rslcontracting Chapter 400 - 385: Nuisance
Chapter 400 - 385: Nuisance
Gu Xi thought for a moment, then raised her hand to open her personal terminal. She sent a message to Tang You, asking how much of A City Base’s seed quota was left for the year.
She had learned about the seed quota by chance while studying under two professors back in South City.
Now was the perfect time to put that knowledge to good use.
’They could get the seeds from the Central Base, but whether they actually used them... that was their own business.’
「A City Base.」
Tang You, who was completely swamped with work, was taken aback when he saw Gu Xi’s message. ’Why is Miss Gu asking about seeds? Is the farm’s inventory running low?’
’That can’t be right...’
Staring at Gu Xi’s message, a thought suddenly popped into his head: ’Don’t tell me Miss Gu was actually responsible for what happened at Gu Garden last night?’
Come to think of it, it wasn’t impossible. After all, the only people with that kind of power were Miss Gu and *that* person. Although many people outside suspected *that* person was responsible, Tang You had a strange gut feeling that this was definitely related to Gu Xi.
He thought about how the Liu Family was in complete disarray because of the incident at Gu Garden last night. Their upper echelons were all terrified, and the panic had even spread to City A, casting a pall of extreme tension over everything. The whole affair was giving him a massive headache.
But then he looked at Miss Gu... As expected of a major player. No matter how much chaos the Liu Family was in or how they were living in constant fear, she was over there, living her peaceful life, sticking to her farming script.
’Truly... there’s no comparison, no comparison at all.’
With that, Tang You’s thoughts began to wander, and he didn’t reply to Gu Xi’s message right away.
Soon, Gu Xi’s second message came through.
?
Seeing the large question mark on the Light Screen, Tang You jolted and quickly sent a reply.
"Miss Gu, don’t worry about the seeds. You can have as many as you want."
For certain well-known reasons, City A was unique. The danger level outside the city was far higher than at other bases. Consequently, fewer people were willing to leave the safe zone to clear land for farming. As a result, they almost never used up their entire seed quota each year.
’Of course, even if they didn’t have any, he would have to find a way to get them for Miss Gu.’
Outsiders didn’t know the details of what happened at Gu Garden last night. All they knew was that something major had happened to the Liu Family, that they were in a complete mess, and that many people were planning to flee. But he had been at Gu Garden last night...
Thinking about the Liu Family’s secret weapons hidden in the mountains, and how they had been silently wiped out... Tang You shivered despite the sweltering heat.
’Thank god he hadn’t done anything last night.’
’But he had, after all, gone to Gu Garden last night. He wondered if Miss Gu might have gotten the wrong idea.’
Tang You thought for a moment and decided that regardless of whether Miss Gu had misunderstood, he had to seize this opportunity.
’...If he wanted to keep a firm grip on this golden thigh, he had to show his worth, right?’
Tang You immediately sent another message to Gu Xi—
"Miss Gu, there are two ways to go about the seed quota. If you apply directly in the farm’s name, there are no financial subsidies, but you have full control over the output. If you apply as a private individual, you can get a subsidy, but there are implications for future output and taxes..."
Back at the farm, Qi Xiang, who was standing to the side, glanced at the message Tang You had just sent and couldn’t help but laugh.
"This Mr. Tang is quite an interesting character," she said. "He’s basically giving our Miss Gu a strategy to fleece the base."
For a base commander to be doing something like this... it was really something else.
After reading it, Qin Yi commented earnestly from the side, "Putting aside everything else, this Mr. Tang’s thigh-hugging technique is very practiced..."
Qi Xiang raised an eyebrow slightly and sneered, "If he wasn’t practiced, do you think he could have reached his current position?"
Qin Yi: ...That... makes a lot of sense!
Just then, Gu Xi’s personal terminal suddenly rang.
It turned out that Tang You, feeling anxious when Gu Xi didn’t reply to his message, had decided to call her directly.
’...Since he’d made his decision, he had to seize the opportunity to make his presence known and pledge his loyalty.’
After the call connected, Tang You said anxiously, "Miss Gu, I’m not sure if you saw the suggestions I just sent you. If you have any questions, I can explain them in detail..."
Before he could finish, he saw Qi Xiang and Qin Yi lean into the frame on the other side of the Light Screen.
"Mr. Tang," Qi Xiang said with a wide grin, "I see your technique for fleecing the system is quite practiced. You must have done this a lot in the past, haven’t you?"
Tang You: "..."
It was, to say the least, a little awkward.
After a moment of silence, he said sheepishly, "Miss Qi, you’re joking. I have no choice. The financial subsidies allocated by the Central Base each year are limited, and City A’s situation is unique. As the base commander, I have to go out of my way to secure certain benefits for everyone..."
’This wasn’t corruption on his part; there were simply too many mouths to feed under his command.’
After voicing his grievances and the difficult position he was in as base commander, he paused before tentatively asking, "Miss Gu, I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but about Gu Garden last night..."
Gu Xi looked over, raising an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say, Mr. Tang?"
Tang You hesitated for a moment. Then he heard Gu Xi say, "I acquired a batch of Crystal Cores last night. I plan to use them to train a group of ability users for City A. As City A’s base commander, this should be your undeniable responsibility, right?"
When Tang You heard this, he was stunned for several seconds before he realized what Gu Xi had said.
’Crystal Cores were a scarce energy reserve, and on the surface, all of them were under the unified management of the Central Base. So, it was self-evident where Miss Gu’s newly acquired batch had come from. And now, Miss Gu was telling him about it without any reservation, even putting him in charge of recruiting ability users. This was a clear sign that she was treating him as a trusted confidant and giving him a crucial responsibility.’
Once he understood this, Tang You was overjoyed. He wanted nothing more than to throw his head back and laugh.
’...He had finally latched onto the thickest golden thigh in the world!’
But gloating was one thing; he knew that Gu Xi was still on the other side of the screen waiting for his reply. He had to remain composed and not get carried away.
While mentally cautioning himself, Tang You put on a serious expression and declared, "Miss Gu, you can rest assured. I know what to do. I absolutely will not disappoint you..."
The opportunity was rare. To secure his grip on her thigh, Tang You went all out, displaying the art of persuasion he had cultivated over many years.
Standing to the side, Qi Xiang and Qin Yi exchanged a glance. As expected, no one who could become a base commander was a simple character. If nothing else, this Mr. Tang’s skill at subtly flattering people was truly a sight to behold.
After the call ended, Tang You paced around his office in excitement.
Firstly, because Gu Xi trusted him and was giving him an important role. Secondly... in all his years as base commander, he had rarely ever handled Crystal Cores himself.
He thought about the rumors coming from Gu Garden, about the mountain of mutated beast and mutated human corpses, all missing their Crystal Cores... Just how many Crystal Cores was that?
Of course, it wasn’t that he wanted to embezzle any, it was just... wait!
Tang You suddenly remembered: the people from the Liu Family were still waiting for him in the adjacent conference room.
’...What a nuisance.’
Tang You cursed under his breath, then used the intercom to summon a trusted subordinate and gave a few quiet instructions.