Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 778

Chapter 778: Chapter 778

Yang Fan drifted off into sleep without realizing it.

Last night, his nerves had been stretched taut the entire time, and he carried injuries on his body.

As soon as he relaxed, the exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave.

He mumbled something softly, leaning against the sofa for a brief rest—and just like that, he fell asleep.

When he woke up again, the small living room of the hotel suite was packed with people.

Fan Sisi, Yun Miaoyi, Mr. Fan, Ji Dong’er, and a woman Yang Fan didn’t recognize were all present.

"Awake now?" Fan Sisi asked with a playful smile.

Yang Fan yawned, nodded his head, and said, "How long did I sleep? This is ridiculous—I don’t even remember falling asleep."

Fan Sisi picked up a cup of warm water from the table and handed it to Yang Fan. "You’ve just been too exhausted. You didn’t sleep long—not even three hours."

Yang Fan drank more than half of the water and returned the cup to Fan Sisi. He glanced at the unfamiliar woman in the room and asked in a low voice, "What’s going on here?"

Fan Sisi leaned close to Yang Fan’s ear and whispered, "She’s the partner I found for you."

"Hm?" Yang Fan was confused.

What kind of partner was she talking about?

Fan Sisi explained, "She’s the niece of Miao Yi’s clan uncle. She happened to have time today, so she came over to discuss cooperation with you. Earlier, Miao Yi’s clan uncle brought her here personally, but he left after seeing you fall asleep."

"Oh." Yang Fan chuckled and shook his head. "I must’ve been completely muddled by sleep. I didn’t even remember that. What’s her name?"

"Um... I think it’s Zhou Yingnan. Yeah, that’s it." Fan Sisi thought for a moment then whispered back.

"Help me up," Yang Fan said.

Fan Sisi supported Yang Fan’s shoulder, helping him sit upright on the sofa.

Just as Yang Fan was about to greet her, Zhou Yingnan happened to glance over and spoke first. "Boss Yang, you’re awake? We’re in the same trade. I heard you’re looking for some medicinal materials—I might have some connections that could help."

Yang Fan smiled and returned the greeting. "It’s not necessarily just searching. In our line of work, we’ll take any kind of medicine. However, this time, my focus is on acquiring a few specific types, though I’ll keep an eye on others as well."

He didn’t want to reveal his goals too openly.

If the other party knew he only cared about those specific materials, negotiations might get tricky.

Zhou Yingnan chuckled noncommittally. "Grandpa gave me a rough idea earlier, but we’ll need to discuss details further. There’s one thing I need to make clear beforehand, though—my connections are scattered and not very stable. If you don’t mind, we can continue talking about this."

Her name carried an air of sharpness and decisiveness, and her demeanor matched—she was straightforward and efficient, exuding confidence.

She had short hair, clean and fair skin, a black sports tank top, brown wide-leg pants, and sturdy-looking black combat boots. Her style was crisp and energetic. If not for her exceptionally striking figure, with curves in all the right places, you could almost overlook any hint of feminine grace.

Yang Fan shook his head. "That’s fine by me. We mountain runners can’t compete with large-scale cultivation bases on stability anyway. I understand these conditions—quantity isn’t the issue, and inconsistency isn’t a problem. As long as the goods are authentic and high-quality, that’s good enough for me."

"Alright then. If you don’t mind, we can proceed." Zhou Yingnan said, "As for the quality of materials, there’s bound to be a mix—some good, some not-so-good, since we collect everything available at the time. But I guarantee authenticity; you won’t encounter any counterfeit goods. I’m willing to sign a contract: fake goods will result in tenfold compensation."

Yang Fan nodded. Just as he was about to speak, Mr. Fan, sitting calmly on the sofa drinking tea, suddenly put his cup down and said, "Let me interrupt for a moment. Fanzi, check your bank account. See if those bastards have sent the money yet? Once you’re done, you can get back to your conversation—I’m heading off to rest."

"After a whole night of chaos, it hasn’t eased up since we got back. Meanwhile, you’ve managed to grab some sleep, but this old man’s forced to stay awake using tea for energy. Hurry up and check—if everything’s fine, I’m leaving."

Yang Fan pulled out his phone and checked his text messages.

Expenditure: ten thousand; income: thirty thousand.

Of the ten thousand spent, eight thousand was stuffed in a nearby cupboard.

Ji Dong’er hadn’t taken much—after Yang Fan insisted, she only accepted two thousand.

"Old man, this much?" Yang Fan asked in surprise.

"What’s ’this much?’" Mr. Fan snorted. "Their budget is huge—don’t waste your energy worrying about their money. Besides, the thing we managed to deal with last night—that alone will more than cover their expenses and still leave a hefty profit."

Yang Fan froze for a moment. "Old man, that thing... Oh, you mean the wood, right?"

"What ’wood,’ don’t play dumb. I’m talking about last night." Mr. Fan clarified. "If you toss that wood into the mix, they’ll make an absolute fortune. Compared to their overall gains, your cut is practically nothing."

Yang Fan was stunned. Was it really that lucrative?

"Wait, how could that thing... be sold for money?" Yang Fan asked incredulously.

Since others were present, Yang Fan was careful with his words, speaking vaguely.

But he knew Mr. Fan was referring to last night’s mysterious, heart-controlling woman.

Yang Fan couldn’t wrap his head around selling something like that. Who would even want it?

He understood about the branches and other parts of the old locust tree—those were valuable materials for artifact refining and could fetch good money.

"Why not? Some places demand it." Mr. Fan chuckled lightly. "There are things we don’t need, but in other people’s eyes, they’re treasures. Though the methods they use might be unpleasant, there’s strong demand."

"Well, this goes way beyond my imagination. I can’t even fathom what they’d use something like that for." Yang Fan shook his head and muttered. Suddenly, he said, "Old man, logically speaking, shouldn’t we get a share too?"

"You’ll get a share—less goods means more cash, but if you take goods, the money decreases. It depends on how you choose." Mr. Fan replied. "I’ll take anything that’s usable. If it’s useless, there’s no point—might as well take the money instead."

"Old man, if what we overheard on the mountain the other day was true, then the most valuable thing from that tree should be its... leaves, right? You haven’t thought of getting those?" Yang Fan suddenly brought it up, speaking in hushed tones.

Because the room was filled with others, his phrasing was purposely indirect.

This was what the old locust tree had claimed itself—that it had three pieces of Lifebound Locust Leaves.

Though Yang Fan didn’t know if the claim was true, he figured it was worth treating seriously. Who knew? Maybe he’d uncover something unexpectedly valuable.

Mr. Fan’s eyes flashed with understanding, and he smiled faintly. "How could I let something like that slip by? I’ve already taken care of it. If they dare to hide those leaves from me, I’ll deal with them personally."