BXBX NOVEL Chapter 153 - 153 Conversation
Lin Jing finished his assessment, left the alchemy room, and returned to his own small courtyard.
Not even half an hour had passed before there was a knock at the door. Lin Jing opened the courtyard door to find Huang Qingling standing at the entrance.
And it wasn’t just Huang Qingling by herself; the siblings Li Tan and Li Qingqing had also come along.
As soon as Huang Qingling saw Lin Jing, she directly asked:
“Lin Jing, how did it go? Did you pass the assessment?”
Lin Jing nodded, then replied:
“Fortunately, I barely passed…”
“I also have to thank Brother Li for his guidance…”
Lin Jing looked toward Li Tangyu and quickly gave him the credit.
“Brother Lin is too modest. Actually, I didn’t help much; it was mainly down to your own efforts.” Li Tangyu said with a smile.
Huang Qingling pursed her lips and said:
“You two don’t need to be so modest with each other. It’s good that you passed.
We were worried before, but thankfully, you made it through smoothly.” “Lin Jing’s passing of the assessment is cause for celebration.”
“However, it’s a bit of a shame…” Li Qingqing spoke up at this point.
Everyone turned to look at her, not understanding her meaning.
“What’s so regrettable about Lin Jing passing the assessment?” Huang Qingling asked.
Li Qingqing took two steps back and then said:
“It’s a shame that…”
“Now that Brother Lin has passed, he has no reason to live with you anymore…” “You…” Li Qingqing saw Huang Qingling reach out, about to slap her.
“Giggle…”
She quickly giggled and ran off.
Lin Jing and Li Tangyu both had a deadpan expression on their faces.
“Okay, let’s not fool around…”
“Seriously, Lin Jing’s passing is indeed worth celebrating.” Huang Qingling spoke up again at this moment.
“What do you guys think?”
After speaking, Huang Qingling turned to look at everyone.
“I think so too.”
Li Qingqing immediately agreed.
“I haven’t used up the ingredients I prepared earlier. Could you two possibly…” Huang Qingling looked toward Lin Jing and Li Tangyu.
Originally, there was only Lin Jing, the one chef, but now with Li Tangyu added, there was finally someone to share the cooking duties.
“Those ingredients probably weren’t prepared earlier…”
Obviously, Huang Qingling’s ulterior motives couldn’t escape either of them.
“That’s not important…”
Huang Qingling said cheerfully, without a hint of embarrassment.
“As expected…”
Lin Jing and Li Tangyu exchanged glances.
Then Lin Jing said:
“Alright, bring them out then.” After speaking, he added:
“But let’s agree on one thing in advance…”
“After this time, I’m afraid there will be quite a long period when I won’t be able to join you all for gatherings like this.”
“What happened?”
Huang Qingling looked at Lin Jing, full of confusion.
“After this assessment, Steward Zheng has increased the number of elixir medicines I need to submit to fifty. Now I’ll be just like the other offering priests.”
“So, I’ll need to devote more time to alchemy and probably won’t have any free time left.’
“Why would that happen?”
Huang Qingling’s eyebrows shot up as she spoke angrily:
“You were permitted to submit thirty elixirs by Old Man Bai himself; how could he just change that on a whim?”
Lin Jing spread his hands and then began explaining:
“But now with Elder Bai not here, the entire Yuebaolou in Nanshan Market is being managed by this Steward Zheng. Naturally, what he says goes.”
“Brother Lin…”
Li Tangyu pondered for a moment and then said:
“I remember that the offering priests of Yuebaolou are required to submit ten superior elixir medicines, right?”
“Yes…” Lin Jing nodded.
Li Tangyu looked at Lin Jing and continued to ask:
“Now your submission task is the same as the other offering priests, you must also need to submit ten superior elixir medicines, right?”
Lin Jing nodded his head:
“Brother Li guessed it right, indeed…”
“I also need to submit ten superior elixir medicines every month to be considered qualified.” Hearing this, Li Tangyu frowned.
Then, he said to Huang Qingling:
“Those fifty elixir medicines should still be easy.”
“But these ten second-rank superior elixir medicines, I’m afraid they won’t be easy for Brother Lin!”
“What should we do?” Huang Qingling frowned and asked.
Li Tangyu did not answer Huang Qingling but turned his head to look at Lin Jing with a serious expression:
“Brother Lin, if you need help, just speak up.”
“Yeah…” Huang Qingling’s eyes lit up as she said.
“If Lin Jing’s alchemy isn’t enough, Tan Yuyi can help make a few superior elixir medicines…”
Lin Jing clasped his fists and said:
“Thank you, Brother Li. I want to try on my own, after all, this is also my personal training. If I really can’t cope and need Brother Li’s assistance, I won’t hesitate to trouble Brother Li then.”
“Hmm…’
Li Tangyu spoke:
“Indeed, actually, it’s in situations like these that one’s alchemy skills improve the fastest.”
“This was the case for me before. In order to practice alchemy, I locked myself in the alchemy room for half a year. It was with this dedication that I was able to advance to a third-rank alchemist.”
“Yes, I can testify to that. During that time, I even delivered alchemy ingredients to her.”
Li Qingqing came over and hastily said.
At that moment…
Huang Qingling seemed to suddenly remember something, looked at everyone, and asked:
“Do you think Steward Zheng is settling personal vendettas under the guise of official business?”
“Personal vendettas under the guise of official business? What does that mean?”
Li Qingqing asked in confusion.
“Steward Zheng only just arrived in Nanshan Market, right? He didn’t know Lin
Jing before, so where does the idea he’s settling personal vendettas come
from?”
Huang Qingling then began explaining:
“You don’t know, when Steward Zheng first came, he actually visited the Liu Clan immediately.”
“He must be on good terms with the old ancestor of the Liu Clan.”
“And due to my relationship, that Liu Yiyuan must definitely harbor dislike for Lin Jing.”
“So the old ancestor of the Liu Clan, for the sake of his grandson, might have asked Steward Zheng to throw obstacles in Lin Jing’s way and expel him from Yuebaolou, then seize this courtyard.” “That way, he would have no way to continue living in the Inner Fang Market.”
“Come to think of it, you might be right…”
Li Qingqing’s eyes brightened, and she said:
“That Liu Yiyuan has been pursuing you for so long. Now, Brother Lin Jing lives so close to you, so that’s why he’s unsettled.” Huang Qingling nodded and said:
“I think so too…”
“Last time, he saw the two of us holding hands. It was after that time that he didn’t show up again…”
“It’s likely because of that incident he became jealous, and that’s why he’s doing this.”
Li Qingqing was stunned at first, then quickly seized the key information and turned to the two:
“The two of you were holding hands?”
Then, with her gossip spirit ignited, she leaned in towards Huang Qingling and said:
“Come on…”
“Spill the beans, what happened?”
“Could it be that the two of you actually have something going on?” Huang Qingling immediately gave her an annoyed look:
“What are you thinking about…”
Then, she began to explain.
As the other party involved, Lin Jing could only shake his head and smile wryly under Li Tangyu’s strange gaze..