An elderly gentleman sat in the traditional Chinese medicine clinic, wearing a long gown and glasses with a lace around his neck. He looked very kind.

The clinic was full of patients. Five banners of appreciation hung on the wall, and shelves of Chinese medicine were placed around the wall, with various Chinese medicines labeled on them.

The old man looked Mingjing up and down carefully. "Young lady, are you here to see a doctor and get medicine?"

Mingjing stood at the door, dragging several bags of abalone shells. "Selling medicine, abalone shells, do you buy them?"

The old man stepped forward, grabbed a handful of abalone shells, and examined them closely.

"They're all fresh, I just picked them yesterday, there are so many, are they valuable?"

The old man nodded, "Fifty cents a pound, how many pounds do you have?"

Mingjing shook her head, "I haven't counted. You can give me whatever you think is appropriate."

She didn't expect to make money from abalone shells; she just wanted enough to cover the cost of one trip on the boat.

The old man turned around and beckoned several apprentices to bring over a scale. The abalone shells were put on the scale, while he fiddled with the beads on the abacus.

"Teacher, it weighs a total of 378.6 jin," the young man said, glancing at the scale.

The old man clicked the abacus beads, and finally said, "Well, even if it's 378 jin, it's 189 yuan in total."

He slowly opened the drawer, took out colorful bills, counted out a few coins, and handed them to Mingjing, saying, "Count them."

"No need, Grandpa, look carefully, is this really that valuable?"

Mingjing never expected that broken abalone shells could sell for over a hundred yuan; it would have been a shame to throw away the ones she had thrown away before.

“You have a lot of them. You can trade them with me for abalone shells or oyster shells in the future. What I lack are medicinal herbs,” the old man said with a kind smile.

"Thank you, Grandpa."

Mingjing left the Chinese medicine clinic with the money in her pocket. It was almost noon, and Dong Li was definitely going to stay for the banquet, so she had to find a restaurant to eat at.

Walking along the roadside, I came across a dumpling and wonton stall. Mingjing ordered two bowls of mackerel-filled dumplings, and they were surprisingly delicious.

After eating and drinking to her heart's content, Mingjing returned to the entrance of the traditional Chinese medicine clinic to wait for Dong Li to pick her up.

With nothing else to do, she took out a high-quality abalone pearl and put it away. She would give one to Dong Li as a token of her gratitude once things were settled, as she still owed him a favor from the last incident.

It's hard to repay favors you owe.

A short while later, Dong Li drove over. After Mingjing got in the car, it drove for more than ten minutes before stopping in front of the restaurant.

Huang Ting Hotel.

Two dragons were depicted on the signboard, giving the hotel a high-end and classy feel. Two beautiful female service staff in stockings were also on duty at the entrance.

"Welcome, are you two?"

A beautiful woman opened the door, and another beautiful woman came forward to greet him. She had long legs, wore stockings, and had fair skin and a beautiful face. Dong Li couldn't help but take a few more glances.

"We've already spoken to General Manager Liu and given him our regards."

"Okay, just a moment."

Mingjing walked around the hotel and found that it was indeed a high-end place; even the chairs were made of mahogany, not to mention the people who came to dine there.

They were all young men dressed in suits and high-end clothing.

"Uncle Dong, what brings you to the restaurant?" Mingjing asked, puzzled.

"You'll find out soon enough; you know this person too."

As soon as he finished speaking, a short-haired woman arrived, wearing a white cheongsam and possessing a curvaceous figure.

"Hello, I'm Mr. Liu's secretary. He's upstairs. I'll take you up," the woman said, leading the two into the elevator.

The elevator went up to the third floor and turned a corner. The female secretary pushed open the door and said, "President Liu is here."

As soon as Mingjing entered the office, he saw a large fish tank that was as long as a wall, with a huge grouper swimming inside.

"Mingjing, Dong Li, come and sit down," Liu Guangyao said with a smile, then looked up and instructed his secretary, "The finest Longjing tea."

The female secretary instructed him to turn around, leave, and close the door.

“Mingjing, President Liu is involved not only in hotels and real estate but also in the jewelry industry. His business is huge,” Dong Li said with a smile, sitting on the sofa.

Liu Guangyao crossed his legs and said, "You're too modest. I've just been lucky to be in this business. Look how well that grouper is doing. With her around, I don't have to worry about business."

"I consulted a fortune teller, and he said this grouper would bring me good fortune. Sure enough, yesterday I signed a huge jewelry deal in the US, all thanks to Mingjing."

Mingjing took a jar out of her bag. "Mr. Liu, you can tell at a glance that you're an expert. Could you help me estimate how much this is worth?"

"My goodness, is this a pearl? Or could it be an abalone pearl?"

Liu Guangyao exclaimed in surprise.

"Good eye, Mr. Liu. Is this abalone pearl, or a wild abalone pearl?"

Liu Guangyao picked up a pearl, stood up, grabbed the flashlight from the table, and shone it on the pearl. Its luster was undeniable.

"It really is abalone pearls, and they're quite large and beautifully shaped."

The door opened, and the female secretary came in to serve tea.

Liu Guangyao picked up the saucer, poured out all the beads, and then shook them in the saucer. He kept the ones that could move freely and placed the irregularly shaped ones in the cup.

"Hmm, these are all good, especially these twelve, which are round and plump, with good luster and no flaws, and they are also large. They are quite nice."

After saying that, he took out irregularly shaped beads and divided them into three, six, and nine grades.

“I’ll take all twelve of them. They’re 1,300 each, 800 for the medium-sized ones, and 100 each for the rest.”

Liu Guangyao took out his pen and did the math, then said after a while, "It's 65,400 in total. Are you satisfied?"

Upon hearing this, Mingjing nodded, but remained silent for a while, pretending to think. She was afraid that if she agreed too quickly, Liu Guangyao would feel that he was at a disadvantage.

"It's alright, but could you raise the price a bit more? This is a rare item for you, but it's not that bad for me. How about 69,000?"

Liu Guangyao was silent for a long time before finally saying, "Alright, Mingjing, I'm only doing this for the sake of that grouper. A few thousand yuan is nothing to me."

"Mr. Liu is indeed a straightforward person. If you need Bao Zhu again in the future, I will contact you immediately."

The deal was done, and Liu Guangyao called his secretary and asked her to go to the bank to withdraw the money. The woman returned shortly afterward and placed several stacks of money in front of Mingjing.

"Sixty-nine thousand, you count it."

Mingjing picked up the money and counted it carefully. It was all new bills, and they were even consecutively numbered.

After confirming that everything was correct, Mingjing put the money in her pocket. Liu Guangyao said he would give Baozhu to his granddaughter as a birthday present and have her make jewelry.

They can make so many rings, necklaces, and crowns; they own a jewelry store, so it goes without saying that they can embellish them with countless gemstones.

Mingjing nodded, understanding in her heart that business people are cautious, and if he said he used it himself, she might not be willing to sell it to him.

After accepting the money, Mingjing and Dong Li left.

After getting into the car, Mingjing took out a pearl and handed it to Dong Li, saying, "Uncle Dong, this pearl is beautiful. I specially saved it for you. Keep it for your future daughter-in-law."