WHIT

27 - ZHA CLAN

A girl in an orange dress, and a boy in a red shirt and blue pants were strolling in the streets, both looking pleased. The pants covered his ankles, where the socks that came with the dress covered hers. Edgar was holding a bag that had towels and some other simple goods, including their old ragged clothes. They just couldn’t throw those away.

Even though they hadn’t bathed, they changed into new attire for obvious reasons.

“I can’t believe you got a thirty percent discount,” Edgar was smiling like a child that had just won a competition. “He wasn’t raising it above twenty, but when you mentioned that you may bring some friends over in the future, he suddenly became willing to up the discount.”

“Well, if you look at it from his perspective, not many are visiting his store compared to other stores,” Fabby didn’t look very happy as she couldn’t get a sixty percent discount. “Instead of letting termites taste the clothes, it’s better to sell them even if the profit is low.”

“I guess you’ve got a point.”

“Now then, let’s go and meet the Zha Clan, shall we? If we’re lucky, we don’t even need to worry about the baronet.”

“Mm.”

A few minutes later.

Edgar was feeling a bit thirsty, but he couldn’t find a well outside. All the wells were built inside the walls of the houses. He found a small shop and bought lemon juice, one glass for each. As they slowly sipped and enjoyed the taste, the shopkeeper got rather impatient.

“How long are you two going to drink like children!” the shopkeeper barked. “Finish it quickly, and leave the glasses.”

However, his words had no effect on them. The shopkeeper could only grind his teeth in frustration as they took their time and left.

“They are so shameless,” the shopkeeper mumbled in frustration. “Where did they come from? Jungle?”

Soon, the siblings somehow arrived at the Zha Clan’s residential complex, which had about forty houses, spread over three hundred acres. Children were practicing martial arts in the open halls. Adults were busy discussing things in the shade of verandas. Street sellers were yelling at the top of their lungs, advertising their products. Overall, the neighborhood was busy with all kinds of works in progress.

“Clearly, this Zha Clan is wealthy as a pig,” Edgar thought, after seeing some many fat children, who were gorging on sweets and cone-shaped solid ice creams.

Unlike Edgar, Fabby’s focus was on looking for an opportunity. From the information they gathered by asking locals, they came to know that there were about three hundred members in the Zha Clan. This clan’s head was the ruler of the town in the past, but only recently, a baronet was given authority over this region. The baronet family consisted only of three people, but still, they had the same power if not more than the Zha clan.

The baronet had been developing the town greatly, but because he wasn’t born in the town, many people still didn’t take his side. All such people most likely stayed near to Zha, rather than stay neutral. So the Zha Clan was used to people taking their side, and they’d probably welcome any capable people with open arms. Considering all that, she decided to pay a visit to this clan.

After about half-hour of roaming, her ears finally caught an interesting conversation from outside the tall walls.

Inside a large manor, a red-haired female was showing her frustration on the slaves.

“Why isn’t the coriander growing well?” she barked at the three girls. “Did you water it well?”

“We did, Mistress,” they replied, with their heads bowed and spines bent low. Their cheeks had red hand imprints, for they were slapped many times already, but they weren’t in a position to cry. They were wearing the same tattered brown clothes that came up to their calves, so the symbol on their ankles were always in the open. “We truly did. But maybe because this is summer, we didn’t…”

“Summer? Don’t give me that crap! I bought premium quality seeds from the best store in the capital. And you fools are talking about seasons?”

“B-But we really…”

“Shut up,” she kicked the slave who was just about to talk. She then glared at the other three. “You’ve wasted my time and money.” She looked at the tall male assistant standing behind her. “Give them ten each.”

“Yes, Madam Raha,” the tall man with a bald head pulled out the whip resting on his back, and even though the girls kept begging, he lashed them without caution.

As their cries echoed in the air, two young people stopped by the entrance of the manor, grabbing Raha’s attention. The guards were blocking their way, so Raha called out, “Let them in.”

Both Edgar and Fabby entered the lawn. Edgar’s jaw made a hard line as the girls kept getting slashed right before his eyes, but a glance from Fabby made him look away. Before entering the manor, she had reminded him that he was still not strong enough to do however he pleased.

“What brought you two to my doorstep?” asked Raha, sounding neutral for the time being. If not for their neat attires, she probably wouldn’t even have let them inside.

“We humbly greet Mistress Raha,” Fabby bent her waist, and Edgar mimicked her. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. So I came here to offer advice.”

“Advice?” Raha’s eyes narrowed to a slit. She then looked at Fabby from top to bottom. “You look like you are the same age as my daughter, and you want to give me advice?”

“Please hear me out and decide for yourself,” said Fabby, humbly, looking at the bag of seeds lying behind Raha. “Are those the seeds you’ve planted at the start of the season?”

“Ah, yeah, why?”

“Those seeds…” with a glance, Fabby realized what was wrong with them. She then looked at the coriander plants in the lawn to confirm her theory. “These plants didn’t grow as expected because they’re faulty seeds.”

“Faulty?” Raha raised her brow up. “Do you know how high of a price I bought them for?” She smiled and shook her head before stressing her words. “Fifty bronze coins per kilo. It’s more than ten times the price of the regular seeds! That’s how much I care about quality.”

The price of the seeds made Edgar’s jaw drop.

“Maybe, but…” Fabby composedly spoke. “Have you ever wondered why those seeds are more white than you may find in this town?”

“Mm?” Raha paused for a moment.

“If those seeds were really as good as you think, then they should grow decently even if those slaves didn’t pour enough water,” said Fabby, briefly looking at the slaves who were crying and sobbing. “But they didn’t because they are not worth their price.”

Raha pressed her lips together. “What if they’re white? Aren’t they normal?”

“The coriander seeds I know are yellowish-brown,” Fabby patiently and politely explained. “Maybe they grow in different colors in different regions, I don’t know. But I request that you ask the local farmers and find out more about them. Take some seeds from them and see how they grow compared to these premium quality ones.”

After she finished talking, there was silence.

“Then we’ll be leaving,” Fabby bowed once again. “Thank you for sparing us some time.”

As both the siblings left the manor, Raha just watched. (Sharing knowledge without asking for anything in return… Was she a monk? She sure looked like one.)