Chapter 168: Faith Flame
Chapter 168: Faith Flame
Gao Jing’s “Spreading Warmth” operation on Huiping Street in the Xihe District.
It lasted six days.
The last two days were done secretly, and he even switched the pickup truck and minivan used for loading goods.
Because these two vehicles had already appeared in many people’s social media feeds, covered in a shiny, golden glow, giving off an enticing smell of money.
They were bound to attract all sorts of flies and bees if spotted.
This troubled Gao Jing immensely.
On the evening of the sixth day, he treated Cheng Lingling and Peng Jia to a meal at Yunshang Grand Hotel.
“You two have worked hard.”
Gao Jing raised his glass to them, saying solemnly, “Thank you again.”
Over the past few days, these two district office staff had followed him around, truly helping a lot.
Otherwise, his “experiment” wouldn’t have gone so smoothly at the start.
The troubles that came later also had nothing to do with them.
“Boss Gao, please don’t say that.”
Cheng Lingling, who had already downed two glasses of red wine, was a bit tipsy. Her eyes shimmered. “It’s us who should thank you on behalf of the needy families in our district. Many people called me, asking me to thank you.”
Peng Jia, having drunk half a pound of Baijiu, clinked glasses with Gao Jing excitedly. “Boss Gao, I’ll finish mine. You take it easy!”
He tossed back the two liang of Moutai in one gulp.
“Cheers.”
Gao Jing smiled.
After the meal, Gao Jing first put Cheng Lingling into a taxi.
Then he took out a private business card and handed it to Peng Jia. “I’m applying to register a private Charity Foundation. I expect it will be approved after the new year. I’ll need quite a few staff members then.”
Both being district office workers, Peng Jia and Cheng Lingling were very different in personality and how they handled things.
Cheng Lingling had a good work attitude, but she was perhaps overly kind-hearted and naive, lacking understanding of how the world worked.
This could be frustrating sometimes.
Peng Jia, a few years older than her, was clearly much more shrewd and experienced. Though a bit slippery and cynical, he could handle unexpected situations and didn’t panic easily.
At the beginning, he seemed somewhat casual while tagging along with Gao Jing.
But his performance later became much more impressive and serious.
Gao Jing felt Peng Jia wasn’t a bad person deep down, so he had this thought.
Of course, this thought was based on Peng Jia’s status as a temporary worker at the district office.
With Cheng Lingling, it would be completely different.
Peng Jia accepted Gao Jing’s card respectfully with both hands, a flash of excitement in his eyes. “Thank you, Boss Gao.”
Peng Jia understood exactly what Gao Jing meant and recognized this as his opportunity.
Gao Jing’s public identity was Chairman of the Great World Trading Company from Hong Kong Island.
Though the company wasn’t well-known, others didn’t grasp this Boss’s real strength.
But Peng Jia, who had helped lug bags of cash for six days, knew very well.
All together, Gao Jing had donated three to four million yuan in cash to those needy families.
Peng Jia had seen it all, and his liver kept trembling!
Most importantly, Gao Jing spent so much money on charity without the slightest desire for publicity or fame.
This was the mark of someone truly formidable.
Though Gao Jing hadn’t mentioned anything about pay or benefits, Peng Jia felt this was simply how a Boss should act!
Working with Gao Jing was bound to be profitable.
The problem was his current job. Though tough, exhausting, and dirty work with meager pay and benefits,
it was secured only after his family pulled significant strings.
It had cost a high price.
If Peng Jia quit now to work at a private Charity Foundation,
he reckoned his father would hang him up and beat him for three days straight.
With his mother cheering from the side: Smack him! Beat him hard!
In their eyes, a job at the district office was a proper, decent occupation.
It brought prestige, made finding a wife easier, and only someone kicked by a donkey would resign voluntarily.
So if he wanted to work with Gao Jing, he first had to convince his family.
Tough!
But despite the difficulty, Peng Jia still felt deeply grateful for Gao Jing’s recognition.
He felt respected and trusted!
Gao Jing patted his shoulder. “Hang in there.”
After parting with Peng Jia, Gao Jing hailed a taxi by the roadside back to Minglan Grand View.
Once home, he couldn’t contain his excitement and waved his fist in the air.
He let out a triumphant shout!
The reason for Gao Jing’s incredible excitement was that the Bronze Anchor had leveled up.
Earlier that morning, the newly accumulated Power of Faith had filled the last remaining gap in the Faith Pool.
Finally meeting the upgrade condition for this magical object.
Silently and naturally, it completed its third upgrade!
He had kept a straight face throughout, quietly finishing the delivery of rice and cooking oil to the remaining families.
He hadn’t shown any excitement in front of Cheng Lingling and Peng Jia either.
Only now could he celebrate wildly!
Gao Jing had truly, deeply yearned for this upgrade.
He’d spent so much time, effort, and money.
And at last, succeeded!
Just as he had guessed before, after the upgrade, the Storage Space expanded a further tenfold!
Before, it had 1000 cubic meters.
Now, 10,000 cubic meters!
It felt like switching from a slingshot to a cannon proper. A warship traded for an aircraft carrier. Pure bliss!
This made his cross-world smuggling business much simpler going forward.
Current market prices for Oak ranged between 6000 to 12,000 yuan per cubic meter. Transporting eight to nine thousand cubic meters at once could mean tens of millions, even billions in profit.
The timber resources in Great World were unimaginably rich compared to those in the Primary World.
And the quality was superb too.
As for woods like oak and fir, though their price per unit is far below rosewood, the market demand for them is huge, making them most suitable for long-term trade operations.
Through his company in Hong Kong Island, Gao Jing could not only sell into mainland but also export to other countries.
That way he wouldn’t be easily choked domestically.
A major problem was solved.
At the same time, inside the Bronze Anchor, the surface area of the Faith Pool expanded by more than tenfold.
The former small lake had become a big lake.
Filling it up completely would undoubtedly be very difficult.
At least for a while, Gao Jing wouldn’t have any thoughts or urges about upgrading again.
What’s more, mysteriously.
After the Bronze Anchor upgraded for the third time, a new piece of information surfaced in Gao Jing’s memory.
He had gained a new ability.
An ability related to the Power of Faith!
He rubbed his fingers together, and a small flame suddenly ignited on his right index finger.
The flame was similar to a candle’s flame, but its color was pure white, radiating a warm and pure glow.
Bathing in this light, Gao Jing felt his soul undergoing a process of purification.
This white flame came from the Bronze Anchor.
Or, more accurately, it came from the Faith Pool.
It was produced by the Power of Faith accumulated at the bottom of the pool.
This was also the first time Gao Jing possessed the ability to actively wield the Power of Faith.
Before, it was entirely passive.
The Bronze Anchor’s upgrades didn’t require Gao Jing’s input, and the consumption for using the Storage Space was automatically deducted.
It was like the power in a power bank – he could use it but not directly control it.
Now Gao Jing could actively draw Power of Faith from the Faith Pool, channel it to any part of his body or his equipment, or directly ignite Faith Flame, like the small ball of white fire burning on his fingertip.
Exactly what use these had, however, Gao Jing didn’t know yet.
But the new information in his memory told him that Faith Flame could only be condensed and produced using the purest Power of Faith!
Regarding the uses of Faith Flame, Gao Jing was equally ignorant.
Rather than struggle to understand, he set it aside for now. He didn’t force his brain to figure it out.
The Bronze Anchor was far too mysterious, hiding who knows how many secrets!
He extinguished the Faith Flame at his fingertip.
Both condensing and maintaining the Faith Flame required consuming Power of Faith.
The little Power of Faith currently in his Faith Pool was earned through hard work today; it couldn’t be wasted carelessly.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to use his Storage Space.
After thinking for a moment, Gao Jing pulled out his phone and called Ji Yu: “How’s it going on your end?”
These days he’d been running around Huiping Street, gathering Power of Faith.
Meanwhile, Ji Yu had gone to Magic City with her close friend.
To film a new Vlog for Nine Apertures.
The plan proposed by Azure Coast Studio required location filming at several popular scenic spots in Huhai.
“We’ll finish filming tomorrow,” replied Senior happily. “It’s going really smoothly. Xiao Jiu is just so well-behaved, so smart, so aware of human behavior!”
He could even use the toilet and flush it himself!
And was too shy to be seen while doing it.
In truth, what Nine Apertures excreted was only the food it ate but couldn’t actually digest.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to imagine if it never ate, drank, or excreted.
Of course, Gao Jing definitely wasn’t going to reveal this secret to Ji Yu.
He said with a smile, “I’ll come over tomorrow.”
The day after tomorrow was New Year’s Day. Gao Jing planned to celebrate the New Year with Senior in Magic City.
To relax and celebrate a little!