Chapter 42: What chapter are we on already, still dragging—really just don't want to blow up?

Gazing at the tokens piling up.

Gu Jin Nian and Wang Fugui fell into deep thought.

Su Huaiyu's character really leaves one at a loss for words.

He does things cleanly and efficiently.

He is decisive in killing.

Omniscient and omnipotent.

Moreover, his train of thought is damn clear.

At this moment, Gu Jin Nian really wanted to say something.

Or how about you take over as the protagonist?

Su Huaiyu's behavior and demeanor perfectly fit the overpowered protagonist template; it's literally the kind where one punch opens the way, saving a hundred punches.

The idea is good, but the problem is whether to go to prison or go to prison—the thinking is too unique.

However, Gu Jin Nian felt no aversion at all; on the contrary, he found Su Huaiyu increasingly pleasing to the eye.

"Brother Su, you have so many tokens; could you give two to your humble brother? I'm willing to buy them with silver."

"As long as Brother Su doesn't mind, any amount of silver is fine."

Wang Fugui's voice sounded.

His eyes blazing, he stared at the token.

This is the pass item for the second stage, worth a fortune!

Gu Jin Nian beside him, upon hearing about silver, couldn't help but react.

It's not that he's greedy for money; it's mainly that he wouldn't pass up a chance to earn.

"Brother Wang, what price do you think these two tokens could sell for?"

Gu Jin Nian looked at Wang Fugui and said seriously.

"I, Wang, am willing to pay five thousand taels of gold to buy them."

Wang Fugui was very generous, opening with an offer of five thousand taels of gold.

He really doesn't treat money as anything.

"No."

"Brother Wang, you've misunderstood; what I, the prince, mean is, if we were to sell this, what amount of silver would you consider appropriate?"

Although Wang Fugui is rich, Gu Jin Nian doesn't want to take advantage of him; they're friends, so there's no need.

But outsiders aren't friends—why not make a profit? "Sell them out?"

Wang Fugui frowned slightly, pondered a moment, then gave his answer.

"Your Highness the Prince, this item is the pass for the second stage and is quite valuable."

"Moreover, its scarcity means we can hold out for a better price."

"One such token would certainly not be expensive at a thousand taels of gold, but this is after all an examination hall; if we sold them like that, we don't know whether it would displease Mr. Wen Jing."

Wang Fugui gave an answer.

One thousand taels of gold per token.

However, it would easily provoke Mr. Wen Jing's displeasure.

Upon mentioning this, Gu Jin Nian really did feel some worry.

Indeed, they're meant for evaluation; using them for profit would surely cause trouble.

But there's clearly a money‑making opportunity right in front of him; asking Gu Jin Nian to give it up is impossible.

But just as Gu Jin Nian was pondering, Su Huaiyu's voice sounded.

"Selling them isn't very meaningful."

"Every time I obtain a token, I sense someone secretly recording it."

"It must be recording how you obtained them."

"In other words, the means of obtaining tokens must withstand scrutiny; otherwise they're useless."

Su Huaiyu spoke, causing Wang Fugui to fall silent instantly.

It even records how the tokens are obtained? Gu Jin Nian was somewhat surprised.

But Gu Jin Nian soon thought it over seriously.

If that's the case, does it mean that by collecting all the tokens I could force the authorities to change the rules?

If the authorities don't change the rules, then I'll simply not sell them.

Anyway, the misfortune wouldn't be mine.

After all, there's no rule saying a person can't obtain multiple tokens.

Thinking of this, a plan spontaneously arose in Gu Jin Nian's mind.

Meanwhile, Wang Fugui rose to his feet and looked at Su Huaiyu as he spoke.

"Brother Su."

"May I ask where the remaining tokens are? This kindness, I will keep in my heart."

Wang Fugui understood Su Huaiyu's meaning, but still wanted to ask where tokens could be found.

"Not sure."

"I seek stability in my character; if I can get it, I'll grab it."

"It's not early either; I suggest you go out soon to try your luck, otherwise delaying longer might leave you with none."

Su Huaiyu said calmly.

Mm, that's very Su Huaiyu.

Hearing this, Wang Fugui felt a bit disappointed, but he immediately stood up and said.

"In that case, I'll take my leave first. After the imperial examination ends, I will definitely hold a banquet in the capital to entertain the two of you."

"I hope you two gentlemen will not look down on me."

Wang Fugui was indeed anxious; everything had been taken by Su Huaiyu, and there was hardly anything left. If he didn't hurry up, it would become troublesome.

"Take care, Brother Wang."

"After the examination ends, I'll go set up the banquet."

Gu Jin Nian rose and clasped his hands, while Su Huaiyu beside him merely gave a slight clasping of hands, hardly versed in worldly etiquette.

Being too rigid leads to easy breaking.

Wang Fugui left.

Only Gu Jin Nian and Su Huaiyu remained in the private room.

Su Huaiyu continued to eat heartily.

Gu Jin Nian, meanwhile, was thinking about this way to make money.

The biggest problem is actually attitude.

"Would Mr. Wen Jing allow me to do this? After thinking it over, there shouldn't be any major issue; I can hold off on selling, gather them first, and see what Mr. Wen Jing says."

Upon thinking this,

Gu Jin Nian had made up his mind.

"Never mind the details, let's just do it and talk later."

"Brother Su."

"Want to do a business deal?"

Having made up his mind, Gu Jin Nian turned his gaze to Su Huaiyu.

"You take three, I take seven."

However, Su Huaiyu had no nonsense; he opened his mouth and immediately divided it.

"No, I take seven, you take three."

Gu Jin Nian shook his head, and they swapped.

"Reason."

Su Huaiyu wasn't angry; he merely glanced at the token and then directly asked for the reason.

"There are still a certain number of tokens outside; I'll go find them."

"Once found, it will be a monopoly."

"However, having the tokens is useless; if we want to sell them, we still need to assess the situation. Moreover, Brother Wang said one thousand taels of gold—if the price is set too high, it will invite trouble."

"I am confident I can sell them for the price of two thousand taels of silver; I will bear all responsibility, devise the plan, and take the liability, while you merely turn a bunch of useless things into treasure."

"I take seven, you take three—you're getting a great deal."

"This can be understood as a huge profit."

Gu Jin Nian replied without hesitation.

He wasn't bluffing the other party; he had concluded this after weighing the pros and cons.

"If you can find the remaining tokens,"

"I agree."

"If you can't find them, then I take seven, you take three."

Su Huaiyu didn't waste words; he only put forward one request.

"Good."

Gu Jin Nian also had no nonsense; he simply liked doing business with such straightforward people.

As for finding them,

it's actually quite simple.

"Don't the ancient trees have foresight?"

"Just spend money and it's done."

"Brother Su, wait for me here; I'll go and come back quickly." Gu Jin Nian said.

Having said that, he was about to leave.

"Mm."

Su Huaiyu nodded.

But at the end, he added another sentence.

"Have the waiter add some more dishes."

He was quite serious.

Gu Jin Nian paused his steps, but didn't say anything, then turned and left.

After leaving, Gu Jin Nian was also very straightforward.

After inquiring from the restaurant owner about the location of the money shop, he immediately rushed over.

The ancient trees can absorb only gold, not silver notes, so they must first be exchanged for gold.

The money shop is not far.

Gu Jin Nian exchanged the silver notes for one thousand taels of gold on his person, plus the two thousand taels of silver given by his mother, all into gold.

Although Small Creek Village is called a village.

but in terms of population and wealth, it can rival a town.

After all, being near the capital, it's not far off.

One thousand two hundred taels of gold in hand.

Gu Jin Nian had the money shop arrange a private room for him to rest.

In ancient times, money shops didn't pay interest; instead they charged a certain commission, making them relatively friendly to big clients.

Entering the private room.

Gu Jin Nian acted swiftly, taking out several gold ingots and began to splurge.

He focused his mind, wanting to obtain information about other tokens.

To avoid being cheated, he simply spent fifty taels of gold at once.

This amounted to obtaining one piece of information for five hundred taels of silver.

As the gold disappeared, the ancient tree condensed fruit.

After picking it.

A piece of information instantly appeared.

【Small Stream Village, Zhou Da Niu】

As the information appeared, Gu Jin Nian slowly let out a breath.

He feared this thing would trick him.

Turning back, another 'Tonight there will be rain' appeared.

Then Gu Jin Nian would really have to fuck it.

Fifty taels of gold could buy information; Gu Jin Nian didn't hesitate, buying all the remaining one thousand one hundred fifty taels of gold, which amounted to twenty-three chances.

But when the last chance came, a new piece of information appeared, leaving Gu Jin Nian stunned.

【No Token】

Ah... this.

No token and still charging money? Even capitalists would weep.

Without further complaining, Gu Jin Nian stood up and left.

Following the clues, he went to find them one by one.

Twenty-three pieces of information.

Gu Jin Nian went to find them one by one.

If he didn't understand, he asked people.

The whole process lasted a full two hours.

Finding people, doing good deeds, writing a diary, then taking things and leaving.

Gu Jin Nian thought he was fast, but he still missed a few, and others got there first.

But the impact was not significant.

After settling everything.

Gu Jin Nian returned to the restaurant's private room.

Su Huai Yu was still eating.

However, there wasn't much on the table, but the CD activity is still worth advocating.

"Do you need to add more dishes?"

Entering the private room, Gu Jin Nian spoke up.

"No need, it's already the second round."

Su Huai Yu remained terse.

"Your appetite is so big?"

Gu Jin Nian couldn't help but be surprised.

"Martial artists training need to replenish and cultivate qi."

"Refining qi to transform blood, nourishing the body, inner yin outer yang, tempering through martial arts — do you understand, Your Highness?"

Su Huai Yu said a bunch of terms that Gu Jin Nian didn't really understand.

"I roughly understand."

"This is better than prison food."

"Is that the meaning?"

Gu Jin Nian nodded and replied accordingly.

Su Huai Yu: "."

A faint resentment gathered.

This time Gu Jin Nian felt refreshed.

I thought this guy truly had no emotions, but it seems he's just a mortal.

"Your Highness the Heir Apparent really can speak."

Su Huai Yu said it in a neutral tone.

And Gu Jin Nian, without further ado, dumped all the tokens onto the table.

"These are the only tokens left outside."

"If nothing unexpected happens, that's a monopoly."

Gu Jin Nian's tone came from the passageway.

"Twenty-two tokens."

"Although we can't be sure that's all that's left outside"

"In just two hours, Your Highness the Heir Apparent has gathered this many tokens, enough to prove the Heir Apparent is no ordinary person."

Su Mou has agreed to this business.

But what should we do next?

Su Huaiyu was also somewhat surprised.

He was able to obtain so many tokens solely because he discovered them first.

Gu Jin Nian could, after searching through everything himself, still find twenty-two tokens, which indeed surprised him.

Just wait quietly.

Gu Jin Nian smiled, then put all the tokens away properly.

The rest depends on what Mr. Wen Jing says.

If selling is not permitted, then this year Da Xia Academy will have only a handful of ten students enroll.

If selling is permitted, then I can make a tidy profit.

Mm.

Su Huaiyu wasn't particularly concerned about this matter, but instead turned his gaze to Gu Jin Nian and said.

Your Highness the Crown Prince, it's time to discuss serious matters, right?

A voice sounded.

Gu Jin Nian immediately collected his frivolous smile, replacing it with solemnity.

You speak.

He was very solemn.

He knew the other party's intention.

Who will buy the accounts?

Su Huaiyu's expression was calm, his gaze on the dishes filling the table, and he spoke seriously.

Gu Jin Nian: '.'

Damn it!

This is what you call serious business? I'm fucking your sister!

Can you be more serious? Damn, have you been locked up and gone crazy? What chapter is this now?

Still dragging your feet here, do you really not want to get famous?

Gu Jin Nian really got fed up.

This guy really has a screw loose.

(End of chapter)