Chapter 107: Moving House

“Mr. Yang, are you sure you want to buy one hundred boxes by yourself?” The sales manager of Little Raccoon was stunned when he heard that Yang Tian was purchasing that many on his own.

Little Raccoon’s crispy noodles came in large and small bags: the large bags retailed for one yuan each, while the small bags were fifty cents. Yang Tian wanted only the large bags, with thirty bags per box. The astonished manager offered a discounted price of twenty-five yuan per box, making the total for one hundred boxes two thousand five hundred yuan.

When Yang Tian handed over the money without hesitation, the manager could hardly believe his eyes—a mere high school student buying a hundred boxes in one go.

Meanwhile, Yang Tian and the others had already slipped into a corner of the warehouse, beginning to unpack the boxes and retrieve the Water Margin cards inside.

Though Huang Juan, Yang Xueling, and Zhang Xinyu were equally amazed and thought it a waste to spend so much just to collect these cards, their faces lit up with joy as each beautiful Water Margin card fell into their hands, especially Yang Xueling.

Seeing the three girls so radiant with smiles, Yang Tian also smiled. Having lived life twice, he had grown indifferent to money. After all, some things money could never replace—happiness, warm family bonds, sweet love, and sincere friendship.

Moreover, Yang Tian was no fool to gather Water Margin cards in such a clumsy manner. He had no intention of eating the noodles himself or wasting them; he had other plans—killing two birds with one stone.

“Brother, look! Black Whirlwind Li Kui—he looks so silly and cute!” Yang Xueling excitedly shouted, holding up a silver holographic card.

“Yes, Xueling, your luck is great! You even found a silver card, which is harder to come by than gold cards!” Yang Tian encouraged her, speaking the truth—Little Raccoon’s silver cards were indeed rarer than the gold ones.

“Really? Haha, then I’ll keep trying!” Yang Xueling beamed.

“I found a silver card too! Jade Qilin Lu Junyi—so handsome, with red flames swirling around him!” Zhang Xinyu also joyfully exclaimed upon finding a silver card.

Two silver cards appeared, but they had already completed one full set of the regular cards. Yang Tian still wanted to collect three full sets—enough for each of the three girls to have one.

“Hey, you kids! Buying so many boxes of noodles just to collect these cards? How silly! Haha!” The sales manager of Little Raccoon first felt puzzled, not understanding what these kids were up to. Now, finally realizing the truth, he burst into laughter.

“Manager, if we can’t complete the sets later, could you give us a few cards?” Yang Tian asked with a smile, hoping to get some sets directly or perhaps purchase a few from him. But the manager was unlikely to agree—these cards were a major selling point for Little Raccoon. If many cards were given away, sales would surely drop, jeopardizing his career as a manager. So these cards wouldn’t be handed over easily.

“You kids bought so many boxes just for these cards? Sounds foolish, but also kind of fun! Since you bought so much, if you find yourselves missing any cards, just tell me. I’ll see if I can find a few for you. But only a few—our company has rules!” The manager chuckled.

“Alright, thank you in advance!” Yang Tian smiled lightly. Yang Xueling and the others shouted their thanks excitedly. They had already completed one set and were thrilled.

After unpacking so many boxes in one go, the three girls were exhausted and sat down weakly, leaving Yang Tian to sort and complete the sets. Yet all three girls wore smiles full of joy.

They had assembled eight sets of regular cards, but lacked enough gold and silver cards to complete three sets. The third set was missing fifteen gold cards and thirteen silver cards, with many extras scattered on the floor.

“How about this, Xiao Tian? Each of us keeps two sets of regular cards, and for the holographic cards, Xueling and Zhang Xinyu each get a set. For the incomplete set, I’ll take the gold cards and you take the silver cards, okay?” Huang Juan quickly saw Yang Tian’s dilemma and smiled, noting that holographic cards were also called shiny cards.

“Okay, but you’ll get a set of holographic cards too—I’ll make sure of it! Manager, could you please help me find a few gold and silver cards?” Yang Tian gently tapped Huang Juan’s pink nose, then stood and called to the manager nearby.

Since Yang Tian had bought a hundred boxes in one go, the manager was naturally warm toward him, but even he couldn’t complete Yang Tian’s last set—missing two gold cards and one silver card. The gold cards missing were Thunderbolt Qin Ming and Vanguard Suo Chao, and the silver card missing was Iron Arm Lu Zhishen.

It wasn’t that the manager was unwilling; he simply couldn’t find them. Regular cards were easy to find, but gold and silver cards were extremely rare.

Though everyone already had two full sets of regular cards and some shiny cards, Yang Tian could see that none of them were satisfied. Just two more gold cards and one silver card would complete another shiny set!

“Brother, what do we do now?” Yang Xueling asked, eyes wide and smiling. She held one holographic set in her left hand and two regular sets in her right, her face full of happiness.

“Maybe we should just forget it, Xiao Tian. We can slowly collect them over time,” Huang Juan sensibly suggested with a smile.

“I have my own way to get those remaining cards. Haha, you all go to the station and wait for me—we’re getting ready to go home!” Yang Tian’s tone deepened slightly before he smiled confidently. He first sent Huang Juan and the three girls to the bus station, then arranged for Little Raccoon’s sales department to send a small truck to move all the noodles to the Hongyu Internet Café.

Zhang Zhi was shocked to see so many boxes delivered at once, not understanding Yang Tian’s purpose. Meanwhile, Zhou Bing and A Gui began munching on the noodles immediately.

Yang Tian explained that these noodles were a treat for the Internet café’s overnight gamers. To quickly clear the opened boxes, the members coming to play games at night could eat as much as they wanted.

At this time, Little Raccoon noodles were a favorite among teenagers. Yang Tian kept two boxes for himself and the three girls, leaving the rest at the café.

News of the free treat spread like wildfire, and the café was soon packed, with machines often in short supply.

Zhang Zhi wanted to pay Yang Tian for the noodles as an expense for the café, but Yang Tian refused. He had made plenty of money at Hongyu and felt it was only right to contribute. Besides, his original intention was never to profit but to help the café thrive, cherishing the years of struggle shared with Zhang Zhi and the others.

Back in Daliushu Village, Yang Tian quickly found the two gold cards and one silver card he needed, though he didn’t tell Huang Juan and the others how he got them.

In truth, he had privately approached Da Gouzi next door. After an incident involving a parrot, Da Gouzi had held a grudge and wanted to settle the score.

Yang Tian gave Da Gouzi a chance—to play Water Margin cards with him. He first provoked Da Gouzi by challenging him to arm wrestling. Since Yang Tian had won last time, Da Gouzi stubbornly refused to arm wrestle again and instead chose to play marbles.

Yang Tian shuddered at the thought—both were high school students, yet still playing marbles. Back when they were kids, Da Gouzi always won, but that was before Yang Tian’s rebirth. Now, Yang Tian had no time to play marbles with him!

Yet Da Gouzi never expected Yang Tian to have so many extra cards to lose. After Da Gouzi won a large haul of regular cards but lost two gold cards and one silver card, he happily went home boasting that he had finally beaten Yang Tian once.

Yang Tian smiled indifferently. He had gotten what he wanted—what did it matter about a nominal loss? Besides, he had always bullied Da Gouzi, and now that his family was moving to the city, it was good for Da Gouzi to have some joy and memories. After all, they had been neighbors for over ten years.

In early August, Yang Tian helped his family find a suitable house by the seaside—a new three-bedroom apartment that originally cost two hundred thousand yuan. Yang Tian secretly advanced one hundred thousand yuan himself, then told Mr. and Mrs. Yang it only cost ten thousand.

After seeing the house, the Yang couple thought ten thousand yuan was a steal and happily moved in. When Mrs. Wang next door heard that the Yangs had only paid ten thousand yuan, she scolded Mr. Wang harshly for paying twenty thousand and getting ripped off.

Mr. Wang felt innocent, while the Yang couple felt both surprised at Yang Tian’s bargaining skills and guilty for causing Mr. Wang to be scolded. They wished they had offered more money.

The house Yang Tian bought was on the first floor with a yard attached. Yang Xueling loved the yard most—before moving in, she had already placed many potted plants there, mostly cacti and azaleas.

Yang Tian and the Huang family agreed to move into the city together. The moving day was lively, with nearly everyone from Daliushu Village coming to see them off. Firecrackers sounded from dawn until noon.

Zhang Qiang drove a large Jianghuai truck from the textile factory to help move the two families. Huang Juan had more belongings, but the Yang family had few. At Yang Tian’s urging, Mr. and Mrs. Yang gave away many farming tools and kitchenware to neighbors but kept the house and farmland, as Yang Tian had plans.

The hardest to say goodbye to was Yang Xueling, who stayed in her room all morning. When the truck finally started moving, she slowly came out clutching a pile of dolls.

Though the family had few possessions, Yang Tian had many. He brought along his frequently used books and exercise equipment.

Because his belongings were scattered, he turned his room upside down before leaving, not wanting to miss a single book or item—these were treasures he had accumulated over many years.

Accidentally glancing under the bed, he spotted something that shocked him—a golden ring that sparkled even in the darkness.

Holding the ring gently in his hand, Yang Tian was stunned. It was the very ring he had collected before his rebirth, bought from a European antique shop, identical to the One Ring from the fantasy epic “The Lord of the Rings.”