Chapter 227: My Mutton Fat Jade

As Gu Fei walked, she scattered a ring of Iron Thorns along the courtyard wall. She would have to collect them first thing in the morning; it wouldn’t do for a customer to get injured.

Gu Fei had no other choice.

Er Laizi’s existence was like a sharp blade hanging over her head, and she had no idea when it might fall.

Gu Fei and Sanlang then went to the backyard, where a doghouse had been built. It housed a Chinese Rural Dog—a local mongrel.

They kept the dog in the hope that it would bark if anyone broke in.

After scattering Iron Thorns along the base of the backyard wall as well, Gu Fei finally went to bed.

Er Lang and Sanlang slept in rooms in the back courtyard, one to the left and one to the right. Gu Fei slept in a central room downstairs; her window opened out to the back courtyard wall.

With all the preparations in place, Gu Fei finally went to bed with Lian’er.

Closing her eyes, Gu Fei let her consciousness sink into the space.

The moment she entered, Gu Fei’s eyes widened in surprise.

Before, only a few wisps of mist had floated through the space. Now, the entire area was suffused with a thin, gauzy fog.

’Did something happen that I don’t know about?’

Gu Fei racked her brain, trying to recall what had been different about today.

She suddenly slapped her forehead. ’Today! I put the Mutton Fat Jade Treasure Basin and the green jade bok choy in the space!’

Gu Fei hurried over to look at the green jade bok choy. The more she looked, the more she felt something was wrong.

The sculpture had previously looked lush and lifelike, practically glistening. But now, it seemed to have lost its luster, completely devoid of its former charm.

Then she looked at the Mutton Fat Jade Treasure Basin, and her heart ached so much she winced. The once warm and delicate Mutton Fat Jade had dimmed considerably, as if it had instantly transformed from a top-grade piece of jade into a low-quality trinket.

’My Mutton Fat Jade!’

Gu Fei let out a wail and shot her gaze up to the mist in the air. ’Could this be the Spiritual Energy absorbed from the jade?’

’But what is this stuff good for?’

A thought struck Gu Fei, and she got out of bed.

She went outside her room and placed the pot of flowering crabapple, a gift from the Eight Immortals Association, into the space.

In her past life, she had tried putting plants into the space, but they had always withered and died within a few days.

’If this mist floating in the space really is Spiritual Energy... does that mean I can grow spiritual flowers and herbs here? The kind that grant immortality when you eat them.’

Gu Fei almost laughed at her own thought.

’I should just wait a few days and see if this flowering crabapple can survive.’

’If it survives, then my next step is to make a ton of money and buy up as much jade as I can.’

Gu Fei went back to bed, her mind filled with wonderful possibilities.

「The night passed peacefully.」

She woke early and washed up, then took down the door planks to open the shop. A short while later, the night soil collection cart came by.

Lian’er brought out the chamber pot, emptied it, and took it to the newly built latrine to scrub it clean.

At 5:00 AM, the city gates opened, and Ping’an City slowly began to stir with activity.

Vegetable sellers, laborers, cart drivers, and small merchants—all sorts of people began to pour into the city.

Aunt Liu also arrived, riding into the city on her family’s mule cart.

She came in and started cleaning without waiting for Gu Fei’s instructions.

Before long, the rest of the shop’s employees began to trickle in for work.

After taking turns eating breakfast, they each went out onto the street to attract customers.

Gu Fei sat behind the counter, yawning. She had been too excited about the Spiritual Energy to fall asleep until the middle of the night.

Just then, a middle-aged couple walked through the door.

The man wore a plain blue robe and carried a pipa. The woman, who had a few freckles on her face, wore a blue headscarf with a white floral pattern and a date-red cotton skirt and jacket. The hem of her skirt was frayed.