Chapter 331: Resuming Old Trades
Myself?
Chen Anhe doubted there was a problem with his ears.
Although Purple Mansion cultivators were not particularly precious in the West Sea Spirit Domain, and Wan City had a great number of them, they were still respected Superiors after all—who would willingly deal with farming?
Even a Purple Mansion tier Spiritual Plant Farmer wouldn’t personally engage in plowing and weeding!
In fact, Chen Anhe had already prepared a tenant farmer for Wang Chen, specifically responsible for cultivating the hundred mu of the Village Head Residence’s fields.
This would allow Wang Chen to comfortably reap the benefits while sitting in the Village Head Residence and cultivating peacefully, without having to deal with trifling matters.
Chen Anhe even had it all planned out to cover the cost of hiring the tenant farmer himself!
However, Wang Chen completely defied convention, leaving Chen Anhe somewhat perplexed, yet without any reason to object.
After some thought, Chen Anhe summoned an old man over.
He introduced, "This is Old Yuan, who used to be in charge of the care of the fields."
Chen Anhe had already made up his mind—if Wang Chen wanted to meddle, then let him meddle as he pleased.
As long as he didn’t mess up their major affairs, it was fine!
Old Yuan, looking to be in his sixties or seventies, with a Qi Cultivation of the third level, had dark skin and a face weathered by the elements.
With sincere trepidation, he bowed to Wang Chen and said, "Junior cultivator Yuan Fang pays respects to the Superior."
"Mm."
Wang Chen nodded and said to Chen Anhe, "You go ahead with your tasks."
"Yes."
Chen Anhe respectfully replied, "Then this junior will take his leave first."
After his departure, Wang Chen leisurely commenced his "inspection" of the fields that now belonged to him.
Although the location and quality of these hundred mu of fields were not the best, they would still rank as upper-mid tier among all the Spirit Fields in Datian Village.
Wang Chen was well aware that the best Spirit Fields in the village must belong to the Huang Family!
He was not going to squabble over these matters for the time being.
Since the fields had been neglected and left uncultivated for two years, they were overrun with wild grass taller than a person.
Wang Chen crouched down and grabbed a handful of soil.
It was dark and richly fertile.
He let the soil fall from his hand, stood up, and said, "What a waste."
Fearful, the old man following him said, "This junior only has the authority to guard, not the power to alter anything in the fields, please forgive me, Superior."
The old cultivator thought Wang Chen was displeased.
Wang Chen just smiled and said, "I know."
Upon inquiring, he learned that Old Yuan was a lonely elder, and an outsider, which is why Chen Anhe had tasked him with overseeing the fields.
Two years ago, after the disappearance of Wang Chen’s predecessor who went into the mountains, the position of village chief remained vacant. Without a successor, the fields naturally couldn’t be cultivated and thus fell into disuse.
Old Yuan’s duty was simply to watch over the fields, to prevent other villagers from surreptitiously farming or grazing livestock there.
This was because every plant in the fields belonged to the village chief!
After walking along the boundary of the fields, Wang Chen asked Old Yuan to step back a distance.
He activated his mana, rose into the air, and hovered ten zhang high.
The next moment, a blazing flame appeared in the palm of Wang Chen’s hand and rapidly expanded.
Whoosh!
Experience tales with empire
A gigantic Fire Crow burst into existence from the flames, suddenly spreading its long wings and diving towards the Spirit Fields below.
As it neared the ground, it violently shuddered, instantly splitting into countless smaller Fire Crows.
A rain of fire covered the sky, as each Fire Crow dove into the grass, swiftly igniting a vast sea of flames!
The stubbornly resilient wild grass was set ablaze in an instant, and fierce flames rose high into the air.
The insects and small animals dwelling within the grass met their doom; they desperately tried to escape, but were felled by the intense flames and heat.
The fire, fueled by the wind, grew larger and soon engulfed a hundred mu of abandoned fields!
Countless weeds turned into ashes, and the high-temperature flames licked the soil, penetrating the ground to destroy the grass roots while also killing insects and eggs lurking within.
In merely the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the hundred mu of abandoned fields were completely cleansed.
All the wild grass, along with countless insects and small animals, turned into a thick layer of ash.
Old Yuan was flabbergasted!
It was common for cultivators who tended to Spirit Fields to use spells to burn weeds and clear fields.
But he had never seen anyone like Wang Chen, who could easily handle a hundred mu of Spirit Fields.
The old cultivator looked up at Wang Chen in the sky with a gaze filled with reverence; the latter’s powerful image was deeply etched in his heart.
However, Wang Chen was not done yet.
He formed a spell with his hands and continued to cast Cloud Rain Jue.
The moisture in the vicinity gathered at an astonishing speed, quickly forming rain clouds above the fields.
A drizzle of Rain began to fall.
The rainwater, rich with Spiritual Energy, moistened the warm ashes on the ground, nourishing the thirsty land.
The black soil appeared even more glistening.
Wang Chen descended back to the ground.
He handed Old Yuan a Storage Bag: "Go find a few people to help me plant all the wheat seeds inside."
These seeds were purchased by Wang Chen earlier in Wan City.
In the West Sea Spirit Domain, there were various types of Spirit Wheat cultivated in the Spirit Fields. He had chosen a variety called "Broken Silver," which was of the same grade as millet.
Old Yuan took the Storage Bag with both hands, hesitatingly said, "My lord, the sowing season has already passed."
Spirit Wheat is sown in spring and harvested in autumn, with only one crop per year. Now, it was the height of summer.
The Spirit Wheat in other people’s fields had already started to ear!
Although it’s said that cultivators could use spells to hasten the ripening of wheat, it was not cost-effective at all.
Wang Chen did not explain: "Just do as I say, calculate whatever expenses are needed."
Old Yuan did not dare to refute the village chief and hurriedly agreed.
Wang Chen took a walk around the area then returned to the Village Head Residence.
Since there were many Spirit Fields near the abandoned fields and many farmers were working in the fields, they all witnessed Wang Chen using spells to clear the land.
Therefore, the news that Wang Chen was going to personally cultivate the abandoned fields spread quickly throughout Datian Village!
Everyone felt that Wang Chen’s head must have been kicked by his big green donkey.
Otherwise, why would a noble Purple Mansion Superior stoop to do the work of a mud-legged farmer, isn’t that humiliating for himself?
They felt that this village chief was not focusing on his proper duties.
Of course, the villagers were only gossiping privately, no one dared to discuss it openly.
But there were also some people who thought that this new village chief was quite down-to-earth and didn’t have the air of an aloof lord.
As outsiders who had come to rule, they also felt an intrinsic rejection and wariness toward Wang Chen.
In short, everyone had a rather complicated perception of Wang Chen.
But Wang Chen didn’t care about what others thought of him. After Old Yuan had arranged for people to plant all the wheat seeds, he would come to the fields every day to perform Moving Cloud and Rain-Spreading, urging the growth of the planted seeds.
He was truly returning to his old craft.
Of course, his every move in the village was reported back to Huang Deqi, Chen Anhe, and others in the first instance.
Several of them were a bit baffled, not understanding whether Wang Chen was serious about farming or just looking for something to do out of boredom.
Seeing Wang Chen so engrossed every day, their wariness towards him couldn’t help but decrease.
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The first update is here; the second chapter will be updated tomorrow morning.