The origin of the star lotus world

Chapter 2552 (7)

Chapter 2391 (7)

Mo Di said that Young Master Jin was right; their master deserved a good life in the mortal world. It would be wonderful if they had subordinates there; some matters could be delegated, and the master could simply provide the results or arrangements. It had always been this way; how wonderful that would be.

After he finished speaking, he looked at Fan Xingkong and the others, inviting them to express themselves.

Fanxingkong, Huazhu, Tongyang, and Qicaixinglian all agreed with Modi's words.

These distinguished guests all expressed their hope that the author's material life in the mortal world would improve. They longed to hear good things and good news, and thanked the author for taking good care of them and treating them kindly.

I continued talking about what happened on New Year's Eve. At that time, I didn't feel like doing anything. Because of my long-standing laziness, I might wake up, check my phone, do something casually, or take a nap.

I connected my phone to the charger, slept for another half hour, and then got up. By then, my phone was fully charged.

I've been using that phone for over two years now, and the battery is starting to age; it's draining much faster than when it was new. The battery health is still at 95%, which is because I haven't been charging it too frequently—about once every day and a half or two. I'm careful with my charging, avoiding anything too power-intensive like charging it once or twice a day. I use a Sky Blue tablet, a Misty Illusion phone, and an e-reader to share the load; I don't just use the Moon Porcelain White phone.

The phone's battery health status doesn't appear too low, but it doesn't actually retain that much battery capacity. It likely only counts the number of charge cycles, which may not reflect the true battery capacity. There are many battery maintenance tips online, each with its own explanation.

The charger used has a maximum charging power of 120 watts, which is still considered a moderate charging speed even today. If you turn on super-fast charging mode, it can fully charge the 5,000 mAh battery in about 30 minutes, which is not slow. Ten years ago, it really took three or four hours to fully charge a mobile phone, as detailed in the chapters before the Star Lotus story.

Looking at several new mobile phones, due to the increased battery capacity of several thousand mAh, even with 100W fast charging, it still takes more than an hour to fully charge. Charging time has returned to levels seen years ago; the only difference is that a full charge provides longer battery life. Advertisements claim that some new phones with large-capacity batteries can last for twenty hours with moderate use, which is truly useful, potentially requiring only one or two days of charging. Online, I haven't seen any large-capacity batteries that can be compatible with 200W or higher charging power; it seems they can't achieve both. With current technology, even with fast charging, fully charging a 10,000-18,000 mAh battery takes an hour or more, not as fast as expected. In the future, newer batteries with larger capacities will be available, compatible with much higher charging power, so we won't have to wait much longer.

Thanks to the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence technology, during the Year of the Snake Chinese New Year, my family bought a new "Purple Aura from the East" smartphone. It had AI image recognition capabilities, could intelligently provide text messages, took great photos with strong image optimization, and ran relatively quickly. It used the latest operating system at the time. We originally wanted to buy a new phone for our child as well, but because the author used the budget to buy pure gold jewelry, we didn't buy any new electronics. Now, as I write this, it's the Year of the Horse Chinese New Year, and the budget has been allocated to other shopping. As for a new phone, we'll have to wait a bit longer.

Jin Huyue smiled and said that the author bought pure gold jewelry during the Year of the Dragon, which has appreciated in value. If he had bought more, he could have made some money and improved his material life.

Fanxingkong said that was good. His master was the most discerning person in the mortal world, and knew what was good. Electronic products were becoming more and more advanced, but they were being updated and replaced too quickly, and their value was depreciating just as fast. Precious metals were relatively more valuable.

Mo Di said that if their master bought more precious metals in the mortal world and waited for their value to appreciate before reselling them, he could really make money. He hoped that their master would have a lot of money in the mortal world, so that he could solve any problem and have a happy life. These were the heartfelt wishes of his subjects.

I was saying that when the author wrote this passage, it was already early in the Lunar New Year, around the time of the Year of the Horse. At that time, the price of pure gold jewelry was over 1,500 yuan per gram. There had been some slight adjustments, but it was still quite expensive, not including the craftsmanship fee. Whether the merchants would offer discounts was uncertain. Some gold jewelry with a fixed price could reach around 2,000 yuan per gram if calculated by price.

Jin Huyue said that according to Mengsheng, the peak price of gold in the mortal world during the Year of the Snake was one thousand yuan per gram. In just a few months, it has increased by several tens of percent. What kind of item can appreciate in value so quickly? We should be cautious.

Fan Xingkong said that Young Master Jin was right; high-value investments should be approached with caution. Some precious metals appreciate too quickly, but their prices are likely to fall back. Under normal circumstances, the rate of appreciation is limited and won't be excessive; the increase or decrease won't be significant. If the price rises too quickly, there will definitely be a price drop following the initial surge. In such cases, it's advisable to consider selling and securing profits—this is the wisdom of the ancients. However, gold jewelry can still be kept, as buying new gold jewelry will be more expensive. If the precious metals are intended for investment, such as gold coins or bars, they can certainly be sold back, as they may appreciate in value.

I mentioned that for several days, international gold and silver prices dropped significantly in a very short period, trending on social media and attracting widespread attention and observation. Jewelry retailers, unwilling to lower prices, reduced the price per gram of gold jewelry by a hundred yuan, but gold prices rebounded and became even more expensive, leaving the future uncertain. The gold rush, fueled by the Year of the Snake, will likely continue into the Year of the Horse, perhaps even surpassing previous levels. Silver prices, while rising significantly, have fallen again. Some retailers are offering silver jewelry for thirty or forty yuan per gram, but the resale value is only a dozen yuan per gram.

On television and online, I saw people queuing to buy and sell gold products. Professional precious metal buyback shops quoted around 1100 yuan per gram for pure gold, while brand-name jewelry stores quoted tens or hundreds of yuan less. The selling price was far higher than the buyback price, especially since some merchants inflated their craftsmanship fees to 200-300 yuan per gram. Investing in gold jewelry doesn't guarantee much profit. Online, many people buy investment gold bars; the price is transparent, only tens of yuan per gram higher than the buyback price, but the minimum weight is five or ten grams. Some banks and online stores didn't have small-weight investment gold bars during the Chinese New Year, indicating a good market for precious metals. Some people, in interviews or online posts, claimed to have made tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan by buying back gold products worth a few hundred yuan per gram for thousands, and some even made millions. Some people have achieved material abundance in their middle and later years, some have paid off their mortgages and credit card debts, and some have made correct investments and indeed profited greatly. It is said that some wealthy people have diversified their wealth, owning real estate, cash, stocks, precious metals, high-end gemstones and jade, etc. Some of their assets have shrunk, while others have increased in value.