Chapter 8

When he woke up again, the sky was already bright. Two maids seemed to be waiting outside, and upon hearing the commotion, they entered with a basin and clothes.

"Master, the clothes you wore last night have been washed by us, but they haven't dried yet. These clothes are prepared by Lady Huang," Xiaozhu said.

Xiaocha placed the wooden basin on the rack and carefully wet a cloth to gently wipe Zhang Hao's face. Such pampering made Zhang Hao inwardly grumble about the decadence, feeling somewhat uncomfortable yet enjoying it. In the end, he said nothing and adapted to this kind of service.

It seemed that Zhang Hao was also inclined to a life of ease and luxury, and was now rapidly becoming decadent and corrupt.

Lady Huang was well-prepared, knowing that Zhang Hao had short hair, she even found a special hat for him.

This was for the best, as he didn't know how long he would stay in this world, and it was impossible to remain at the Huang family estate forever. He needed to adapt to the local customs, including the clothing.

He first went to check on Huang Xu. To his delight, Huang Xu showed no adverse reactions. Although he hadn't fully recovered, the severe coughing and bleeding had been controlled.

This made the entire Huang family very happy. Zhang Hao was also pleased, as this meant he wouldn't have to worry about taking Huang Xu to the modern world for treatment.

After administering more medicine to Huang Xu, Zhang Hao began to ask Huang Zhong about cultivation, directly expressing his desire to learn the guiding technique from him.

For a person as generous and straightforward as Huang Zhong, being petty would only make people dislike him. The more candid one was, the more it proved genuine friendship.

Just as Zhang Hao expected, Huang Zhong did not hesitate at all. He was not the type to hoard knowledge, otherwise he wouldn't have taught people like Xie Yang. Moreover, Zhang Hao was his benefactor and possibly a celestial being who had descended to earth, so he was more than willing to teach him.

Huang Zhong led Zhang Hao to a spacious courtyard and began explaining the guiding technique he had inherited unexpectedly. The guiding technique involved special breathing methods combined with specific movements. The exercises Huang Zhong taught were unique, giving Zhang Hao a feeling similar to the legendary internal martial arts and yoga. These movements effectively exercised various parts of the body.

It must be said that mastering the guiding technique was very difficult. Even though Zhang Hao was in good physical condition, he was not as flexible as a gymnast. With Huang Zhong's help, he barely managed to grasp the movements.

After that, Huang Zhong separately taught Zhang Hao the breathing method, which was the essence of the guiding technique. According to Huang Zhong, if one could maintain this breathing method in daily life, it could regulate the body and enhance physical strength. However, it was not as effective as combining it with the exercises.

Learning the breathing method was even more challenging than physical training. After all, breathing rhythm was already a habit, and changing it felt awkward. Sometimes it felt as if there wasn't enough air.

After practicing for two to three hours, he couldn't maintain it. Although Zhang Hao didn't become discouraged, he realized he was not a genius in the guiding technique.

Huang Zhong specially comforted him, saying that anyone learning the guiding technique would find it difficult to master at first. As long as one persisted, they would eventually succeed.

Encountering such a magical method was rare, and Zhang Hao, who had been a fan of martial arts as a child and fantasy as an adult, naturally wouldn't give up. After lunch, he administered more medicine to Huang Xu and then focused on the breathing method.

However, the results were still unsatisfactory. When Zhang Hao felt tired and wanted to rest, he realized it was almost dark.

It should be noted that in this era, people generally had two meals a day, with only those in better conditions having three or more. The Huang family, being well-off and with martial artists who had large appetites, had three meals a day.

Zhang Hao found Huang Zhong and told him he needed to leave for a day or two. Fortunately, administering medicine to Huang Xu was not complicated, mostly oral medication, and the injections were not difficult.

After teaching Huang Zhong, Zhang Hao hurried back to his room and asked Xiaozhu about his sportswear. Learning that it hadn't dried, he directly asked Xiaozhu to bring him the dried underwear and asked Xiaocha to help him remove the somewhat complicated clothing he was wearing.

After putting on the underwear Xiaozhu brought, he smiled at the two maids and said, "You two can relax for the next couple of days. I estimate I'll be back in a day or two."

With that, he took his previously packed backpack and, under the wide-eyed and surprised gaze of the two maids, opened the time portal and stepped through.

Back in the rental apartment, Zhang Hao checked the time; it was a little past 11:00 AM in the modern world.

After changing into his clothes, Zhang Hao opened his backpack and looked inside. It contained gold, jade, and ginseng. He only brought back a portion, as too much would be hard to sell, and he wanted to test the waters first.

He didn't rush out, but charged his phone and then turned on his computer to look up information about gold and jade prices.

The information was a bit overwhelming. While gold prices were relatively transparent, the prices of jade and wild herbs fluctuated greatly, with no fixed price. He would have to check the market later.

Zhang Hao took his backpack and left the rental apartment. He hailed a taxi and headed to Taixi Road, where there were many jewelry stores, many of which were internationally renowned chains.

Although Zhang Hao rarely visited such places in the past, he walked around Taixi Road and chose a medium-sized jewelry store called Pin Yu Xuan.

Looking around, the store was not only outwardly impressive but also richly decorated inside. Various gold, silver, and jade jewelry in the glass counters sparkled under the lights, attracting many customers.

Most of the employees in such stores were women, with dignified appearances, wearing makeup and uniforms, which also attracted attention.

"Can you call your manager? I have some gold and jade jewelry I want to sell. Yes, they are all high-quality Hetian jade, including some of the highest grade," Zhang Hao said to the receptionist who approached him. Although the receptionist was quite attractive, Zhang Hao's mind was elsewhere.

"Sir, please wait a moment." The receptionist was taken aback but then walked to the side and spoke to an older woman. The dignified woman in her thirties approached with a gentle smile, exchanged some pleasantries, and then led Zhang Hao to a reception room on the second floor.

An hour later, Zhang Hao walked out of Pin Yu Xuan, somewhat dazed. Standing on the bustling street, he pinched his arm hard, and the pain made him more alert.

He was almost like Kong Yiji! Zhang Hao mocked himself.

Although he had mentally prepared, the large number on his bank account still made him tense. It was a staggering 11 million RMB.

Despite the current economic development and the numerous rich people, even the news claimed there were millions of millionaires. However, Zhang Hao had been a low-level nobody, someone who would calculate whether to add a quail egg to his noodles. Now, he had suddenly become part of the wealthy class, and the drastic change couldn't help but excite him.

From now on, he no longer had to worry about mortgage down payments, supporting his parents, increasing living pressures, or not having money for medical treatment.

This feeling was wonderful! Zhang Hao took a deep breath, and his mood gradually calmed down.

With the time portal, this money was not a big deal, and this was just the beginning.

This was just one transaction, and the items he brought back were only a small part of his harvest. Thinking about this, Zhang Hao became much calmer.

He then went to the Tongxin Pharmacy on Zhongshan Road, a famous chain pharmacy in the country, with its main store in Qinzhou, specializing in traditional Chinese medicine. Zhang Hao planned to see if he could sell the wild ginseng here.

His efforts were not in vain. After about an hour, Zhang Hao left the Tongxin Pharmacy, with several people seeing him off. This treatment showed how much the pharmacy management valued the wild ginseng he brought.

"Mr. Zhao, if you keep being so polite, I'll feel like I sold it at a loss," Zhang Hao said, smiling at the elderly man with white hair but a ruddy complexion.

The elderly man was named Zhao Changgeng. Zhang Hao didn't know his exact position, but he knew he had been sitting in the pharmacy and seemed to have a significant role.

Zhao Changgeng had appraised the wild ginseng and decided to buy all three plants.

"Ha ha, once the money is exchanged, no regrets," the elderly man said, laughing.

"Besides, if you feel you sold it at a loss, won't you let us treat you to a meal?!"

Zhang Hao knew that the price Mr. Zhao offered was satisfactory.

Moreover, Mr. Zhao hoped that if Zhang Hao had more such items in the future, he would sell them to the pharmacy. For future cooperation, he wouldn't cheat Zhang Hao too much.

After all, the price range for wild ginseng and jade was wide, with no fixed standard. Zhang Hao didn't mind as long as he felt the price was fair.

Just like when he sold the jade, although he wasn't sure if the manager had underpriced it, he could tell from the manager's expression that they had made a good profit.

Zhang Hao didn't care about these details. He knew that the jade was genuine ancient jade, and unlike other antiques, it couldn't be accurately dated or tested for age, so it could be sold as an antique.

However, that would be too much trouble, so Zhang Hao didn't mention it. After all, the other party didn't question the origin of the items, and Zhang Hao only said they were found in his ancestral home and passed down from his ancestors. The other party didn't press the issue. This way, everyone was happy.

Declining Mr. Zhao's offer to send him in a car, Zhang Hao hailed a taxi and left.

The three wild ginseng plants earned Zhang Hao 13 million RMB. Both the Tongxin Pharmacy and Pin Yu Xuan added some money to the final price, giving him a round number, perhaps to make it look better.

One time trade through the time portal made Zhang Hao a small tycoon. At this moment, he wondered if he should go to a place he had previously only dreamed of and indulge in a celebration.