Chronicles Of Primordial Wars (Ch. 271-500)

ch. 445-446

Chapter 445- Fewer Birds in the Sky

Yi Shi wasn’t usually at the field but visited every year at this time to check the harvest. They weren’t having good harvests- if anyone attempted to cheat the numbers, life would be worse for them. However, he was here for another reason unrelated to his family— he took this as an opportunity to earn extra cash during harvest season.

His fast calculations were not something anyone could do. That was why after ‘accidentally’ helping his neighbour once, he became famous among landowners. During this time, landowners who couldn’t bother to check their own numbers would get him for help. He was fast, efficient and had almost a hundred percent accuracy rate. He just wanted a little compensation. This saved everyone time and caught any liars who manipulated the numbers as soon as possible. It was a win-win!

The money he earned every year from everyone was similar to the value of his own harvest.

That Mu lady was a landowner from nearby, one of his income streams. Soon after he left, another person came looking for Yi Shi. That was why he had a large table here like he was open for business. He was easy to spot, he could conveniently take jobs like that.

Ji Ju did not stay long at Yi Shi’s place. After checking the well, he went to other plots to ask a few questions. It was the same everywhere, the water levels in the wells were dropping yearly. If the current climate maintained, life was going to be difficult.

Right now, Yi Shi’s small plot of land with few wells was suffering but in one or two years, there would be more victims. Some people who thought they could save themselves with drought-resistant crops might not survive too– the root cause of the problem was worsening.

Ji Ju was very quiet on the way back and in a sour mood. The butler did not understand so Shao Xuan explained to him in a low voice.

The butler thanked him gratefully then quickly sent someone to brew tea for Ji Ju to calm down. At the same time, he wondered how he could advise their boss. Ji Ju was their source of income, if he worried himself sick, and something happened, how would these butlers live?

According to what Shao Xuan knew, there was a river near King City. The city had already built irrigation canals to supply water into the city but this did not solve all the problems. The fields covered a vast area so if there was really a drought, these canals would dry up too. Plus, Shao Xuan felt like Ji Ju wasn’t just worried about this. There must be something else Ji Ju was unwilling to tell him.

Since Ji Ju wasn’t telling, Shao Xuan did not plan to ask either. He and Guang Yi had already stayed many days and watched the Thousand Grain Gold plants grow after passing the second block. They’d learned a lot about crops and received precious seeds. Shao Xuan planned to leave since he would just be disturbing here.

However, before he left, he had one thing to attend to.

On the next day, Ji Ju had not left his room in Qingmang Pavilion so Shao Xuan left on his own. The guards at the entrance knew Shao Xuan and after he told them he was just taking a walk, they did not stop him.

Shoa Xuan went to Yi Shi’s plot of land.

Yi Shi had just finished calculating some figures for a client on a thick roll of cloth. There were five sacks of grains next to him– payment for his service.

A large man with an oily face left with a darkened face. The results must’ve shown that someone had cheated him of his harvest. Every step was forceful.

When Shao Xuan arrived, Yi Shi only looked up without friendliness. “What’s up? Mr Golden Grain isn’t here today.”

“No, I have a question for you,” said Shao Xuan.