18 Meeting With Old Sir Liu

Li Ming was sitting on the swing in the orphanage while watching the children running around, laughing and playing with Snowy.

They had already completed their lessons for the day. And now all of them were enjoying their break.

She stood up and after telling Old Madam, she left the orphanage to take a walk.

The environment of the village was very nice. The level of spiritual energy was a little bit more here than compared to the capital city as it was close to two of the mountain ranges of the Han Empire.

When she came near the fields, she saw that almost all the area was barren. There was not even a single bit of greenery as far as her eyes could see.

She was puzzled as it was the starting of new season and the villagers should be busy in their fields but she couldn't see a single soul.

After looking at the empty fields for a while, she finally decided to return to the orphanage.

When she reached the center of the town, she found that a large group of elders were sitting outside a house, discussing something.

After seeing so many people talking, her curiosity was piqued. She made herself invisible with a spell and walked towards the group silently.

After listening for a few minutes, she finally realized the purpose of their gathering and the reason behind the barren fields.

Due to some unknown reason, the rice and wheat crops got damaged. Most of the villagers depend on the income from these crops. Since, the crops were damaged, the villagers didn't have enough rice or wheat to sell. They could either sell them to buy  new seeds for the next season or keep them to feed their families.

They all were thinking about selling the crops to the money lander. Although they would not have proper food after selling the crops for the time being but they didn't have any other options.

Li Ming listened to their conversation and thought about the reason for damage that happened to the crops.

The spiritual energy of this place was good for the crops. Due to the spiritual energy one could grow any kind of crops, vegetables and fruits.

But according to the villagers, the quality and quantity of the crops, both were decreasing for past five - six years.

So, no one knew what could be the reason for the sudden and unexpected reason behind the damage of the crops.

After all the villagers returned back to their house, Li Ming made herself visible again.

The house where the villagers were gathered, was of the eldest person in the village. The old man was called by the name of Old Sir Liu. He was known for his knowledge and righteousness through out the village. He was also the most powerful cultivator in the whole village. That's why the villagers respected him and whenever a situation like this appeared, they all went to the old Sir Liu.

Li Ming tapped on the door of the house and waited outside for someone to open it.

After a few seconds, a little boy of 5-6 years, opened the door. He was the only grandchild of the Old Sir Liu.

A woman in her late twenties came behind the boy and asked with surprise, "How can we help you,Miss?"

"I'm Li Ming. I want to meet the Old Sir Liu." Li Ming said in a polite voice.

The woman welcomed her inside and after asking her to wait, she left to call the Old Sir.

After waiting for a few minutes, Li Ming saw an old man entering the room. He was probably in his late seventies.

Li Ming stood up and bowed a little in greeting. "Old Sir Liu, I'm Li Ming. I heard about the problems that the villagers are facing in agriculture. I'm here to offer my help." Li Ming didn't beat around the bush and stated her reason for visiting him.

At first the old man looked surprised but after hearing her words, he started laughing.

Li Ming didn't react and waited patiently for the Old Sir to calm down and say something.

The old man thought that the girl would get impatient but when she didn't react and started to sip the tea, that his daughter-in-law had offered, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Young Lady, what someone like you - a rich miss of a noble family, is doing here in such a village?" The Old Sir asked while sipping his own tea.

"Old Sir, you are actually right. Being the only child of a wealthy family, I should be enjoying my life in luxury. But you have to tell that to my grandfather. Since I was a child, I was trained day and night to one day take the business responsibility of my family at my eighteenth birthday but my grandfather was not convinced. One month ago, he gave me a condition - I could choose any Empire and start my business there on my own. I have four years to make my business number one in that whole Empire. If I succeeded the task, then he will gave me my birth right and assign me as the new master of my family. But if I lose, he will kick me out of the family."

"It's not like I have a choice. So, I chose Han Empire as it was neither the most powerful nor the most weak Empire and came here a month ago. Right now I have my own inn at the black market of the capital city which can make an average income of 7000 silver coins per day. I was going to the Dark Rise Mountain Ranges today when I heard the conversations between some of the villagers." If Snowy was here at this moment, he would have bowed down at her feet to praise her creativity of such a story.

The old man was surprised after hearing her words. "You came to the Han Empire all alone? Was your grandfather not worried about your well-being?" The Old Sir could not believe that a person could be this cruel towards his own grand daughter.

"My father offered a guard and my personal maid to accompany me but my grandfather stopped him. He said that if I can't even keep myself safe then I'm not good enough to be given the responsibility of an entire family clan." Li Ming said in a very sad tone. She appeared like she was missing her family and really sad.

Looking at the little child in so much pain, the Old Sir became soft.

"Don't worry my child. You are doing great. Don't pay attention to the words of that man and prove to him that you are the best option for the family head."

"Thank you! I have so much on stake. That's why I'm here to make a deal with you." Li Ming said while looking at the Old Sir.

"How can you exactly help us?" The Old Sir asked after a moment.

"I heard that the villagers are going to sell their crops to the money lander. I want you to stop them." Li Ming said with seriousness.

"Little Girl, if they don't sell their crops then they will not have enough money and seeds for this season. We have already lost one week of time." The Old Sir said in a sad voice.

He really wanted to help the villagers but even he couldn't detect the problem with the crops.