Chapter 10 - rake in a large amount of money

It took about ten minutes, and they finally dug out the Ten-thousand-year-old Taisui. When the workers saw the soft thing and had no idea what it was, they were all startled. Xiaojiu comforted the workers, saying there was no need to be afraid, that this was the Taisui and it wouldn't eat people. He then dispatched several more workers to go down and shovel it slowly with shovels. Finally, the true appearance of the Ten-thousand-year-old Taisui was revealed. The entire Taisui was milky white and somewhat oval in shape. The middle part was as wide as a pot lid, while the two sides were relatively narrower. Xiaojiu told the workers to move this thing onto a canvas, and then used a crane to lift it out. The Taisui was really too large, weighing at least two or three hundred jin. The workers simply couldn't lift it. More than a dozen workers slowly moved it below, and finally managed to move the Taisui onto the canvas. Eventually, they lifted it up with the crane. Xiaojiu personally washed the Taisui clean with a water hose, and then used the crane to place the Taisui into a water vat. He asked someone to fetch well water and pour it inside. Xiaojiu looked at the Taisui and smiled happily. Wang Dechang was also quite curious and asked Xiaojiu what this thing was. Was it this thing causing the trouble? Xiaojiu nodded and said it was indeed this thing. "Have you ever heard that one shouldn't stir up trouble on the Taisui? This is exactly what it refers to," Xiaojiu said. Wang Dechang said, "I've also heard of the Taisui, but I've never heard of one this big." Xiaojiu replied, "That's for sure. This thing is extremely rare and hard to come by. It doesn't grow to the size of a fist in a year. You can imagine how many years this one has existed." "It's said that when Emperor Qinshihuang was making alchemy, he searched all over the country but couldn't find this thing. Just think about how difficult it is to obtain," Xiaojiu continued. Upon hearing this, Wang Dechang's eyes sparkled with greed. However, Xiaojiu's next words shattered his illusions. Xiaojiu said, "You don't need to think about it. This thing is useless to ordinary people like you. Only cultivators can make use of it. We can use this thing to refine something valuable. Don't worry. As long as I refine something good, I'll definitely give you a share." "It's said that Peng Zu once obtained a Ten-thousand-year-old Taisui and used it to live for 880 years. But later it was said that the Taisui ran away, and that's why Peng Zu died. If I use this Taisui to refine longevity pills, I can at least make you live several decades longer," Xiaojiu added. "Eternal life is impossible, but it's definitely possible to keep you healthy and let you live to be over 100 years old," Xiaojiu assured. Wang Dechang immediately became excited and said, "Little Mage, if you succeed in refining it in the future, you must save some for me." Who among the wealthy wouldn't want to live longer and reach a ripe old age? Wang Dechang was no exception. Xiaojiu nodded and said, "You need to send this thing to my home. Since this thing was discovered here at your place, you'll definitely get your share of the benefits." Wang Dechang said, "No problem. I'll immediately arrange a vehicle to transport it back for you." Spending a bit more money was nothing to him, as he had tens of millions of yuan in assets. In this way, the two of them happily reached an agreement. The two brothers, Wang Defu and Wang Dechang, specifically took Xiaojiu and his elder brother to a large seafood restaurant, treated them to a sumptuous meal, and also presented a suitcase. They said, "There's 300,000 yuan in here. It's just a little token of our appreciation from the two of us." They hoped that the Little Mage would visit often in the future. They also stuffed their business cards into Xiaojiu's hands and told Xiaojiu to call them if he managed to research and develop longevity pills in the future. They were willing to pay for them and wouldn't let the Little Mage work in vain. Xiaojiu nodded and said, "No problem." He asked his elder brother to take the suitcase. After having their fill of food and drink, the truck they had ordered also arrived. They used a crane to lift the glass tank onto the truck. Xiaojiu bid farewell to the two brothers. The two brothers originally wanted to ask Xiaojiu to stay and have fun for a few more days, but Xiaojiu had obtained such a precious treasure. He was so eager to get back that he couldn't possibly stay. He definitely had to go back with the truck. If the thing were to be lost, Xiaojiu would regret it for the rest of his life. Xiaojiu felt that this trip had been extremely profitable. Not only had he earned 250,000 yuan in cash in Shaoguan, which he had already deposited in the Bank of China, but now the two brothers had given him an additional 300,000 yuan in cash, and he had also obtained the precious Ten-thousand-year-old Taisui. He felt as if he could have woken up laughing from a dream. All the way in the car, Xiaojiu couldn't stop smiling. Liu Heping, on the other hand, had just been along for the ride. But seeing that his younger brother had earned so much money, he was also very happy. Because he would at least get a share of it. The car sped on. After two days and two nights, they finally arrived at the roadside in the town. Xiaojiu asked his elder brother to go back and hire thirty villagers from the village. He offered each of them 100 yuan to carry the glass water tank back home. Xiaojiu looked at the road leading in and out of the village. It was really difficult to walk on. When it rained, it was covered in mud, and when it dried, it was full of potholes. A tractor could barely pass through, but a car was out of the question. The village head, Liu Jianbin, also came. He was Xiaojiu's father's junior high school classmate and had always taken good care of their family. Xiaojiu's elder brother often had meals at the village head's house and was as close to him as his own son. Xiaojiu called out, "Uncle Jian, come over here for a moment." The village head patted the dust off his clothes and said, "Xiaojiu, what's the matter?" Xiaojiu said, "Uncle Jian, why don't we repair this road?" The village head smiled and said, "Xiaojiu, the village has no money. Neither the township nor the town is willing to provide funds. What's the point of talking about repairing it? Everyone in the village is as poor as a church mouse. We don't have the means to repair it." Xiaojiu said, "If my elder brother pays for it, how much would it cost to repair this road?" The village head said, "Didn't your elder brother say he didn't earn much money?" Xiaojiu said awkwardly, "My elder brother is just afraid that others will come to borrow money from him, so he said he didn't earn any money. Look, my elder brother bought such a large fish tank and even hired so many people, paying each of them 100 yuan. Do you believe he has no money?" The village head thought about it and said, "You're right! That rascal of your elder brother has earned money but lied to me that he didn't. He's been eating my family's food for free. Does he think I'll ask him for a loan?" Xiaojiu seized the opportunity and said, "Uncle Jian, you know how stingy my elder brother is. He's earned money but doesn't know how to make a contribution to the village. So when I get back, I'm going to ask my mother to talk to my elder brother and ask him to donate 200,000 yuan to repair this road. What do you think, Uncle Jian?" The village head nodded and said, "Your elder brother has eaten at almost every household in the village. Since he's earned money, it's time to make him contribute. Paying for the road repair is a good deed." Liu Heping, without realizing it, had taken the blame again. He was still happily giving instructions and cheering on the workers. Xiaojiu asked the village head, "Uncle Jian, is 200,000 yuan enough? And we can also extend the road to our doorstep by the way." The village head said, "It's enough. We just need to buy some steel bars and cement. Then we can ask the young people in the village to contribute some labor, and we can save on the labor costs. 200,000 yuan is enough just for the materials. But will your elder brother agree? No one in the village has ever seen such a large sum of money." Xiaojiu said, "It's okay. My elder brother has money. He also wants to renovate the house now that he's back. Look at that suitcase he's holding in his hand. I know there's 300,000 yuan in it. He can't keep the money anyway. As soon as he has money, he goes gambling. It's better to let him make a contribution to the village." The village head nodded, patted Xiaojiu on the shoulder, and said, "You're really clever, kid. You'll surely be more promising than your elder brother in the future." "After a while, when we get back, you talk to your elder brother and give the money to me. Then I'll go and buy the materials and start the construction," the village head added. Xiaojiu said, "No problem. I'll talk to my elder brother later. Even if he doesn't agree, he has to. My mother will support me." The village head went back to help, and Xiaojiu called Liu Heping over. Xiaojiu said, "When we get home later, take 200,000 yuan from your suitcase and give it to the village head. Don't say anything. This money is for road repair. I'll give you 10,000 yuan from the remaining money, and use the other 90,000 yuan to find someone to renovate the house. It would be best to build a small villa like the ones we saw in Chaozhou. Those houses are beautifully built and comfortable to live in." Liu Heping said, "Little brother, I heard that building such a small villa costs at least 500,000 yuan. It seems that we don't have enough money." Xiaojiu said, "It's almost enough. Didn't I hide 80,000 yuan? Adding the remaining 90,000 yuan makes it 170,000 yuan. I also have a bankbook with 250,000 yuan in it. Altogether, it seems to be 420,000 yuan. Building a house in Guangdong is more expensive, but it's cheaper here. So this amount of money is enough to build the house." Liu Heping listened as Xiaojiu calculated. He was shocked when he realized that they had accidentally earned 550,000 yuan on this trip. This amount of money was like an astronomical figure in the countryside. If it weren't for his younger brother's plan to use 200,000 yuan to repair the road, they would be extremely wealthy.