Chapter 36: What I’m Good At ⑥
The shop owner lit a cigarette, took a puff, glanced at the tricycle, and said with a smile, “This tricycle is five hundred and fifty.”
Nie Qiu was stunned and put down the hand on the handle, “Boss, can you lower the price a bit?”
Nie Qiu grabbed Nie Aifang’s hand and said to her, “Mom, I saw an identical tricycle at the market yesterday, and it was only three hundred and eighty. Let’s go buy it at the market!”
Nie Aifang looked at Nie Qiu and asked with a smile, “Really? Okay, let’s go to the market and see.”
“Elder sister, please wait a moment. Everything at the market is second-hand. Mine was just brought in from the manufacturer yesterday. If you’re serious about buying, I’ll give you the cost price. How about four hundred and fifty?”
Nie Qiu narrowed her eyes. It seemed that four hundred and fifty was still a profit for him! Nie Qiu smiled and said, “Boss, how about we sell you our old bicycle? Can you give us a bit less?” Even if they sold the old bicycle at home, it would only be for scrap iron. If they sold it to a repair shop, for them, many parts would be worth more than just scrap iron. He could use these old parts to repair cars for others and charge high repair fees, it was that simple.
The boss glanced at the tricycle placed outside the shop, “Alright, alright. How about this, four hundred and three yuan, and I’ll give you twenty yuan for the bicycle. Is that okay?”
Nie Qiu glanced at the bicycle outside and said with a smile, “Fifty. Our old bicycle is worth fifty yuan, and you sell us this tricycle for four hundred yuan.”
“Little girl, I’m not trying to be difficult, but even if you sold it as scrap iron, that bicycle wouldn’t fetch twenty yuan. The current unified recycling price for scrap iron is only three to four mao per jin, and your bike doesn’t weigh more than forty jin. Twenty yuan is a good offer.” The boss threw his cigarette on the ground and stomped on it. “I’m giving you a cheap price because you seem sincere about buying. If you’re not sincere, then forget it.”
“Even so, for you, this old tricycle is worth more than twenty yuan.” Nie Qiu shrugged. “Since you don’t want it, then forget it.”
After speaking, Nie Qiu was about to pull Nie Aifang away, but just as they reached the doorway, they heard the boss say, “Four hundred it is. I’ll sell it to you, and you sell me the old tricycle.”
Nie Qiu looked at Nie Aifang with a questioning gaze, seeking her opinion. Although both of them had liked the tricycle before, whether Nie Aifang could accept this price and whether to buy it still depended on her. Nie Qiu knew that Nie Aifang didn’t have much money with her, only one thousand yuan. Besides the compensation from those people last night, she had also taken an extra five hundred yuan from the iron box where the money was kept.
This one thousand yuan was originally intended for buying tables, chairs, stools, teppanyaki grills, and ingredients, and it was already a tight budget. If they bought the vehicle, it would likely exceed the budget.
Nie Aifang looked up and asked with a smile, “Boss, will you include a raincoat and a safety helmet? When I bought a car before, they always included a raincoat and a safety helmet.”
The boss frowned. “I have a raincoat, but no safety helmet. However, I can give you a small air pump.”
After a long negotiation, the boss sold them two safety helmets for twenty yuan. Nie Aifang paid the money and then rode the new tricycle towards the market.
Nie Qiu sat on the tricycle, looking at the bustling street. Everyone was working hard for a living, and everyone was busy. This kind of life might not be ideal, but it was real and fulfilling.
The barbecue rack, iron plate, and deep fryer were all new. Finally, there was a large pile of barbecue ingredients, as well as some barbecue nets, charcoal, bamboo skewers, plastic stools, and folding plastic tables. The new tricycle was loaded to the brim.
After buying these things and returning home, it was already lunchtime. The two of them ate something hastily. Then Nie Aifang rode the tricycle to the place where they sold the tricycle to have the barbecue rack and deep fryer welded onto it.
Nie Qiu washed and cut all the ingredients. After washing and disinfecting all the tools she bought, she felt relieved and returned to her room to sleep.
“Nie Qiu…”
As Nie Qiu entered her room, she heard the voice of the Jade Spirit, sounding somewhat weak and dejected. She was stunned, walked to the writing desk by her bedside, opened the drawer, took out the necklace, closed her eyes, thought of the little rabbit, and entered the space.
Opening her eyes, Nie Qiu found that the scenery inside the space had suddenly turned into late autumn. Although it was still beautiful, it looked like it had lost its vitality. “Dá? Are you there? What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nie Qiu… I’m dying.”
Nie Qiu was stunned for a moment, then anxiously asked loudly, “What’s going on? Dá, what’s going on? What happened? How can I help you? Dá… tell me! What happened?”
“I told you before… my body was divided into many parts. I hid in the part with the most spiritual energy to escape disaster… I originally… originally wanted you to help me find the other parts… but… someone actually destroyed a piece of jade.” Dá’s voice became even weaker, its childish voice almost gasping.
“How can I help you, Dá? There must be a way, right? Tell me! How can I help you!” Nie Qiu became even more anxious. No one could calmly watch a living, thinking being die before their eyes.
“I need blood, Nie Qiu, I need your blood.” Dá’s voice suddenly became agitated.
The childish voice suddenly became loud and urgent, which startled Nie Qiu.
Blood?
Is Dá a Jade Spirit or a monster? It wants her blood, how much? Is it telling the truth or lying?
Nie Qiu closed her eyes and instantly returned to her room. She touched the little white rabbit that was emitting a faint glow, took out a compass from her schoolbag, and pricked her index finger with the needle tip. Nie Qiu felt pain and placed her index finger on the jade white rabbit. She watched as a drop of blood fell onto the white rabbit and slowly, slowly disappeared. “Dá, I choose to believe you this time.”
“I thought you were scared and left the space.” Dá’s voice sounded a little annoyed, but with a bitter smile, it said gratefully, “Thank you, Nie Qiu.”
Nie Qiu shook her head and looked at the little gold-inlaid jade rabbit in her hand. “Are you feeling better now?”
“Much better,” Dá said softly. “Nie Qiu, you can buy some seeds and scatter them in the space. Your family does barbecue, right? The space has four seasons in a day, and you can grow a lot of good ingredients in just one day. Wouldn’t that save you a lot of money?”
“But if I do that, how will I tell Nie Aifang?” Nie Qiu hesitated, touching the gold-inlaid jade in her hand. “Dá, although I’ve thought about using you to make some money, I haven’t figured out how yet.”
“Nie Qiu…” Dá’s voice sounded a little helpless. “By doing this, you not only help your family but also help me.”
“How so?” Nie Qiu asked curiously.
“The space needs living beings. Plants are the best intermediaries for converting spiritual energy. They absorb impure spiritual energy and convert it into more and purer spiritual energy,” Dá said softly. “It’s like how plants in nature absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen.”
