When Han Hou was young, it was the time of year for labor, and the sun was blazing. Yet, they felt nothing... and were drenched in sweat. Why? Zhang Guodong, Li Yun, and Qingzhu were wearing fake magical golden ribbons, which could ward off dust, water, cold, and heat, like permanent multi-functional air conditioners.
The item Li Yun was wearing was also a gift from Zhang Guodong. Like the beautiful lighting fixtures and star stones, Zhang Guodong bought piles of them when he left the cultivation world, like small mountains. He also bought quite a few of these pseudo-magical artifacts and simple-purpose gold ribbons. Looking back now, although only a small number were used by his own people, it was incredibly wise.
Qin Lina, on the other hand, was covered in sunburn and sweat, her forehead and body glistening with perspiration. She gritted her teeth and continued to pry the ground flat, enduring the hardship despite her lack of strength.
This was a question the three of them hadn't initially considered.
If the four of them stand together facing north, they should be able to find the problem in no time.
"What should we do? Sister Na is sweating so much! Let's give Sister Na a gold ribbon too!" Li Yun was a soft-hearted and kind girl. Seeing that Qin Lina's hair was all smeared on her forehead and her t-shirt was soaked, her figure was highlighted, making it impossible for Zhang Guodong not to look. She immediately dropped her pout and ran to Zhang Guodong's side to beg and plead.
Those big, blinking eyes made Zhang Guodong feel a surge of affection.
Zhang Guodong said helplessly, "We can't let her do plant cultivation too, can we? Otherwise, our secret will be easily exposed!"
Li Yun's eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "Great! If Sister Na also cultivates, wouldn't we have one more helper? Didn't you say last time that there are still many experts at levels dozens of levels outside, and that these people are very dangerous? If we have one more person, we'll have one more bit of strength!"
That's what they said. But Zhang Guodong wasn't so quick to say it. Li Yun was different from others; she was his woman, someone he could trust. But people didn't know much about Qin Lina's past, and even now, she couldn't be trusted too easily—that was Zhang Guodong's thinking.
“This is not an option right now. The number of demon seeds is limited, and they can only be given to the most trusted people. Qin Lina cannot be considered one of us yet! We don’t know enough about her!” Zhang Guodong refused without hesitation.
"Also, talk to Qingzhu later and tell her not to mention anything about plant cultivation in front of Qin Lina, otherwise Senior Sister will be very angry!"
Li Yun was a little disappointed, but she nodded. She wasn't unreasonable, but she was too soft-hearted and kind. Thinking of her senior sister, Xuan Qingbo, Li Yun felt a sense of awe. This was purely due to the influence of Zhang Guodong and Qingzhu.
"Lina, take a break. Leave the rest of the land to the three of us!" Zhang Guodong saw Li Yun pick up the hoe again, thought for a moment, and then shouted to Qin Lina. "Your body is too weak; you'll get heatstroke if you work too much in the sun!"
The small mounds needed to be leveled, the green weeds needed to be cut down, and she also had to watch out for snakes lurking in the grass. This farm work was really not something she could handle. Although she carried realgar powder, which would deter most snakes...
Qin Lina glanced at the three of them. They seemed quite relaxed. After hesitating for a moment, she agreed. She already felt very tired, mainly from the sun. Working in the middle of the day was very physically demanding.
"Alright, I'll go make mung bean and pumpkin soup for everyone!" Qin Lina nodded and stopped insisting, walking towards her yard.
“Honey, now that the ground is leveled, why don’t we fence off this area with iron brambles too?” Li Yun suggested as soon as Qin Lina left.
"Such cheesy couple!" someone complained.
Using iron thorns to enclose the land? By connecting the two families' lands into one, outsiders would be unable to enter. Because behind them, there's an earthen cliff, ten or twenty meters high, essentially a natural barrier.
Qingzhu nodded quickly in support and said, "I agree. Those people keep staring at us here, hmph, their eyes are so lecherous. If this were Fengdu City, we would have killed them long ago!"
Zhang Guodong broke out in a cold sweat. Violent women! But then he thought, it's for the best. Indeed, the three women were incredibly beautiful. Plant cultivators are nature's darlings. These three women were already stunning beauties, and now, with their plant cultivation, they're breathtakingly beautiful, like fairies. Anyone who sees them can't resist their beauty.
“Okay, let’s plant it together with the insect repellent plants after we level this ground!” Zhang Guodong agreed.
Three mu of land isn't actually that big. The two women already had experience leveling their own land, so this time they were much faster. With Zhang Guodong, a strong laborer, by their side, the long and narrow plot was quickly cleared.
Not a speck of dust touched the three of them; they only broke out in a light sweat due to the dissipation of body heat. Zhang Guodong even felt that the labor had a slight effect on their physical development. Of course, this effect was extremely minor.
"External tempering?" Suddenly, a word popped into my mind. This seemed like a new approach to accelerate the tempering process.
"Honey, go dig up the extra iron thorns outside the yard. Qingzhu and I will plant insect-repelling herbs!" Li Yun interrupted this thought. Never mind, we'll ask Xuan Qingban for advice after this is over.
"OK!"
He dropped his bow and walked back.
When we built Peach Blossom Abode last time, we purchased a large quantity of iron thorns. We bought a batch, and the seller also provided some seedlings free of charge. However, thanks to the spiritual water, all the iron thorns survived, so the free seedlings were superfluous. They were bundled together and planted in the pit in front of the yard. Without the nourishment of the spiritual water, they've only grown to less than 1.5 meters tall in the past few months, and are quite slender.
Harmful.
As I passed by Qin Lina's yard, I ran into her coming out. She was carrying a bowl of soup, pumpkin stewed with mung beans, perfect for cooling off and quenching her thirst.
"Guodong, come in and have some soup?" Qin Lina said, her face slightly flushed. She glanced behind her, a hint of something in her eyes.
Zhang Guodong's heart skipped a beat. Could Qin Lina have some kind of idea about him? He had never been to her room alone before. One couldn't just casually enter a single woman's room; it could easily lead to speculation. So Zhang Guodong gave a dry laugh and said, "In a bit. Now's a good time to get the iron thorns and insect repellent."
"Oh, thank you for your trouble." Qin Lina seemed relieved, but also appeared quite nervous, managing a weak "Oh, thank you."
“It’s alright! By the way, Li Yun suggested that we fence off your land as well, connecting it to our yard and fields. We’ll use iron thorns to fence it off. What do you think, is that suitable?” Zhang Guodong said.
"Perfect! But I don't have any Iron Thorns here," Qin Lina's eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded. Zhang Guodong's natural encirclement was something she couldn't bear to see—a woman living completely undefended at night. Connecting with Zhang Guodong meant they were one step closer.
Whether she took a step closer to the courtyard or to this man, only she knows the answer.
"Hehe. We happen to have a lot over there, so it's just sitting there anyway." Zhang Guodong didn't waste any time and went to his yard to dig up all the iron brambles. There were two or three hundred of them, enough to enclose Qin Lina's yard and land.
Beyond the iron thorns lay a stone bridge, which separated the area from the main road. This was much safer.
It took another two hours to complete the planting. Zhang Guodong even brought a bucket of spiritual water and watered each tree. With this watering, the iron thorns would grow even faster.
Now, Taoyuan Xiaozhu truly has a sense of seclusion from the world.
"Ugh, I'm so tired, but I'm finally done!" In Qin Lina's courtyard, Qingzhu sat on a small stool without any regard for her image, looking exhausted and shouting that she was tired.
After everyone finished their work, they all gathered here.
Qin Lina smiled and served everyone a bowl of soup. Although the ingredients weren't as good as those provided by Zhang Guodong, it was still a token of her appreciation. The three of them didn't usually drink soup, so it was quite a novelty to have it once in a while. Besides, it had been chilled in the refrigerator for a while after it was made, so the soup was already ice-cold and very refreshing to drink.
Qin Lina brought Zhang Guodong a bowl of soup, and he thanked her. Their fingers touched briefly, as if there was an electric shock; Qin Lina's hand trembled, and the soup almost spilled on Zhang Guodong.
"Are you alright?" Zhang Guodong asked in a low voice.
Qin Lina blushed, shook her head slightly, and cursed herself inwardly for becoming so flirtatious with men! It's not her fault, though. Although Zhang Guodong's appearance was average, now that he had begun his cultivation, his entire being exuded an elegant and refined aura, attracting women like a crane among chickens.
This little incident added to the harmony among everyone. However, before they could rest for long, Village Chief Zhao Sanshun called. Zhao Sanshun hadn't slept well the night before, but he woke up very early this morning. He had originally planned to go see Zhang Guodong early, but worried that the young man might sleep in and wake up late, so he had to abandon the idea.
In the morning, instead of going out to work, the whole village held a discussion meeting. Representatives from each household gathered in Zhao Sanshun's courtyard to discuss the village's development path. This was a novel event, so everyone was very enthusiastic about participating.
The final result of the discussion was to find a way to get rich for the village, an idea that everyone agreed on. However, there were many different opinions on what kind of wealth to obtain, and no consensus could be reached.
Zhao Sanshun was among the crowd, listening, but his mind was on Zhang Guodong. He was wondering what Zhang would suggest. After all, for the villagers, planting medicinal herbs was something they were familiar with but unfamiliar with; they lived off the land, after all! Many villagers had experience going into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs, but when it came to planting them, they were complete novices.
Moreover, cultivating medicinal herbs is no simple matter. It seems there aren't many people who make a fortune from it. There are many such reports on television and in the news. Jixing Village does have a lot of land, but only relatively speaking. Those medicinal herbs are incredibly precious; if a natural disaster were to occur, wouldn't the entire harvest be lost?
This is one of the focal points of the debate.
At noon, Zhao Sanshun adjourned the meeting, telling everyone to go home for lunch. Looking at the feedback in the logbook, Zhao Sanshun felt a little guilty.
This matter can only be proposed by Zhang Guodong. Zhao Sanshun came to ask him what medicinal herbs to plant, so that he could give the village representatives an answer and let everyone discuss it. Then, what is the township's attitude, and what kind of support will be given? These are the things everyone cares about most.
After receiving the call, Zhang Guodong immediately got up and rushed to the village chief's house. As soon as he entered, he heard a commotion inside, as if it were quite lively. He quickly understood what was going on.
"Xiao Zhang is here. Come, have a seat!" everyone greeted him warmly.
Zhang Guodong smiled and nodded, picked up a chair and sat down, saying, "I heard everyone's discussion just now. Let me put it this way, I've selected a medicinal herb, a rare one called Xingxingsong. However, I still need to discuss this with Secretary Wang and confirm it with everyone. To get the township's support, we must communicate with him!"
Star Grass? Nobody's ever heard of it. They looked at each other, their gazes finally settling on Zhao Sanshun. Zhang Guodong exclaimed in admiration, "Indeed, Zhao Sanshun is a man of immense prestige, a man whose word is law!"
Zhao Sanshun coughed and said, "Xiao Zhang is right. Our village needs the support of the township to develop. With the township's support, it will be more secure." (Second update.) That concludes the second update. Tomorrow is the last day of the month. *Heavenly Path* continues. Almost half a year has passed in the blink of an eye. *Heavenly Path* hasn't missed a single update until now. Thinking about it, it's really tedious and tiring. To find out what happens next, please log in to Chapter 6 for more chapters and support the author. Support genuine reading!
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