Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 433 Ling Caiyou's Business Acumen

That evening, in Chen Anran's bedroom at the Yunyin Sect.

The lights were on, and the television was on, showing Wei Qingyi's movie.

This movie isn't really that great. If I had to pick one thing, it would be Wei Qingyi's action scenes, which are particularly impressive, since it's a performance by a woman who doesn't use wires.

After the movie, there were behind-the-scenes clips, in which you could even see Chen Anran and Feng Xiaolu as background figures on the periphery.

Chen Anran sat in the chair, staring at the screen, and suddenly remembered what happened that day.

That day, Wei Qingyi was filming a night scene, and he and Feng Xiaolu went to visit the set. Feng Xiaolu insisted on going to see the scene, but he stopped her, saying not to disturb Second Senior Sister's work. Feng Xiaolu stood on tiptoe and peered inside, muttering, "Second Senior Sister is so cool," "Second Senior Sister fights well," "Second Senior Sister's turn was amazing."

He stood to the side looking at his phone, occasionally glancing up to make sure Feng Xiaolu hadn't gone far, then looking down again.

At that time, he thought that such days would continue indefinitely.

With his eldest senior sister supporting him, his second senior sister making a ruckus beside him, and his youngest junior sister following behind, all he had to do was stand behind them, watching them laugh and play.

Later, the eldest sister left.

Later, the second senior sister and the junior sister also left.

He was left alone.

Chen Anran looked away and turned off the TV.

The bedroom fell silent, save for the occasional chirping of insects outside the window.

Go to Tianjing.

He also received a letter from Lu Kong, in which he said that his senior sister, Su Wan, had arrived in Tianjing and would likely stay there for over a year. If they missed this opportunity, who knew how many years it would be before they could see each other again.

"I don't know how many years will pass."

Chen Anran mentally went over those words again.

Lu Kong wouldn't say such a thing without reason. If he said it that way, he must have his reasons.

Chen Anran didn't think about it any further. After all, only by going to Tianjing and finding Lu Kong could she obtain more information.

For example, the eldest sister's identity three thousand years ago, her past...

………………

In the days that followed, the area at the foot of Yunyin Mountain became even more lively than usual.

The surrendered monks were assigned various tasks.

The more than 300 people of Qingyang Valley were divided into several teams. Some went to the fields to help with farming, some went to the construction site to move bricks and mix mud, some followed the Feng family to learn to identify medicinal herbs, and some were picked by Jiang Yun to work as assistants in Lingqiao Workshop.

Lei Xiaozi was personally supervised by Daoist Tianbao, working from sunrise to sunset every day, carrying bricks, hauling soil, and mixing mud—he did it all without fail. On the first day, he was still stubborn and defiant; on the second day, his neck softened a bit, but his face remained gloomy; starting from the third day, he learned to keep his head down and work, no longer looking around; by the seventh day, he was already able to exchange a few words with the ordinary craftsmen around him.

"Old Zhang, are these bricks laid securely?"

The craftsman named Zhang Laoshi glanced at him, grinned, and said, "Master Lei, what a question! I've been doing this for twenty years, how could I possibly build it crooked?"

Lei Xiaozi opened his mouth as if to say something, but just kept his head down and continued working.

Master Tianbao squatted under the shade of a tree in the distance, munching on a steamed bun while staring at them with a smug glint in his small eyes.

Qi Lan sent the female disciples of the Hehuan Sect to the back mountain to help Lingdang and Shitou catch beast pets.

Having let go of her inner turmoil, Lingdang is doing quite well here, and her complexion has improved a lot. The tracking method that He Qingyun used to trick her has long since dissipated.

Moreover, she no longer needs to live as the "Holy Maiden of the Crimson Spirit Cult." After being an undercover agent for over five hundred years, she can now stand openly in the sunlight.

The bell was no longer appearing as a child; it had reverted to its original form—a super mature woman with a slim waist and long legs.

Not only that, she also changed her name back to her original alias, Ling Caiyou, saying that she wanted to completely get rid of the past.

When Qi Lan first saw her mature and sophisticated form, her mouth was agape.

Lingdang, now she should be called Ling Caiyou, is currently in her own "Yunyin Spirit Abode," holding her "gray ball" in her arms.

Qi Lan stood at the shop entrance, her mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time.

"You…" She blinked, a hint of disbelief flashing in her amber vertical pupils, "How did you change like this?"

Ling Caiyou turned around and smiled slightly at her.

That smile was different from before. Before, when she smiled with that innocent little face, it always carried a hint of naivety and a touch of cunning, like a kitten that had stolen a fish. Now, that face was still young, but it no longer resembled that of a child.

Her eyebrows and eyes have matured, her nose is straight, and she's unbelievably beautiful.

Not to mention Qi Lan was surprised, even Miao Yu'er couldn't take her eyes off Ling Cai when she was young that day, thinking to herself that if she hadn't "reformed" now, she would have really wanted to take her as her own furnace...

"This is who I really am," Ling Caiyou said. "After more than five hundred years, I can finally stop pretending."

Qi Lan circled her twice, looking her up and down, clicking her tongue in amazement: "Your waist is thinner than mine, your legs are longer than mine, and your face is prettier than mine. Are you trying to kill me?"

Ling Caiyou felt a little helpless as she was being spun around, and reached out to press her shoulder: "Stop spinning me, I'm dizzy."

"No," Qi Lan stopped and stared at her face, "Since you've always looked like this, why have you been pretending to be a child for over five hundred years? It must be exhausting."

Ling Caiyou remained silent for a moment.

She turned around and looked at the vast, desolate mountains in the distance, her voice as soft as the wind.

"Because children are less likely to arouse suspicion. Children can run around, look around, and ask questions. If adults ask too many questions, they will be watched, but if children ask too many questions, people will just think, 'This kid is really curious.'"

Qi Lan remained silent.

Ling Caiyou continued, "For those five hundred years with the Crimson Spirit Sect, I had to pretend every day that I knew nothing, to act innocent, curious, and harmless. As I kept pretending, sometimes I even forgot what I was really like."

She paused, then suddenly smiled.

"But it's all good now. I don't have to pretend anymore."

Qi Lan looked at her and suddenly reached out and patted her shoulder.

"Every cloud has a silver lining," Qi Lan said. "By the way, I'm going on a long trip with Chen Anran next month. Do you want to come with us?"

Ling Caiyou turned around, a slight smile appearing on her lips.

"I'm not going."

Qi Lan was taken aback: "Not going? Don't you want to go see Tianjing? That's the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty, I've heard it's very lively."

"No," Ling Caiyou answered decisively, lowering her head to continue stroking the gray ball in her arms. The little guy squinted his eyes as she stroked him, making comfortable purring sounds.

Qi Lan circled her twice, looking her up and down, her amber vertical pupils full of suspicion: "When did you become a shut-in?"

She paused, then suddenly leaned closer and lowered her voice: "Don't you want to see Chen Anran? Do you still feel guilty towards him?"

Ling Caiyou looked up at her, her gaze carrying a hint of helplessness: "You're overthinking it."

"Then why not go?"

"busy."

Qi Lan almost burst out laughing: "Busy? What are you busy with? There are no guests at the resort, and all these spirit pets of yours..."

She glanced around the store.

Several half-grown monster cubs were dozing in the corner, a few furry little creatures were climbing around on the shelf, and an unidentified creature, as fat as a ball, was curled up in its nest, sleeping soundly with its belly turned up.

"Will they sell?" Qi Lan finished her sentence.

Ling Caiyou wasn't annoyed; the smile on her lips just deepened.

"They're not selling," she said, "but someone bought other things."

Qi Lan raised an eyebrow: "What is it?"

Ling Caiyou didn't answer immediately. She placed the gray ball on her lap, slowly stroked its fur, and then looked up at Qi Lan.

"Meat."

Qi Lan was stunned: "What meat?"

"The flesh of demonic beasts," Ling Caiyou said. "I can't just throw away the demonic beasts I brought back after they die, can I? I used to bury them. But then one time, Wang Rui came to borrow something from me and saw me about to bury a Swiftwind Rabbit that had just died. He asked me a question."

She paused, recalling what happened that day.

"He asked me, 'Can this rabbit be eaten?' I said it could, but the meat was too dry and not very appealing. He squatted down and looked at it for a long time, then said he would take it back and try it. The next day, Sun Wei came running over and asked me if I had any left."

Qi Lan blinked: "And then?"

"And then?" Ling Caiyou chuckled, a hint of smugness in her smile. "Then she started coming every few days. Today she wanted a demon rabbit, tomorrow two chickens, and the day after that she asked if I had any bigger ones. All the demon beasts I was going to bury are now in the kitchen of the Immortal Cuisine Restaurant."

Qi Lan opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.

Ling Caiyou continued, "Later, Zhang Hao came too. That kid was even more meticulous than Wang Rui. He took a little notebook and wrote down everything about the characteristics, meat quality, and cooking methods for each kind of monster I had here. Things like, 'Rabbit meat is tough, suitable for braising,' 'Chicken meat is tender, suitable for stewing,' 'Ironback Badger has a lot of fat, suitable for roasting'..."

As she spoke, she started laughing at herself.

"I only just realized that all the things I've brought back over the years can not only be sold as spirit pets, but also used as food."

As Ling Caiyou spoke, she started laughing to herself. She lowered her head and ruffled the gray ball's head, causing the little guy to squint his eyes and snore even louder.

Qi Lan leaned against the door frame, listening intently, her smile growing wider and wider.

"So you're a supplier now?" she asked.

"I guess so." Ling Caiyou raised her head. "Sun Wei said that as long as it's edible, whether it's alive or dead, she'll take it. Live ones will be raised and slaughtered slowly, and dead ones will be sent over on the same day and cooked that day. Now, Xian Shan Fang has specially set aside a room as a cold storage, and it's full of meat that I send over."

Qi Lan blinked: "Cold storage? Using a small generator?"

"It's not a generator, it's Jiang Yun," Ling Caiyou said. "He carved an array in the cold storage, saying it can continuously lower the temperature, and we only need to replace the spirit stones once a month."

Qi Lan couldn't help but laugh out loud, "So you've switched from a pet shop to a large-scale animal breeder?"

"It's not impossible, after all, Chen Anran gives a lot. He has Wang Rui pay me for the meat once, and each time it's five spirit stones of decent quality."

Upon hearing Ling Caiyou's words, Qi Lan couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears almost streamed down her face.

Upon hearing Ling Caiyou's words, Qi Lan couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears almost streamed down her face.

"You..." She laughed so hard she could barely stand, leaning against the doorframe, panting, "You mean, you run a pet shop here, but your main business is selling meat?"

Ling Caiyou wasn't annoyed; she simply continued to slowly stroke the gray ball, her smile deepening.

"What, it's not allowed?"

"Okay, great." Qi Lan finally straightened up, wiped her eyes, and said, "Lingdang, I really didn't expect you to have such a business mind."

"It's not that I'm smart," Ling Caiyou said. "It's that Wang Rui is smart. That kid came to borrow something from me, and when he saw me burying meat, his eyes lit up. He said, 'Senior Lingdang, this stuff can be sold for money, why are you burying it?' I said, 'Who are you going to sell it to?' He said, 'At our Xian Shan Fang, Sun Wei is always worried about not having enough ingredients, and you're burying meat every day.'"

Qi Lan laughed so hard her shoulders shook, so she simply sat down on the threshold and looked up at her.

"and then?"

"Then he went to talk to Sun Wei for me," Ling Caiyou said. "After the talk, he came back and told me not to bury any dead monsters anymore, but to keep them all. He would be responsible for delivering them, Sun Wei would be responsible for collecting them, and I would get the spirit stones. I asked him what he was after, and he said, 'Just for fun.'"

"Just for fun?" Qi Lan raised an eyebrow.

"That's exactly what he said," Ling Caiyou said. "That kid is just like that; he finds everything fun. He finds it fun to run errands for Jiang Yun, he finds it fun to deliver letters for Feng Lie, and he finds it fun to help me negotiate business deals. Anyway, he's just killing time, so he might as well find some fun."

Qi Lan shook her head and chuckled, "This kid will get himself into trouble sooner or later."

"That's not necessarily true," Ling Caiyou said. "I think he's quite shrewd. He plays when it's time to play, and he's more serious than anyone else when it's time to be serious. Look at him assigning jobs to those refugees, who didn't object?"

Qi Lan thought for a moment and nodded.

The two remained silent for a while.

Qi Lan suddenly spoke up: "Seriously, you really aren't coming to Tianjing with us?"

Ling Caiyou looked at her, a hint of helplessness in her eyes: "Why are you still asking?"

"I'm just curious," Qi Lan said. "We've come all this way to the ancient Qian Dynasty, three thousand years ago. Haven't you ever thought about going out and exploring?"

"Yes, I want to," Ling Caiyou answered frankly, "but not now."

"When was that?"

Lingcai did not answer immediately.

She looked down at the gray bundle in her arms. The little guy was already asleep, his belly rising and falling, making soft purring sounds.

"Let me open this shop first."

Qi Lan was taken aback: "Isn't your shop already open?"

"Not nearly as good." Ling Caiyou shook her head.

Qi Lan blinked, not understanding.

Ling Caiyou raised her head and looked at the vast, desolate mountains and forests in the distance.

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with being a professional breeder. At least it doesn't overlap with the positioning of your 'Meow Fairy Abode.' I don't want to become your competitor."

Ling Caiyou was only halfway through her sentence when Qi Lan interrupted her, saying, "Actually, there's no overlap. Mine is a cat petting shop."

Ling Caiyou rolled her eyes. "Don't interrupt."

........................