Once the villagers had dispersed, Ethan mounted Mist. He gave the reins a gentle shake and trotted back to their temporary residence alongside Suzie on Red Cloud. The bizarre parade of animals trailed happily behind them.
The next morning, Natalie rode over on Snow White, holding Missy securely in front of her.
"Big cat! Big cat!" the little girl cheered before they even reached the yard.
Ethan had just finished giving the tiger a bath with Spiritual Water the night before. Hearing Missy's voice, he stepped out of the house and smiled.
"Down, Snow. I want to get down," Missy patted the white horse's head.
Snow immediately folded her legs and knelt. Natalie dismounted with her, and Missy immediately ran over to the tiger. The massive beast happily stuck out its tongue and gave her face an affectionate lick. Giggling, Missy popped a piece of candy into the tiger's mouth.
Rumble~ The tiger let out a pleased purr and lay flat on its stomach, waiting for the little girl to climb onto its back. Once she was settled, it stood up, gave Ethan a low grunt, and gestured with its head toward the road.
"Go ahead and play. Just don't wander too far. We're having breakfast soon," Ethan said, turning back to the outdoor sink to wash his face.
Roar~ The tiger agreed, carrying the little girl out of the yard at a steady, leisurely pace.
Oink, oink... The two wild boars trotted up to Ethan, snorting pitifully.
"Alright, you two can go too."
Getting his approval, the boar couple squealed happily and scurried after the tiger. As for the wolf cub, it had apparently decided Blackie was its new father. It and Whiskers stuck to the giant dog like glue, leaving Blackie looking thoroughly depressed at having to babysit.
"Director Natalie, you're up early!" Suzie greeted as she walked out of the house.
"Blame Missy. She insisted on riding the 'big cat' first thing in the morning," Natalie replied with a helpless smile.
"By the way, you two beautiful village leaders, did you save a piece of land for me?" Ethan asked as he started setting out breakfast.
"Land? What do you need land for?" they asked, confused.
"What do you mean? I'm a farmer, aren't I? I need space to raise poultry, and I have a few experimental farming ideas I want to test out."
"Well, there is a large, empty plot near the base of the West Mountain," Suzie pondered. "Because it's right up against the rocky mountain, no one else wanted to contract it. If you don't mind the location, we can lease it to you for cheap."
"Perfect, I'll take it. But you don't need to give me a discount; just charge the standard rate," Ethan agreed easily.
"But Ethan, the soil over there is as hard as rock," Natalie warned. "Nothing grows there. If you try to plant anything, you'll just be throwing your money away."
"Don't worry, Natalie. Others might not be able to grow anything there, but your old classmate has his ways!"
Just as breakfast was ready, the tiger, the two pigs, and the little girl ran back into the yard. Ethan pulled out a few large pots and filled them with fragrant meat and bones for the animals, then sat down to eat with the two women and Missy.
Natalie rubbed her eyes, staring at the animals. "Wait... Ethan, is it just me, or did these animals grow a lot bigger overnight?"
"Haha, maybe my cooking is just that good. They're eating well and bulking up. You two better be careful, or you'll get fat too," Ethan teased.
Hearing that, the two women immediately put down their chopsticks, genuinely afraid that Ethan's delicious food would ruin their figures.
After breakfast, Missy rode the tiger back out to play with the boars. Ethan sketched out a simple blueprint and took it to Manager Chen, who was overseeing the construction of his new mansion. He asked him to build an agricultural facility on the newly leased land according to his specifications.
Just as he left the construction site, his phone rang. It was Don.
"Brother! Are you home?" Don's excited voice boomed through the speaker. "I'm on my way and should be at your place this afternoon! Hahaha, you were absolutely right. That Van Gogh painting is the real deal! Just like you asked, I'm bringing you a truckload of cash!"
"Great. Come on over, I'm at home," Ethan said, heading back.
After lunch, shortly after Suzie and Natalie left for the village office, a custom Rolls-Royce SUV pulled up to Ethan's door, followed closely by an armored cash transport truck. Two armed guards immediately jumped out, securing the perimeter.
"Damn, Don. You couldn't just throw it in the trunk of a regular car? Did you really need to make such a scene?" Ethan asked, speechless.
"Easy for you to say! It's a hundred million yuan! You think I'd risk it?" Don scoffed. "People will loot a truck if it spills watermelons on the highway, let alone a hundred million in cold, hard cash! Look, there's five million in each of these metal briefcases. Twenty boxes in total. Where do you want them?"
Ethan knew Don had a point. People did crazy things for money. He had the guards carry the twenty heavy briefcases into the back room of his temporary house. He tipped them 2,000 yuan, which they accepted with polite thanks.
"Brother, here's the bank card with the other hundred million. The password is the last six digits of your phone number. All the paperwork and registration for the Rolls-Royce are in the glove compartment. I gotta run."
"You're leaving already? Not staying for dinner?" Ethan asked, taking the card.
"I'd love to, but there's an emergency at the company I need to handle."
Seeing he was in a rush, Ethan didn't press him. But as Don drove off in the armored truck, Ethan finally noticed the license plate on the new Rolls-Royce. He nearly tripped.
A12345?! Are you kidding me? I specifically told you I wanted a low-key license plate! How is this low-key?!
Shaking his head in exasperation, Ethan climbed into the Rolls-Royce and parked it next to his Range Rover. He stored the vehicle registration and documents directly into his Ring Space. Back inside the house, he popped open one of the metal briefcases. Seeing the neat stacks of crisp, hundred-yuan bills made him smile. The visual impact of cold, hard cash was completely different from a string of numbers on a bank card.
After inspecting each box, he transferred all twenty briefcases into his spatial zone. Then, he took out his phone and browsed for fruit tree saplings online. He made a few calls, negotiated the prices, and transferred the money, arranging for the suppliers to deliver the saplings directly to the village.
Not wanting the Rolls-Royce to just sit there, he drove it into town to buy some farming tools—shovels, hoes, and several more fruit knives and machetes, which he immediately tossed into the Ring Space to soak in Spiritual Water.
Returning to the village, he strapped a backpack pesticide sprayer—filled with diluted Spiritual Water—onto his shoulders. After greeting the passing villagers, he headed to his newly acquired, run-down orchard. He walked down the rows, carefully spraying the apple and peach trees with the spiritual mixture.
Whenever he came across a withered, dying tree, he didn't bother with the diluted spray. Instead, he discreetly summoned pure Spiritual Water from his ring and let a few drops fall directly onto the roots. With the power of the Spiritual Water, he refused to believe he couldn't bring this orchard back to life.