After Transmigrating as the Northeast CEO's Pampered Little Husband - Chapter 33

“It seems to be coming along quite nicely.”

Having washed their hands, the couple headed to the vegetable patch in the back garden. The tomato plant, affectionately named ‘Little Red’, had been infused with spiritual energy. It had transformed from a frail green sapling into something resembling a hulking brute. In just a short amount of time, the main stem, once only as thick as a pinky finger, had thickened to half the width of a wrist. It was supposed to be a tomato plant, yet it now looked more like a shrub.

Gu Jiaoyang rubbed his nose, suddenly reminded of the tomato vines in his original world. There, they served as guardians of the home; vines as thick as thighs and tomatoes the size of watermelons were enough to claim the life of anyone harbouring ill intentions.

However, the spiritual energy in this world was thin, so it likely wouldn’t grow to such monstrous proportions.

Confident in his assessment, Gu Jiaoyang pondered his method of aggregating spiritual energy, mentally devising an evolutionary path best suited for these ordinary crops.

“Is this… actually a tomato plant?”

Dai Gucan, squatting alongside Gu Jiaoyang in the garden, lost his usual composure. No matter how innocently Little Red stood there with its little name tag, the contrast between it and the surrounding finger-thick plants was simply too stark to ignore.

Dai Gucan couldn’t help but think of the medicinal herbs in his company’s biological laboratories no matter how much they tried to artificially cultivate them, they couldn’t increase the yield. He had to accept the reality: cultivators truly existed, and they were indeed sufficiently fantastical.

“Mm. Though I didn’t expect Little Red to grow this fast either. Theoretically, it should have taken over seven days.”

“Perhaps the feng shui in Mr Dai’s home is just particularly good.”

Gu Jiaoyang inspected the cucumber seedlings nearby and found that they remained unchanged.

It really was different.

“We’ll see when it bears fruit. If it’s stable, we should be able to plant them on a large scale.”

Watching Little Red’s extraordinary development, Gu Jiaoyang actually wasn’t entirely sure of himself. In his original world, his junior brother was responsible for tending the spiritual fields, so he didn’t know if this kind of growth was standard.

“Alright. If you want to plant more, the land behind the house belongs to us as well.”

Dai Gucan fiddled with Little Red’s stem. He was curious, but he didn’t pry. After all, Daoist cultivation methods were his little cultivator’s private affairs; even as a boyfriend, he shouldn’t overstep his boundaries.

Besides, a hobby like farming was certainly better than young people staring at their phones or playing computer games all day, so Dai Gucan was fully supportive.

Meanwhile, the bloodbath on the internet showed signs of abating. The official stance from Orange Blossom and the statement from the major streamer, Zhu Zhengwen, had, to some extent, held back the majority of irrational netizens. After all, Orange Blossom was an industry titan, and their entrance exams filtered out most of the mindless keyboard warriors.

Consequently, the paid trolls hell-bent on smearing ‘Gu Yangyang’ stood out like sore thumbs. Their foul language was reported by increasingly suspicious users. Without the pressure of Chief Wang’s biased moderation, vulgar comments were simply blocked from being posted.

However, on Weibo—often dubbed the ‘rubbish bin’—the smear campaign remained high on the trending list because there was no threshold for posting. The rumour-mongering ‘Big V’ accounts simply took the money and posted whatever they were told; the moderators didn’t care about authenticity. The bystanders there just wanted to grab their popcorn and watch the drama, regardless of the truth.

But these matters were of little consequence to Gu Jiaoyang. He didn’t check Weibo, and he had temporarily put the livestreaming issue to the back of his mind.

When he woke the next day and Mr Dai had gone to the office, Gu Jiaoyang finally remembered that he had been too busy eating yesterday and had completely forgotten about the smear campaign against him.

He needed a plan.

After breakfast, Gu Jiaoyang sprawled on the sofa, staring at his phone screen in thought. Before, he was attacked for his looks and money. Now, the attacks were primarily based on a forum post alleging he was from N City. Although the official platform had deleted it, the trolls were still jumping up and down, peddling conspiracy theories that he had bribed Orange Blossom’s upper management.

N City…

“Auntie, is Dragon Guard Slope famous? Does mentioning it make people think of Changjing?”

Gu Jiaoyang turned around, draping himself over the back of the sofa, and asked the nanny who was sorting laundry.

“Dragon Guard Slope? Of course it’s famous. The name was bestowed by Emperor Chengwen himself, and it houses the tomb of a legendary General of the State. I wouldn’t dare speak for other places, but who would dare duplicate a place name given by an Emperor? It’s on the high school history curriculum. If the Young Master mentions Dragon Guard Slope, everyone is guaranteed to know it.”

The nanny smiled as she sorted the clothes into baskets.

“That magical…” Gu Jiaoyang pondered for a moment. He grabbed a few pieces of fruit from the platter on the coffee table, ate them, and went back to his room to get dressed. He planned to make a trip to Dragon Guard Slope for a livestream.

Dragon Guard Slope was located at the very rear of Changjing. Beyond it lay the country’s largest protected forest, featuring treacherous terrain; historically, it was the only fortress against sneak attacks on the Imperial City from the rear. However, the natural environment of Dragon Guard Slope was excellent. While it couldn’t compare to the national reserve behind it, it was more than sufficient as a small forest park.

The drive wasn’t long. The territory behind Changjing was irregularly shaped due to the protected forest. Government leaders had claimed the furthest, largest, and flattest areas, leaving the Dai family situated in the corner closest to Dragon Guard Slope.

“So these are the big trees I can see from the third floor. I thought they were just landscaping.”

Gu Jiaoyang shielded his eyes from the harsh sun as he stepped out of the car. The June sun in the north was blindingly bright, comparable to burning magnesium.

The driver, a veteran employee of the Dai family who had travelled extensively with Mr Dai in the early days, was used to waiting in the car for days on end. Leaving him there was no issue. Besides, he wasn’t foolish; once the Young Master confirmed the location and agreed on a pickup time, the driver would take a cushion and go play on his phone in the shade.

Dragon Guard Slope was mostly a mix of deciduous broadleaf and coniferous forest. In this season, the foliage was lush. As soon as Gu Jiaoyang stepped into the shade, he felt a spiritual cleansing. The vitality of the Wood Spirit soothed the restless heat within him, so Gu Jiaoyang simply relaxed his control over his spiritual energy, allowing it to circulate naturally.

“Spirit wood. No wonder…”

Gu Jiaoyang mumbled, reaching out to stroke the trunk of the nearest tree. Even in the intense, dry heat of summer, the rough bark didn’t feel parched like ordinary trees; instead, it had a certain moist roughness to it.

To put it plainly, it felt like a walnut that had been polished smooth by hand over years of handling.

He could, of course, distinguish between the effects of human touch and natural weathering. This place clearly saw very little human traffic, and the lingering human presence felt elderly, likely from the older generations of high-society families.

Furthermore, to enter this area, one had to pass by the Dai residence. According to high-society etiquette, passing by an acquaintance’s home required a visit.

And based on the original novel’s description, Mr Dai was not an easy man to get along with.

“Let’s start the stream!”

Gu Jiaoyang walked around, found the paved stone path and the inner monument, and switched on the livestream.

“Hello everyone. No eating today; we’re going for a stroll to burn off some fat.” After extending the selfie stick, Gu Jiaoyang ignored the barrage of comments flooding the screen, focusing entirely on exploring the spirit wood of Dragon Guard Slope.

…

Oh my god, finally streaming! I thought the streamer couldn’t handle the pressure and had kicked the bucket!

Sisters, charge!! As visuals fans, we can’t lose! Boost the numbers for our Yangyang!

No eating? Fitness? Holy crap, who is this? I am living for this sexy tank top and shorts combo!

Wait, sisters, pinch me! Am I hallucinating? Why do I see a top-tier puppy-dog type on screen?

Entering! Sorry, re-entering.

Grandson, bring me your grandma’s reading glasses! I need to see this top-tier little puppy in HD!

Grass. Damn it, you’re a mukbang streamer, where did those arm muscles come from? Those slim legs /! I’m jealous!

…

Whispering… has anyone noticed the monument behind Yangyang? Dragon head, Qiongqi body… that looks like the tombstone style of the General of the State…

I’ll whisper too. Dragon head, Qiongqi body holding a sword in its mouth. I checked my son’s textbook, page 36, it’s identical.

Holy cow, you scared me into checking my textbooks..

Gosh, it really does look familiar! I’m checking too!

Stop checking, picture in the comments. Upvote me!

It really is! Dragon Guard Slope!

Mum, it really is Dragon Guard Slope. Sisters, someone tell me what month it is?

June. To the person above, don’t bother looking, the forest isn’t open. You can’t go there.

Dragon Guard Slope is open? My melon just dropped. I checked the calendar, surely enough, the college entrance exams are the day after tomorrow.

So, may I ask, how is the streamer strolling through Dragon Guard Slope which is only open during the Qingming Festival—like it’s his own back garden?

Climbing the wall? That’s illegal! Changjing has its own territorial laws. Disturbing the General outside of open season gets you 30 days detention!

Reported. Waiting for results. Streamer is courting death, hehe.

Reported +1!

…

” The environment at Dragon Guard Slope is lovely. I had an early breakfast, so I thought I’d come for a walk. The trees here are very old and particularly beautiful. You should all come and visit if you’re interested.”

Gu Jiaoyang walked along the stone path with his selfie stick. The path wasn’t wide, but the interlocking branches overhead were magnificent. The sunlight filtered through in coin-sized spots, creating a beautiful dappled pattern on the ground.

“Oh, there’s someone over there. Let’s go say hello.”

Standing near the inner monument not far ahead was a figure in a dark blue shirt. He looked somewhat familiar.

“Looks like a policeman uncle.” Gu Jiaoyang pointed the camera at the officer. Because of the distance, the figure was just a blur of pixels, so there was no worry of exposing his identity.

…

Did the report work already? Truly servants of the people!

That fast? They’re already on scene?

Large-scale streamer arrest scene, hahahaha!!!

Real: I’m at the scene hahahaha! I’ve already started screen recording!

Can’t wait to see an ignorant streamer who clouts-chases by breaking the law get arrested on the spot!!!

…

“Here we are. I can’t show you the policeman uncle’s face, even though he’s quite handsome.” Gu Jiaoyang lowered the selfie stick, walked over to greet the officer, and looked down at the badge on his chest.

Dragon Guard Slope Patrol.

So, a local guard.

“Morning, Uncle!”

Gu Jiaoyang walked over and greeted the standing officer, secretly transferring a wisp of spiritual energy to him. It wasn’t much, but it was the thought that counted.

In this heat, that wisp of energy would keep him cool and refreshed for a while, banishing fatigue.

Perhaps due to professional regulations, the officer on duty just paused for a moment, grinned foolishly for a few seconds, and then resumed standing as straight and motionless as the plane trees beside him.

Gu Jiaoyang didn’t tease him further. As he readjusted the selfie stick, he couldn’t help but picture a silly, big-eared German Shepherd.

You really do become your job.

“It’s still early, let’s keep walking. There’s a flower field ahead, we’ll take a slight detour to see it.” The guide map was right next to the officer. Gu Jiaoyang estimated the time and continued his stroll.

…

Wait, Officer, the forest isn’t open! Arrest the streamer!

Why isn’t the policeman reacting? Yangyang walked past and he didn’t even speak.

Right? Can you just enter whenever, even if it’s not open season?

Damn, is there no law anymore? What happened to the 30-day detention for major roaming suspects?

Wait, sisters, go check the comments section! The oil-slippers summoned a big shot for an answer! It’s Officer Liu’s main account!!!

Holy crap! Just came back from eating, I’m confused!

Confused +1…

Make way, the class rep is back from copying homework!! Arrow @Officer Liu  Thanks for the invite. First, please watch my 16th video where I detail the distinction between police uniform colours and their functions. Regarding this question, as a non-high-ranking, non-typical officer, this answer is for reference only Arrow Dragon Guard Slope, as a National Level 1 Intangible Cultural Heritage Special Cemetery and National Level 2 Environmental Protection Area, has a profound influence in our country and serves as an international typical representative symbol… Therefore, except for the Qingming Festival, it is not open to the public. Trespassers will be strictly dealt with according to criminal law. However, as the most important guardian zone behind Changjing, residents who own property in this area may pay shared taxes and use the natural environment of the area in accordance with the law…

Mist grass… Oil-slippers, let me calm down… Residents with property here… pay shared taxes… Who… who can help me check how big Dragon Guard Slope is?

Sorry, I’m not worthy. I can’t even afford the stone tablet at the entrance, sob…

Shared taxes… How much must they be collecting, oh my god.

So, am I the only one concerned that the property prices behind Changjing are an unknown variable?

To be honest, I went to check the local laws of Changjing. It seems that even for the Wolong Residence National Forest Park, which is far away and untouchable for these big shots, they still have to pay.

So our country is really effectively exploiting the capitalists. I feel at ease now hahaha.

Suddenly relieved hahahaha, feeling sorry for the big shots 233333.

Tell me a joke: Capitalists exploit me, the State helps me exploit capitalists, hahahaha!

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