ch 35.1 – Ambitious
“What did you just say? Everything at the Cheng’s are mythical because of the spiritual well?” Old Man Ning sprang up in disbelief.A solemn-looking Ko Yang nodded and replied earnestly, “Master, everything Ko Yang said was true. I saw the spiritual well with my own eyes and so had the spiritual water from the well. It is, indeed, spiritual water!”
“No wonder! Spiritual water huh? What a lucky family to have a spiritual well? No wonder their farm animals all have mythical properties, because they were all raised with water from this well. It all make sense!”
Ko Yang nodded, “Yes, Master. I have further surveillant Willow Village. Nobody else has such a well other than the Cheng’s.”
“Hmm, if only we can buy the piece of land the Cheng’s are on!” Old Man Ning had greedy thoughts. After all, it was a priceless spiritual well they are talking about!
Hearing those words, Ko Yang frowned and said, “Master, Ko Yang thinks that might be tricky. I have asked around and found out that a while back the land where the Cheng’s reside had been transferred to under their name. It won’t be an easy task to buy it as I think the Cheng’s are no ordinary people!”
“Not ordinary!” Old Man Ning was a bit surprised by that.
“Yes, not ordinary!” said Ko Yang with a solemn look, “I could sense that Mr. Cheng is already a level 2 martial master. Even though martial master is not ranked at the very top in Dafeng, but they are still very well respected.”
“I see!” Upon hearing this, Old Man Ning’s heart sank a bit. This matter wasn’t as simple as he had hoped. The Ning’s hadn’t hired any skilled martial artists on their payroll. Pissing off some martial master level of martial artist would not play out well for them.
Plus, if the Cheng’s are skilled martial master, they might have the backing of other powerful organizations. If they attract more powerful enemies, the Ning’s might be annihilated.”
That being said, to say he didn’t want the mythical animals and spiritual well would be a lie. After the almost half-month long search, walking away empty handed would be a hard pill to swallow.
“Ko Yang, did you tell them that we need their mythical animals?” Asked Old Man Ning after a moment of pondering.
Ko Yang let out a bitter smile, the thoughtful look of Ms. Cheng popped up inside his head, “Master, I was going to place the order with them, but Ms. Cheng seemed reluctant and I didn’t want to push the issue. So I decided to come back and report to you first!”
“Oh….” Old Man Ning was a bit surprised but suddenly his eyes flashed, “How old is this maiden Cheng? How does she look?”
“To reply Master, I gather Ms. Cheng to be around 15 or 16. Not the most beautiful of all women but she is fair. What’s worth mentioning is her elegance that suggest a noble origin, she didn’t seem like your common village girl.”
Ko Yang thought of the wise Ms. Cheng in a very positive light and continued, “Master, it might looked like her father was the one in charge at the Cheng’s, but Ms. Cheng’s words definitely carry some weight. She was the one that stopped the process of a contract being established.”
“It does sound like she is quite a character!” The smile on Old Man Ning’s face thickened, “Ko Yang, what do you think about Zong’er?”
“Young master?” Ko Yang paused for a moment, he couldn’t quite figure out what his master was suggesting.ch 35.2 – AmbitiousBut, looking at Old Man Ning stroking his beard with a bright smile, he thought he had a slight idea, “Master, I’m not sure young master will go for that!”“You said that maiden Cheng is fair looking. As long as Zong’er is engaged to maiden Cheng, I trust that they’d treat us fairly. Then we can use their spiritual well and raise more mythical animals to sell. We might even be able to get an in with them!”
“Master is right!” Ko Kang immediately understood who his master was referring to. If they can get an in with them, the Ning’s just might become an aristocrat of Qing’an Province. “Master, young master hasn’t been home for three years. We will have to summon him home before we can set up an arranged marriage with the Cheng’s.”
“We will summon him home once the decision has been made. I wonder how he’s doing at the School of Divine Condor. Why don’t you send someone to summon him back for a few days?”
“Yes, Master!”
The servant and master at the Ning’s had made their decision. Inside the Cheng’s yard, only three people were there. The young ones had been booted to practice martial art in the bamboo forest.
Cheng Biyuan looked at this daughter, sighed lightly and asked, “Xiao Xiao, what is your plan?” Unknowingly, he had became more mindful of his daughter’s ideas.
“Dad, don’t worry. I trust that those at the Ning’s won’t cause any troubles!” said Cheng Xiao Xiao nonchalantly. “Dad, I want to ask your opinion on whether we should open up our own shop to sell our goods or should we continue to wholesale? Or you don’t want to sell any of them at all?”
“Don’t sell any of them?” Cheng Biyuan frowned, “Deacon Ko of the Ning’s is already aware of our situation. I’m not sure not selling them will be an option. We risk attracting even more unwanted attention if we wholesale them. I say we just play it by the ear for now!”
“Dad, what’s bothering you?” Cheng Xiao Xiao detected a shred of helplessness in her father’s eyes.
“Xiao Xiao, you don’t understand human greed!” Cheng Biyuan shook his head lightly, “If our family is not strong enough, I think we will be taken over before we know it.”
“Dad, you mean, they will play dirty to take over what are ours?”
Cheng Xiao Xiao remembered a saying: Survival of the fittest. As long as the others have power and status, they will be able to take over what belong to the Cheng’s. The Cheng’s will need to be strong in order to keep these people at bay.
Suddenly, Cheng Xiao Xiao thought of something else and a bright smile appeared on her face, “Dad, you’ve forgotten. We are not helpless little lambs. If they dare come, our two dogs are not vegetarians!”
The dogs cloned from the dimension were also mythical animals. More people would not be able to rival them, let alone that they still have 7 to 8 mythical beasts and mythical air in the dimension. The Cheng’s, as of today, did have the ability to defend themselves.
Reminded by his daughter, Cheng Biyuan had thought about the same thing. His worries slowly dissipated and replaced by strong confidence. Boldly, he announced, “Xiao Xiao, since words have already gotten out about our mythical animals, we couldn’t cover it up for much longer. Let’s just expand our ranch and mass breed our mythical animals for sale. Let’s see who still dare to look down upon us!”
Looking at her proud father, Cheng Xiao Xiao was a bit surprised. At the same time, she had also noticed the ambition in her father’s eyes so she nodded in agreement, “Okay, let’s see how much interest our mythical animals can drum up!”
“Ye, Xiao Xiao, you two….” Mrs. Cheng looked more worried than happy.