Chapter 247: Chapter 179 Bitter Vegetable Manor_2
"I want to earn some extra cash; I want to earn tuition money for my kid," Big Head said, his child’s schooling on his mind.
He Jiaqing gave Big Head an Elixir. "A Fifth-Layer Martial Cultivator, worried about such a small amount of money? You might as well go to Puluo State and be someone’s Chief Custodian. You’d earn more than you do now."
Big Head took the Elixir and hurriedly expressed his thanks.
He really wanted to see Puluo State, but he couldn’t abandon his wife and child.
"I’ll try the lake again." The Elixir took effect, relieving much of the numbness in his body. Big Head wanted to dive back into the lake but was stopped by He Jiaqing.
"Aren’t you afraid of getting caught doing business in the black market?"
Big Head fell silent for a moment before saying, "There are people from the bureau who deal with the black market, and they’ve never been investigated."
"They might not be investigated, but you’re not them! If you ship out goods today, you might be locked up tomorrow! How would your wife and child survive then?"
Big Head remained silent.
He Jiaqing pondered for a moment. "Your wife lost her job?"
Big Head nodded.
"What did she do before?"
"She was the lobby manager at a hotel. The hotel went under, and so did her job."
"I have a friend who just opened a hotel and needs a lobby manager. It’s twenty thousand a month plus bonuses, and they’ll sort out a school placement. Let your wife take the job."
Big Head’s identity was sensitive. To help him, He Jiaqing couldn’t give money directly, or Big Head would certainly be investigated. This was the safest solution He Jiaqing could think of.
Big Head was stunned.
He didn’t understand why He Jiaqing wanted to help him. He knew He Jiaqing was someone who could change his fate, someone who had shown him New Land in the Outside Provinces, and they might collaborate on some matters in the future. But since they had met, He Jiaqing hadn’t asked for anything, nor had he asked Big Head to do anything.
"Why are you helping me?"
"For no particular reason. You’re a man with real skills, and someone with real skills should live with dignity." He Jiaqing took out a pen and paper and wrote down the hotel’s address.
He had just grabbed the pen and paper from a stationery store; his movements were so swift that Big Head couldn’t see them clearly.
"A Fifth-Layer Martial Cultivator should live a little more boldly. Why risk your life over such a trifle?" He Jiaqing handed the hotel’s address to Big Head. "Come find me if you need anything in the future."
"Can you please stop coming to me?" Ma Wu looked at Chu Er helplessly. "The Hundred Joy Gate affair is over. I’ve even hidden away in New Land. Why are you still pestering me?"
Chu Er’s expression was slightly forlorn. "I’m here to bid you farewell. I’m going to Bitter Vegetable Manor to cultivate."
After the events at Hundred Joy Gate, Chu Er had sobered up considerably. In Puluo State, the strongest asset one could possess was one’s cultivation level.
Ma Wu nodded. "Going to Bitter Vegetable Manor is good. Are you lacking a Guide Token or travel expenses? You don’t need a token for Bitter Vegetable Manor, and if it’s money you need, I can lend you some."
Chu Er rolled her eyes. "Ma Wu, we have some kind of bond, don’t we? There’s no need for such harsh words."
"I have no bond with you, never have. Is there anything else? If not, I won’t see you off."
Yanzi had once told Ma Wu not to speak of affection with those dedicated to Bitter Cultivation. They didn’t deal in feelings or love. If they truly cared in their hearts, they would never speak of it; if they did confess, it was surely just an act. Just like Zhong Desong, who, regardless of how deeply he felt, never dared to confess his feelings to Old Madam Han.
Chu Er sighed. "Actually, I do have one favor to ask. I want to see Li Qi."
"Why do you want to see him? Do you even know him? You’ve only danced with him once. Don’t tell me there’s some sort of ’bond’ there too!"
Even Chu Er herself didn’t believe in such a bond. But she knew that ever since Ma Wu had met Li Qi, his circumstances had changed dramatically. Li Banfeng had the ability to turn a person’s fortunes around.
"I respect people with real abilities. I just want to meet him once. Otherwise, I won’t leave."
"If you don’t leave, there’s nothing I can do. Li Qi isn’t here."
"He owns a plot of land here," Chu Er said calmly, looking at Ma Wu. "If I can find you, I can find him. But if I go looking for him on my own, who knows what I might do."
Ma Wu scoffed. "What could you possibly do? You think I’m afraid of you?"
Chu Er lowered her head. "You can take that gamble."
Ma Wu was silent for a long time, then said helplessly, "Fine, I’ll take you to him. But if Li Qi refuses to see you, there’s nothing I can do."
The two plots of land were ten miles apart. At Ma Wu’s arrangement, a row of wooden houses had been built on each.
Arriving at the door of Li Banfeng’s wooden house, Ma Wu knocked, but there was no response. "You’re out of luck. Li Qi isn’t here."
Chu Er sat down in front of the door. "I’ll wait for him here."
"Don’t bother waiting. Once he leaves, he might not be back for three to five days."
Chu Er sat for over half an hour, but Li Qi indeed did not appear. Looking dejected, she walked away.
Ma Wu didn’t escort her far. He returned to his own plot to cultivate with Yanzi.
Among the many varied beings in New Land, Ma Wu treated Yanzi the best. His affection was not misplaced. Training under the tutelage of the Eighth-Layer Straw Moth Lady, Ma Wu’s cultivation had progressed by leaps and bounds, already reaching the Second Layer. If Chu Er dared to cause trouble, he was ready for her at any time.
But he hadn’t expected Chu Er to not go far before circling back.
She peered through the window of Li Banfeng’s cottage. Perhaps Li Banfeng was inside, hiding and avoiding her. Her casual glance then fell upon a startling sight: a huge spider suspended from the ceiling, prying a key from a crack in the floorboards with one of its legs.
Chu Er shouted, "Da Boyins, is that you? How dare you come here to steal! Old Fifth Ma, did you see? Someone’s stealing here!"
Ma Wu was long gone; Chu Er was deliberately trying to scare the spider.
But the spider showed no reaction. Dangling from its silk thread, it clutched the key, about to depart.
Chu Er took a pair of nail clippers from her skirt pocket and threw them through the window bars into the cottage.