Negotiation

Hearing Su Ye's refusal, Li Guodong did not seem surprised. He merely sighed with some regret and continued:

"Brother Su, there's no need to rush to turn me down. This offer will always stand!"

Hearing Li Guodong say that, Su Ye could only nod and reply, "Let's talk about it another time, then!"

Li Guodong then said:

"I've eaten the watermelons and vegetables you grow, Brother Su. They really taste first-rate!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Brother Li!" Su Ye replied.

"I wonder if the vegetables and watermelons you grow can be mass-produced, Brother Su?"

"They can't be mass-produced."

Su Ye answered immediately. After all, growing those fruits and vegetables depended entirely on the effects of spiritual energy. Without its nourishment, they were just ordinary vegetables. Although Su Ye had many spirit stones in his storage bag and could set up many Spirit Gathering Arrays, he still decided to keep that hidden for now.

"Then how much can you produce in a year, Brother Su?"

"I go by the season. In one season, I can produce about two hundred thousand jin of vegetables and around eighty thousand jin of watermelons."

"Only that much?"

"Sorry, that's all I can manage for now."

Li Guodong lowered his head slightly and pondered for a moment, then looked up and said to Su Ye:

"All right, then. I'll take all of it. As for the price, I certainly won't let you take a loss, Brother Su."

Li Guodong then picked up a black leather case from the foot of the bed and handed it to Su Ye.

Su Ye took the case and opened it at Li Guodong's indication. Inside were a small booklet, an ancient book that had yellowed with age, a military uniform, and five pale blue "little stones."

At the sight of the pale blue "little stones," Su Ye's eyes narrowed sharply. He picked them up and examined them carefully.

Seeing this, a look of confirmation flashed across Li Guodong's face. He then explained to Su Ye:

"These pale blue stones are called energy stones. Of course, some people also call them spirit stones. They're very beneficial to a Grandmaster's cultivation."

Su Ye put down the spirit stones and looked at the other things, casting Li Guodong a questioning glance.

Seeing this, Li Guodong explained again:

"Here's the thing. I'd like to offer you a position in our Southwest Military Region, Brother Su. It's merely a nominal position, with no real authority. When you don't need these things, you can simply put them away. This yellowed book contains an internal cultivation method. You might not think much of it, Brother Su, but it's a token of my sincerity. With my level of authority, this is all I can give you."

Su Ye looked at the light green clothing lying neatly in the case. The yellow bar and star embroidered on the shoulders were unmistakably the insignia of a second lieutenant.

Su Ye and Li Guodong talked for a while longer before Su Ye put everything away. When he left the hotel, Su Ye carried a black case in his left hand and a pitch-black business card in his right. The card contained Li Guodong's contact information. Once Su Ye's vegetables were ready to pick, he could call Li Guodong, who would send someone to collect them.

Li Guodong stood at the hotel window, watching Su Ye gradually disappear into the distance, when Ziliang's voice came from behind him.

"Chief, are you just letting him go like that?"

Seeing that Su Ye had gone far away, Li Guodong slowly turned around and said to Ziliang:

"Many things don't need to be spelled out in full. This Su Ye is a smart man; he won't betray the country!"

"But he's obviously hiding a secret..."

Ziliang wanted to argue further, but Li Guodong interrupted him:

"Everyone has their own secrets and fortuitous encounters. Take the Twelve Zodiac Animals, for example. Which one of them doesn't have their own fortuitous encounters and secrets?"

Ziliang found it inconceivable that Li Guodong would compare Su Ye to the Twelve Zodiac Animals. Those twelve were all monsters among geniuses, and practically every one of them had become a Grandmaster in their youth. They could be called the pillars of Hua Country's younger generation.

In fact, a month ago, Li Guodong had sent people to secretly explore the area around Jiuhua Village. Apart from the demon beast sealed deep within Mount Jiuhua, there had been no significant unusual energy readings. Judging by Su Ye's expression just now, he clearly knew about spirit stones. Could he have had a fortuitous encounter somewhere?

Li Guodong shook his head, then took another sip of the tea in his hand.

"Pfft!!!"

It was nowhere near as good as the tea at Old Xiao's house. When he went back this time, he had to ask him for a few dozen jin.

After leaving the hotel, Su Ye went to the underground parking garage, put the black case into his storage bag, and drove home.

When Su Ye returned to the farm, Zhang Erhu was working the soil in a greenhouse. An open space had been left in the middle of the dozens of greenhouses, where Su Ye planned to build another pool. After all, the old pool was a little too small to supply water for both the orange grove and the vegetable garden.

"Brother Ye, where did you go?"

When Zhang Erhu saw that Su Ye had returned, he asked him.

"Oh, a friend came to Lingnan to see me, so I went to meet him."

Su Ye looked at Zhang Erhu and fell into thought. He had now seen the extraordinary side of this world. Whenever he went out alone to take care of business, it was hard to keep an eye on things at home, and he was afraid Little Black and Little White would frighten his parents. Why not train Erhu to become a martial artist, so someone could look after things at home whenever he went out?

"Erhu, do you want to practice martial arts?"

After thinking for a while, Su Ye asked Zhang Erhu.

"Practice martial arts?"

Ever since Zhao Lei had beaten him up last time, Zhang Erhu had longed to become just as powerful. He had some guesses about martial artists too, but he had never voiced them. He had even kept them from his parents.

"That's right. Did you know martial artists exist in this world? The man who beat you up outside Lingnan Hospital was one of them."

Su Ye explained to Zhang Erhu.

"Then are you a martial artist, Brother Ye?"

Hearing that Zhao Lei was a martial artist, Zhang Erhu was stunned for a moment before asking Su Ye.

"I am! The true masters of this world are those martial artists. Ordinary people, however, can spend their whole lives without ever knowing they exist. Do you... want to become a martial artist?"

"Can you help me become a martial artist, Brother Ye?" Zhang Erhu asked Su Ye, his eyes shining.

"If you want to become a martial artist, I'll certainly do my best to help you, but you have to listen to me," Su Ye said with a smile, looking at Zhang Erhu's shining eyes and eager face.

"That's no problem at all. You're my own big brother!" In fact, ever since Su Ye had helped Zhang Erhu deal with Zhao Lei last time, Zhang Erhu had regarded Su Ye as his big brother in his heart.

"All right, I'll help you."

Su Ye looked at Zhang Erhu and spoke solemnly, unsure whether what he was doing was right or wrong.

Early the next morning, Zhang Erhu arrived at the farm to wait for Su Ye, because Su Ye had told him he would teach him how to become a martial artist that day.