Chapter 383 - Settling Down
TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney
“Okay, I will go greet them” Liu Gan nodded. As of right now, he knew that Zhan Nan Shan must have an unspeakable secret. That was why he promised benefits as an exchange.
“Would it a Red Dinner?” Han GuangMing was worried.
“Even if it was a Red Dinner, what about it?” Liu Gan didn’t care.
“I will accompany you!” Yin He walked over to Liu Gan.
“This… Ah… How about this. Let NaNa follow me, you will stay here to protect DongDong. I sense that the night is too quiet. There might be someone planning stuff behind our backs. I’m afraid of the slight chance that something bad might happen. If there are any suspicious intruders, you don’t have to be merciful. You can hit them until they are close to dying,” Liu Gan instructed Yin He.
“Okay, don’t worry about it. I will guard DongDong, so nothing will happen to him,” Yin He nodded.
Yin He instructed NaNa using message transfer. NaNa followed Liu Gan by his side. Prior to this, Zhan Nan Shan had sent a representative to wait in the living room. The representative respectfully greeted Liu Gan as they met. Then he handed over the invitation card over to Liu Gan.
Zhan Nan Shan’s mansion wasn’t in the village. It was an isolated agricultural building on a small mountain. Behind the building was an observatory. Zhan Nan Shan didn't like rowdy locations, he prefered living quietly.
The distance between the mansion and village wasn't too far away, approximately several hundred meters away. It was mostly mountainous uphill terrain that would be difficult for some people. For Liu Gan, the mountain roads were like walking on flat land. Soon he arrived at Zhan Nan Shan’s mansion.
Upon being notified of Liu Gan's arrival, Zhan Nan Shan approached his front door to greet the guest. As a host would respectfully invite a honored guest, Zhan Nan Shan led Liu Gan to the living room. Liu Gan noticed that there weren't any Elders there. Then Zhan Nan Shan dismissed all the workers so there was only them two left in the mansion.
Zhan Nan Shan had prepped a pot of ceremonial Kung Fu tea as he sat down across from Liu Gan. Sipping on the tea, they were about to have the talk. NaNa was instructed to obey Liu Gan’s command and remain by his side to guarantee safety.
“Lord Liu, it is everyone’s fortune for your arrival!” Zhan Nan Shan respectfully stated.
“Second Elder, you and I both are understanding people. I don't like to go around in circles. When you extended your invitation for me to stay here, it was so you could reap some benefits. At the same time, if there are no benefits, then I won't help you for free. There's no one else here, so let's be frank with each other. What do you want me to help you with? And what benefits can you give me?” Liu Gan asked as he drank his first cup of tea.
“Lord Liu is such a straightforward person. Then I won't waste your time, either. I love making friends like you. When I say help… It is really simple. I just want Lord Liu to be the leader of this village. Only with players like Lord Liu with spirit and potential can control these people. A leaderless village will be chaos. Of course, I won't let you do it for free. I will give you benefits worthy of your time,” Zhan Nan Shan chuckled as he replied.
“All this to manage this village? Why don't you step up and manage it yourself? Why must you find someone else for the job?” Liu Gan directly asked Zhan Nan Shan.
“There are many times that I'm not here in the village. Aside from that, I'm very lazy. I don't like nor do I have any interest in managing the village. However, I do wish for the continuation of the village. I don't want to manage it myself, so I can only find someone else appropriate for the job”
“It is like… I've adopted a dog, but I have don't have any interest in continuing to support the dog. I don't want to give it away to just anyone, so I must find someone that is suitable. I thought that Qiu Zi Tao was going to be a good candidate but, his actions yesterday disappointed me. Other people in the village aren't fit to do the job, so I can only bother Lord Liu!” Zhan Nan Shan decided to use the pet as an analogy when he saw NaNa.
“Oh? When you say it like that, then your objective is very noble. It wasn’t what I had imagined…” Liu Gan narrowed his eyes as he stared at Zhan Nan Shan.
“In the real world, I’m an entrepreneur. I’m in the real estate market. I’ve done a lot of things to amass my wealth. Bribery, forgery, cheating, and lying were just a few things I’ve done. Internally, I feel very guilty and conflicted. I wanted to atone for my sins. When I came to this world, I realized I had a chance of repenting. It was to create an organized society within the village so atrocities wouldn’t happen. It would also let the players have a place call home so they could settle down. I hoped that by doing this I can lighten my inner guilt.
“I reached my goal of creating a society within the village, it is a very simplistic goal. I just want this village to continue existing. The task of holding down a village requires a strong leader. Aside from Lord Liu, the others are not fit. If they were in a position of power, I don’t think I could relax. Throughout the years, I’ve accumulated a set of skills, I’m very good at dealing with people,I’ve been able to accurately judge people’s character. When I first saw Lord Liu, I knew that there was no one with a better fit to be the leader,” Zhan Nan Shan continued.
“So you mean that you will hand over this village of four thousand people over to me without any strings attached?” Liu Gan raised his brow.
“Yes, if you are suspicious of something I can leave the village and move far away. Now that the village is in your capable hands, you can manage it however you see fit. You can do what you like with full control. I will not interfere,” Zhan Nan Shan nodded.
“Okay, I will temporary believe your words. You did mention about benefits for me.” Liu Gan added. There was a slight feeling that Zhan Nan Shan was still hiding something.
“This is a map. The indicator on it is the mountain behind this building. It shows the location of a secret laboratory. I feel that you would be interested in things like this, right? This is the only one I can give to motivate you. As for the other miscellaneous items, I am not even interested in them, those so naturally Lord Liu wouldn't be interested, either.” Zhan Nan Shan pulled out a map and laid it out for Liu Gan.
Liu Gan received the roughly-drawn map from Mr. Sheng. The map had the approximate location of a possible Spatial Transfer Gate. The general location of the secret laboratory was at the peak of the mountain. That was all the detail the map indicated.