"Stop being such a flirt!" Lan lightly pinched Chen's arm. "You better stop being so flirty, or I might never see you again! I've already promised father that we'll only stay as friends. Nothing more than that!"
"Seriously? Fine, I'll stop. I don't want to get you into trouble. But... You'll have to come see me more often ok?" Chen replied with a wink.
"Since when is this a negotiation? Don't make me repeat myself!" Lan blushed lightly as she turned away.
Watching their cheerful exchange, Wu felt envy and sorrow pierce his heart.
.....
After dropping her off at the campus, Chen hurried over to the jewelry store. As soon as he pulled up at the store entrance, Jing Fei came out to greet him.
"Bro! We got your order of jade scraps delivered here this evening. But... Why'd you got so many scraps for? They're worthless! And we're running out of space in the shop!" Jing Fei was puzzled. The whole shop was filled with big and small bags of jade scraps and bits. They had been delivered by Wenfeng's lackeys.
"Just what do you know about my plans? These aren't scraps, these are all stacks and stacks of money!" Chen smiled, as he took out a handful of broken jade pieces from the nearest bag.
*POOF!*
With just a single thought, a small flame flickered to life on his palm and instantly enveloped the jade in his hand. It was the Flame of Transmogrification that he received from Chang'e. As if metal bits over a hot flame, the bits of jade scraps turned red hot and started melting. Chen then mentally pictured how he would like the jade to turn out, and the red-hot molten jade began to stir. And in just a few short minutes, a beautiful jade bangle was created just like that!
"What the f*ck? Melting down jade scraps and turning them into bangles... That doesn't even make sense! What kind of sorcery is this? You can't melt and mold jade-like gold! Bro, are you an alchemist or something?" Jing Fei was amazed at Chen's ability. He then froze up as he suddenly remembered just how many bags of scraps were in the store right now. His eyes were almost popping out of their sockets at the sudden realization! These once worthless jade scraps and bits are, as Chen called them, stacks and stacks of money!
"Alchemist, my ass!" Chen laughed. "Oy, since you know a thing or two about this business, give me a ballpark figure. How much do you think these are worth? " He pointed to the bags of scraps and asked.
Being a notorious bandit before, Jing Fei was well-informed on the current market value of jewelry like these. He took the bangle Chen has just made and examined it. "Well, the materials used are not too exquisite, but I'd say that this is... Five to six thousand, easily."
"WHAT?! Are you serious? Look at all these bags of scraps! If I turn them all into items like this, that's a few billion yuan already!" Chen's eyes lit up with dollar signs.
"That's right!" Jing Fei nodded. "But bro, if you're going to be making them one at a time, it'll take ages for you to finish turning them all into jewelry..."
Chen frowned as soon as he heard that, Jing Fei was right. Transforming all these scraps into jewelry may be extremely profitable, but it would cost him a lot of time as well.
"Nothing I can do about that. It looks like I can only make them one at a time. For now, I'll have to at least get the items needed for the opening next week ready." Chen sighed. "Looks like I'll be stuck here doing nothing else but making jewelry for the next few days. I'll maybe even have to put training on hold..."
DING——
Just at that moment, he received a message.
Little Nezha: Hi, God Chen, can I talk to you? (three acting cute emojis)
"Why's this cute little fart looking for me?" Chen thought with a smile. He noticed how that every time he starts chatting with the group, Little Nezha would be the first to respond by saying Wow! God Chen was online! He was like a little fart that kept on following him around. However, Chen did not find him annoying, but cute instead.
Chen: How can I help you, Third Prince? (smile)
Little Nezha: Actually... You're always taking the red packets here but have never given out any before... The other group members are not happy about that... So they've sent me to ask some Red Envelopes from you. (awkward emoji)
Chen: Hmmm... Are they not happy with me? Well, then why didn't anyone tell me about it? (three curious emoji)
NeZha: That's because the Prime is your Shifu, and nobody dares to offend him. But the truth is, everybody secretly calls... Calls you stingy god...
"Ugh..." Chen almost threw up blood when he read that, but he couldn't argue about it. He had only been taking and not giving to the group since the first day he was in it. And as much of a miser as he was, this kind of selfish behavior was unacceptable. Even by his standards!
Chen: You guys misunderstood. It's not like I'm not planning to give anything back, I've just been busy and it just slipped my mind. Give me a second, I'll go and prepare something and then I'll be spamming red packets in the group very soon!
Nezha: Really? That's great! I'll go inform everyone right now! We'll be waiting eagerly for your red packets! (three acting cute emojis)
Chen kept his phone and hastily made his way out of the store. Since the store was located in the heart of the city, there were a few huge supermarkets nearby. Chen made a beeline for the closest one.
"Hmph! These cute silly gods dare call me stingy? I'll show them! I'm gonna send them a very big present! It'll be so big, there will be enough for almost everybody, if not everyone!"
Entering the supermarket, Chen made his way passing by aisle after aisle while thinking to himself. "Hmm... What should I get them? No, not spicy sticks this time... Veggies and fruits won't do either. I'll have to consider Nezha's position as the messenger as well..." After browsing for a while, Chen caught something from the corner of his eye and smiled. "Hah! This is it! Excuse me, I need some help here!" He waved to a shopping assistant nearby.
"Hello mister, how can I help you?" the shopping assistant rushed over to him and asked politely.
Chen nodded to her. "I'd like to purchase all the WaHaHa AD High-calcium milk packs that you have. All those on the shelf and those in stock please!" he said with a crafty grin.
"All of them!?" The shopping assistant was taken aback by Chen's words, but then quickly adjusted her smile and continued, "Oh! You must be buying them for a daycare! Please have a look around, while I process your purchase sir."
"Daycare? Pfft..." Chen almost spat in the assistant's face. The members of the Red Packet Group are either gods, ghosts, or demons. To call that a daycare... Chen wondered what kind of expression they would have if they find out about this?
Due to the large purchase of more than three hundred cartons, Chen arranged for the supermarket to deliver them to the store with their trucks as well as some workers to help with the transportation.
"Bro, just... What are you up to now?" Jing Fei was puzzled. The huge jewelry store was already packed with jade scraps and they had barely enough space to move around. Now the milk is stacked so high up, they actually reached the ceiling!
"Oh, these? These are gifts." Chen simply gave a half-hearted answer. He couldn't possibly explain who the milk was for. But as soon as the supermarket staff left, he transferred all the WaHaHa milk boxes into his phone and sent them out one by one in a huge wave of red envelopes that flooded the group.
DING! DING! DING!
In just a few moments, a frenzy of notifications popped up on his phone as the group members all did their best to grab as many of his red envelopes as they could. Chen had bought about thirty thousand boxes of WaHaHa AD High-calcium milk, but they were all gone in just a matter of seconds!
"These guys... Their fingers are too fast… No wonder I keep grabbing nothing every time I try..." Chen sighed. Then, the group members began to react to the red envelopes.
Zhu Bajie: Bro! What's this? How come I've never seen this before?
Monkey King: It's a drink, you dumbass! Stick the long hollow stick with the pointy end in, and suck it with your mouth! (cool guy emoji) Chen, am I correct?
Chen: Yes Wukong, you're very clever! Now everyone, try it. This is a local specialty from where I come from. It tastes sweet and tangy, very nutritious, and tastes good!