Unreliable Old Man

While Bai Yang observed the living habits of the people here, his own every move was also under someone else's watch.

Inside a treehouse, by the window, the white-bearded old man and Old Man Mu in a green robe sat facing each other, a jar of wine and a bowl of unknown beans between them, drinking and observing Bai Yang.

"Where did this young man come from?"

Old Man Mu frowned slightly, watching Bai Yang below, who stopped to examine everything he saw, and asked.

"I asked. Hu Zi and the others ran into him by chance in the jungle. His origins are unknown, but from the looks of it, he has no designs on us," the white-bearded old man said calmly.

"Why are you so sure he has no designs on this place?"

"Haha, Old Man Mu, you're overthinking it. Do you think he could covet anything from us mountain folk? Take that candy he gave us, for instance—even in the cities, few wealthy families could afford it, right? Its value alone could buy our entire village. What could he possibly want from us?"

Old Man Mu had no retort. That rock candy, crystal clear and translucent, was something they had never seen or heard of before. They couldn't even imagine who could afford such a delicacy, and yet the other party had handed out a huge pile in one go. With such lavish generosity, there really was nothing here worth his envy.

But the old are shrewd and the cunning sharp. Old Man Mu still suspected something strange about Bai Yang's appearance.

"You, always overthinking. I know what I'm doing. From my observations, this lad is probably a junior from some distant, powerful family, out playing and wandering into our area. It can only bring us good, not harm."

"Let's hope so..."

Old Man Mu was conflicted but had no grounds to argue.

Bai Yang was completely unaware he was being watched—or rather, he was watched constantly, wherever he went, the villagers curiously gawking at him.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't care. He hadn't done anything shameful, so why fear being watched?

After wandering around the village for a few hours, time slipped by quietly. He had gained an intuitive understanding of how these people lived. Though he hadn't yet encountered the outside world of this realm, based on his analysis, his assessment of this village boiled down to four words:

Poverty and backwardness!

Food was mostly grilled meat and fruit, obtained by risking the jungle. If that wasn't poverty, what was? They didn't even use chopsticks for eating, and the only seasoning for their food was salt—if that wasn't backwardness, what was?

After one full round, the novelty wore off. He returned to his room, gestured to the girl who had been following him closely to indicate he wanted to rest, sent her away, and closed the door.

Bai Yang was certain these people had no surveillance cameras or anything like that. Once in his room, he flashed back to Earth.

Less than a minute after returning, his phone buzzed with constant notifications. He saw his dad had called him over a dozen times, plus one unfamiliar number and a text message.

Thinking something was wrong, Bai Yang immediately dialed his father. It was around eight in the morning here.

"Hey, Dad, what's up?"

"You little brat, what are you up to? First day moving out and you disappear on me?"

Hearing his dad still had the energy to complain, Bai Yang relaxed. Calmly, he said, "Didn't I text you yesterday? First day at work, went out to eat with colleagues, had a few drinks, came back and crashed. By the way, Dad, what did you need?"

Bai Jianjun grumbled a bit more, then his tone shifted, tinged with embarrassment. "Ahem, you little rascal, about that... do you still have any of that wine?"

"What?" Bai Yang didn't catch on.

"You know, that 'Monkey Wine' you gave your mom the night before last, the one she was going to have tested. Do you still have any?"

Bai Jianjun raised his voice.

"What do you mean?" Bai Yang still didn't follow.

Bai Jianjun organized his words and continued, "Well, you said that wine was some Monkey Wine your country classmate got by chance, so out of curiosity, I drank it..."

"And then?"

"What 'and then'? I'll tell you straight—the wine was great. Drank it and felt fantastic all over, like I'd gotten a dozen years younger. Ahem... why are kids asking so many questions? Anyway, I drank it, it's gone. If you want to test it, you'll have to bring more!"

Bai Yang didn't even mind being called a kid despite having graduated college. Realizing what happened, he broke into a cold sweat and asked nervously, "Dad, how could you just drink that stuff? Are you okay?"

He couldn't forget how one bowl had made his nose bleed and knocked him out cold. If something happened to his dad, he'd regret it forever!

"What could happen? I'm fine. Just tell me if you have more."

"Fine, you're the boss. I've got a little left. Are you home? I'll bring it over. Oh, by the way, Mom hasn't left for work yet, has she? Tell her to wait..."

Hearing his dad was fine, Bai Yang relaxed. He hung up without waiting for Bai Jianjun's reply.

His old man had a stubborn habit of liking a drink, and he'd even down something untested—Bai Yang had to hand it to him.

Scratching his head, he looked for something to pack more wine in but found no container. He went straight out, hopped on his motorcycle, bought a bottle of water at the supermarket, and then realized he should grab toiletries too.

Back at the villa, he couldn't finish half the bottled water, so he dumped it out, filled the bottle with wine from the jar, and rushed back to his parents' place.

When he arrived, his parents were eating breakfast. Naturally, he mooched a meal.

Afterward, he took out the green wine in the water bottle, found the old flask—sure enough, it was empty—poured some in, and handed it to Zhen Guoping, saying, "Mom, this is for testing. Don't let Dad drink it, okay? I don't have much left."

"You know your dad's character. When he heard 'Monkey Wine,' he lost it. He drank it while I was asleep the night before last, after you left," Zhen Guoping ratted Bai Jianjun out in one sentence.

Bai Yang: "..."

He handed the rest to his mom and warned, "Mom, this stuff hasn't been tested. We don't know if it's safe to drink. Keep an eye on it, at least until the results come in before giving it to Dad. And even then, drink sparingly. If something goes wrong, I'd be devastated..."

"You little brat, you think I don't know not to overdo a good thing?" Bai Jianjun grumbled from the side, but his eyes never left the water bottle full of wine.

Zhen Guoping waved the bottle at Bai Jianjun, then turned and walked out the door to work.

"Hey...? Hey...! Hey...!"

Seeing Zhen Guoping take it away, Bai Jianjun opened his mouth, and a single sigh came out in a wavering pitch.

"Dad, dear old dad, it's for your own good. You really can't just eat things you don't understand," Bai Yang said, looking at Bai Jianjun in exasperation.

Bai Jianjun shot Bai Yang a look, then his expression shifted as he winked and said, "You little brat, come clean—how much stock do you still have?"

"What are you planning?" Bai Yang shrank his neck back.

Bai Jianjun leaned into the sofa, chin lifted, and said, "Spit it out, you little brat. How much money do you want?"

Bai Yang sighed to the heavens. This really wasn't about money. Torn, he said, "You figure it out..."

As he spoke, Bai Yang mulled it over in his mind. Something was off—why was it that every time he talked with his dad, money always came up? There had to be something wrong...

"I'll transfer it to you later, you little brat. Don't blame your old man for being a tippler—that stuff is really something good. A few sips and a man feels decades younger. The night before last, I... what the hell do you know?"

With that, Bai Jianjun smacked Bai Yang on the back of the head and strode off.

Leaving Bai Yang utterly bewildered.

"What did I even do? You didn't say anything, and I don't know anything, alright?"

Shaking his head, he pulled out his phone and opened the text message. It was from the Wanbao Pavilion Auction House, telling him that if he was interested, he could attend their Autumn Auction to see his ginseng sold in person. If he confirmed, someone would send him an invitation. Another missed call was also from Wanbao Pavilion.

Bai Yang directly replied with three words: "No time." Then another message came through—it was his dad transferring him ten thousand yuan for a long-term supply of that "Monkey Wine"...

After that, he returned to the rented villa, then headed back to the village on "that side."

To start learning a completely new language from scratch, especially without proper guidance from a teacher, the best way was to immerse yourself in that language environment. Bai Yang figured he'd probably be spending most of his time in this village for a while...

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