The Amusing Adventures of a Directionally Challenged Dad and Daughter-Chapter 148
"Bang!" The heavy gate slammed shut, cutting off the young man's gaze.
His two guards were completely out of the loop. Hadn't the young master come to buy this valley? Why wasn’t he going through with it?
Only the young man had locked eyes with Old Gu Six, and only he had endured the oppressive aura. His guards had no idea what their master had just experienced.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, the young man turned and led his guards away. "Re-plan the location of the town. This stretch of beach doesn’t need to be included."
Guard One asked, "Young Master, didn’t you say this beach was the selling point? That it would attract those idle young nobles looking for mindless fun?"
The young man curled his lip. "We don’t need this beach to lure them in."
Guard Two wasn’t convinced. "Young Master, this place is so remote. Who in their right mind would come all the way here for fun? Even if you told people about it, they wouldn’t be able to find the place."
"Good wine needs no bush. I have my ways to make those bored, spoiled young masters come here and spend their silver."
All he needed was a gimmick—or two, if one wasn’t enough. Could he really fail to trick those second-generation rich kids?
What did noble young ladies believe in most? Love. He’d just put the Matchmaker God to work. A few extra offerings as compensation wouldn’t hurt.
Matchmaker God: You little mortal, I thank your entire family.
And what did young noblemen love most? Beautiful women. If the noble ladies came, wouldn’t the young men eager to show off their charm follow?
Didn’t everyone love praying to gods and Buddhas?
He’d just build a temple here and invite a monk with real skills to preside over it.
For the monk, he’d have to borrow his father’s reputation. The old man of the Jiang Family should carry some weight, right?
If that didn’t work, he’d drag his maternal grandfather into it. One of them had to be useful.
But how should he plan the town’s layout?
Keep it far away? How far was far enough?
Lost in thought, the young man walked away. "Start building from the fishing village inward, with a mountain range in between. That should be far enough, right?"
He accidentally muttered his thoughts aloud, and Guard One asked, "Young Master, are you building a town or a city?"
"Was I not clear enough?" The young man replayed his words in his head—he had definitely said "town."
"Have you ever heard of a town that takes three or four days to walk across?"
The young man pondered. That was true.
"Fine, I’ll build the biggest town there is, putting those so-called cities to shame."
Second Young Master Jiang wasn’t short on silver. Saying the Jiang Family’s wealth rivaled the nation’s was an understatement—the current imperial treasury couldn’t even compare.
If Old Gu Six knew what he was thinking, he’d surely say, "It’s better to stay low-key. Too much arrogance invites trouble."
Old Gu Six returned home to find Chang'an had already prepared the hotpot, the meat ready to eat.
Chang'an preferred blanching vegetables in the hotpot, eating little meat herself. She had specially made a dish of oil-braised prawns.
The intimidating aura Old Gu Six had exuded earlier was nowhere to be seen now. He ate with gusto, his mouth glistening with oil, eyes squinting in satisfaction like a contented cat.
He told Chang'an about the visitor. "Said he wanted to build a seaside town and came to give us a heads-up so we wouldn’t be disturbed. Nice of him."
Chang'an nodded. "That was considerate. Did you ask him not to build too close?"
"I did, and he agreed. The coastline is long—a small town won’t take up much space."
Silver Wolf: Or maybe he was too scared to bring up buying the land?
The father and daughter continued their peaceful, reclusive life, while outside the coast buzzed with activity.
Second Young Master Jiang was a man of action. The day after leaving the coast, he swiftly gathered workers.
First, he purchased the mountain land from the local government, handling all the paperwork. Then he hired locals to fell trees and clear the site.
He personally drew up the town’s layout and handed it to the chief supervisor.
Skilled local builders worked alongside professional architects brought from Jiangnan, their collaboration yielding impressive results.
The commotion outside had no effect on Chang'an and Old Gu Six.
Word spread through the mountains that there was well-paid work along the coast, and many braved the cold to seek employment.
Would Second Young Master Jiang turn away volunteers?
Of course not. He’d been worried the cold weather would make hiring difficult.
Now, with higher wages, workers came to him without him even needing to recruit.
He swapped his fine robes for rough hemp clothes, mingling with the laborers as he supervised the construction.
Despite the cold, the promise of high wages kept spirits high. They were even disappointed when snowfall halted work.
When you stumbled upon a fool with deep pockets, why not milk him dry?
They just hoped the young master’s family wouldn’t go bankrupt by spring.
All winter, Chang'an studied seal script, managing to scribble a few recognizable characters.
She was obsessed with measuring her height. Another year passed, and at fourteen, she checked again—only to be devastated. Not a single centimeter gained.
Was she doomed to stay this short forever?
"Dad~!"
Old Gu Six nearly jumped out of his skin at Chang'an’s sudden wail. Dropping his plow, he rushed inside. "What’s wrong? What’s wrong?"
Chang'an stared at him gravely. "Tell me the truth—am I really your biological child?"
Her attempt at a stern expression, round cheeks puffed out, was so comical Old Gu Six almost laughed.
He matched her seriousness. "Of course you are. Why would I raise someone else’s kid?"
"Then why aren’t I growing taller?" Chang'an glanced at her father’s long legs, then down at her own stumpy ones. Definitely not related.
"You’re still young. You’ll grow taller, just wait," he said, though he was running out of ways to reassure her.
At least let the girl see some progress! Staying completely stagnant was just cruel.
Something felt off to Chang'an. Here, girls were considered adults at fifteen, when they had their coming-of-age ceremony. She’d be fifteen next year—why was there zero development?
Flat as a board, front and back. Chang'an wiped her face. Damn it. Might end up the same as my past life—stuck at 145 cm.
Chang'an spiraled into self-pity.
Old Gu Six, struggling not to laugh, fled the house, grabbing his plow and sprinting to the wheat field.
Once there, he crouched, clutching his stomach as silent laughter shook his body, fists pounding the ground.
After wallowing for a while, Chang'an accepted her fate. Some things are just genetics. Gotta smile and bear it.
Stepping outside, she spotted her ridiculous father squatting in the field, pounding the earth like a madman.
Hadn’t they plowed this field last autumn? Did it need a second round?
She stood behind him for a long moment before realizing he was laughing.
Chang'an’s confusion deepened. "Dad," she intoned ominously.
…
"Dad?" Louder this time.
Startled mid-laugh, Old Gu Six toppled onto his backside.
He smiled at Chang'an with a hint of sheepishness, as if caught doing something mischievous, but then—remembering she couldn’t possibly know why he was grinning—straightened up with renewed confidence.
"Sweetheart, you can’t scare your old man like that again. Age has made my heart too fragile for surprises."
Wait, hadn’t he always refused to admit he was getting old? Why the sudden change?
Chang'an crouched down to meet his gaze, her eyes twinkling. "Dad, what’s got you so happy? Share the joy!"
Old Gu Six muttered under his breath, "Might not be so joyful for you," before releasing the ox from his spatial storage to get to work.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing. Go on, have fun. I’ve got this handled."
"How about summoning a couple of puppets to help? No one’s around to see, and even if they were, these puppets are lifelike—ordinary folks wouldn’t suspect a thing."
