C5 Heavenly Peach

"No way, that money is for Auntie's medical treatment," Chen Xiaoxiao immediately protested.

Soong Xixue's brow furrowed as she interjected, "What are you up to? I could..."

"I've got a plan," Xiao Ming cut them off with a wave of his hand, then turned to Tang Qing with earnest eyes. "Mom, do you trust me?"

"Oh, if I can't trust you, who can I trust?" Tang Qing sighed, went inside the house, and soon returned with a cloth bundle, handing it to Xiao Ming with a gentle voice, "Whatever you do, you have my support."

Xiao Ming nodded with gravity, "Don't worry, Mom. Our better days are just around the corner."

With that, he stood up, pulled twenty thousand yuan from the bundle, and handed it to Wang Dabiao.

"Fine, considering our long-standing neighborly ties, I'll extend your deadline by three days," Wang Dabiao quickly pocketed the money.

The onlookers were appalled at Wang Dabiao's audacity. What was the point of shortening the extension to three days when they had initially agreed on a more generous timeframe?

Xiao Ming, however, was unfazed. He called out to Wang Dabiao, who was about to leave, "Hold on, are you selling those peaches?"

"Peaches?" Wang Dabiao glanced back at the peach orchard on the nearby slope. "What for?"

"I want to buy them," Xiao Ming stated plainly.

"Alright, but you know, my peaches are top-notch, so they won't come cheap."

"I've got another ten thousand here. How much will that get me?" Xiao Ming shook the floral cloth bag he held.

"Help yourself," Wang Dabiao chuckled. "This season, you can pick as many as you can manage, but it's just you—or actually, I'll allow two of you to pick. Wouldn't want anyone saying I'm unfair."

"Deal," Xiao Ming agreed without hesitation.

Wang Dabiao's face lit up with delight. The peaches weren't even ripe enough to sell yet. And even if Xiao Ming and his mother worked themselves to exhaustion, could they really harvest half an acre? Not to mention the logistics of transporting and selling the fruit.

The ten thousand yuan might as well have been found on the ground, considering how foolishly it was spent by that so-called college student.

Wang Dabiao walked away with a grin, his heart brimming with joy.

The onlooking villagers dispersed, their gazes toward Xiao Ming filled with the same incredulity reserved for an imbecile.

"Tomorrow, our future days..." Tang Qing began, his voice trailing off with worry, knowing all too well that the family's money had run dry.

"Don't worry, Mom. We'll have money again soon," Xiao Ming reassured her.

"How did you even get into university? Is saving face really that important to you?" Soong Xixue couldn't contain her anger, storming off with a flick of her hand.

In her eyes, Xiao Ming's refusal to admit he married into the family was the reason he wouldn't let her marry Chu Qian.

Chen Xiaoxiao, lips pursed in disapproval, supported Tang Qing back into the house, her silence speaking volumes.

Xiao Ming could only respond with a resigned shake of his head.

"Have you heard about Tang Qing's dimwitted son?"

"Yeah, the one who blew over ten thousand on a batch of unripe peaches?"

"See, I always said education doesn't make you smart. Just look at him!"

"It's not about education; the guy's got a screw loose."

In a small village like theirs, word of the day's events spread like wildfire, making Xiao Ming the butt of everyone's jokes.

But Xiao Ming was unfazed; he had bigger fish to fry.

Under the midnight moon, Xiao Ming emerged in the peach orchard, lugging two buckets brimming with water. He circled the trees several times before halting at a particularly stunted peach tree. From his pocket, he produced the Heaven Holding Bottle.

All things in nature possess a spirit, the very essence of existence, yet the accumulation of such spirit is no overnight feat.

The Heaven Holding Bottle was a marvel, its contents boasting a rare ability to concentrate spirit energy. Though not for direct use, it was perfect for ripening plants.

This very reason justified his seemingly reckless investment in the peaches.

Peaches from a ten-year-old tree might be tasty, but what of those from a tree a century old, or even a millennium? Such peaches could rival the most miraculous of divine elixirs.

With utmost care, Xiao Ming decanted a small measure of the bottle's liquid into the buckets.

Xiao Ming meticulously blended the concoction, marking the peach grove as his launchpad to reclaim the pinnacle of his cultivation.

...

Dawn broke the next day.

Seated cross-legged beneath a peach tree, Xiao Ming radiated a misty Qi that mingled with the morning fog. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, emitting a three-inch burst of purple light that quickly vanished.

"It's a shame—the spirit veins of this world are depleted. Even the finest can only be coaxed to ripen for five hundred years, just enough to scrape through the first level of Qi Refinement."

He lifted his gaze to the peach trees around him.

Overnight, the peaches had swelled, large and lustrous like jade, their fragrance crisp and invigorating.

"The roots of these peach trees are too shallow; this is the best I can manage. Yet, to the common folk, these are treasures indeed. They'll fetch a good price, but..."

Xiao Ming scratched his head, pondering the challenge. The path to the village was treacherous—transporting the peaches would be no easy feat.

But soon, an idea struck him.

Moments later, he stood at Chen Xiaoxiao's doorstep.

"Ming!"

Her face brightened with joy as she opened the door, but recalling yesterday's events, her expression chilled, and she began to close the door.

Xiao Ming quickly caught the door, "Don't be mad. Look what I've brought for you."

"It doesn't matter what you've brought; I won't forgive you. I..."

Her protest was cut short by the sight of a tantalizing peach.

"This... What is this?"

Chen Xiaoxiao's lips parted slightly, her interest piqued.

"Go ahead, try it. This peach is a beauty enhancer," Xiao Ming coaxed, his past life experiences informing him of what appealed to a girl.

Predictably, Chen Xiaoxiao reached for the peach, skepticism in her voice. "I doubt it. Don't think this will make me forgive you."

She bit into the peach, and her face registered shock at the exquisite taste that melted on her tongue.

"How can it be this delicious?"

The peach vanished in moments, leaving Chen Xiaoxiao longing for more.

Xiao Ming chuckled, "Tastes good, doesn't it? There's plenty more, but you really need to take a shower now."

"Ah, what the—? Hold on a second." Chen Xiaoxiao, taken aback, suddenly noticed her skin was coated with a grimy, smelly film of oil and hurried back into the house.

Shaking his head with a smile, Xiao Ming mused on the peach's extraordinary nature. Ripened by the Heaven Holding Bottle, it was far from ordinary. While it couldn't transform one's constitution, it was capable of purging bodily impurities. And for someone like Chen Xiaoxiao, an average person, those impurities were abundant.

"Oops."

Moments later, a refreshed Chen Xiaoxiao reemerged at the doorway, her face a picture of astonishment. Her eyes sparkled with vitality, and her once dull, sallow skin was now rosy and supple, as if she had become someone else entirely.

"Ming, what... what just happened?" Chen Xiaoxiao, aware of her transformation and struggling to believe it, lamented, "Oh no, I should have saved that peach for Auntie. It's all my fault..."

Xiao Ming felt a surge of warmth at her words and gently tapped her head, reassuring her, "Don't worry, my mom's already had her share. So, feeling better? Let's go pick some peaches, shall we?"

"There are more peaches like that one?" Chen Xiaoxiao asked incredulously.

"Absolutely, there's more than we can pick. That's why I need to borrow your trusty tricycle."

"Sure thing, let's hit the road."

Without a second thought, Chen Xiaoxiao eagerly agreed.

Before long, they set off to town with a tricycle brimming with peaches. As they passed the village entrance, the locals shook their heads and sighed, convinced the venture was doomed to fail. How could half-ripe peaches ever sell? And in a town of limited size, how many peach sellers could there be?

Soong Xixue and her father, upon hearing the news, couldn't help but sigh over and over.

"See? This is the 'excellent' son-in-law you approved of. I must have been out of my mind to trust your judgment."

"My dear daughter, please, don't be upset. I never imagined he would act so..." Soong Qian struggled to find a kinder way to express his thoughts.

On the way to the town, we hit a snag. Our tricycle, old and rickety, finally gave out. We made it, but fixing it was a bit of a hassle.

Chen Xiaoxiao looked disheartened, but Xiao Ming reassured her with a confident pat on his chest. "Don't worry, once we make some sales, I'll get you a brand-new one."

As luck would have it, we arrived on market day. The street was bustling with vendors, so we squeezed into a spot on the corner.

Turning around, Xiao Ming couldn't help but chuckle. Right behind us was the town clinic—we were practically colleagues.

"Don't miss out, folks! The Queen Mother's peaches, a taste of immortality, have graced our earthly realm. They're beautifying and health-boosting. Come take a look!"

Chen Xiaoxiao, a veteran of the family stall since childhood, called out with gusto, her voice ringing clear without a hint of shyness.

Before long, people started to show interest. The peaches did stand out, looking far superior to the usual fare.

"These peaches look pretty good," a passerby remarked.

"Indeed, Uncle. Try one. These peaches could help with your asthma," Xiao Ming called out invitingly.

The old man looked surprised. "How did you know I have asthma?" After a moment's thought, he said, "Let's not get carried away. How much for these peaches? I'll take two pounds."

Xiao Ming replied with a smile, "Uncle, these peaches are sold individually, two hundred each, and the price is firm."

"What?"

The old man was incredulous, shaking his head as he walked away. "Do they really think they're selling celestial peaches? Two hundred a piece is highway robbery!"

"Sir, please wait! Ming, what are you doing..." Chen Xiaoxiao's spirits sank. This wasn't the way to do business.

Xiao Ming, unfazed, simply said, "That's our price for the peaches."

"But..."

Chen Xiaoxiao was clearly puzzled, and the onlookers gave them looks of disbelief, shaking their heads as they walked away. Who in their right mind would pay two hundred yuan for a single peach?

Xiao Ming remained unfazed by the situation. It's human nature to be drawn to the unusual, to be curious about the extraordinary. There will always be skeptics looking for a challenge. And when they do...

He had the next part of the plan ready in his mind. However, upon reflection, he felt it somewhat beneath the esteemed Medical Saint Zixuan to resort to such street performer tactics.

Two hundred yuan was definitely too low.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Ming spoke up, "Xiaoxiao, we need to adjust the price."

"To what?" Chen Xiaoxiao asked eagerly, assuming Ming had finally come to his senses about lowering it.

But Xiao Ming nonchalantly replied, "Let's start with five hundred. If we still don't get any takers, we'll bump it up to a thousand."

"Ah!" Chen Xiaoxiao's jaw dropped, her face a picture of bewildered disbelief.