Chapter 37: Chapter 37: This is Going to Work Me to Death

Lin Xuecheng and Hu Quan arrived at a department director’s office at the hospital.

The man had been waiting for them. Seeing them arrive, he said with a relieved expression, "Mr. Hu, it’s a good thing you came to our hospital for a check-up. There is indeed a problem with your lungs."

The words stunned Lin Xuecheng and Hu Quan on the spot.

’There’s really a problem?’

Hu Quan asked urgently, "Director Liu, what’s the situation?"

Director Liu immediately took out a medical scan, held it in front of them, and explained, "Do you see this? This little black spot on the image could be a tumor. It’s in the early stages, however. If we hadn’t specifically examined the lungs, it would’ve been very difficult to find. Therefore, Mr. Hu, you need to undergo further tests for confirmation right away."

"This..." Hu Quan was momentarily stunned.

Lin Xuecheng’s face was also filled with disbelief.

’Not only was that Boss Lu correct, but President Hu might actually have a tumor in his lung?’

...

Lu Feng woke up early and checked the game screen.

Because the in-game time of "After the Apocalypse" was slightly behind, the sky in the game world was still just dawning.

In the Qingfeng Tea Shop, Lin Jiao and Xu Bin had each found a corner to rest in.

Their positions seemed casual, yet they were positioned to support each other at a moment’s notice. If an intruder—person or thing—attacked one of them, the other could provide instant, unexpected backup.

Of course, it also meant an intruder could be instantly dealt with by their combined efforts.

After all, they were survivors of the apocalypse.

Lu Feng washed up, went out for some breakfast, then headed to a 24-hour convenience store. He bought a bag of bread and some mineral water before returning to his apartment.

He locked the door from the inside and entered the game with a single thought. Not wanting to disturb the two who were resting, he walked to the tea table and placed the items on it.

It seemed Lin Jiao and Xu Bin were startled awake. Survivors of the apocalypse were always highly alert, no matter how careful Lu Feng was.

But by then, Lu Feng had already exited the game world.

The two of them only saw the items on the tea table. They exchanged a look, knowing it had been their mysterious boss.

Back in his apartment, Lu Feng called Yang Ming.

Before long, Yang Ming arrived in his car and drove him to the Hundred Da Car Company.

President Li had given up his claim on the Panamera last night, so Lu Feng naturally had to go pay for it and get it registered at the vehicle management office.

Lin Yao was already waiting at the dealership. As soon as they arrived, she welcomed them inside.

Lu Feng said, "Miss Lin, take me to see the car!"

"Of course, Young Master Feng." Lin Yao nodded and led Lu Feng to an exhibition area in the deepest part of the dealership. A sky-blue Panamera was parked there all by itself.

The car stood out conspicuously in the entire showroom.

Lu Feng had to admit, President Li had excellent taste. This sky-blue Panamera was a perfect match for his own aesthetic.

He paid for it without hesitation.

After paying the 1.35 million, his funds—including the money from selling the gold and the Qingfeng Tea—were completely depleted.

He had to sell the gold jewelry he had just brought out right away.

Otherwise, once the paperwork for the tea factory was done and Da Fei ordered the production line, it would be awkward if the funds weren’t available.

After paying, Lu Feng drove the car away immediately, following Lin Yao to the vehicle management office to get it registered.

He had gotten his driver’s license long ago. The factory had arranged it, as they often had to drive Class C light trucks to transport steel out of the factory for shipment.

Since Lin Yao had someone start the paperwork yesterday, the registration process was very quick.

He even got lucky with the random plate selection, ending up with the number 520.

That was a pleasant surprise.

A good car deserves a good license plate, as they say.

After the car was registered, Yang Ming said, "Xiaofeng, I’ll take Lin Yao back first."

"Okay," Lu Feng nodded.

Just as Yang Ming was leaving, Yang Qingxue sent him a text, asking to go with him to buy things to furnish the new house.

The house was bought; it definitely needed furnishing.

Lu Feng drove his brand-new sky-blue Panamera to Xia Gang Street.

He called Yang Qingxue, and a moment later, he saw her coming down from her dorm, with Lin Jiajia trailing behind.

The two women’s eyes were naturally drawn to Lu Feng and the Panamera he was leaning against.

"Lu Feng, is this your new car?" Yang Qingxue asked happily as she ran up and hugged him.

What girl didn’t want her boyfriend to have his own car to pick her up in? And this was a Panamera, no less.

Lin Jiajia’s eyes were also filled with envy as she gazed at the sky-blue car.

You rarely saw cars of this caliber in a county town like theirs.

"Lu Feng, let’s go buy stuff. Jiajia took the day off, so she can help us choose," Yang Qingxue said, pulling Lin Jiajia into the car.

Over the next several hours, Lu Feng and Yang Qingxue toured the home furnishing stores in Youcheng and ordered a lot of things.

Some items could be delivered right away, while others would take some time.

Lu Feng also took Yang Qingxue and Lin Jiajia to his new house, gave the key to Yang Qingxue, and asked her to stay there to receive the deliveries.

He himself returned to his apartment, planning to deal with the gold and jade he had brought out.

He made a call to both his cousin and Chen Bo, told them the "goods had arrived," and had them meet at the Qingfeng Tea House.

Lu Feng pulled two duffel bags out from under his bed, went downstairs, tossed them into the Panamera’s trunk, and started the car, heading for the Qingfeng Tea House.

Having his own car really made things much more convenient.

When he arrived at the parking lot outside the Qingfeng Tea House, he grabbed the bag of gold jewelry. Upon entering the tea house, he found that Yang Ming and Chen Bo were already there, clearly very eager.

How could they not be eager, hearing that the goods had arrived? They had even brought a digital scale, hidden inside a black bag.

Each of them had brought a few of their guys along. They were all very respectful toward Lu Feng, since they knew who was responsible for the money they were about to earn.

However, with Da Fei now in charge of the tea house, Yang Ming had called someone else this time.

Seeing Lu Feng walk in carrying a bag, all of them stood up.

"Young Master Feng, you’re finally here." Chen Bo was particularly respectful, stepping forward to greet him while his eyes were fixed expectantly on the duffel bag in Lu Feng’s hand.

Lately, rumors had been spreading around Youcheng that he’d fallen from grace and was just mixing with Yang Ming’s crowd. But little did they know, he was actually latching onto someone powerful.

"Cousin, Boss Chen, come on up," Lu Feng called out, carrying the duffel bag up toward the second floor.

Yang Ming and Chen Bo immediately followed him.

The others remained downstairs.

Inside the office, Lu Feng placed the duffel bag directly on the table and unzipped it, revealing a dense pile of gold jewelry. "Cousin, Boss Chen, take a look at the goods!"

Chen Bo immediately went forward to inspect it. A moment later, his face was full of surprise. "It’s all real gold. And just from a glance, there’s way more than last time."

Without hesitation, Yang Ming took out the digital scale and began weighing the gold jewelry by the handful.

"15,248 grams!" Lu Feng now knew the final weight of the batch. It was indeed much heavier than the last one.

And by selling it through gray channels, he could make over 5.1 million from this batch of gold.

"Young Master Feng, this is a pretty large sum," Chen Bo said, looking at Lu Feng with a hint of resignation. "I’m afraid we can only pay you half upfront and the rest after we’ve sold it."

He had been looking forward to Young Master Feng bringing more goods, but now that they had arrived, he was faced with the awkward reality of his own limited capital.

"Fine," Lu Feng nodded in agreement. After all, they were just local players in a county town; it was unrealistic to expect them to produce so much cash at once.

This also made him consider finding a better channel. If he happened to get even more gold in the future, it seemed Chen Bo’s network would struggle to handle it.

In the end, Chen Bo and Yang Ming left the office with the gold after transferring 2.55 million to Lu Feng.

The remaining 2.55 million would be paid after they had sold the gold.

After Yang Ming and Chen Bo went downstairs, a single glance was exchanged, and the men they’d brought stood up excitedly and followed them out the door.

Having work meant getting paid. In this day and age, guys like them were terrified of having nothing to do. The alternative was either starving or getting free meals in prison.

...

Afterwards, Lu Feng made some inquiries and drove to the North City District.

He was heading there because of a jade shop called Feiyu Pavilion.

The shop specialized in the jade business. The owner was said to be an old man, a master jade appraiser who had previously worked at a jewelry store in the provincial capital. After retiring, he had returned to his hometown of Youcheng to open his own shop.

Crucially, the old man had a great reputation and offered fair prices, so many people sought him out when buying jade for weddings or other major occasions.

After all, there were too many dishonest jewelry and jade shops out there.

He’d heard that in some shops, the moment you tried to sell a piece of jade, the owner would point out several flaws at a glance, making it painfully obvious they intended to lowball you.

Those places were total rip-offs. Anyone selling family jade was usually in desperate need of cash, so they had no choice but to accept being fleeced, hoping only that the seller wouldn’t be too ruthless.

The jade industry was unique; it operated on appraisals, not invoices. As long as the items weren’t tied to a crime, selling them was less complicated than selling gold.

In Youcheng, the jade market was quite limited, as the customer base was small.

So, when Lu Feng arrived at Feiyu Pavilion, he saw an old man lounging comfortably in a recliner, singing a bit of opera—though whether it was Beijing or Cantonese opera, he couldn’t tell.

The only thing that was certain was that the old man was in a great mood.

When the old man saw Lu Feng, he stood up with a smile. "Young man, I’m in a good mood today! You’re my tenth customer. If you’re buying, I’ll give you a fifty percent discount. If you need an appraisal, it’s on the house!"

"A free appraisal?" Lu Feng was stunned. He hadn’t expected such a stroke of luck.

"That’s right! Can’t be helped, I’m in a great mood!" The old man truly seemed cheerful, his tone even holding a hint of playful, elderly pride.

"Alright, then I’d like an appraisal." Lu Feng nodded seriously. He placed the duffel bag on the counter, unzipped it, and revealed the mountain of jade jewelry inside.

"...Uh!" The old man’s eyes went wide when he saw the sheer amount of jade jewelry inside. He was completely dumbfounded.

’Freaking hell, this is going to kill me!!!!’

He had the sudden urge to slap himself right across the face.

...

(Author’s Note: Everyone, please don’t wait to read! The trial promotion failed; we were just 4 active readers short. The editor is arranging another promotional push on Monday. Your active readership is really important!)