In front of Butterfly Farm, Ye Tian waved goodbye to Li Haitian.
"Patriarch Li, if the Li family's shipping business ever encounters difficulties, feel free to contact Chen Jian. We'll certainly help if we can."
Li Haitian's face was filled with gratitude as he shook Ye Tian's hand and said sincerely, "Young Master Ye, rest assured, I'm not someone to hesitate when there's trouble. If we face any challenges, I'll definitely seek your help. As a token of appreciation, from now on, all of your goods will receive expedited shipping with our Li family's vessels."
After exchanging pleasantries for a while longer, Li Haitian reluctantly departed.
In truth, Li Haitian didn't have much more to say to Ye Tian. However, he was afraid of being impolite and causing any rift between the Li family and Ye Tian. If Ye Tian had known what Li Haitian was thinking, he would have laughed it off. He wasn't so petty.
"Jiuchuan, let's go."
Li Haitian waved to his granddaughter standing nearby.
However, instead of following him, Li Jiuchuan ran over to Ye Tian, her face slightly flushed with a hint of reluctance. In her small hands, she tightly clutched a bracelet woven from golden threads, adorned with star-shaped colorful shells.
"This is a bracelet I made myself using the whiskers of a ten-thousand-year-old golden dragonfish. It has a slight refreshing effect. It's for you."
Li Jiuchuan bit her lip, too shy to meet Ye Tian's eyes, as she nervously offered the bracelet.
Hearing this, Ye Tian was momentarily stunned, unsure whether to accept it or politely decline. However, when he saw the hope in Li Jiuchuan's eyes gradually turn to disappointment, he had his answer.
With a gentle smile, he reached out and took the golden-thread bracelet. "Jiuchuan, you have such skillful hands. I really like it. Thank you."
After all, it was a heartfelt gift from Li Jiuchuan, and he couldn't let her walk away disappointed.
"N-no... no need to thank me," Li Jiuchuan stammered, waving her hands excitedly, her words almost incoherent from happiness.
Watching this, Li Haitian shook his head silently. It seemed his granddaughter had completely fallen for Ye Tian. But with the Li family's status, could they really align themselves with someone as prominent as Ye Tian? Li Haitian wasn't sure. However, he resolved to ensure that the Li family performed well in the coming days, at least giving Li Jiuchuan the courage to express her feelings, regardless of Ye Tian's response. This way, she could find closure.
"Goodbye, Brother Ye Tian," Li Jiuchuan called out, waving to Ye Tian as she left with her grandfather. A pure smile lit up her face, and her heart raced—she had finally mustered the courage to call him "Brother."
"Goodbye," Ye Tian responded with a light smile and a wave.
After Li Haitian and his granddaughter left, Chen Jian approached with a grin.
"Young Master, do you still have any of that medicine left?"
"What medicine?" Ye Tian asked, puzzled. Surely, someone of Chen Jian's standing wouldn't forget the name of a medicine?
"Uh..." Chen Jian cleared his throat awkwardly, and Ye Tian immediately understood. It could only be the "passion pill" that left Chen Jian at a loss for words. After all, being a native of the Douluo Continent, Chen Jian found it hard to openly discuss such things.
Ye Tian chuckled and teased, "Chen, you're still strong despite your age, huh?"
Chen Jian quickly explained, "Young Master, don't get the wrong idea! I just want to use it for the fire spirit chickens. About a month and a half ago, our fire spirit chickens were hit by a hailstorm, causing massive losses—less than one in a hundred survived. Now, winter is approaching, and it's not breeding season for the fire spirit chickens. If we want to restore the population, we'll need to use some special methods."
"It was just a joke," Ye Tian replied casually. "I don't have any of those pills with me, but the ingredients aren't hard to come by. Head to the warehouse and gather a hundred doses each of the celestial spleen, nine-leaf grass, and oxhorn flower, then wait for me in the alchemy room."
"Understood," Chen Jian nodded in relief. He was glad he explained himself in time—otherwise, it would have been quite embarrassing.
"Wait," Ye Tian called after him. "Since we're opening the furnace, we might as well make more elixirs."
He rubbed his chin in thought. "Prepare thirty doses each of the materials for Tianyuan Elixirs and Soul-Stabilizing Elixirs. I want to brew several batches."
The Tianyuan and Soul-Stabilizing Elixirs were top-tier elixirs used to enhance soul power. When used together, they could not only repair hidden injuries within a soul master but also directly boost soul power without any side effects. However, these high-level elixirs had a low success rate. Even with Ye Tian's skill in alchemy, the success rate was only about one-third. Furthermore, the ingredients for these elixirs were extremely rare and required daily infusions of various essences during cultivation. The cost for each dose was in the tens of thousands of gold soul coins.
Even someone as wealthy as Ye Tian couldn't afford to mass-produce them.
"Brew so many? The warehouse stock will be half-empty in no time," Chen Jian chuckled nervously. In the past three years, Ye Tian had only brewed such top-tier elixirs for three people: himself, Zhou Long, and Thirteen. He hadn't expected Ye Tian to produce so many at once this time.
Ye Tian shrugged. "Consider it a betrothal gift for Nana."
In a month, he would be marrying Nana. Although she hadn't requested anything, he couldn't offer nothing at all.
Chen Jian was taken aback. "Young Master, you're getting married to Nana?"
Ye Tian nodded lightly. "Yes."
"Such a big event—why didn't you tell us sooner?" Chen Jian was surprised but also deeply gratified. The young master was finally settling down.
"When's the wedding? Zhou Long and I need to start preparing," Chen Jian asked.
"Two days before the New Year, in about twenty days," Ye Tian explained.
"So soon!" Chen Jian exclaimed. "We need to start getting ready."
For a wealthy family like Ye Tian's, wedding preparations usually began at least two months in advance, with purchases of wedding gifts, house renovations, and venue arrangements. As the young master of a great family, Ye Tian's wedding couldn't be carelessly handled—it had to be carefully planned.
"I can't help it. My sister is rushing me," Ye Tian said helplessly.
"Have you chosen a venue?" Chen Jian asked. "I suggest Butterfly Valley—it's quite nice."
"You've thought of the same place as Nana," Ye Tian smiled. Butterfly Valley was indeed a beautiful spot, deep within the farm. Even if the wedding was grand, no outsiders would know.
With the location decided, Chen Jian said seriously, "Rest assured, Young Master. I'll make sure your wedding is satisfactory."
Ye Tian waved him off lightly. "No need for too many formalities—keep it low-key."
Chen Jian left to gather the materials, while Ye Tian walked along the farm's concrete path towards the alchemy room, located in a natural crevice on the mountainside of Sea Soul Mountain—a semi-open space.
Inside, scattered around were numerous gold-stone furnaces from previous alchemy sessions. Further ahead, the alchemy room connected to the volcanic geothermal veins, where the earth fire awaited.
(End of Chapter)
Thank you to everyone for supporting and comforting me in this time of crisis. I was very busy because of the death of a close family member, which is why I was not able to post on a regular basis, but worry not, I will try my best to update the fic on a regular basis In Sha'Allah. Once again, thank you so much, everyone!