Chapter 44: Slow and Steady
Everybody looked at the newcomer, who turned out to be Xiao Qin, the receptionist at the port.
Xiao Qin’s real name was Jiang Qin. She had worked in the port for three years. Every day, she wouldn’t leave until everyone was off duty.
Nobody knew Jiang Qin’s past, and nobody was interested in it. After all, what she did was just a regular job.
Of course, Han Fei knew none of that. He only knew that the girl always gave him a few reminders before he set sail although she seemed indifferent.
Han Fei greeted her. “Hey, Sister Qin is here! Please wait a moment. Xiao Gang, get more food going!”
Seeing Han Fei’s income, Wang Jie realized that he could not criticize him anymore, so he pulled Han Fei aside and said, “Why are you hanging around with Li Gang? He’s a worthless gangster.”
Han Fei said, “Sir, he was kicked out by the Tigers and was begging. How could I leave him alone?”
Han Fei spoke so matter-of-factly that Wang Jie almost believed him. But hadn’t Li Gang gotten kicked out of the Tigers because of you?
In the end, Wang Jie said thoughtfully, “Training does require resources, but you must not depend on them too much. There are only seven days until the Fishing Trial. Do what you see fit!”
Wang Jie and He Mingtang left. Li Gang packed up the food for Jiang Qin.
Jiang Qin had a bite of the lobster and beamed with interest. She finished the lobster quickly.
She looked at Han Fei thoughtfully and said, “Take a walk with me?”
Stunned, Han Fei said to Li Gang, “Xiao Gang, you will clean up the tools later. Take the low-quality pearls and prepare the materials for tomorrow.”
Li Gang asked, “Huh? I’m going to take care of the pearls?”
Han Fei said, “Of course! Isn’t the pack of pearls heavy?”
Li Gang was dumbfounded. Heavy? That’s money! You’re complaining that money is heavy?
…
Jiang Qin observed everything. It was not until they were out of the market that she finally asked, “There are no fish tides, are there?”
Han Fei certainly could not admit it. “Of course there are! I was attacked by fish tides twice. Even my boat was damaged.”
Jiang Qin, however, changed the topic. “Therefore, you should pay for the damage.”
Han Fei: “???”
Jiang Qin said, “Forget it. Everybody has their secrets. You’d better hide yours well. On the other hand, how did you get the spiritual fruits from the plantation?”
Han Fei said, “That’s easy! I gave the old man some liquor, and he gave them to me!”
There was no telling if Jiang Qin was convinced or not; she simply glanced at Han Fei and said, “I’m told that you’ve been advancing fast although you barely achieved anything in the past four years. What’s your Spiritual Heritage?”
Han Fei was shocked. The girl was probably unusual. He felt that he had been seen through.
He replied, “Level Two, Low Quality.”
Jiang Qin frowned and said, “Lying is not a good thing, especially when you are lying to the wrong person.”
Han Fei said, “Sister Qin, I’m truly Level Two, Low Quality! Actually, I was Level One, High Quality in the test, and I became Level Two after an incident.”
Han Fei did not intend to hide that. After all, the result of his test was publicly known. He merely hoped that the girl wouldn’t make him do the test again.
“Huh?”
Jiang Qin turned around quickly. “Your Spiritual Heritage changed?”
Han Fei said in a hurry, “I had a spiritual fruit that my brother left for me.”
He did not know if Jiang Qin believed it or not. After walking another ten minutes, Jiang Qin said, “Prepare yourself for the Fishing Trial. The higher your place, the better, if you want more spiritual fruits from the plantation.”
Han Fei said, “Okay!”
Jiang Qin left after that. Han Fei was puzzled. What did she mean by what she said?
Han Fei checked his spiritual energy after he got home. It was already more than seven thousand points. However, he was not in a hurry to make the breakthrough. He intended to upgrade his Spiritual Heritage to Level Three, which required ten thousand points of spiritual energy.
…
The next day, in the barbecue stand, Han Fei finally saw Xiao Hong, Li Gang’s girlfriend that he talked about all the time.
Li Gang said, “Xiao Hong, this is my boss. He’s an extraordinary person.”
Han Fei nodded politely, although it was obviously too sophisticated for a twelve-year-old.
However, Han Fei secretly chuckled. He thought that Xiao Hong was a beautiful girl, but after seeing her, he wanted to tell Li Gang that he needn’t worry that his girlfriend would elope, because few men liked girls who weighed as much as themselves.
Li Gang weighed at least a hundred and seventy kilograms, but Han Fei did not think that he could win a fight against Xiao Hong.
After giving the barbecue stand to Xiao Hong and Li Gang, Han Fei was free again. He simply sat behind the stand and delivered the seafood to Li Gang after absorbing its spiritual energy.
There were only half as many customers today. After all, most fishers could not afford the full price.
Thankfully, many people had come from far away after the promotion yesterday.
By sunset, Han Fei had more than ten thousand points of spiritual energy, but he was not in a hurry at all. There were plenty of places for him to use spiritual energy.
Li Gang shouted, “Boss, we are running out of spiritual fruits! They will probably be used up tomorrow!”
Han Fei said, “All right, roast everything on the menu. I’ll get some spiritual fruits for us.”
A dealer nearby immediately approached him. “Is it easy to obtain the spiritual fruits? Can you get some for me?”
Han Fei said with a generous smile, “Uncle, it costs one mid-quality pearl! In fact, I’m not earning much although there are a lot of customers. I dare not go to the plantation until I have a hundred mid-quality pearls.”
“Tch…”
The dealer counted and found the price unaffordable. A hundred mid-quality pearls equaled a high-quality pearl! How many people in Heavenly Water Village had a high-quality pearl?
After seeing the dealer off, Han Fei went to the plantation with twenty kilograms of liquor and a pack of barbecue.
Han Fei was dumbfounded to see the old man enjoying alcohol with the peanuts that were obviously just dug out.
Han Fei was lost for words. The old man had learned such a classic combination on his own? Han Fei had done it plenty of times himself. He always prepared a lot of peanuts when he set sail in his previous life.
“Huh? Boy, what’s in that? It smells rather great!”
Han Fei came with the barbecue and the liquor. “Grandpa, like I said, I do not take your things without giving anything in return. This is barbecue. Why don’t you try it?”
The old man looked at them and said, “Huh? Regular white fish, clams…”
Then, the old man changed his expression. “You added spiritual fruits to such worthless food? But it does smell great. I wonder how it tastes.”
After a bite of the clam, the old man’s face changed so greatly that Han Fei was amused.
“Is… Is this the white weary fruit?”
The old man was full of disbelief. How could the white weary fruit be turned into a delicious food?
Han Fei pointed at the garlic and said, “It tastes good after it’s crumbled and roasted, right?”
The old man ate half of the clam and finally looked at Han Fei thoughtfully. “Boy, did you make it on your own?”
Han Fei said, “Everything is useful in this world for people who can use them.”
The old man swallowed a mouthful of the liquor and looked at Han Fei in a different way.
The old man said, “Boy, did you propose to take care of the garden for me?”
Han Fei asked, “Is it possible?”
The old man said, “Yes, but about the liquor and this…”
Han Fei added, “Barbecue.”
The old man said, “You need to provide liquor and barbecue for me.”
Han Fei grinned and said, “All right. I’ll take care of the garden for you after the Fishing Trial. However, the spiritual fruits I took from your place the other day have been used up…”
The old man waved his hand, as if it were not a big deal. “You can take more. Well, no more than a hundred kilograms each.”
Soon after Han Fei left, a woman came out of the house.
“You agreed so easily, gourmet grandpa?”
The old man said, “He’s not a bad guy.”
The woman said, “Interesting.”
Han Fei would’ve been surprised if he were there. Wasn’t that Jiang Qin?