Chapter 273: The Value of an Honorary Principal

“Huh? Is this related to the New Agricultural Science Academy? Sounds pretty fishy.”

An Sheng, crouched on the balcony’s sewage pipe, about to sneak into He Ying’s home, froze at the sound of He Ying and her mother’s conversation, a series of question marks slowly forming on his brow.

An Sheng didn’t know how much money He Ying’s mother had been swindled.

But from He Ying’s attire and car, even if she earned a fortune, her total assets couldn’t possibly reach the million-yuan threshold. Though An Sheng had never interacted with the New Agricultural Science Academy, he had personally witnessed the ferocity of the spirit beasts during logging crew manhunts.

When hunting fungal parasitic beasts, they’d immediately seal off an almost-completed municipal road project; if capture failed, they deployed small land-based missiles to exterminate the parasite.

And they’d deployed two at once—An Sheng had seen it with his own eyes.

From Feng Wenyu or Bai Tao, it was crystal clear: China’s investment in spiritual energy revival was enormous; all research and talent cultivation was fully state-funded.

They weren’t short on money—they were short on talent, and on groundbreaking geniuses.

Would the vice president of the New Agricultural Science Academy, a senior official overseeing spirit-grain talent cultivation, really go out to scam money?

To be blunt, a vice president at that level, if truly intent on profiting, could simply sell experimental data from the lab—or use it as a token of loyalty—and secure at least half-step financial freedom.

To scam elderly retirees?

That was way too low-class. An Sheng didn’t believe someone at that level would do such a thing.

The profit was negligible, the risk of exposure high, the cost-benefit ratio of crime abysmal.

Even Bai knew to avoid all cameras when going out at night—otherwise, no fun if caught.

“Mom! You just believe whatever they say?”

He Ying rolled her eyes. “I could say I’m the CEO of Yinfu Platform—would you believe me? Don’t believe me? Fine, tomorrow I’ll block your Yinfu account to prove it.”

Ma Cuifeng rolled her eyes. “Don’t talk nonsense. Professor Ge is capable—he showed us his official ID. Can a national honorary principal be fake? Besides, Professor Ge gives us medicine for free.”

“Professor Ge doesn’t need money. He has special people fetch lingzhi and ginseng from the deep forests of Shennongjia. His lectures aim to pass on the essence of our ancestors’ medicine to students with insight.”

“How could Professor Ge be a fraud? You little brat, always talking without thinking. When I get close to him, I’ll ask him to help your travel agency.”

“.”

He Ying’s expression shifted several times before she sighed and waved her hand. “Fine, fine! If you think it works, go buy it. But let’s be clear—if it’s oral medicine, check for the National Drug Approval Number first. Don’t swallow just anything.”

“All medicine carries some toxicity. Taking random pills only burdens your liver. You weren’t sick, but now you are—because you ate nonsense.”

Seeing her mother’s voice rising and her face darkening, He Ying decided not to argue further.

She knew that since her father passed away from illness a few years ago, her mother had grown lonely. She didn’t like playing mahjong with neighbors, and He Ying herself, due to her job, worked from dawn till dusk, sometimes even staying in hotels.

As long as the old lady was happy, spending a few thousand or ten thousand a month for peace of mind was nothing to He Ying—just like skipping one tour group.

“What do you know? The professor talks about traditional Chinese medicine. Do you even know what the Neijing of Baopuzi is?”

Seeing He Ying speechless, Ma Cuifeng wore a smug grin, like a rooster that had won a fight.

“Come wash your hands and eat! I made your favorite, Hulujī.”

“Eat first, but listen—this is the last time! Stop buying health supplements and draining your pension, then spending my grocery money on them too,” He Ying muttered.

“Your precious daughter isn’t married yet—this is the perfect time to save up for a dowry and buy male models. Don’t turn my male models into health supplements.”

“What nonsense! A proper young lady talking about male models? Aren’t you ashamed?”

He Ying washed her hands and sat at the table, completely unaware that on the ceiling above, a small fox was creeping silently, its paws hooked onto the ornate plaster molding, moving like a rock climber toward the living room.

“Fingerprint unlock is nice, but old folks’ phones are better—hey, they never lock them at all.”

An Sheng landed softly, leapt onto the coffee table, confidently pushed the phone on the table—and the screen unlocked with a smooth glide.

As a seasoned salesperson, An Sheng had lived through the health supplement craze in his past life.

Back then, the company claimed aging society was worsening and launched a C-end health tea.

Result?

Elderly men and women blocked the door demanding eggs—they nearly took An Sheng’s own two testicles, or showed up with phones displaying “memory full” or “too many junk files,” begging the market researchers to fix them.

During that time, An Sheng noticed that elderly people’s phones rarely had locks.

Even fingerprint unlock was seen as troublesome—or failed to recognize their fingerprints for some reason.

“Click—”

An Sheng first unlocked the phone, pulled out his own from his bag, took photos of all suspected marketing numbers and those with the surname Ge in the contact list, then opened WeChat, found Professor Ge’s WeChat ID, and took a screenshot of it.

When done, An Sheng leapt from the fifth-floor windowsill, arms spread, mimicking a flying squirrel, gliding dozens of meters through the air.

“If you hear the Dao in the morning, you can die in the evening.”

“Let An Sheng test the true value of the saying: ‘A doctor cannot cure himself.’”

The fox, now standing upright after landing, walked toward the exit of the employee housing complex, added Professor Ge’s WeChat, then immediately called Wang Qiqi.

“Hello.”

Wang Qiqi answered, voice drowsy, as if just waking up.

“It’s me. I’m wondering—does your New Agricultural Science Academy have a honorary principal surnamed Ge? I’ve encountered someone claiming to be one, scamming elderly women out of their life savings. I’m planning to give him a good whack.”

“Honorary… principal?”

Wang Qiqi, just falling asleep, blinked, then groaned in exasperation.

“I don’t know if there’s a Ge, but ‘honorary principal’? In southern movie terms, they’re the top enforcers—the most formidable double-flower red sticks our academy has.”

“You get what I mean?”

“?”

Honorary principal ≈ double-flower red stick?

That was an absurdly blunt explanation. An Sheng silently snorted in his mind.

“Fuli Lao Ye, where are you? This scammer broke the law! I’ll send security officers—no, wait, I’ll come myself and zap him with two stun batons!”

Wang Qiqi had planned to notify security officers to arrest the scammer, but remembering Fuli Lao Ye was there—and that spirit beasts were involved—she realized she, as a logging worker, had to go herself.

“I don’t know! Hang up—I’ll trick him into giving me an address on WeChat, then share it with you.”

“Trick?”

(End of Chapter)