Barren Star – Chapter 30
by Little PandaBackache.
Due to insufficient buildings in the base, the newcomers could only stay in the administrative hall under the supervision and care of Beidou and Ning Mo. Feng Yi naturally didn’t want Ling Shu to lie on the cold hall floor, but there wasn’t enough time to build new houses. She had to negotiate with Hua Zhuoyu [huá zhuóyù] and paid a hefty price for the “right of residence” in the cottage by the flower sea. [LP: … I give up with Ling Shu’s name. Idk if it’s me or the program I’m using to copy the Chinese text but it keeps changing! So settling to Ling Shu from now on!]
Ning Buyi had been busy all day. After bringing back eight new residents from the Yanluo Temple [yánluó, refers to the King of Hell in Chinese mythology], she was mentally exhausted and needed sufficient sleep to replenish her energy. She slept until noon the next day. When she drowsily pushed open the door between the bedroom and living room, she was startled awake at the sight of Hua Zhuoyu in light clothing, her sleepiness instantly vanishing.
The spaghetti-strap nightgown barely reached her knees, with snow-white legs crossed on the sofa, making the hem slide up even more, barely covering her thighs. Her chest rose like drifted snow, with hints of cleavage visible. Ning Buyi shivered, realizing her gaze had lingered too long, and quickly moved her eyes upward, past the delicate collarbone and rosy lips, settling on Hua Zhuoyu’s flawless face like fine jade. Her shoulder-length hair lay messily, with bangs covering her dark eyes, making her expression unclear, though her lazy posture suggested she had just woken up.
Seeing Hua Zhuoyu’s lips move as if about to speak, and knowing a dog’s mouth can’t produce ivory [someone: who tends to speak rudely], Ning Buyi spoke first: “Why are you sleeping here!”
Hua Zhuoyu didn’t answer, just brushed her messy hair aside and complained softly: “My back hurts.”
What does your backache have to do with me? Ning Buyi thought to herself. She struggled to look away from Hua Zhuoyu, poured a glass of water to moisten her dry lips, and asked: “Are you planning to stay in the living room?” She knew about the deal between Hua Zhuoyu and Feng Yi, but if that was the case, shouldn’t she be lying on the hard floor instead of Ling Shu?
Hua Zhuoyu stared at Ning Buyi without looking away.
“Are you inviting me to live together? Perhaps that’s too rushed?”
“Save your daydreaming for nap time, okay?” Ning Buyi glared at Hua Zhuoyu, speaking bluntly. Her gaze wandered aimlessly around the living room, not settling anywhere until Hua Zhuoyu pulled on a shirt to cover her partially visible skin, then finally looked at her steadily and asked, “Are they staying?”
Hua Zhuoyu nodded.
Ning Buyi: “Coercion and enticement? They’re from the Feng Jiu Clan royal family – is this appropriate?”
Hua Zhuoyu snorted: “Who do you think I’m trying to humble their pride for?”
Ning Buyi quickly replied: “Don’t put the chamber pot on my head [meaning: don’t blame someone]. I know you’re just seeking revenge! How petty!”
Hua Zhuoyu couldn’t help but laugh at Ning Buyi’s words. She raised her hand to gather her loose hair into a bun, then calmly said: “The Feng Jiu Clan is all show and no substance [meaning: strong outside but weak inside]. We can cooperate with them for mutual development.”
Ning Buyi found Hua Zhuoyu’s words intriguing, as her understanding of the Feng Jiu Clan was limited to exaggerated written descriptions.
“How are they all show and no substance?”
Hua Zhuoyu answered: “On Beast Star, most beast clans lack business acumen and earn money through manual labor. The Feng Jiu Clan is a vain bunch – if you see posts on the Star Network complaining about ‘being fired without offending the boss,’ eight out of ten times it’s posted by Feng Jius.”
Ning Buyi: “With so many handsome men and beautiful women, why don’t they become celebrities?”
Hua Zhuoyu smiled: “Partly because they’re too proud, and partly… how can they succeed with such low emotional intelligence? Besides, Beast Star isn’t big on entertainment, and if they came to Da Xia, they’d face cultural barriers.”
Ning Buyi wasn’t sure how much of Hua Zhuoyu’s words were true, but one thing was certain: Hua Zhuoyu didn’t think highly of the Feng Jiu Clan.
“What about the Dragon Clan?” she asked. If she remembered correctly, the novel emphasized the Dragon Clan’s obsession with jade and precious metals, and though few in number, they were incredibly wealthy.
“One dragon equals five combat robots,” Hua Zhuoyu said, drawing her legs together as she leaned back on the sofa with a peculiar smile. “Objectively speaking, the Beast Clan is more reliable than humans and has a stronger sense of contractual spirit. While it’s unlikely for Barren Star to quickly form a guard unit capable of resisting space pirate attacks, you could hire some reliable… friends through the Feng Jiu Clan and Dragon Clan.” Hua Zhuoyu pondered before choosing the word “friends.”
“Da Xia is controlled by the government and the Supervisory Department, while Beast Star has a looser administrative structure with the ‘Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance.’ The Feng Jiu, Dragons, Qilin [mythical Chinese unicorn], and Xuanwu [black turtle of Chinese mythology] are the four main leaders. As major clans of Beast Star, they command great respect.”
Ning Buyi caught the underlying meaning in Hua Zhuoyu’s words, her expression changing: “You want to promote cooperation between me and Beast Star?” If she remembered correctly, Da Xia had always been trying to win over the Beast Clan to jointly fight against the Space Insect Clan. However, Beast Star hadn’t given a clear answer – while private interactions went unchecked, official communications were scarce. In the original story, Xia Tu only formed the alliance after getting close to Feng Yi, and ruthlessly dealt with the unruly Dragon Clan, removing a major obstacle.
But now the plot had deviated completely.
Feng Yi hadn’t become love-struck, and the Feng Jiu Clan wasn’t at odds with the Dragon Clan.
Hua Zhuoyu raised her eyebrows with a smile: “I’m just making a suggestion. The choice is yours.”
Ning Buyi seriously considered Hua Zhuoyu’s suggestion. Cooperating with the Feng Jiu and Dragon Clans would provide enough manpower to speed up Barren Star’s development, and being a beast civilization, they wouldn’t taint the base with traces of “power politics.” Ning Buyi said: “If we hire them, I hope they’ll relocate to Barren Star.” The citizenship of Barren Star wouldn’t conflict with Beast Clan citizenship, so they wouldn’t lose anything, and she could keep all “residents” under her watch.
Hua Zhuoyu: “We’ll need to discuss this with Feng Yi.”
Ning Buyi replied sincerely: “I’m counting on you.”
Despite saying this, Ning Buyi couldn’t really dump everything on Hua Zhuoyu, as this was her base after all.
At the long table, Ning Buyi and Hua Zhuoyu sat side by side at one end, while Feng Yi with her serious expression and the bored-looking Ling Shu sat at the other end.
When Ling Shu was awake, Feng Yi had explained the situation at the base to her, but just as Feng Yi expected, Ling Shu showed no interest at all.
A base growing plants that could drive the entire star system crazy, yet without guards or any leaked information. She was certain this place had nothing to do with the Imperial Government, especially since Xia Tu didn’t seem aware when he served vegetables at their banquet, and more importantly, there were no traces of Imperial Government here. Could it belong to the Star Court? No, that was impossible too. The Star Court held an exceptional position in Da Xia, with all its industries clearly listed on the Star Network.
If not them, could it be the Supervisory Department? This planet happened to belong to the Ning family of the Supervisory Department, and Hua Zhuoyu, besides being the Chief Judge, was also the eldest daughter of the Hua family within the Supervisory Department, wielding considerable power and influence in her family. Rumor had it that Da Xia’s government and the Supervisory Department were at odds – was this base their means of opposing the government?
The more Feng Yi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. If possible, she didn’t want to get involved in Da Xia’s internal affairs.
“What do you want?” Feng Yi asked tensely, her eyes full of wariness.
Hua Zhuoyu joked lightheartedly: “Since you can’t pay it back, you’ll have to stay and work off the debt. There are no restrictions on who can work – you can even bring all your seven aunts and eight uncles [meaning: extended family] to help.”
The drowsy Ling Shu immediately perked up at these words, assuming an overbearing CEO attitude, and declared firmly: “I’ll pay for her.”
Hua Zhuoyu: “No need to rush, you still have your own debts.”
Feng Yi pressed her lips together, giving Ling Shu a complicated look, touched by her “sacrifice,” but if she remembered correctly, wasn’t Ling Shu the poorest dragon in the Dragon Clan? She got into fights and trouble so often that Feng Yi had helped clear her “compensation” several times.
“This is a contract.” Ning Buyi said without preamble, pushing the folder containing the paper contract toward Feng Yi.
Feng Yi glanced at it, first noticing the astronomical figure that filled her with despair. Her breathing quickened, fearing an “early death,” and she quickly slapped the document on the table.
“May I ask, does this base belong to the Supervisory Department?”
How did this get connected to the Supervisory Department? Ning Buyi was confused. She shook her head: “The base and Barren Star belong to me, Ning Buyi, personally.”
Feng Yi relaxed slightly and asked politely: “Can this matter be kept private?”
Ling Shu added: “She’s concerned about face.” Feng Yi’s response was a harsh kick under the table.
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