Chapter 27

Back in her room, Qian Jianing followed her usual routine and took out 1,000 yuan from the day’s earnings, tying it with a rubber band and placing it in the box. Treasure Bowl suddenly spoke: “Xiaomi, you’ve already saved 30,000 yuan? Have you thought about what to do with this money?”

Qian Jianing looked at the stacks of money in the box in disbelief. She hadn’t imagined she could earn so much in such a short time—something unthinkable in her previous life. But after calculating her recent earnings, it actually made sense. Running her food stand during weekends serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and even just the ten custom dinner tables each night, brought in over a thousand yuan a day. She had initially assumed her small town was full of ordinary folks, but clearly, there were rich locals anywhere, in any era.

Looking at the mix of new and old bills in the box, Qian Jianing felt a bit lost. In her past life, she had limited exposure and experience; she’d never had the chance to invest or make money like this. She frowned, trying hard to recall any industries in the future that had been extremely lucrative. One came to mind.

“How about buying a house in Imperial Capital? Somewhere that would be worth a fortune or slated for demolition in the future.” Qian Jianing bit her lip, clearly torn. “Aside from that, I can’t really think of anything else for now. Businesses in Zibo City might be profitable, but I still need to consider my status as a student. I plan to wait until I get into college, when I move to a new city, to consider other opportunities.”

Treasure Bowl didn’t have much of a concept of human ways of making money, so he could only nod. “But you still need to keep accumulating wealth. This money is a far cry from the amount of Wealth Energy I need.”

“I know, I’ll do my best so you can return to the Immortal Realm as soon as possible.” Qian Jianing pinched Treasure Bowl’s chubby little cheek. “But now that I’ve made 30,000 yuan, don’t I deserve some kind of reward?”

Treasure Bowl wrinkled his pudgy face. “Always trying to trick me into giving up my goodies.” He held his cheek in his hand and thought for a long time, before his eyes suddenly lit up. “I know what to reward you with!”

With a wave of his little hand, a transparent screen appeared in front of Qian Jianing. “This is our Immortal Realm’s Xiantao Internet Mall. I can grant you access to the Immortal Realm Ingredient Procurement Section—you’ll be able to buy ingredients infused with celestial energy from here.”

Qian Jianing chuckled. “What a cost-free reward.”

Treasure Bowl proudly shook his little head. “Isn’t it clever?” He tapped to open the login interface. “You’re not from the Immortal Realm, so you’ll have to log in using my password.” With his chubby hand, he entered a username next to the login box: “World’s No.1 Cheapskate.”

Qian Jianing twitched the corner of her mouth. “I wasn’t expecting such a blunt username. I thought you’d pick something like ‘Immortal Realm Cutie’ or whatever.”

Treasure Bowl’s big eyes showed a hint of grievance. “God of Wealth helped me register it. He even activated a setting that prevents username change for 10,000 years. I still have to wait 3,800 years before I can rename it.”

Qian Jianing stifled a laugh and forced out a sympathetic expression. “Actually, that name is kind of cute. They’re just jealous of all your treasures.”

Treasure Bowl beamed and nodded enthusiastically. “I think so too.” He tapped the password field and typed: “All the treasures are mine.”

Without even thinking, Qian Jianing knew that password was definitely Treasure Bowl’s own doing—it revealed his true nature completely.

“This page is divided into mortal ingredients and Immortal Realm ingredients. Mortal ingredients look exactly like your earthly vegetables, but they carry a touch of spiritual energy and naturally taste much better than regular ones.” As he spoke, Treasure Bowl pulled a cucumber from his belly wrap, broke it in half, and handed a piece to Qian Jianing. “Try our Immortal Realm cucumber.”

Before she even took it, Qian Jianing could already smell the refreshing scent unique to cucumbers. She bit into it with a crisp crunch. The cucumber was crisp and sweet, with a refreshing aftertaste. Unknowingly, she finished half of it, not even willing to throw away the stem. She figured placing it on a table would give off a fragrance nicer than fresh flowers.

“How do I buy this? Can I pay with RMB?” Qian Jianing licked her lips, clearly not satisfied yet.

“Nope. The Immortal Realm doesn’t use RMB. Your money might as well be scrap paper over there. Unless there’s a deity planning to descend to the mortal world to show off, nobody deals in RMB.” Treasure Bowl chewed away at his cucumber, mouth full, “You don’t have currency for the Immortal Realm, so I suggest you use incense as payment. See, the low-ranking immortals growing vegetables don’t care for elixirs—they crave mortal worship. Burning a stick of incense counts as one unit of currency.”

Qian Jianing’s eyes lit up. “What if I source a bunch of these ingredients and launch an ‘Overpriced Gourmet’ series? It’d be limited edition, exclusive, absurdly expensive—rich people would be all over it just to try it.”

Treasure Bowl nodded. “I like that idea. Just remember to buy incense after school.” He continued, “Let me show you more about Immortal Realm ingredients. As the name suggests, these are unique to our realm. You can’t buy these with incense. You’ll have to use virtual currency to exchange for Immortal Realm gold ingots.”

Qian Jianing hadn’t considered purchasing items that would bankrupt her in seconds. Her current focus was solely on mortal ingredients. “If I do order vegetables, how will they be delivered?”

“Two options!” Treasure Bowl popped the last bite of cucumber into his mouth, holding up two pudgy fingers. “First, they can appear automatically in your kitchen—assuming it’s equipped with Food Elder’s Immortal Realm kitchen tools. Second, mountain gods or earth gods can deliver them, but that requires paying a delivery fee—twenty sticks of incense.”

So mountain and earth gods were also part-time couriers now? Being a god clearly required all-around excellence—physical, mental, artistic, and even manual skills. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even qualify to make deliveries.

Qian Jianing looked at Treasure Bowl with great sympathy. “No wonder you’re such a miser. Turns out gods don’t have it easy either.”

Treasure Bowl was dumbfounded. What do you mean we don’t have it easy?! Hey, what weird conclusions are you jumping to now?

Seeing it was getting late, Qian Jianing went out to rinse her mouth, then collapsed into bed and fell asleep. Treasure Bowl sat alone in a cloud of mist, deeply puzzled. “Could my behavior have hurt the Immortal Realm’s image? That can’t be! I even gave her a bracelet made of fruit pits—that’s pretty extravagant! So where did I go wrong?”

***

At five in the morning, Qian Jianing opened her eyes right on time. She got up, washed up, and went to Qian Jiafeng’s room. Reaching out, she yanked the chubby boy—who was sleeping belly-up—out of bed.

Qian Jiafeng blinked groggily at Qian Jianing, then suddenly wailed, “Sis, I’m not awake yet. Can I sleep a little longer?”

Qian Jianing immediately let him go, tossed him back on the bed, and walked out with crisp decisiveness. “Fine, from now on, I won’t cook anything for you. All your meals can be made by Dad.”

Qian Jiafeng instantly sobered up. He jumped from the bed, crashed to the floor, and scrambled to Qian Jianing’s feet, hugging her leg. “Sis! Dear sister! I’m willing to learn martial arts with you! I swear! I’m super willing!”

Qian Jianing looked down at him and gave a gentle smile. “That’s more like it.”

“Back straight, don’t stick your butt out—punch!”

“Harder! Why are you so floppy?”

“Don’t lower your head!”

“Bend your knees!”

“Punch!”

…

After only half an hour, Qian Jiafeng was exhausted and couldn’t go on. Sweat beaded all over his head as he crouched on the ground, panting. “Sis, do you even know what you’re doing? Is this how martial arts are supposed to be trained?”

“This is exactly how it’s done,” said Qian Jianing firmly. “I’ve been practicing for over a month.”

Qian Jiafeng looked at her silently, skepticism written all over his face. Qian Jianing noticed his doubt, glanced around the courtyard, and spotted a wooden stump.

The stump had just been dragged back by Qian Guosheng yesterday—thicker than two people and more than a meter high. He planned to chop it into firewood during the winter, using it to start coal fires.

Qian Jianing dragged the stump to the center of the yard. “Come here and try chopping this wood. Remember to use your full strength—let me see how much power you really have.”

Qian Jiafeng spread his legs and steadied himself, raised the axe, and swung it down with all his might. He barely made a tiny notch in the wood and jolted his hands numb. “Sis, this wood’s way too thick! It’s impossible to split.”

“Why are you so difficult to train?” Qian Jianing scratched her head. “Watch me.” She picked up the stump and placed it on a nearby table. “If you can’t even split firewood, how can your punches have any power? When I learned, I practiced by punching trees. Let me show you.”

Qian Jiafeng stood up, stunned. “Sis, you’re going to punch this stump? But it’s huge and heavy! The harder you hit, the more it hurts!”

Qian Jianing rolled her wrist and told him solemnly, “Technically, yes. But once you’ve mastered the techniques, these things are nothing. With martial arts training, your body becomes so tough you could punch through iron without even bruising. I’ll give you a demo. I think I can hit it at least a dozen times without issue.”

She sank into a horse stance, breathed into her dantian, and with a thunderous “Ha!” swung a punch at the stump.

The thick stump instantly flew into the air and exploded, breaking into hundreds of pieces raining down like a blossom storm.

Holding her punch stance, Qian Jianing was dumbfounded. She’d fought over twenty street thugs before, but she hadn’t expected such a thick stump to shatter like that. She couldn’t help but recall how hard she’d punched yesterday and wondered—could she have accidentally killed two of them?

Brushing wood chips off her head, she tossed them aside and said nonchalantly, “Did you understand the demonstration?”

Qian Jiafeng’s legs trembled as he stared, stunned, with bits of wood on his head. “N-Not really.”

Qian Jianing cleared her throat. “Well, you’ll get it as you train. Now go do some horse stance practice like I taught you.”

Qian Jiafeng’s legs were still wobbly, but faced with all the shattered wood, he obediently found a corner and got into position. Meanwhile, Qian Jianing picked up a long broom and swept the pieces into an empty bamboo basket in the yard.

“Well, well, starting real martial arts, huh?” Qian Guosheng came out with his toothbrush and, seeing his son earnestly practicing, couldn’t help but praise him. “Looks pretty good!” He stuck his toothbrush in his mouth, watching with a satisfied smile as his son practiced following his sister’s every move.

As he rinsed, he suddenly saw the basket of wood scraps. “Huh? You two already chopped the firewood? But why is it all shaped like this?”

Qian Jianing kept a neutral face and pretended not to hear. Qian Jiafeng, behind her, stared in wide-eyed admiration at his sister, eyes glowing. One day, I want to be a martial arts master just like her.

****

After breakfast, Qian Jianing got ready for school. Clearly, yesterday’s run-in with Zhang Hu had left no effect on her. She continued her day as usual. Meanwhile, Zhang Hu lay nervously in a hospital bed—he and all his top fighters had ended up hospitalized. His dance hall had no one left to guard it. He feared the other gangs he’d previously suppressed might take advantage and move in.

Zhao Dazhuang fared even worse. He was the head chef at Meiwei Restaurant, and now had broken arms, legs, and multiple crushed fingers. Who knew when he’d recover? The restaurant was rented, and steep rental fees loomed. Without Zhao able to cook, the only option was closing down.

At school, Qian Jianing set down her bag and placed a lunchbox on Li Xue’s desk. “Today it’s not a snack. It’s a special, delicious dish. Take it home for your parents to try.”

Li Xue took the lunchbox and handed her two in return. “You didn’t come over for roast duck yesterday, so I brought some for you.”

Qian Jianing had heard the roast duck from the southern end of town was famous, but her family had never purchased it. She opened the box, put a slice in her mouth, and frowned slightly. The duck was dry and tough—an indication it had been overcooked. The slight gamey flavor meant it hadn’t been marinated well. The wrinkled duck skin lacked any crisp texture. Clearly, this duck wasn’t as delicious as the rumors claimed.

“Oh wow, you two never stop—always bringing homemade dishes. Is your family too poor to afford food or what?” A girl with short bangs and hair mocked as she walked over, casting a sneer at Qian Jianing. “Qian Jianing, my mom said she saw your mom selling cooked food at a stall. Did she get fired from the factory?”

Qian Jianing glanced at her. “Is selling cooked food that strange? It’s still honest work—nothing anyone should be gossiping about.”

“Well, I guess not,” the girl laughed, “but that just means someone won’t be enjoying the perks of being from a dual-income family anymore. I heard your family has two kids. I wonder if you can even afford notebooks or pens now.”

She looked at Qian Jianing smugly, then winked at Chen Ran sitting in front of her. “Chen Ran, I heard there’s a pay raise at your mom’s factory?”

Chen Ran grinned proudly. “Yep, a five-yuan increase—my dad got one too, one yuan more than Mom. Zhang Tian, I heard your dad’s being promoted to Deputy Factory Director. You’ve got to treat us.”

“No problem! My dad gave me five yuan. I’ll buy you popsicles later,” Zhang Tian said smugly, glancing at Qian Jianing. “Unlike some people who can’t afford snacks and just bring food from home—so embarrassing.”

Li Xue, annoyed by her smug air, scoffed, “Those convenience store snacks are trash. Only people who’ve never tasted real food would think they’re a big deal. I love the food Jianing brings—it tastes amazing.” She opened her lunchbox, a rich aroma filling the air. Li Xue instantly forgot her argument and drooled over the dish. “Wow, this smells amazing! Jianing, did you bring a spoon? I want a bite right now.”

Qian Jianing quickly closed the lid and tucked it back into her desk. “Heat it in a clay pot at home—it’ll taste even better.”

Zhang Tian’s face twitched from the tantalizing smell. She huffed, “Poor people,” and returned to her seat.

Zhang Tian and Zhao Ran had always been close, their favorite pastime was teaming up to mock Qian Jianing. Lately, Zhao Ran had toned down her bullying after witnessing Qian Jianing beat the daylights out of Chen Kai. Zhang Tian had run off immediately after school that day and only heard second-hand accounts, which she still thought were exaggerated.

It was now late in 1988, and reform and opening policies had not only rapidly developed society but also shifted many people’s values. It became fashionable to admire wealth and power—even school kids compared whose parents had better jobs. Dual-income families were the envy of many—two salaries meant nearly 200 yuan a month, offering a much better lifestyle.

Qian Jianing, reborn, didn’t feel angry at Zhang Tian’s remarks. In fact, she found them somewhat amusing. Shaking her head, she took out her textbook to begin previewing the next lesson.

“Jianing, is your mom really not working anymore? Did something happen at the factory?” Li Xue looked worried. “It’s tough earning money—don’t bring me any more snacks, okay?”

“Don’t listen to her nonsense. I was the one who told my mom to quit on her own. What’s the point of earning a dead salary at the factory? It’s better to make more money outside,” Qian Jianing said as she pinched Li Xue’s soft cheek. “Just eat the things I brought you, no need to worry—they’re all made by me.”

Li Xue still looked uneasy. “But my mom said it’s not easy to do business outside. A lot of people lose money. It’s not as secure as a government job.”

Qian Jianing chuckled softly. “There’s no such thing as a secure job in this world.”

Zhang Tian turned her head and glared at Qian Jianing, who remained unaffected by her words and was still chatting and laughing with Li Xue. Zhang Tian grew annoyed. She had intended to show off to her classmates about her dad’s promotion today, but everyone’s attention had been drawn to the delicious smell wafting from Li Xue’s lunchbox instead. No one paid any attention to what she said. She bit her lip in frustration, then suddenly thought of something.

“Have you guys heard? There’s a really popular restaurant in Zibo City right now. It’s called Qian Xiaomi’s place.”

“I know it,” said a girl named Li Xiaoxue, who sat behind Zhang Tian, lifting her head. “My cousin’s been there. She said it’s not too far from our school, just in a small courtyard on Dongyi Street. She said the food there is amazing, but the prices are really high. Their family of three spent over sixty yuan on one meal. And that wasn’t even the most—usually you need at least a hundred yuan to eat there for dinner.”

“Wow, that expensive?” a classmate exclaimed. “A meal there costs as much as my dad makes in a whole month. And people actually eat there?”

“You should drop the ‘as much as my dad makes’ part,” Li Xiaoxue sneered. “That place only serves a hundred numbers per meal. If you’re late, you can’t even get through the door. I heard you have to line up at 3 p.m. if you want dinner.”

“No way, there’s actually a place like that?”

“Us ordinary folks could never afford a place like that. No matter how good the food is, it’s useless to dream about it.”

“I think I’ve found a new life goal—when I earn enough, I’ll treat myself to a meal there.”

…

The classmates started chattering animatedly, all finding the idea of such a pricey restaurant unbelievable. Seeing their interest, Zhang Tian couldn’t help but lift her chin proudly. “I’m going to eat at that restaurant tonight.”

“You mean you already made a reservation?” Li Xiaoxue asked in surprise. “I heard that place is impossible to book.”

Zhang Tian smiled smugly. “My dad booked it. He’s taking me there tonight so I can see what it’s really like. Tomorrow I’ll tell you all about it, let you broaden your horizons a bit.”

Hearing this, Qian Jianing turned around to glance at Zhang Tian. Zhang Tian raised her head and rolled her eyes at her with an exaggerated sniff. “What are you looking at? Your mom doesn’t even have a job anymore. If you want to eat at that place, pray you’re born into a better family next time.”

Qian Jianing gave a slight smile and turned back around. Li Xue scratched her head in confusion and leaned in to whisper in Qian Jianing’s ear, “Jianing, isn’t your nickname Xiaomi?”

“Yeah!” Qian Jianing nodded.

Li Xue’s eyes widened. “And your family lives on Dongyi Street… don’t tell me—”

Qian Jianing raised a finger to her lips. “Shh! Want to come check out my restaurant tonight? I have a feeling Zhang Tian’s expression will be absolutely priceless.”