Sold for 300, I Fight Back with Superpowers

After hearing what Mr. Gong said, Old Mrs. An couldn’t help but ask, ”Cousin, what do you mean?”

”Su is going to look for that herb in the remote wilderness. I don’t have to tell you how dangerous that is, I’m sure you’re aware. We’re talking about an eight-hundred-year-old Purple Danshen. Do you think that’s going to be easy to find?” Mr. Gong said. ”So first, let me hear about this ’generous reward.’ Just how generous are we talking?”

Even a hundred-year-old Purple Danshen is priceless. Although Old Mrs. An wasn’t a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, she had been in and out of the Gong Family estate since she was a child, so she knew a precious herb when she saw one. An eight-hundred-year-old specimen would be exceptionally rare. She thought for a moment, then said, ”Five million. If the young lady really finds the herb, I won’t treat her unfairly.”

”Ten million!” Mr. Gong said. ”And regardless of whether Su finds the herb or not, you’ll pay two million upfront as a deposit. Once she brings back the herb, you’ll pay the remaining eight million. Furthermore, we’ll need to sign a formal agreement.”

Ten million was an unimaginable sum for an ordinary person. But for a wealthy family in Xiangcheng like the Ans, it was well within reach. While not as rich as the Cheng Family, they still had assets in the billions. Mr. Gong, in fact, thought ten million was too low.

”Ten million!” Old Mrs. An was taken aback when she heard the figure Mr. Gong quoted.

”What? You think such a precious herb isn’t worth ten million?” Mr. Gong retorted. ”I think that’s selling it short. Just tell me, are you going to pay or not?”

”I’ll pay!” Old Mrs. An decided after a moment’s thought. ”I’ll pay the money. How about this: bring Su to my place tomorrow, and we’ll get everything settled. What do you say?”

Old Mrs. An felt guilty about An Zhihan, so she didn’t agonize over the price and immediately agreed to Mr. Gong’s terms.

”Tomorrow won’t work. My apprentice is getting married tomorrow. Let’s make it the day after,” Mr. Gong said. ”I’ll bring Su to your place then.” He had originally wanted Old Mrs. An to come to him, but then he remembered he was staying at the Cheng Family’s house. The Chengs and the Ans had become enemies over what happened before, so he decided to take Su Qing to the An Family’s ancestral home instead. Even though he had his own reservations about the An Family, he couldn’t let Su Qing be taken advantage of. ’Besides,’ he thought, ’that guy An Yiliang isn’t in his right mind anyway. I’ll just act as if that old coot is already dead.’

”Oh, that’s right. Your apprentice is getting married tomorrow. Alright, the day after tomorrow it is. You still have the address, don’t you? I gave it to you before.” Old Mrs. An knew the Cheng Family’s daughter was getting married tomorrow. The event was causing a stir throughout Xiangcheng’s high society. After all, the Cheng daughter wasn’t marrying into another prominent family but to some poor, unknown kid. Only she knew that this ”poor kid” was her cousin’s apprentice and that he had come to Xiangcheng specifically for the wedding.

However, since the Cheng and An families were at each other’s throats, they naturally hadn’t been invited. That was why she had momentarily forgotten the date.

”I have it.” Mr. Gong thought for a moment before turning to Su Qing. ”Su, about the payment—do you want cash, or should we have it converted into gold?”

Mr. Gong was thinking that since they were in Xiangcheng, the An Family would certainly pay in the local currency. That would be inconvenient for Su Qing to spend back home. He figured converting it to gold would be better.

Su Qing was thinking the exact same thing as Mr. Gong. ’Besides, the price of gold is low right now; it has a lot of potential to appreciate in the future.’ ”Let’s do gold,” she said.

”Alright,” Mr. Gong said to Old Mrs. An. ”Convert the payment into gold for Su. It’ll be more convenient for her.”

”Fine, no problem,” Old Mrs. An agreed. After settling on a time, they both hung up.

Mr. Gong then said to Su Qing, ”Su, when we go to the An Family’s home the day after tomorrow and they give you the payment, don’t be shy about accepting it. You’ve earned it.”

”Yes, I know. Thank you, Mr. Gong.” Su Qing replied with a wide smile. ’Ten million!’

’Ten million worth of gold from this era... in a few years, it would be worth much more than ten million. Not bad. I’ve made a huge profit on this trip to Xiangcheng.’

Su Qing chatted with Mr. Gong for a little while longer before taking her leave. ’The Cheng residence must be bustling with people right now,’ she thought. ’I don’t want to get in the middle of that commotion.’ So, she decided to go shopping and head back to the Cheng Family’s house later in the evening.

”Miss Su, it must be fate!” Su Qing had been shopping for over an hour, buying plenty of gifts and local specialties for her family. She found a secluded spot to stash everything in her storage space, then located a distinctive local diner to grab a bite to eat. But to her surprise, Meng Chenghui, the man from yesterday, happened to be at the very same diner. His eyes lit up when he saw Su Qing, and he approached with a wide grin to greet her.

Hearing this, Su Qing frowned slightly. She looked at Meng Chenghui, who had made himself comfortable in the seat across from her. ”I’m sorry, but I don’t believe we’re acquainted.”

Meng Chenghui just smiled. ”Of course. We only met yesterday, so it’s perfectly normal that you aren’t familiar with me, Miss Su. However, I would very much like for us to get to know each other and become friends.”

”I’m sorry, but I’m not interested,” Su Qing said flatly, shutting him down immediately. ”And if I recall correctly, I said the same thing to you yesterday.”

”Hey, gorgeous, you’ve got some nerve, talking to our Young Master Meng like that.” Meng Chenghui had come for afternoon tea with a few of his cronies. Hearing Su Qing’s retort, one of them sized her up, a flash of admiration in his eyes. But his family was trying to curry favor with the Mengs, so he naturally had to step in and back Meng Chenghui up.

”Oh? And how do you think I should be speaking?” Su Qing asked coolly.

”Get lost, all of you. Mind your own business and don’t offend Miss Su.” Meng Chenghui shot a glare at his cronies. ’Good grief,’ he thought, ’I haven’t even won her over yet, and these idiots are already sabotaging me. What am I going to do if this makes her think even less of me?’

Hearing this, the men all snickered. ”Alright, alright, we won’t interrupt Young Master Meng’s... ’romantic pursuits’.”

They immediately moved to a table farther away, though they kept stealing glances in their direction, winking and snickering amongst themselves.

Su Qing’s annoyance grew, and her voice became even colder. ”Young Master Meng, your friends are over there. I would just like to eat in peace.”

”Miss Su, I genuinely don’t have any ill intentions. I honestly just want to be your friend, that’s all,” Meng Chenghui said, trying to convey the utmost sincerity.

The moment he saw Su Qing yesterday, he knew he was genuinely smitten. He couldn’t bring himself to treat her with the same casual carelessness he had shown his past girlfriends. No matter what, he had to first show her he was sincere.