Xia Huanao, as he spoke, went to find Meng Tianya, "Old Meng, do you know who's in charge of our camp?"
Meng Tianya glanced at him, "What are you planning? Whatever it is, I'm responsible for you during the competition."
Xia Huanao eyed the tents, "I want to upgrade the tents. Do you have the final say? Isn't that up to the scientific expedition team?"
Meng Tianya, holding his thermos, said, "Yes, the scientific expedition team has the final say on this matter, but after they report it, it still has to come to me. I'm fully in charge of everything on this island, including the scientific expedition team's logistics. This is mainly because we're desperately short-handed. Anything more specific can be discussed later. For now, let's talk about what you want."
Xia Huanao extended his hand and gestured, "I want to live in prefabricated houses. It's not that I dislike the tents, but I think prefabricated houses are more suitable for this place. They clearly won't be staying for just a few months."
Meng Tianya screwed the cap back onto his thermos, "What a coincidence, I was thinking the same thing. I was just discussing the feasibility of prefabricated houses with them before you arrived. They're probably loaded onto a ship by now, but you know, even if they arrive, we have to assemble them ourselves, which is quite troublesome."
Xia Huanao shrugged, "Frankly, at this point, what's the use of hiding anything?"
"No use, but we still have to hide it, mainly for promotional and other considerations, you understand."
"I understand."
...
One had to admit, Ming Long Country's efficiency was unparalleled in the world. Xia Huanao had proposed the idea in the afternoon, and in just one day, before seven in the morning the next day, Ming Long Country's ship had arrived. Xia Huanao watched the large ship slowly approach from the sea, "So how do they unload the cargo without a dock?"
Suddenly, many boards flew up from the ship. Xia Huanao scratched his nose, "Ah, right, there are also those with superpower abilities."
Boards continuously flew out from the ship. This spectacle quickly attracted others living nearby. The person in charge of Lixing walked over and asked, "What are you doing?"
Xia Huanao patted a board with a rather imperious flourish, making a loud clanging sound, "See? Of course, we're transporting supplies. Living in tents is too primitive. We want to improve our quality of life, so we've decided to use prefabricated houses."
The Lixing representative glanced at the pile of boards that looked like a small mountain, "Do you guys in Ming Long Country need this many boards to build houses?"
Xia Huanao knocked a few more times, "What do you think? In the spirit of humanitarianism, we can sell you boards to build houses. If you insist on living in tents, we don't mind."
"Who do I negotiate the price with?"
Xia Huanao pointed inside, "Go find our team leader. Just mention my name, and you'll get a 20% discount."
Xia Huanao had thus tricked someone into buying something. However, the truth was this: Xia Huanao had personally invested in buying the prefabricated houses and paid for the shipping. The income from this end would be split 50/50. Even with a 20% discount, he would still make a significant profit. In a seller's market, he was the most powerful.
Not long after he had tricked one person in, a large group of people arrived, instantly crowding out Meng Tianya and Yulongdu's tents.
Time ticked by, seven-thirty, eight o'clock, eight-thirty, nine o'clock. The competition began. Although Xia Huanao and his group weren't competing, it didn't stop them from watching together. Seeing everyone sitting by the sidelines, Meng Tianya asked, "Where is Xia Huanao? He's not still counting money, is he? Hurry up and get him here."
Chu Xiaodie explained, "No, Coach Xia isn't counting money. He went to chase a Longtail Monkey."
Hearing this, Meng Tianya's anger grew, "That's even worse than counting money. Why would he fight a monkey of all things? Is he descended from a monkey?"
Yulongdu explained, "No, you can't blame him for this. We were walking together, but somehow a Longtail Monkey got off the ship and ran off with the receipts you gave me. Boss Xia rushed to chase it. I don't know if he caught it."
Meng Tianya's expression changed, "So that's what happened. You should have said so earlier if there was a valid reason. He absolutely must catch it."
Yes, Xia Huanao was wondering as he chased the monkey around the camp, where did this monkey come from? It didn't look like a pet. Could it be a wild monkey that got on the ship?
Xia Huanao shook his head and continued to chase the Longtail Monkey. In its tail, it clutched Xia Huanao's lifeline, the receipt for the Lixing prefabricated houses, his biggest deal.
Lixing was truly willing to spend money. They wanted a three-story prefabricated house. If the receipt was lost, how would they recognize the transaction?
Thinking of this, Xia Huanao's anger surged, and a wicked thought arose. He threw a Poké Ball at the Longtail Monkey's head. Guagua jumped out and stepped on the Longtail Monkey's tail. The Longtail Monkey took two steps forward but couldn't move. It looked back and saw Guagua already holding a Hydro Pump Shuriken to its neck.
The Longtail Monkey was quick to surrender. It would never pretend to be brave when it wasn't. It took the receipt from its tail with its hands and handed it to Xia Huanao, who had caught up. Xia Huanao took it and found that nothing was amiss. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to put it away.
"Guagua, let's go. The competition is about to start."
Before they could take two steps, the Longtail Monkey jumped up and tried to grab Xia Huanao's hat. Xia Huanao knew very well that a Pokémon like a monkey wouldn't stay still. Although he turned around, he was constantly watching the situation behind him. Xia Huanao suddenly ducked, falling to the ground. The Longtail Monkey lunged, missing him and landing face-first in the sand.
Xia Huanao stood up and shook his head, "Ouch, this is a bit uncomfortable now."
The Longtail Monkey also climbed up and shook its head. It was clear both of them had fallen quite hard. Xia Huanao pointed at the Longtail Monkey, "What's going on? Want to fight?"
The Longtail Monkey made a series of whimpering sounds: "You want to fight? Come on, are you afraid of me?"
Xia Huanao patted the receipt on his chest, "Wait, I'll put this receipt away and deal with you later."
Xia Huanao went back to put away the receipt, and the Longtail Monkey followed him. On the way, he happened to meet Mei, "Xia Huanao, what are you doing?"
Xia Huanao casually pointed at the monkey behind him, "Uh, don't worry about it. It's a man-to-man thing."
Mei blinked in confusion, "Huh? What man-to-man thing do you have with a monkey?"
Xia Huanao put away the receipt and came outside. Unscrupulously, he kicked at the Longtail Monkey's tail. The Longtail Monkey reacted swiftly, lunging to the left, dodging Xia Huanao's sneak attack, and counterattacking with a "monkey steals the peach" move using its tail.
Xia Huanao's eyes widened in alarm, and he quickly retreated two steps, pushing down with his left hand. He grabbed the Longtail Monkey's tail, causing the monkey to become airborne like a meteor hammer, hurtling towards Xia Huanao. Xia Huanao quickly parried, using both hands to grab the Longtail Monkey's arms. The Longtail Monkey retracted its tail and tried another "monkey steals the peach" move.
Xia Huanao urgently clamped his legs together to block the Longtail Monkey's tail. However, due to his hasty movement, he lost his balance and fell to the ground with the monkey. Fortunately, Xia Huanao pushed forward with his hands, preventing the Longtail Monkey from pinning him down, and instead performed a "ground slam" on the Longtail Monkey. The pose was incredibly romantic.
Xia Huanao pinned the Longtail Monkey to the ground and asked, "Are you fighting honorably? How can you repeatedly use such a despicable move as 'monkey steals the peach'?"
The Longtail Monkey was also angry: "If you hadn't sneak-attacked and stepped on my tail, would I have used 'monkey steals the peach'?"
The two couldn't come to an agreement and continued to fight. However, due to their current position, it was difficult for Xia Huanao to defend against a "monkey steals the peach" from behind. So, he got up and re-established some distance.
They circled each other in the camp, making Mei dizzy. "So, Xia, what are you guys doing?"
Xia Huanao turned his head, "I'm telling you, this is called..."
Mid-sentence, the Longtail Monkey landed a punch. Xia Huanao instinctively followed up with: "What the heck! Another sneak attack?"
Xia Huanao decided not to be at a disadvantage and punched back, nearly giving the monkey a concussion. While they were fighting fiercely, inside the competition arena, the teams in this group had just finished their matches. Meng Tianya looked around, still no sign of Xia Huanao, "Why isn't he here yet? Is one monkey that hard to catch? The competition is over, let's go back and see."
Meng Tianya and his group returned from the arena to find a large crowd gathered in the camp, with people discussing something in hushed tones. Yulongdu's rudimentary foreign language could only vaguely catch phrases like "This is Ming Long kung fu."
When the group pushed through the crowd, they saw Xia Huanao take down the monkey with a sweeping leg kick. This was his first time gaining the upper hand since the fight began, as he was fighting with two hands against three (counting the monkey's tail) and had to defend against the monkey's dishonorable "monkey steals the peach" moves. The Longtail Monkey grabbed a handful of sand with its tail and swept it towards Xia Huanao's face. Xia Huanao blocked with his arms, but the Longtail Monkey jumped up and hit him on the head.
Despite the sneak attacks, the Longtail Monkey was eventually caught by the tail by Xia Huanao. Xia Huanao pulled the Longtail Monkey back and landed two punches on its head. They wrestled again, and what started as a display of skill devolved into a street brawl.
After getting punched in the jaw, Xia Huanao saw Yulongdu and called out, "A'du, go into my bag and get me a white bag."
Yulongdu heard him, separated from the crowd, and walked out. After a while, he returned with a chain attached to a Poké Ball, "Are you asking me to get this?"
Xia Huanao took the "miniature meteor hammer" and looked at the Longtail Monkey, "Come on, I've practiced this before. Bring it on."
Seeing that Xia Huanao had a weapon, the Longtail Monkey looked around, then took two steps and climbed up a tree. It then broke off a long branch and, after a few flashy moves, seemed ready to continue fighting Xia Huanao.