Chapter 116: Persistent Ghost
Chapter 116: Persistent Ghost
Back home.
Gao Jing sat at the desk and turned on the lamp.
He took out the diamond he just bought from his Storage Space.
He placed it on the desk.
This 3-carat diamond had a standard diameter of 9.4 mm.
Its size was already quite eye-catching.
Its F color and VG cut make it glitter beautifully under the light.
Charming countless women and making men sell a kidney or their blood?
There’s a reason for that!
He just paid a bit too much stupid tax.
Two identical 3-carat diamonds cost Gao Jing over a million.
And this was after international diamond prices had been falling in recent years.
Otherwise, a single one could have cost a million.
Actually, if Gao Jing had used cigarettes and alcohol to exchange for Gangpo Stones with the big fat guy Zhiqi back then,
the cost would have been much lower.
A case of four bottles of Starlight Sparkling Wine was only 128 silver taels!
And it came with two champagne glasses.
A pack of Supreme 95 was over a thousand, a Zippo lighter about five to six hundred.
How much would all that add up to?
But such calculations didn’t serve Gao Jing’s interests.
Because he’d sold those bottles of sparkling wine, worth twenty or thirty taels each, as luxury goods to Zhiqi!
He added at least four or five zeros to the price!
What’s the biggest selling point of luxury goods?
Prestige!
To maintain the item’s luxury prestige and earn thousand or ten-thousand-fold profits, you absolutely could not sell it like cheap cabbage.
It was a simple truth.
The more of the same thing there is, the less valuable it is.
The prestige is gone.
This was one of the important reasons Gao Jing didn’t want to use more cigarettes and alcohol to trade for Gangpo Stones.
Want it?
Trade me for truly valuable Witch Artifacts!
How much would a piece of supernormal equipment like the Weaver’s Wrist be worth in the Primary World?
Priceless!
There was also the issue of bargaining power.
Zhiqi the big fat man was an extremely greedy profiteer.
His past dealings with the Shan Yue Tribe clearly showed what it meant to give an inch and take a mile, to squeeze every last drop out of someone!
The Witch Artifacts and Gangpo Stones were a trap Zhiqi set for Gao Jing.
And it was an obvious one!
Gao Jing would rather pay a million in stupid tax in the Primary World than step into the pit the other side buried.
He wouldn’t give Zhiqi a chance to take an inch or squeeze him dry.
He wanted to make it crystal clear to this profiteer,
Brother doesn’t fall for that!
On one hand, maintaining the prestige of the cigarettes and alcohol, on the other hand, also establishing his own prestige.
As for whether Zhiqi would still sell Witch Artifacts in the future?
Gao Jing believed this was not an issue at all.
If he guessed right, Zhiqi wasn’t exchanging those cigarettes and sparkling wine for his own enjoyment.
He most likely wanted to use them to build connections with higher-ups!
That suited Gao Jing’s interests perfectly.
Just think about why Moutai liquor’s market value can exceed the GDP of its production province!
“Don’t worry.”
Gao Jing reached up and patted his coat pocket.
The Earth Spirit Cat Soul Ling Dang was inside the pocket— the little thing was meowing again!
No rush.
He still needed to do a little experiment.
Picking up the diamond from the desk, Gao Jing left the bedroom and went to the small outer hall.
He tossed this diamond worth hundreds of thousands into the corner.
Then Gao Jing returned to the study.
He took out the bell, channeled Totemic Power into it, and instantly activated the Witch Artifact.
Meow~
Gao Jing reached out and stroked Nine Apertures, who had just manifested physically, sending his thoughts to it.
“Go now, be a good kitty. Find what you want most and bring it back to me!”
Meow!
Nine Apertures rubbed against his hand and immediately jumped off the desk onto the floor.
It flicked its tail, sniffed around, rolled its sparkling jet-black eyes, looking left and right.
Suddenly, it darted forward like an arrow shot from a bow.
In the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace outside the study door.
Only a few seconds later, the little guy was back.
It agilely and silently leaped back onto the desk.
It opened its mouth and dropped what it was holding.
It was unmistakably the diamond Gao Jing had just tossed into the corner of the outer hall!
“Good kitty.”
Gao Jing couldn’t resist reaching out to pet it twice, giving it a thumbs-up!
The test was a complete success.
Meow meow!
Nine Apertures loved Gao Jing’s petting. He arched his tail, rubbing against Gao Jing playfully and clingily.
Gao Jing chuckled.
He let Nine Apertures become invisible again and slipped back into the bell.
Gao Jing picked up the bell, unscrewed the outer shell, and took out the Gangpo Stone inside.
The gem had almost lost all its energy. Gao Jing couldn’t even see the magical cat spirit inside its core anymore.
Following the method Zhiqi had told him before, Gao Jing took the loose diamond from the table and poured a thread of Totemic Power into it.
Then he pressed the two stones tightly together.
The very next second, he saw wisps of dark mist quickly seep through the Gangpo Stone and into the diamond.
Inside the diamond, dark mist gathered until a tiny cat suddenly seemed to flicker and come to life!
Meow~
Right then, the thoughts Nine Apertures sent to Gao Jing were filled with strong joy and gratitude!
He very, very much loved his new home.
It was just a little small still.
Gao Jing found himself smiling without realizing it.
Yes, a Gangpo Stone was a diamond, and a diamond was a Gangpo Stone. There was no doubt about that.
He touched the diamond lightly with his finger.
Gao Jing told the little guy living inside that in the future, he would give him a bigger and better house!
Diamonds were easy to come by.
He put the diamond holding the magical cat spirit back into the bell and poured more Totemic Power inside.
Gao Jing flicked the bell with his finger.
Meow!
Before it even hit the ground, Nine Apertures was already visible again.
He landed lightly on the floor, his fur shining softly like silk and satin.
He looked extremely beautiful, just like a spirit from a fairytale world!
Gao Jing stretched out his hand.
The small cat leaped instantly into Gao Jing’s embrace, “Meow meow meowing” to express its happiness to him.
He likes Gao Jing so very much! +10086!
Gao Jing gave him a couple of pets and immediately felt a big difference.
The small calico cat felt more real than before and was bursting with life.
It was obviously because he had a new object to live inside.
That few hundred thousand yuan had been totally worth it!
Most importantly, Gao Jing felt the connection between his mind and Nine Apertures become much closer and clearer.
Whatever Nine Apertures felt — happiness, anger, excitement, or worry —
was reflected clearly in Gao Jing’s mind!
It felt incredibly magical.
He petted and petted Nine Apertures, so much that he almost couldn’t stop!
Until his cell phone rang in his pocket.
Somewhat reluctantly, he put Nine Apertures down.
Gao Jing let him roam freely to explore the villa.
After all, Nine Apertures wasn’t just a playful pet.
He was smart and quick, naturally good at hiding, and he could act as a guard or a scout. He was also really good at digging tunnels.
With him keeping watch, Gao Jing didn’t need to worry about anyone sneaking onto his property anymore.
Nine Apertures just wasn’t a fighter.
But Gao Jing didn’t need him to be one.
Only after Nine Apertures ran off did Gao Jing take out his phone and answer. “Hello, this is Gao Jing speaking.”
“Mr. Gao.”
A steady voice came from the receiver. “This is Qin Jingye…”
Oh. It’s you.
Gao Jing’s happy mood instantly soured a little.
This member of the Qin Family from Jianghai Fund really wouldn’t leave him alone!
By now, this was the fourth time Qin Jingye had called him lately, still about the Hundred-Fruit Wine.
He clearly wasn’t going to stop until he got what he wanted.
Gao Jing never really considered that his Mountain Ape Wine — something he’d brought back from the Great World — could cause such a fuss.
To him, the Mountain Apex Wine just tasted great and was easy to get drunk from.
The wine didn’t matter much to the Shan Yue Giant people either.
In fact, it had never been on their trading lists with the merchant caravans.
Yet clearly, for ordinary people in the Primary World, Mountain Ape Wine had a special, almost unbelievable effect!
And so, he’d caught the attention of the Qin Family.
Hiding his impatience, Gao Jing let Qin Jingye keep talking.
Then he said, “Alright, Mr. Qin, let’s do this. Tomorrow morning, nine o’clock, we’ll meet at the Longfeng Teahouse.”
Gao Jing today wasn’t afraid of the Qin Family anymore.
But since he wasn’t planning to leave Jiangnan or the Provincial Capital right away, he had to find a solution to this problem.
And Gao Jing had something in mind.
So he might as well meet up and lay everything out clearly.
If the Qin Family played dirty or pushed him hard… well, they couldn’t blame him for fighting back!
So far, Qin Jingye had only really called him several times, nothing more.
That was why Gao Jing was willing to meet him even once.
Otherwise, there would be nothing to discuss.
“The Longfeng Teahouse?”
Qin Jingye obviously paused in surprise, then said, “Very well. I shall await you at the Longfeng Teahouse!”
“Hmm. See you then.”
After hanging up, Gao Jing thought for a moment.
Then he called Niu Jinxing.
As the saying goes, competition fuels progress. Gao Jing didn’t mind selling a few bottles of Mountain Ape Wine.
But how he sold it needed careful consideration.
It definitely wouldn’t be just how the Qin Family wanted it!
He needed to set his own terms.
And the Niu Family? They were definitely a great way to spread the word.