After a few rounds of drinks and several courses of food, Chen Changsheng spoke sincerely. "Brother Zhang, could I trouble you to communicate with these people tomorrow? I can offer some small change to ensure we have nothing to do with each other from now on!"
Zhang San raised his wine cup, drained it in one gulp, and patted his chest. "Brother Chen, as long as you’re willing to pay, I guarantee I’ll get this done!"
Chen Changsheng weighed his options for a moment before saying, "For the people involved with the house in the county town, three taels each. For those involved with that small courtyard in Chaoyang, two taels each.
"For those involved with the fields, one tael each. And for the mountain side, also one tael each.
"That makes a total of sixty-five taels. What do you think?"
It wasn’t that Chen Changsheng hadn’t thought about seeking out County Captain Li, but he felt these properties were quite good and wanted to take them over. Both County Captain Li and Zhang San were already aware of this intention. This meant he actually had no other choice. Under these circumstances, talking to County Captain Li would yield little substantive progress.
Moreover, as the third-in-command of Great Fog County, if County Captain Li were to actually sell him a favor by cleaning up these loose ends, that favor would be far too cheap.
It simply wasn’t worth it!
Finally, ever since the major battle in Chaoyang Town ended, County Captain Li’s attitude toward him was no longer as enthusiastic. It was clearly a case of casting him aside after use, though avoiding any outright cold remarks just in case he proved useful again in the future.
If he were to approach him again now, it would be like pressing a warm face against a cold ass. In Chen Changsheng’s mind, County Captain Li had already been labeled as a standard Bureaucrat.
It was better to just ask Zhang San to step in and spend over sixty taels of silver to resolve the problem himself.
"Brother Chen! I can’t guarantee that number, but I’ll do my best to try. I estimate it will ultimately take seventy taels!" Zhang San said after calculating for a moment, already having a preliminary idea.
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng hurriedly poured him more wine and raised his cup for a toast. "In that case, I will have to trouble you, Brother Zhang!"
In a tipsy daze, Chen Changsheng seemingly unintentionally mentioned the small courtyard in the restricted area at the Southwest corner of Chaoyang Town. Zhang San immediately became alert, his drunkenness completely sobering up as he took his leave.
The next day, everything proceeded very smoothly. Seventy taels was neither too much nor too little; it got the job done perfectly.
After keeping busy until 5:00 PM, all the signatures, handprints, property transfers, documents, and contracts were completed. After slipping Zhang San another two taels of silver, Chen Changsheng spurred his horse and hurried toward Chen Family Village.
Looking at the setting sun, even though he still had a pile of tedious matters to handle according to his plan, Chen Changsheng felt quite happy inside.
"After struggling for over a month, I’ve finally upgraded to a minor Landlord! Hehe!" he thought to himself. New chapters come out on g.com first.
That night, after finishing dinner, Chen Changsheng addressed his four children. "Yuyao, Hanwen, Tong Wu, do you have any thoughts about your future paths in life?"
Chen Yuyao was somewhat at a loss. Since her father was no longer forcing her to get married, apart from cooking, keeping busy with the fields, and going to the School Hall in the afternoons, she truly didn’t know what to do in the future.
Chen Hanwen, however, had already given this some thought. He stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Dad, I previously wanted to take the imperial exams and become an official to change our family’s situation!
"But our family is doing well now, and it seems you no longer need me to change it. So, I want to switch to Cultivation in Martial Arts, slay Barbarians, and avenge Mom and Grandpa!"
Chen Changsheng’s wife, He Lijuan, had been hiding in Heifeng Stronghold three years ago. Unexpectedly, the Barbarians launched a night raid. She tried to help despite being heavily pregnant, but ended up getting injured and died from a difficult labor after giving birth to Yuxi.
Chen Changsheng’s father had been standing guard at Wind Fighting Ridge over a decade ago when he was ambushed and killed by the Northern Barbarians. A few years later, his mother passed away from depression.
Tragedies similar to that of the Chen family could be found everywhere in Great Fog County and Danyang Commandery. Born in the borderlands, whose family didn’t hold a grudge against the Barbarians? Born in Danyang Commandery, any man with even a shred of hot blood wanted to kill Barbarians!
Chen Changsheng felt that his eldest son’s idea wasn’t wrong, but he had a compromise. He nodded in gratification and said, "Hanwen, you can cultivate both scholarly and martial pursuits! First, go study hard at the County School for a few years, and just set aside one Hour every day to practice Martial Arts.
"When you turn fifteen, you can decide for yourself whether to take the county exams, return to the village, or enlist in the army!"
After a moment of thought, Chen Hanwen understood his father’s intentions. He was too young, and it might be too early to make a decision now. Reading for a few more years would also bring him many benefits. He immediately cupped his hands and sat down.
Inspired by her younger brother’s speech, Chen Yuyao stood up and said, "Dad, I also want to practice Martial Arts and kill Barbarians in the future!"
Then, remembering the clan rules, she pinched the corner of her clothes and slumped back down into her seat, muttering with her head bowed, "But... the clan’s Inner Power Heart Method is only passed down to males, not females. It’s useless for me to practice Martial Arts!"
Chen Changsheng smiled, took out a booklet, and handed it to Chen Yuyao. "I had another fortunate encounter and obtained this Inner Power Heart Method," he said softly. "Take it and study it, but you absolutely must not pass it on to anyone outside!
"I only plan to teach it to you four! Hmm, Hanwen and Tong Wu, the two of you will also switch to cultivating this Inner Power Heart Method from now on!"
Chen Yuyao’s eyes suddenly lit up. She quickly took the booklet and began flipping through it.
Chen Tongwu stood up and said, "Dad, you already arranged for me to practice Martial Arts, so I’ll just continue with it. Once I turn fifteen, I’m going to join the army!"
The youngest sister looked bewildered, not even knowing what the future entailed.
Chen Changsheng was very happy. When he had been bored in Chaoyang Town, he had copied down the first section of the introductory Chapter to the *Eight-Nine Profound Skill*, specifically intending to let the children at home cultivate it.
Without delay, he pulled the three children close and began to explain it to them word by word, sentence by sentence.
While spending time with his children, Chen Changsheng also began making preparations for his Spirit Medicine Garden. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
The first priority was the hundred acres of fertile land at the village entrance. He didn’t intend to grow rice or wheat there himself; rather, he planned to rent most of those fields out to the villagers. As for the other half of his plans, he intended to acquire all the mountain slopes surrounding his home.
Too lazy to negotiate with everyone individually, he prepared a banquet at home and invited Uncle Qing, Uncle Shan, his fourth younger brother Shuisheng... eight relevant people in total, to sit down and talk.
Chen Changsheng was a single man raising four kids. His family originally had five acres of fields and another eight acres of mountain land, which was already too much to handle even if he gave it his all. Now that he had a hundred acres of fertile land, everyone in the village knew he definitely wouldn’t be able to manage it all.
Furthermore, Chen Changsheng was no longer the old blockhead who only knew how to farm. He was now a bona fide Martial Artist, not to mention a minor Landlord who had just struck a windfall. It was highly unlikely he would continue to work himself to death in the fields.
Therefore, all eight people who received the invitation knew in their hearts that this meal was, nine times out of ten, a good thing.
When everyone arrived at Chen Changsheng’s house and saw that all the guests were close kin within the five degrees of mourning, all part of the same family, they grew even more certain that tonight would bring good news.
Sure enough, after a few cups of yellow wine went down their bellies and the atmosphere grew lively, Chen Changsheng coughed lightly twice and spoke slowly. "Uncles and brothers, I’ve invited everyone here today because I have something I’d like to discuss with you all!"
It was starting. The eight men all held their breath and focused, quietly waiting for Chen Changsheng to speak.
Chen Changsheng continued, "As you know, I have a hundred acres of fertile land at the village entrance, but with four children in tow, I definitely can’t farm it all myself.
"Besides, I plan to focus on Martial Arts in the future, so I want to rent out half of those fields.
"Since we’re all family, I thought of you first. I’ll only charge fifteen percent in rent. You will pay the land taxes. What do you think? Are you interested?"
Uncle Qing’s eyes brightened slightly, but he then feigned a conflicted expression. "Chang Sheng, reasonably speaking, you’re helping us by offering this.
"But fifteen percent rent is too high! Once you add in the taxes, I’d toil away for more than half a year on an acre of land and still barely be left with a few bushels of grain!"
As soon as these words were spoken, apart from Shuisheng, the others all immediately chimed in.
"Exactly! Chang Sheng, you’re so rich now, and we’re all family. Since you’re too busy to manage it, why not just let us farm it for free!"
"That’s right! Chang Sheng, look at your younger cousin. He’s already eighteen and still hasn’t taken a wife!
"I’m not asking to borrow money, but surely you can just give me ten acres of land, right? That way, I can find a wife for your cousin!"
"Chang Sheng..."