Retirement begins with summoning Yuan Tiangang

The thought, once it surfaced, clung to him like a vine.

He wanted to see how those people living in the dust would react when faced with true treasures.

That must be... very interesting.

But he quickly remembered his father's instructions—"Don't show it to anyone."

He hesitated.

But the urge grew stronger and stronger.

He's just going to show it off; he's not actually going to give them the jade pendant.

What's wrong with letting those peasants open their eyes and realize how big the gap is between them and the real nobles?

Thinking about it this way, my hesitation vanished.

In the afternoon, Zhao Mingxuan changed back into his blue cloth clothes, put the Concentration Pendant close to his body, and quietly slipped out of the Zhao family mansion.

He went directly to the small river at the east end of the town—Lin Feng and his group were likely there at that time.

Sure enough, before we even got close, we could hear the sounds of laughter and playfulness.

Everyone was there today; Lin Feng, Zhang Kai, Liu Xiaohu, and even Li Qianqian and Chen Jing'an were there.

Several people were catching crabs in the shallow water by the river. Their trouser legs were rolled up high, and Liu Xiaohu's face was covered in mud as he grinned from ear to ear.

Zhao Mingxuan stood on the riverbank, looking at them, and that sense of superiority welled up in his heart again.

He cleared his throat and called out, "Oh, it's getting lively here?"

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Lin Feng looked up, saw it was him, and frowned: "Zhao Mingxuan? What brings you here?"

"What, do you own this riverbank?"

Zhao Mingxuan slowly walked down the riverbank, deliberately stepping on a clean rock to avoid getting his shoes and socks dirty.

"No, that's not it."

Lin Feng straightened up, still holding a small, menacing crab in his hand.

"I just find it strange that a young master like you would come to a place like this?"

"I occasionally go out for a walk to observe the lives of ordinary people."

Zhao Mingxuan stood with his hands behind his back, adopting a condescending posture. His gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on Lin Feng's face.

"I heard you went to pick wild persimmons in the back hill yesterday?"

"What's it to you?"

Liu Xiaohu muttered something under his breath.

Zhao Mingxuan glanced at him, ignored him, and continued to say to Lin Feng, "What's so good about wild persimmons? They're sour and astringent. I have a few honey persimmon trees from the Western Regions growing in my garden; they're much sweeter than those. Shall I pick a few for you to try sometime?"

These words sound like well-intentioned, but anyone could hear the condescending tone in them.

Lin Feng put the crab in his hand into the wooden bucket next to him, patted the mud off his hands, and said casually, "No need. Wild persimmons are fine, we like to eat them."

"Yeah?"

Zhao Mingxuan smiled and suddenly took something out of his pocket—it was the Concentration Pendant.

He held the string, letting the jade pendant sway gently in the sunlight. "Have you ever seen this before?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to it.

Under the autumn sunlight, the jade pendant was pure white, with a pale blue luster flowing slowly inside, like ripples of water rippling within the jade.

The carving of the coiled dragon is even more exquisite, with each dragon scale clearly visible, and two tiny rubies even inlaid in the dragon's eyes, reflecting red light under the sunlight.

"Wow……"

Liu Xiaohu couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Although he didn't know much about jade, he could still tell that this thing was beautiful and valuable.

Li Qianqian's eyes widened as well. She was a rich young lady and had seen many fine things, but she had only ever seen one or two jade pendants this exquisite in her mother's most treasured jewelry box.

Even Zhang Kai, who was usually silent, paused, his gaze hardening.

Only Lin Feng frowned even more deeply.

He glanced at the jade pendant, then at Zhao Mingxuan's smug smile, and a surge of inexplicable disgust welled up inside him.

"How is it? Pretty, right?"

Zhao Mingxuan enjoyed their expressions, and his sense of superiority was greatly satisfied.

"This is called the Mind-Concentrating Pendant, and it's not an ordinary jade. Wearing it for a long time can nourish the spirit and prolong life. My father specially obtained it for me."

He emphasized the words "especially for me".

Liu Xiaohu swallowed hard and asked in a low voice, "Then...how much will it cost?"

"money?"

Zhao Mingxuan chuckled.

"This kind of thing, you can't buy it even if you have money. You need connections and connections. You guys probably won't see a second one in your lifetime."

That was said too bluntly and hurtfully.

Even Li Qianqian frowned slightly.

Lin Feng took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and calmly said, "Oh, congratulations then. If there's nothing else, we're going to catch crabs."

He turned to leave.

Zhao Mingxuan called out to him, "Wait."

Lin Feng turned around, his eyes already showing impatience: "Is there anything else?"

Zhao Mingxuan toyed with the jade pendant, speaking slowly and deliberately: "Lin Feng, I actually think you're quite an interesting person. Although you come from humble beginnings, you're not stupid, and you're quite bold. So, are you interested... in following me?"

Everyone was stunned by these words.

"Follow you?"

Lin Feng thought he had misheard.

"right."

Zhao Mingxuan straightened his back, trying his best to appear more courteous and respectful.

"As you know, I'm the only son of the Zhao family, and I'll be inheriting the family business. I need a few... well, capable people around me. You, Zhang Kai, and this little one..."

He pointed at Liu Xiaohu.

"I think you guys are pretty clever. If you're willing to follow me, you'll get plenty of benefits in the future."

He paused, then added, "Of course, I'm not making you slaves. Think of it as...accompaniments. You'll receive a monthly stipend, and your food, clothing, and other necessities will be better than what the Zhao family provides. How about it?"

This was an idea he came up with on the spur of the moment. Since his father said he needed to learn to observe and judge, he would start by winning over Lin Feng and his group.

If they are sensible and willing to submit, then Zhao Mingxuan will have his first batch of followers.

If they don't know their place...that's perfect, he can use that to establish his authority.

He thought his idea was great.

This demonstrated magnanimity while also giving the other party the opportunity to switch allegiances.

If Raymond Lam and his friends aren't stupid, they should know what to choose.

But what he got in return was a look from Lin Feng as if he were an idiot.

"Follow you?"

Lin Feng repeated it, then shook his head very seriously.

"Not interested."

Zhao Mingxuan's smile froze: "What did you say?"

I said, "I'm not interested."

Lin Feng said, word by word,

"I have a father, Aunt Yao, Uncle Xiao Hei, and friends like Zhang Kai, Xiao Hu, Qian Qian, and Jing An. I'm doing quite well. I don't need to follow anyone, nor do I need anyone to give me any benefits."

His tone was calm, without anger or agitation, as if he were stating a very simple fact.

But this calmness was more embarrassing for Zhao Mingxuan than any fierce rebuttal.

"You..." Zhao Mingxuan's face flushed red.

Do you know what you're rejecting? This is an opportunity that so many people would kill for!

"Then let it go to those who are begging."

Lin Feng turned around and said to Zhang Kai and the others,

"Let's go somewhere else, the crabs here have all been scared away."

"Okay," Zhang Kai replied in a muffled voice, lifting the wooden bucket.

Liu Xiaohu quickly followed.

Li Qianqian also pulled Chen Jing'an along, walking towards the shore.

"stop!"

Zhao Mingxuan shouted sharply.

He felt utterly humiliated.

He, the young master of the prestigious Zhao family, lowered himself to "recruit" a few peasants, only to be so readily rejected? What gave them the right?

Lin Feng stopped and turned to look at him, his eyes already cold: "Zhao Mingxuan, what exactly do you want? Let's do our thing, you do yours, and keep to ourselves, isn't that better?"

"not good!"

Zhao Mingxuan stepped forward, staring at Lin Feng.

"Let me tell you, Lin Feng, don't push your luck. It's your good fortune that I'm interested in you. If you reject me today, don't regret it later!"

These words already carried a threatening tone.

Zhang Kai silently stepped forward and stood in front of Lin Feng.

Although he was half a head shorter than Zhao Mingxuan, his eyes were calm and he showed no fear.

Liu Xiaohu clenched his little fists, and although he was scared, he did not back down.

Even Li Qianqian mustered her courage and whispered, "Zhao Mingxuan, you...you shouldn't bully me!"

Chen Jing'an remained quietly standing beside Li Qianqian, but for the first time, her empty eyes looked directly at Zhao Mingxuan.

Zhao Mingxuan felt a surge of anger under those gazes, but more than that, he felt... a strange sense of panic.

He suddenly felt as if he had done something wrong.

But where did he go wrong? He is the young master of the Zhao family, and he was willing to promote these peasants; it was they who didn't know what was good for them!

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and sneered, "Fine, you've got guts. I'll see how long your guts last."

He turned and strode away.

His back was ramrod straight, but his steps were somewhat hurried.

Only after walking quite a distance and confirming that Lin Feng and the others were out of sight did Zhao Mingxuan stop, lean against a tree trunk by the roadside, and gasp for breath.

He took out the Concentration Pendant from his pocket. The jade pendant was still warm and smooth, and its luster still flowed, but when he held it in his hand, it felt a little hot.

He recalled Lin Feng's calm yet resolute eyes, Zhang Kai's silent yet unyielding demeanor, Liu Xiaohu's clenched fists despite his fear, and Li Qianqian's words, "Don't bully people..."

What gives them the right?

Why are they so... self-righteous?

Why are they so... united?

Why are they so indifferent to Zhao Mingxuan's "charity"?

He didn't understand.

All he knew was that the fire in his heart burned ever brighter.

It wasn't anger, but a more complex feeling, a mixture of resentment, confusion, and even a hint of envy that he himself was unwilling to admit.

He shoved the jade pendant back into his pocket and turned to walk toward the Zhao family mansion.

He needs to go back and think it over carefully.

On the riverbank, Lin Feng stared at the direction where Zhao Mingxuan had disappeared, his brows furrowed.

"Brother Feng, will he retaliate against us?" Liu Xiaohu asked with some concern.

"I'm not afraid."

Lin Feng patted him on the shoulder.

"We haven't done anything wrong. If he dares to do anything reckless, I'll tell my dad."

"Tell your father?"

Liu Xiaohu blinked. "Uncle Lin, he..."

"My dad will definitely have a way."

Lin Feng spoke as if it were perfectly reasonable.

In his mind, although his father Lin Tian was lazy all day long, it seemed that nothing could stump him.

Zhang Kai nodded: "Yes, Uncle Lin is no simple man."

Even Li Qianqian whispered in agreement, "I think Uncle Lin is amazing."

Only Chen Jing'an remained standing quietly, her gaze fixed on the direction Zhao Mingxuan had left in. After a long while, she softly uttered a single sentence:

"His jade pendant...is a bit noisy."

"Noisy?" Lin Feng looked at him.

Chen Jing'an nodded, offered no further explanation, and turned to walk into the town.

His footsteps were light, and his silhouette in the autumn sunlight appeared somewhat lonely, and also somewhat... mysterious.

As Lin Feng watched his retreating figure, a thought suddenly occurred to him: Jing'an seems to be changing more and more.

But he didn't think much of it.

Kids will always do some strange things.

"Let's go home!"

He called out, picked up the wooden bucket filled with crabs, and together with his companions, set off on the path back to town.

The setting sun cast long shadows of them, and laughter rang out again, startling a flock of waterbirds in the reeds.

It was as if the unpleasant interlude just now was merely a ripple on the water caused by the autumn wind, which would soon subside.

But no one knows whether this ripple will one day turn into a raging storm.

-

Inside the Zhao family mansion, Zhao Mingxuan sat by the window in his room, holding the Concentration Pendant, watching the sky gradually darken outside the window, his eyes gloomy.

He suddenly remembered his father's words: "On the road you will walk in the future, they are not even stumbling blocks, at most they are weeds by the roadside."

He wholeheartedly agreed at the time.

But now, he suddenly felt that his father might be wrong.

Lin Feng and his group are not weeds.

They are... stones.

A stone that hurts your foot.