Chapter 10 - Ready for the Riching

Su Mu quickly set up a WeChat group and added all his classmates.

The atmosphere instantly tensed up as everyone's eyes were glued to their phones, eagerly awaiting Su Mu's red packet giveaway.

Once everyone joined the group, Su Mu didn't waste any time. He sealed sixty red packets and sent them out, and they were snatched up in a flash.

The previously quiet sports field erupted into a cacophony of noise.

"Holy smokes, they're gone already? Could you guys be any faster?"

"Damn it, I got nothing!"

"Haha, I got one, lucky me."

Su Mu opened the list of recipients and started calling out names, distributing the special effect qi refining pills.

The sixty special effect qi refining pills quickly lit up, and the crowd dispersed soon after.

Before everyone left, Su Mu made a point to remind them that they could purchase the special effect qi refining pills the next day using WeChat, Alipay, or bank transfer, and to minimize the use of cash.

Too much cash was not only conspicuous but also dangerous.

Watching his classmates leave, Su Mu felt a surge of happiness.

Back in his days of developing mobile games, they had to pay people to act as hired supporters, unlike now where a few dozen special effect qi refining pills could attract a whole group of 'supporters.'

It was an incredibly good deal!

Liu Peng and Su Mu lived in the same residential community, so naturally, they walked home together.

Stepping out of the school and checking to make sure no one else was around, Liu Peng suddenly asked, "Su Mu, was what you said earlier true?"

Su Mu was taken aback for a second: "What did I say?"

"You mentioned that the grand alchemist's discount was so steep that it was causing a loss. If he's losing money, can we still profit?"

Liu Peng seemed genuinely concerned.

Su Mu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

" Pudgy Bird, you're such an honest guy to actually believe there could be a loss. Let me ask you, does Big G1 lose money when he puts on those massive sales on Steam, sometimes slashing prices by fifty or sixty percent? And Pony Ma2 with his half-price skin events, you never thought he'd go bankrupt, did you? And what about all those e-commerce giants with their 618 and Double 11 sales3? The discounts are massive, but instead of losing money, they're all making a killing."

Liu Peng started to understand: "So, we're not going to lose money? But didn't you say the production cost for the special effect qi refining pills is high?"

Su Mu shook his head with a smile: "Only the grand alchemist knows the true cost of the special effect qi refining pills, but it's definitely not high. Even if we sell them at a forty percent discount, we can still make a substantial profit."

Liu Peng was now completely reassured and excitedly said, "Really? That's great! Does that mean I can finally get my hands on the runic figurine I've longed for? Let me tell you, that runic figurine is amazing. Not only is it crafted beautifully, perfectly replicating the anime character's fair skin, beauty, and voluptuous figure with long legs, but it can also talk and interact with people. Such a runic figurine is what I'd call a 'wife.' How can ordinary figurines compare? It's just that the size is too small for more interactive possibilities. In Fusang country, they have life-sized runic figurines that serve... special purposes, you know, but they're just frighteningly expensive..."

Life-sized and still called figurines?

That sounds more like adult paraphernalia.

Before Su Mu could retort, Liu Peng blinked and said with a sly smile, "I've got this series of action movies featuring figurines from Fusang country on my phone. Want to see them? I'll send them to you."

Su Mu was shocked: "Wow, that's a bit heavy for my taste, isn't it? You've actually kept those videos? With the examination for cultivation coming up, shouldn't you be focusing on your training instead of this stuff? Aren't you worried it will affect your condition?"

Liu Peng hung his head, embarrassed by the rebuke.

However, Su Mu quickly changed his tone, "Remember to send me those videos when you get back. I need to properly criticize that kind of content!"

"Darn it!"

Liu Peng looked up and gave Su Mu the middle finger.

"You almost had me fooled, making me think I had committed some grave error!"

Su Mu laughed heartily.

After entering their residential community, the two waved goodbye and headed to their respective homes.

When Su Mu got home, his sister Su Ye was still making qi refining pills.

After Su Mu left for school, she had nothing much to do, so she watched TV while making the pills. Su Mu washed his hands, pulled up a stool next to his sister, and joined her in the task, chatting and laughing together.

Soon it was 11 p.m.

This was night time, the period when Su Mu and Su Ye practised their cultivation by absorbing the energy of food.

By the time their cultivation session ended, it was already 1 a.m. the next day.

After washing up, they wished each other goodnight and retired to their own rooms.

Before bed, Su Mu checked his phone and saw that someone had mentioned him in the WeChat group. Opening it, he saw it was the group he had created earlier that evening on the sports field.

Even at 1 a.m., the WeChat group was bustling with activity.

Su Mu scrolled through the chat history and understood why.

The group members who had tried the special effect qi refining pills were praising their effectiveness, sparking a lively discussion.

One person, in particular, was thrilled to discover their spiritual qi value had increased by 0.3 instead of the usual 0.2, boasting about their good luck and talent. This spurred envy and jealousy among the others, some of whom joked about wanting to beat him up.

Su Mu also noticed that not only was this WeChat group active, but his class group was buzzing as well.

Some who had tried the special effect qi refining pills were freely promoting them in the class group, drawing out many who usually stayed silent.

At first, there were suspicions that these individuals might have been bought off by Su Mu to act as his shills.

But as more and more people who had tried the pills 'testified' in the group, including many close friends, the voices of doubt gradually died down.

Some people mentioned Su Mu, wanting to inquire about the details of the special effect qi refining pills. Others discussed the matter with their parents, considering whether to make a purchase.

Su Mu, smiling at the chat history, did not reply to anyone mentioning him, nor did he comment in the group chat.

He was intentionally leaving them hanging to build anticipation and urgency.

After changing the contact name 'Master' back to 'Sister' in his phone, Su Mu turned off the device and went to sleep, enjoying a particularly restful night.

At 5 a.m., Su Mu and Su Ye rose on schedule to begin a new day of cultivation.

After completing their morning routine, Su Mu stuffed his backpack with the special effect qi refining pills that he had prepared and packaged over the past two days.

Su Ye went into the kitchen and served up two bowls of porridge and a dish of lightly pickled vegetables.

The porridge had been cooked the night before using the rice cooker's timer function. As for the vegetables, they were seasonal greens soaked in saltwater, then tossed with some hot oil and chili for a refreshing and appetizing side dish.

After breakfast and washing the dishes, Su Mu reminded his sister of a few things before heading out to school.

He hadn't even left the residential community when he ran into Liu Peng.

As soon as the two arrived at school and before they could enter the classroom, they were surrounded by a crowd.

It was clear that these people had been waiting for some time, and their mood was tense.

Upon seeing the two boys, their eyes lit up with a predatory gleam, and they charged forward like hungry wolves spotting prey.

Liu Peng was so startled that he yelped, "What's going on? What do you want? It's broad daylight; I'm warning you, don't mess around!"

Before he could finish, he was pushed aside by the surging crowd.

He also heard them shouting, "Move aside, don't block us; we're here to buy the medicine!"

Despite being jostled painfully, Liu Peng wasn't angry at all. Instead, he grinned like a fool.

These people were all here to buy the special effect qi refining pills?

Holy cow, haha... this is going to be a windfall!

Footnotes:

Big G(G胖): Gabe Newell, often referred to as "Big G," is an American businessman and the founder of the company Steam.

Pony Ma(Pony马): refers to the English name of Ma Huateng, the founder of Tencent. His English name is Pony, hence he is sometimes called Pony Ma.

618 and Double 11(618&双11): refer to the major annual promotional events of Chinese e-commerce, held on June 18th and November 11th,