Talking Business with Sister Ya Fei: Rich Lady, I Don't Want to Work Hard Anymore—Please Support Me!

Ling Ying watched Xiao Xun'er's shifting expression and asked in a low voice, "Miss, should this old servant find an opportunity to secretly test Young Master An Yi and confirm his true level?"

"No need." Xiao Xun'er gently shook her head, a soft smile curling at her lips. "As long as he is safe, that is enough. Since he wants to hide his abilities, let him."

Thinking of everything An Yi had done over the years, Xiao Xun'er could not help feeling both heartache and amusement.

The Xiao Household all mocked An Yi for being lazy and unkempt, but only she knew that in the vast Xiao Household, or even the entire Gama Empire, there was likely no one else who cultivated more diligently or recklessly than An Yi.

When he usually ran off to the wild mountains outside the city, he was not playing at all.

Ling Ying had long reported to her that An Yi seemed to possess some special Magic Beast constitution, granting him astonishing strength.

His self-torturing training methods were even more jaw-dropping.

Day after day, he endured the impact of a waterfall carrying immense force, madly pounding hard rock walls with his bare fists.

He had forcibly smashed out an enormous cave behind the waterfall!

Whenever An Yi said he had "gotten lost while playing in the mountains and hadn't been seen for days," the truth was that he had usually pushed his body training beneath the waterfall too far, completely exhausted himself, and been knocked unconscious into the pool below.

Because of this, Ling Ying, a mighty Dou Emperor, had been forced to moonlight as a lifeguard more than once, secretly fishing the unconscious An Yi out of the pool.

Especially in recent years, after An Yi broke through to become a Dou Practitioner, he had turned into a "bandit" of the Magic Beast Mountain Range in order to obtain Magic Cores.

Recalling the days when he had secretly followed behind An Yi to protect him, even the experienced Ling Ying could not stop a lingering fear from appearing on his aged face.

One day, the brat would suddenly decide to raid a Gale Demon Wolf den and get chased through the mountains by dozens of frenzied Demon Wolves for an entire day and night.

The next day, his hands would get itchy again, and he would pick a fight with a thick-skinned Black-Patterned Boar, insisting on seeing who had greater strength.

The day after that was even more absurd. Because he had snatched a sweet fruit, he was chased all over the mountains by a furious Ironback Bear that hammered him relentlessly.

Sometimes, Ling Ying secretly wiped away cold sweat. If An Yi's special constitution had not been so absurdly tough, practically like a humanoid Magic Beast, an ordinary Dou Practitioner would have killed himself hundreds or thousands of times over with such suicidal antics!

After leaving Xiao Xun'er's quiet little courtyard, An Yi stretched lazily, shoved his hands into his pockets, and strolled out through the gates of the Xiao Household. He headed straight for the Mittel Auction House, located in Wutan City's most prosperous district.

Some time ago, he had given Ya Fei quite a few Magic Cores of other attributes, asking this highly capable chief auctioneer to help him acquire some Tier-Two Magic Cores with the metal attribute.

After all, he was now a genuine Dou Master. His appetite had grown accordingly, and it was time to change things up and absorb the energy of some Tier-Two Magic Cores.

On the Battle Qi Continent, Magic Cores of different attributes varied wildly in price.

Among them, fire- and wood-attribute cores were the most expensive because they were essential for alchemists.

Next came rare attributes such as lightning, ice, and wind.

Attributes such as water, earth, and metal, meanwhile, were relatively affordable.

Although the Heaven-Devouring Art cultivated by An Yi was all about "devouring all things," capable of digesting energy of any attribute, he possessed the White Tiger Bloodline and primarily cultivated Geng Metal Qi. Absorbing pure metal-attribute Magic Core energy was naturally the most profitable choice.

Metal-attribute Magic Cores also happened to be cheap, so naturally he went with whatever gave him the best value.

Upon arriving at the auction house, An Yi skillfully bypassed the front hall and headed straight for the rear courtyard.

He did not need to be like some Brother Yan, wrapping himself in a huge black robe every time he came and sneakily pretending to be some mysterious old master.

In Wutan City, who did not know that this "young master playboy" of the Xiao Household, with his head of white hair and harmlessly handsome face, had long used his cute appearance to successfully become close with Ya Fei, the auction house's stunning chief auctioneer?

Thus, An Yi could practically move through the auction house without obstruction.

Forget entering the rear courtyard to see Ya Fei. Even if he carried a quilt into the auction house lobby and slept there, the guards would not find it strange. They would only hide in the corners, gritting their teeth in envy and resentment!

Watching An Yi swagger into Ya Fei's private courtyard without anyone stopping him, the guards could only nurse their jealousy in silence.

There was no major auction today, so Ya Fei had not gone to show herself at the front. Instead, she sat lazily at a stone table in the courtyard, dressed in a fitted red brocade robe as she checked the accounts.

An Yi lightened his footsteps and silently crept behind her like a cat. Then he reached out and covered Ya Fei's eyes with both hands.

He deliberately lowered his voice, putting on a rough, heavy tone as he said viciously:

"Robbery! Don't move! Are we taking your money or taking your virtue?"

Ya Fei sighed helplessly, though a doting smile curved her lips.

"Little An, stop fooling around. Your sister is busy."

Exposed in a second, An Yi did not feel embarrassed at all. He casually withdrew his hands, sat down beside Ya Fei, and familiarly poured himself a cup of fine tea.

"What are you busy with? You look so absorbed."

Ya Fei rubbed her brow and pointed to the tall stack of account books on the table. "I'm checking the accounts for the first half of the year, as well as the auction house's recent profits and losses, details of the goods coming in from various places, and so on. The family headquarters will soon send someone to audit the accounts, so I can't be careless."

An Yi leaned over with his teacup and gave them a glance, raising his brows. "Three hundred thousand? You made so little this year?"

Three hundred thousand gold coins was an enormous sum in a remote little city like Wutan City, enough to make any small family green with envy.

One had to know that the Xiao Household, one of Wutan City's three great families, worked hard for an entire year only to make a net profit of around one hundred thousand gold coins.

But the Mittel Auction House was different.

Auction houses like the one managed by Ya Fei were spread throughout the major cities of the Gama Empire and were, in truth, branch businesses of the Mittel Clan.

Relying on the headquarters' powerful ability to allocate resources, they formed monopolistic advantages in every region.

"It has only been half a year. A profit of three hundred thousand is already very good, okay?"

Ya Fei rolled her eyes at him and patiently explained, "It may look like a lot on the surface, but seventy percent of it has to be handed over to the family headquarters without fail. Of the remaining thirty percent, we have to maintain the auction house's daily operations, grease palms and maintain connections everywhere, and pay the employees below."

Ya Fei sighed. "After being skimmed layer upon layer, if your sister here can keep ten thousand gold coins for herself, that already counts as excellent performance. If nothing unexpected happens this year, the total profit by the end of the year should be at least around five hundred thousand."

Of course, as the chief auctioneer, Ya Fei had an incentive system within the clan.

Ya Fei's personal commission was between two and five percent. On top of that, she used information gaps for a few private "investments," allowing her to earn over twenty thousand gold coins every year.

In other words, Ya Fei, such a delicate and charming young woman, earned enough in a year to rival half the Xiao Household!

An Yi blew at the tea leaves floating in his cup and asked with a smile, "So, rich lady sister, how much have you saved in your little treasury now?"

Ya Fei raised her delicate brows and looked at him with a half-smile. "What is it? Is our young master of the Xiao Household short on spending money and looking to borrow some from your sister? Since you are so cute, I can charge you a little less interest."

"Borrow money? I was just curious, that's all."

Ya Fei paused before softly saying, "Actually, I do not keep much cash on hand. I have spent most of it already. After all, money is only secondary to me. Maintaining connections is the most important asset."

"Connections?" An Yi leaned closer. "Connections as high-quality as me?"

He winked at Ya Fei. "Then shouldn't you treat me well? Once I rise to greatness in the future, you'll rise along with me. I'll make you the head of the Mittel Clan!"