The stall was the same as before, with all sorts of odds and ends piled up randomly. It was estimated that even the stall owner himself might not know where what was piled.
The goods were all ordinary goods, and there was nothing strange at first glance.
He is a very common type of stall owner in the underground market.
Am I just being too suspicious
Ruan Shiqing squatted down and casually searched the stalls, chatting: "One of the rock crystals you sold me last time was fake."
The stall owner glared at him and said, "I never sell fake goods. You're not trying to cheat me, are you?"
He subconsciously hugged the purse in his arms tightly and said, "I can blackmail you for money!"
There was nothing wrong with his reaction, so Ruan Shiqing put away his tentativeness and raised his eyebrows: "Three pieces of rock crystal mixed with a dragon egg, and a group of dragon cubs hatched from it."
Stall owner: !!!!!!!!!!!!
"The dragon cubs you raise were hatched from the lava crystals I sold you?" His voice gradually rose in pitch and he looked like he was about to faint.
"I don't know why you do this?" Ruan Shiqing raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"You have to pay me the difference." The stall owner grabbed his arm and said in grief: "I'm losing a lot!!!"
"I've already sold it, there's no reason to ask for compensation later." Ruan Shiqing refused to admit it, and picked up a few small things and put them aside: "Where did you get your rock crystal?"
The stall owner's face was distorted: "How should I know this? I also collected it from other places. This kind of rock crystal is generally produced on Luxor and nearby planets."
"You have collected so many things, why don't you go to other planets to sell them?" Ruan Shiqing asked casually, "Is it possible to sell them at a high price on planet B3024?"
"How do you know I'm selling them on other planets?" The stall owner smiled slyly, fiddling with the odds and ends on his stall: "Why are these all? They are all leftover junk from other planets. Why would I give you such a cheap price?"
The answer to your question is flawless and the reasoning is very sufficient.
Ruan Shiqing tried again and again without success, and finally put his mind at rest. He pointed at the small items he had picked out and said, "How much are these? I won't bargain with you today."
"You've taken advantage of me so much, and you still want to bargain?" The stall owner muttered angrily, "One thousand star coins."
Ruan Shiqing paid the bill readily and waited for him to pack his things.
"You're doing well now, you must be quite rich, right?" the stall owner asked curiously while packing things.
"Not bad." Ruan Shiqing joked, "But I won't give you the difference."
The stall owner shook his head and said mysteriously: "I'm sorry that I'm shortsighted. This time there are real treasures. Do you want to take a look?"
Ruan Shiqing's heart moved, and he looked at him again: "Let me see."
The stall owner did not take out the treasure immediately, but looked around cautiously, pulled his cloak to block his sight, and then took out a small gray bag from under his clothes.
He carefully opened the string of the bag, pointed the bag towards Ruan Shiqing, and said in a low voice, "I'll just show you a look and check the goods. This thing can't attract anyone's attention."
Ruan Shiqing looked over and found that it was actually a small bag of gems.
They come in various shapes, sizes and colorful colors.
If it is real, it is estimated to be worth a lot of money.
What he took out was a little beyond Ruan Shiqing's expectations, but although the gems were precious, they were not special.
He wanted to refuse, but suddenly he remembered what the little dragon cub had said: when he was in the egg, his father told him to eat all the gems at home. Later, when he searched for information about the dragon clan on the holographic website, he also heard that the dragon clan liked shiny gems.
At that time, he was penniless and had no way to buy such expensive gems for the little dragon cub.
But now he is no longer short of money.
"How many star coins are there in this bag?"
The stall owner frowned and hesitated for a while, then said, "One hundred thousand...right?"
He looked at Ruan Shiqing tentatively, probably waiting for him to bargain.
But Ruan Shiqing's current attention was not on the price. He asked, "Can this gem dragon cub be eaten?"
The stall owner glared at him with a look that said, "Are you sick? How can anyone feed gems to a baby?" "A baby can't eat any kind of gems, right?"
He had heard of dragons that rained gems, and dragons that made beds out of gems, but he had never heard of dragons that ate gems.
"Won't it hurt your teeth?" he asked cautiously.
Ruan Shiqing: …
Only then did he realize that dragon cubs did not eat gems.
Unexpectedly relieved, Ruan Shiqing transferred the star coins to him: "I want it."
Ruan Shiqing's straightforwardness and generosity today greatly surprised the stall owner, who held his hand and was almost reluctant to let go: "Let's keep the contact information. I will definitely keep it for you if there is something good next time!"
Ruan Shiqing thought about it, added him the communication channel before leaving.
After a stroll around the market, Ruan Shiqing returned home with a bag of gems.
There were quite a few gems in a bag, so Ruan Shiqing specially found an exquisite small box and poured the cleaned and disinfected gems into it.
Gems of various shapes are piled in the box, sparkling brightly.
Other cubs might also like such beautiful gems.
Ruan Shiqing thought for a while, then put down the work he was about to start, picked up the draft paper, and began to draw a rough sketch.
The draft paper was soon filled with small ornaments of various shapes.
Ruan Shiqing picked out the ones he was most satisfied with, dug out the tools and materials, and started doing the handicrafts.
The little mermaid's is a sapphire necklace, the little fox's is a ruby hairpin, and Snowball's is a black sapphire earring.
As for the exquisite little robot 09, he will receive a jewel-encrusted bow tie.
Ruan Shiqing has very fast hands. Every day when he is tired from work or study and needs to relax, he starts to do handicrafts. It takes him about three days of free time to prepare all the gifts.
He deliberately chose the time when the cub was returning home from school and took out the gifts.
The cubs were caught off guard by the gifts. They swarmed around Ruan Shiqing like a group of happy little birds and lined up consciously.
Ruan Shiqing took out the gift and put it on the kid.
The little fox didn't like to tie her hair up, so Ruan Shiqing used a jewel hairpin to pin her bangs behind her ears;
The little mermaid's necklace was intricate and gorgeous. Ruan Shiqing carefully adjusted the length for him so that it just covered the scar on his neck.
The golden tassel on the necklace sways slightly, and the blue gemstone at the end reflects the light, which is delicate and gorgeous;
"It's your turn." Ruan Shiqing took out a black satin bow tie and walked towards 09.
The little golden robot stood there at a loss, the little red dot on the display screen kept flashing, and it was surprised and astonished: "Do I have it too?"
Ruan Shiqing put the bow tie on him and adjusted the angle, then chuckled and said, "Damn. The bow tie suits you very well."
The only two people who received gifts were Xiao Longzai and Rong Heng.
"Where's mine? Where's mine?" The little dragon cub was so anxious that he kept circling around Ruan Shiqing's feet.
Rong Heng on the side glanced at him and sneered.
Promising.
"Yours is at the end." Ruan Shiqing picked up the black earrings and picked up Snowball who was lying on the side.
He gently parted the hair on the cub's right ear and indeed found an ear hole on the edge of the ear tip. He chuckled and said, "Does your family have a tradition of piercing ears?"
He noticed at first that there was an inconspicuous little hole on the edge of Snowball's ear. He didn't pay much attention to it at the time and didn't associate it with ear holes until he met Mr. Rong.
Mr. Rong wears a small black earring on his right ear, which is very inconspicuous and may even be overlooked if you don't look carefully.
—Both brothers have pierced ears.
It's probably some kind of family tradition.
Ruan Shiqing carefully inserted the black gemstone earrings through the little boy's ear holes.
Thinking that he was so thoughtful, Rong Heng's eyes moved. He glanced at him from the side and made a soft "hum", agreeing with what he said.
This ear piercing was done by his mother when he was a child.
It is said that he was very weak when he was just born and his mother was worried that he would not survive, so she returned to her ancestral land and used the remaining bones of her ancestors to grind a bone nail for him, hoping that the heroic spirits of her ancestors would bless him to grow up safely.
This was the most gentle thing his mother had ever done for him in his memory.
Even such a strong mother would place her hopes on illusory ideas.
After his mother passed away, he kept the bone nail as a treasure, but he still kept the habit of wearing earrings.
I didn't expect Ruan Shiqing would actually notice it.
With a slight ripple in his heart, Rong Heng stared at him for a moment and rubbed his palm with his head.
Ruan Shiqing smiled and rubbed his head, then picked up the anxious little dragon cub and placed him on his knees: "Okay, it's your turn now."
His golden eyes widened as the little dragon looked at his father expectantly.
"This is for you, open it and take a look yourself." Ruan Shiqing took out the exquisite little box.
The small box was about the size of two palms, and except for the gems used to make jewelry, the remaining gems were all inside.
The little dragon couldn't wait to open the lid, and when he saw the huge, sparkling gems stacked on the surface, he couldn't help but exclaimed.
He joyfully held the little box tightly in his arms, and then his little wings kept flapping, and the whole cub was so happy that it almost flew up!
"Thank you, Dad." He rubbed Ruan Shiqing's arm hard, jumped off his knees, and began to look for hidden treasures all over the house.
But there was no good place for him to hide in the house, so the little dragon sat on the ground and thought for a while. Finally, he put the jewel box on his belly, and lay on it with his two small mini bat wings drooping down to protect the jewel box.
The little fox looked at him with disgust: "You are just like a miser now."
She didn't think there was anything good about these little stones. They couldn't be eaten or played with.
The little dragon turned around when he heard that, facing her with his butt, and couldn't help but climb up to open the lid, then squeezed himself into the small box.
But his nipple was so round that the small box was only one-third of his size. The little dragon tried hard for a long time but couldn't squeeze in. Instead, he was ridiculed by Nota.
He angrily poured all the gems onto the cushion, then lay on his belly on the gems and squinted his eyes in satisfaction.
Ruan Shiqing found it amusing. He thought he had made the right choice in buying the gemstones this time. The dragon race's love for gemstones was indeed natural.
The kids were very satisfied with their gifts and couldn't wait to show them off to school the next day.
Especially the little dragon cub, he has been holding the jewel box since last night and won't let go. He takes it with him even when he eats, sleeps, or goes to school.
Ruan Shiqing had no choice but to let him go.
After watching the kids go into school, Ruan Shiqing went to the appointment with 09.
—Shen Wuzhuo held a small party this morning.
The gathering place was a pub owned by an ancient human in the South District.
The pub was not high-end, but it was clean and tidy, with a nostalgic atmosphere everywhere, which invisibly brought people closer to each other.
When Ruan Shiqing arrived, Shen Wuzhuo and several others had already arrived. When they saw him come in, they all came forward to greet him warmly.
As the initiator, Shen Wuzhuo introduced everyone to Ruan Shiqing, and then everyone sat down in the booth.
The tavern owner Dodd came over with a glass of wine and said, "I just mixed the 'Blue Star'. You guys should try it."
The wine in the tall cocktail glass is of different shades of blue, with some golden crumbs at the bottom, which looks very beautiful.
A few people raised their glasses and clinked them together, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.
Ruan Shiqing had a gentle personality, and the others were interested in making friends with him. Plus, since they were fellow ancient humans, the topic quickly became lively.
As the topic expanded, it was inevitable that they would talk about Ruan Shiqing's career.
"With your strength, Mr. Ruan, have you ever thought about going further? It's a waste of your talent to stay on planet B3024 all the time." The person who spoke was the businessman Joel. He spent most of his time traveling between various planets, and only returned to planet B3024 occasionally.
Ruan Shiqing shook his head: "For the time being, I don't have this plan."
On the one hand, he was concerned about his family's cubs, and on the other hand, after staying on B3024 for a long time, he gradually developed a sense of belonging to this planet. Although this gray planet was poor and backward, with a chaotic legal system, it also had its unique features.
He was originally an outsider, and compared to other planets, planet B3024 made him feel more at home.
The others were surprised when they heard this, they all wanted desperately to leave this place and settle down on a prosperous big planet, but they never thought that Ruan Shiqing would be willing to stay on this barren planet.
"Mr. Ruan must be a nostalgic person." Joel said with a smile: "Actually, I came back to planet B3024 this time for Mr. Ruan. I originally wanted to invite you to join the 'Black Crow' business alliance. With your ability, you can definitely lead us to open up the market and compete with the four oligarchs."
"Black Crow Business Alliance?"
"It's a business alliance formed by some small technology companies that don't want to join the big four. Alliance members support each other to cope with the suppression of the big four." Joel spread his hands helplessly: "You also know that today's technology and energy are monopolized by the big four. If we retail investors want to survive, we can only keep each other warm."
Ruan Shiqing had heard a little about the four major financial groups in the Galactic Empire. The big capitalists had absolute advantages in monopolizing the market, and they would inevitably suppress the emerging newcomers and squeeze the living space of these small companies.
This is also the reason why the gap between the rich and the poor on various planets in the Galactic Empire is so huge today.
Just like planet B3024, the metal waste from the capital planet is continuously transported by the transport ships of the Schwarzschild Transport Company, and then transformed through the energy center invested by Planck Energy to generate new energy to supply the needs of the surrounding prosperous planets.
But all this is in the hands of three giants: the government, Schwarzschild Transport and Planck Energy. The profits belong to them, while the ordinary poor people living on this planet get constant noise day and night and metal garbage that constantly squeezes their living space.
While the giants are making huge profits from converted energy, the poor living in the metal garbage dumps can make a living by selling garbage.
Ruan Shiqing knew too well the darkness in this, but precisely because he knew it too well, he became more aware of his own insignificance and powerlessness.
This problem has been around for a long time and cannot be changed by him alone.
He shook his head and said helplessly: "You overestimate me. I am just an ordinary mechanic. I am afraid I can't help you."
Although he was rejected, Joel was not discouraged. He sighed and said, "You underestimated your own value."
But Ruan Shiqing had no intention of doing so. He did not force her anymore and instead took the initiative to change the subject: "Even if you don't join Black Crow, I still have a business deal I want to discuss with you. I just happened to receive an order for shuttle modification, which has relatively high requirements. I'm afraid that only you, the mechanic I know, can complete it. I wonder if you are interested?"
Ruan Shiqing would not refuse a serious modification business. After the two of them had a brief discussion on the specific content, Ruan Shiqing agreed to the deal.
He agreed readily, Joel paid the deposit readily, and promised to deliver the shuttle within three days.
The party came to a successful end. After a few more drinks, seeing that it was almost time for the cub to get out of school, Ruan Shiqing said goodbye and went to the school to pick up the cub.
In today's school, many kids painted "hero badges" on their faces. Some just painted a short mark, while others painted their faces completely with oil paint.
On the contrary, the little mermaid stands out even more from the crowd.
Looking at the cubs who had drawn themselves into bizarre shapes, Ruan Shiqing barely managed to hold back his laughter, and picked up the little dragon cub that was clinging to his feet.
"Why does it seem to be okay?" As soon as the little dragon cub took hold, Ruan Shiqing felt something was wrong.
It's only been one day and the little dragon seems to have grown a lot heavier.
Ruan Shiqing initially thought that he had remembered it wrong, so he asked 09 to hold it for a while, and 09 said that it was indeed a lot heavier.
"Is it starting to grow?" Ruan Shiqing held the little dragon cub and looked at it carefully, muttering to himself, "It seems to be a little bigger."
"Really?" The little dragon cub was unaware of it, but was very surprised after hearing Ruan Shiqing's words: "No wonder the flames he spewed out became bigger today!"
As the little dragon spoke, he spit out a small flame and showed it to Ruan Shiqing.
It is indeed a little bigger than the original one.
"He is getting more and more powerful." Ruan Shiqing praised him, and took Snowball into his arms. With his other hand, he held the little fox in human form and went home together.
The little dragon cub was very excited when he realized that he had started to grow. As soon as he got home, he asked Xiong Yuanyuan to weigh him. After that, he stood on his hind paws and asked to measure his height.
"What's there to measure? It just reaches my knees. It's a little higher than my knees." The little fox stood next to him and gestured with his hands. It was a lot taller than him.
!!! ...
Nota is so annoying!!!!
After glaring at her, the little dragon ran away in a rage, stomping its little paws on the ground, making loud noises.
The little fox was puzzled and asked the little mermaid beside him: "Why is he suddenly angry?"
“…” The little mermaid replied without a word and turned away.
The shuttle that Joel promised was delivered the next day.
It is a T5-A "Petrel" shuttle produced by Quark Dock. It is nearly twenty meters long. The hull and protective shield have been specially strengthened. It is very popular in the civilian market because of its safety, high stability and good performance.
Some transport ships use this type of shuttle to carry out ship-to-ship cargo transportation, and some people use it as a means of transportation. It has a wide range of functions and uses.
The shuttle that Joel sent was obviously a private means of transportation.
According to Joel, the customer of this order is of a special nature, and has very high requirements for the concealment and protection of the shuttle. The modification is mainly aimed at these two aspects.
To improve the concealment and protection aspects, it is nothing more than working on the deflector shield and the cloaking device. Ruan Shiqing has studied these two things recently and has quite a lot of experience. It is just right for him to use this shuttle to practice.
The only pressing issue was time. The other party paid a large sum of star coins to speed up the process and required the modification to be completed within half a month.
Ruan Shiqing spent five days repeatedly revising the drawings. After finally confirming the modified parts with the customer, he began purchasing materials and started the modification work.
The modification of a shuttle is much more complicated than that of a small shuttle racing car. Even with the help of the Xiong brothers, who handle some basic work, Ruan Shiqing still spends most of his time on it every day, and even has time to send the cubs off.
Fortunately, the kids were very sensible. They knew that Ruan Shiqing was busy with work, so they didn't stick to him during this period and were obediently picked up and dropped off by 09.
When Ruan Shiqing finally completed the modification of the main part of the shuttle and took a break to breathe a sigh of relief, he discovered that in just half a month, the little dragon cub had grown a lot bigger.
The first little dragon was only as high as Nota's knees, but the current little dragon has reached Nota's crotch.
The little dragon himself didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Instead, he was secretly happy that he was about to catch up with his sister.
Since his father was busy with work, Ruan Shiqing had no time to show off. Now that his father was finally free, he couldn't help but show off.
Just like before, he threw himself into Ruan Shiqing's arms like a little cannonball, wanting his father to hug him. However, because he was too heavy, he knocked Ruan Shiqing off balance.
After taking two steps back, he barely managed to catch this super cute little dragon cub. Ruan Shiqing looked worried: "How come it has grown so fast all of a sudden?"
How come the little dragon has been growing like crazy since it hatched? Now it's suddenly like it's taken hormones
Ruan Shiqing thought about it and felt that something was not right, but the little dragon seemed energetic and he could not find any problem. He searched on the holographic network and found similar examples, which temporarily suppressed his worries.
Instead, Rong Heng looked at the unaware little dragon cub and frowned slightly.