134: Find a partner

Willingness to take her in is one thing; taking responsibility is another. He could accept the young girl coming here, but definitely not pampering her.

She would be treated like everyone else. If the young girl accepted that, Jiang Hanwen had no problem.

But if she wanted special treatment, then he was sorry.

As the Young Miss of the Bai Family, she was a guest and deserved the seat of honor. However, as a general worker in the shop, she had to follow instructions and work diligently; this was mandatory.

If he asked her to hand someone a cup of tea and she said, 'You're not worthy of me doing that; even my parents don't get such treatment,' then he wouldn't be taking someone in; he'd be serving an ancestor!

"Am I still a three-year-old child?"

Bai Youlan didn't answer directly; instead, she glared at Jiang Hanwen, as if to say, 'I may be conflicted, but I'm not a little kid; I can take responsibility for my actions.'

"Alright then, you can be in charge of the second floor for now. There are fewer people here. You and Yun Xu will live together, and normally..."

After giving instructions, Jiang Hanwen deliberately exaggerated the difficulties of the old shop to put pressure on the young girl.

He intentionally made it sound hard, but it was actually to help the young girl.

During this period, Bai Youlan had generally been fine. The most obvious change was that she spoke more than before and started to show interest in other things.

Now, at this crucial moment, whether she came to the shop or not was a significant hurdle.

Overcoming it would be a triumph; failing would be a setback.

The next day, Bai Youlan still came, resolute.

Disguised as she was at the poetry gathering, wearing a simple pink dress and carrying a package, she officially became the bookshop's second female receptionist.

For seven consecutive days, Jiang Hanwen observed in secret.

Bai Youlan seemed to have completely shed her identity as the Bai Family's Young Miss. She worked very diligently, wiping one bookshelf three times, ensuring it was spotless before moving on to the next.

She did this whether he was on the second floor or not.

The young girl gave Jiang Hanwen the impression that she was absorbed in the physical labor of tidying the bookshelves.

During her evening breaks, the young girl would imitate Jiang Hanwen, brewing tea alone and reading the books she brought by the desk. This was the only special treatment Jiang Hanwen gave her.

In August, cicadas chirped in the trees, and the sky was cloudless.

The sunlight spilled down like a layer of gold foil, shimmering on the glistening water. A gentle breeze caressed the surface, folding the sapphire-blue sky into the curving ripples.

"Splash ~"

Jiang Hanwen shook his hands, washing away the residue.

The lotus flowers in the pond were a bit different. Under his careful cultivation, they had bloomed and matured early, yielding a full lotus pod of seeds.

But strangely, because Jiang Hanwen had previously violently extracted the lotus seeds without tearing the pod, forming a 'memory,' this plant seemed to know his goal was the seeds, not to harm it.

When the time came, it actually opened the pod's mouth on its own, and he could easily pluck out the plump seeds.

This reminded him of a "fairy tale" scene he saw in his previous life: a little girl told her morning glory that she was unhappy today, and the morning glory actually leaned over and rubbed against the little girl's face.

Online, some said this was 'recognition of a master,' while others said plants have life. Someone in the comments even shared many of their own bizarre experiences.

Some said they threatened a peach tree, saying if it didn't bear peaches this year, they would cut it down, and as a result, the tree bore many peaches that year.

Others said they encouraged flowers while planting them, and consequently, a dead tree that had been barren for a year sprouted and bloomed with pink flowers.

Could it be that his own plants also had the potential to become spirits?

After washing his hands, Jiang Hanwen walked to the white lotus. Drops of clear, plump, emerald-like Gathering Life Technique liquid fell onto the opened pod where the lotus seeds had been removed.

As the Gathering Life Technique repaired it, the two-inch-wide opening gradually closed, and finally, the entire lotus pod sealed completely, returning to its smooth state.

"Bear fruit well. If the lotus seeds are useful, I'll get you more good things next time," he muttered.

With the lotus seeds in hand, the next step was further verification.

Jiang Hanwen gave twenty seeds to Gong Qing. After drinking the lotus seed soup brewed from them, even Jiang Hanwen could feel a very faint fragrance and heart fire intermingling, making him feel peaceful.

It worked!

And the effect was quite good.

The second step was to guide the Chaos Qi from the bitter apricot fruit, which aids in comprehending the Dao, and bind this Qi to the lotus seeds.

However, this time, a problem arose.

The Qi, which used to easily cover and penetrate tea leaves, now felt like writing with a brush on an incredibly smooth glass bead—slippery and impossible to integrate.

After trying for three days straight, regardless of temperature or crushing the seeds, with over a dozen methods, the two were like people from different worlds. There seemed to be only a thin sheet of paper separating them, right in the palm of his hand.

In reality, they were worlds apart, completely unable to merge.

Since the ideal method didn't work, Jiang Hanwen had to settle for the next best thing: using Bai Youlan as a test subject, having the young girl help him test the effects, and re-formulating a Medicinal Pill recipe suitable for the new lotus seeds.

In October, Jiang Hanwen, who had just formulated a new Medicinal Pill recipe, was napping in a chair, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

"Shopkeeper Jiang, long time no see." A familiar yet unfamiliar greeting roused him from his daze.

Opening his eyes, he saw a beautiful couple in the distance, smiling at him.

The man's face was flushed with excitement; the woman's face held a hint of shyness, yet she was poised and curiously observing Jiang Hanwen.

Huang Ying?

He had wondered why this fellow had been getting busier and busier. It turned out he was busy falling in love and dealing with life's big events.

The two walked closer, and Huang Ying gracefully performed the Junior'sRei.

"This Junior, Huang Ying, greets Shopkeeper Jiang."

Having won the beauty, Li Minzhong's grin was harder to suppress than an AK, almost reaching the sky, and the pride in his eyes was self-evident... After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Minzhong placed five Cultivation Techniques on the table, winking and saying:

"Shopkeeper, pretty generous, right?"

Jiang Hanwen flipped through them: one spear technique and four sword techniques, all about weapons. They were all of good quality, worth over fifty thousand silver taels.

"Speak. Offering favors without reason means either treachery or theft. What do you need my help with?" Jiang Hanwen directly exposed his intentions.

Huang Ying narrowed her eyes, sighing inwardly. She hadn't expected the Shopkeeper and Li Minzhong to have such a good relationship. When they were together, Li Minzhong had only mentioned that he liked to drink tea.

Li Minzhong's old face reddened. Was his reputation really that bad?

He just liked to run up tabs and delay paying them back... "We're getting married next month, and I need to move out of my Family." Li Minzhong paused, his eyes burning with fire: "I want to establish my own Family!"

"What, is the Li Family treating you as an outsider?" Jiang Hanwen asked suspiciously. He didn't have a habit of prying into gossip; he only knew that Li Minzhong's mother had passed away early, and he wasn't too clear on other details.

In a large Family, wanting to break away and establish one's own branch was an insult to the main lineage.

"Shopkeeper Jiang, Minzhong's younger brother, his maternal Family has some Foundation in Blackrock," Huang Ying lightly hinted, a smile playing on her lips.

Oh ~

It was about power struggles again.

Combined with his mother passing away early, perhaps this was the reason for the foolish boy's dual personality: talkative yet poker-faced.

Jiang Hanwen glanced at Huang Ying again, then poured tea for the young girl first.

As the Young Master of the Li Family, there was naturally nothing to say; they were a well-matched pair.

But if he were to break away and become independent, then it would be Huang Ying marrying down, which showed the young lady's courage.

"I went to Blackrock two days ago and want to open an arena next to you, specifically for sparring and training.

By then..."

After half an hour of incessant talking, Jiang Hanwen understood Li Minzhong's meaning.

This fellow wanted to open an arena that would provide sparring grounds, organize sparring competitions, and also offer training partners, Spirit Medicine, Medicinal Pills, and everything else related to Cultivation.

He wanted Jiang Hanwen to agree to provide twenty pointers each month, for which he would pay the standard price, but without the restriction of buying Cultivation Techniques from Jiang Hanwen.

After listening, Jiang Hanwen had only one word of evaluation:

"Snatching food from a tiger's mouth."

He had Cultivation Techniques and guidance here, the Zhuang Family's pharmacy next door had Spirit Medicine, and the Huang Family's trading company across the street had Medicinal Pills.

It was a two-step walk. You want to make money from three Families? That might be a bit difficult. What were you thinking?