Chapter 1695 - 1611: Does Your Family Own a Mine? (Part 3)

"Julian, how can you lend a hand to this country bumpkin?" protested a young lady sweetly.

"Yeah, we’re here to have fun, not to work."

Julian turned and gave a cold glance at the chattering women, his smile was both chilly and wicked, causing them to be scared speechless, fearing to make a sound.

Then Julian turned back with a harmless grin.

The crowd felt like they’d been dealt a bad hand.

Marcus and the elder Mr. Weng were entirely unaware of the commotion over here. Attan glanced at Julian thoughtfully but said nothing, thinking, "Free labor, might as well use it."

Later, Julian followed Marcus, helping to pick oranges. Being young and strong, he picked for an hour straight, ending up with aching back and sore muscles, watching Marcus sweet-talk and whisper to the pretty young ladies, his eyes turning green with envy.

Work truly was tough, and he didn’t have the company of a beautiful young lady.

Thinking about his precious life, Julian decided to gamble; he might as well stay at the Holiday Village for a while. Marcus, with his sturdy build, would surely be great in a brawl; staying at their Holiday Village, they had to guarantee his safety.

Thinking along these lines, Julian felt that picking oranges for an hour hadn’t been in vain.

"You all pick faster, stop dawdling!" Julian said expressionlessly to his friends sprawled on the grass, complaining endlessly.

Sobs; the chubby ones, ordered to work, begrudgingly got up to continue picking fruit.

If they had known they were here to labor in the countryside, even with a knife to their necks, they wouldn’t have come.

Once the ripe oranges were picked to prevent spoiling on the branches, Irving drove them back to the Holiday Village. The truck was meant for transporting fruit, so it had no room for people; the remaining ones had to walk back.

Marcus and Attan naturally walked hand in hand at the front, while Julian and his energetic friends decided to continue playing since it wasn’t dark yet.

Seeing this, Attan reminded them, "That lake is really deep, don’t go in the water."

"Got it~" The group gallantly dashed off to chase the sheep grazing on the hill. The flock bleated frantically.

Attan felt speechless; it was either chasing dogs or catching sheep.

Marcus, noticing her excessive concern for the guests, felt a bit sullen and held her hand tighter, speaking low, "They’re adults. We’re not their parents, why bother caring?"

"They’re all a bunch of troublemakers. I’m just worried about any mishaps; it would be inconvenient for us," Attan shook his arm, softly comforting him, "Let’s just set up more warning signs by the lake."

Marcus, softened by her tender persuasion, couldn’t help but smile, "Yeah, the areas where you can go in are shallow; we’ve made safety arrangements at the deep water areas. As long as they’re not stupid enough to jump in the water, there shouldn’t be any issues."

Attan pondered the guests this time around; aside from the peculiar leader Julian, the rest seemed genuinely here to have fun.

"How many local specialties are left in the estate? I want to send some to the Imperial City," Attan asked. "Later, let Uncle De deliver some to Stewart Family and Howard Family; it’s also a way to make acquaintances, in case we encounter situations beyond our reach, we won’t be completely in the dark."

Marcus gave her a deep look, nodding, "There’s plenty of fruit, and they taste good. We’ll package the best ones, and as for local specialties, there’s poultry eggs, fish, and mountain dried goods. Why not send a bit of everything?"

Attan’s dark eyes sparkled mischievously, tiptoeing to whisper in his ear, "Let’s secretly send some golden thread fish over. Even if Minister Li in Imperial City knows, he wouldn’t dare to demand them from either Stewart Family or Howard Family."

Marcus felt a flush in his ears, her breath leaving him with a heavy heart, barely capable of coherent thought, just nodding instinctively.

Attan felt a hint of pride; Minister Li forbade them from selling fish, but they could give them as gifts — their own share. She and Marcus didn’t usually fish from the lake to eat anyway.

Back at the estate, Marcus packed the freshly picked fruit, selecting the best to fill ten boxes, then vacuum-packed mountain goods like mushrooms, fungus, cinnamon, and anise. He also divided previously preserved leg of lamb and venison into ten portions, packaged them too, and finally went to the lake to catch golden thread fish.

Attan looked at the packaged goods; the dried goods were unique local specialties, authentic mountain produce with delicious flavors. Dried meat had been set aside for leisurely enjoyment; Marcus had preserved it to a golden brightness, and vacuum-packaged it excellently.