Chapter 627 - 393: A Sudden Big Business Deal

Chapter 627: Chapter 393: A Sudden Big Business Deal

"Lin Li, I spoke with a friend of mine from the Capital City last night and told her about your pearls."

Lin Li answered the call as he walked toward the campsite.

Hearing that Zhang Yuxi had recommended his pearls to her friend, he immediately perked up. "Is your friend interested?"

"Mhm." Zhang Yuxi nodded and said with a smile, "Pearls of this quality basically sell themselves. The moment I mentioned them, she told me to contact you right away and get the shipment sent to her as soon as possible."

"That may be, but I still have to thank you," Lin Li said with a grateful smile. "If you hadn’t recommended them for me, I’d have to spend a lot more time marketing these pearls myself."

"You’re welcome." Sitting on her sofa, Zhang Yuxi’s smile bloomed into a radiant one when she heard Lin Li thank her.

"How many pearls does your friend need?" Lin Li asked.

"At first, she said she’d take as many as you have. When I asked for a specific number, she said to start with three hundred thousand. Do you have that many on hand?" Zhang Yuxi replied.

"I only have a hundred thousand on hand right now. Give me a day or two, and I can gather the rest.

By the way, she’s buying such a large quantity at once. Can she really move that many?"

After all, when Lin Li had sold a hundred thousand pearls to Zhang Yuxi last time, she had said it would take her a while to sell them all.

So now that her friend wanted to purchase three hundred thousand pearls in one go, he couldn’t help but worry that she wouldn’t be able to move them.

If it were any other client, Lin Li would deliver the pearls, take the money, and not care whether they could sell them or not.

But he and Zhang Yuxi were friends now, and the client she was introducing was *her* friend. Out of respect for Zhang Yuxi, Lin Li felt he should at least consider potential after-sales issues.

Hearing Lin Li’s concern that her friend couldn’t move so many pearls, Zhang Yuxi immediately laughed and explained.

"Lin Li, you don’t have to worry about that. My friend’s business is much larger than mine. Three hundred thousand pearls isn’t a hard number for her to move.

From what I know of her business, she could probably sell this entire batch in less than three months."

Lin Li looked surprised. As far as he was concerned, Zhang Yuxi was already a major jewelry dealer. He never expected that her friend from the Capital City would have an even bigger business.

"Alright, then. I’ll gather the other two hundred thousand pearls in the next day or two. I’ll call you when I have them ready," Lin Li said.

"Okay. I’ll call my friend in a bit and have her transfer you a deposit," Zhang Yuxi said with a smile.

Lin Li hadn’t expected her to bring up a deposit. ’My plan was to go to the Spirit Realm, gather the other two hundred thousand pearls, and then meet her to exchange the goods for the full payment.’

"She’s your friend, so a deposit isn’t necessary. Once I’ve gathered the rest, I’ll give them all to you. Just have her pay me the full amount then," Lin Li said.

Zhang Yuxi was delighted to hear Lin Li say he was waiving the deposit out of respect for her.

"Lin Li, even though she’s my friend, business is business. She’s ordering a huge amount, and you need time to prepare it, so a deposit is only fair."

"Alright, then." Lin Li thought for a moment and had to agree she had a point.

They chatted for a little while longer. When Zhang Yuxi learned that Lin Li was out camping with friends, she felt she shouldn’t disturb him any further and ended the call.

After ending the call, Lin Li stuffed his phone back into his pocket and ran toward the campsite.

By a clear stream, a family of four was busy packing up their things. A little girl sat on a small stool, humming idly to herself as she waited for her mom, dad, and older sister to finish so they could go home.

Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure running over from the distance, passing right in front of their campsite.

"Sister, Sister! It’s him again! The big brother I was telling you about—the one who made the big bags full of stuff disappear from his hands!"

The little girl hopped up from her stool, ran over to the high school girl who was packing, and tugged on her skirt, pointing at Lin Li as he ran by.

The high-schooler, who had her hair in a ponytail, first brushed her sister’s little hand away. "Hey, stop pulling on my skirt! How many times have I told you?"

Then, she looked up in the direction her sister was pointing.

"The ’big brother’ you’re talking about... you mean the guy in the white T-shirt?"

The little girl nodded emphatically. "Yes, that’s him! Just now, POOF! The two big bags of stuff he was carrying just vanished!"

As he headed for his campsite, Lin Li heard the clear, bell-like voice of a little girl behind him. He instinctively slowed his pace and glanced back at her.

In his line of sight, he saw a high school girl with a ponytail and a little girl who looked no older than six, both staring at him.

"Hey, put your hand down! It’s rude to point at people." Seeing Lin Li look over, the girl in the ponytail quickly pushed her sister’s pointing hand down.

The little girl seemed shy. As soon as Lin Li looked her way, she hid behind her sister. But unable to contain her curiosity, she peeked her head out to get another look.

Lin Li gave the peeking girl a small smile before continuing on his way to the campsite.

"He’s gone now, you can stop hiding. And honestly, how many times have I told you not to keep pulling on my skirt! What if you rip it?"

The girl with the ponytail said to her sister, who was still hiding behind her, as she once again pried the little girl’s hand off her skirt.

"Qianqian, come give me a hand. The sooner we finish packing, the sooner we can head home." The girl with the ponytail, whose name was Wang Qianqian, heard her mother call from where she was packing the tent and went over to help.

The little girl, Wang Duoduo, watched her sister go. She stood there thinking for a moment, then decided to go to the edge of the stream to find a pretty pebble to take home.

She would take it to school tomorrow and give it to her best friend, Zhou Tongtong.

...

In the Ping’an Garden District, Zhou Tongtong woke up from her afternoon nap. She rubbed her eyes, threw back the covers, and got out of bed, yawning as she walked out of her bedroom.

The apartment was completely silent. Still sleepy, Zhou Tongtong walked into the living room and spotted a note on the coffee table.

She picked it up and saw it was from her mom. The note said she had gone out to run some errands and reminded Zhou Tongtong to have some mung bean soup when she woke up.

’Mom went out to run errands. I’ll drink my mung bean soup, and then I’ll go downstairs to play with Little White and Little Black.’

After reading the note from her mother, Xia Qing, Zhou Tongtong crumpled it into a ball, tossed it in the trash, and ran into the dining room.

On the table sat a large porcelain bowl filled with the mung bean soup Xia Qing had made for her.

Zhou Tongtong grabbed a small bowl, ladled some soup into it, and drank it with relish. Afterward, she went to the entryway, but paused just as she was about to head out.

Turning back, she returned to the kitchen. Zhou Tongtong found the small metal bowl she used to feed Little White Cat and Little Black Cat and filled it partway with mung bean soup.

’It’s so hot outside,’ she muttered to herself. ’I’ll bring some mung bean soup for Little White and Little Black to help them cool off.’

Mumbling to herself, Zhou Tongtong carried the small bowl of mung bean soup and headed out the door.

...