Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Don’t Ask Zhou Huai’an, He Knows Nothing About Renting

By the time Zhuo Yu finished her work and came over, the sky had already darkened. Chi Yuanshan and Song Yinghe were busy in the kitchenette, while Chi Wan and Zhou Huaijin were in the living room, scribbling away in front of a laptop.

Chi Wan stretched. "All done! Senior Brother, you’ve been a huge help."

Although Chi Wan had traveled to Northern Europe before, her trips had always been very laid-back. She rarely made a complete itinerary, preferring to just go wherever she felt like at the moment.

This time, even though a travel agency had set an itinerary, having someone like Zhou Huaijin—who knew the characteristics of each region like the back of his hand—naturally made the planning much more comprehensive.

Zhuo Yu didn’t know about the situation with He Lingfeng. When she heard Mr. and Mrs. Chi were going on a trip, she just assumed they wanted to get away for a bit to relax.

She leaned over to look at Chi Wan’s itinerary and said with a smile, "Wanwan, your planning is so clear and logical. If you can’t find a job after graduation, you can come work for me."

Chi Wan replied helplessly, "Sister Xiaoyu, I’m only going to be a sophomore next semester. Don’t say scary things like not being able to find a job. Besides, Senior Brother did most of the work on this itinerary. My only contribution was going ’Wow!’"

Zhou Huaijin, who was standing to the side, let out a laugh. "Don’t worry. You can apply for my professor’s graduate program in the future, and we’ll take you farming with us."

Zhuo Yu said, amused, "Farming? Haven’t you guys even sorted out the location for your base yet? You’ve been hanging out at Wanwan’s for half the day. Aren’t you afraid Professor Zhang will have your hide?"

Chi Wan looked over, a little confused.

She had asked Zhou Huaijin earlier if he needed to leave, in case he was busy. But he’d insisted that he was free and had even helped her with the travel plans.

Zhou Huaijin hadn’t expected Zhuo Yu to expose him the moment she arrived. He could only brace himself and say, "We’ve looked all over but haven’t found a suitable place. My professor said these things depend on the right time, the right place, and the right people. You can’t rush it..."

But something suddenly occurred to Chi Wan. "You mentioned before that the soil quality and environment near Qingshui Village were good. So why not consider one of the nearby mountains?"

Zhou Huaijin gave a wry smile. "There are indeed a few decent mountains next to Qingshui Village. In fact, those were the ones we were targeting at first. But we heard there are ongoing disputes, so the ownership is unclear. Plus, some unpleasant things happened the first time we went over, and my professor almost got hurt, so..."

Chi Wan understood Professor Zhang’s reasoning. The base was ultimately for conducting research, so naturally, he didn’t want to waste too much time or money on unrelated issues.

’But getting hurt...’

Chi Wan said hesitantly, "Actually, my dad just bought two of the mountains nearby a while ago... It’s true there were some disputes, but what was this about someone getting hurt? The village chief and the villagers there seemed quite reasonable."

’They were only upset before because they’d poured countless hours of effort into trees that were cut down, couldn’t be sold, and would even incur a fine. It was understandable that they found it hard to accept.’

When Zhou Huaijin heard that Chi Wan’s family had bought those mountains, his eyes lit up. "Wanwan, your family owns those mountains now?!"

He knew Chi Wan had money; Zhou Huai’an hadn’t kept the matter of the Jade Token from him.

Chi Wan nodded openly. "Yep. Three adjacent mountains. All the paperwork is already complete."

Zhuo Yu, listening from the side, was rather surprised at how their conversation had suddenly turned to buying mountains. "Wanwan, no offense, but didn’t Huaijin mention your family before...? Is growing fruit really *that* profitable?!"

Chi Wan knew Zhuo Yu had misunderstood, so she smiled and explained, "When I was younger and didn’t know any better, I was swindled into spending nearly a million on a large, uncut gemstone. My parents nearly killed me. But as luck would have it, when it was cut open, it turned out to be Imperial Green jade..."

This was the cover story she had settled on. Otherwise, there was no way to explain the origin of such a high-quality Jade Token.

In any case, it was hard to trace the origins of stones from the underground gambling scene, so it made for a perfect excuse.

This combination of niche terms nearly fried Zhuo Yu’s brain. "Wait... Wanwan, is your luck really that insane?! That’s it, from now on, you’re doing all my gacha pulls in games!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

When Chi Wan only smiled, something else occurred to Zhuo Yu. She turned to Zhou Huaijin. "Wait a minute. If those mountains belong to your family, what are Huaijin and his team still scouting for? The solution is right under your nose, isn’t it? They even cleared the trees for you."

Zhou Huaijin also hadn’t expected that the problem he’d been working on for almost the entire summer vacation would be solved so easily. "Actually, my professor initially preferred the nearby mountains over Qingshui Village. If it weren’t for... Well, since Uncle bought the mountains, would it be possible to rent one from you for our base?"

Chi Wan had brought it up for this very reason, so she didn’t beat around the bush. "Just talk to my dad about it."

Chi Yuanshan, who had come over to call them for dinner, heard this and asked curiously, "Talk about what? Come on, dinner’s ready. We can eat outside and talk."

The night sky in the mountains always seemed exceptionally deep and distant. The group sat under a tree, talking and laughing. In a rare display of high spirits, Chi Yuanshan kept urging Zhou Huaijin to drink with him.

He didn’t hesitate for a second when Zhou Huaijin mentioned renting a mountain. "Xiao Zhou, you helped Wanwan out last time, so I don’t see you as a stranger. It’s just renting a mountain, that’s nothing! Bring the contract tomorrow. For now, drink up!"

Zhou Huaijin looked gentle and refined, but his tolerance for alcohol was surprisingly good. Even as Chi Yuanshan was swaying and stumbling, Zhou Huaijin remained sitting perfectly upright.

Looking at Chi Yuanshan’s flushed face, Song Yinghe shook her head. "Your father... It’s been a long time since he’s been this happy."

Ever since the bankruptcy, Chi Yuanshan had been under immense stress, though he never showed it in front of his wife and daughter.

Chi Wan put her arm around Song Yinghe’s shoulder. "He’ll be even happier in the future."

Zhuo Yu also chimed in with a smile, "With a little lucky star like Wanwan around, Auntie, you can just sit back and enjoy life. But Wanwan, when you go back to school and Uncle and Auntie go on their trip, what will you do about your conservatory? Will all those flowers be okay with no one to look after them?"

Although she didn’t know much about orchids, Zhuo Yu was a savvy internet searcher, so she knew that those beautiful flowers came with equally "beautiful" price tags.

Chi Wan smiled. "I plan to leave only the low-maintenance ones here and take the rest with me. Sophomores can rent off-campus, so I’ve already started looking for a place."

’Of course, the other reason was that she was secretly keeping an apocalyptic warlord in her pocket dimension. She needed to enter and exit it from time to time, and she might also need to hoard supplies. Living in a dorm was simply too inconvenient.’

Zhou Huaijin overheard Chi Wan. His eyes were hazy with drink, and he seemed to process her words for a moment before saying slowly, "You’re looking to rent? I have an empty apartment I own right next to the school. You can rent it."

He paused, then added, "It’s a good complex, and it’s safe. Wanwan, don’t ask Zhou Huai’an about it. He doesn’t know anything about renting."

Zhuo Yu scoffed. "What does this have to do with your brother? Are you so drunk you’re spouting nonsense?"

Chi Wan looked at Zhou Huaijin’s unfocused gaze, the way he was struggling to sit upright, and his random dig at Zhou Huai’an, and nodded in agreement.