Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 108: Surprise

Two days later, the snow had melted.

At night, Jiang Ning dropped Xue Yuantong off at home and took out his phone to call Shao Shuangshuang:

"Is the truck in Huai City ready?"

"It's waiting by the lake, I'll send you the number now," Shao Shuangshuang said. Jiang Ning rarely asked her for favors, but once he did, she would stop whatever she was doing to arrange things for him.

"The Huqishan Villa you mentioned last time, I asked someone about it and it has been selected, priced at roughly thirteen million. With the company's current finances, we can completely afford it. Do you want to take some time to go look at it?"

"No need, you make the decision."

"The materials you want to collect are still missing three types; there are updates on two types currently being negotiated."

"Step up the efforts, try to complete the collection before purchasing the villa," Jiang Ning said.

"Okay."

"I got a report from the market analyst I hired saying that the group of bald people and the balding rate are continuously increasing. He mentioned that in the future, with the boom in mobile internet and real estate industry, the number of wealthy people will increase. He advises not only against lowering the price of Evergreen Liquid but to raise it instead. He even suggested hiring scalpers to inflate the prices and create a perception of roaring sales," Shao Shuangshuang said.

"You make the decision." Jiang Ning was not very knowledgeable about these things, so he left it all to Shao Shuangshuang; he just needed the money.

Seeing that Jiang Ning was not particularly enthusiastic, Shao Shuangshuang did not continue to bother him and hung up.

She sat in her private office, opened the files, and began to check them one by one. There were too many things to handle as the company was just starting.

Before leaving his rental, Jiang Ning consumed a Qi Gathering Pill and was ready to leave.

Xue Yuantong, wearing little bear cotton slippers, ran out: "Jiang Ning, it's so late and so cold outside, are you still going out?"

Jiang Ning smiled, "It's fine, I'll be back soon."

"Really?"

"Of course." Jiang Ning walked towards the dam. He kept his Divine Sense on Xue Yuantong until he had walked a hundred meters away. Then he performed the Concealing Technique, hiding his figure, and headed towards Huai City.

After hearing about Biling Wood on a forum a few days ago, he had been concerned about it and wanted to check the lake earlier to settle the matter.

At 10:45 PM, Jiang Ning arrived in Huai City and entered the park, coming to the lakeside.

The moonlight was favorable tonight, reflecting on the lake as if one could scoop up the moon from the water with an outstretched hand.

The lake, being a city lake, wasn't very large, with an oval shape spanning two to three thousand meters in length and width.

The night deepened, and in winter, the park was absolutely quiet with not a person out for a walk, perfect for Jiang Ning's search.

Jiang Ning activated the Water Manipulation Technique and stepped onto the lake surface, surprisingly standing on the water. He opened his Divine Sense and probed towards the lake bed.

A few days ago, Jiang Ning had broken through to the Qi Cultivation Third Level, and his Divine Sense had expanded, now reaching one hundred and twenty meters.

As soon as his Divine Sense probed, like radar diving into the water, everything in the lake became clearly visible to him.

Jiang Ning strode on, his Divine Sense swiftly scanning. The city lake wasn't very deep; its deepest part was barely under six meters.

His Divine Sense swept through the lake like a net. Ten minutes later, Jiang Ning stood poised above the northwest corner of the lake.

He closed his eyes to alleviate the piercing pain in his brow, a consequence of excessive use of Divine Sense in a short period of time.

After a short rest, Jiang Ning's palm flashed with red light, forming a long spear. He softly tapped, and the Red Spear plunged into the water, racing towards the lake bed.

In the pitch-black depths, a wooden board was buried in the silt. The red light circled around the board, tugged upwards, and the wood, dormant for countless springs and autumns, uncovered the silt, stirring the lake water muddy.

The board quickly floated to the surface. Jiang Ning cast another Magic Formation to remove the silt from the surface.

The board revealed a deep jade blue color.

"It really is Biling Wood," Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

Biling Wood was one of the main materials used for making Spirit Boats. He had not held much hope and even considered substituting other types of wood, but today he had actually found it.

He took the Biling Wood back to the shore and cast another Magic Formation to remove its moisture.

Afterward, Jiang Ning contacted a freight truck to send the Biling Wood back to the factory in Yuzhou.

...

On the way back, Jiang Ning pushed the speed to the limit, leaving the cars on the highway far behind.

At 11:50 PM, Jiang Ning reached his front door, and after using his spiritual power to tidy up his clothes, he was surprised to find Xue Yuantong standing at the doorstep.

Xue Yuantong wore a hood and had her hands buried in the pockets of her cotton jacket, her eyes bright.

"Jiang Ning, you're finally back!" she exclaimed.

"You're too slow, come on in," she urged.

She grabbed Jiang Ning by the arm and led him into the house.

Jiang Ning initially wanted to use Divine Sense to check for any tricks in the house, but he gave up the idea, as searching for Biling Wood had already overstrained his Divine Sense. Moreover, probing with Divine Sense was not as clear as seeing with his own eyes.

He followed Xue Yuantong into the house, through the main hall, and into her small room.

Unlike usual, Xue Yuantong's room was decorated with two warm-colored light strips, and attractively, there was a small round table beside the bed.

On the table lay a puffed-up white blanket.

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Xue Yuantong closed the door, placed her small hands on either side of the blanket, and exclaimed,

"Look!"

With a lift, a delicate box entered his vision. Inside the transparent box was a fruit cream cake.

"Happy Birthday, Jiang Ning!" she said, hands on her hips, in a "praise me" pose.

"How did you remember my birthday?" Jiang Ning was surprised, glancing at the cake and then at her.

"It's written on your QQ profile. I calculated the days especially, and today is your birthday!" Xue Yuantong said.

Jiang Ning was silent for a second, then suddenly recalled that today was indeed his birthday...

The word "birthday" seemed so distant to Jiang Ning, he had forgotten it.

Previously, it had always been Jiang Ning organizing birthdays for others, never expecting such a surprise himself this year.

He looked at Xue Yuantong, sighed, and said,

"Thanks."

Xue Yuantong hurriedly said, "Don't mention it, hurry up and eat the cake. There are only ten minutes left until your birthday is over!"

She skillfully placed candles on the cake, lit them, blew them out, and then began to eat, all in one breath.

The two were crouching close together by the small table, Jiang Ning using mana to envelop Xue Yuantong with warmth.

Xue Yuantong cut a piece of cake and handed it to Jiang Ning, then cut another for herself.

Jiang Ning tasted a few bites, the cake still carrying a hint of warmth.

He hadn't finished his piece yet, but Xue Yuantong had already eaten three, her mouth smeared with chocolate and cream, not bothering to wipe it away as she continued stuffing mouthfuls.

Initially, Jiang Ning felt heartened that Xue Yuantong remembered his birthday, but now seeing her like this, he really thought...

'Are you celebrating my birthday, or did you just want to eat cake?'

Seeing Jiang Ning stop eating, Xue Yuantong asked curiously, "Eat, why aren't you eating?"

"If you don't eat, I'm going to finish it all."

Jiang Ning deliberately took a bit of cream and smeared it on her face.

Xue Yuantong didn't mind and kept eating vigorously.

In the end, Jiang Ning only got to eat one piece of the birthday cake.