By yourself?"

The stall owner next to Zuo Yi looked to be in his twenties. He had an honest, simple-looking face and wore a camouflage laborer's outfit, giving the impression that he worked at a construction site.

On the display table before him lay a messy assortment of antiques, Buddhist statues, bronze burners, mirrors, jade artifacts, and the like. The common feature was that every item was covered in yellow dirt, as though they had just been dug out of the ground.

A construction worker selling unearthed relics—Zuo Yi found the sight very familiar. He remembered often seeing such scenes by the roadside in the past, usually with two or three shills pretending to be curious onlookers.

Zuo Yi found it amusing, so he teased the man a little.

The laborer scratched his head and gave Zuo Yi a look that said, Life is hard enough. Don't expose me. He complained, "Brother, you don't know how impossible business outside has become these days."

"That SkyNet thing is just too powerful. I barely set up my stall for a few minutes before someone came to confiscate it. So I could only rent a stall here and scrape together a living."

The frustration on his face looked quite genuine. "I've been here for hours today and haven't even made a single sale. I'm definitely going to lose money."

He even pointed at several stalls beside and across from them. "Look, those guys are exactly the same as me."

Zuo Yi looked in the direction he pointed.

There were people selling medicinal plasters and miracle pills, people hawking secret family remedies, and even fortune-tellers and feng shui readers—so all these street hustlers had been driven here!

No wonder the market was so large.

After chatting with Zuo Yi for a bit, the laborer casually asked, "Brother, what are you here to sell?"

Zuo Yi patted the wooden box on the table. "I'm here to sell swords."

As he spoke, he opened the box and took out the two Golden Inch Swords—it was time to start business.

The laborer blindly flattered him. "Those two swords of yours look impressive. They must be expensive, right?"

Zuo Yi smiled. "Not too expensive. One million."

One... million?

The laborer nearly choked on his breath.