The waitress took the purple-gold coin blankly. She walked unsteadily to the counter, paid for the stone, and then returned tremblingly with the 70 gold coins she had given as change.
"By the way, do you have any edible pets here?" Looking around the shop, she noticed they had quite a few pets, but most of them looked rather strange. For example, a chicken with four legs and eight wings, a bird with two heads…
Well, Stone has always felt that her taste is perfectly normal, and she has no interest in these obviously genetically mutated animals.
"Delicious..." The waitress's cheeks twitched incessantly. Generally, the customers who frequented the restaurant were mostly aristocratic ladies, but normally, those ladies would ask, "Do you have any cute pets?"...
The food was absolutely delicious, it was truly ruthless.
"Second Miss, we've been out for quite a while now. Why don't we go home first?" To Chrysanthemum's relief, the pet shop wasn't very busy today. At least, none of the six major families were there. Otherwise, she felt the Huo family would have been utterly disgraced.
"Wait a minute, it's not easy to come out like this. I'll buy some more food to take back!" Stone's eyes darted around, and soon his gaze fell on a little pig that looked quite chubby: "Huh? Is this a pink pig? It's so meaty!"
"Miss, these aren't for sale!" The waitress, who was about to pack ten white rabbits for Shi Tou, panicked and quickly spoke up.
Looking at the miniature pig that weighed about ten pounds, Shi Tou asked in confusion, "Why aren't you selling it?"
Chrysanthemum covered her face. "It's not that I don't want to sell it, it's that I'm afraid you'll roast it!"
"This is a Tier 3 Crimson Cloud Pig, a small combat pet, not for sale!" The pet shop's rule is that the waiter receives a commission for each pet sold. For a Tier 3 pet like the Crimson Cloud Pig, a successful transaction would earn the waitress at least ten gold coins. However…
Stone gave the little pig a resentful look. She was beginning to understand the pet classification Baozi had mentioned back then. One type was auxiliary pets, and the other was combat pets; the two were different.
"Quack quack, Master, buy it! Baozi wants that little pig! And that little duck over there too!"
Just as Shi Tou was about to give up, Bao Zi's voice, which had disappeared after entering the pet store, suddenly reappeared. To Shi Tou's surprise, this time Bao Zi didn't throw a tantrum or cry; instead, she asked Shi Tou to buy the pet.
Stone hesitated for a moment, then looked at the cage next to the Crimson Cloud Pig. Inside the cage was a small duck, about the size of a palm. The duck was covered in soft yellow down, its jet-black eyes were particularly bright, and with its little vermilion beak, even Stone, a ruthless man, couldn't help but feel a sense of affection for it.
"What about this little duck? Are you selling it?" Stone asked, pointing to the duckling.
The waitress hesitated for a moment: "Well... the little yellow duck won't grow up, it will always be the same size."
"And then?" Stone looked at her, puzzled. "I don't expect it to fight for me."
The waitress glanced at the stone cautiously: "Miss, I mean, it's inedible; it doesn't have much meat on it."
"Eat, eat, eat! You can't eat the little yellow duck!" Just as Shi Tou was about to explain, the little yellow duck, which had been waddling around in its cage, suddenly jumped up and actually spoke in human language: "You can't eat it! Ducks are poisonous!"
puff!
Stone was shocked! A duck can talk?! And it even knows how to...act cute?!
"Yes, the little yellow duck is not edible, but it's not poisonous; it just doesn't have much meat." The waitress nodded in agreement. "This little yellow duck is a second-tier pet. If you don't intend to eat it, Miss, then we can sell it."
Shi Tou wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. At this moment, she finally remembered that she was in a magical world. If even a dead bun could talk, eat, drink, and act cute, then it wouldn't be surprising if a duck could talk.
"I promise I won't eat it, so how much does it cost?"
The waitress hesitated for a moment: "A second-tier pet usually costs 200 gold coins, but this is a water-type pet, and it's a breeding female duck, so it costs 300 gold coins."
Is this still a female duck?
Just as Shi Tou was about to haggle, Bao Zi refused and immediately started crying and making a scene. For his own peace and quiet, Shi Tou had no choice but to grit his teeth and buy it. Anyway, the money Huo Xiaoxiao gave him was all money she'd tricked into giving him, so he didn't care.
"What about that pig? If I don't want to eat it, can you sell it to me?" After buying the little yellow duck, Baozi wasn't satisfied and went on to buy the Red Cloud Pig.
The waitress was still a little hesitant, after all, the Crimson Cloud Pig did look quite delicious...
"Because the third-tier Crimson Cloud Pig is a combat-type pet, the shopkeeper stipulates that anyone who buys it must have a strength of at least one star." The implication is that Stone Girl is too weak.
Stone touched his nose guiltily and looked at Chrysanthemum: "Chrysanthemum, is your strength one star?"
Chrysanthemum was immediately speechless: "Of course not."
Sighing, Stone shrugged helplessly, "Well, there's nothing I can do about it then." She seemed to be talking to herself, but in fact, she was speaking to Baozi. It wasn't that she was stingy; it was just that Baozi wouldn't sell.
"Gaga, what kind of strength does a Tier 3 Crimson Cloud Pig have? It's just a stupid little pig!" Baozi still wouldn't give up: "Master, you can turn it into a roasted pig with just one shot!"
Is she really that ruthless, capable of anything?
Wiping away his cold sweat, Stone decisively paid the money for the little yellow duck's sale, and personally carried the little yellow duck to Chrysanthemum, saying, "Chrysanthemum, ask Kurt to help me get the fat rabbit onto the carriage, and then we'll go to visit other places."
If it weren't for the fact that living things cannot be placed in the space, Stone would have thrown them all into the space long ago.
The waitress watched Shi Tou leave with tears in her eyes. Although her wages for this month would definitely be good, the psychological pressure was just too much!
"Second Miss, we've bought a lot of things, let's go back!" Chrysanthemum was in a much worse situation than the maid. Right now, all she could think about was urging the steward to bring a few personal maids so she could go back and continue serving the eldest young lady. Even though the eldest young lady had a bad temper and would scold people at the drop of a hat, it was still better than the second young lady provoking people like that, right?
"No, I'm still missing some things." Stone thought for a moment. She had a lot of ores in her ring space, but some common ores were missing. To forge a suitable forge, she needed those materials. Of course, it would be even better if she could buy a ready-made forge. After all, she only knew how to forge weapons before: "Where can I buy some high-quality forging materials?"
"Top-grade?" Chrysanthemum thought for a moment: "Ordinary forging materials can be found on several streets around here, but if you want top-grade ones, Miss, I'm afraid you'll have to go to the auction house."
An auction house?!
Stone's eyes lit up instantly. How could she have forgotten such an important auction house? When she read novels before, auction houses were always places where bromance was supposed to burn!
"Go to the auction house immediately!"
Chrysanthemum trembled again. Although what Stone said seemed normal, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.
"Second Miss, the auction house is currently closed. I remember the Eldest Miss once said that the auction house usually holds a small auction every ten days and a large auction every thirty days, and not just anyone can participate."
For her own safety, Chrysanthemum was determined not to let Stone go to the auction house right now. Therefore, she overlooked some information, such as that even if the auction house wasn't holding an auction, it was still open and accepted commissions to hold mini-auctions. As for participating in an auction, it was incredibly simple. Either you had money, or you had status. Coincidentally, Stone possessed both.
"Oh." Shi Tou was dejected. After all that, she still had to go back and beg Huo Xiaoxiao. But then she asked, "When did the female boss at 2B store say I could pick up the clothes?"
"Two days later," Chrysanthemum replied cautiously. "The boss said that's the fastest he can do."
"Then let's wait until we get the clothes before going to the auction house." Shi Tou grinned slyly, knowing that even if the clothing store didn't have that strange name, she still wouldn't wear the clothes there. From the beginning, she had decided that once she got the clothes, she would find an excuse to give them to Huo Xiaoxiao.
Tsk tsk, of course, those 2B outfits should be given to the right people to wear!
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This is an extra update to make up for Sunday...
Chapter 136: The Central Auction House of the Imperial Capital
Five days later, a lavishly decorated carriage drove to the auction house in the center of the capital.
"Xiaoxiao, do you think auction houses really have everything?" Shi Tou asked in the carriage, munching on a steamed bun in a rather unladylike manner.
Huo Xiaoxiao, with a forced expression, moved slightly away from the stone: "The items in the auction house are absolutely the best in the entire capital and even the entire Luoming Empire. I'm not saying they're all there, but they're top-notch." Like, meat buns—the person eating them enjoys them, but the people around them don't have it so easy.
With great effort, Stone shoved the last mouthful into his mouth and downed the entire cup of tea with a hearty gulp: "That's good. I want a top-notch forging furnace."
Huo Xiaoxiao gestured to the maid beside her to take the buns away. She was afraid that Shi Tou would be waiting. She took the buns in one hand and linked arms with her as they got off the carriage: "Xiao Yi, are you really planning to become a blacksmith?"
Seeing that Huo Xiaoxiao's personal maid, Lotus, had already taken the steamed buns away, Stone picked up the teapot and poured himself some water: "Xiaoxiao, becoming a great blacksmith is my dream!"
“But blacksmiths have no future at all!” Huo Xiaoxiao didn’t think Shi Tou’s dream was anything special. In her opinion, the greatest profession in the world was that of a magician: “I asked Grandpa yesterday, and he said that blacksmiths were very powerful a long time ago. At that time, there weren’t many magicians in the world, and most people were qi masters. Because qi masters often changed their weapons, the status of blacksmiths also increased.”
Stone stopped drinking his tea and asked curiously, "And then what happened? Why did the Blacksmiths' Association fall to this state?"
Huo Xiaoxiao recalled her grandfather's words: "Grandpa said that it seems the Qi Master Association started to decline first. All the young Qi Masters went to study magic. Later, fewer and fewer people studied Qi, and those people couldn't afford good weapons. So the Blacksmith Association also started to decline. Later still, it seems that some forging skills were lost. Grandpa said that if the Blacksmith Association had been willing to lend a helping hand when the Qi Masters started to decline, things wouldn't have turned out like this."
"So, the Qi Master Association is doing really badly now?" Shi Tou stopped drinking tea and casually placed the cup on the coffee table. Ju Hua, who had been given to Shi Tou by Huo Xiaoxiao, quickly put away the tea set.
"Although the Qi Master Association is not as powerful as the Mage Association, it hasn't fallen to the level of the Blacksmith Association either." Huo Xiaoxiao shook her head. "However, I heard from my grandfather that Qi Masters used to be very powerful. There were tons of eight-star and nine-star Qi Masters. Unlike now, the most powerful Qi Master in the entire Luoming Empire is only the president of the Qi Master Association, the five-star Qi Master Dika Laiyi."
"So, is a five-star Battle Qi Master the same as a five-star Mage?"
Huo Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, her tone a little hesitant: "Well... it's hard to say. Mr. Lai is definitely stronger than some ordinary five-star mages, after all, he has been at the five-star battle qi master level for decades. But, Dad will definitely be able to defeat him!"
That's nonsense!
Shi Tou looked at Huo Xiaoxiao with a blank expression: "Dad is a seven-star magician." Ever since Grandpa Huo confirmed Shi Tou's identity, she started calling him the same way Huo Xiaoxiao does.
"But Daddy is younger than Mr. Lei!" Huo Xiaoxiao protested. In her eyes, her father was definitely the second most powerful person in the world. Of course, the most powerful was still Grandpa Huo.
"In other words, mages level up more easily than warriors... I mean, they advance more easily?" Stone quickly corrected himself, almost mistaking this for an online game from his previous life.
"Maybe!" Huo Xiaoxiao was still young and didn't quite understand the intricacies of the situation; she only knew that everyone said magicians were more powerful.
As they were talking, the carriage stopped, and the driver called out from outside, "Miss, Second Miss, we've arrived at the Central Auction House."
Stepping off the carriage, Shi Tou was immediately taken aback by the building, which was a full ten stories high. It wasn't that she was unfamiliar with such things; in her previous life, she had seen plenty of buildings, not just ten stories, but even a hundred stories. However, since transmigrating, she had rarely seen buildings taller than three stories, let alone ten.
"This is the Imperial Capital Central Auction House." Huo Xiaoxiao walked ahead of Shi Tou, gesturing for him to catch up with her. "The Central Auction House is run by the royal family, and those who can participate in the auctions are either very rich or very powerful."
Shi Tou, linking arms with Huo Xiaoxiao, tried her best to appear ladylike: "So, is our Huo family considered rich or noble?"
“The Huo family is one of the six great families of the East, of course they are rich and noble!” Huo Xiaoxiao seemed a little dissatisfied with Shi Tou’s question and glared at her: “Wait, I will take you to a private room. You can ask me any questions privately. Just don’t say them out loud. The reputation of the six great families of the East is very important.”
Okay, I'm a lady. If anyone dares to say I'm not a lady, I'll smash them with a brick!
(╰_╯)#
The central auction house is divided into three parts: the auction hall, the VIP boxes, and the underground auction hall. The auction hall and the VIP boxes function essentially the same; all auction items are displayed in the hall, but the boxes are more comfortable and secure. As for the underground auction hall, it's said that only experts of the seventh star or higher can enter, and the auction items there are absolutely top-tier, but that's completely outside of Stone's considerations.
Upon arriving at the private room reserved by Huo Xiaoxiao, the auction house staff presented two thick booklets, not only beautifully printed but also in full color. Shi Tou hadn't seen such beautiful books in a long time, so he grabbed one and sat down on the sofa, engrossed in reading. He was completely unaware of Huo Xiaoxiao's unfriendly gaze.
After the staff left, Huo Xiaoxiao started grinding her teeth: "Didn't I tell you to be more ladylike?"
Stone looked up blankly: "What happened to me?" She was so ladylike; she wasn't frantically munching on her steamed bun, nor was she putting her feet up on the coffee table. How ladylike!
Huo Xiaoxiao looked utterly defeated, and casually picked up the brochure and began flipping through it vigorously.
"Take it easy, it's such a nice picture book!" Seeing Huo Xiaoxiao flipping through the booklet so carelessly, Shi Tou felt a pang of heartache. She seemed oblivious to the fact that in her past life, those much more beautifully printed brochures were practically thrown into the trash, let alone flipped through.
"It's just a tattered booklet, what use will it be after this auction?" Huo Xiaoxiao glared at Shi Tou resentfully. "If you want to buy a book, I'll take you to the bookstore tomorrow!"
Shi Tou pursed his lips, then lowered his head to read and said nothing more.
Actually, although Huo Xiaoxiao has a bit of a temper, she doesn't have any bad intentions. And she almost always agrees to Shi Tou's requests without hesitation. Like this time, when Shi Tou wanted to attend the auction, Huo Xiaoxiao agreed without a second thought. This left Shi Tou unsure how to mention that awful dress.
To be honest, although the dress was finished yesterday according to the timeline, Shi Tou was still wondering whether he should still have it because Huo Xiaoxiao agreed so readily.
"Xiao Yi, tell me what you want later, and I'll help you bid for it." Huo Xiaoxiao glanced through the catalog, seemingly not finding anything to her liking, and turned to Shi Tou to instruct him.
Is she really that shameful?
Shi Tou was depressed. Huo Xiaoxiao's expression made it too obvious. Her ordering of her was clearly out of fear that she would bring shame to the Huo family. Although she felt a little uncomfortable, Shi Tou generously decided not to argue with a nine-year-old girl: "Xiaoxiao, I want this forging furnace."
"A forging furnace?" Huo Xiaoxiao was taken aback at first, then quickly flipped through the booklet in her hand again and soon found the forging furnace that Shi Tou had mentioned: "You're really determined to become a blacksmith? Well, anyway, this thing isn't worth much money, so I'll just buy it for you as a toy."
A forging furnace...as a toy?
Shi Tou didn't know whether to call Huo Xiaoxiao ruthless or to say that Huo Xiaoxiao thought too much of her: "Xiaoxiao, thank you!" In any case, since Huo Xiaoxiao had agreed to this, she should at least express her gratitude.