Chapter 103 There weren't many pickled bamboo shoots left...
Pickled bamboo shoots can be eaten in just a few days.
The pickled bamboo shoots are made from the tips of the bamboo shoots, which are cut into thin strips. In addition to chili peppers, garlic cloves and peppercorns are also added during the pickling process. After pickling, they are both numbing and spicy, which is very appetizing.
After tasting the pickled bamboo shoots, Li Chang'an bought two hundred glass jars and, as promised, held a giveaway for his fans on WeDove.
However, in just the last few days, his number of followers has exceeded 60 million and is still rising.
The moment the giveaway post was published, the number of reposts skyrocketed. Some people estimated that Li Chang'an's account didn't have many paid trolls, so the odds of winning were more than one in 250,000.
By evening, the number of reposts had reached over 60 million.
Now the odds of winning have become one in 300,000, or even lower.
Seeing the cries of despair in the comments section, Li Chang'an could only reply that he would make more for the giveaway next time.
The lottery results were released 24 hours later.
Li Chang'an labeled each glass jar with its expiration date and precautions, and had the spirit kites deliver the goods for him.
To Li Chang'an's surprise, some of the fans who were selected came from other countries.
The address was from the State of Zhao, but fortunately it was also close to the State of Xia. The goods delivered by the spirit bird only took a little over thirty hours to travel back and forth, and they returned the next day at noon.
Fans who received the prizes quickly posted them online, prompting another round of cries of despair from netizens.
I thought I was lucky to have even managed to snag some vegetables, but compared to the other winners, what am I?
[Trying my luck, hopefully I can win next time.]
I'm not even hoping to win again next time, I just hope I can manage to snag some vegetables in a couple of days, please!
*
The nectar from Jiarong Mountain has accumulated to fill a small bowl.
Jingjing went to fetch it and handed it to Li Chang'an.
The small bowl of nectar shimmered with a faint golden light and tasted very sweet. As soon as Li Chang'an drank it, he felt a comfortable warmth spreading deep within his soul.
He subconsciously closed his eyes and sat down to meditate. When he opened his eyes again, he felt that the pain in his soul had been greatly relieved.
The effects of this nectar are surprisingly good.
Two months later, the five mu of rice planted by Li Chang'an had grown normally.
Standing at my doorstep, I can see that dazzling golden light.
Li Chang'an walked down to the bottom of the Immortal Rice Field and asked the sword spirit to help check the condition of the high-quality spiritual soil underneath.
The sword spirit said that the spiritual energy in these five acres of high-quality spiritual soil was quite abundant.
Li Chang'an was finally relieved.
The sword spirit controlled the spiritual power to use the mountain god's antlers and harvested 10,000 catties of immortal rice from five acres of immortal rice.
Now that there are more of them, we can feed the spirit kites more.
Li Chang'an asked the Golden Feather Spirit Kite Bird and calculated that the Spirit Kite Birds would eat about 9,000 catties in three months, so the remaining 1,000 catties could be given to the Bright Light Birds.
The number of Mingyi birds is not large, and their demand for immortal rice is not great. A thousand catties mixed with spirit rice is enough for them to eat for three months.
Li Chang'an planned out the uses of the rice, and this time he planted two more acres.
He wanted to see how many acres of immortal rice could be grown on the high-quality spiritual soil aided by the three kinds of spiritual essence.
More than two months later, the seven mu of rice grew normally again, yielding a total of 14,000 jin.
However, this time, the spiritual energy in the superior spiritual soil was almost depleted.
It seems that with only three kinds of spiritual essence, planting seven acres of immortal rice should be the limit.
Li Chang'an left an extra 500 jin for Ming Yi bird, and kept 3,500 jin for himself.
He was reluctant to sell these rice grains; he kept them to occasionally change things up.
Sometimes he would bring the steamed rice to Mount Wolu to feed the Lingxu fish and the Night-Sleeping Fish on the North Floating Island.
Night-Sleeping Fish can heal wounds to the soul, and he often asks Black Sword to catch one for him to eat.
The already small number of Night-Sleeping Fish has dwindled to just a few.
Hopefully, this sacred rice will make the Night-Sleeping Fish feel full of spiritual energy, and then they will continue to reproduce.
After feeding the night-sleeping fish, Li Chang'an squatted beside a myriad spirits plant, rubbed out many sesame-sized seeds from the central stamen, and collected them in a bamboo tube.
The fungus spirits liked to pick Wanlingrui for him and put it in his room to heal his wounds. Now, there are only a few dozen Wanlingrui left on the North Floating Island.
Fortunately, each plant produces many seeds, making it easy to propagate.
However, some of these seeds may be fake, and you need to use your spiritual power to distinguish them.
If the spirit senses the application of spiritual power, it is a true seed; otherwise, it is a false seed.
Li Chang'an cannot use spiritual power yet, so he can only collect the seeds and take them back for the sword spirit to identify.
The few Jade Glory Grasses that Li Chang'an found in the open space by the river when he first arrived at Xuanling Immortal Mountain were transplanted to East Floating Island by Li Chang'an long ago.
Since he was using the territory of the tea essence, Li Chang'an had not yet figured out how to propagate the Jade Glory Grass.
Once the terraced fields are all developed, we'll clear some land to grow these spiritual plants. If demand is high, we'll plant more then.
Dozens of Wanlingrui plants were used to make seeds, which were then rubbed into half a bamboo tube.
That evening, Li Chang'an came to the sword spirit's room with a grin and handed over the bamboo tube.
He explained his purpose, and the sword spirit glanced at him, waved his hand, and immediately distinguished between the real and fake seeds.
Blade & Soul is becoming increasingly adept at helping him with his tasks.
The next day, Li Chang'an planted these real Wanlingrui seeds around the pool on the North Floating Island, covering almost all the land on the island.
It's the end of another year.
On Jiarong Mountain, the trees that were originally planted have grown taller, and the eastern slope with the best sunlight is full of various fruit tree seedlings.
Over the past few months, Li Chang'an would sometimes accompany Tianxuan to Ling'an City to find monster rifts and grind monsters, accumulating a lot of monster pills.
On the developed terraced fields, all the inferior spiritual soil has been transformed into high-quality spiritual soil, and some demon beast pills are still left.
Li Chang'an then buried the remaining demon beast cores on Jiarong Mountain. However, the soil on Jiarong Mountain could not be transformed into inferior spiritual soil using this method.
Fortunately, there are no seasonal restrictions when planting fruit tree seedlings on these seemingly ordinary soils on Jiarong Mountain.
Li Chang'an and the spirits watered the seedlings with water from the Ningjing River every day and fertilized them with fertilizer he made himself, so the seedlings grew faster than those outside.
However, it will take at least another year for them to grow taller and bear fruit.
It's the end of the year again, a busy time for clearing out stock, and fans are already impatient.
After all, there's a large volume of goods at the end of the year, and pork is also cheaper.
Chicken and duck can be bought once every six months, and shrimp and crab can be bought about once every three months. In comparison, pork can only be bought once a year, so fans have been looking forward to it for a long time.
At the end of this year, in addition to the usual vegetables and meats, there are other things to add.
Li Chang'an stood in front of the camera, holding up a grass carp about 60 centimeters long, and said, "This is a grass carp. There are 10,000 in total, each weighing more than 10 jin. It costs 38 yuan per fish, and each person is limited to one fish."
The grass carp had been stunned by spiritual power, and it didn't struggle in his hand, just sitting upright as he showed it to the camera from all angles.
Then, Li Chang'an put down the grass carp and took out a large hairy crab.
This crab has a round, thick body, and its legs and pincers are tightly bound with rope, so it can no longer swagger around.
The key point is that it's almost as big as two of Li Chang'an's hands.
"There are only 10,000 hairy crabs available. The price is 58 yuan each, and each person is limited to one crab."
"Crucian carp, weighing between 1.5 and 2 jin, there are 30,000 of them, on clearance sale for 18 yuan each. They make a delicious soup."
"Snails, three yuan a pound, weighed with shells on, limited to two pounds per person. This is the smallest quantity available, only three thousand pounds in total, so only fifteen hundred people can buy them. It's a matter of luck."
These are all new creatures brought about by the recent abundance of life.
The snails were found on the banks of the river that flows into Ningjing River on Jiarong Mountain. Each one was about half the size of Li Chang'an's palm, and there were only about ten of them, weighing two jin.
The grass carp and crucian carp were already adults when they were found in the Ningjing River, and there were many of their eggs in the river.
Li Chang'an was worried that once the fish eggs hatched, the entire river would be teeming with fish, so he scooped out most of them to sell.
These are all ordinary creatures that appeared after he triggered the Abundance of Life. Li Chang'an usually sprinkles some vegetable scraps or spirit rice into the river, so these aquatic creatures grow very quickly. They are essentially raised by him, so they can be sold.
Although I've gotten used to it, I'm still shocked by the meat prices here every time.
[This is such a great deal! And to be able to eat such plump hairy crabs in winter, I'd be laughing in my sleep if I could snag one.]
I can already imagine the taste of braised snails with chili peppers from the ingredient gift pack! Wow, it must be so spicy and satisfying!
[Only if you can snails and also get the extra toppings gift pack!]
[That's so heartbreaking!]
“Speaking of the ingredient gift pack,” Li Chang’an picked up a basket of ingredient samples from the side, “this time there are more green and red Sichuan peppercorns.”
The pepper trees planted a few months ago quickly grew in the soil that had been transformed into high-quality fertile ground, and produced a great many peppercorns. You could smell the peppercorns as soon as you walked to the edge of the field.
The green Sichuan peppercorns still had their leaves attached; they were very fresh, and the aroma was wafting up from the basket.
The red Sichuan peppercorns are picked from the trees and dried on Jiarong Mountain. They have a strong flavor, and one bite can numb you from the tip of your tongue to your toes.
There are still only 300,000 ingredient gift packs available, and they will be available five minutes early.
Just a few seconds after 55 minutes, fans in the live stream said that the items had already been sold out.
[I've successfully snagged the ingredient gift pack! Next up is grabbing vegetables and snails—hopefully I can be one of the 1500 lucky winners!]
The odds are really slim, but God will help us!
At the top of the hour, all the vegetables and meats available for purchase were sold out immediately.
After the live stream ended, the members of Xuanling Immortal Mountain began packing packages.
Yao Guang forged a new spirit boat a few months ago, and Li Chang'an selected some people from the Qingfeng Sect to be in charge of delivering packages.
In this new delivery team, all the members' cultivation levels were below the fifth level of Foundation Establishment. Li Chang'an then mixed up the members of the first delivery team and the second team. The first team was led by Jingjing, and the second team was led by Chajing. Spirit tea to replenish spiritual energy was prepared on the spirit boat.
After this batch of packages was delivered, it was already the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, time to prepare for the Chinese New Year.
As usual, Qingfengpai and Xiaoping'an Supermarket sent Li Chang'an New Year's gifts, and Li Chang'an returned the favor with a gift containing bamboo shoots, black-scaled fish, night-sleeping fish, and bright bird eggs.
After exchanging gifts and chatting for a while, Yang Hao, his family of three, and his mother-in-law Deng Yuqin said goodbye, while Li Chang'an kept Xie Kuling behind.
He took out a bowl of immortal rice and placed it on the table, saying, "Now that you are a cultivator, you should be able to sense how rich the spiritual energy is in this rice, right?"
Even the usually gentle and composed Xie Kuling became somewhat emotionally unstable the moment he saw Xianmi.
His eyes widened as he stared at the bowl of immortal rice, stammering, "This, this rice is..."
“It’s immortal rice, a low-grade immortal plant,” Li Chang’an said. “The Star Lord Tianxuan said that if you eat this immortal rice three times a day without fail for a month, a cultivator at the first stage of Qi Refining can reach the fourth stage.”
Xie Kuling was completely stunned.
Li Chang'an added, "However, it's also because the early stages of Qi Refining are very simple, so from the middle stage onwards, these immortal rice can no longer play such a significant role."
Xie Kuling certainly understood this principle.
Even so, the effects of that Immortal Rice are terrifying! It can enable a cultivator who has just awakened their spiritual root to reach the third level of Qi Refining in just one month!
He stood there, lost in thought, his mind filled with thoughts of cultivation, spiritual power, and the golden-glowing immortal rice before him.
It took him a long time to come to his senses.
Xie Kuling blinked and looked at Li Chang'an: "What are you planning to do with this?"
Li Chang'an nodded: "The two delivery teams don't need fixed members anymore. Even cultivators in the Qi Refining stage can participate, but we'll need more of them."
"I need to sell vegetables three times a month, and the delivery members can rotate among the Qingfeng Sect disciples. When everyone finishes their deliveries and comes to collect their wages or exchange for vegetables, they can also exchange for this Immortal Rice."
Li Chang'an stroked his chin. "Yuheng Star Lord once said that cultivators who cultivate in sects nowadays don't have many opportunities to hone their spiritual power, nor do they have the chance to experience secret realms, so their cultivation progresses very slowly."
"When my disciples helped me deliver packages, they used their spiritual energy and then replenished it. This process can be considered a training experience. I thought that this way, all the disciples could have a chance to gain experience and also have a chance to exchange for immortal rice."
Xie Kuling stared blankly at Li Chang'an.
He was merely a nominal elder of the Qingfeng Sect, yet he considered the needs of his disciples so thoroughly…
After a moment, Xie Kuling came to his senses, smiled, and said, "Li Chang'an, thank you."
Li Chang'an scratched the back of his head sheepishly: "No need to thank me, it's just a small matter, I'm sorry to trouble you to make the arrangements."
"Okay, I'll make the arrangements."
Xie Kuling returned to Qingfeng Sect with this good news and a small handful of immortal rice.
The Qingfeng Sect now has more than 800 elders and disciples. After seeing the Immortal Rice, the disciples were very excited.
They made the right choice back then; by relying on the Qingfeng Sect, they could rely on Li Chang'an!
...
After the New Year, the fields on Wolu Mountain increased significantly. This time, Li Chang'an planted carrots, bitter melons, jicama, rapeseed, loofah, cowpeas, and lentils.
The planting area for those ingredients has also been expanded, and celery has been added.
Ten days later, when selling vegetables via live stream, another 200,000 ingredient gift packs were available, allowing even more people to grab them.
It was early spring, and Li Chang'an bought seeds for watermelons, grapes, and strawberries, planning to cultivate these three fruits in a field at the foot of the eastern side of Jiarong Mountain.
The first crop he planted was grapes.
Growing grapes requires trellises. At first, Li Chang'an just built some bamboo trellises haphazardly, only as tall as a person, but as long as the grapevines could climb up and bear fruit, that was fine.
When Tianxuan saw this, she stood to the side with her arms crossed, her brows furrowed. After a moment of silence, she stepped forward and took everything apart.
The way these bamboo frames were built was completely lacking in aesthetics, and he found it very unpleasant to look at.
The master architect personally took charge, and three days later, an octagonal pavilion was built in the center of the vineyard, which covers dozens of acres. Four paths extend from the pavilion, and the paths branch off into several more paths, which are arranged throughout the vineyard. You can step through the paths into the archway and enter the grape-growing area. The bamboo frame is two meters high.
The once simple and unadorned vineyard has been transformed into a vineyard that integrates leisure, fruit picking, and sightseeing.
Although the grapes have just been planted and the vines haven't grown yet, you can already see what they will look like in the future from the current framework and scale.
Tianxuan stood at the main entrance of the vineyard, looking at his masterpiece with some pride.
Now I feel much better.
“But, Star Lord…” Li Chang’an hesitated before speaking, pointing to an area with bamboo trellises: “I originally planned to use this area to grow watermelons and strawberries.”
Now, the entire area at the foot of Jiarong Mountain has been covered with bamboo trellises and Tianxuan has planned to use it for growing grapes.
Upon hearing this, Tianxuan turned her head and smiled, "There are 30,000 mu of terraced fields that can be developed on Wolu Mountain. Are you worried about not having enough space to grow watermelons and strawberries?"
He sighed, "My vineyard is designed so perfectly, it definitely won't match the style of the watermelon patch and strawberry patch. Besides, there's not much land here, if you plant watermelons and strawberries, you won't harvest much of any of the three fruits in the end."
Growing fruit on Jiarong Mountain doesn't require greenhouses; watermelons and strawberries can be grown outdoors, thus eliminating the need for architectural design masters to showcase their talents.
Li Chang'an could only smile helplessly and say, "Alright then."
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