Chapter 16: Speak Clearly, Don't Imply
Back in her ramshackle little hut, the trash that had been cleared from the doorway had already been collected by the environmental cleanup robots, leaving the room more spacious, but still appearing very poor.
Yet another day yearning for her massive family fortune was underway.
On the third day, the herbs arrived.
Qu Tong induced all of the seedlings and seeds to mature rapidly, first taking a dosage of five bottles.
With years of experience, Qu Tong quickly concocted several vials of potion.
She separated the potion into specialized potion test tubes.
Then, she took out the Spirit Power Stabilizing Potion she had purchased from the Alchemist Association for 50,000 Star Coins to compare.
The scents were quite similar, the beginner's Spirit Power Stabilizing Potion from the Alchemist Association was pale blue, but hers was purple – a deliberate modification on her part.
A pure, translucent purple, refined to be free of any impurities.
This formula was the one she had used in her past life to nourish her spiritual power.
Qu Tong took a sip of the blue potion, followed by a sip of her own, clearly feeling that the latter made her Spirit Sea much more comfortable.
It proved that her concoction was more effective than the beginner's version.
After her success, she spent another two days preparing the rest of the herbs.
Mixing potions didn't take much time; the main issue was that her spiritual power was insufficient.
She then left a message for Xu An, "Bro, give me the receiving address or teleportation code for your school, I'm sending you some stuff."
After researching how to open an online store, Qu Tong registered one directly, choosing Spirit Power Potions as her business category, and the system automatically ascribed the highest level of confidentiality.
Qu Tong raised an eyebrow – the Empire seemed to value this quite a bit.
She casually chose a name: Miss Ali's God of Wealth Temple.
Ali, her nickname from a previous life when she had no real name.
For a long time, she was known simply by a number: 1001.
Latterly, she had been using someone else's identification.
After registering the shop, it was time to list the products.
Qu Tong only uploaded one item.
Spirit Power Stabilizing Potion:
One accompanying picture.
Benefits: Soothes the Spirit Sea, effectively aids in overcoming outbreaks of spiritual power, daily consumption can nourish spiritual power, and provides short-term relief from chronic pains and fatigue of the Spirit Sea due to prolonged use of spiritual power.
Price: 200,000 Star Coins per vial
Stock: 20 vials
Note: Quality assured, first-come-first-served!
For this description, Qu Tong directly borrowed the product introduction of the Alchemist Association.
The price was set to match that of their intermediate Spirit Power Stabilizing Potion.
The intermediate potion could help a person with constitution A effortlessly survive their first spiritual power surge.
Her potion was definitely better than the beginner's Spirit Power Stabilizing Potion; selling it for 50,000 felt like a loss to her, so she boldly set the price at 200,000 to test the waters.
Having completed these tasks and about to log out, she saw Xu An's reply.
With an ample stock at hand, Qu Tong sent 3 bottles to Xu An and included some fruit as well.
The new store opened without rush; Spirit Power Potions had always been a hot topic among the wider web community, and with the Empire's attention, she believed traffic would soon pick up.
After snacking casually, with dusk yet to fall, she lugged a small hoe and started laboriously tilling the ground beside her house.
In just ten minutes, Qu Tong was drenched with sweat, her face flushed red, and she collapsed onto the ground.
She wiped her face with disdain, flexed her sore wrists, and thought to herself how feeble her body was.
Once she had rested enough, Qu Tong picked up the hoe once more.
Nothing in this world is difficult for one who gives up.
Qu Tong tossed the hoe casually to the side of the door and went back to sleep.
The next day, as the sun shone on her back, Qu Tong got out of bed and started running.
Life was scarce on Star 1757, and there were almost no people to be seen around her dwelling.
As the Planet Master, Qu Tong actually could have evicted everyone from the planet, but she didn't do so.
In less than twenty minutes, Qu Tong was gasping for air, desperately drawing breath like a fish out of water. Her chest felt compressed and deformed, while her legs were as heavy and weak as if they were filled with lead.
With both hands braced on her thighs, large teardrops fell along her hairline, streaking down. Her face was slightly pale, clearly at her limit.
She didn't like feeling so weak; no wonder her Special Ability was recovering so slowly in this body.
She casually grew a tree to block the sunlight.
Qu Tong sat down against the tree, completely disregarding her image.
That would be enough training for the day; she would continue tomorrow.
Once rested, she strolled toward the only commercial establishment on the planet.
Before she got close, she spotted a trio of idle thugs hanging around near the store.
Li Kun, hands in his pockets, was supposedly imparting wisdom to his two lackeys – actually just boasting – as he sauntered from left to right before turning around.
He saw Qu Tong, who was smiling at him.
He stumbled, nearly twisting his ankle.
The other two goons also sensed something amiss. They looked over, faces filled with fear.
Why had this little ancestor come this way?
It was quite embarrassing – they hadn't received any money from the Qu Family halfway through the month, and attempts to make contact had been met with a block.
Since the Qu Family wasn't paying, they no longer bothered to keep an eye on this little tyrant daily.
Moreover, after the beating they'd received last time, they had been deliberately avoiding that area.
As Qu Tong approached them, they felt an inexplicable terror and wished they could turn and flee.
The three thought about running, and that's exactly what they did.
But just a couple of steps into their escape, the one in front was tripped by a whip that appeared out of nowhere.
The two behind couldn't stop in time and toppled over each other in a heap.
"Ow!"
The one at the bottom grumbled: Damn, why is it always me??
"Running away?"
Qu Tong's voice, laced with a mocking humor, was like a chilling spell to them.
Li Kun got up and moved his hands behind his back, trembling as he said, "Miss, what can we do for you?"
Qu Tong toyed with a vine disguised as a green whip, her gaze shifting between the three, smiling wickedly, "You tell me."
"Ha ha, I... I can't guess," Li Kun laughed ingratiatingly, subtly inching to the side.
"Let's not beat around the bush. I'm out of money, got it?"
The three: "..."
*
With their accounts empty, the trio walked with faces as long as donkeys, looking as if they had swallowed three pounds of dung.
One of them held a hoe they'd just bought from the store, following behind Qu Tong.
The tables had turned, and oh, how they regretted it!
That little tyrant had not left them a single cent.
Oh!
And each of them had bought two bottles of low-grade Nutrient Solution.
With the money they had extorted.
The Nutrient Solution was the same bitter gourd flavor they had bought for her before.
Qu Tong pulled up a chair in the shady spot at the entrance and watched contentedly as the three toiled away.
"Don't look so morose! Labour is glorious, labour brings joy. Hop to it; this whole area needs to be dug up properly. If it isn't done well, you'll have another joyful day tomorrow," she said.
The three: "..."
After arranging for the three to work, Qu Tong took out her optical brain and started browsing the Star Web.
In the information age, almost every planet was covered by the network, but using the internet still required data allowance. The original body, in an attempt to save money and since it was always picking up trash, hardly ever went online.
Qu Tong, being used to spending money, did not care about this minor expense and signed up for an automatic monthly recharge.
After all, staying informed was the key to making more money.