NOVEL NEXT Chapter 181: Chapter 181
Upon returning to the shop, Xia Zhi took out his carving knife and, under everyone's expectant gaze, began unwrapping the raw stone.
A beautiful piece of jade, as brilliant as the morning clouds, emerged from within.
"How beautiful!"
"Boss, what kind of jade is this?"
"I can't see it, I need to feel it... Is this jade really colored like the morning clouds?"
"Yes, it is!"
"It should be Aurora Jade. This type of jade is already rare, and one this size is even more precious."
"Is it better than the Snow-White Jade you found last time, Boss?"
"Of course. Even if this piece of Aurora Jade were left uncarved and taken directly to Mingxing Chamber, the master there would surely be willing to pay a million for it."
"Wow! Lady Ganyu is amazing! She picked out such a treasure right away."
"Not at all, I just had a bit of luck."
Zhu Zi's expression tightened – she was all too familiar with this modest tone!
The boss always said he only knew "a little bit" about something, when in fact he was extremely knowledgeable!
She hoped that one day she could also show such expertise in front of others!
Xia Zhi extracted the entire piece of Aurora Jade and placed it on the table.
Under the lamplight, the jade cast beautiful aurora-like reflections on the wall.
This time, even the girls who knew nothing about jade could see how extraordinary this piece was.
"It's not just beautiful – this type of jade has excellent elemental properties and can be inscribed with arts for use in elemental alchemy items."
The girls were impressed without fully understanding.
"We have holidays these next two days, so I'll take time to carve it carefully and make two bracelets from this jade."
"Thank you for your hard work, big brother!"
Qiqi had to go gather herbs tonight and left with Yaoyao.
Ganyu stayed behind, planning to mooch breakfast— no, to bond with her junior apprentice.
As night fell deep.
Ganyu finished her bath and walked into the back hall, lying down on the small bed with slightly flushed cheeks.
"Thank you for the trouble, Mr. Xia."
"It's no trouble."
"Mmm... ah..."
Ganyu half-closed her eyes, lightly biting her lip, barely able to suppress her voice.
The more exhausted she had been from overtime work this week, the more comfortable she felt now.
The more tired one is, the better it feels when finally relaxing...
She felt she might have found another reason to work hard in the future.
After the massage ended, Ganyu looked satisfied as she paid.
Besides the friendship price of 500 Mora, she also gave him an extra small card this time.
Xia Zhi was a bit confused: "What's this?"
"Thanks to the intelligence Mr. Xia shared last week, we were able to stop the Fatui's plot in time. Now that everything has been investigated, this is an intelligence fee I specially requested from officials for Mr. Xia. You can withdraw one million Mora directly from Liyue's official bank."
"That's very thoughtful of you, Lady Ganyu."
"The officials also asked me about the source of the intelligence, but I thought Mr. Xia wouldn't want to be bothered by strangers, so I didn't tell them."
"Very good."
Just as Ganyu walked out of the back hall, she saw Zhu Zi approaching.
"Lady Ganyu, finished with your massage?"
"Yes, Miss Zhu Zi, you're here for...?"
"I feel like I've been eating too well lately and gained some weight, so I'm asking the boss to give me massages for weight loss. I had one last night already."
"Is it effective?"
"Super effective! I'm going in now! Can't keep the boss waiting!"
Ganyu watched Zhu Zi's eager retreating figure, still somewhat dazed.
Then, she looked down at her own figure, which showed no signs of weight gain, and fell into deep thought.
The food at Yuehai Pavilion didn't seem very good...
After giving Zhu Zi an 800 Mora full treatment and Chi Yu a 300 Mora basic one, Xia Zhi cleaned up the back hall, took a bath in the bathroom, and returned to his room.
He took out the small card to examine it – it was an expertly crafted bank certificate.
The name printed on it was straightforward.
Liyue Bank.
Like the The Golden House, it was also an official institution.
Xia Zhi had some impression of this bank; it was also located in Feiyun Slope, not far from the Northland Bank, but Liyue Bank didn't seem to have as much competitive power as Northland Bank.
Every time he passed by, he could clearly see more people conducting business at Northland Bank.
Firstly, Northland Bank's loan rates and deposit interest were more advantageous than Liyue Bank's.
Secondly, Northland Bank had branches in various nations, while Liyue Bank mainly operated locally. For merchants traveling between nations, Northland Bank was naturally the first choice – they only needed to carry a bank card on their journey, reducing travel risks. Those who preferred to save money at Liyue Bank were mostly local Liyue residents.
Come to think of it, why did he choose Northland Bank over Liyue Bank back then?
Xia Zhi thought carefully.
Oh, right, it was because the young lady at the bank entrance had such a sweet smile.
Liyue Bank still needed to step up their game. Miss Ying'er would be excellent – if she worked at the bank entrance, she'd surely bring in lots of business.
Xia Zhi casually stored the small card in his inventory, completed his daily minimum tasks, opened the [Shop], and started browsing.
He was considering what gift would be appropriate for Granny Ping next week.
Although he didn't have many mora now and couldn't afford expensive items, she was an adeptus who had lived long enough to see past many things and only cared about the thought behind gifts.
So, the gift mainly needed to be appropriate.
[Rainbow Feather Clothes] [Mistveil Silk Robe] – these beautiful clothes that looked amazing even in pictures were out of the question. Madame Ping wasn't a young girl; she probably wouldn't like them.
When it was Shenhe's birthday, though, these might make good gifts – they would look extremely good on her figure.
[Yin-Yang Immortal Cultivation Manual] [Five Elements Spirit Law] – these impressive-looking cultivation methods were also out. Ping was already at the Platinum level and had her own way; she probably couldn't switch cultivation methods now.
When it was Zhu Zi's birthday, these might make good gifts – as the shop's only ordinary person, she must feel quite pressured.
Hmm? There was even a [Nine Transformations of the Corpse Immortal] zombie cultivation method. If practiced to the extreme, one could shed the corpse energy and transform nine times to become immortal. It seemed quite suitable for Qiqi.
...
After browsing for a long time, Xia Zhi still couldn't find a satisfactory item and had to give up for now.
It was time to go to bed.
Hugging his [Dream Pillow], Xia Zhi suddenly thought of something.
For Granny Ping's birthday, many of her old friends would probably come, right?
As Granny Ping was the Streetward Rambler, an adeptus, her old friends should also be beings of similar status, right?
Like Cloud Retainer.
Though Cloud Retainer was still in seclusion and probably couldn't come, other adepti should attend.
The legendary adepti should all be at Platinum level, right?
Which meant that if he played his cards right on Madame Ping's birthday, he could get multiple Platinum treasure chests at once!
To fill up the Platinum progress bars of multiple unfamiliar adepti in one day...
It seemed that perhaps, maybe, possibly, probably the only way was to serve as the chef that day and cook for everyone.
Xia Zhi's expression became thoughtful.
Perhaps he should use [Culinary Master].
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