Chapter 436: I lead the way
The butler was stunned for a second but quickly left.
Now that he knew Shao Xuan was here, Ji Ju was no longer in the mood to survey his fields. It only made him more and more upset. He wrung his hands, leaving everything up to the leaders of each plot of fields to deal with it. The next time he found so many mistakes again, the leaders’ spots would be empty. There were many smart people waiting to work here.
He waved and dismissed about ten of the leaders, then walked to a pavilion nearby. It was one of the resting spots in the fields. Sometimes, if Ji Ju was tired he would rest here.
On the other side, Shao Xuan and the other two were waiting at the entrance. There were other people who came to see Ji Ju but they were all mercilessly left outside. They brought beautiful gifts with them but the guards did not even give them a look. The dissatisfied ones paced outside the mansion, though they would not dare to force themselves inside.
Balck Bear paced outside, nervous. He couldn’t stay calm. In the past, he had always been stopped outside and very rarely got his hands on Ji Ju’s produce in King City. This was a rare opportunity, of course he was nervous. He looked at Shao Xuan who was waiting quietly, and Guang Yi who hadn’t spoken. He didn’t understand, why were they so calm?
Soon, they heard footsteps.
The people who were outside all looked towards the person who walked out.
It was the guard who had gone inside just now. However, when he came out, he merely returned to his post at the entrance without a word.
Black Bear wanted to ask questions but the guard was standing at his post and did not look like he wanted to talk. Black Bear looked at Shao Xuan. The entrusted item he sent in did not receive a reply, why wasn’t he panicking?
He was about to ask Shao Xuan when Black Bear heard more footsteps. They were light, anyone with lesser capabilities would not be able to hear them. Black Bear had seen a lot and had a sharp hearing.
Creak—
The large door with two golden bullheads opened once again. This time, the person was not a guard. He wore different clothing from the guards, with a green cloth hat and his clothes were embroidered with green leaves.
When everyone saw him, their hearts clenched. They were ecstatic. Someone recognised him.
“The butler!” someone gasped.
Everyone erupted like a boiling pot of water, swarming to the entrance. Everyone wanted to talk to him, at least leaving an impression of themselves. Maybe they could create a connection in the future?
However, they were all stopped by the guards outside and there were people behind the butler too. These people looked even burlier than the guards at the entrance, their large, muscular arms blocking the crowd outside. Someone tried to jump but was slapped down. A guard who could work here was no idiot.
All the guards here were at least a middle-ranked totemic warrior!
The butler stood at the door, no stranger to situations like that. His expression did not change as his eyes swept across the surroundings and stopped on Shao Xuan.
“Are you Shao Xuan?” asked the butler.
Shao Xuan looked up. “I am.”
“Master invites you inside,” said the butler with a smile.
Although the butler was not loud, everyone heard every word. In a second, as if time was frozen, they could even hear a pin drop. Eyes widened, glaring at this inconspicuous Shao Xuan.
“This is my senior, Guang Yi. He’s with me.”
Black Bear was so happy his mouth almost cracked open. He hurried by Shao Xuan’s side and introduced himself. “I am ‘Black Bear’, Beimi. I’m with Shao Xuan.”
The butler only smiled and did not refuse. He brought the three into the fields.
Creak—-
The large doors closed once again, leaving the people craning their necks outside.
There was a main building in the middle of the field—Golden Grain House. This was where guests were brought. In reality, anyone told to meet here were people Ji Ju did not deem important. Usually, the butler would be in charge of serving them and Ji Ju would not even appear.
When Shao Xuan entered the Golden Grain House with the butler, he saw Ji Yan and the other two who had entered before them. Ji Yan and Ji Wan sat on one side, Ji Jing on the other. Although they were not far apart, they were hostile towards each other.
They had wanted to see Ji Ju to ask about the Thousand Grain Gold. Other people might not know what Ji Ju was working on but the Ji family knew. According to the usual schedule, this should be harvest season. However, from the message they received, there were only other crops harvested. They did not see the much-anticipated Thousand Grain Gold in the list.
Before this, there were many Ji family members here to ask too. They were all met with “I’m not seeing them”. Days passed and the harvest season passed too. Since they did not receive news, the Ji family panicked and started sending people inside. They were all sent out again. One powerful member of the Ji family once said that any Ji family member who could get some information from Ji Ju’s fields would get a very good piece of private property.
The entire Ji family went mad. This time, Ji Yan and the other two came but like the rest, they were stopped. They weren’t even able to enter the Golden Grain House.
Anyone who knew the rules understood that Golden Grain House was a roadblock. Anyone who did not pass this roadblock would not get the chance to meet Ji Ju. right now, they were sitting on the short benches at Golden Grain House. When they heard the butler hurrying towards the entrance, they were curious. Now that the butler had brought Shao Xuan and the other two inside, Ji Yan, who was drinking water, froze.
Putting down his cup, Ji Yan leapt up and strode over. “Mr Black Bear, where are you all going?” They did not look like they were stopping. Were they passing through Golden Grain House?!
This was Black Bear’s first time here and he was overwhelmed with emotion. He could not even hide his grin. “As I mentioned, I’m just accompanying my friend.”
Accompanying his friend?
Ji Yan finally looked at Shao Xuan and Guang Yi. Previously, he did not take this seriously because he thought they were just using excuses like the rest. Now that they saw the butler next to Shao Xuan, leading the way, Ji Yan was green with envy and regret. He should have asked the guy more questions on the carriage, who knew, maybe he could have used this kid as an excuse to meet Ji Ju?
However, it was too late. The butler politely stopped Ji Yan and the rest and brought Shao Xuan’s group through the Golden Grain House. There was a long dirt road at the back.
Once they left, within the Golden Grain House, Ji Yan was sulking. “Who is that guy? Why does uncle want to meet him?”
Ji Jing smirked, amused. She was delighted that Ji Yan did not get the chance. Everyone did not get to meet their uncle so she was satisfied.
Ji Wan tugged at Ji Yan’s sleeve.
“What?” Ji Yan turned to ask.
“That Shao Xuan, he was carrying something odd in his little bag. Uncle might be meeting him about the things in his bag,” whispered Ji Wan.
“Something odd?” Ji Yan wanted to ask but saw Ji Jing straining her ears to listen. He quickly pulled Ji Yan into a room in the house to ask her.
Ji Jing smashed her cup in frustration.
Ignoring Ji Yan and the rest, Shoa Xuan followed the butler on the dirt road. There were crop fields on both sides with all sorts of crops. Black Bear was drooling over all of them.
These are golden leaves, golden leaves! He heard that every blade of grass here was worth a lot of money. There were so many plants here, how many golden leaves was this worth? How many weapons could he buy?
The butler was only in charge of leading the way. He did not answer any of Black Bear’s enquiries on the crops. Only Ji Ju was qualified to tell him about it, as the owner of this place.
The butler brought them to Qingmang Pavilion. It was a lot smaller than Golden Grain House. While its interior designs were not as luxurious, it gave a sense of tranquillity and cosiness. Any frustrations will calm here. If one was exhausted, resting here would be a luxury.
When Shao Xuan arrived, Ji Ju had just finished a cup of tea.
As Shao Xuan entered, Ji Ju pointed at a cane chair. “Sit.”
“You’ve got a nice place.” Shao Xuan accepted the tea the butler brought. The tea was green with a light and refreshing fragrance. He did not know what tea it was.
Ji Ju only grunted in response to the compliment, then said, “Shao Xuan, you still have the grains with you? I’ll trade this year’s harvest from my field for them, what do you think?”
“No,” said Shao Xuan.
Ji Ju, who was prepared to list out his conditions, almost choked. He had lived in this farm for too long, it had been a long time since someone said no to him like that. However, recalling how Shao Xuan had once helped him, he suppressed his anger. Knowing Shao Xuan must have more grains, his eyes brightened. “You see, it would be useless for you to keep them…”
“No, our harvest this year wasn’t that good. We plan to plant again next year,” said Shao Xuan.
“This year, how did you all plant it?” Ji Ju’s voice shook with frustration.
“We planted a little on the hill, at the foot of the hill, also a little in my backyard.”
Shao Xuan described their initial experience with the Thousand Grain Gold but before he said much, Ji Ju slammed the table in anger. “Nonsense!”
Such a sudden outburst startled Black Bear so much he choked on his tea.
“How could you plant them like that? This is bullshit! Such a waste! Idiots!” Ji Ju was furious, his beard quivering and his eyes wide. His heart ached for the dead plants. When he heard that Shao Xuan was a Flaming Horn tribesman, he should never have given them so many grains. One thousand grains!