At noon, the sun was much warmer than it had been at midday. The earth felt like a steam oven. Zhang Guodong suddenly felt a childlike urge and stood up, saying, "Li Yun, shall we go play in the stream?"
In the stream. In the afternoon, when it's busiest, women and children alike will come to wash, cool off, and wash away the dust.
But Li Yun replied, "No, I need to cook with Sister Qingzhu later."
When everyone was together, they enjoyed three meals a day, savoring every bite. The chefs were naturally Li Yun and Qingzhu, and occasionally Qin Lina would come to help, then stay for a meal afterward. The meals were delicious. Zhang Guodong, surrounded by beautiful women, was also quite content.
While cultivation is important, the enjoyment of mortal life is still essential. Zhang Guodong viewed it this way. He observed that Xuan Qingban devoted all her time to cultivation, rarely embracing meals with others; in his words, this woman was a madwoman. Her only focus was cultivation.
"Make some fish salad dressing!" Qingzhu whispered a suggestion from the side. "But there's no fish in the kitchen!"
"Guodong, there's no seafood left in the kitchen!"
"Are you done? Oh, then you can go out and buy some more!" Zhang Guodong said casually. He gathered up a few bottles of cold drinks and chilled beer, put them in a small basket, covered them with a towel, and said they could still have some later.
In the village, using these small favors to make friends is very useful.
"The food I bought isn't good!" Qingzhu rolled her eyes at him, finally telling the truth. The seafood and vegetables bought from the market weren't as delicious as the ones Zhang Guodong had prepared; that was a fact.
During this time, as Li Yun's cultivation level improved, reaching level eight, she gradually began going shopping in the countryside and district with Qingzhu and Qin Lina. Zhang Guodong was relieved. He figured the Li family probably couldn't look after Li Yun now, or rather, the main force couldn't take care of her.
The allure of cultivation is irresistible, and no one can resist it. Those in the Li family who obtained the demon seed are likely diligently cultivating. Coupled with the warning from Xuan Qingban about the approaching enemy two months ago, everyone is on edge, making Li Yun's situation seem minor.
“The fish and shrimp that Sister Na bought last time are harmful to the bodies of plant cultivators!” Qingzhu continued.
"Oh?" Zhang Guodong hadn't noticed that at all. However, since he started cultivating, he hadn't eaten regular meals, and a thought suddenly struck him. "What about regular vegetables and fruits?"
"Spiritual energy is scarce, and some of it is even harmful!"
"Does that mean that cultivators should eat things rich in spiritual energy? Ordinary vegetables and seafood don't help cultivators at all?" Zhang Guodong asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Of course!" Qingzhu nodded and said with certainty.
Li Yun was puzzled. Pointing to the vegetables around the house, she said worriedly, "Then all the vegetables we planted were planted for nothing?"
"Hehe. Of course not! The spiritual energy within ten meters of the house is thirty times stronger. Even outside that area, the spiritual energy concentration is more or less higher than in other places. Naturally, the vegetables grown there are extraordinary. And, you forgot, they're irrigated with spiritual water. They're much higher quality than those grown by farmers in Fengdu City!" Qingzhu waved her hand and said.
"What? You're using spiritual water to water the vegetables?" Zhang Guodong was dumbfounded. Watering the Jade Spring Vine was one thing, but using it on vegetables too? Even with countless amounts of spiritual water, this wasn't a waste!
Li Yun stuck out her tongue sheepishly and said, "Sister Qingzhu said it's good for vegetable growth, so I only watered it a little bit."
Is it green bamboo again?
"Hmph. Starting today, all spiritual water except for Jade Spring Vine is cancelled!" Zhang Guodong glared at Qingzhu, frowned, got up, and carried his basket down to the stream.
Qingzhu was immediately annoyed. She and Li Yun had a little secret. In fact, she had secretly embezzled some spiritual water to use for alchemy. But now, she didn't have much spiritual water left.
"Sister Qingzhu, what should we do? Guodong is angry!" Li Yun glanced at Qingzhu and said.
"Don't worry. Senior Sister has also taken spiritual water from us. If he asks, just say it was Senior Sister who asked for it!" Qingzhu's eyes lit up, and a plan immediately came to mind.
Zhang Guodong, who was walking down the slope, suddenly turned pale. This Qingzhu was becoming increasingly outrageous; she was actually pushing Xuan Qingban? Did she think she dared not ask Xuan Qingban?
Thinking of Xuan Qingban's ruthlessness and strength, Zhang Guodong really didn't dare to do anything to her.
"Hmph, I'm level sixteen now too. Once I catch up with you guys..."
However, he knew that the rapid growth of his cultivation level was entirely due to his **reaching level 20. This allowed him to disregard whether his **could withstand the strain. Once his cultivation level reached 20, his cultivation speed would significantly decrease.
How could he overcome the bottleneck in his physical strength? Zhang Guodong went through the pills one by one. Of the initial-level pills he was currently refining, only the "Body Strengthening Pill" was helpful for his physical cultivation, but even that was no longer very helpful.
Unless you have a mid-level pill.
Furthermore, cultivation cannot rely entirely on external aids, such as elixirs; otherwise, future advancement in cultivation will be very difficult. The Grand Elder has also said something similar: if one relies on elixirs, the initial cultivation progress will be rapid, but one will remain below level fifty for life.
Once their five-hundred-year lifespan is over, they can only wait to die.
This was not the outcome Zhang Guodong wanted.
"Oh, Xiao Zhang's here!" Just as he was pondering, Zhao Sanshun's voice rang in his ears. Ever since Zheng Chun was dealt with, he had inquired around and discovered that Zhang Guodong was actually a college classmate of the current Party Secretary and Township Head. Zheng Chun had been brought down by this current Party Secretary Wang.
With his formidable enemy gone, Zhao Sanshun became even more affectionate towards Zhang Guodong.
Zhang Guodong looked up and saw Zhao Sanshun and several village committee cadres sitting together not far away, their trousers rolled up and their feet dangling in the stream. A number of villagers were gathered around them.
Another group, mostly women and children, were laughing and playing, enjoying themselves immensely.
As soon as Zhang Guodong appeared, all eyes were on him. After all, young men like Zhang Guodong, who are young and wealthy, are very popular with girls.
It's not that these people are materialistic.
Among the group of women, one gaze, however, was intense and affectionate—it belonged to Lan Hua. Nearby, other women were whispering and teasing her, causing Lan Hua's neck to flush red.
Zhang Guodong felt a burning sensation on his back and quickened his pace towards Zhao Sanshun, where he was applying the poison. Lan Hua had visited Taoyuan Xiaozhu many times, and the way she looked at him each time stirred a desire within him—pure lust. He wasn't sure if this continued; he might make a mistake.
"Third Uncle. Everyone's here?" Zhang Guodong greeted everyone, put down the basket, lifted the towel on top, and took out some beer. "Come on, everyone, have a sip!"
"You're too kind, Xiao Zhang!" Zhao Sanshun accepted the gift without hesitation. He easily removed the cap with a quick bite. Despite his age, his teeth were still quite strong. He took out a water cup, poured some water, and then handed it to the others. Everyone brought their own water cups while washing their feet by the stream, which was quite convenient. "Iced beer is so thirst-quenching!"
People here aren't too fussy; they have water cups. So, a few bottles of beer were passed around among everyone. Some… (The sentence is incomplete and lacks context). It seems Guo Dong noticed this and asked a few children to distribute the bottles of drinks.
“Come on, Bu Zhang, let’s walk uphill together,” Zhao Sanshun said, patting Zhang Guodong on the shoulder.
Zhang Guodong nodded. He picked up the basket and they walked upstream. Along the way, they stepped on pebbles. People were washing up, but the crowd gradually thinned.
"Third Uncle, what's the matter?" Zhang Guodong asked.
Overall, Zhao Sanshun was quite good. He helped me a lot, especially during the construction of Taoyuanzhu in this village. Otherwise, there would have been many people trying to freeload off Taoyuanzhu. But with the whole village involved, these things were solved without me having to lift a finger.
"Xiao Zhang, if I may be so bold as to ask, what exactly do you do for a living?" Zhao Sanshun glanced at Zhang Guodong, his face slightly flushed, as if he had something he was finding difficult to say.
Zhang Guodong smiled slightly and said, "Third Uncle, just tell me what's on your mind. I'm currently unemployed, and I'm thinking about doing something, because I can't just stay here like this."
Xin said, "You and Secretary Wang from the township were college classmates? What I mean is, look, you're considered one of the richest people in our village, right? Originally, if you were just staying occasionally, I wouldn't have brought this up, but it seems you plan to stay in the village long-term. So, the other party members in the village committee and I discussed it and asked for your opinion. We're planning to appoint you as the first deputy village head, and when the time is right, we'll hand over the village head position to you! Our only requirement is, can you lead our village to prosperity? Ideally, you could bring in some business ideas from the township to help our village." Zhao Sanshun gritted his teeth and said.
"The first deputy village chief?" Zhang Guodong was surprised. He quickly realized that Zhao Sanshun was only doing this because of Fatty, and was now plotting against him.
It's good that they're contributing some money. Zhang Guodong doesn't object to everyone sharing some wealth. However, Zhang Guodong won't take on the role of deputy village head. If he wanted to be an official, even a low-level administrative position wouldn't be difficult for him.
Zhao Sanshun looked at him, afraid that Zhang Guodong would refuse outright.
“Third Uncle, I think I understand what you mean. However, I will not take over as deputy village chief. I have no interest in it,” Zhang Guodong said after a moment of contemplation, shaking his head.
Zhao Sanshun became anxious upon hearing this and intended to persuade him. Zhang Guodong waved his hand and said, "However, I'm naturally willing to help the villagers earn some money, as long as there's an opportunity. It's nothing!"
"That's good, that's good! On behalf of the whole village, thank you!" Zhao Sanshun was immediately overjoyed.
He had been thinking about how to persuade Zhang Guodong. However, Zhang Guodong wasn't interested in the deputy village chief position. He breathed a sigh of relief. After all, Zhang Guodong had connections. He was just looking down on the deputy village chief position. However, the deputy village chief position was highly coveted in the village and countryside.
"Third Uncle, now that you mention it, I've actually thought of something we could do together," Zhang Guodong said, surprised by the coincidence. The fat man had just entrusted him with leading the effort, and this had already come up. It saved him the trouble of persuading the villagers. "But, will the villagers agree?"
If I had to take the initiative myself, there would likely have been a lot of trouble. Now it's much better; I don't need to waste any words, and this matter can probably be resolved.
"Xiao Zhang, just say it. As long as it's a financial idea and good for everyone, I and the other cadres will discuss this with everyone!" Zhao Sanshun said immediately.
He was highly respected in the village and a very shrewd old man. With his assurance, Zhang Guodong said, "I've investigated the situation in our township. To be honest, although there are no minerals here, ranking first among all townships in the district, it's precisely because there are no minerals that this unique environment hasn't been damaged. You could say that our township has the best environment in the entire district, or at least the least damaged!"
“That’s right, other townships can’t compare in this respect,” Zhao Sanshun naturally knew. But he didn’t know what Zhang Guodong meant by mentioning the environment.
"So I thought, our village is close to the Qinling Mountains, which is a huge advantage and has the potential to be a livable place. If this place is all green, even in winter, and with further environmental improvements, Uncle, do you think a lot of people from other places would come here? This place could easily become one of the best living environments in the provincial capital! How much business would it bring? People could even make money without leaving home!" Zhang Guodong described. "There's a stream here that flows all year round; you could say we have both mountains and water!"
Although Zhang Guodong's words contained many loopholes, this outline was enough for Zhao Sanshun to imagine. If that time really came, everyone would live a better life.
A flush rose to Zhao Sanshun's face. He seemed to be feeling a surge of excitement.
Zhang Guodong smiled slightly and continued, "This is the blueprint for the future, the direction our village is heading! I learned about it through that classmate's connections. Zhangba Township will develop in this direction in the future! No one knows about this yet, so I'm giving you a heads-up. Uncle, please don't tell anyone!"
Zhao Sanshun's eyes lit up, and he nodded solemnly, saying, "Don't worry!"
"If we are ahead of all the villages in the township, we will have a significant advantage and be able to become the leading village, a model village, and a livable and tourist-friendly village in the township!"
There's a lot of information hidden here. Zhao: Shun's shrewdness is evident. This is indeed a great opportunity!
“However, to develop to that extent, we can’t just talk the talk; our village must have an economy to support the development. Without enough income, everything is in vain!” Zhang Guodong said.
That's the most crucial point. The more bulging their wallets, the more convincing it becomes. This makes Zhao Sanshun more likely to believe Zhang Guodong's words. They seem quite feasible, and he listens even more carefully.
Zhang Guodong revealed some of the initial plans to Zhao Sanshun: to plant medicinal herbs, with Zhang Guodong providing the seedlings, to establish a company in the village for unified sales, and to distribute profits according to shares, with Secretary Wang handling the sales channels.
This is just a preliminary idea. Zhang Guodong hasn't found suitable medicinal materials yet, so he only mentioned it briefly. But this direction is much more specific.
Although Zhao Sanshun still had many doubts about the village's ability to become wealthy through medicinal herb cultivation, the idea itself was worth taking seriously. He eagerly convened a village committee meeting that very night to put the development of Jixing Village on the agenda. This was a powerful stimulus for the previously inexperienced cadres, instantly igniting their imaginations like roosters on a high dose of testosterone, their minds filled with fantasies of the future.
"In short, everyone go back and spread the word about this. In a few days, we'll hold a village meeting so all the villagers can discuss whether this is feasible. Each of you will be responsible for one area!" Zhao Sanshun acted swiftly and decisively, outlining the future blueprint to all the village cadres before taking the opportunity to assign tasks.
This was even better than Zhang Guodong had imagined. These cadres moved with incredible speed and energy. Before dawn, the entire village of Jixing knew about the development plan.
4,000 chapters. Two updates tomorrow.
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