Chapter 654 Xiaoliu, Time to Save Up

Shen Yibin secretly took out his phone to check the affinity score between Director Kong and Turtle Immortal. It was far from the passing mark of eighty points. This eased his guilt a little. ’Even if Director Kong had met the requirement, I probably wouldn’t have been willing to part with it,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’This result gives me a perfect reason to refuse.’

"Director Kong, you know the rules here. Price is never the issue; what’s crucial is the pet’s approval. Look, Turtle Immortal loves playing with Xiaoliu right now. You’ve tried to feed him several times, but he just ignores you!" ’He doesn’t even like you, so I can’t just force a sale, can I?’

"Sigh, it seems it wasn’t meant to be!" Director Kong thought back and realized it was true. From the moment he arrived in Yunzhong City and met Turtle Immortal until now, the turtle hadn’t shown him any affection. It looked like it wouldn’t be going with him. He could only accept this reality with regret.

"But it’s alright. If I get any other good stuff, I’ll definitely save a portion for you. As long as you’re staying here, you can have all three meals a day at my place. There’ll be plenty of medicinal cuisine. I guarantee you’ll be in much better shape by the time you leave. And when you go, I’ll have you take some medicinal wine with you. I’ll even prepare the ingredients and recipes for the medicinal cuisine so you can continue to look after your health in Xiangjiang," Shen Yibin comforted him. ’This way, you can still prolong your life, right?’

"In that case, thank you so much, Bin! Oh, right, you have to prepare more of that medicinal wine you gave me the day I arrived!" At the thought of the Maca wine’s miraculous effects, a lecherous smile spread across Director Kong’s face.

"I understand, I understand." Shen Yibin gave him a look that all men would understand and said in a low voice, "I’ve saved all the remaining medicinal wine for you. But Director Kong, you’re not a young man anymore. You have to practice some restraint." ’I don’t need this stuff anyway, so I might as well let Director Kong enjoy it,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’As for Xu Ye, he’s still young. He just needs to exercise regularly.’

"Excellent! Coming to Yunzhong City this time was the right decision!" Director Kong laughed heartily. But upon further reflection, he felt a twinge of regret. ’Sigh, I originally came here to help Shen Yibin shoot the music video, hoping to make him owe me a small favor. That would have made it easier to talk to him about filming the sequel to *Panda Hero* in the future.’

But only a few days had passed, and Shen Yibin had already taught him a Cultivation Technique, given him medicinal cuisine, and plied him with medicinal wine. Not only had this nullified that small favor, but he now found himself deeply in his debt. ’I... I really don’t know what to say! The bit of effort I spent on the music video is nothing compared to what Shen Yibin has given me.’

After they finished gathering herbs, Shen Yibin returned to the courtyard to process them. Director Kong also had to go back to remotely supervise the post-production work, so he took his leave. "I’ll push them again when I get back and tell them to finish it sooner. Let me know when you start the promotional campaign, and I’ll help share it." This was the only way Director Kong could think to repay him.

His status in the entertainment industry was quite high. If he shared it, many movie stars, entertainment companies, and influential online personalities would surely follow suit. With that, there would be no need to worry about the sales of Sun Qian’s new album.

"Thanks for your hard work. I’ll call you for lunch in a bit. Once things aren’t so busy in a few days, let’s go for a walk in the mountains and see if we can find anything else good." ’He’s been so eager to help, I can’t just do nothing in return, can I?’ So, Shen Yibin decided to take Director Kong into the mountains to see if they could find some medicinal herbs suitable for his health.

"Great! It’s a deal then!" This was more than Director Kong could ask for. He agreed immediately and cheerfully went back to work, while Shen Yibin stayed in the courtyard and got busy.

He cleaned the herbs and stored them carefully, then went into the courtyard to check on the new shoots of the herbs and tea trees. Spring was approaching, and tender sprouts were popping up everywhere. Seeing how robust and vigorous they all looked made Shen Yibin very happy. ’Looks like I’ll be able to harvest herbs right here in the courtyard from now on, without having to scour the mountains.’

"This one needs water from the upper stream, right?" Shen Yibin returned with a kettle of water, walked over to the rockery, and poured it on the young Dahongpao sapling from Wuyi Mountain at the very top. ’The original tea trees on Wuyi Mountain are already old, and their annual yield is extremely scarce. When these saplings grow up, the yield from my courtyard might be even higher than those trees, to say nothing of the Longjing.’

’Imagine using the purest Wuyi Mountain Dahongpao to make tea eggs every day, Shifeng Longjing Tea to stir-fry shrimp, and Junshan Silver Needle Tea to stir-fry chicken slices. How extravagant would that be? If a tea lover saw me committing such a sacrilegious waste, they’d probably want to kill me, right?’ Looking at the seedlings, Shen Yibin lost himself in a daydream.

While he, Maphario, and Hah’Er were busy tending to the seedlings, Xiaoliu was squatting by the edge of the pond, watching Turtle Immortal doze off in the water. Shen Yibin couldn’t resist taking out his phone to test their affinity again. The score now exceeded the passing mark of eighty points.

’I figure it must be thanks to the Monkey Wine,’ Shen Yibin mused. ’Turtle Immortal has a cup or two with every meal. It seems drinking Monkey Wine regularly is also very good for one’s health.’ He guessed this was the reason.

Xiaoliu could provide Monkey Wine for Turtle Immortal, and Turtle Immortal could add medicinal herbs to Xiaoliu’s Monkey Wine, making it even more nourishing. The two of them were quite a compatible pair.

So now, all he had to do was wait out the two-month period, and then he could sell Turtle Immortal to Xiaoliu, just like when Hah’Er bought Maphario.

’Huh? I feel like I’m forgetting something...’ Shen Yibin scratched his head, thinking for a long while before it finally came to him. ’The money Hah’Er used to buy Maphario was money he earned himself! The Future Pet Shop has financial requirements for its buyers.’

’Oh no, this is going to be tricky. The money Hah’Er earned from shooting movies and commercials was enough to raise an army of hamsters, but Xiaoliu doesn’t have any income.’

’What should I do?’ Shen Yibin was vexed. He casually checked Turtle Immortal’s price. It was quite reasonable, only 88,888.88 yuan. ’Why so many eights? Could it be because a common slang term for turtles involves the number eight?’

’Never mind all of Turtle Immortal’s abilities; just buying a wild turtle that’s over a hundred years old would probably cost more than this, right?’ The price left Shen Yibin speechless.

Over 80,000 yuan was a trivial amount for him and Hah’Er, but how was Xiaoliu supposed to come up with that kind of money? ’Should I have him busk on the street? Or maybe start charging for the Monkey Wine from now on?’

’Luckily, I realized this early enough. There’s still time to figure something out. If I’d noticed any later, it would’ve been a disaster.’ Shen Yibin felt a wave of relief.