Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 37: Chapter 35 Xianyu Shop

The store was vacated by Cai Jianxin on the day of the handover.

Since the contract stated that all the furniture and appliances were to be given to Huo Sining, she truly just moved in with her bags, bringing only a few household items she had bought recently.

Within a couple of days, the new store sign was also delivered.

The sign was specially commissioned by Huo Sining, a large piece of manchurian ash wood finished in light brown with tung oil and brown paint, featuring a carved koi fish and a flute, with three bold characters written in the center: Xianyu Shop.

Aware of the adage that more friends mean more paths, Huo Sining soon paid a visit to the store owners across the street and next door.

The neighboring shopkeepers were initially surprised to see Huo Sining. How come there was no buzz, and Yule’s owner had changed just like that?

But then they figured that Cai Jianxin was tangled up with loan sharks, so it made sense he didn’t stick around—why would he wait for debt collectors to come knocking?

The neighbors were quite friendly to Huo Sining and, seeing her youth, they would occasionally share some business wisdom with her.

While young, Huo Sining had experience from her previous life, so she understood a thing or two about human relationships and society.

As the saying goes, one good turn deserves another, so she would sometimes send them fresh catches from the Yangtze River. In this way, with back-and-forth exchanges, they gradually became familiar with each other.

After moving into Xianyu Shop, Huo Sining did not start business right away; she was busy making preparations before opening.

First, she had to nurse back to health all the ornamental fish left by Cai Jianxin, which were so sick they were barely alive.

Because the Water-Repelling Pearl had limited spiritual energy, she could only gather the fish into a large pond behind the shop. She then had to slowly inject spiritual energy, allowing the fish to gradually regain their vitality.

While treating those sick fish, Huo Sining made another surprising discovery.

Every time she exhausted the use of the spiritual energy, she would feel especially tired, but the next day, she would find her spiritual energy to be even more abundant.

It’s said that after breaking down, comes the rebuilding. She quickly realized the key point; it seemed that to boost the Spirit of Azure Pearl, one needed to use spiritual energy more frequently.

With this secret uncovered, Huo Sining began to use the Spirit of Azure Pearl without any reservations.

In less than half a month, she noticed that the Azure Pearl’s color deepened, and the spiritual energy became plentiful, flowing from her forehead throughout her limbs and body. Her entire being’s spirit and temperament seemed transformed.

“Ningning, you’ve found such a great spot—for real, I don’t want to leave now,”

Su Qingqing had been popping in and out ever since she learned that Huo Sining had bought a shop. She didn’t expect to get so attached to the place as soon as she arrived, her eyes glued to the beautiful ornamental fish, unwilling to look away.

Huo Sining pursed her lips, smiling without responding. Ever since she mastered the use of spiritual energy, she had managed to save all the sick fish left by Cai Jianxin.

However, to avoid arousing suspicion, she made some adjustments to those fish. With the watering of spiritual energy, their quality improved to a certain degree.

Huo Sining didn’t dare carry out excessive transformations, using only a little bit of spiritual energy. But even that small amount of spiritual energy was enough to make a miraculous difference.

Every single fish in her shop was lively and spirited, with vibrant and bright colors, obviously of premium quality.

Xianyu Shop offered not just ornamental fish but also wild live fish.

During this period, Huo Sining had fished out quite a few prized catches from the Yellow River, from common carp to top-quality hilsa, along with a heap of live shrimp and shellfish, all kept separately in several large pools.

The only thing that Huo Sining felt sorry about was that she hadn’t encountered another Huangjiang Knifefish ever since.

She couldn’t help but regret that on the day she gave the knifefish to Jin Chenyu, she should have kept one for herself—at least to taste it. She had never tried the legendary Huangjiang Knifefish, reputed to be even better than the meat of the Tang Dynasty’s monk, Tripitaka.

But regrets were futile now. As soon as Jin Chenyu took the fish home, he handed it straight over to his mother.

When Mother Jin saw the lively Huangjiang Knifefish, she was quite astonished, but seeing her son’s nonchalant attitude, she didn’t inquire further.

It wasn’t until five days later, when Qin Shaoyou visited, that Mother Jin decided to steam the fish and serve them up.

Seeing five such large Huangjiang Knifefish spread out on a whole platter, everyone at the table was stunned for a moment, then suddenly scrambled for them like a battle.

While the dishes were in disarray, Qin Shaoyou, taken by curiosity, couldn’t help asking, “Auntie, these Yellow River Knifefish taste wild, and they’re big too, must be expensive, right? Where did you buy them?”

Mother Jin smiled and said, “Where could I buy them? It was Chenyu who brought them back. If you want to know where he bought them, ask him.”

Jin Chenyu was puzzled, “I bought them? I didn’t buy anything!”

Mother Jin glared at Jin Chenyu reproachfully, “You silly boy, how can your memory be so poor? It was the second day after you returned from Rongcheng, you went out early in the morning and came back with a bag, handing it to me as soon as you entered the door.”

The second day after coming back from Rongcheng? Was it the day this guy helped him buy that German Red Pine?

Qin Shaoyou’s hand paused as he was picking up food, he glanced at Jin Chenyu nonchalantly, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Jin Chenyu froze, only then realizing which day Mother Jin was referring to.

He pointed stiffly at the empty dish on the table that only had the fish head and tail left, asking incredulously, “You mean, these fish, are the ones I brought back?”

Mother Jin nodded, “Yes, that’s right. The bag contained five live Huangjiang Knifefish! I was worried they weren’t clean, so I let them rest in clear water for a few days. Looking at you now, you couldn’t possibly be unaware of this, could you?”

Jin Chenyu’s look of contentment turned into astonishment, he said with a wry smile, “How would I know? It was a student of mine who gave them to me, put them in a bag, and told me they were just some wild live fish and asked me to take them home for a taste. I thought they were just some carp, didn’t even look and just accepted them.”

It looked like he had basked in his cousin’s glory; Huo Sining doing this was highly likely due to Qin Shaoyou spending 120,000 on her Rainbow Fairy Fish. Realizing this, Jin Chenyu glanced at Qin Shaoyou with a guilty conscience.

“Carp? You must be joking! Just these few would buy several carts of carp!” Mother Jin was nearly furious with Jin Chenyu’s careless attitude, “What kind of student do you have that’s so generous? Could she possibly want something from you?”

“Mom, don’t guess wildly. That girl’s parents passed away, and she used to live at her aunt’s place, where she was always mistreated. She was afraid her aunt wouldn’t let her attend university and would destroy her admission letter, so she came to me for help, asking if I could sign for her acceptance letter.”

Jin Chenyu comforted Mother Jin with his mouth, but his brow furrowed unconsciously.

Huo Sining must have known the value of those knifefish, but why would she just give them to him?

Moreover, if he remembered correctly, the girl was from an impoverished family and should be quite frugal. She shouldn’t have been able to afford the Huangjiang Knifefish, so where did she get them from?

After the meal, Qin Shaoyou excused himself and left, but after driving out of the neighborhood, he stopped at the corner not far away.

Sure enough, before long, he saw Jin Chenyu driving out in a hurry.

Qin Shaoyou’s gaze flickered; he quietly followed behind Jin Chenyu, soon arriving in front of a familiar old neighborhood.

Surprised to see Jin Chenyu walking into the neighborhood, Qin Shaoyou stealthily followed suit.

To his astonishment, Jin Chenyu was heading towards Mrs. Xu’s home.

The more Qin Shaoyou observed, the stranger he felt. Just as he was about to follow upstairs to understand the situation better, at that moment, he heard his younger cousin’s voice.

“What, moved away? When did they move?”

Mrs. Xu’s eyes lit up when she saw Jin Chenyu, smiling warmly, “They moved away just yesterday. Miss Huo bought a shop near the Chenghuang Temple to set up her business and returned the room I rented to her. Young man, don’t you know?”

Jin Chenyu shook his head, while downstairs Qin Shaoyou’s eyes flashed.

Miss Huo? Was that the girl who said she knew a fishkeeping expert who could save the angelfish? She was Chenyu’s student?

Considering Jin Chenyu’s abnormal behavior, Qin Shaoyou vaguely had a guess.

Could it be that the German guy bought the fish from that girl?