Chapter 037 The Little Tangerine Tree

"Then these fruits must not be ripe yet," Little Bai remarked, gazing at the clusters of small green fruits.

"That's easily solved," Qinghu replied, exasperated. Her body was born with a prodigious affinity for earth. With a slight movement of her delicate hand, the ley line energy beneath the ground quickened, channeled directly toward the two small tangerine trees.

The trees, now hastily nourished, began to tremble as if caught in a frenzy. In the blink of an eye, the fruit on their branches swelled noticeably, and then again, growing plump and round. In less than a quarter of an hour, the little tangerines had grown to the size of walnuts.

Their color shifted from emerald green to a vivid orange-yellow.

As the tangerines finally ripened to a deep orange, a delicate, refreshing fragrance wafted through the surrounding air.

From the lake and the distant shore, faint stirrings could be heard.

All around the peninsula, bright silver-white fish heads popped out of the water one after another. The lake grew silent, and the shore was still.

"The scent of these fruits is so rich," Little Bai said. "Our Shen family also maintains a white radish orchard. I heard those trees were grown from the seeds of an eighth-tier spiritual treasure. But even when those fruits are ripe, they don’t give off such a strong fragrance."

"Tch, the trees in our orchard must be many generations removed from the original eighth-tier treasure. Their flavor is mediocre, and the fruits contain almost no spiritual energy," Little Qinghu commented as she continued to manipulate the ley lines, feeding the two small trees. After the fruits matured, the trees themselves thickened ever so slightly.

She subtly altered the flow and nodes of the underground ley lines to ensure the trees would flourish in the future. Then, walking up to one of them, she plucked a tangerine, peeled it, and bit into a juicy segment.

Mmm, delicious. Absolutely delightful.

In a few quick bites—well, perhaps with a little coughing—she finished the entire tangerine. "Little Bai, have one yourself. They're quite tasty."

Hearing this, Little Bai picked a tangerine and tasted it as well. "The wood energy isn't that prominent, but it does nourish the body. I think it's wonderful, Miss. Why don't we pick these tangerines, send someone to Meishan County, and have the two young masters deliver some to Madam?"

"Excellent idea," Qinghu agreed happily. Good things should always be shared with Mother.

With great joy, Qinghu and Little Bai picked around the trees, harvesting over twenty pounds of tangerines. Ten pounds were set aside for themselves and the brothers, and the remaining twelve pounds were entrusted to Uncle Zhao to have someone deliver them to Meishan County.

Uncle Zhao received a small plate with about a dozen tangerines.

Qingjin and the others, riding in an ox cart, once again experienced the bone-jarring bumps that nearly rattled them apart.

"Goodness, this is so bumpy. Riding a horse would be better," Zhou Ji complained.

"The rutted roads here aren't suited for fast riding, even on horseback. Unless you run on your own two feet, or use a magical artifact to fly," Ning Qi said with a gentle smile.

Just as Ning Qi finished speaking about how even horseback riding was slow here, a cloud of dust appeared in the distance. A squad of cavalry raced down a branch of the dirt road, thundering past the ox cart convoy without pausing.

The flying dust covered Qingjin and his group, turning them into figures cloaked in earth.

The group: "..."

After the cavalry passed, they hurried to clean themselves and their convoy. Qingjin and Qingzheng even changed clothes. Qingjin frowned slightly, which Zhou Ji noticed.

"What's wrong, Qingjin?"

"When those cavalrymen passed by, I felt a hostile and murderous gaze upon me."

"That squad must be from the Dao Court, perhaps stationed in Meishan County. If someone among them bears you ill will, you must be careful," Ning Qi advised.

After all, only the special demon steeds of the Dao Army could run so smoothly across these uneven roads.

Qingjin nodded.

The group, now somewhat weighed down in spirit, entered Meishan County. Their first destination was the same post station as before.

"Ah, young master, you're back!" The postman from before greeted Qingzheng warmly.

"Yes, I'm here to send something to my mother again. Is your bird express still operating?"

"Of course! Our birds are all well rested at home. Are you sending fish fillets again?" the postman asked.

"Yes. And I also brought some live fish this time. Will you accept them?" Qingzheng inquired.

"Certainly! We'll take as many as you can bring," the postman replied with a bright smile.

"Great, let's start unloading," Qingzheng said promptly.

"Right away. I'll call some men to help."

With his shout, several laborers from the post station arrived. Box after box was unloaded. Upon opening one, the postman was delighted. "Six-whiskered black carp! Where did you even find these?"

"Our lake has everything," Qingzheng said, feigning regret at his slip. "Just don’t tell anyone else."

"How could I? I don't even know which territory you’re from," the postman replied with a laugh, though he was well aware of Qingzheng’s true identity and their domain.

But to think fish could still be caught in that great lake...

Previous lords had tried to fish there, but anyone who ventured out vanished without a trace. How had Qingzheng and his group succeeded?

"Six-whiskered black carp are ninth-tier, and they're delicious, so the purchase price is high. Even dead, they're twenty red gold coins per pound; live ones fetch fifty red gold coins per pound. Young master, how does that sound?"

Qingzheng immediately looked at his elder brother, unsure if the price was acceptable.

Qingjin nodded generously, and the deal was struck. They earned over a hundred thousand red gold coins in one go, a sum so large even the postman was envious.

Just as they were about to deliver the boxes of fish fillets to the great courier birds, Deng Xiaolai came running, carrying a small wooden box.

"First Young Master, Fourth Young Master, wait! Miss asked me to bring this and send it home to Madam with the rest."

Qingjin opened the box and was instantly enveloped by a rich, fruity aroma.

Even the birds, usually engrossed in their work, were startled. Their eyes fixed intently on the wooden box.

Qingjin quickly closed the lid.

"Will these fruits spoil if we just leave them in the box?" Qingjin asked.

"These are ninth-tier spiritual treasures. They won't spoil even if left out for a month. Amazing that your territory has such treasures," the postman replied with a broad grin.