Chapter 23: Resignation

The next day, the little shop opened as usual. Qin Jing rose early, tidied up the interior, swept the floors, and organized the items. He had completed over ten transactions the day before, though even more people had come to inquire, leaving the shop in utter disarray.

Now that he had some money, Qin Jing began to contemplate expanding the shop’s scale—not so much to pursue greater business ambitions, but at least to establish a more proper and respectable storefront.

“It’s hard to guarantee that Earth won’t follow the same path as those mythic worlds, so I must ensure my cultivation doesn’t fall behind while also enjoying life. I shouldn’t let relentless training overshadow everything else; after all, why do we cultivate? Isn’t it to live unrestrained and freely savor life? Those great figures in mythic realms might have achieved high cultivation, but they’ve lost the chance to enjoy their lives, which is quite tragic.”

Having finished his chores, Qin Jing grabbed a chair and sat by the entrance, idly flipping through his phone. As a modern young man, he was a typical “head-down tribe” member, sometimes playing mobile games or browsing short videos and social feeds.

But today, Qin Jing wasn’t just passing time; he was using GDP on his phone. Long ago, he’d downloaded a “Mirror” app that activated the front-facing camera, reflecting his image, making it easy for him to operate his skills anytime.

Yesterday, Qin Jing had tested all three new abilities. The recycling space could be set aside for now; the customer list and sales arrangements were particularly useful.

He had been doing recycling work for a year and had accumulated a number of clients. The calls he made yesterday represented only a small fraction; most clients had gradually faded from his view over time.

With the “customer list,” things were different. Each client’s avatar and name appeared clearly on his phone. Qin Jing scrolled through them one by one, eliminating the need to spend G points specifically tracking or monitoring. Seeing a familiar avatar, he could instantly recall their previous interactions and then look up their contact info, send a WeChat message, and let them know about new stock, and so on.

“Good morning, Brother Qin,”

Just then, Zhang Cheng arrived, his mood low, greeting Qin Jing in a subdued tone.

Qin Jing nodded, saying, “There might be more customers today, so make some preparations.”

Zhang Cheng hesitated, finally saying, “Brother Qin, I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“Oh? What’s the matter?” Qin Jing turned to look at Zhang Cheng. The young man had always worked diligently; his only flaw was a lack of cleverness and poor interpersonal skills, but for a shop assistant, that was enough. If Zhang Cheng left, Qin Jing figured he’d have to hire someone else.

Zhang Cheng stammered, reluctant to explain, only repeating that he didn’t want the job anymore.

It wasn’t until Qin Jing pressed him several times that Zhang Cheng smiled bitterly and said, “Word has spread around the school that your business is unscrupulous—buying from classmates at low prices, then selling at high ones. My classmates say you have a bad reputation.”

Yesterday, Zhang Cheng had helped out at Qin Jing’s shop for a day. Many clients were from Cold Sea Art Academy, so word quickly got around, stirring up a lot of gossip.

“What does Qin Jing actually do? Just buying and reselling, shamelessly taking advantage of classmates.”

“Helping Qin Jing? Isn’t that embarrassing? Qin Jing was dumped by Chen Hua; what future is there working for him?”

Even Zhang Cheng’s ex-girlfriend heard the news and came to mock him, saying things like, “You’ve really made something of yourself—after breaking up, you go work for Qin Jing?” and so forth.

Zhang Cheng was just an ordinary college student, thin-skinned and sensitive. Hearing all this, he naturally didn’t want to stay at Qin Jing’s shop.

“Where did these rumors start?” Qin Jing asked directly. There’s no smoke without fire. Students each had their own studies and only gossiped occasionally; it seemed unlikely they’d monitor him so closely. Qin Jing immediately suspected someone was stirring up trouble behind the scenes.

“Um, it started in the girls’ dormitory. My girlfriend actually knows Chen Hua—they’re in the same class.”

That was enough—a single sentence revealed the source. After the breakup, Chen Hua couldn’t stand seeing him do well. Hearing that Zhang Cheng was helping out, she naturally mocked him behind his back.

“All right, I understand. If you don’t want to work, I won’t force you. How about this: help me out for one more day; there will be quite a few clients, and I’ll pay you triple wages.”

Qin Jing made his decision directly. Zhang Cheng was just a regular student; there was no need to keep him. Nowadays, people are easy enough to find. If Zhang Cheng wouldn’t stay because of some idle gossip, he just shouldn’t regret it later.

“Well, my girlfriend is still waiting outside. She wants to go shopping with me today,” Zhang Cheng stammered again. Apparently, he wasn’t even willing to work for one more day.

Qin Jing looked at Zhang Cheng with a half-smile and asked, “Didn’t you break up with your girlfriend?”

Zhang Cheng hurried to explain, “No, that guy was just her friend—they’re not involved. She’s always had feelings for me; it was just a misunderstanding, and she’s been upset with me. Yesterday, when she saw me working here, she pitied me and got back together with me.”

“Oh, all right then, you can go.” Qin Jing wouldn’t try to rescue someone who was eager to jump into a pit. Hearing this, he gave up any intention of employing Zhang Cheng again. He even mentally added Zhang Cheng to his blacklist, with a note in parentheses: “Fool.”

Zhang Cheng seemed to have more to say, but hesitated and stayed silent. Soon, as a client arrived, Zhang Cheng slipped away.

The new client was Cheng Yu, a small workshop owner specializing in leather accessories. He used to buy secondhand goods from Qin Jing to make high-quality replicas. When Qin Jing left the school, they lost touch, but today, seeing Cheng Yu’s avatar, Qin Jing remembered him and called. Cheng Yu happened to be free and drove over.

After exchanging warm greetings, another customer arrived—a girl from Cold Sea Business Academy, coming to sell a secondhand bag. Qin Jing no longer needed GDP to appraise such items, so he offered a standard price without hesitation.

“This bag is practically new—I bought it just a week ago. It cost eighteen thousand yuan originally,” the girl said, a little unwilling.

“Original price eighteen thousand, and I’m offering fifteen thousand. After a week’s use, it’s only lost three thousand. But I still have to sell it—do you think I can get much more?” Qin Jing’s words left the girl speechless. Indeed, if Qin Jing bought it for fifteen thousand, he’d have to sell it for at least sixteen thousand to make any profit. Even then, who knows if it would sell?

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