With a hundred thousand for reporting the wanted criminal, another hundred thousand from the Hongshu Branch, and the eight hundred thousand reward from Hongyun Group, Yang Qi’s personal savings surpassed the one million mark for the first time.

What’s more, since the money was all considered prize money, it wasn’t subject to personal income tax.

He now lived in a small, company-provided villa nestled against the mountainside. Since he mostly ate at the cafeteria, his daily expenses were minimal.

With that one million, if he borrowed just a little more, he could buy a seventy or eighty square-meter house in the suburbs outright.

Of course, for Yang Qi, there was no real need to buy a house.

The Zoo’s small villa by the mountain was in a quiet, secluded environment with plenty of space. He was perfectly comfortable living there alone. It was nice enough to live in until retirement—or even until he was six feet under, as the older generation would say.

It was an old tradition at the Zoo for full-time employees and their families to live in company-assigned housing, which fostered a strong sense of belonging.

...

Chen Hao was a generous man, and with a dinner invitation to his house that evening, Yang Qi was racking his brain over what kind of gift to bring.

Showing up empty-handed wasn’t his style.

As for common gifts like cigarettes, alcohol, or health supplements, a man of Chen Hao’s wealth probably had warehouses full of them already. They were simply not presentable.

Spirit Rice would have been the most suitable gift. The stuff contained Spiritual Qi, and long-term consumption offered immense health benefits, far beyond what the so-called "premium" rice on the market—costing thousands of yuan per half-kilo—could ever offer.

’But the origin of the Spirit Rice was impossible to explain. He couldn’t very well say he grew it himself, could he?’

After mulling it over, Yang Qi finally settled on the Strengthening Pill.

’Of course, he wouldn’t just hand over a pill. That would be too strange.’

Yang Qi made a special trip to the supermarket to buy a bottle of ordinary, unbranded white liquor. He then dissolved a Strengthening Pill into it, carefully concocting a bottle of "medicinal wine" that appeared plain but possessed body-strengthening properties.

His cover story would be that it was "brewed from a secret ancestral recipe" by his grandmother herself.

This would change the gift’s significance entirely.

Yang Qi wasn’t worried about Chen Hao getting it tested.

The ingredients for the Strengthening Pill could all be found in the modern world; they were merely the essences of various nourishing herbs. The crucial component was the Spiritual Qi infused during the refinement process.

And that was something that even the most advanced equipment in the world couldn’t detect.

So, as evening fell, after preparing dinner for the two little ones at home, Yang Qi took this plainly packaged but secretly profound "medicinal wine," hailed a ride-share, and headed to the affluent enclave in Lvliu District.

Following the address Chen Hao had sent, he found a high-end residential community with a tranquil environment and tight security.

At the imposing main gate, a security guard politely stopped Yang Qi. Only after a confirmation call was made from inside the guardhouse was a small side gate opened for him.

Accompanied by a guard, he walked into the tree-lined interior of the community, where buildings were spaced far apart, and arrived before a detached villa with an elegant, stately appearance.

Yang Qi rang the doorbell.

Before long, Chen Hao, dressed in comfortable loungewear, came out to greet him personally, his face beaming with an enthusiastic smile.

"Brother Yang, you’re here! Come in, come in."

Chen Hao opened the heavy, solid wood door and stepped aside, gesturing warmly.

"Brother Chen, thank you for having me."

Yang Qi said with a smile, then presented the "medicinal wine," which was in a plain glass bottle, to Chen Hao.

"It’s my first time visiting, so I wasn’t sure what to bring. This is a ’medicinal wine’ for strengthening the body that my grandmother brews. She claims it’s based on an old family recipe—I don’t really know if that’s true—but I find a small cup each day feels pretty effective. I brought a bottle for you and your wife to try."

Upon hearing this, a solemn expression flashed across Chen Hao’s face. He accepted the bottle with both hands, examined the somewhat plain container, and said earnestly,

"Brother Yang, this gift is too precious. Please thank your grandmother for me. When you head home, I’ll have you take some health supplements back for her. It’s just a small token of my appreciation."

With that, Chen Hao ushered Yang Qi through the door and into a spacious, brightly lit, and exquisitely decorated living room. He then called up the stairs.

"Qiqi, come see who’s here!"

"Who’s here?" The question was followed by the sound of a clear, young voice and the PATTER PATTER PATTER of footsteps. Qiqi, the little girl Yang Qi had rescued from Monkey Mountain, appeared at the second-floor railing and peered down.

The moment she saw it was Yang Qi, she began happily waving her small hands and shouted, "Uncle Yang! You’re here!"

With that, the little girl ran to the entrance of a slide decorated to look like a treehouse, went WHOOSH, and slid right down. She then ran toward Yang Qi on her short little legs.

When she got close, she instinctively opened her arms, looking up at Yang Qi expectantly.

Yang Qi got the hint. He squatted down, effortlessly scooped the little girl into his arms, and asked with a smile, "Qiqi, have you been eating your meals like a good girl?"

"I have! I’ve been eating lots! Uncle Yang, let me tell you..." Qiqi wrapped her arms around Yang Qi’s neck and replied happily, her little face beaming with excitement.

Chen Hao watched from the side, a little surprised. He hadn’t expected his daughter, who was normally a bit shy with strangers, to be so affectionate and trusting with Yang Qi. A gratified smile spread across his face as he beckoned for Yang Qi to take a seat.

"Xiao Yang, you’re here! Sit, please, sit!"

Just then, Du Xi, who was wearing an apron, poked her head out from the kitchen and called out warmly.

Yang Qi had seen her once before at the Zoo. Back then, Du Xi’s face had been streaked with tears; now, she looked poised and elegant, possessing a unique grace.

"Hello, Mrs. Chen. Thank you for all your hard work." Yang Qi, still holding Qiqi, started to get up as he responded.

"Oh, please, stay seated. Don’t be a stranger. The food’s almost ready. Lao Chen, you make sure to entertain Xiao Yang." Du Xi replied with a smile, then turned and went back to the kitchen.

Soon, a sumptuous dinner was served.

It was a feast of delicacies from land and sea, with a clear focus on seafood.

Donghua City is an inland city, making seafood quite expensive. But to host Yang Qi, Chen Hao had sourced only the finest ingredients.

Steamed leopard coral grouper, cheese-baked Australian lobster, typhoon-shelter-style fried king crab...

The spread was dazzling, and the aroma was tantalizing.

Yang Qi didn’t stand on ceremony. Encouraged by the couple’s warm hospitality, his chopsticks were constantly in motion.

The seafood was indeed exquisite—a delicacy most ordinary people would rarely get to taste.

However, after tasting the Three-tailed Spirit Fish from the system, both his palate and his body had been "spoiled." This high-end mortal seafood was good, to be sure, but it was several tiers below the ultimate pleasure of the Spirit Fish, with its nourishing Spiritual Qi that gratified both body and soul.

During the meal, Chen Hao enthusiastically opened the bottle of "medicinal wine" Yang Qi had brought, pouring a small glass for himself and Du Xi.

He then raised his glass and sniffed. A faint, unidentifiable fragrance mingled with the scent of alcohol. He offered a casual compliment before tilting his head back and downing it.

As the liquor slid down his throat, it felt merely warm at first. But a moment later, a fine, indescribable warmth began to spread slowly from his stomach, flowing out to every inch of his body.

Wherever this gentle current passed, the fatigue in his body was swept away, and he felt an inexplicable surge of energy.

An expression of astonishment appeared on Chen Hao’s face. He set down his glass, his gaze burning as he looked at Yang Qi. His tone was tentative.

"Brother Yang, this wine..."

"What’s wrong with the wine?" Du Xi asked casually, seeing the strange look on her husband’s face. Curious, she picked up her own small glass and took a delicate sip.

Moments after she swallowed, Du Xi’s expression changed as well.

She felt a distinct warmth rise from her stomach and spread through her entire body. As it passed, her pores seemed to open, and a fine sheen of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose and her neck.

"This... This wine..."

Du Xi set down her glass and looked at Yang Qi in astonishment, then back at her husband, momentarily at a loss for how to describe the peculiar sensation.

Seeing the couple’s reaction, Yang Qi was a little surprised.

’He had thought that dissolving a single Strengthening Pill in an entire bottle of liquor would dilute its effects significantly. At most, he figured long-term consumption might gradually improve their constitution and make them less prone to fatigue.’

’He never expected their reactions to be so pronounced after just a single small glass.’

’Or was it that the nourishing effect of that trace of Spiritual Qi on an ordinary person’s body was just that immediate and effective?’

’This served as a good reminder for him.’

’When he went home and gave some to his grandmother, he’d need to come up with a better excuse.’

’In effect, Chen Hao and his wife had just been his guinea pigs!’