Cao Guojiu frowned, his face darkening.
"Your Excellency, please don't be angry. Please have a cup of tea before we talk!"
Wang Tong quickly brewed a cup of tea for Cao Guojiu and respectfully handed it to him.
Cao Guojiu's expression softened slightly as he glanced at the teacup.
Wang Tong quickly replied, "Your Excellency, please rest assured, there are only three tea leaves inside!"
Because Cao Guojiu was extremely greedy and stingy, even though he loved drinking tea, he would never use more than three tea leaves when brewing tea.
When Cao Guojiu heard that there were only three tea leaves in the cup, he nodded with great satisfaction, took the cup, and began to slowly savor the tea.
At this moment, a beautiful young woman, accompanied by two servants and carrying two trays, walked in.
Wang Tong and the young woman exchanged a glance.
The woman said, "Brother, why are you only drinking tea? I think you should also eat some steamed buns."
This woman is actually a spirit of the Chinese toon tree.
The spirit of the Chinese toon tree was sent by the Tongtian Sect Leader with the purpose of sabotaging Tieguai Li and others in their efforts to help Cao Guojiu become an immortal and preventing them from lifting the blood curse on Lü Dongbin.
The Tongtian Sect Leader had long ago sent the Toon Tree Spirit to the Song Dynasty to get close to Cao Guojiu.
Now, the spirit of the ailanthus tree has become Cao Guojiu's sworn sister.
Since Tieguai Li and the others wanted to convert Cao Guojiu, the Chun tree spirit decided to do the opposite and encourage Cao Guojiu to become even more greedy.
"Oh dear, my sworn sister, sworn sister, we should save money where we can. So many steamed buns are such a waste."
Cao Guojiu saw two plates filled with steamed buns and felt a pang of heartache.
Chapter 731 Infiltrating the Cao Mansion
The Cao residence.
Cao Guojiu was extremely greedy and meticulous about every penny.
When he saw his stepsister bring over two large plates of steamed buns, he immediately felt a pang of heartache.
"Brother, all you've ever known about is saving money. You should be thinking about how to make money work for you and seize opportunities to earn it!"
Cao Guojiu's sworn sister, who is also the spirit of the ailanthus tree, said with a sinister smile.
"Of course I understand this principle!"
"So this time, I have gone to great lengths to persuade the Emperor to let me become the chief examiner for this imperial examination!"
Cao Guojiu said with a smug look on his face.
"Ah, that's right!"
The tree spirit smiled and asked, "But what's the next step?"
"I'll throw a banquet and see who dares to dream of becoming the top scholar!"
Cao Guojiu looked as if he had a plan in mind.
"Then what?"
The tree spirit continued to ask.
"Of course, the highest bidder wins!"
Cao Guojiu stroked the goatee on his chin.
"wrong!"
The ailanthus spirit said with a smile.
"wrong?"
Cao Guojiu looked puzzled.
I said it should be available to both big and small!
The spirit of the ailanthus tree reached out and grasped it.
"Category-alike?"
Cao Guojiu was even more puzzled.
"Wang Tong, how's the matter I asked you to handle going?"
The Toon Tree Spirit looked at the steward Wang Tong beside it.
"Reporting to Third Miss, everything is ready. Here is the banquet menu, please take a look!"
Wang Tong handed over a piece of paper.
Cao Guojiu quickly glanced at the menu and found that it only contained items like red steamed buns and white steamed buns.
He was completely confused again.
"Brother, you can rest assured that I'll handle things!"
The Camellia Spirit snatched the menu.
"My sworn sister, without wine and food, what kind of feast is this!"
Cao Guojiu asked, quite puzzled.
"Just treat them to a cup of tea and a steamed bun!"
The spirit of the ailanthus tree said with a sinister smile.
"Hey, isn't it a bit stingy to just offer them a cup of tea and a steamed bun?"
Even Cao Guojiu, who was notoriously stingy, thought the banquet was too meager.
"Brother, this steamed bun is no ordinary steamed bun!"
"It's a test kit!"
The tree spirit walked to the table, took a red bun, broke it open, and saw a piece of paper inside, covered with dense writing.
"Test question pack?"
Cao Guojiu glanced at the plate and noticed that there were many red buns.
He was even more puzzled, "There are so many red buns, but there's only one champion!"
You're wrong about that!
"There can only be one top scholar, but there are many who aspire to be one!"
"My sworn brother, you may still send the red buns, and you may still accept the gold and silver!"
"You don't need to worry about who becomes the top scholar!"
"Even those who didn't become the top scorers didn't dare to say a word afterward!"
"Without any evidence, do they want to get punished?"
The Toon Tree Spirit gave Cao Guojiu a gloomy reminder.
She just wanted Cao Guojiu to go further and further down the path of greed.
In that case, it would be difficult for Tieguai Li and the other six immortals to help Cao Guojiu become an immortal.
"Yes, my sworn sister is right!"
After the spirit of the Chinese toon tree gave him some pointers, Cao Guojiu's eyes lit up, as if he could already see a lot of glittering gold and gleaming silver.
Then he noticed that there were many white buns next to the red buns.
He frowned again, picked up a white steamed bun, and asked, "Sister-in-law, why are there so many white steamed buns again? What's the story behind this?"
"Oh dear, it's all for nothing, it's just a wasted trip!"
"These white packets are only for those who don't give enough gold and silver!"
"They're all good-for-nothings, what right do they have to be top scholars!"
"They're only afraid of eating plain steamed buns!"
The ailanthus spirit gave a sly smile as it offered its advice.
"Oh, I see!"
"A brilliant plan, a brilliant plan, it will win over both big and small customers!"
"Wang Tong, immediately instruct the kitchen to make steamed buns!"
Cao Guojiu slapped his thigh and suddenly realized what was going on.
...
The next day, in an inn.
Li Yao, Tieguai Li, Han Xiangzi, and others gathered together to discuss how to convert Cao Guojiu.
They had already learned from the local people that Cao Guojiu was notorious and extremely unpopular.
It will probably not be an easy task for them to convert Cao Guojiu.
Moreover, they have temporarily lost their magical powers.
Without magical powers, they are no different from ordinary mortals, making their actions even more inconvenient.
However, Li Yao was surprised to find that all of his magical power was still intact.
He suspected that this might be related to the fact that he wasn't from this world.
Therefore, he is not affected by the laws of nature in this world.
"Seven days is too short. I don't know if it's enough to reform this greedy Cao Guojiu!"
"Moreover, we currently lack magical powers, so it may be difficult to convert Cao Guojiu!"
Zhang Guolao said with a worried expression.
"Therefore, we must have a comprehensive plan!"