Chapter 817: Dad Has Also Saved a Lot of Money Over the Years

Ye Qianning’s contract with the desert tribes lasted for ten years. If they wanted to cultivate date palms, that agreement would have to be negotiated separately. Tomorrow, she would have Gu Shuo ask about it; whether they planted them or not depended entirely on their own wishes. Planting fruit in the barren wasteland wouldn’t work, so Ye Qianning planned to cultivate medicinal herbs instead. Medicine had been in critically short supply since ancient times, and compared to growing fruit, it turned a profit much faster.

Setting aside the agricultural skills of the people in the Northwest, they raised quite a lot of donkeys. Donkey hide could be boiled down to make authentic donkey-hide gelatin, which was incredibly expensive and offered a clear path to wealth. The weather in the Northwest was poorly suited for farming. Summers were so arid that even finding water was difficult, while winters brought heavy rain. Due to the freezing temperatures, absolutely nothing could be grown during the winter. With summers being far too dry to grow much, Ye Qianning prepared to have them build greenhouses. Winter vegetables were far more expensive than fruit.

Inside her spatial dimension, Ye Qianning needed to gather a massive amount of seeds and write down a list of instructions. She was so busy that she worked well past midnight. It wasn’t until she heard a knock on the door that she finally rubbed her temples and exited the space. The room was pitch black. Time always flew by inside the dimension; she hadn’t even noticed how late it was.

The knocking outside the door sounded a few more times before stopping. Xiang Minghou had just turned to leave when the room’s door creaked open.

"Dad, what brings you here?" she asked.

"I didn’t see you when I returned to the inn this afternoon. Since you weren’t back so late, I came over to check on you," Xiang Minghou said.

Ye Qianning yawned and stepped out of the room. "I got busy and lost track of time. Let’s go."

"Isn’t it fine to stay at the Immortal Sea Building? Do you really have to run back and forth between the two?"

"I had some matters to take care of here today." Ye Qianning linked arms with her father, and the two headed toward the stairs.

"Is it about those children?"

Ye Qianning looked surprised. "How did you know?"

"When I returned to Dayu City this afternoon, I ran into Luo Wen and Luo Xuan a few miles outside the city. They mentioned it briefly."

Ye Qianning gave a Weiwei nod.

Xiang Minghou stared at her, his tone earnest and profound. "I know you have a sense of measure in what you do, but before acting, you must consider your own safety first."

Only after experiencing the events of the past did he realize that when disaster struck, saving someone else could mean sacrificing oneself. Saving the right person was a stroke of immense luck, but saving the wrong person was akin to forging a lethal weapon. This kind of grand righteousness was actually the most terrifying thing of all.

"I know." Ye Qianning understood. Anyone who had seen enough of the world would realize that in ancient times, the only thing people truly worshipped was imperial power. The human heart was far less benevolent than one might hope.

Xiang Minghou reached out and patted her hand. "I ask for nothing else in this world, only that you remain safe for the rest of your life."

Ye Qianning murmured her agreement, and the two boarded their carriage.

"I heard Gu Shuo secured the business contracts with the Loulan tribes. That was your idea, wasn’t it?" Xiang Minghou asked, sitting across from her.

"Mhm. Even though we lost Nanyuan, we still have plenty of paths we can take."

"Aren’t you afraid they’ll turn into a second Nanyuan?" Nanyuan was currently a complete mess; how could she still be so daring?

"We have to be brave enough to try."

In truth, Ye Qianning had been worried at first too. Once bitten, twice shy. However, she still chose to believe. The ten-year contract was the best testament to that.

"What am I going to do with you? You insist on dabbling in business," Xiang Minghou sighed. "I’ve saved up quite a bit of money over the years—more than enough for you to squander. Why do you have to make yourself so exhausted?" He only wanted his daughter to live a stable, healthy, and peaceful life.

Hearing this, Ye Qianning grew curious. "How much money do you actually have?"

"About this high... no, wait..." Xiang Minghou thought for a moment, then held out both hands, increasing the distance between them to show a taller height. "This high. And it’s all in gold certificates."