Chapter 188: No Need to Be the Third Wheel Anymore

The three warehouses’ supply of nutrient solution was the easiest thing to sell. A long line had already formed out front. Wu Xingyu set the price ten percent higher than the usual rate on the Exile Star, yet people still scrambled to buy, waving wads of energy credits in their hands.

Judging by eye, the line was even longer than when he sold fruits and vegetables. Even those who’d been reluctant to spend energy credits on fruit were now queuing up.

After all, while fruits and vegetables were expensive and could satisfy a craving, they couldn’t fill your stomach. But high-quality, pricier nutrient solution—well, people could grit their teeth and buy it.

For now, the mainstream mindset among ordinary folks was still to rely on nutrient solution.

Wu Xingyu understood this perfectly. Silently, he took out the nutrient solution he’d brought from the interstellar market—useless in Earth Village—from his spatial ring, mixed it with the warehouse stock, and sold it all together.

Once the nutrient solution was sold out, he brought out the fruits, vegetables, and other goods he’d collected in Earth Village and sold those too. He also delivered the clothes to the second warehouse managed by Yun Qimu.

By the end of the afternoon, not only was the first warehouse’s nutrient solution completely sold out, but most of the goods he’d brought from Earth Village were gone as well.

The only thing left was that big pile of green jelly stones. Most people hesitated, unable to make up their minds.

Even Lin Qiu, who’d spent lavishly on Earth Village products, steered clear of the green stones—clearly, he couldn’t stand the stinky tofu smell.

Shentu from Honglian Fort, on the other hand, cheerfully came over and bought a few small pieces. It wasn’t that he’d lost his love for green jelly stones, but his wallet was empty. That big piece he’d bought last time for 100,000 energy credits had wiped out his savings, and he’d even borrowed quite a bit.

So this time, he could only afford a few small pieces.

Shentu felt especially regretful about this.

Dou Xing, seeing his expression, snickered and bought two pieces himself, then cracked them open on the spot.

He got lucky—both pieces were sweet: one tasted like watermelon, the other like orange. The fresh, sweet aroma lured back many people who hadn’t yet left.

The “black-handed” folks who didn’t believe in their own bad luck gritted their teeth and decided to try again.

And so, the green jelly stones started to sell.

Every time someone cracked one open, a crowd gathered, pinching their noses to watch.

Cries of “Sweet! Sweet! Sweet!” rang out, and the onlookers were even more excited than the buyers. The whole scene looked just like a big stone-gambling event.

By the time they packed up at dusk, they’d sold a third of the green jelly stones they’d brought in their spatial ring. Some people, eyes red with excitement, promised to come back tomorrow—they’d go home and wash their hands with leaf water tonight to get rid of bad luck.

People were getting obsessed.

Wu Xingyu’s dark eyes flashed. He seemed to have found a new business opportunity.

He immediately opened his chat panel.

Wu Xingyu: Uncle, help!

Mo Xie: What’s wrong, nephew? Someone causing you trouble?

Wu Xingyu: Not at all. I need green jelly stones and people to deliver them.

Mo Xie: Delivery guys? Find someone else. I’m getting ready to plant ink orchids these next two days.

Wu Xingyu: How many times have you failed already? How much plant nutrient solution have you wasted? It’s okay to take a break. Maybe planting in summer will be better. Besides, Uncle, you’ve been planting batch after batch—the soil’s getting ruined. Even plant nutrient solution can’t replenish some things in the soil.

Mo Xie: You have a point.

Wu Xingyu: Not just a point—it’s the truth. Uncle, you’re the only one in Earth Village I can count on. Help me deliver the goods, and I’ll give you a 20% cut. I’m planning to change up the way we sell green jelly stones—we’ll definitely make more money.

Hearing Wu Xingyu’s confident pitch, Mo Xie hesitated, but his affection for his nephew was no less than his obsession with ink orchids. In the end, he couldn’t resist Wu Xingyu’s persuasion and agreed.

“What are you up to? It’s time to pack up.” Yun Qimu came over and saw the dazzling smile on his lips, making her eyes light up. She couldn’t help but purse her lips—who was he chatting with so sweetly?

Wu Xingyu closed the chat panel, his smile returning to normal. He turned to her and said honestly, “I was chatting with my uncle. I think we can change up the marketing strategy for the green jelly stones.”

“Huh?” Yun Qimu was taken aback, then smiled. “Oh, Mr. Mo.”

Her ears perked up and she got right to the point. “Tell me your marketing plan.”

“We can do it like stone gambling—open the stones on the spot. If someone gets a sweet one, we buy it back and resell it to people with bad luck, or we can charge a commission to auction them off.”

He laid out all his tricks for selling the most green jelly stones for the most energy credits, adding plenty of details—like hiring people to hype up the atmosphere and drive up prices. Yun Qimu was amazed.

Wow, so he hadn’t even used half his tricks before!

But she liked it.

“Great, let’s do it your way tomorrow.”

“When will Uncle get here? Should I go pick him up? He doesn’t have a vehicle, and there are only three days left until the hunt. Can he make it in time?” Yun Qimu asked excitedly.

Wu Xingyu frowned, thinking it over. “Getting here is a problem. Lend me the Pegasus tomorrow, I’ll go pick him up.”

“Okay, then I’ll handle hiring people. I promise I’ll get it done.” Yun Qimu’s dark eyes narrowed, the corners lifting, sparkling with excitement.

The pretty girls she’d just met were all great. The price-hiking strategy could use a little tweak.

Girls all love sweet jelly, right?

Wu Xingyu looked at her, all excited and foxy, his dark eyes flickering. As Yuan An and the others urged them from behind, he carefully tugged her sleeve and led her over.

Shentu, who’d just come over to ask something, scratched his head, looked at them, then glanced at the lovey-dovey couple feeding each other green jelly on the other side, his eyes momentarily confused.

He turned to Dou Xing and asked, “Why do those two look so awkward together for a married couple?”

Dou Xing’s rebellious eyes swept over him and he snorted, “You idiot, they’re a fake couple.”

“Huh?” Shentu was baffled. “But you said they were married! How come they’re fake now?”

Dou Xing’s eyes lowered, a flash of annoyance on his face. “So I got tricked by them, okay? Hmph, it’s possible they were lying that night.”

Shentu didn’t care what he was muttering about. Once he was sure Dou Xing had been fooled, he was overjoyed, wanting to set off a whole string of firecrackers.

He slapped his thigh. “Right! Miss Yun isn’t married yet, so our boss doesn’t have to be the third wheel anymore! Hahaha, this is great—I have to go tell the boss the good news!”"