novelraw Chapter 84: A Warship Will Arrive in a Few Days
Chapter 84: A Warship Will Arrive in a Few Days
At that moment, on the second floor of Yixiang Tower, the door to a private room was pushed open. Qiao Meng and Xu Liang’an stood respectfully at the entrance.
Inside the room sat two men. One was Yue Gang, the Vice Commander of the Red Tiger Camp. The other was the camp’s new Commander, dispatched by the Dongsheng Prince Mansion. He had just arrived in Kaiyuan County to replace Duan Hu.
His name was Lu Aqi, and he was about thirty years old.
The banquet had, in fact, been his idea. Lu Aqi currently held a wine cup and spoke softly, "It seems Aliens truly exist in this world. To think they can command ghosts and order Shadow Soldiers... It’s truly Beyond Imagination. The rumors that the Court plans to establish an Anomaly Bureau are most likely true. As for that Divine Being Moving Mountains, I’m now ninety percent convinced!"
Qiao Meng’s conscience pricked him when he heard this. He was an "Alien" too. ’I won’t be discovered by these natives, will I? Tied up and dissected for research?’
Lu Aqi glanced at Qiao Meng and added, "Magistrate Qiao, you’ve done well. The Red Tiger Camp is still weak at the moment, so continue with the trade tomorrow. For now, it’s best not to provoke those two! In a few days, warships from the Prince Mansion will arrive with several thousand of their elite troops. We’ll have the confidence to act then!"
"As you command!"
Qiao Meng sighed to himself. ’Fucking warships are coming now? And they’ll probably be filled with more high-ranking officials. My life as a County Magistrate is just endless toil. When can I finally be a happy little magistrate without anyone breathing down my neck?’
The next day, Wang Yi returned to Eggshell Village with eight Hardworking Turtles.
’Eight in one night... not too bad, I guess. Now, to have them line up and enter the Beast Cage!’
Wang Yi rubbed his temples. He’d pulled two all-nighters in a row and was feeling drowsy, but he couldn’t rest just yet.
After replenishing the Beast Cage with 5,000 points of Chaos Energy, Wang Yi headed to the First Dining Hall, planning to grab a hot bite to eat.
A little earlier, just as Wang Yi was returning to Eggshell Village, Pei Zhi, Pei Xue, and Guangkun arrived in front of Eggshell Castle.
Pang Damao was the one who had brought them.
However, after leading them here, Pang Damao had rushed off toward the First Dining Hall with his six dogs.
To be precise, the six dogs had dragged him to the First Dining Hall.
The three of them now stood staring blankly at Eggshell Castle.
Leaning on his crutch, Pei Zhi thought, ’This building looks bizarre. A little ugly, even. The sheds at the farm are much better. Those soft chairs inside are ridiculously comfortable.’
Pei Xue and Guangkun, on the other hand, were mostly filled with curiosity. They had no idea how such a domed building could have been constructed.
The Eggshell Money Shop was located to one side of Eggshell Castle. Just then, Yang Qingniu, Zhang Dashan, and a few others emerged from it, all laughing cheerfully.
Seeing Pei Zhi and his two companions, Yang Qingniu was the first to step forward and greet them. "Which one of you is the manor lord of Liuhe Farm?"
Guangkun hurriedly replied, "I-I am!"
"Great! Remember me, I’m Yang Qingniu, the Civilian Militia Captain. I’m heading off to eat now, and right after, I’ll come to your farm to recruit for the militia!"
Yang Qingniu had a boisterous and carefree air about him.
Zhang Dashan added, "I’m also going to recruit workers!"
Li Huaizheng approached on a Wooden Ox Puppet and said to Guangkun, "Rough Manor Lord, I am the scribe, Li Huaizheng. I will also be visiting Liuhe Farm after breakfast. I’ll need your assistance then. I have to record the information of everyone on your farm, and I’ll also be taking notes during the recruitment for the Production Team and Civilian Militia."
"Yes, yes, of course!"
Guangkun hastily agreed, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Li Huaizheng then turned to Pei Xue. "You must be Miss Pei Xue. The Young Mistress is waiting for you inside the Money Shop. This way, please."
"Oh..."
Pei Xue glanced at her father questioningly. After Pei Zhi gave a slight nod, she gave Li Huaizheng a respectful curtsy and headed toward the Eggshell Money Shop in the direction he indicated.
Li Huaizheng turned back to Pei Zhi and clasped his hands in a salute. "You must be Pei Zhi. You’re assigned to the Foreign Affairs Department, but Lord Yang Wanli is still away on a procurement trip and hasn’t returned. You have no specific duties for now. You can relax after you meet with the Young Mistress later."
With that, Li Huaizheng rode his Wooden Ox Puppet toward the First Dining Hall. Yang Qingniu and the others also made their way there, chattering excitedly about some "Hai Shen Fried Noodles."
Pei Zhi and Guangkun exchanged glances. Seeing they had nothing else to do, they followed along.
Soon, they saw a young man with a paper-white face who coughed intermittently. He looked like a scholar and was seated in a strange wheeled chair.
When Li Huaizheng and the others saw him, they all bowed and addressed him as "Lord."
"That scholar must be an important figure. Let’s go pay our respects too!"
Pei Zhi whispered to Guangkun. Guangkun nodded, and the two of them copied Li Huaizheng’s group, bowing to the scholar and addressing him as "Lord."
This "Lord" was, of course, Nangong Jin. He had an easygoing manner. After looking Pei Zhi and Guangkun over, he said, "You two look unfamiliar. Are you new here?"
Pei Zhi and Guangkun quickly introduced themselves. Nangong Jin listened and gave a casual nod. "Are you also here to eat at the Dining Hall? Did you bring any Copper Coins? You can’t have the Hai Shen Fried Noodles without them!"
"We brought money, we brought money!"
Pei Zhi replied with a salute.
After Nangong Jin had moved away, a curious Guangkun asked Pei Zhi, "Uncle, what are ’Sea Cucumber Fried Noodles’?"
"Haha, that’s where you show your ignorance! Back when I was a caravan guard, I traveled all over and saw a thing or two. Sea cucumbers are like ginseng from the sea—incredibly expensive! So ’Sea Cucumber Fried Noodles’ must be fried noodles made with that stuff. It’s a delicacy only the wealthy can afford!"
"Yeah, right!" A dissonant voice cut in from the side. It was Boss Li, who had come to eat with his wife and child. He glanced at Pei Zhi and Guangkun and said, "Hai Shen is one of our villagers. He’s the cook now. The noodles he fries are called ’Hai Shen’s Fried Noodles.’ Five Copper Coins a plate. Those Soldiers up front eat for free, but us common folk have to pay. I can tell you two are new here. You don’t know anything."
"Oh, I see. And you are...?"
Pei Zhi hurriedly clasped his hands in a salute.
"The name’s Boss Li, Factory Director of the Giant Crab Sand Factory!"
"So it’s Boss Li! We’re from Liuhe Farm!"
"Yeah, I saw your farm. The boss sure favors you, conjuring up houses for you just like that. We haven’t even gotten to move into ours yet! Nope, I’ve got to bring this up with the Young Mistress later!"
Pang Damao happened to be coming out of the First Dining Hall just then. Hearing this, he said, "Factory Director Li, I heard you’ve already bought three Eggshell Houses. Why are you still eyeing the sheds on their farm?"
"Lord Pang! Your information is out of date. I bought another one yesterday. That makes four now, you hear?"
"Quite the big shot!"
"Enough chitchat. Time to eat, time to eat! I’ve still got to get to work after this!"
Pei Zhi and Guangkun stood to the side, listening to Boss Li and Pang Damao’s exchange. They couldn’t help but feel that a place protected by an Immortal was truly different. Everyone here was so talented and spoke so engagingly. They liked it here a lot.