Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest-Chapter 613 - : The Promissory Note

Chapter 613: Chapter 613: The Promissory Note

“This is my fault!”

After listening to Wang Chen’s account, Zhang Mushan slapped his own head, filled with immense regret, “I should have told you earlier.”

The Rice Wine Shop forcibly buying Spirit Rice became an unwritten rule both inside and outside of Flying Catkins Valley.

As the highest realm cultivator in Flying Catkins Valley, True Person Mu held the fates of thousands of Loose Cultivators in the Flying Catkins Camp in their hands.

And it was through the commanders below that the will of this Golden Core True Person was enforced.

Such forceful buying and selling was, in essence, a form of disguised taxation.

It was not aimed solely at Wang Chen.

Every cultivator who cleared land and cultivated within and beyond the Flying Catkins Valley couldn’t escape this fate of exploitation!

Wang Chen was rendered speechless by this.

He hadn’t expected that after all his trials and tribulations escaping the Lower Realm to the Upper Realm, he would end up as chives to be harvested by those above—the nature of the Flying Catkins Camp wasn’t much different from the Cloud Sun Sect of the past.

“But what Qian Wancheng did was too much!”

Zhang Mushan said indignantly, “In cases like yours, keeping one-third of the harvest is not a problem.”

Yet, Qian Wancheng only left Wang Chen one thousand jin of Spirit Rice.

This was real rice; after dehusking, it would only yield about seven or eight hundred jin, not even enough for Wang Chen’s own consumption.

Wang Chen had cleared about thirty mu of Spirit Fields outside the Flying Catkins Valley. Green Jingmi had high yield, and with his generous fertilizer application, the predicted yield should be around four to five hundred jin per mu.

The total production would at least exceed twelve thousand jin.

One thousand jin isn’t even one-tenth of it!

“Li Chengdong and Qian Wancheng have a good relationship; they are even relatives by marriage.”

Zhang Mushan said with a grim face, “The last time Li Chengdong took a big fall, it’s very likely that Qian Wancheng is using you to strike at me while lining his own pockets!”

“He also won’t pay you Spirit Stones for the more than ten thousand jin of Spirit Rice.”

Wang Chen’s eyes widened in disbelief, “He’s taking it for free?”

“He’s giving you an IOU.”

Zhang Mushan sneered, “Then you can use the IOU to shop in his store, but the value of the IOU will be severely discounted; you’ll be lucky if you can buy goods worth a thousand Spirit Stones.”

Damn it!

If Qian Wancheng were still standing in front of him now, Wang Chen would no doubt punch him square in the head!

The market price for Green Jingmi was about one Spirit Stone per jin, so for more than ten thousand jin, that’s over ten thousand Spirit Stones.

To be discounted by Qian Wancheng to the point of only getting back one thousand Spirit Stones?

Wang Chen’s anger flared from his heart, fierce and ready to spew forth!

“This is on me,”

Zhang Mushan emphasized again, guiltily, “Brother Wang, I will find a way to compensate you for this.”

He earnestly reminded, “For now, just bear with it a bit longer. Qian Wancheng is a very cunning man and hard to deal with.”

The most important thing was that this guy had the backing of a Golden Core True Person. Wang Chen had just obtained his Apart Registry, and if he got into a conflict with Qian Wancheng and provoked True Person Mu, that would be too costly for what it’s worth.

When the day comes that Wang Chen forms his Golden Core or is listed in the Immortal Register, taking revenge won’t be too late!

Despite seriously acknowledging Zhang Mushan’s well-meaning advice on the surface, the fire in Wang Chen’s heart was far from extinguished.

He could play dead.

But he would never be a dog!

Zhang Mushan was unaware of what Wang Chen was thinking and assumed the latter had taken his words to heart.

Only after a few words of consolation did he leave, reassured.

The next day, as agreed, Qian Wancheng and his men arrived.

In fact, the Green Jingmi rice hadn’t fully ripened yet; it could still be eaten normally, but the taste would be somewhat inferior.

But the Shopkeeper of the Wine and Rice Shop didn’t care at all, commanding a group of workers who swept through more than twenty mu of fields like locusts.

In the end, they left Wang Chen with only two mu of unharvested rice.

“This is the grain collection voucher.”

Qian Wancheng pulled out a big stack of notes and haughtily said to Wang Chen, “In the future, you can exchange these for Spirit Rice or Spiritual Wine at my shop, but you’ll need to purchase a hundred Spirit Stones worth of rice and wine before you can use one.”

There had to be at least a hundred of these IOUs in his hand!

Wang Chen accepted them expressionlessly.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

“Smart move!”

Qian Wancheng sneered, “Be more astute in the future, don’t follow the wrong people or make mistakes, and life will naturally get better for you.”

Having said that, he strode away.

As he was leaving, the Wine and Rice Shop’s shopkeeper also glanced at the two mu of Spirit Fields that hadn’t been harvested yet.

A look of regret appeared on his face.

Wang Chen watched as a group of jackals left arrogantly.

With his palms coming together, the stack of IOUs in his hands instantly turned to ash.

In the following days, Wang Chen first harvested the fully ripe produce from the two mu of Spirit Fields.

He gathered over nine hundred jin of grain.

He burned all the rice straw to ashes and then scattered the seeds of winter goosefoot grass upon the fields.

Winter goosefoot grass was a type of plant suitable for growth in the autumn and winter seasons; it had strong vitality and could grow well without attention, enhancing the fertility of the land.

In addition to absorbing nature’s spiritual energy, Spiritual Rice and the grains of Spirit Valley needed nourishment from the land, so fertilizing and enriching the soil were crucial. Otherwise, too much depletion of the soil’s vitality would inevitably affect the yield.

After completing these tasks, the weather turned cold, marking the beginning of winter.

In the winter, the Monster Beasts in the mountains either hid in their secret caves to hibernate or reduced their range of activity.

Hunting became difficult and dangerous.

Since there was no need to prepare extra feed in the winter, Wang Chen stopped going to Dongli Mountain to hunt.

With more time on his hands, he visited Flying Catkins Valley more frequently.

Sometimes Wang Chen would seek out Zhang Mushan for idle chitchat, or he would sit in the valley’s only tavern, warming up a pot of Spiritual Wine, content with a plate of jerky for half the day.

He didn’t engage much with others, usually sitting in a corner, listening to other cultivators talk and chat.

Time swiftly passed and another month was gone.

Flying Catkins Valley was located in the northwest of Yong State, one of the Nine States, where the four seasons were distinct; the summers were scorching hot and the winters bitterly cold. As the New Year approached, the cold snap from the north arrived on schedule.

A flurry of swirling snowflakes heralded the onset of a harsh winter!

Flying Catkins Valley, within Zhang Mushan’s home, in the main hall, a copper hot pot was bubbling and steaming merrily.

Zhang Mushan took the freshly sliced meat his wife had just cut and served, dumping it all into the boiling broth, and soon the air was filled with a rich aroma of meat.

“Eat up!”

He urged Wang Chen, who was sitting across from him, “What are you spacing out for?”

Wang Chen smiled, took a spoon to scoop up some cooked meat slices to put in his bowl, and then mixed it with the homemade sauce from Zhang’s wife.

The taste was really good.

Wang Chen ate half a jin in one go.

Zhang Mushan, however, appeared pensive, “Brother Wang, I feel like something has been off with you lately?”

He couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong with Wang Chen; it was just a strange feeling.

Wang Chen chuckled wryly, “What’s off about me?”

Zhang Mushan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and didn’t pursue the matter any further, focusing instead on arranging the vegetables while encouraging Wang Chen to eat more.

After enjoying the sumptuous hot pot meal, Wang Chen declined Zhang Mushan’s offer to stay longer and ventured home alone through the snowstorm.

Zhang Mushan watched his figure disappear into the vast snowstorm, when suddenly he saw a Flood Dragon soaring into the sky.

The Purple Mansion cultivator was taken aback.

He stared intently, trying to see clearly, but found nothing.

———

Here’s the first installment.