Chapter 64 - 63: So Pretentious

Chapter 64: Chapter 63: So Pretentious

Huai Yu harbored a mountain of complaints.

She wondered what era it was, that someone still insisted on being called "Madam" this and "Madam" that. It sounded incredibly pretentious.

But she didn’t say anything, just obediently took two steps back and said to Boss Tang, "I brought Pine Pollen today. It can be used for pastries or face masks... Its Mutant Value is only 11. It’s a fantastic beauty ingredient."

Boss Tang’s eyebrow twitched. Before he could speak, the middle-aged woman let out an "Oh?" and said, "A face mask? Look at you, girl, you look like you don’t even get enough to eat, yet you’re quite crafty when it comes to selling things."

She then looked Huai Yu up and down, unable to stop her brow from furrowing again. "So skinny, just skin and bones... Why do you look a bit familiar to me?"

Thinking about it carefully, there was no young, pale, and frail girl like this in her memory. However, those eyes did look a little familiar...

Tsk. With that pitiful, miserable look, she clearly wasn’t the type the woman liked. She figured the girl just had a common face.

"Forget it!" She adopted the magnanimous attitude of bestowing a favor. "Huanhuan, seeing as she has a hard life, let’s just buy it."

"Okay!" Huai Yu answered joyfully. "It’s 120 points a pound! Madam, do you want all of it?"

HISS! Boss Tang inhaled silently. When he looked at Huai Yu now, his eyes were full of pleasant surprise.

The young girl standing to the side, Huanhuan, instantly paled. "A hundred and twenty points a pound?!"

Turning to look at the person behind her, she saw the middle-aged woman’s brows knitted tightly together; the disgust in her eyes was almost tangible.

Huanhuan steadied her nerves, then mimicked her employer’s demeanor as she spoke. "You’re so young, how can you be so ruthless in business? Just because our Madam is kind doesn’t mean you can commit daylight robbery."

Huai Yu thought, "Nonsense! I am the kindest one here.

"As for you two..."

She said pitifully, "But... but the Pine Pollen I sold before was all at this price.

"It’s a holy grail of beauty with a Mutant Value of only 11.

"If you mix this with honey and milk to make a face mask, it will definitely make you look ten years younger!"

She put on an expression of utmost longing and absolute faith in its efficacy. Then, she added aggrievedly, "You look like you have a lot of points. I assumed you were used to using such fine things... That’s why I gave you that price."

As soon as she finished speaking, Boss Tang chimed in, looking entirely sincere. "Madam, please don’t misunderstand. The prices in Flower City can be a bit exaggerated sometimes.

"As you know, Pine Pollen is extremely light. A pound sounds expensive, but it actually lasts a very long time. Many wealthy ladies from prominent families around here love using it..."

At the mention of "wealthy ladies from prominent families," the middle-aged woman’s expression showed a hint of hesitation.

Seeing this, Boss Tang’s smile grew even more genuine.

"But since you frequently buy rare treasures, you must know that this sort of thing can only be found by chance, not sought out! I heard that it rained in the Imperial Capital recently as well..."

When it came to speaking, Boss Tang was truly a natural-born businessman. Even his attempts at playing the sympathy card sounded exceptionally earnest. When he justified the exorbitant price, it actually sounded perfectly reasonable.

So much so that as the middle-aged woman listened, her expression softened involuntarily. Her gaze gradually grew fervent, and then she scrutinized Huai Yu’s complexion once more.

"I heard life in Flower City is tough, yet look at how dewy and supple your skin is... I suppose it’s thanks to the effects of this skincare product." She touched her face. "Ah, I’m getting older. In the past, whenever I went out, people would say I looked like I was in my twenties. Not anymore; now I look like I’m in my thirties. It’s time for some maintenance."

Huai Yu blinked. She thought, "But my skin is naturally this good! Besides, lady, you look like you’re pushing sixty!"

However, she didn’t say a word. She simply offered a shy, obedient smile as if agreeing.

Consequently, the woman lowered the tissue she had been using to cover her nose. She no longer found the smell unpleasant. Instead, she took a serious look at the Pine Pollen before nodding.

"Alright then. After all, my son works so hard precisely so that everyone can live harmonious and happy lives. A hundred and twenty points it is. Oh, me! After all these years, I still can’t shake off this habit of pitying the poor and caring for the weak... Let’s just consider it a way to improve this little girl’s livelihood."

Huanhuan, the assistant standing nearby, remained silent, but she couldn’t help muttering internally. A pound of Pine Pollen was 120 points, and the bag in front of them had to be at least three to five pounds. Calculated out, this was a sudden income of several hundred points...

She spent every day showering people with flattery, yet she only made around 100 points a month...

Tsk.

Who was actually improving whose livelihood here?

But despite her internal complaints, her hands didn’t stop moving. She watched as Huai Yu handed over the Exotic Plant Detection Card, and Boss Tang enthusiastically helped pack the goods, conveniently slipping in some honey and milk while he was at it...

The older and younger woman both silently curled their lips into a smile, pretending not to notice. Clearly, they were thoroughly accustomed to accepting gifts from others.

Once a BEEP signaled that the points transfer was successful, Huai Yu pulled over the bucket she had been carrying earlier and asked enthusiastically, "Thank you, Madam! You are so generous, Madam! You are truly so wealthy, Madam! I have two fresh fish here, would you like them? Because their Mutant Value is low, they only cost 120 points a pound, too!"

Five pounds of Pine Pollen came out to a whopping 600 points. The woman was currently holding her phone, feeling quite a bit of heartache. When she looked at those so-called fresh fish and the detection card being offered alongside them, her heart skipped a beat.

She thought to herself that Flower City truly lived up to its reputation as a backwater place; any random piece of good merchandise was sold at an astronomical price. If this were in the Imperial Capital, she could probably buy it for just a few dozen points!

It was also because this little girl was totally clueless, and the boss beside her was no better. Neither of them had bothered to ask about her identity.

She was Wu Yue’s biological mother!

So many people desperately tried to deliver good things to her door and couldn’t even find a way in. These two probably had no idea what a golden opportunity they had just missed!

After a flurry of such thoughts, the ache in her heart gradually dissipated.

Now taking another glance at the docile fish in the bucket, they looked truly massive. The two combined had to be close to ten pounds, right?

The woman swallowed hard, then said with reserved aloofness, "Forget it. There’s nothing rare about this. I’ve eaten so much of it in the Imperial Capital that I’m sick of it."

With that, she took her assistant—who was now laden with bags big and small—and strutted away.

Meanwhile, Huai Yu enthusiastically escorted them all the way to the door, looking as though she were constantly waiting for the woman to change her mind and buy the fish. As a result, the two women picked up the pace in their high heels.

After watching the pair disappear into the distance, Huai Yu and Boss Tang finally headed back inside the shop.

Boss Tang couldn’t wait to start circling the bucket, while Huai Yu sighed in amazement. "Is that what a VIP from the Imperial Capital is like? Wow, she’s so rich."

"Of course," Boss Tang replied nonchalantly, though there wasn’t much respect in his tone. "That’s the biological mother of General Wu Yue! General Wu fights tooth and nail out there, risking life and limb on the front lines. Who else would he give all his hard-earned points to but his only living relative?

"But this woman..." He clicked his tongue. "She wants to dress herself up like a nouveau riche, but she also expects people to praise her noble elegance. She’s stingy with her money and always resorts to a bunch of excuses...

"Yuck." He shivered, then pinched his throat to mimic the title used earlier. "Madam..."

Huai Yu couldn’t help but laugh. She thought, "Just as I suspected, Boss Tang hates her too! That makes us even closer!"