Chapter 225: Old Treasure! Big Treasure! Little Treasure!

Bai Jing had been worrying about the source of goods, but he never expected Magic City to have a Spirit Egg wholesale center — it was practically tailor-made for him!

The two arrived early in the morning, and Spirit Eggs were everywhere — for Bai Jing, this was heaven!

Of course, the varieties here were all common goods, leftovers others had picked through.

Rare Spirits were out of the question; even if there were any, they'd be snatched up the moment they appeared.

But common varieties were nothing to fear — he had the Appraisal technique, so he'd only pick the good ones; even run-of-the-mill Spirits could be sold at high prices.

Besides, the Spirit Eggs here were dirt cheap — buy low, sell high; how could he not get rich?

"I heard this place was set up under the state's lead, specifically to properly take care of those unwanted Spirit Eggs."

There are many Spirit Eggs in the wild, and some institutions specialize in cultivating Spirit Eggs for sale.

Those with poor quality, or whose species and bloodlines were too low, were usually unwanted.

Some kind-hearted people would wait for them to hatch and then release them, while those who only cared about profit would simply toss the Spirit Eggs into the wild and let them fend for themselves.

Some even more unscrupulous ones would sell them to the black market at cabbage prices to be shipped everywhere, boiled and eaten as nutritious eggs.

This was the state's purpose in setting up this wholesale center — every year, many Spirits could be saved.

"Whatever, let's start picking!"

The two began to browse shop by shop.

Since they were leftovers, their potential was naturally the lowest.

Most had Ordinary potential, a small portion Elite, quasi-Champion was a pleasant surprise, Champion was a stroke of luck.

"The first batch needs to stock up more!"

Bai Jing swept through everything along the way, letting no Elite-grade egg slip by.

After browsing all day, he harvested several hundred Spirit Eggs.

It only cost a few tens of thousands — dirt cheap beyond belief.

A dozen or so quasi-Champion grade, and by good luck he obtained one Champion-grade.

It was an Ambipom, but he didn't plan to train it — he was going to use it as a gimmick to make a name for the Spirit shop.

Once the two got home, they went straight to the breeding room, carefully taking out the eggs one by one, then placing them into the incubator.

It was also filled with nutrient solution, allowing the Spirits to grow strong.

The shop's renovation and equipment, along with these nutrient solutions and the like, had cost Bai Jing a pretty penny — after all, he couldn't shortchange the Spirits.

But they were all well worth it; recouping the cost was only a matter of time.

Bai Yutang and Hua Ying, hearing the commotion, also came in to help.

"How are there so many?"

"It's the first time, so we have to stock up more — only then can we hold up the storefront."

Hua Ying had learned some Breeder knowledge when she was young, so she handled the work fairly well.

The old rogue was hopeless — clumsy and nearly fumbling the eggs, he got thoroughly scolded by his wife and chased out, punished to go clean up.

After all the Spirit Eggs were settled in, the three stared at the room full of eggs and felt an inexplicable sense of responsibility well up inside them.

"Once these little ones are all born, the house is going to be lively!"

"Isn't that good? When I'm not home, you won't be too bored."

"Alright, now we just wait for them to be born and surprise us!"

Hua Ying announced: "The most important task is done; now we should prepare for the opening and the New Year goods."

"No problem, we'll help you!"

A few days later, on New Year's Eve, today was also the day the Spirit shop opened.

Firecrackers went off with a great bang, and the four stood before the shop door with joyful faces!

Neighbors from both sides came over to offer congratulations and took the chance to look around.

After a full tour, each and every one of them wore puzzled expressions.

"Why aren't there any Spirits or eggs?"

"Our shop only sells Spirits, not eggs. Today is just the opening for good luck — we won't officially start selling until after the New Year."

After the festivities, after spending the whole day swatting mosquitoes, they shut the shop door, and the four hid inside eating the New Year's Eve dinner.

"From now on, I'll be in charge of stocking goods, and Bro will be in charge of looking after the Spirit Eggs and Spirits."

The two had already discussed it — from now on, Bro would attend class in the morning and come to the shop in the afternoon to help; looking after Spirits was equivalent to learning Breeder knowledge, after all.

"Mom will be in charge of the accounts, sales, and looking after the Spirit Eggs."

"Dad will be in charge of sales and odd jobs."

Bai Yutang said miserably: "I think I'm quite suited for managing the accounts!"

The other three ignored him outright!

"No way, with such a big shop and only us few people, can we handle it? I suggest hiring a few pretty girls — they could attract customers too!"

"Heh!"

Hua Ying sneered: "And give you a chance to flirt on the side, right?"

Bai Jing nodded, "If business picks up, we really won't be able to handle it, but we don't need to hire people — we can…"

Just then, an alarm sounded, and the four exchanged glances before rushing toward the breeding room together.

Because a Spirit was about to be born!

Sure enough, one of the Spirit Eggs was shaking nonstop.

Tie Xiong hurriedly scooped it up and placed it on the table.

The four crowded around, staring expectantly.

Light flared, the Spirit Egg vanished, replaced by a little Happiny.

"Wow~ so cute!"

After sizing up the four of them for a while, Xiaofuidan handed the stone in its arms to Hua Ying.

Hua Ying was stunned. "This is... for me?"

"It's not for you—it's letting you hold onto it for now. This is how it shows that it likes you and trusts you."

"Wow~ is it really that good?"

Hua Ying picked up Xiaofuidan and nuzzled it affectionately.

After Xiaofuidan evolves into Chansey, the egg in its arms will be a real egg, and eating it has a recovery effect. Right now it's just a stone that looks like an egg.

Even though it's a stone, it doesn't give itself to just anyone.

Clearly, it has taken Hua Ying as family.

"Honey, let me hold it too!"

"No way, you're so clumsy—what if you drop it?"

"I won't, I won't, I promise I won't!"

"No, no, absolutely not!"

Watching his parents argue over Xiaofuidan, Bai Jing was covered in black lines. Are you two seriously fighting over it like it's a child?

"Alright, we've got a new member of the household—we need to prepare some food for it too!"

"Come on, Xiaofuidan, Mommy's going to take you to eat something good!"

"Honey, I'll carry it for you—you go fix up something tasty for it!"

Bai Jing and Tie Xiong exchanged a knowing smile and followed along.

Then there was one tiny little Xiaofuidan added to the dinner table—even Lucario and the others don't get this kind of treatment right now; they can only sit in the backyard enjoying the cool breeze.

"Son, I think I've gotten too attached to it. Can we not sell it?"

"Sure, if you want to keep it, then keep it!"

"Wow~ that's great, Son. As expected of my big baby!"

Bai Yutang said in surprise, "Isn't the big baby me?"

"You're the old baby now. Son is the big baby, and Xiaofuidan is the little baby."

Bai Jing understood his parents' feelings—it was their first time, after all, so it was natural to get attached and not want to sell. Once they'd seen more, it would be like this from now on!

"Actually, what I wanted to say is that we can keep a few Pokémon at home to help out, especially ones like Xiaofuidan that have healing moves. That way we won't need to hire anyone. If a Pokémon gets sick and really can't be cured, we can just send it to the Pokémon Center."

"That's a great idea. Let's keep a few more that can do the heavy work—cleaning, moving stuff, that would be nice too!"