Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat point - Chapter 173
Chapter 173: Chapter 168 Arrogant Ignorance? _1
Translator: 549690339 |
The one seated at the upper left, with darker skin and a slender figure, had distinctly prominent cheekbones. His face was clean-shaven, and he appeared to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Quite young.
To the right sat a middle-aged man in his forties, with three tufts of a beautiful beard fluttering across his chest, and a rather square-looking face.
It was just that his nose was exceptionally large, and somewhat pointed—it was the often-mentioned hawk nose.
Under normal circumstances, a hawk nose tends to be on the smaller side, but this man’s was quite the opposite, with very large nostrils and a thick nose.
From the perspective of physiognomy, people with large earlobes are often considered fortunate, whereas those with large noses are thought to be hot- tempered and aggressive by nature.
This man’s eyes also spoke volumes, with a murky yellow gleam that was fierce.
By the sides of both Insect Masters were young and beautiful maids accompanying them.
They were unapologetically embracing the maids and constantly emitting teasing laughter.
Seeing such a scene, Qin Niu slightly furrowed his brows.
In the upper circles nowadays, there was a peculiar phenomenon—no joy without women.
Just like when Qin Niu visited the Fang Family, two young maids around the age of seventeen or eighteen were in attendance to serve him a pleasurable bath. From the looks of it, they were willing to do anything as long as Qin Niu was inclined.
This was also the sadness of being a servant, with no dignity to speak of, their fates directly in the hands of their masters.
“Let me introduce you to the masters. This is Master Qin Niu.”
The two Insect Masters merely glanced at Qin Niu indifferently and nodded slightly, their attitude extremely arrogant.
“This is Master Shi Doudan.”
The young heir of the Yan Family made a symbolic gesture with his right hand, pointing to the hawk-nosed Insect Master.
“I have seen Master Shi.”
Qin Niu, however, was exceptionally humble.
“This is Master Mo Sang! Don’t be fooled by his age, not yet thirty, but he already possesses strength close to that of a Middle-rank Insect Master, and he holds considerable prestige within the Insect Master Association. Our Yan Family also relied on connections, and it was not easy to invite Master Mo Sang over.”
The young heir of the Yan Family introduced the dark-skinned young Insect Master with great importance.
The fact that the host introduced the other so ceremoniously was also a way to emphasize the Insect Master’s status.
“I have seen Master Mo!”
Qin Niu gave a slight bow to the other party.
Looking at the robes of these two individuals, they were both merely low-rank Insect Masters, sharing the same status as Qin Niu.
Seeing that Qin Niu was only a youth, they looked down upon him, which was actually very superficial.
Qin Niu’s ant colony could easily deal with Grade Four insects.
You should know that anyone with Grade Four insects has at least one foot in the threshold of becoming a Middle-rank Insect Master.
As long as the insects being raised are not too disappointing, and the Insect Master is not ridiculously poor in the most basic Insect Master skill of ‘Insect Speech’, they basically can pass the assessment for Middle-rank Insect Masters.
The assessment for Insect Masters is based on two criteria: the level of the insects an Insect Master raises and whether they are strong, and the skill level of the Insect Master himself.
The most fundamental ability in controlling insects is “Insect Speech”.
If an Insect Master can’t even communicate with their raised insects, there’s a good nine out of ten chance they’re incompetent.
As for the level of the raised insects, that also indirectly reflects the strength of the Insect Master.
Ordinary people simply cannot command insects of Grade Three or higher.
Strictly speaking, an insect that reaches Grade Three is more powerful than the average person.
For an ordinary person to command such an insect is like expecting an infant to lift a heavy object, simply impossible.
Furthermore, the higher the level of the insect, the stronger the Insect Master’s breeding capabilities are.
Therefore, the assessment for Insect Masters consists only of insect level and Insect Master skills.
This considerably introduced Master Mo Sang, who was not yet a Middle-rank Insect Master, which meant his raised insects were at most Grade Four.
His strength was not even comparable to Qin Niu’s.
Qin Niu gave a polite bow to the other party, a sign of his consistent humility and low profile.
“Don’t be polite, sit down!”
Master Mo Sang, while embracing a girl and eating the fruit she fed him, said to Qin Niu with a muffled voice.
This is a very disrespectful behavior.
It appears extremely arrogant.
“Master Qin, please take a seat!”
The eldest son of the Fang Family was very polite to Qin Niu, but he clearly relied more on the other two Insect Masters.
“Serve the dishes!”
Following the removal of the fruit platter and related items, the formal meal began.
During the feast, the two Insect Masters continued to enjoy various pleasures, jesting nonstop with the girls in their embrace.
Fine wines, gourmet foods, and beautiful women; they welcomed it all.
Currently dependent on them for pest control, the Yan family naturally provided high-standard hospitality.
With two claps of his hands from the Yan family’s eldest son, five or six shapely and beautiful servant girls entered, dressed similarly to those attending the Insect Masters. They were all in relatively tight pink clothes.
Servants usually don’t wear skirts, mostly this type of short shirts.
Ordinary servant girls wore gray short shirts, but some landlords, wishing to please the eye, allowed young maids to wear white short shirts.
“Master Qin, these servant girls are high-grade servants trained by our Yan family, skilled in singing and dancing. If you see one you like, you can choose her. Tonight, after you’ve worked hard for our Yan family with the pest control, you can have her accompany you for a pleasant night,” said the eldest son of the Yan Family with a smile.
“Thank you, Young Master Yan, for your kind offer; I am grateful. Going to the fields to control pests, the night cold and morning dew are heavy, and the ground is covered with mud. I wouldn’t dare to let these delicate girls suffer with me. After dinner, I will go to the fields to take care of the pests. If nothing special comes up, I will be here on time for the next few days to deal with the pests.”
Qin Niu didn’t lack interest in such pleasures, but he very much kept his desires in check.
Despite how comfortable the two Insect Masters across seemed, their pursuit of pleasure could easily hinder their progress.
When it comes down to it, whether one’s resolve is firm depends entirely on oneself.
“You may leave now!”
Seeing Qin Niu’s firm stance, the Yan family’s eldest son waved his hand to dismiss the servant girls.
“Currently, our Yan family’s farmland spans over six hundred acres that need guarding. Master Mo Sang excels in defense, and he, together with Master Shi, guards a line each to prevent locusts from entering our Yan family’s farmland. We’ve already tried to employ chickens and ducks in the fields to help eliminate pests. However, due to the vastness of the ground and the limited number of chickens and ducks, the efficiency of pest removal is limited.
Moreover, the results are not ideal.
The locusts are very cunning and take advantage of the night, when the chickens and ducks cannot see, to secretly lay eggs on the ground.
Then during the day, they fly to the high branches to gnaw on the crops, making it difficult for the chickens and ducks to do anything about them.”
Chickens and ducks can deal with locusts, but their pest control is rather crude.
Relying on them to completely eradicate the field’s locusts is nearly impossible.
“As long as both Masters can hold the front line, I can handle the locusts behind them,” said Qin Niu.
When Qin Niu arrived, he had already observed that the number of locusts in the fields was not particularly large.
Now that his ant colony had increased by several hundred, dealing with pests over more than twenty acres in one night should be no problem.
“Hmph!”
Shi Doudan scoffed coldly but said nothing.
Master Mo Sang looked at Qin Niu with a gaze that held a trace of contempt.
“Master Qin looks very young and probably lacks experience. These locusts are extraordinary and not as easy to handle as you think. It would be quite an achievement if you could clear one or two acres in a night. It’s best not to speak too soon about the back being in your hands, otherwise you might make Young Master Yan and these two beauties think that we Insect Masters are all talk.”
“Let’s hope that tomorrow morning, Master Qin can still speak as boldly as you do today,” Master Shi added with a sneer.
The two clearly thought they were dealing with a boastful, ignorant youngster.
They had personally experienced how difficult the pests in the field were to handle.
Even with their capabilities, it was a major headache.
Otherwise, the Yan family wouldn’t have needed to call upon Qin Niu. Mo Sang and Shi could have handled it on their own.
“If Master Qin encounters any difficulties with pest control, the three of you can discuss strategies together at tomorrow’s dinner. Master Mo Sang, this time our Yan family needs your leadership in pest control,” said the Yan family’s eldest son, making his stance known.
