Chapter 78: None of Your Business

It was a season of comfortable temperatures. The security guard sat slouched at a table by the window, looking drowsy and half-asleep.

No one stopped them.

A clerk in a suit walked by, casting a strange glance at Ye Tian, then hurried away.

Ye Tian surveyed the enormous factory grounds, which spanned the size of more than a dozen football fields. The paving stones and the leisure gardens still bore many traces of the Ye family from five years ago. Even most of the ornamental and recreational buildings, with their unique style, had not been demolished by the current owner.

Ye Tian wandered through the grounds in silence.

The world remains, but its people have changed; the things one wishes to say bring tears before words.

“Master, are you just here to have a look?” Zhu Yun’er asked.

“Yes, just to have a look for now.”

“Alright, I'll have everyone wait outside the perimeter.” As she spoke, she tapped a wooden block lightly. A faint sound rippled through the factory, then quieted.

Ye Tian nodded. As expected of the steward of the Vermilion Bird Division—her work was meticulous.

Soon, the trio passed through the outskirts and arrived before a row of workshops.

Apart from the low rumble of machines emanating from the rooms, the surroundings remained tranquil, almost deserted.

Only an old man could be seen, hunched over, wearing leather gloves, fishing filth from the drainage channel.

Ye Tian approached, intending to ask the old man something, but as the man turned around, Ye Tian was rooted to the spot.

“Liu Ma!”

The elderly figure before him, stooped and frail beyond even a child, was none other than Liu Mama—the nanny who had raised him from infancy!

After so many years, Liu Ma’s form was thoroughly bent. Just from her silhouette, Ye Tian could never have linked this decrepit figure to the stern and upright Liu Mama of the past.

Were it not for the deeply familiar face, he would not have recognized her at all...

“Is that you, young master?” The old woman gazed at Ye Tian in a daze, the filth slipping from her hands and flowing down the gutter.

“Yes, it’s me—I’m Xiaotian!” Ye Tian forced down his indignation, his voice trembling with excitement.

“Young master, you really are the young master!” After confirming the familiar face before her, Liu Ma’s cloudy eyes brimmed with tears.

“Young master, I thought you were gone too. I never imagined after all these years, I’d see you again!”

“I, I...”

Countless emotions surged forth, and this thoroughly aged woman could not even find the words to express what she felt.

She could only pull off her gloves and repeatedly wipe away the tears from her eyes.

“It’s wonderful, young master, you’re still alive. I knew our Ye family wasn’t finished yet!”

“Yes, Liu Ma, the Ye family isn’t gone. I’ve come back to reclaim everything that belongs to us!” Ye Tian suppressed his grief and spoke resolutely.

Without another word, he pulled Liu Ma out of the foul-smelling gutter. “As long as I’m here, Liu Ma, you’ll enjoy your retirement in peace. Don’t do this hard work anymore.”

“Oh, how can I, young master?” Liu Ma wiped away her tears, as if suddenly remembering something, her tone became cautious.

“I’ve worked here for so many years. It’s fine. You’re still so handsome, dressed in clean and expensive clothes—that’s enough for me.”

“We old folks can support ourselves; we shouldn’t burden you.”

“Liu Ma, how can you say that?” Ye Tian frowned, his tone stern.

He immediately heard the meaning behind her words.

It seemed that many of the old Ye family servants had been absorbed as labor by Xin Xin Food Factory.

Liu Ma was worried that, if he took care of all the old retainers, it would be too much of a burden.

She knew in her heart that Ye Tian had always been compassionate and never treated the family’s servants harshly, unlike other young masters. He would even sneak leftovers to the kitchen for everyone to enjoy.

How could she not guess his intentions? He simply wanted to take everyone away, to provide for them all.

If Ye Tian were still the eldest young master of the Ye family, these elders could naturally return and have a good place to retire.

But with the Ye family destroyed, probably only Ye Tian remained.

A twenty-something young man—how could he possibly support so many people?

Liu Ma was selfish, but her feelings toward Ye Tian were more familial, so she didn’t want him to be under too much pressure. As long as he lived well, that was enough.

“Look, young master, all I have to do is keep the factory clean, and I get two thousand yuan a month. That’s enough for retirement.”

“If you tell me not to work, I wouldn’t know how to adapt!” Liu Ma said honestly.

But the more she spoke, the more Ye Tian’s anger burned.

What did she mean, “all I have to do”? The entire old Ye family estate—nearly two hundred acres, almost twenty football fields—cleaned by Liu Ma alone!

All for just two thousand yuan a month!

This was nothing less than exploiting her to the limit!

Looking at Liu Ma’s nearly doubled-over body, Ye Tian was filled with pain. No wonder she had aged so quickly.

Anyone would grow old fast under such conditions for so many years.

“Don’t worry about the others for now, Liu Ma, you’re coming with me,” Ye Tian said, frowning.

“With you? Who said you could?” A man’s voice suddenly came from behind.

Ye Tian’s expression turned cold as he looked back.

A middle-aged man in a suit, belly protruding, glared at them.

“I ask you, Liu Fengxia, is this your relative?” The man took off his hat and fanned himself, revealing a balding crown.

He said impatiently, “Company policy forbids visits from friends or relatives during working hours!”

“Liu Fengxia, you’ve worked at our factory for five years. How can you forget such basic rules?”

“I’ll dock you five hundred, then get your relatives out of here!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the two beauties who had been facing away from him turned around.

Seeing their stunning faces, the balding man’s eyes lit up. He cleared his throat, put his hat back on.

“Ahem, ladies, this is a factory’s restricted area. Outsiders aren’t allowed in.”

“But since you’re beauties, as a gentleman, I can make an exception.” He laughed, coughed twice, and swallowed a thick glob of phlegm.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Wang Fatguo, production manager of Xin Xin Factory. May I ask your names?”

“Pfft.”

Li Muqing couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

Zhu Yun’er ignored him completely, turning instead to Ye Tian. “Do you need me to handle this?”

“No need,” Ye Tian waved her off, stepping forward. “So you mean you’re the person in charge here?”

“None of your damn business!” Wang Fatguo glared and cursed.