Chapter 65

Let Him Buy

“Aren’t you the young master of a wealthy family? Didn’t your grandfather just give you a card that supposedly has a lot of money on it? You could use it to buy all of Lao Ke Jin Base. That way, when the base is set to explode, no one will be there. When and if the explosion happens wouldn’t matter anymore,” Juan suggested.

He said it so casually, as if he were talking about buying a fish instead of a whole base.

Although, Juan didn’t seem like the kind of person who would buy fish. If he were to buy anything, it would probably be a painting, a book, or… something artistic.

In fact, Scott thought, Juan seemed more like his grandfather’s grandson than he did. Maybe Juan was the real grandchild, and Scott was just the one with the misplaced soul?

Scott couldn’t help but entertain the thought, only for Juan to crush it without mercy—

“I’m older than your grandfather.”

Wait, what? Really?

Stunned, Scott wanted to say something else, but now that Juan had suggested it, he realized that buying the base might actually be the best solution! It was just… not something an average person would think of.

The only problem was…

“But the money on that card was from you…” Scott said quietly.

“Well, I got it because I was using your body,” Juan replied.

“But even if I have enough money to buy the base, how do you even go about purchasing a base?” Scott’s voice grew even smaller. He felt so helpless—not only had he failed to think of the money idea, but now that he knew what to do, he didn’t even know how to spend it…

“I don’t know either, but I know your grandfather will.” Without missing a beat, Juan flagged down a cab.

Old Man Briatch was quite curious about what his grandson would buy, especially after receiving such a large sum of money. He’d guessed many things, but he never expected this—

“Lauckkin Base? Are you saying you want to buy that base?” Sitting in his wheelchair, Old Man Briatch showed a rare expression of shock in front of his grandson.

But it only lasted a moment.

The surprise quickly faded as his face relaxed into an intrigued smile. Setting aside his plans to sleep, he signaled the butler to pour him a cup of tea—he was ready for a chat with his grandson.

“Why?” Old Briatch, pushing his wheelchair to sit opposite Juan, fixed his sharp gaze on him.

Despite his old age, his eyes were still piercing, and his reputation alone made most people unable to meet his gaze. However, Juan dared to.

Not only did he dare, but his gaze was clear, calm, and unwavering as he met the old man’s eyes. Juan spoke softly: “I just want to buy it. Besides, you just gave me a large sum of money.”

The real reason could obviously not be said, so Juan stuck to that simple answer.

“Oh, just because you want to buy it… Is it an instinct?” Old Briatch raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I just want to buy it. I don’t know how to buy the base, nor how much it costs. I thought you might know, so I came to consult with you.” Juan was quite straightforward about what he didn’t know and directly asked Old Briatch for help.

“Ah.” Old Briatch nodded but didn’t answer the question. Instead, his interest shifted to Juan’s whereabouts for the day. He asked in detail about the places Juan had visited, showing interest in every shop he had mentioned. At the end of their conversation, Old Briatch even arranged a date for the two of them.

“It sounds like you’ve been to some interesting places, ones I’ve never heard of despite living in Sunchill City for so many years. After the auction is over in a few days, take me again. I want to see what you young people are into.”

Without giving Juan a chance to refuse, Old Briatch had already set the schedule.

For Juan, this wasn’t a big deal. He nodded, stood up to leave, but before he did, he handed the painting he had brought to Old Briatch.

“A gift.”

He hadn’t wrapped it or anything—Juan had simply carried the painting in as it was. Old Briatch hadn’t even considered that it could be a gift for him.

Thus, he was mildly surprised.

“Did you buy this today?” Old Briatch asked, placing the painting on his lap and inspecting it closely. However, after examining it for a while, he couldn’t figure out much—it was just a hand, set against a blue background. He recognized it as something art students might practice, so did that mean Juan had bought a student’s practice piece for him?

His curiosity didn’t wane. He looked up at Juan and asked, “Thank you. But why this one?”

“I just wanted to buy it.” Juan’s expression didn’t change as he nodded at Old Briatch, then turned to leave.

Old Briatch, though, continued to gaze at the painting for a while, narrowing his eyes.

“Instinct again?”

He muttered under his breath, then turned to the butler, who had just escorted Juan out. “Go check if there’s anything special about this painting, and also find out how much Lao Ke Jin Base costs.”

The butler wasn’t surprised by the first request, but the second one shocked him.

“Master, do you really want to let Young Master buy Lao Ke Jin Base?” he asked, baffled.

Although they hadn’t done any research yet, just hearing the name made it clear that it was a base—a real one. The butler had never seen Old Briatch approve anyone buying a base.

“They never asked me,” Old Briatch chuckled, understanding the butler’s confusion. He gazed thoughtfully into the distance and said with a hint of sarcasm, “Actually, I’m a little excited for someone to ask me for something frivolous, to do something wasteful. But none of my family members are like that. They all try to behave well, at least in front of me. What should I say? Are they trying too hard to be well-behaved to impress me? It’s saved me quite a bit of money…”

At this point, the butler wisely kept quiet about the other family members. He helped Old Briatch back into his room and then began making calls, calmly breaking down the tasks Old Briatch had assigned to him.

The next morning, when Old Briatch woke up, the butler had already gathered preliminary information and placed it by his bedside.

“The painting Young Master Scott gave you is probably an ordinary oil painting sold in a calligraphy and painting shop. The shopkeeper doesn’t have much of a background; his main sources are art students from university departments,” the butler reported.

“Oh.” Old Briatch responded with a soft murmur, looking at the painting now placed by his bed. “Have someone hang it up with a nail. I want to see it every day while I stay here.”

The butler understood: the old man was pleased with the gift, even though it wasn’t anything special.

He nodded and continued with the next report: “As for Lao Ke Jin Base, it’s a small base, considered a satellite of Sunchill City. It’s located to the southeast of us. The area is small, but the population density is high—many people work in Sunchill City. Regarding its size…”

The butler continued, pulling out a map that detailed all the data about Lockjin Base, and showed it to Old Briatch.

“…Previously, Lao Ke Jin Base hadn’t considered selling. In fact, the base’s management hadn’t thought about it at all. After our inquiry, they will likely look into the market price. I’ve also given them the prices of similar land and informed them that since all the minerals have been extracted and the dense buildings make demolition difficult, their asking price won’t be particularly high. However, if they can sell quickly, we can help their senior management apply for Sunchill City residency…”

“Mm, keep following up on this. Try to secure the land before we leave,” Old Briatch nodded, instructing the butler.

“But… sir, as I told them when negotiating, this base has no real value…” the butler hesitated.

“Isn’t it just to make the young master happy? Just tell them it’s something your young master wants to buy,” Old Briatch responded with enthusiasm, taking off his robe and preparing to get out of bed. The butler rushed to assist him, but Old Briatch refused and, using his own strength, carefully got up and sat in his wheelchair.

Once settled, he continued, “The money I gave him was for him to practice with.”

“Actually, giving him practice is also giving me practice, isn’t it? I’m old, and sooner or later, this family business will be handed down to the next generation. I didn’t pay much attention to him before, but now that he’s come into my view, I might as well take a good look at him.”

Upon hearing this, the butler was struck with a sense of realization. He understood that Young Master Scott was now, in some subtle way, being considered as a potential successor.

He nodded without saying more. He knew that from here on, there was no need for further discussion—his role was simply to help the young master buy the land.

However, not now.

Now, there was something more important—today was June 10th, the day of the last, and biggest, auction of the first half of the year in Sunchill City.

Old Briatch had brought Juan to Sunchill City specifically for this auction, and the custom suit he had ordered was meant for today.

Early in the morning, Juan was woken by a knock on the door. A team of professional dressers, along with assistants carrying trays—some with suits, some with shirts, cufflinks, and bow ties—came in.

So, that morning, Juan didn’t even wash his face himself. With the help of the dressers, he put on the custom suit, styled his hair to match his aura, and even sprayed a bit of cologne before meeting Ped, who was also looking freshly suited, in the hallway.

Before long, Old Briatch, also dressed in a new suit, rolled out of his room in his wheelchair.

After a lavish breakfast, they were accompanied by the butler and bodyguards and took a special car arranged by the auction to the event.