Chapter 160: Value Exchange
After all the guests had been sent away, Second Uncle Hua immediately pulled Hua Liulang into the main hall, and the other Hua Family members followed suit.
Hua Changxi guessed what they were going to say and turned to go back to her room.
Hua Da Lang saw this and wanted to pull her along, but when he thought about how Hua Liulang was able to generously give out spirit stones today because he had obtained them from inspecting the spirit mine for Jiu Niang, he hesitated and gave up the idea of calling Hua Changxi into the room.
“Fifty spirit stones for each person, Sixth Brother, you’re quite extravagant. In just a moment, you’ve given away thousands of spirit stones. If you have so many spirit stones, why not give them to your family?”
Second Uncle Hua shouted loudly. Ever since Hua Changxi stopped providing medicinal herbs for body refining to the family, they had to purchase spiritual plants and spiritual medicines themselves for medicinal baths.
Purchasing spiritual plants and spiritual medicines required spirit stones, and the second and fourth branches had no way to obtain them. On weekdays, the only spirit stones they could get were thanks to the spirit stones distributed by the Earl’s Mansion.
Law cultivators received one hundred spirit stones a month, while body cultivators only received fifty spirit stones a month. They had to save up their monthly allowance for several months to afford the medicinal herbs for one medicinal bath.
He wished he could split a spirit stone in half to spend, so seeing Hua Liulang give away thousands of spirit stones at once made him feel physically pained.
Hua Liulang didn’t feel he had done anything wrong: “The Sheng Family dared to openly place demonic beasts in our home to cause trouble, which shows they look down on our family. Of course, I have to display our family’s strength.”
Second Uncle Hua couldn’t be bothered to talk more with Hua Liulang and looked at Old Master Hua: “Father, Mother, you should say something.”
Old Master Hua and Old Madam Hua remained silent.
Jiu Niang had cut off the family’s supply of medicinal bath herbs, but the elderly couple was not affected. Every time they took a medicinal bath, the eldest couple would prepare it for them in advance, so they weren’t particularly in need of spirit stones.
Although Sixth Brother’s act of giving out spirit stones was indeed like puffing oneself up to appear rich, it was worth it to be able to stand tall in front of the Sheng Family.
Seeing that the elderly couple remained silent, Second Uncle Hua became anxious: “Father, Mother, are you really going to watch Sixth Brother be so wasteful?”
Hearing this, Hua Liulang became unhappy: “Second Uncle, how am I being wasteful? I’m spending my own spirit stones, not the family’s.”
Second Uncle Hua blurted out: “Yours is the family’s.”
Hua Liulang’s face darkened and he frowned. This time, he truly understood why Jiu Niang had resisted the family so fiercely in the past.
He was also unwilling to have his hard-earned possessions nationalized.
“Second, have you been drinking again?”
Old Madam Hua, seeing that the members of the eldest branch had changed their expressions, immediately reprimanded Second Uncle Hua.
Second Uncle Hua received the old lady’s warning glance and looked at Hua Minghe and Hua Da Lang: “Eldest Brother, Da Lang, you know how short of spirit stones the family is. Shouldn’t family members help each other?”
“Sixth Brother is rich enough to give away thousands of spirit stones at once, while we have to rack our brains to earn a single spirit stone. As a family, isn’t this gap too large?”
Hua Minghe and Hua Da Lang both had headaches and glared at Hua Liulang, who had caused the trouble.
Seeing his father and eldest brother looking displeased, Hua Liulang felt extremely wronged. Spending his own spirit stones had made him the one at fault: “No wonder Jiu Niang didn’t want to come back. If you’re like this, I won’t want to come back either in the future.”
After speaking, he strode out of the room.
Second Uncle Hua saw this and, pointing at Hua Liulang’s retreating back, said angrily: “Eldest Brother, look at Sixth Brother’s attitude!” Then, he looked at Fourth Uncle Hua indignantly.
“Fourth, say something. Am I the only one playing the bad guy here?”
Fourth Uncle Hua moved his lips but said nothing in the end.
Second Uncle Hua was furious seeing him like this.
“Father.”
Just as Second Uncle Hua was about to scold Fourth Uncle Hua, Hua Shierniang suddenly stood up: “Father, shouting here is useless because you’re looking for the wrong person!”
After speaking, she strode out of the main hall and headed straight for Hua Changxi’s room.
Everyone in the main hall craned their necks to watch. Madam Yao worried that Hua Shierniang would argue with Hua Changxi and wanted to go over to dissuade her, but Hua Da Lang stopped her.
“Mother, let’s see what Twelve wants to say first.”
Hua Shierniang arrived outside Hua Changxi’s room, paused, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door: “Ninth Sister, it’s Twelve, I have something to tell you.”
“Creak~”
The door opened automatically.
Hua Shierniang saw Hua Changxi sitting by the window, drinking tea. She steadied her nerves and stepped into the room.
Hua Changxi first observed Hua Shierniang. Since they had started cultivating, everyone in the Hua Family’s appearance had improved. Seeing that Hua Shierniang, who was a little over a year younger than her, had already grown into a graceful young lady, she couldn’t help but sigh.
“Didn’t you have something to tell me? Go ahead.”
Hua Shierniang: “Ninth Sister, you’re biased!”
Hua Changxi raised an eyebrow, signaling Hua Shierniang to continue.
Hua Shierniang: “Sixth Brother is your elder brother, and we are also your brothers and sisters, but you only help Sixth Brother. This is blatant favoritism.”
Hua Changxi smiled: “Everyone has their close and distant relations. Sixth Brother and I were close since childhood, so it’s not unreasonable for me to favor him a little?”
Hua Shierniang choked: “But… but we are also your brothers and sisters, and we need your help too.”
Hua Changxi looked at her: “There are too many people in this world who need help. If I helped everyone who needed my help, wouldn’t I be exhausted to death?”
Hua Shierniang: “We are not strangers, we are your brothers and sisters.”
Hua Changxi: “So, just because of that reason, I should help you all for free?”
Hua Shierniang desperately wanted to say yes, but looking at Hua Changxi’s expression, she knew that answering like that would not end well, so she remained silent.
Hua Changxi saw this and said calmly: “You’ve all been cultivating for some time now, and you should have some understanding of the world of cultivators.”
“You should have some idea of how difficult cultivation methods are to obtain and how expensive spiritual medicines and spiritual plants are.”
“All of this, I provided for free before.”
“But what did I get in return for doing all this?”
“Your insatiable greed.”
“Twelve, I don’t owe you anything, do you understand?”
Hua Shierniang felt a bit ashamed after hearing these words, but she still felt that Hua Jiuniang should help her own brothers and sisters: “But you are the most capable in the family, we can only ask you for help.”
Hua Changxi: “If you asked others for help, would you be as righteous as you are now? Would you think that others should help you as a matter of course?”
Hua Shierniang fell silent for a moment. Asking others for help would definitely require more politeness.
Hua Changxi looked at her: “For people to go on together, it depends on mutual benefit. If you want me to help you, what can you do for me?”
Hua Shierniang moved her lips but ultimately said nothing.
Hua Changxi: “There is no such thing as reaping without sowing here, and everything I have was not obtained by chance.” She paused, “If you truly want to earn spirit stones, I do have a way.”
“Aren’t you all learning alchemy and talisman crafting? In the future, the elixirs you refine, the talismans you craft, and the spiritual artifacts you forge can be sold at the Shennong Apothecary Shop in Feng’an Ward. As long as the quality is up to par, I will buy them.”
In the main hall, the Hua Family members were all eavesdropping. Seeing that Hua Changxi wasn’t completely ignoring her family, Second Uncle Hua immediately walked out.
“Ninth Sister, the spirit mine is definitely short of people. Sixth Brother can’t manage alone, so why don’t you let Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother go help him?”
Hua Changxi looked at him: “Second Uncle, Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother are grown men. They should strive for what they want themselves.”
Second Uncle Hua: “They will definitely strive for it themselves in the future, but for now, you need to give them a hand.”
Hua Changxi: “Second Uncle is joking, I can’t help anyone.”
Second Uncle Hua snorted: “I think you just feel that Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother are not your full blood brothers, which is why you don’t want to help them like you help Sixth Brother.”
Hua Changxi: “I help Sixth Brother because he is trustworthy. With me, everything is an exchange of value. Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother cannot provide the value I need, so it’s normal for me not to help them.”
Seeing that Second Uncle Hua still wanted to speak, Hua Changxi raised her hand to interrupt him: “That’s enough, Second Uncle. Don’t bring up certain matters again. Even if you do, I won’t agree.”
