TRWSB – Chapter 261 Meeting [Ending Chapter]

Yi Residence.

Mu Tingxuan helped Yi Ming pack his school bag and said, “I’ve put three spirit fruits in here for you. Is that enough?”

“Not enough, put in three more,” Yi Ming replied.

Mu Tingxuan asked in confusion, “Not enough? Your appetite has grown again? Doesn’t the academy provide one proper meal?”

“They’re not all for me,” Yi Ming said, swinging his legs.

“They’re for Zhuang Yun?”

Yi Ming’s little face wrinkled up. “Of course not for that idiot Zhuang Yun. He’s the most annoying. I’m not sharing my food with him.”

“Then who are they for?” Mu Tingxuan asked, puzzled.

“There’s a new girl in class. I think she’s really smart, and I want to play with her from now on.” Yi Ming’s face turned red.

Mu Tingxuan frowned in confusion. “Why do you think she’s smart?”

“She tied her hair into two high pigtails!”

Mu Tingxuan stared at him, baffled. “That’s it?”

Yi Ming nodded. “She’s short, but after tying those pigtails, she looked taller.”

Mu Tingxuan: “So that makes her… taller?” So that’s what counts as smart now?

Yi Ming added proudly, “Of course. She’s taller than that shorty Zhuang Yun.”

Mu Tingxuan chuckled, “Well, that is impressive.”

Yi Ming grinned, “Right? I’m off to school!”

Yi Fan walked into the room and said to Mu Tingxuan, “A Ming seems really happy today. It’s rare to see him in such a good mood.”

Mu Tingxuan nodded, “Yes, looks like he made a new friend.”

…

Yi Ming had left in high spirits, but came back fuming.

“A Ming, what’s wrong?” Mu Tingxuan asked, seeing how upset he was.

“Zhuang Yun is a jerk, a scumbag!” Yi Ming said angrily.

Yi Fan looked at him with concern. “What happened?”

Yi Ming looked extremely aggrieved. “He told the pigtail girl that I still wet the bed, and now she won’t play with me anymore!”

Mu Tingxuan: “…”

“That jerk even ate all the extra spirit fruits I brought. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have brought any extras.” Yi Ming beat his chest in frustration.

Mu Tingxuan: “…”

Yi Ming grumbled, “That guy is so despicable.”

Yi Fan scratched his head and thought: That brat Zhuang Yun so easily stole the little girl my son liked. At this rate, ten years from now, it’ll be hard for my son to steal someone Zhuang Yun likes.

Yi Ming paced around the room restlessly, shouting, “That jerk is so arrogant! Dad, don’t you have any way to deal with him?”

Yi Fan: “…”

“That’s… a bit tricky,” Yi Fan said.

Yi Ming fumed, “Dad, seriously? Forget it, I’m not talking to you.”

Yi Fan: “…”

Watching Yi Ming storm off, Yi Fan sighed helplessly, “This little rascal, so many problems.”

Mu Tingxuan rubbed his forehead and said with a sigh, “These two clearly grew up together. Why is their relationship so bad?”

…

Yi Ming walked into the main hall and spotted a familiar figure.

“Uncle Qi!” he shouted cheerfully, running over and throwing himself into Qi Shaorong’s arms. Strangely enough, while he disliked Zhuang Yun, he really liked Qi Shaorong.

Qi Shaorong hugged him and said, “A Ming, what’s wrong? You don’t look too good.”

Yi Ming snuggled into a comfortable spot in Qi Shaorong’s arms and asked, “Uncle Qi, what do you do when you hate someone?”

Qi Shaorong clenched his fist and raised it. “Isn’t it obvious? Beat them up!”

“What if you can’t win?” Yi Ming asked.

Qi Shaorong rolled his eyes. “Then gang up on them!”

Yi Ming pouted in defeat. “What if the gang can’t win either?”

Qi Shaorong sighed, “Well, if even that doesn’t work, then it’s a real problem.”

Yi Ming nodded solemnly. “It is a real problem.”

“If a gang-up doesn’t work, there’s only one option left.”

“What’s that?” Yi Ming asked.

“Marry them,” Qi Shaorong said.

Yi Ming: “…”

Qi Shaorong looked at Yi Ming’s bewildered face and chuckled. “Do you know who I used to hate the most?”

Yi Ming glanced at Zhuang Hao beside him, then turned back to Qi Shaorong.

“If you can’t win alone, and even a group can’t beat him, you just marry him. Then you can make him work like a slave,” Qi Shaorong said.

Zhuang Hao: “…” Seriously? I’m right here and you’re saying stuff like that?

“Young Master.” Mu Tingxuan and Yi Fan walked in.

Qi Shaorong’s face flushed a little. Teaching a kid bad things and then getting caught by his parent—how embarrassing.

“Tingxuan, I was just joking around with your son,” Qi Shaorong said.

Mu Tingxuan looked at Qi Shaorong with helplessness. “Young Master, you shouldn’t joke with him like that. He’ll take it seriously.”

“Really?” Qi Shaorong muttered.

Mu Tingxuan nodded. “Yes!”

Qi Shaorong: “…”

…

“Young Master, why are you and Young Master Zhuang here?” Yi Fan asked.

Qi Shaorong smiled. “Actually, we came to talk to you about something.”

“What is it?”

“Xindorei has gone back. He wants to open a passage between here and the Forsaken Land,” Qi Shaorong said.

Yi Fan was surprised. “Xindorei is surprisingly forward-thinking.”

Qi Shaorong smiled. “The Godblood Clan has unique advantages and special bloodlines. But according to Xindorei, the bloodline of the Godblood Clan has deteriorated. Though the Forsaken Land preserved the last of it, its harsh environment has severely hindered their development.”

“In the Forsaken Land, the Godblood Clan’s situation is dire. Xindorei said that while many of them are xenophobic, there are also some who want to return to this world.”

After experiencing the dazzling magical world, Xindorei had developed new ideas.

Yi Fan nodded. “It’s good that Xindorei has that vision. The Forsaken Land has many valuable resources. If the two realms can open trade, there’s a lot of profit to be made.”

“The Godblood Clan is very xenophobic. If we want interrealm trade, we’re likely to face a lot of resistance,” Mu Tingxuan said.

“That depends on people. As long as trade starts smoothly, everything else will follow. Fred is already a Five-Star Totem Warrior. The Godblood Clan worships strength. With Fred involved, things should go more smoothly,” Zhuang Hao said.

…

Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao discussed things with Mu Tingxuan and Yi Fan for a long time before returning to the Zhuang residence.

As soon as Zhuang Hao entered, he saw little Zhuang Yun sitting seriously at the dining table eating his food.

“Where have you two dads been?” Zhuang Yun asked.

“Discussing business. By the way, Ah Yun, does Yi Ming have anyone at school he especially dislikes?” Qi Shaorong asked.

Zhuang Yun blinked in confusion. “Someone he really dislikes?”

Qi Shaorong nodded. “Yeah!”

“Probably me,” Zhuang Yun replied.

Qi Shaorong: “…”

“Why does Yi Ming dislike you?” he asked.

“Because he’s dumb and I’m smart. So, he’s jealous of me,” Zhuang Yun said.

Qi Shaorong: “…” This kid really needs a beating…

Zhuang Yun looked at Qi Shaorong’s expression and asked, “Dad, what’s wrong?”

Qi Shaorong shook his head. “Nothing. Just… don’t bully Ah Ming too much. You two grew up together.”

“It’s not that I hate him. It’s just that every time he sees me, he’s unfriendly. Today he tried to impress a chubby girl—it was just dumb,” Zhuang Yun said, pouting.

Qi Shaorong had a bad feeling. “He tried to impress a chubby girl? You didn’t do anything, right?”

“I didn’t really do anything. I just told that chubby girl he wets the bed. Then she stopped talking to him,” Zhuang Yun said.

Qi Shaorong stared at Zhuang Yun, headache rising. “Ah Yun, that’s not very nice!”

Zhuang Yun shrugged. “Friendship should be based on honesty. I was just helping him test her character.”

Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Yun’s righteous but secretly guilty face. “Wetting the bed is personal privacy, you know? You can’t just say things like that.”

Zhuang Yun pouted. “Fine. I won’t say it next time.”

…

The first store selling specialties from the Forsaken Land opened, and soon the entire land came into the spotlight.

Many herbs and metal ores from the Forsaken Land were highly attractive to the people of the magical world.

Once trade between the two realms started, it spread like wildfire.

After returning to the Yuan Kingdom, Zhuang Hao became busy with business. Life was relatively calm, until one day, he received a visitor.

“Young Master Zhuang, your business is going well!” Zuo Yunfei said.

Zhuang Hao smiled. “It’s alright.”

Zuo Yunfei chuckled. “You’re too modest. I thought taking your business to the sea tribes was already impressive. But now, you’ve taken it to the Forsaken Land! Even if you’re still considered a newcomer in the business world, your rise has been unprecedented. Someday, you’ll surpass even the chairman of the Commerce Alliance.”

Zhuang Hao laughed. “You flatter me. I have a family now—a wife and kids to feed—so I have to run a small business to support them.”

Zuo Yunfei rolled his eyes. “If what you’re doing is considered a small business, then there’s no such thing as big business anymore…”

“By the way, how’s your kid?” Children born from combined fruits mature in three months. Zuo Yunfei and Qi Heng’s child was already a few months old.

“Great! Honestly, he’s extremely talented. I’m sure he’ll surpass me one day,” Zuo Yunfei said proudly.

Zhuang Hao was curious. “Oh? What makes you say he’s so talented?”

“You might not believe this, but even before learning magic, he could already use it. He zapped one of the servants until he was twitching on the floor,” Zuo Yunfei said.

Zhuang Hao gave a dry laugh. “Then maybe you need a tougher servant.”

Zuo Yunfei nodded. “Yeah. But most of the time, I care for him myself. The kid may be small, but his temper is explosive.”

“Also, I heard you invested 500 million and hired over ten wood-element mages to research growing the combined fruit?” Zuo Yunfei asked.

Zhuang Hao nodded. “Yep. Even in the Forsaken Land, combined fruits are rare. If we can cultivate them, selling to the Godblood Clan will bring big profits.”

Zuo Yunfei laughed. “You really know how to plan!”

Zhuang Hao looked at Zuo Yunfei. “Soon, I’ll be doing business with Hailing. I’ll be heading to the sea tribes—want to come along?” Hailing and Bi Liuyun had two mermaid children. Mermaids can reproduce regardless of gender, and although Bi Liuyun is half-human, he inherited some sea tribe gifts.

Zuo Yunfei nodded. “Sure!”

Qi Heng held the baby while sitting to the side. Qi Shaorong, Bi Liuyun, and Yi Fan all gathered around to look at the child.

“Ah Fan, your kid’s hairstyle is wild!” Qi Shaorong couldn’t help but exclaim.

Yi Fan smiled helplessly. “I have no idea how it happened—he just ended up like that.”

The baby in Qi Heng’s arms had a tiny head topped with a mini afro, the singed hair looking very unique.

“I wanted to shave his head bald, but Yunfei wouldn’t let me. He even bragged everywhere that our son was amazing and did his hair like that himself,” Qi Heng said helplessly.

Qi Shaorong: “…”

…

The carriage drove along the main road. Yi Ming stuck his head out of the window.

“Father, are we really going to the sea tribe?”

Yi Fan nodded. “Yes.”

“Will we see mermaids?” Yi Ming asked.

“We will.”

“Can I cook one and eat it like a fish?”

“No.”

Zhuang Yun opened his eyes and muttered, “Idiot.”

Yi Ming glared angrily at Zhuang Yun, who turned his head away and ignored him.

…

Upon arriving at the sea tribe, Hailing and Bi Liuyun had already prepared a welcoming banquet on the shore.

Hailing, Zhuang Hao, Zuo Yunfei—all renowned masters—their gathering attracted attention from all directions.

Even a thousand years later, this historic meeting was still often mentioned.

After this gathering, Zhuang Hao and the others founded the Huaxia Trading Company. Qi Shaorong became the company president, with Zhuang Hao as vice president. Bi Liuyun, Hailing, Yi Fan, Mu Tingxuan, Zuo Yunfei, and Qi Shaorong all served as elders.

Huaxia Trading Company developed rapidly. In less than twenty years, it became the largest trading firm in the magical world.

The company dealt in an enormous variety of goods, and a saying spread across the magical continent:
“If you have money, you can find anything you want at Huaxia Trading Company.”

The company strengthened ties between Hailing and the human race, significantly increasing trade between sea tribes and humans. Huaxia Trading Company also established relations with the Godblood Clan from the Forsaken Land, and many of them came to the magical world to make a living.

[End of Main Story]