Chapter 142: Update
The three of them sat together, talking about the three ginseng roots.
In the end, the three ginseng were sold to Li Quan for a bundled price of 450 yuan.
Li Quan, who was in partnership with a black-market boss, didn’t care about that little bit of money and paid Ning Xiyue on the spot.
Ning Xiyue then handed the money over to Ning Qingyuan. His hands trembled as he looked at the stack of bills. They had dug up a whole batch of ginseng in the mountains that day — thirty-two roots in total. If they turned all of them into cash… how much would that be?
Their private transaction was an unspoken agreement — one side got the money, the other got the ginseng. There was no need for further small talk.
Li Quan was eager to deliver the ginseng to his superior, and Ning Xiyue was just as eager to take her brother to her private storage room to retrieve a bicycle. So they stood up and parted ways.
“Brother, this is the room I kept for myself. I saw it standing here all by itself, so I thought it’d be convenient to use. It’s just a bit messy inside since I haven’t tidied it up.”
Ning Xiyue unlocked the door and handed a set of keys to Ning Qingyuan.
Once inside, she patted the back seat of a “28-bar” bicycle and said, “Brother, look — what’s this?”
Ning Qingyuan’s eyes lit up as he stared at the sleek new bicycle, running his hands over it admiringly. “Sister, whose bike is this? It’s brand-new! What a beautiful bike.”
“It’s yours,” Ning Xiyue said with a smile.
Ning Qingyuan froze, his hand still resting on the bicycle. He looked up at her in surprise. “What? When did you buy this? This is too expensive. I can walk — I don’t need a bike. Sister, why don’t we return it?”
“Brother, it’s meant for you — why would we return it? And besides, we can’t return it. I got it secondhand at a bargain price. You gave me one, I give you one — perfectly fair, isn’t it? You’re about to turn twenty, aren’t you? Consider this my early birthday present.”
Ning Qingyuan: “…”
“Sister, my birthday is still over three months away…” That was way too early.
“That’s not important,” Ning Xiyue waved dismissively. Then she placed another key in his palm. “Here, this is the key for the lock on the bike’s wheel.”
“Don’t let how new it looks fool you — that’s just because the previous owner took great care of it. But it’s actually secondhand. You can tell by the dust on the tires — it’s not as expensive as a new one, so don’t worry and just accept it. Just be nicer to your sister in the future.”
“I already have a bicycle myself. If you don’t take this one, it’ll just sit here collecting dust, and that would be such a waste.”
Ning Xiyue’s nonsense was getting more and more outrageous, and although Ning Qingyuan didn’t really believe it was secondhand, he decided to accept it anyway. It was his sister’s heartfelt gesture.
In the end, this bicycle would become Ning Qingyuan’s most treasured possession for the rest of his life.
“Thank you, sister. I’m so touched. I can’t believe you actually bought me a bicycle. What kind of sister is this good? Only my sister. Second Brother will remember this moment for a lifetime. I’ll take good care of this bike and treat you well forever.”
His eyes grew moist as he looked at the bicycle, overwhelmed with emotion. Who doesn’t love a bicycle? And here was his generous sister, giving him one just like that. She must have spent all the bonus money she earned on this gift for him.
Ning Qingyuan emptied out all the money from selling the ginseng and even added the last 50 yuan he had in his pocket to round it off before handing it to Ning Xiyue.
“Sister, take this money, and don’t buy me anything else. I already noticed yesterday that you packed a lot of stuff in the basket. Keep it for yourself and eat better.”
“Alright, I’ll take it.”
Ning Xiyue didn’t refuse and accepted the money without hesitation. It was fine for her to hold onto it — or rather, for her brother to keep it for her. She was keeping careful track of everything. Later, whether she bought property or invested in other money-making ventures, she’d convert the money into assets that wouldn’t depreciate.
With the bicycle matter settled, Ning Xiyue no longer had anything pressing on her mind.
The siblings cleaned up the little room before leaving.
Ning Qingyuan pushed the bicycle along with a smile plastered on his face the entire time, looking as if he wanted the whole world to know how happy he was to have a new bike.
“Sister, hop on! I’ll take you for a few laps around town. Let’s test out the new ride.”
Of course, Ning Xiyue knew he was really just eager to show off his new bicycle to all the strangers around. He was clearly in a euphoric mood.
She didn’t refuse and sat on the back seat as they rode slowly through the town’s streets. Naturally, her brother, in his desire to show off, pedaled so slowly that he was barely faster than the old man shuffling along beside them.
The old man shook his head regretfully. Such a nice, brand-new bicycle — what a pity it had ended up with such a weak rider.
Ning Qingyuan didn’t care what anyone thought and kept leisurely pedaling along.
Ning Xiyue, meanwhile, took the chance to do a round of check-ins, because she’d discovered that the check-in points on her system map had been refreshed. As her brother rode the bicycle around, the map became more detailed.
The previous marker showing 5/5 check-ins completed had disappeared.
She guessed that either the check-in points had refreshed or new ones had been added. Time to test that theory.
When they rode past the guesthouse, a system notification chimed.
[Ding! Check-in location detected: Yongchuan Commune Guesthouse. Would the host like to check in?]
“Check in.”
[Check-in successful. 1000 system points obtained.]
What a delightful check-in reward! With these points, she could exchange them for spatial upgrade materials. Of course, Ning Xiyue wasted no time.
“System, convert the 1000 points into 1 unit of spatial upgrade material.”
[Ding! Conversion successful. Current spatial upgrade material collection progress: 5/10.]
Only five more to go — another step closer. Onward with more check-ins.
When they passed the town clinic, another system notification popped up.
“Check in.”
[Ding! Check-in successful. Herbal Encyclopedia updated — unlocked 10 herbs each for beauty, skincare, and wellness.]
Oh my goodness, this check-in was incredible — it unlocked 30 herbs at once, and in exactly the direction she’d been wanting to specialize in lately. She wouldn’t be bored during the coming winter months.
With two check-ins used, she only had one chance left for the day.
Because she had been using all three of her daily check-in chances to stockpile sanitary pads recently, her opportunities were now quite limited — she didn’t have any extras to save.
She decided to use the last check-in chance for a random draw instead. They had ridden the bicycle all around town, and the system hadn’t triggered again, so Ning Xiyue figured she might as well gamble for a surprise reward.
“System, use the random check-in.”
“Check-in successful. Today is the host’s lucky day — obtained 2 units of spatial upgrade material. Current collection progress: 7/10.”
Sitting on the back of the bicycle, Ning Xiyue beamed as she listened to the system’s notification.
“My luck is really good today. Only three more to go before the upgrade is complete. System, update my panel — from now on, my lucky number is 7.”
