The young carriage driver hadn’t been in this line of work for long, but he had a clear head on his shoulders.

Although it cost a fair bit of money to install a Refrigeration Spiritual Artifact in his carriage, he knew the upfront investment was necessary.

Only with a Refrigeration Spiritual Artifact could he pick up more fares in this sweltering heat.

Having come to this realization, the young driver decisively bought the latest model of the Refrigeration Spiritual Artifact and had it installed in his carriage.

"This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Refrigeration Spiritual Artifact. It’s quite amazing..." Lin Li remarked.

Hearing Lin Li’s words, the young driver paused for a moment. He thought to himself, ’These Refrigeration Spiritual Artifacts have been common in Dongwu City for ages.’

’This customer says it’s his first time seeing one. He must come from a very remote and backward place.’

"In Dongwu City, I wouldn’t say every single household has one, but most families probably have one installed.

After all, the summer weather is incredibly hot now. If you don’t have a Refrigeration Spiritual Artifact at home, you could easily get heatstroke...

Sir, if you plan on staying in Dongwu City for a while and you’re renting a place, you’d best find one that already has a Refrigeration Spiritual Artifact installed. If not, it’s a good idea to buy one and install it yourself," the young driver said with a smile.

"Mm, thank you for the advice... I always thought that to use a Spiritual Artifact, the user had to at least have Awakened Spirituality.

I never imagined there were now Spiritual Artifacts that ordinary people could use without needing Awakened Spirituality," Lin Li said.

Hearing this, the young driver scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said,

"Many years ago, it was just as you said, sir. To use a Spiritual Artifact, you had to have Awakened Spirituality. After all, only people with Awakened Spirituality can channel Spiritual Energy to activate a Spiritual Artifact.

But that all changed several decades ago. An Artifact Refining Master in the Imperial Capital developed a new manufacturing technique, which made it possible to create some Spiritual Artifacts that even ordinary people could use."

Lin Li sat in the cool, air-conditioned carriage and chatted with the young driver for quite a while, learning a good deal of information he hadn’t known before.

Apparently, the technology for these Spiritual Artifacts that ordinary people could use had been passed down to Dongwu City from the Imperial Capital of the Chu Kingdom. However, this technology was limited to creating simple Spiritual Artifacts that made life more convenient.

More complex Spiritual Artifacts, which required a large amount of Spiritual Energy to operate, were still beyond the ability of ordinary people to use.

...

The sun sank toward the horizon, its colors shifting as it descended.

It was as if it wanted to show off its most brilliant hues to the world one last time.

On Wangxi Road in the East District of Rongcheng, a luxury sedan pulled up in front of a flower shop by the roadside.

The door opened, and a well-proportioned, handsome young man stepped out from the driver’s seat.

Zhang Xiaohao took off his sunglasses and looked at the flower shop.

It had been some time since he had last invited Su Yue to a party at his house.

He felt that Su Yue had a pretty good time at that party, but ever since then, every time he asked her out to dinner or a movie, she turned him down, saying she was too busy with work.

This time, he came in person to the flower shop where Su Yue worked part-time to ask her to dinner. ’You can turn me down over the phone by saying you’re busy,’ Zhang Xiaohao thought, ’but now that I’m here in person, you surely won’t refuse me outright.’

Inside the flower shop.

Having just seen a group of customers out, Su Yue and Wang Ling were sitting at a small round table, chatting idly to pass the time.

"Wang Ling, your sister’s business trip is sure taking a long time!" said Su Yue, who was dressed in a white t-shirt and slim-fit blue jeans.

"Yeah! She must be on an important assignment to be gone this long. But I called her earlier, and she said she should be back in a day or two..." Wang Ling, wearing a floral-print blouse and a matching short skirt, said, scratching her head.

Just as Su Yue and Wang Ling were talking, the wind chime on the door jingled, and someone walked into the shop.

The two of them thought it was a customer and turned to look at the entrance.

When Su Yue saw who it was, her beautiful, delicate eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly.

"Welcome! Hello, sir, are you here to buy some flowers?" Wang Ling didn’t recognize Zhang Xiaohao and assumed he was a customer, so she quickly stood up to greet him.

"Sorry, I’m not here to buy flowers. I’m looking for a friend," Zhang Xiaohao said to Wang Ling. His gaze then went past her to the stunning figure behind her.

Although Wang Ling was also very pretty, Su Yue was clearly a cut above.

Wang Ling turned to look at her good friend, who introduced him. "This is Mr. Zhang Xiaohao."

After the introduction, Su Yue then introduced Wang Ling to Zhang Xiaohao. "This is my current boss, Wang Ling."

"A pleasure to meet you, ma’am," Zhang Xiaohao greeted enthusiastically.

"Just call me by my name. I was Su Yue’s classmate in college," Wang Ling said to Zhang Xiaohao with a smile.

"Zhang Xiaohao, how did you know I worked here?" Su Yue asked, confused.

"Your mom told me..." Zhang Xiaohao said.

Su Yue was left speechless.

She had already suspected that her mom had told Zhang Xiaohao. Hearing him confirm it, she couldn’t help but sigh in exasperation. ’My own mother...’