Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Five: Land Reclamation
"Shu Niang is already seventeen this year, so she is not exempt from recruitment. She can't be fooled even if she wants to." Zhang Yan came to visit Chen Li in the evening and said with a worried look on his face.
He himself is not worried, after all, he is an old Jianghu.
Worry is a lady.
If this kid had some use, he wouldn't be so useless.
"You're just worried. Shu Niang is at the third level of Qi training, her cultivation level is not low, and she has a magic weapon in her hand. Not to mention I'm waiting for Sakon, but I can take care of her and nothing will happen." Chen Li said with relief.
In casual cultivation, those in the middle and late stages of Qi training are in the minority, while those in the early stage of Qi training are the mainstream.
I think when he traveled through time, he was only practicing the third level of Qi.
They dare to venture into the wild alone.
"Well, that's what I say, but I can't rest assured. I don't know what kind of corvee service this time is. Is it dangerous? This child is usually too tightly restrained by me and has a soft personality. He has never fought with anyone since he was a child.
I have no fighting experience at all." Zhang Yan sighed, looking like a worried old father, with worry lines on his forehead that could kill a mosquito.
…
After sending Zhang Yan away, Chen Li thought about it and decided to serve in the corvee honestly.
Huan Zhenzong is new, and it's time to establish his authority, so he can't bump into the head of the gun.
You can hide if you want, just go into the woods with Zhou Hong.
But there's no need to take the risk.
After all, he is not alone now. He also has Zhou Hong with his family.
Anyway, it was only three months, and it went by in a flash.
…
The Huanzhen Sect acted quickly. In the early hours of that night, people came door-to-door to register the information of the residents. Several foundation-building monks were also flying in and out to monitor and arrest casual cultivators who were trying to escape from the corvee.
Many smart casual cultivators hiding in the wilderness were caught on the spot and forced to come back.
…
"Name?"
"Chen Wen, this is my wife Zhou Hong."
"Cultivation?"
"In the late stage of Qi cultivation, my wife..."
"Be specific. Also, doesn't she have a mouth? Let her answer on her own!"
"Nine levels of Qi training." Chen Li said, there was nothing to hide.
When the three Huanzhen Sect monks heard this, their originally stern faces suddenly softened, and the registration was quickly completed. Finally, someone took out a strange magic weapon, muttered something, and shined it at the two of them, and a burst of light flashed through.
"Your information and images have been recorded by the photographic instrument. The corvee will begin in five days. During this time, prepare what you need to prepare. Remember not to be clever and serve honestly, unless you escape to other realms.
, otherwise there will always be a time when you will be caught, and then...hehe!"
The leading monk from the Huanzhen Sect gave a final warning and prepared to leave.
"Fellow disciples of the Huanzhen Sect, please stay a moment. May I ask what kind of corvee service is? Please tell me something clearly." Chen Li stopped him quickly and asked.
"Of course we need to open up wasteland. Otherwise, we're still waiting. It's better for you to practice casually. It's only three months of hard labor. It's not like us..."
"Ahem!" a Huanzhen Sect monk reminded.
"Hey, why am I telling you all this? Come on, there are so many things to register!"
Soon a few people left.
Chen Li closed the door.
Zhou Hong came over and leaned in his arms: "Opening up wasteland, it seems that the mortals from the real domain are really going to move here?"
"We are close together. In more than a month, it will be the time for the autumn harvest in the world. Once the autumn harvest is over, mortals will probably migrate here one after another!" Chen Li hugged Zhou Hong's delicate body: "It's true that the Zhenzong has grasped the timing.
It’s really good, but it’s just going to be a hard time.”
"As long as you are here, I can go anywhere, and it will be over after a while." Zhou Hong said softly.
…
Early in the morning, in the market in the shanty town at the foot of the mountain.
There are so many people here and it is extremely noisy. Not only are the streets tightly blocked, but even the rooftops next to it are full of people.
An open space in the middle of the market.
More than a dozen casual cultivators were tied up and kneeling on the ground in a row, their faces pale with fear, and they kept twisting their bodies and begging for mercy.
Behind each one stood a Huanzhen Sect monk holding a whip.
"Everyone is optimistic that this is the fate of escaping the corvee." A Ji Zhu from Huanzhen Sect said loudly. With the pressure of Ji Zhu, the surroundings instantly became silent and as silent as a cicada:
"If you commit the first offense, you will be whipped ten times! Execution!"
The monk from the Huanzhen Sect immediately picked up the whip and began to beat him hard.
The whip was as thick as a child's arm, and when it was wet with water, it looked dead. When the whip was struck, it made a muffled sound when it hit the body.
The casual cultivator let out a shrill wail, his face twisted in pain, and he rolled on the ground.
After several whips, the clothes on his body were reduced to rags, and the skin and flesh all over his body were torn apart from the beatings, not a single piece of flesh was left.
The wailing sound went from high-pitched and high-pitched to weak, and finally became breathless again.
After ten lashes, none of the more than ten casual cultivators could move. They were all beaten until they were unconscious and covered in blood.
These people were quickly dragged down and thrown on the roadside, and then another group was replaced...
Chen Li watched the excitement calmly for a while, then withdrew from the crowd and rushed to Luanluo City. Just as he had guessed, the flow of people here today was almost several times the normal number. When he arrived at the casual cultivator market, the crowds were even more surging.
In full swing.
The corvee is about to begin.
In just one day, the market became extremely hot.
Chen Li asked about prices in the world and found that they had already caught up with the pre-war and peacetime prices.
He took the opportunity to ship the goods.
It has not been sold to shops either. Due to the short-term popularity, although the selling prices of shops have also increased, the purchase price is very low. It is no different from before. The price is too bad.
He chose to deliver the goods to stall owners in the market.
It may be difficult to sell in large quantities in normal times, but today the market is so hot that these stall owners almost sell as much as they put on display?
…
"I have a large number of magical artifacts and robes, and I sell them cheaply. How many can you eat?"
"The price? Of course it won't be expensive for you. It's 10% off the price you're selling now... No, no, it's too low. It's 25% off at most. Otherwise, I'll lose a lot, so I might as well set up a stall to sell it myself."
Chen Li left the casual cultivator market without making a deal, changed his appearance, put on a set of clothes, and looked for his target again.
He ran non-stop, busy from morning to evening, and had no food or rice all day long.
Fortunately, the harvest is also huge.
All the magical instruments, robes, talismans and other inventory on hand were emptied. Even the expensive storage bag was sold. As for whether the stall owner used it himself or sold it, Chen Li didn't know.
I have to say that the casual cultivators after the war were really rich, and many of them kept it secret.
In the end, Chen Li simply sold all the unsold elixirs and spiritual materials in the storage bag to the store at a low price. These items had limited room for increase, and they occupied most of the space in the storage bag, which was really an eyesore.
Walk out of the last store.
Chen Li seemed to have been relieved of a heavy burden and felt relaxed all over.
…
night.
In the underground quiet room.
On a wooden table, spiritual stones were piled up like a mountain, shining with a vague light under the dim light of the oil lamp.
A large number of middle-grade spiritual stones and low-grade spiritual stones are mixed with each other, and occasionally a high-grade spiritual stone is mixed in.
Chen Li first picked out the high-grade spiritual stones and put them aside, eight in total.
Then he picked out medium-grade spiritual stones, a total of 2853.
As for the low-grade spiritual stones... he could only give a rough estimate of the number, which was approximately more than 30,000.
"Hoo!" Director Chen shouted, and for the first time he realized that he was so exhausted that he could count the spiritual stones.
He counted on his fingers.
"About 3,900 medium-grade spiritual stones... converted into 39 high-grade spiritual stones. If you think about it, you won't find many." Chen Li thought to himself, thinking of the 21 high-grade spiritual stones from the last auction.
Stone thick earth spirit gathering array.
He couldn't help but shook his head.
"Compared to those foundation-building families, my money is really nothing."
…
Five days flew by.
Early in the morning, the sky was still dark.
As soon as Chen Li and Zhou Hong finished breakfast, Zhang Yan came to the door with Zhang Shuniang.
Wang Qing's family is exempt from taxation and does not need to perform corvee service.
"It's so early, have you eaten?" Chen Li asked.
"Have eaten already!" Zhang Yan was not polite and found a seat to sit down on his own: "I have inquired and found that our street is divided into three groups, and each group is led by a foundation-building master.
The monk leads the team."
"Are they the foundation-building monks of the Huizhen Sect, or the foundation-building monks of the vassal forces?" Chen Li asked.
"I don't know, we casual cultivators always listen to others' arrangements, no matter who they are."
On the other side, Zhou Hong also pulled Zhang Shuniang to talk privately and stuffed amulets into her hands: "After all, land reclamation is still a bit dangerous. There will always be times when we can't take care of you. Use these golden amulets to defend yourself."
"Aunt Zhou, what are you doing? I can't have it." Zhang Shuniang's face turned red and she refused to accept it.
"These golden amulets were all randomly drawn by your uncle. They are all for home use and are worthless."
"Ah, uncle can draw a golden amulet? This is a first-level and ninth-level amulet!" Zhang Shuniang said with a surprised look on her face.
"Yes, your uncle just learned it recently." Zhou Hong smiled, with a hint of pride in her smile.
Zhang Yan was about to refuse on behalf of his daughter, but when he heard this, he couldn't help but swallow the words that came to his mouth.
How long has it been since you were able to draw a golden amulet?
Thinking back to the time when Chen Li humbly asked him for arrow avoidance talismans, he still vividly remembered it, everything seemed like yesterday.
In the blink of an eye, he is still himself.
Or an ordinary talisman master who can only draw a light body talisman.
But Chen Li has soared to the sky and become a top talisman master.
Sigh, it’s so irritating that people are so different from each other.
Fortunately, he was also used to hitting people, so he pretended not to hear.
…
Everyone chatted for a while and then walked out the door.
At this moment, the street was full of people, bustling and noisy. The monks were all carrying their bags and luggage, with sad faces, and rushed to the meeting point at the intersection. When everyone arrived, there was already a long queue there.
The next step is to check the identity and draw a tick.
Then there is the boring wait.
Wait until it gets dark.
A female bastard wearing a green robe flew here and dropped from the sky: "Is everyone here?"
She looked to be in her twenties, with a thin face and thin lips. She was just above average in appearance, with a dull expression and a hint of coldness on her face. At first glance, she looked like the kind of person who was not easy to get along with.
"Uncle Bai, we're all here." The two Huanzhen Sect monks who had registered quickly stood up and said, cupping their hands.
"Now that we're all here, let's set off." She said coldly.