Chapter 86: Everyone Wants to Be the Steward
Two days later, the group finally returned to Crescent Village. At the village entrance, they ran into Shaya and his roadwork crew.
“Boss! You’re back!” Shaya greeted enthusiastically.
Chu Feng nodded.
Shaya glanced at the group behind him, puzzled. “Weren’t you just going to hire a steward? Why’d you bring so many?”
“Buy four, get one free. So I picked up a few more,” Chu Feng said casually.
August blinked, realizing that Chu Feng’s original target had been only Hawk. The rest of them were afterthoughts.
Shaya frowned. “Boss, cheap stuff’s rarely good.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Fair point.”
He hadn’t thought much during the purchase, but soon regretted it. Getting them all back had been a hassle—especially the steward and his grandson. The older man and child had poor stamina and had to be carried by Fei Ying in turns.
If only there were more villagers like Fei Ying, Chu Feng thought. Transporting people would be much easier.
He had gotten used to a comfortable lifestyle as a “young master,” so being forced back into outdoor camping again was unpleasant. Still, he noticed he’d become stronger. This time, traveling through the wilderness didn’t exhaust him nearly as much.
…
Shaya looked at Hawk and asked, “So this is the steward you brought back?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah.”
Shaya wrinkled his nose in disdain. “Doesn’t look like much. You’d be better off hiring me.”
Chu Feng gave him a look. “You? The steward manages the warehouse. You’d empty the place in a day.”
Shaya protested, “Boss, what do you take me for?”
Chu Feng crossed his arms. “Okay, can you count to a thousand?”
Shaya scratched his head, embarrassed. “Why do you need to count to a thousand? A hundred’s plenty.”
Chu Feng: “…The bear clan really is dense.” Or maybe Shaya’s just the class dunce.
August, meanwhile, eyed Shaya’s clothes curiously. He’d never seen anything like them before. They looked very warm.
Chu Feng looked at Shaya. “Take them to get washed up and changed.”
He glanced at the group—clothes tattered, shabby, and unfit for cold weather. If they got sick, it would be a hassle.
Shaya nodded. “Okay.”
But when he didn’t move, Chu Feng frowned. “What now?”
Shaya grinned sheepishly. “Boss… I’m doing labor here. Can I get some work tickets?”
Chu Feng: “…”
Illya glared at him. “You’re always slacking, and now you want work tickets?”
Shaya laughed awkwardly. “Okay, okay. Never mind.”
Chu Feng glanced at Illya and thought: He can be really fierce sometimes.
Still, Chu Feng smiled. “Don’t be so hard on him. It’s good he wants to be paid for work.”
He turned back to Shaya. “Fine, I’ll credit you 20 work tickets.”
If tickets can solve the problem, then it’s not a real problem, Chu Feng thought.
He added, “Take them to bathe, get them new clothes, and send them to the Highlander construction site.”
Housing in Crescent Village was limited—there wasn’t room for five more people. Although the villagers accepted Chu Feng, they might not accept humans. The Highlanders, on the other hand, while also biased, seemed more tolerant of humans.
Many temporary homes had already been built in the castle district, where several Highlander workers lived. Adding a few more shouldn’t be an issue.
Shaya nodded. “Got it.”
As he led the group away, Illya commented, “You’ve done so much for the village. It’s only fair they help you now and then.”
Chu Feng shook his head. “That’s not the point.”
He believed villagers needed to develop the concept of earning by working. That way, they’d be motivated to help in exchange for work tickets. As the saying goes: If you want a good horse, you need to feed it well.
As Shaya led Hawk and the others to the general store, August saw many half-elves and half-beastmen along the way.
Eric had never seen so many non-human races before and nervously hid behind Hawk.
August, meanwhile, was stunned by the variety of goods in the general store. Though he had once been a noble and considered himself fairly well-informed, he was shocked to find that he recognized almost nothing in the shop. He could swear that even the aristocrats in the royal capital had never seen these kinds of items.
Molka pretended not to care, but his eyes kept drifting toward the shop’s shelves.
“Qinglan,” someone called.
Qinglan looked up from her arithmetic book, gave Shaya a glance, and said impatiently, “What is it? Here to ask for credit again? I already told you, that’s not happening.”
Shaya replied, “What do you take me for? I’m not just here to ask for credit. These are people Boss Chu Feng bought. He asked me to bring them to collect clothing.”
Qinglan glanced over at the group and snorted. “Boss bought these?”
Shaya nodded. “Yep.”
“They don’t seem that special. Why would Boss go through so much trouble to bring them here?”
“Beats me,” Shaya agreed.
“Which one’s the butler?” Qinglan asked lazily, leaning back in her chair.
“That one, I think.” Shaya pointed at Hawk.
Qinglan frowned. “An old man? Can he even do the job? Might as well make me the butler.”
The villagers of Crescent Moon still harbored some distrust toward humans. Though Chu Feng had softened their views, change doesn’t happen overnight.
Shaya scoffed. “You’re already running the general store. Now you want to be butler too? Don’t be greedy.”
Qinglan glared. “What did you say?”
Shaya tried to smooth things over. “Come on, don’t be mad. You’re so pretty—if Boss made you his butler, how do you think Illya would feel?”
Qinglan tilted her head, considering. “Good point.”
After all, she was beautiful. If she were always around Chu Feng, Illya might get jealous. Besides, Chu Feng was good-looking—and getting together with him might even open a path to another world. Not a bad partner at all.
August glanced at Qinglan, secretly thinking: This elf really is stunning…
He recalled attending an auction in the capital once, where an elf had sold for 30,000 gold coins. Qinglan’s appearance was no less dazzling than that elf.
“Give me five sets of clothes and ten loaves of bread,” Shaya said.
Qinglan raised an eyebrow. “Boss’s orders?”
Shaya nodded. “Of course.”
Qinglan looked over the group’s sizes, then fetched five outfits and ten sandwiches—double-layered with cream in the middle—from the back. She handed two bags to Shaya. “Here.”
Shaya gave each person one loaf and quietly kept the rest for himself.
The bread was soft, sweet, and delicious—enough to make one want to swallow their tongue. Molka finished his and eyed Shaya longingly.
“Don’t look at me like that. The rest is mine,” Shaya said, annoyed.
Molka didn’t argue. He figured Shaya must’ve used their presence to ask for extra bread for himself.
If I could eat that bread every day, Molka thought, that’d be paradise.
Just then, Shirley, wearing a beautiful dress, skipped over. August was amazed; even noble ladies didn’t wear such finely made clothing.
Eric blushed when he saw her.
“Uncle Shaya, where are these humans from?” Shirley asked.
“Boss Chu Feng bought them. He wants a butler.”
Shirley nodded. “If he needed a butler, he should’ve just asked me!”
August glanced at Hawk again, thinking: Seems like everyone here wants to be the butler—young, old, elves, beastkin. That must be a cushy position.
Shaya scoffed, “You? How old are you? Can you even count to a thousand?”
Shirley raised her chin proudly. “Uncle Shaya, I’m not as dumb as you. Sister Qinglan taught me a lot! Soon I’ll be able to count to ten thousand! When I learn everything, I’ll help Boss Chu Feng with tons of work—and earn tons of work points!”
Shaya blinked. “Ten thousand? Seriously…”
“Of course! Is Boss back yet? I’m going to find him!” Shirley said, running off without waiting for an answer.
August watched her go and thought, This village really is strange… a human being this popular?
