The weapon refiner is not doing her job properly

Chapter 169 Trading
Lena's research report, due to its solid data and groundbreaking conclusions, was published on a highly authoritative scientific website.

This in itself gives it a very high degree of credibility.

What truly ignited the wildfire were the numerous "word-of-mouth" consumers who followed closely behind, those who personally verified the miraculous effects of Lingmi and Qingling Tea.

Among them are some wealthy second-generation heirs who wield significant influence in social circles.

They are happy to share the significant changes they have experienced after taking the product, from healthy weight management to an overall improvement in energy and physical condition. These genuine, halo-like testimonials are like pebbles thrown into a lake, creating ripples in circles.

Their active verification and enthusiastic promotion quickly established a solid credibility for Suning Longzhuangyuan's products.

The power of word of mouth is astonishing.

Soon, news of the extraordinary effects of the Lingmi rice and Qingling tea produced by Suning Longzhuangyuan spread like wildfire.

They are not just food or drinks, but are also endowed with the aura of "rare", "miraculous" and "health elixir".

Its rarity has been amplified by the market's enthusiastic pursuit.

The most compelling proof is that almost everyone who has truly experienced its effects has become its most loyal supporter and most active volunteer promoter, willingly endorsing this "miracle".

Seeing the manor's rising reputation and the situation of supply falling short of demand, Lei Qingya whispered, "Ning Long, should we consider expanding the scale of spirit rice cultivation? This is definitely a golden opportunity to make money!"

“No.” Su Ninglong refused. “Whether it’s spirit rice or Qingling tea, we need you, me, and Master to take turns applying spiritual energy rain. That’s all we can do. We can’t do any more.”

Su Ninglong didn't say this aloud, unless she took on a disciple.

Lei Qingya suddenly remembered that this was the case. She had been away on a mission recently and had forgotten that she was supposed to use the Spirit Rain technique. "My brain is rusty from being so busy."

Ever since she realized that the path of cultivation, within this universe where technological civilization and mystical spirits coexist, is like a "program bug" outside the system, she has been extremely wary of increasing the number of cultivators.

One or two such "bugs" may be contained and digested by the vast and complex operating mechanism of the universe, and will not immediately trigger a "systemic" collapse or alarm.

However, once the number of bugs surges and forms a scale effect, their anomalies are very likely to trigger some unknown "cleanup mechanism" or self-balancing process of the underlying rules of the universe.

The consequences would be completely unpredictable, fraught with devastating unknown risks, and she dared not gamble on it.

Suninglong's strategy is to maintain the status quo and wait and see.

If I happen to meet someone with good character, comprehension, and aptitude in the future, it wouldn't be a bad idea to add another disciple.

But the prerequisite is that the apprentice can grow within her absolute control.

She could not, and absolutely would not, allow herself to add more wounds to this already riddled world invaded by the mysterious spirits.

This responsibility is far more important than the golden opportunity before us.

Su Ninglong pondered for a moment, her fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the table a few times, before making a decision: "Let's handle it this way. This batch of newly harvested spirit rice will be temporarily suspended from sale. If anyone asks why... just say that my master is unhappy and doesn't want to sell it anymore."

Xingyuan and Lei Qingya turned their gazes to Su Ninglong almost simultaneously, their eyes filled with understanding and a subtle smile.

They knew her too well; they could tell at a glance that this reason was just an excuse. They had probably guessed her true intentions behind this action: to use her master's name to do her own thing.

Only Gervais, the honest guide, believed it to be true, and a deep worry appeared on his face.

In his mind, the Master Su, whom he only knew by name and rarely showed his face, did indeed have a striking resemblance in personality to the Su Ninglong in front of him. They were equally willful and unruly, and equally mysterious and unpredictable.

Therefore, when Su Ninglong said, "Master Su is unhappy," Ge Wei found it reasonable and convincing.

But these words ultimately came from Su Ninglong's mouth; she did not consult Master Su's opinion.

Ge Wei said with remorse, "I'm sorry, it was my dereliction of duty."

"Don't blame yourself too much, Uncle Ge. Just learn from this experience. Next time you recruit, be more discerning and try not to hire people who can only find a job by begging on their knees."

A person who is willing to kneel down and beg for a job is certainly pitiful, but it is often accompanied by risks.

These kinds of people have a high chance of becoming ungrateful.

Because deep down they believe that this job was obtained by selling their dignity and "kneeling," and that it was earned through their "ability."

If you are truly grateful for the opportunities others give you, you will naturally cherish your work and be actively engaged.

As for the previous employee, Ge Wei also admitted that his demeanor when he joined the company revealed a certain kind of negativity and obsession.

Su Ninglong didn't dwell on Ge Wei's mistake, but stopped there, saying, "Pay more attention to the employees' mental state and daily performance in the future; you can see people's true character in the details." This was both a reminder and a sign of trust.

Then, she turned to the specific follow-up arrangements: "In addition, you should take care of this batch of new rice. Use vacuum packaging technology to seal some of the rice. Adjust the packaging size, don't use whole kilograms like before, make it into half-kilogram packages, or even smaller portions of one or two ounces per package."

She explained, "This makes it lighter and easier to carry, making it more flexible and suitable for both personal use when traveling and for future use as special gifts or small samples."

Apart from a minor employee being dismissed for making a mistake, there were no other oversights at the manor.

Lei Qingya laid out the spoils of this trip on the table in front of Su Ninglong.

Several bundles of rare herbs exuding a refreshing fragrance, a few pieces of raw ore shimmering with an unusual luster, and a small pile of clearly low-quality Starry Sky Eye gems, the outer impurities of which had already been partially polished away. As she displayed them, she said with lingering fear, “Ninglong, you have no idea how difficult Quan Wang is these days. You have to be extremely careful when dealing with her. This time, I found a few inferior Starry Sky Eyes mixed in with injected powder. When I pointed it out, she exploded. She argued with me to the bitter end, slamming her fist on the table and swearing that she absolutely hadn’t done anything so degrading. Her attitude… tsk tsk, she was practically spitting in my face. Luckily, Teacher Doug was there to back me up the whole time. His imposing presence made Quan Wang barely restrain herself. If it weren’t for this ‘bodyguard’ keeping things under control, I don’t think I would have even made it out of her mining area unscathed today.”

Su Ninglong frowned slightly, picked up a low-quality fragment of the Eye of the Stars and examined it carefully. "She used to... not seem to have this kind of personality."

Recalling the previous transactions that went relatively smoothly, Quanwang impressed her as shrewd and cunning, adept at navigating business with a purely commercial mindset, but his emotional management was generally acceptable, not as irritable and easily angered as Lei Qingya described.

“Huh? Now that you mention it…” Lei Qingya tilted his head and thought for a moment, “That’s right! Quan Wang used to have such bright white teeth that you could see them from afar, and she had such a cheerful smile. The change is quite significant.”

Lei Qingya half-jokingly guessed, "Could it be menopause?"

"She's only around fifty years old, right? According to the average lifespan in the Interstellar Alliance, especially for those who pay attention to health and have the means to live longer, at this age, she hasn't even completed one-fifth of her life's journey, and she's still far from menopause." Su Ninglong put down the ore and said thoughtfully, "When you were with her, did you notice the specific reason for her bad mood? Or did you hear any rumors?"

Lei Qingya tried hard to search her memory, tapping her chin with her finger: "Hmm, we didn't talk about the specifics, but I overheard the miners whispering about it. They said that the last batch of Starry Sky Eyes she dug up originally had a lot of high-quality ones, but somehow they were sold off cheaply as substandard ones, and she seems to have lost a lot of money! A huge loss! Could it be because of this that she's been holding in a lot of resentment and is so easily angered?"

She pursed her lips and added, "Actually, I'm not afraid of her bad temper, I just feel aggrieved. It's clearly her own fault for managing things or for having bad luck, so why is she taking it out on me? I don't owe her anything."

"Miss Quan started from scratch. To get to where she is today, she must have experienced countless storms and ups and downs. Logically speaking, a single business loss shouldn't have caused her personality to change so drastically to this point of being out of control."

She said with some certainty, "Send her half a catty of Qingling Tea and three catties of new rice. Also send her a spare 'Disintegration Pointer'. When the package arrives, remind her to pay attention to whether she or the core area around her has been affected by some unknown pollutant."

"Huh?!" Lei Qingya exclaimed subconsciously, feeling astonished.

At the time, she only thought that Quan Wang was simply having a bad personality or was blinded by anger, and she didn't connect it to the possibility of pollutants. After Su Ninglong's reminder, she carefully recalled Quan Wang's excessive excitement at the time, which even showed a hint of mania. It did indeed have an abnormal and strange quality, far exceeding the level of anger that one would expect from a normal business loss.

“Okay, I’ll arrange for it to be sent right away.” Lei Qingya readily agreed.

Although Quanwang's temper has become eccentric, there are undeniable advantages to doing business with her, as you can always get a significant discount on the price.

More importantly, Quanwang is one of the few Starry Sky Gemstone Miners still willing to accept small orders like theirs. This rare convenience is largely due to Tong Zi and Doug's influence.

If it weren't for these two connections, with their current purchasing volume, they probably wouldn't even be able to get into Quanwang's office.

The reason why Su Ninglong was so persistent in purchasing these Starry Sky Eyes, even at the cost of enduring Quan Wang's temper, was not because of the gemstones themselves, but because of an extremely rare component contained within them: Divine Source Gold.

This is one of the best materials she knows of that can be found in this universe to forge top-tier flying sword-type magical artifacts.

As her cultivation level continues to improve, she is not far from reaching the Core Formation stage. It is time to tailor-make a powerful magic weapon that truly matches her cultivation level.

These Starry Sky Eyes, piled up like small mountains, are the result of a long accumulation for the future forging of a complete set of natal magic treasures.

The work reports and follow-up arrangements continued until the clock on the wall quietly passed eight o'clock in the evening.

The long meeting left Xingyuan and Ge Wei with obvious signs of fatigue, and even the energetic Lei Qingya let out a lazy yawn.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Seeing this, Su Ninglong decisively ended the meeting. "Let's go, I'll treat everyone to a late-night snack to reward ourselves."

The group arrived at the late-night canteen that the Star Alliance had specially set up for those on duty, without any trouble.

Upon seeing them, the chef's oily face immediately broke into a warm smile, and without even looking at the menu, he called out, "Xiao Su, how many of you? Same as usual?"

"As usual, bring more vegetables." Su Ninglong nodded in response with a smile. Late at night, this group seemed to prefer refreshing stir-fried vegetables, showing little interest in greasy meat dishes.

The steaming hot dishes had barely been served when a familiar figure appeared in front of the table.

Shen Zhaoming wore a well-tailored light-colored coat, which made his already handsome face even more defined and three-dimensional.

His eyes behind the glasses were as bright as ever. He walked straight to the empty seat next to Su Ninglong and sat down.

Su Ninglong said, "Congratulations! Lian Xinyi just messaged me saying you've been promoted to a department head at the research institute. You've moved very quickly."

Just as Shen Zhaoming sat down, the waiter brought over a large plate of tempting-looking salted shrimp.

He casually picked up disposable gloves, put them on, and began peeling shrimp for Su Ninglong. "This congratulation is half thanks to you."

He gently placed a peeled, translucent shrimp onto the plate in front of Su Ninglong.

"Oh? I also contributed to this?" Su Ninglong was a little surprised, then looked at the plump shrimp meat on the plate, picked it up without hesitation and put it in her mouth.

Shen Zhaoming took off his gloves, revealing his long, clean fingers.

He picked up the rough earthenware teacup on the table, gently tapped it against Su Ninglong's cup, producing a crisp, soft sound, and his eyes were filled with gratitude. "Remember that bottleneck problem we discussed in depth last time regarding the iterative upgrade of the core algorithm for biological intelligence? Your idea of ​​reverse energy field coupling gave me great inspiration. It was by delving deeper into the direction we discussed back then that I found a breakthrough and successfully optimized the key algorithm module. This achievement is the decisive factor that enabled me to successfully compete for the supervisory position this time."

He raised his cup slightly in a gesture of respect, "So, this cup of tea is a toast to you, the 'unsung hero' behind the scenes."

Su Ninglong smiled and gladly accepted the gratitude.

She picked up her cup of warm milk, gently clinked it against Shen Zhaoming's teacup, and then tilted her head back and took a big gulp.

She put down the cup, a little milk stain still on her lips, which she wiped away with her fingertip without a care.

Xingyuan's lips twitched: "Be careful of getting drunk on milk."

Su Ninglong: ? ? ?