Translator: Silavin & Danny
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
“Little Brother, this Big Brother has troubled you. Forgive me.” Old Fang apologized repeatedly as they made their way out of the shopping district.
Previously in the restaurant, Yang Kai and Fang Tai had parted ways bleakly due to their discord. Although he was greatly distressed at the time, Old Fang was still aware of the situation.
Yang Kai smiled, “You think too much, that guy made it clear that he wants to cut ties with me. Even if this didn’t happen today, he would have found another way to do it in the future.”
However, there was not much of a relationship between him and Fang Tai. All they had was a pot of tea together in the shopping district last month and verbally agreed to an alliance.
Yang Kai never placed much importance in such an unreliable alliance anyway.
Fang Tai took the opportunity to use this as an excuse to cut ties with him, out of fear that he might be dragged into Yang Kai’s troubles. To begin with, everyone was not very close, and no one would be involved even if something happened to him; however, due to the alliance they formed, it would be unreasonable for Fang Tai to stay uninvolved if something happened to Yang Kai.
Well now, since they have parted ways, Yang Kai’s life and death had nothing to do with him.
“Were you close? Why does he want to cut ties with you?” Old Fang was puzzled.
Yang Kai shook his head, “We’re not.” He was too lazy to mention the alliance, and turned to Old Fang, “Let’s talk about you. How do you plan to solve what happened today? If you don’t handle it properly, I’m afraid you’ll be in trouble.”
Old Fang answered wryly, “I don’t know.”
Yang Kai sighed, “You should prepare for some massive hemorrhaging. Zhou Zheng seems to be a greedy man, so if you’re resolute and give him some benefits, it should be fine.”
“I hope so, it’s not too bad if the problem can be solved by money. Would you like to join, Little Brother? He saw you with me today. If I go alone without you, you’ll look even worse in contrast.”
“That’s true.” Yang Kai touched his chin, “Good, count me in to put in a share, but I won’t be going. It’s indiscreet if too many people go to see him. I’ll count on you to be our representative.”
Old Fang thought for a while, and what Yang Kai said made sense. After all, bribery was not something honourable, so it was better if fewer people appeared. He nodded and agreed, and he was not afraid that Yang Kai would go back on his word. They had a massive income every month, and Yang Kai would not cheat him of a small amount of Spirit Pills.
They did not speak again as they returned to the Worker’s Room.
After what happened during their celebration meal, Yang Kai was not in the mood to stroll around, so he spent the rest of the time in his own room.
After two days, he entered the orchard again with Ruler of the Dawn Great General on his head and began patrolling his plot as usual.
It did not take much effort to care for thirty fruit trees, but soon Yang Kai stopped in front of a certain one and a frown was revealed on his face.
It could be just an illusion, but something felt wrong with this specific Fire Spirit Fruit Tree. After carefully comparing it with the other several fruit trees next to him, Yang Kai confirmed that something was off. The leaves and Fire Spirit Fruits on this fruit tree seemed to be a little redder than they were three days ago, as though it was on the brink of ripening.
Unsure of what was happening, he hurriedly ran to Old Fang to ask.
Seeing him coming, Old Fang smiled, “Is something wrong, Little Brother?”
Yang Kai noticed his expression and laughed, “Is it done?” Because if it was not, Old Fang would not be so calm.
Sure enough, Old Fang nodded and confirmed, “That’s right, just that it cost a lot…”
“How much?” Yang Kai asked.
Old Fang gestured the number in distress, “100 Open Heaven Pills! That was my income for a few dozen years.”
It really was some big bleeding.
“It used to be.” Yang Kai looked at him with a smile, “How much do you earn every month now? There’s nothing to feel sore about, it’s best if you can spend money to solve problems.”
“En.” Old Fang kept nodding his head, “By the way, I gave him 30 pills on your behalf. Manager Zhou accepted it gladly and said that you were quite sensible. I think you’ll be able to get rid of this spoiled plot soon.”
“Good, I’ll give you more shares for the next payment.” Yang Kai frowned, “Speaking of that land, come with me and have a look at something.”
Seeing his solemn expression, Old Fang quickly put down his work and followed Yang Kai to the fruit tree. Upon arrival though, Old Fang’s face changed greatly and he exclaimed in an alarm, “This is bad.”
“What happened?”
Old Fang explained, “The same thing happened to the three fruit trees that died before. The colour of the leaves and fruits became darker. Once this symptom appears, within one month, the fruit tree will die.”
Yang Kai was stunned, “Are you sure?”
Old Fang was as anxious as an ant on a hot wok, “My orchard is right next door, why wouldn’t I know what had happened here before? This is a great disaster.”
“Then what should I do?”
Old Fang turned around several times, desperately racking his brains, and did not stop for quite a while before muttering, “The only one who can help you now is Manager Zhou. Fortunately, I gave him some pills before on your behalf. He wouldn’t just sit idly by. Go to the pavilion located at the center of the orchard where Manager Zhou usually stays. Go to him and explain the situation…”
“It seems there’s no need to look for him.” Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and looked in a certain direction. A figure was flying towards them quickly from above. Who would it be if it was not Zhou Zheng?
By the looks of it, he seemed to be coming straight here. It was probably due to the generous gift from Old Fang before, or he would not have come here at all except to inspect the orchard.
Shortly after, Zhou Zheng landed in front of the pair.
Yang Kai and Old Fang hurriedly saluted.
With his hands folded behind his back, Zhou Zheng nodded lightly and proceeded, “The two of you seem to have a good relationship. You are always together.” The smile on his face did not show that he was the one who splashed wine on Old Fang a few days ago.
Old Fang nodded and bowed, “Little Brother Yang is new and lives next door to this Old Master. Naturally, I need to take better care of him.”
Zhou Zheng nodded, “Very good. If everyone here was like you, Old Fang, this Manager wouldn’t have to always run around and tire himself out. I really want to rest early.”
Old Fang hurriedly continued, “This orchard can’t run smoothly without Manager Zhou. With power comes responsibilities. We Workers can only try to help Sir Manager as much as possible.”
Zhou Zheng cracked up and pointed at Old Fang, “You sure can talk.”
Old Fang laughed along, “By the way, Manager Zhou, there is something this Old Master wants to discuss with you.”
“Hm, what’s the matter?”
“It’s like this, Yang Kai has been here in the Worker’s Room for more than two months now and this Old Master has been teaching him diligently. Seeing that he is learning fast and doing well, he has the ability to take care of more fruit trees. We are lacking in hands in the Worker’s Room anyway, so it’s a waste to let him only take care of these thirty fruit trees. Manager Zhou, could you transfer him to another place? Otherwise, this little brat will only be idle all day with nothing to do but to harass this Old Master. It’s really quite annoying.” While speaking, he gave Yang Kai a wink.
Yang Kai quickly added, “Manager Zhou, this Yang is ready to contribute more to Fire Spirit Land.”
Zhou Zheng nodded, “Good, it’s rare for one to have this kind of heart. Since that’s the case, this Manager will grant your request. And to tell you the truth, this Manager came here for the same reason.”
Hearing this, Old Fang was overjoyed. He turned to look at Yang Kai and knew that the gift he gave before had worked, and it was quite effective, having an immediate effect.
“Many thanks, Manager Zhou.” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
Zhou Zheng smiled and was about to say something when his eyes suddenly fixed on the fruit tree behind them. He looked at it carefully for a while before his face suddenly changed and he quickly excused himself, “This Manager suddenly remembered that there is something more important that needs to be done. I will return later.”
He then turned and left without another word.
How could Old Fang let him go though? Quickly grabbing his arm, Old Fang begged, “Manager Zhou, Manager Zhou, don’t go yet, can you transfer Yang Kai to another place first?”
Zhou Zheng snatched back his sleeves and answered, displeased, “This Manager is responsible for the inspection and management of all of Fire Spirit Land’s orchard, and is burdened with many tasks. Any carelessness may lead to endless disasters. Now that there is an important matter to deal with, why are you delaying me? Can you bear the consequences if something goes wrong?”
Old Fang smiled apologetically, “There’s no need to be in such a hurry. Sir Manager simply needs to open his mouth to give an order to transfer Yang Kai.”
Zhou Zheng looked at him coldly, “It’s easy to transfer him, but after he leaves, who will take care of these thirty fruit trees? This Manager has not found a replacement yet, so why don’t you take care of them for now, Old Fang?”
Old Fang was stunned when he heard those words. How could he dare to agree? Old Fang subconsciously loosening his grip, and Zhou Zheng immediately freed himself and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“This is bad, this is bad!” Old Fang slapped his thigh angrily, “It’s all over now.”
Seeing Zhou Zheng’s reaction just now, it was obvious he saw the problem with the fruit tree. The reason he came here earlier was to transfer Yang Kai, but he immediately went back on his word after seeing the situation. Obviously, Zhou Zheng did not want to bear any responsibility and planned to let Yang Kai carry the blame.
He was pushing Yang Kai into a fire pit.
Old Fang has just had a taste of fortune with Yang Kai and had only begun to enjoy the good life. If something happened to Yang Kai now, he would lose all future hope.
Therefore, no matter what, he could not let anything happen to Yang Kai; but now that Zhou Zheng had left, he was as clueless as a headless fly.
“Why aren’t you worried at all?” Old Fang was surprised to see Yang Kai’s indifferent expression, without the slightest hint of nervousness.
“What’s the use of worrying?”
Old Fang froze for a moment, knowing that what he said was correct. The most important thing now was the fruit tree, and worrying would not solve the problem. On second thought, he just gave Zhou Zheng such a big gift the day before yesterday, but today he left them to die. Unable to suppress his anger, he spat in the direction where Zhou Zheng was standing and scolded angrily “That bastard is nothing but an ungrateful wolf! Those 100 Open Heaven Pills were completely wasted.”
If he had not offended Zhou Zheng so badly a few days ago, how could Old Fang have been willing to give away so many Open Heaven Pills? He even thought he could have a better life now, but was cornered again in the blink of an eye.
“Let’s check it first.” Yang Kai did not lose focus, “I inspected this tree several times before and found nothing wrong with it, but since there is a problem now, we might find some clues.”
Old Fang nodded, “Good good, let’s investigate together. No matter what, we must first find the root of the problem; only then can we prescribe the right treatment.”
