Chapter 59

Looking at the numbers on the terminal, Du Qian opened his mouth wide, unable to close it for a long time. His neck turned, making a 'clicking' sound as he looked at Fu Jing, thinking, this is too... too sincere.

Du Qian's math skills were only average, but he knew he didn't have much money, far from reaching a five-digit number. After all, he had been in school for ten years; it was impossible for him to be bad at four-digit addition and subtraction.

As long as the numbers were related to money, Du Qian's math skills would skyrocket, possibly even surpassing professional scholars.

One thousand and thirty-five, this should be the original amount. This amount included the money the clerk had shortchanged him, giving him only four hundred and thirty-five.

But now, the terminal showed three thousand and thirty-five, exactly two thousand more. Eighty-seven boxes, worth only eight hundred and seventy yuan. Adding the four hundred and thirty-five the clerk had charged him, it meant Dachang had given him two thousand four hundred and thirty-five, almost three times the value of the storage boxes.

A storage box worth thirty yuan? That was impossible. Fu Jing was showing sincerity and apologizing.

"Alright, then," Du Qian said, putting on a show of nonchalance. Others might fear Dachang Trading, but he didn't. Even if you were the leader of the Wohu Society, he had the backing of the government and was part of the Flying Tiger Team.

"As long as Mr. Du is satisfied," Fu Jing said expressionlessly. With the Fu family's wealth, two thousand yuan to solve a problem was nothing.

But two thousand yuan was a huge sum in a country where the average monthly salary was thirty yuan. The clerk couldn't be kept, and it was time to reorganize the trading company.

His father had always been hesitant, unsure whether to back down. He understood the intricacies of the situation. Without the Wohu Society, could Dachang still maintain its position as the top trading company in Pingchuan?

Fu Dachang was a skilled gang leader but only a mediocre businessman. Not losing money was enough for him. Dachang Trading was mostly under Fu Jing's control. Even though she was talented, competing with other trading companies was extremely difficult, especially since Dachang was a relatively new company compared to those with over a hundred years of history.

How did Dachang become the top trading company in Pingchuan? The reason was simple: the existence of the Wohu Society. If you wanted to do business with them, could you refuse? If you did business, could you make more money than they did?

Situations like today's were not uncommon. It was precisely because of these benefits that the managers and clerks were willing to serve Dachang.

If they really did business based on their skills, they wouldn't make much money, and they might not even be able to retain the skilled managers and clerks.

But living in constant fear was not a life for humans. His father was bold but extremely cautious, and it took decades to keep the family together.

Less profit was fine. With the Fu family's current power in Pingchuan, even if they didn't make a single cent, they would never run out of money.

Despite the pain, the evil spirit still needed to be sent away. The matters of the Fu family, the trading company, and the Wohu Society needed careful consideration.

Du Qian smiled, his sleeves filled with the scent of gold, as he walked out of Dachang Trading and looked up at the sky. What a beautiful day, to encounter good people right after leaving.

Sikong Yi, the Association, and the Fu family were all good people. In this world, there were still more good people than bad. Look at that sunshine, how bright it is...

Du Qian felt that the speed of earning money was acceptable, though it wasn't enough to cover his expenses, it was much better than he had expected. Unfortunately, such good things didn't happen every day.

With all the necessary tasks completed, he decided to go back to the team for a meal. Money shouldn't be wasted, and meals at the team were free.

After a hearty meal, he wiped his mouth and returned to his office, where he brewed a pot of tea but didn't drink it, just enjoying the aroma to set the mood.

Coming from an orphanage, he didn't know much about tea or coffee. As long as it wasn't bad, it was fine.

He took out two marked storage boxes and opened one. Inside was indeed a spirit charm.

With his previous experience, Du Qian knew what to do. Activating the spirit charm, his vision went dark, and three nebulae appeared again. It was indeed the spirit charm working. Spirit gatherers were truly remarkable, and his admiration was like the Yangtze River...

Enough said, this was a common sentiment—admiration, reverence, envy, and so on, all piling up and never stopping.

The nebulae moved, and thousands of energy threads appeared, starting to weave together.

Du Qian shook his head vigorously. No, no, not this. Ten thousand energy threads were too much, even four hundred were difficult. Let others handle the hard stuff; I'll stick to the simple.

Seemingly understanding Du Qian's thoughts, the demonstration disappeared, and the mist-like substance began to twist and change. After some time, it finally started to form energy threads. This time, it was right. The threads were no longer so fine that they made his scalp tingle but were thick and familiar to him.

With his previous experience, Du Qian was no longer dizzy. His mind was clear as he carefully examined the process. Hmm? This is good. Not four hundred threads, but three hundred. The fewer, the better. Separating energy threads was quite painful for him.

With his current level of proficiency, his success rate was one hundred percent, but it was too slow and took too long, which was like robbing him of money. The fewer threads, the better. Ideally, using three threads would be the best.

Unfortunately, the nebulae didn't seem to hear him. Three hundred energy threads were woven together, and at different nodes, they would slow down slightly. Du Qian, with his experience, quickly grasped the key points.

This wasn't difficult. After watching twice, Du Qian memorized it. After watching three more times, he had a good grasp of the essentials. After five times, he didn't want to watch anymore; he could handle it.

He didn't notice that while watching the demonstration and making the spirit components himself, he naturally developed a sense of familiarity. What was extremely difficult for ordinary people or martial cultivators became simple for him.

Since it wasn't difficult and didn't take much time, he decided to learn it first. Spirit charms were invaluable, and he was worried about them being stolen.

Spirit horns were valuable, but in the Flying Tiger Team, no one would have bad intentions over a few. Spirit charms, however, were different. Who wouldn't be tempted? The safest way was to use them first.

Thinking this, it took him less than half an hour to learn the third type of spirit component. The more he watched, the simpler it seemed. The Association was truly good, working for the welfare of the masses.

Time was up, and he absorbed a spirit horn. Du Qian hesitated, wondering which type of spirit component to make first. They were all similar, but the first type required four hundred energy threads, while the other two required only three hundred. Naturally, he chose the simpler one.

He didn't forget Bian Jingchun's words. The Association would pay three times the price for these two types. Simple process, short production time, and high price—making them was the smart choice.

The number of energy threads was reduced, and the data changed. Each energy thread now required sixteen combat points, with a length of sixty, and only the diameter remained unchanged.

Well, this change didn't really matter. As long as the control ability wasn't lacking, martial cultivators could precisely control combat points to two decimal places. Sixteen combat points were already quite a lot and very easy to control.

As he calculated, Du Qian felt something was off, his brows furrowing.

The first method required ten thousand energy threads, each with 0.5 combat points, totaling five thousand combat points.

The second method required four hundred energy threads, each with twelve combat points, totaling four thousand eight hundred.

He hadn't noticed before, but now he realized that not only was the process simplified, but two hundred combat points were also saved.

What did this mean?

It didn't seem to mean much. Two hundred less, but it was still enough.

After thinking about it, Du Qian still didn't understand. As long as he could produce the finished product and earn money, that was all that mattered.

He didn't understand, but Bian Jingchun did. When he saw the finished spirit components, he felt they were not simple. The more he looked, the more surprised he became. By the time he finished reverse-engineering them, he was completely stunned.

Simplifying the process and saving combat points, this was something only a great master could achieve. He had to report this immediately; there was a high-level expert in Pingchuan City.

Du Qian didn't care about high-level experts; earning money was his top priority, followed by eating.

Just as he was ready, a knock came from outside. This was strange; his office was just for show, and even he was a figurehead. If Yao Jing came, she would just push the door open. Knocking? What was going on?

Du Qian walked to the door and opened it, staring at the person standing there, unable to react for a moment.

"Are you not going to invite me in?"

"Ah! Captain, you're a rare visitor, please come in." Du Qian was stunned; it was none other than the captain of the Flying Tiger Team, Fei Xue.

He had been in the Flying Tiger Team for some time and knew how busy they were. The shortage of personnel meant all members had to work continuously, and the training pressure was immense. Ordinary patrol officers worked eight hours a day, while Flying Tiger Team members worked twelve hours, and it was common not to return home for days.

If the members were this busy, the captain, Fei Xue, must be even busier. He had actually come to see him?

"Sit down," Du Qian said, but there was only one chair in the room. No one ever came, so he didn't bother to get another. When Yao Jing came, she didn't need to be polite; they were like siblings, and she could sit on the floor, which was smooth and clean, even cleaner than the beds in the orphanage dorms.

Fei Xue naturally didn't need to be polite and sat in the only chair in the room, looking at Du Qian without speaking.

I won't speak either; I'll just watch.

"Um... Captain Fei, is there something you need?" Du Qian asked, rubbing his hands. When they first met, he hadn't felt much, but after joining the Flying Tiger Team, he realized how powerful it was. The actual leader of the Flying Tiger Team must be even more powerful.

Sikong Yi was called "Sir," clearly a big shot, but he was too far removed from Du Qian, unlike Fei Xue, who brought him a lot of pressure.

"Of course, there is. Isn't it time to pay back the money you owe?" Fei Xue said with a stern face.

"Money? What money? Who do I owe money to?" Mentioning money, Du Qian reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his fur standing on end.