SPMT : Chapter 17

Xiao Jingting came home a bit later than Xu Mu’an. As soon as Xiao Jingting returned, he discovered that nearly twenty bunches of grapes were missing from the courtyard.

With one look at the grapevines in the courtyard, Xiao Jingting knew that “stealing grapes” was Xiao Xiaofan’s masterpiece.

Among the hundreds of bunches of grapes in the courtyard, missing ten or twenty bunches actually wouldn’t be noticeable. But this grape-picker was too brazen – focusing on one spot and picking it completely clean, making it impossible not to be discovered.

Xiao Jingting stood with his hands on his hips, looking at that empty section of grapevine and shook his head. Originally, that area had the most luxuriant grape growth, but now it was completely bare.

Xiao Xiaofan was “secretly” observing Xiao Jingting’s movements. He turned his head and looked at Xiao Xiaodong with worry, saying, “Daddy seems to have discovered it. He won’t come beat me, will he?”

“Who told you to be so stupid, picking grapes from just one spot,” Xiao Xiaodong said irritably.

Xiao Xiaofan tugged at his sleeves, saying somewhat aggrievedly, “But the grapes in that spot were the biggest!”

Xiao Xiaodong glared at Xiao Xiaofan irritably and scolded, “And you’re still talking about it.”

Although Xiao Xiaofan was foolish, he was still very considerate. When he discovered the grapes were delicious, Xiao Xiaofan called Xiao Xiaodong to eat together. Xiao Xiaodong also found them tasty, so Xiao Xiaofan volunteered to go pick two more bunches.

Xiao Xiaodong thought that since they had already picked some, picking two more bunches wouldn’t matter. How could he know that Xiao Xiaofan would become addicted to eating them and pick more than ten bunches at once, all from the same spot? By the time Xiao Xiaodong noticed, the grapes in that area had been picked clean, and those grapevines had been made crooked and askew.

Once the grapes were picked, they couldn’t be stuck back on. Besides worrying, Xiao Xiaodong and Xiao Xiaofan ate about seventy to eighty percent of the grapes between them.

“Sorry! The children don’t understand things and stole your grapes,” Xu Mu’an walked into the courtyard and apologetically said to Xiao Jingting.

Xiao Jingting said nonchalantly, “It’s fine. They’re my sons – it’s only natural for them to eat their father’s food.” Xiao Xiaofan and Xiao Xiaodong were already very well-behaved. On Earth, those kids were more outrageous than each other, all little tyrants in their homes who demanded stars but wouldn’t accept the moon.

Hearing Xiao Jingting’s words, Xu Mu’an thought about his previous wariness toward Xiao Jingting and couldn’t help feeling somewhat guilty. Xiao Jingting seemed to have truly changed.

Xiao Jingting picked a bunch of grapes for Xu Mu’an, saying, “Try these.” The plants in this world really grew fast. He had used the Ten Thousand Things Growth technique again this morning, and the grapes had ripened. Originally, he thought it would take much longer.

Xu Mu’an tasted one and said, “The flavor is very good, and moreover, it seems to enhance spiritual power.” Xiao Xiaofan had left two bunches of grapes for Xu Mu’an, so actually, Xu Mu’an had already tasted them beforehand.

“What do you think these grapes could sell for?” Xiao Jingting asked.

“Selling them for two to three hundred copper plates shouldn’t be a problem. If we sell too many, the price would probably drop somewhat.” There were nearly four hundred bunches of grapes in the courtyard total. Conservatively estimated, they should be able to sell them for about one hundred taels.

Xiao Jingting nodded. Two to three hundred copper plates wasn’t a small amount either.

“You want to sell grapes – after selling the grapes, what do you plan to do?” Xu Mu’an asked.

Xiao Jingting smiled embarrassedly and said, “I was confused before and pawned the family’s fields. However, I used a living pawn, so if I add some interest, I can get the fields back. I’m thinking it would be better to buy back those few acres of superior fields first.”

Only superior fields could grow high-grade spirit plants. Generally, families who had superior fields carefully tended to them. How could anyone be like the original owner, this young master, and pawn them off?

“I think if we have money, we should pay off the gambling debts first,” Xu Mu’an suggested. Being debt-free brings peace of mind, and getting involved with gambling house people would be big trouble.

“I don’t have gambling debts,” Xiao Jingting said.

Xu Mu’an was stunned for a moment and said, “No gambling debts? Then when we encountered Qiu Bai before…”

“That was lying to him. I’m not related to him in any way. His older brother wanting to marry a wife – what does that have to do with me? However, refusing outright wouldn’t be good either, so I made up an excuse,” Xiao Jingting said indifferently.

Xu Mu’an looked at Xiao Jingting, feeling like Xiao Jingting wasn’t Xiao Jingting anymore.

Xiao Jingting turned his head, looked at Xu Mu’an, and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Xu Mu’an smiled and said, “Nothing.”

“By the way, I’m going to town tomorrow to sell grapes. Do you want to come with me?” Xiao Jingting asked.

Xu Mu’an nodded and said, “Sure!” Xu Mu’an thought privately: After Xiao Jingting sells this batch of grapes, he should be able to earn quite a bit. Selling children would only get thirty taels. Since Xiao Jingting is so good at making money, he probably wouldn’t be interested in money from selling children.

“By the way, about that Wang Erhu who came before…”

Hearing Xiao Jingting mention this person, Xu Mu’an couldn’t help but tense up. “What about him?”

“I feel this person seems to have ulterior motives toward me. When I was addicted to gambling before, selling the land was all his instigation. I think someone might have instructed him to frame me. If he comes to cause trouble tomorrow, it wouldn’t be convenient for me to act personally. You’d better help me teach him a lesson.”

Xu Mu’an nodded and said, “I understand.” It was this Wang Erhu who instigated Xiao Jingting to sell children. Xu Mu’an had long found this person disagreeable.