Phi-Fic Chapter 401 - 386: Softened by a Favor
Chapter 401 - 386: Softened by a Favor
Meanwhile, Liu Bo, who had been left waiting in the cold in the next room for what felt like an eternity, was clearly growing impatient.
Ignoring the secretary’s attempts to stop him, Liu Bo stormed into Tang You’s office with a dark expression.
"Mr. Tang, you certainly are a busy man."
Faced with Liu Bo’s passive-aggressive remark, Tang You wasn’t the least bit intimidated. He simply smiled and said, "Mr. Liu, it’s not that I intentionally neglected you, but there’s just too much to do. As you know, since last night... I haven’t slept a wink."
The implication was clear: ’Aren’t the Liu Family the very reason I’m so busy?’
Liu Bo was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Tang You to be so resolute this time.
...Heh. ’So, he sees the Liu Family is in trouble and has already latched onto someone new?’
’What a turncoat.’
But Tang You had a point. A City Base was indeed in an uproar because of the Liu Family’s affairs.
People often say that mistakes are easily made in a rush. With something like this happening, the Liu Family should have remained calm. Unfortunately, his so-called uncle had been coddled into incompetence by the Gu Family over the years and refused to listen to his advice...
Now that couple had flown off to the Central Base, leaving him to clean up this mess.
’How exhausting.’
Liu Bo took a deep, silent breath, suppressing his irritation.
"Mr. Tang," Seeing Tang You’s firm but polite attitude, he decided not to beat around the bush any longer. "I know you and Miss Gu have a close relationship. Regarding the matter of the Land of Death, can you get Miss Gu to give us a straight answer?"
For the past few days, the Liu Family had poured thousands of people into the Land of Death in search of the legendary Superpower Seed, but they hadn’t found a single trace.
What infuriated Liu Bo even more was that this matter hadn’t been urgent. As long as the Land of Death was in their hands, they were bound to find the item eventually.
But somehow, word had gotten out, and now tens of thousands of people had flooded into the Land of Death...
’They’re just making things more chaotic.’
And to make matters worse, the one who started this whole mess was his dear cousin...
That was why Liu Bo, left with no other choice, had come to Tang You to probe Gu Xi’s attitude.
But Tang You played dumb. "Mr. Liu, I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Hasn’t the Land of Death already been completely taken over by the Liu Family?"
A few days ago, the Liu Family had even sent Zhou Jinyu and his research team back to A City Base, citing safety concerns.
Because of this, the relationship between Zhou Jinyu and the Liu Family had dropped to a freezing point. He didn’t even attend the banquet at Gu Garden last night. Of course, that might also have been because Qi Xiao was there.
After all, it was no secret that Zhou Jinyu and Dr. Qi didn’t get along because of Ye Xin.
Seeing Tang You play dumb, Liu Bo decided to lay his cards on the table. "I just want to know what that Superpower Seed actually looks like!"
Hearing this, Tang You thought to himself, ’You want to know? I’d like to know, too. But why on earth would Miss Gu tell you?’
’Because of your Liu Family’s shameless nerve?’
When he saw Tang You was about to brush him off without a second thought, Liu Bo held up a hand to stop him and continued, "Mr. Tang, we’ve already invested too much manpower and resources in the Land of Death. We can’t just keep wasting them like this, can we?"
’Anyway, that Miss Gu can’t use the Superpower Seed, so why not give it to them as a favor and, in turn, bring the Liu Family to her side? What’s wrong with that?’
’Isn’t that a win-win situation?’
Seeing Tang You unmoved, he pressed on:
"Since Miss Gu has taken over everything in A City Base, the disaster victims of the entire city are watching her. If resources continue to be wasted over at the Land of Death, I’m afraid... it could harm Miss Gu’s reputation in the future."
This was blatant moral blackmail, with a threat tacked on.
Tang You frowned slightly. He hadn’t been dealing with Liu Bo for just a day or two; he was well aware of the man’s methods. If Liu Bo dared to say such a thing, it was likely someone was already putting that plan into action.
Public opinion was a blade.
If the Liu Family were to truly wield that blade against Miss Gu...
An idea formed in Tang You’s mind. "Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Liu. However, Miss Gu is currently busy at Farm 0101, trying to solve the food shortage for disaster relief. I’m afraid she can’t spare any attention for other matters right now..."
They were two old foxes who had been playing the game for a thousand years; how could one not see through the other’s little tricks?
Liu Bo instantly understood the subtext in Tang You’s words and made his position clear. "The Military Department is also facing difficulties, but ever since the great earthquake, our soldiers have been tightening their belts. We’ve managed to save up some rations these past few days. They could be sent over to help with the emergency and alleviate Miss Gu’s pressing problem..."
Tang You gave Mr. Liu a long, hard look. He remembered how, right after the earthquake hit, he had sought help from the military. And how had the Liu Family responded back then?
...Something about how the military was also struggling, how the Central Base hadn’t sent their soldiers’ rations on time for months, and how they were actually hoping for a little support from City A.
And... never mind. Tang You didn’t even want to think about their other shameless excuses.
’And now, suddenly, they have food?’
’Oh, well. For the sake of getting the grain, I won’t hold a grudge. After all, you can’t bite the hand that feeds you.’
With that, Tang You immediately agreed with a smile.
After dealing with Liu Bo and seeing him out, he immediately went to tip off Gu Xi.
In fact, Tang You hadn’t been wrong. The Liu Family had indeed already made their move, preparing to wield the blade of public opinion.
That afternoon, when Yang Chi was once again mingling with the common people, he noticed the tide of conversation had shifted—
A few older women, who had just been gathered together discussing the land distribution, pulled Yang Chi aside. The topic suddenly changed as one asked, "Yang, how come I’m hearing that all of City A’s superpowered individuals have run off to the Land of Death recently?"
Yang Chi paused for a second before quickly realizing what was happening. He asked the woman with a friendly smile, "Ma’am, where did you hear that?"
"Never you mind that." The women pulled him over to a less crowded spot and asked in a low voice:
"Yang, I also heard that the grain and vegetables we’ve been producing here have actually been sent over there to win over those superpowered people, to have them find something..."
Yang Chi instantly knew something was wrong, but he didn’t let it show on his face. With a somewhat shy smile, he feigned confusion. "Where did you ladies hear all this? How come I haven’t heard anything about it?"
Before the women could ask any more questions, he changed the subject. "Actually, I do have some inside information..."
Hearing this, the women were immediately interested. Their eyes lit up as they listened to the young man speak. "As you ladies can see, there are quite a few people here who want a plot of land...
My Gu Xi is worried that if the boundaries aren’t clear, it could easily lead to conflicts. So, she’s planning to plant some fruit trees along the borders.
For one, it gives everyone a little something sweet to eat. For another, having the fruit trees as dividers will prevent future conflicts over unclear boundaries."
It wasn’t like this hadn’t happened before. There were rumors of people secretly moving the ridges between fields to claim a piece of their neighbor’s land right before harvest.
Of course, none of that mattered now.
’What mattered was the fruit!’
In the apocalypse, fruit was an incredible luxury. How could ordinary people possibly afford it?
But now, Miss Gu was going to give them fruit trees?
The crowd was instantly overjoyed. In a flurry, they surrounded Yang Chi, bombarding him with questions about planting the fruit trees. Who could even remember the little incident from before, when someone had tried to buy them off with petty favors?