BXBX NOVEL Chapter 96 - 96: Doing Everything to Earn Money
She was in pain for two hours, so much so that she wanted to bite her tongue.
After the Body Cleansing was complete, Qiao Mai saw that all the black impurities on her skin’s surface had been purified by the space when she regained consciousness.
She was satisfied with this, as it meant she didn’t have to go through the smelly and time-consuming process described in some novels.
She sat cross-legged and began to organize the information in her mind.
Qiao Mai put aside the Internal Qi manuscript for now and started to read the cultivation manual.
She began her cultivation journey, but there was still the matter of spirit stones. Weren’t ten of them given as a bonus?
Unable to find the spirit stones, she contacted customer service and learned that the spirit stones had been converted into spiritual energy and sent to her Dantian.
She quickly followed the manual’s instructions and started cultivating to avoid overloading her Dantian.
With the ten low-grade spirit stones’ worth of spiritual energy, she only advanced a couple of stages, reaching the third level of the Qi Refinement Realm before it was depleted.
She stood up and stretched, then performed a set of martial arts she had learned in her previous life. Qiao Mai felt light on her feet. Her strikes were powerful, and she left an imprint on a piece of wood with a single grab.
Observing the sky outside and the still-sleeping Ling’er, she sat cross-legged and cultivated the Internal Qi manuscript.
By the time dawn broke, she felt the flow of internal energy.
It had been a fruitful night. She had gained insights into the space’s capabilities and learned how to use the shopping platform.
In the future, she would have to communicate more with customer service. When her space leveled up, she would have the capital to reward that customer service representative.
This night has been full of surprises. With a space like this, she had newfound motivation.
With examples of bartering goods, Qiao Mai could exchange her less useful items for what she needed.
Her immediate task was to go to the county and exchange her silver notes for gold. She couldn’t do it all at once to avoid drawing too much attention.
She was excited about the possibilities. After leaving the space, she couldn’t sleep all night.
Qiao Mai tossed and turned in bed, her mind racing with thoughts. The next morning, she finally got up, had the kitchen staff prepare breakfast, entrusted Ling’er to her maidservant, and took a short nap.
After breakfast, she instructed the staff and then rode Dong Zao to the county. At the Da Ming Money Bank, she exchanged one thousand taels of gold. She carried the box of gold and headed for the prefectural city. As soon as she left the county, the box entered her space.
At another branch, she exchanged another two thousand taels of gold. Her initial fifty thousand taels of silver had now dwindled to twenty thousand.
Qiao Mai couldn’t help but sigh. To spend three thousand taels of gold for just three low-grade spirit stones was quite a drain. She would need more spirit stones in the future.
She would have to work tirelessly to make money. How long would it take if she were to accumulate wealth little by little?
When she arrived at the pharmacy in Wei City, she dismounted her horse, tied it to a wooden post, and carried two boxes in her hands as she walked in.
As Qiao Mai was dressed nicely, and her skin had become fair and radiant after taking the Void Body Cleansing Pill, the shopkeeper and the attendants dared not underestimate her.
“Madam, are you here for a medical consultation or to purchase medicine?” “I have two old ginseng roots that I’d like to sell. Does your shop buy them?”
“Yes. Please let me take a look.”
Qiao Mai placed the two long boxes on the counter. At a glance, the shopkeeper could tell that these ginseng roots were not ordinary.
Indeed, when he opened the boxes, he couldn’t help but inhale sharply, carefully examining the ginseng roots.
“Madam, one of these ginseng roots is 520 years old, and the other is 680 years old. Unfortunately, neither of them has reached a thousand years.”
“Please make an offer. If it’s reasonable, I’ll sell them to your pharmacy. If not, I’ll go somewhere else.”
“A thousand-year-old ginseng root would cost several tens of thousands of taels of silver and are considered priceless. I’ll offer you twenty thousand taels for these two ginseng roots, nothing more.”
The shopkeeper’s explanation made sense, and Qiao Mai agreed.
“Alright, I’ll take gold. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes. I’ll send someone to the bank.”
Twenty thousand taels of silver would be equivalent to two thousand taels of gold. Qiao Mai sighed silently in her heart; making money was a slow process, and impatience wouldn’t help.
After completing the transaction, she carried the box of gold to her horse. She had no interest in shopping and quickly turned her horse to head back.
Once she left the city, she tossed the box into her space, letting out a self-deprecating sigh.
Cultivation was a costly endeavor. She had thought she was well-off, but this experience quickly brought her back to reality.
Upon returning home, Qiao Mai felt a bit downhearted. She reminded herself that once her space upgraded and had its spiritual energy, she wouldn’t need to purchase spirit stones. With renewed determination, she decided to focus on cultivating her internal energy for now.
She sat down, pondering her next steps. She planned to write the Internal Qi manuscript for her children and Yuan Jiaqi.
Even if Yuan Jiaqi didn’t seem like a martial arts talent, practicing a bit was better than becoming a weak scholar.
Qiao Mai spent a day thinking about it, and by evening, she entered her space.
Looking at the ground, she was concerned. The new four-acre plot had already duplicated itself.
She clenched her teeth and decided to harvest all the crops on the two plots, clearing them entirely, including the roots.
Looking at the eight empty plots, Qiao Mai decided not to plant fruits and vegetables but to cultivate medicinal herbs, specifically ginseng, which was the most valuable.
She would let them grow in the space, and they would become more valuable as they aged.
All she could think about was money now.
After planting a whole bag of ginseng seeds, she muttered, “I’ll see the results in five days. I wonder how many years these ginseng plants will be.”
She anticipated the outcome. If it weren’t for the cultivation aspect, she would have been content to wait for her ginseng to mature and turn into gold.
She sighed and sat down, focusing on cultivating her internal energy.
With only five thousand taels of gold left, she could only afford five low-grade spirit stones, which wouldn’t even be enough to level up once. She decided not to bother customer service anymore and settled into her new routine.
One month later, as May arrived, Tianshui Town began to heat up.
The watermelon, ice, and chilled fruit juice sold at Qiao’s Small Eatery became the best-selling items for travelers passing through.
Travelers who frequented the main road knew about this small eatery.
Whenever they passed by, they would stop, find an empty table outside, order some watermelon, and enjoy a bowl of chilled fruit juice while nibbling on sticky corn. It was incredibly satisfying.
When tired from her embroidery work, Qiao Mai would bring Ling’er, as well as Yue Hong and Yue Xie, to the eatery.
She would often make something delicious when she visited, mainly for Ling’er to enjoy.
Items like fruit salads and yogurt with fruit chunks were a hit with female customers. When the women saw it, they often asked Qiao Mai to sell them a bowl.
Qiao Mai didn’t turn away anyone, charging them one or two taels of silver per bowl.
The female customers quickly fell in love with the refreshing taste of the fruit salads and the unique flavor of the yogurt.
She could sell more than ten bowls in a day.
The profit made Shopkeeper Niu quite ecstatic. He would often praise Qiao Mai, saying she was clever, as she had introduced him to the concept of yogurt.
How would he have known otherwise?
Since he started working for her, he has learned a lot about food.
For example, not serving fava beans with wine, avoiding mixing fruits with seafood, and being aware of food incompatibilities.
If someone ordered something that wasn’t a good combination, he would kindly inform them to save the trouble of blaming their food for discomfort later.
While Qiao Mai was at the shop, the place was always packed with people eager to take advantage of her offerings. Many wanted to try rare and delicious treats.
Sometimes, she would count her earnings at the end of the day. It could add up to two hundred taels of silver, which left Shopkeepr Niu overjoyed.
After observing the workers for a month, Qiao Mai told Shopkeeper Niu that each person would receive an extra hundred coins from the next month onwards, and his wages would increase to two taels.
As expected, Qiao Mai appreciated their hard work and did not mistreat them…