Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points

Chapter 470: Chapter 462: Unexpected Gains_1

Qin Niu merely listened quietly and did not interject.

Tang Caixian’s social experience was evidently much more extensive than Wang Wanyan’s, and their mutual support could enhance their relationship, which was very good.

“There are such venomous beggars in the world? That person is truly despicable,” Wang Wanyan said after hearing the story, and she stopped paying attention to the donkey’s screams, instead feeling indignant on behalf of Tang Caixian.

Before long, the signature dishes were served one after another, and the three of them tasted the exquisite delicacies together.

“Hmm… this meat is particularly fresh and tender, with an amazing flavor. You two should try it as well.”

Wang Wanyan elegantly ate the slice of meat that she had picked up.

Perhaps having never tasted such delicious stir-fried meat before, she took several more pieces with her chopsticks.

After eating, she kept praising how delicious and fresh the meat was.

“Madam, you truly know how to appreciate fine food! This is one of our restaurant’s signature dishes, stir-fried donkey meat. To ensure the meat is fresh and tender, we specially cut it from living donkeys. This dish, you see…”

The server, proudly presenting the dish, began to introduce the name and origin of this plate of stir-fried meat.

However, before he could finish, Wang Wanyan’s face had already changed color.

“If you don’t believe it, you can look down from that window. The more than twenty donkeys tied up in the shed are all alive. It takes seven days for each donkey to regrow tender meat that can be cut again. Often, you can’t even get this dish when you want it!” said the server, thinking Wang Wanyan doubted his honesty and promptly pointing to the window behind the private room.

She stood up and walked to the window, pushed open the lattice, and looked down.

Indeed, she saw a chef holding a sharp blade and cutting the tender meat off a donkey’s leg, with blood spilling profusely; the donkey was screaming in pain. The scene was extremely bloody and cruel.

Wang Wanyan could no longer hold it in and crouched on the ground, dry heaving.

Qin Niu quickly got up and went over to comfort her.

In his view, eating live donkey meat, though cruel, didn’t seem wrong.

The server, realizing he had said something wrong, turned pale and kept apologizing profusely.

“You may go down now!”

Qin Niu gave the server an indifferent glance.

Unbeknownst to others, he had already acquired a certain level of authority. This demeanor and authority seemed to come naturally.

Upon reflection, it was closely related to his advancement in spiritual power, increase in wealth, rise in social status, and continuous expansion of his connections.

It was the same for anyone— as one’s comprehensive strength improved, and as one’s words turned into actions, and one’s goals were achieved, a sense of authority gradually emerged.

After comforting Wang Wanyan for a while, Tang Caixian also came over to console her and poured her tea to drink, finally calming her down.

However, she refused to eat any more of the meat, fearing she might be unwittingly tricked again.

She would only consent to eating some vegetarian dishes.

When the meal was almost finished, someone knocked on the door and came in.

Aside from a female server, there was also a rather portly, oddly-dressed man. He had a round face, small eyes, a small mustache, and a face that beamed with a Buddha-like smile.

“I am Shen Wanqing, the Shopkeeper of Delicacy Pavilion. I was unaware that Master Qin and the two distinguished ladies had arrived; I apologize for not greeting you sooner. Please forgive my oversight,” he said, bowing deeply to the three guests.

“Shopkeeper Shen, please, there is no need for such formalities! We had just taken over a new property near here and saw that your establishment offered a wide variety of delicious dishes, so we thought to eat here before coming to find you. If Shopkeeper Shen is not too busy, you can sit down now, and we can have a chat.” Qin Niu gestured with a lifting hand.

“The previous landlord already informed me about this matter, and I have been looking forward to your visit. This tea is specially prepared for you; it’s a restorative tea made from the leaves of a unique tea tree in my hometown. After drinking it, it can enhance your spiritual power. Please, you and your two wives have a taste.”

Shen Wanqing was in his forties, and he always conducted himself with great modesty.

To have made such an impressive business on his own merits by his forties clearly showed the man’s capabilities.

“Shopkeeper Shen, you are too kind. I shall accept your generous offer without further ado!”

After receiving the teapot, Qin Niu poured himself a cup.

The tea was a pale green with a hint of blue.

Upon taking a sip, he initially detected a slight bitterness, feeling his tongue and throat tighten. But quickly, an invisible cool energy gathered first in his kidneys and then rose all the way to his head.

He felt as though his spiritual power had indeed increased somewhat.

“Hmm, good tea!”

He finished the tea in his cup in one go, and this time, he felt the increase in his spiritual power quicken.

This restorative tea was definitely an extremely rare treasure.

It was incredibly difficult to enhance spiritual power; a single cup of this tea was equivalent to the increase one would experience from advancing a minor realm in cultivation.

He poured another cup, then started to pour for his wives.

The waitress had keen eyes; she took the teapot from Qin Niu’s hands and proactively poured the tea for his wives.

“If Master Qin likes it, I have some more here, which I will give to you as a gift.”

Shen Wanqing took out a small packet of tea leaves from his sleeve, which seemed to weigh less than an ounce.

“I cannot accept such a precious gift without a reason. Such valuable tea leaves, I would be embarrassed to take them for free. Please name your price, Shopkeeper Shen. I will buy it, and in the future, if you have more of this tea, you can sell it to me,” Qin Niu said to him.

“That tea tree grows incredibly slowly and doesn’t produce much even in a year. This small packet represents about two years’ worth of leaves. I only serve this tea to honored guests who visit my shop. If Master Qin really likes it, I can send you the leaves harvested each year. After all, it’s grown at home and isn’t worth much money,” Shen Wanqing replied, speaking with a businessman’s charm.

Truly a man of business; his words were well crafted.

No one knew just how much the annual yield was.

“Is that tea tree your personal property, Shopkeeper Shen?”

“Yes! It was also a stroke of luck. My grandfather was chasing an ibex on a cliff when he accidentally discovered the tea tree. Since then, every spring, we can pick some fresh leaves. However, probably because the tree is growing on a cliff without much soil, it grows very slowly. The annual yield is extremely limited, and we can only harvest once a year.”

Shen Wanqing seemed unaware of the immense value of this tea tree.

In Qin Niu’s view, exchanging five shops for that tea tree would be well worth it.

“Why doesn’t Shopkeeper Shen transplant the tea tree to his own land? With sufficient fertility, wouldn’t it produce a higher yield?”

“I have considered that, but such special plants often don’t survive transplantation. Moreover, my grandfather specifically sought advice from a planting master, who said the miraculous effects of the tea leaves could be due not only to the tree’s uniqueness. The harsh and cold environment of that cliff, along with the special energy of the land and nourishment from the rain and dew, is also crucial. After transplantation, the tea leaves might not possess such potent effects anymore.”

His explanation seemed to make sense.

Nevertheless, Qin Niu hadn’t given up. He practiced the Everlasting Spring Technique, which enabled him to transplant any plant and ensure its rapid acclimatization and survival.

If he could transplant that tea tree to his own residence, how wonderful that would be!

At the very least, it was worth a try.

If it didn’t work, he could always transplant it back.