Chapter 506 - 281: Jiang Man: Why Can’t She Be My Wife?

Chapter 506: Chapter 281: Jiang Man: Why Can’t She Be My Wife?

Eating a flatbread, Song Qing sighed and said, "They all approach me with ulterior motives. They only want to get something from me, not give anything in return."

"Brother Song, you’ve gotten smarter. You’re not like you used to be," the man across from Song Qing said.

At that moment, he held up his flatbread and lamented, "How much longer are we going to be eating these things?"

Song Qing sighed. "They are a bit dry."

"Wash it down with some water. It’s so hard to eat them dry," a sudden voice sounded from behind.

Hearing this, Song Qing and the other man immediately turned around.

They found Jiang Man standing before the closed door, though they hadn’t heard him arrive.

WHOOSH! They shot to their feet.

"Young Master Jiang," Song Qing said, his voice laced with excitement.

"E-Elder Jiang," the man across from Song Qing stammered nervously. This was a Golden Core Ancestor.

Jiang Man turned to look at the man. He seemed somewhat familiar.

"Young Master Jiang, he’s the master chef I hired from Luoyun City. We’ve been able to earn so much Spiritual Source thanks to him." Song Qing then introduced him by name.

Only then did Jiang Man learn that the man’s name was Tang Feng.

"How much Spiritual Source does he make a month?" Jiang Man asked curiously.

"Eighteen hundred," Tang Feng replied immediately. "I know that just being able to come to the Sect is a kindness from you, Elder, so I’m willing to work for any amount of Spiritual Source."

Jiang Man said offhandedly, "Let’s make it two thousand, then."

He paused, then asked curiously, "Do the shop’s earnings cover your salaries?"

At his words, Song Qing said with some embarrassment, "It did at first, but not anymore. Lately, the flatbreads haven’t been selling at all. To avoid waste, we make as few as possible, and then we just eat them ourselves."

"Well, the food isn’t bad then. It doesn’t look like you’ve been suffering," Jiang Man noted.

’Even though I have several hundred thousand Spiritual Source, it’s far from enough just to enhance my Spirit.’

’You get used to the hard life the longer you live it. Then you realize that once you’re used to it, there’s just an endless amount of hardship to endure.’

’Still, the shop has to earn Spiritual Source.’

’Relying on normal business isn’t going to cut it anymore.’

’I’ll just have to see if that mysterious Evil God is interested in the Immortal Dao Coordinate.’

’It’s time to sell the information to him.’

’I’ll direct all the suspicion toward Mr. Ji.’

’Once Mr. Ji makes contact with the Evil God, I can earn another huge sum of Spiritual Source.’

’I’m short on Spiritual Source right now, but the future looks promising.’

Jiang Man sat down and took a flatbread to try. It tasted the same as last time.

’His culinary skills really are excellent.’

Just then, Song Qing fumbled around in his clothes, pulled out fifteen thousand Spiritual Source, and said, "This is what we earned before."

Jiang Man looked at the Spiritual Source and asked curiously, "Did you receive your stipend?"

Song Qing gave an embarrassed smile. "The shop didn’t earn that much."

Jiang Man told them to split it among themselves. He wasn’t hurting for this small amount; after all, he still had several hundred thousand left to spend.

’So assertive.’

Afterward, he had Song Qing go find Xiaopang and the others, as well as Chang Qiweng.

Chang Qiweng was the first to arrive.

The moment he saw him, Jiang Man was taken aback. The man’s weary eyes seemed to hold an immense weight.

"Old Chang, you look exhausted. Aren’t you getting any rest?" Jiang Man asked.

’If he keeps working himself to the bone like this, I won’t be able to borrow Spiritual Source from him anymore.’

Hearing this, Chang Qiweng froze for a second before shaking his head. "I’m not tired."

But as he said it, the rims of his eyes were a little red.

He stood silently to the side. Jiang Man offered him a flatbread.

Old Chang looked at the flatbread with a troubled expression, not taking it.

’Alright, they’re all sick of these,’ Jiang Man thought.

Jiang Man offered a very sour fruit instead. "Have this, then."

Chang Qiweng tried it and was surprised to find it was exactly to his liking. "Where did you buy this?"

He felt the fatigue in his body rapidly fading away.

"A peerless expert gave them to me," Jiang Man said truthfully.

Chang Qiweng stood there, stunned, before asking, "Can I run errands for him?"

"Not likely," Jiang Man said, shaking his head.

’Because I’m the one running errands for him,’ Jiang Man thought.

Soon, Luo Xuan and Xiaopang arrived as well.

The moment he saw Jiang Man, Xiaopang, who had dark circles under his eyes, exclaimed excitedly, "Brother Jiang, are you all right?"

Jiang Man was surprised. ’Why is he working so hard all of a sudden?’

"I’m afraid of holding you back, Brother Jiang. This little bit of hardship is nothing," Xiaopang said earnestly.

Jiang Man patted his shoulder and said in a grave, heartfelt tone, "Then you must absolutely keep it up."

Xiaopang: "..."

Afterward, Jiang Man had Luo Xuan, Xiaopang, and Song Qing stand together.

Jiang Man looked at them and said, "Let me make this clear. Whoever gets this, the debt between us is cleared. Let’s see which one of you is unlucky."

The three of them didn’t understand, but they were all a little nervous.

’What in the world could this be, that it cancels a debt?’

But no one asked. They just silently drew lots.

They drew lots: two long sticks and one short one.

Xiaopang went first, Luo Xuan second, and Song Qing third.

In the end, Luo Xuan drew the short stick.

Jiang Man shook his head and sighed. "Miss Luo, you really do have bad luck."

But as he said this, Jiang Man also breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked at Xiaopang and grinned. "It must be fate."

Xiaopang was suspicious.

Luo Xuan, on the other hand, was a little worried as various possibilities flashed through her mind.

But she couldn’t be sure of the situation.

Still, she did her best to remain calm.

Then, Jiang Man handed the qualification for the Qi Refining Secret Realm to Luo Xuan.

The moment she took it, she froze completely.

She was in utter disbelief.

When Jiang Man had said she was unlucky, she had braced herself for the worst, but now she was faced with this.

’The Qi Refining Secret Realm... the qualifying Secret Realm that leads to Foundation Establishment.’

For someone who hadn’t been chosen, obtaining this was next to impossible.

But now, it was right here in her hands.

As for the cost... it was only the thirty thousand Spiritual Source she had borrowed from him.

"This..." Luo Xuan didn’t dare to accept it.

Jiang Man cut her off. "Miss Luo, accept this, and your debt of thirty thousand Spiritual Source, plus this year’s interest, will be cleared."

Xiaopang stared at the qualification for the Qi Refining Secret Realm, looking dejected. "I’m doomed."

He immediately turned to Jiang Man to complain, "Once Miss Luo reaches Foundation Establishment, my dad will definitely say, ’Miss Luo has already reached Foundation Establishment. Her excellence is self-evident. Shouldn’t you listen to her opinions more?’ How am I supposed to live after that?"