The Bigshot Married Himself to the Heiress-Chapter 655 - 696: Picking Swallow’s Nest on the Cliff

Chapter 655: Chapter 696: Picking Swallow’s Nest on the Cliff

Long ropes hung down from the top of the cliff, and on each rope, a teenager wearing a camouflage uniform dangled. They carried large baskets on their backs and held sharp military daggers in their hands, skillfully picking swiftlet nests.

"Why are they all children?" Pauline Briggs asked curiously as she watched the nest pickers.

Adrian Desmond replied, "These minor tasks like picking swiftlet nests are just right for children."

In Adrian’s view, picking swiftlet nests was simply "playing," and it was best suited for children.

"Isn’t it dangerous?"

"What danger could there be in picking a few swiftlet nests?"

Pauline looked at the high cliff; to her, it screamed danger.

"Are their families very poor? Why would they agree to let their children do such dangerous work?" she asked, her voice brimming with sympathy.

"They are all orphans. They have no parents."

"That’s so pitiful, isn’t it?"

Adrian, impatient with Pauline’s moralizing, left her for Walter Klein to deal with and took Curly away himself.

When they arrived, Curly had been very excited, but once on the island, her mood clearly plummeted.

"What’s wrong?" Adrian asked. "Weren’t you eager to come and pick swiftlet nests? Why are you unhappy now?"

"Daddy, if we take the swallows’ homes, will the little swallows have nowhere to live?"

So that was her concern, Adrian thought. "Don’t worry," he reassured her. "We don’t take swiftlet nests if the little swallows haven’t grown up. We only pick the nests that adult swallows have abandoned after they’ve matured."

"But what if the swallows have more babies?"

"They’ll build a new home and abandon the old one."

Adrian hadn’t known this before but had recently learned that swiftlet offspring leave the nest after about 45 days. Once the little swiftlets can fly, the old nest is abandoned.

The following year, when they return to nest, they build a new one. So, there was no truth to the claims made by some animal rights activists that eating swiftlet nests meant harming baby swallows.

Swiftlets are very sensitive animals. If their fledglings haven’t matured and the nest is taken, the young will die. Consequently, swiftlets will not build nests in that area the following year.

Thus, for their own long-term interests, nest pickers wouldn’t kill little swiftlets just to get their nests.

"Oh, I’m relieved then," Curly said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I was worried that if we took their nests, the little swallows would be homeless."

"Actually, by picking the nests, we’re helping them. Swiftlets don’t reuse old nests. By removing the old ones in time, we make space for them to build new ones. Don’t you think so?"

"Right!"

Watching the nest pickers, Curly grew eager. "Daddy, I want to pick swiftlet nests too!"

"Come on, I’ll take you."

Adrian led his daughter to a man with a scar on his face. The man greeted Adrian respectfully, "Sixth Master..."

"Why isn’t Jule here?"

"He’s training Team A and didn’t have time to come."

In truth, Jule had deliberately stayed away upon hearing that people were needed to pick nests. Back at the base, Jule had been cursing and grumbling, venting his frustrations to several others. He’d said outright that the Sixth Master had been ruined by a vixen to be doing something so preposterous. The men they trained were all highly talented individuals with great potential for the future, not meant for picking swiftlet nests.

"Give me a rope."

"Yes, Sixth Master."

Shawn handed Adrian a rope. Adrian gently set down his daughter, whom he had been holding, then fastened the rope, securing her to his own body. If he weren’t taking his daughter down with him, he wouldn’t need these safety harnesses at all. But since she was accompanying him, he would, as a precaution, eliminate every visible hazard.

"Daddy, are we going down now?" Curly clung to her father’s neck, her face alight with excitement.

"Yes."

Adrian slung a large basket onto his back, and Curly had a small one on hers as well.

"Are you holding on tight?"

"Yes."

"Then down we go."

With his strong arms encircling his daughter’s small frame, Adrian carefully began their descent down the cliff.

The swiftlets had nested on this cliff for countless generations, leaving nests scattered everywhere. The darker-colored nests were old, and the lighter ones were new. The father and daughter only picked the new ones.

"Daddy, there’s one over there..."

Adrian braced his legs against the rock face, using them to control their direction and distance from the cliff wall.

"Daddy, I want to do it myself!"

"Be careful not to hurt your hand."

"I will be."

Adrian adjusted his daughter’s position and showed her how to pick the nests. After he guided her hands-on through two or three, she got the hang of it.

A sharp dagger was clenched in Curly’s hand. If Sienna Johnson had been there, she would have immediately stopped her daughter’s dangerous actions. Adrian, however, didn’t see it as dangerous. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

His daughter had to know how to use a knife and a gun, he thought. If anyone dared to bully her, she should use a knife or a gun to kill them.

"Wow, Daddy, this one is so beautiful..."

"Yes, this one’s very good. No impurities at all."

"I’ll give this one to Mommy!"

Curly picked several more in a row: one for her great-grandmother, one for her maternal grandmother, and many for Kiki.

"Daddy, can you bring Kiki over? I miss her so much."

"That’s something you need to discuss with your mother."

Curly pouted, her expression crestfallen. "I have, I’ve told her several times, but Mommy said we’ll be back in Sileria City soon, so Kiki doesn’t need to come over."

Adrian sneered inwardly. So, she’s still thinking of going back, huh? Well, she won’t be able to.

"Daddy, please, can you talk to Mommy?"

Adrian gave his daughter a mischievous idea. "If you miss Kiki that much, Kiki must be missing you too. Why don’t you call Kiki and tell her your mother said she could come over?"

Is that really okay? That would be lying, and lying about her mother, too. Curly hesitated. In the entire world, there was no one she feared more than Sienna Johnson.

"We’ve picked enough. Let’s go back and ask Mommy to make us some swiftlet nest porridge."

"Okay!"

Adrian suddenly loosened his grip, and the two of them plummeted downwards. The sensation of falling down the cliff, over 15 meters high, was truly thrilling for Adrian.

"AAAH..." Curly screamed, her voice laced with excitement.

Adrian looked at her sparkling, excited eyes, a smile touching his own. Truly his daughter, he thought. Not like those timid, weak, and useless little girls.

"Daddy, we’re falling, we’re falling...!"

Just as they were about to hit the ground, Curly couldn’t maintain her composure any longer. From this height, they’d be smashed into pulp if they hit the ground!

When they were about Wumi above the ground, Adrian suddenly halted their descent.

"That scared me to death!" Curly gasped.

"Look at you, so timid."

Curly retorted irritably, "Who said I was timid? I was clearly worried about you! If we fell, I’d be fine in your arms, but Daddy would be smashed to death, smashed into a pancake!"