Becoming an immortal and ancestor begins with the golden toad spitting out money.

Chapter 142 Paying to Avoid Disaster, Setting a Date

Laifu Restaurant has been open for more than a month. Apart from some trouble during the braised beef tasting on the second day of opening, there have been no further problems.

Unexpectedly, today, not only did a poisoning incident occur at Laifu Restaurant, but it also almost affected Mo Linglong at the Mo Family Villa.

"Poisonous silver ear fungus? Who on earth wants to harm Linglong!" After a brief moment of stunned silence, the old man Qianji revealed endless killing intent in his eyes.

More than half a month ago, the Thousand Transformations Ancestor told the Thousand Machine Elder about his encounter in the sky and instructed the Thousand Machine Elder not to return to Thousand Transformations Town for the time being unless he was absolutely certain.

Knowing that they might encounter an ambush on the way back, the old man of a thousand machines mobilized many Mo family disciples and mechanical puppets to come to Jinfeng County, and strictly controlled Mo Linglong's diet.

Mo Linglong's food came from the Laifu Restaurant, which was run by Jian Ri Ling Jiang Jin Chan, and was personally inspected and approved by Qian Ji Lao Sou. However, even so, Mo Linglong was still almost poisoned.

Su Ji frowned, his face equally solemn, and said, "The case of tremella poisoning must be thoroughly investigated!"

Fresh or dried white fungus is not poisonous in itself, but if it is soaked or stored improperly, it may produce a deadly toxin that can cause food poisoning. Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, abdominal pain, and dizziness, and in severe cases, it can lead to liver and kidney damage or even death.

For an ordinary person, eating a small amount might not be life-threatening, but Mo Linglong had only recently awakened, and her already weakened body simply couldn't withstand the damage caused by a single poisoning.

Fortunately, the "Yin Wo" of the Golden Toad's body discovered the poisoning symptoms of the restaurant guests in time and came to report the news, thus preventing Mo Linglong from eating the poisonous white fungus.

So, after making his promise, Su Ji immediately flew towards the restaurant, his mind filled with even more speculation.

As the old man Qianji said in his rage, this poisoning incident may be targeting Mo Linglong, and the guests who were poisoned in the restaurant were all innocent victims.

It's also possible that the poisoning incident was targeted at Laifu Restaurant. If there are deaths, it will inevitably have a huge impact on Laifu Restaurant and even the East-West Business Association...

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that this was just an accident, and the source of the goods, the chamber of commerce, and the restaurant itself all bear responsibility.

Jinfeng County is not very big, and Su Ji arrived at the restaurant quickly.

As expected, Chef Li, who was in charge of cooking, became the first person to be poisoned. He was pale and vomiting incessantly, and then collapsed to the ground.

Among the customers in the restaurant, there were four or five people who were dizzy, weak, and had itchy skin, but their symptoms were much milder.

Yan Tianchou immediately offered a solution: "Immediately induce vomiting in the poisoned person and give them lightly salted water or sugar water to prevent dehydration..."

Chef Li, as the one who made the white fungus soup, was the first to taste it and the first to experience symptoms of poisoning, which bought the restaurant's customers some time.

"...Please don't worry, everyone. I have a miraculous antidote here. Induce vomiting first, then take it. It will surely cure your illness!"

The speaker was none other than the blind old Taoist priest who could hear Su Ji's telepathic messages.

Back then, the blind old Taoist priest was forced to destroy his own signboard in the ghost market.

Su Ji knew that this might be because he had revealed a heavenly secret, so he sent the blind old Taoist priest to the restaurant to tell stories.

Originally, the blind old Taoist priest, feeling utterly hopeless, planned to return to his hometown to spend the rest of his life, and had no intention of becoming a storyteller at Laifu Restaurant.

Unexpectedly, not long after the blind old Taoist priest left Jinfeng County, he heard about the red flames soaring into the sky northeast of Jinfeng County. The next day at dawn, he excitedly turned back towards Jinfeng County.

However, the blind old Taoist was too slow. By the time he arrived in Jinfeng County, the large-scale water vein spiritual realm had already been established in the City God Temple. He also learned that the person who intercepted and killed the Xuanmen Dao Seed Golden Toad came from the Cai family's strange secret realm.

In an instant, many cultivators understood the blind old Taoist's deduction and felt indignant on his behalf.

However, the blind old Taoist knew his own limitations. Although he had calculated some things, there was still a significant gap between his calculations and reality. Even when people advised him to put his fortune-telling sign back on, he lost interest.

Even the blind old Taoist priest saw the special nature of the Sun Guardian General from this incident, and when Laifu Restaurant invited the blind old Taoist priest again, he readily agreed.

Now, the blind old Taoist priest followed the instructions of the Sun-Watching Spirit General, pouring the water from the gourd into the bowl, and immediately a warm spiritual light, like the light of dawn, shone forth.

"Is this the superior-grade Earth Yang Spirit Liquid?" The blind old Taoist was not blind in his eyes but not in his mind, and he was even more surprised by the willingness of the Sun-Watching Spirit General to part with it.

A single drop of top-grade Earth Yang Spirit Liquid is worth at least two hundred strands of divine power, which is equivalent to fifty taels of silver. Without the slightest hesitation, Jian Ri Ling used two drops.

Chef Li's symptoms were the most severe. After inducing vomiting, he was given two bowls of diluted, high-grade Di Yang Ling liquid. The other guests were each given a bowl after inducing vomiting.

Soon, the county officials arrived. Chen, the clerk, was out on a case, and the young man Li Hui was leading the team.

"Phew—" Li Hui breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that none of the guests had died, and there were no signs of poisoning.

Li Hui then asked a few questions according to the county government's regulations, observed the poisoned guest's health for a while, and left after giving a few instructions.

The news of the poisoning incident at Laifu Inn spread that very day, but instead of damaging its reputation, it earned it widespread praise.

"Laifu Restaurant openly admitted the problem with the ingredients, not only compensating the customers who ate the white fungus soup, but also waiving the bills for all customers on the spot. It's truly a model restaurant!"

"Laifu Restaurant has made a guarantee that it will not only be more strict in its control over ingredients, but will also conduct daily self-inspections to produce clean and hygienic food..."

“If the chef himself eats it, we can definitely eat it too. If Chef Li hadn’t tasted it himself, we wouldn’t have discovered the problem with the white fungus so quickly!”

The old man with the thousand-year-old skills did not suspect that there was a problem with Laifu Restaurant. He even personally brought out the problematic white fungus and conducted a comprehensive test.

"The dried white fungus itself has no strange smell and looks very plump, but there are some amber-like viscous substances in the middle of the white fungus flowers, so someone must have deliberately poisoned it!"

The dried white fungus has passed through two layers of quality control, namely the East-West Chamber of Commerce and Laifu Restaurant, so there is definitely nothing wrong with its appearance. The key lies in the amber-like viscous substance inside.

The blind old Taoist priest standing nearby couldn't help but speak up: "This is a delicacy from the White Rock Mountains. I doubt those mountain bandits would deliberately poison it and ruin their business. Could there have been a problem during transportation?"

The transportation of dried white fungus requires traveling at least twenty miles. Ordinary people might find it difficult to bypass caravans to poison it, but cultivators might not be able to.

Su Ji, however, had some guesses: "I suspect that the poisoning may have been committed by a cultivator, or even by a ghost or deity. Perhaps it was because the development of the East-West Merchant Guild touched upon the interests of certain ghosts or deities that this poisoning incident occurred..."

It took Mo Linglong seven or eight days to recover, and more than half a month to forge the large deflecting spiritual weapon. By this time, it was already April 20th.

Twelve days ago, the first batch of silkworms had already pupated, and eight or nine days ago, the first batch of silkworms produced silk.

The East-West Chamber of Commerce went around buying silk, but it was suppressed and competed with by the Qian Family Chamber of Commerce. In order not to lose money, the East-West Chamber of Commerce had no choice but to temporarily avoid confrontation.

Fortunately, although the East-West Chamber of Commerce lost the business battle to the Qian Family Chamber of Commerce, Zhou Lan managed to win back a point through his efforts.

The silkworms raised in Zhoulan are not only large, but the silk they produce is also of the highest quality, resulting in a direct profit increase of 70% to 80% compared to previous years.

Even silkworm farmers who received Zhou Lan's instruction saw profits increase by 30-40% compared to usual, immediately attracting the attention of silkworm farmers in the surrounding area. Therefore, Zhou Lan personally demonstrated his expertise, not only preparing to sell superior silkworm eggs at market prices but also teaching silkworm farmers advanced silkworm rearing methods, which immediately won praise from silkworm farmers in the surrounding area.

Naturally, Zhou Lan also had a requirement: the silk produced from the second round of silkworms should be sold to the East-West Chamber of Commerce first, and the price would definitely not be low.

This move directly undermined the Qian Family Chamber of Commerce. No matter how capable the Qian Family Chamber of Commerce was, it was impossible for them to make the silkworm farmers break the already agreed-upon contract.

In recent days, the East-West Chamber of Commerce has realized that the Qian Family Chamber of Commerce is not only trying to win over the hearts of silkworm farmers who have not signed contracts, but is also targeting the East-West Chamber of Commerce's business in every way.

Now that a case of poisoning from dried white fungus has occurred at Laifu Restaurant, it's hard for Su Ji not to suspect the Qian Family Chamber of Commerce.

However, if it was the work of ghosts and gods, Su Ji had nowhere to investigate and could only learn from his mistakes.

As for the amber-like viscous substance, Yan Tianchou immediately analyzed it and found that it was extracted from spoiled white fungus and contained a large amount of toxins.

However, the old man of a thousand machines did not let his guard down. If it weren't for the timely reminder from the avatar of the Sun-Watching Spirit General, his daughter Mo Linglong would have really fallen into a trap.

Therefore, the Old Man of a Thousand Machines became even stricter with Mo Linglong's diet, and had Mo family disciples buy dozens of pigeons to test for poison before Mo Linglong ate.

Then, the old man of a thousand machines waved his hand and sent two mechanical masters to the East-West Chamber of Commerce, ensuring that there would be no problems with the transportation of all the ingredients for Lai Fu Restaurant.

Su Ji, of course, could not be unprepared, and he also hired a contemporary cultivator—Master Zhu Nanshan from Lake Beach Village.

After Zhu Nanshan was promoted to the Dongxuan Master, his understanding of the Yin-Yang realm was further enhanced. Ordinary demons and ghosts no longer caught his eye, and the rewards for dealing with ordinary demons and ghosts were not enough for his cultivation.

When Su Ji, representing the Jian Ri Ling Bing, extended the invitation, Zhu Nanshan's face lit up with excitement: "It is my honor, Zhu Nanshan, to serve the Jian Ri Divine General's East-West Chamber of Commerce!"

Even though Zhu Nanshan was unaware of the plans for the Great Sun Wonderland and the Bright Moon Wonderland, he still held the newly appointed Sun Guardian General Jin Chan in high esteem, and becoming a respected monk of the East-West Chamber of Commerce was something he couldn't ask for.

As for the remuneration for the monks who served the East-West Chamber of Commerce, in addition to five taels of silver each month, they also received thirty strands of divine power personally bestowed by Su Ji, which was not only generous but also exceptionally stable.

Su Ji offered so many resources not only to win over Zhu Nanshan, but also to win over the crow spirit beside Zhu Nanshan.

Zhu Nanshan made a fortune selling the Ghost General's inner core last time, and the Crow Spirit also obtained a token to enter the Spirit Realm for cultivation, but failed to break through to the Cave Profound Master level because his cultivation was slightly inferior.

Su Ji assured him, "Crow Spirit, I will cover the tokens for you and Zhu Nanshan to enter the City God's Spirit Realm during the Ghost Festival. If you can break through to the Cave Profound Mage level at that time, you will also receive divine power every month!"

It is now April 22nd, less than three months away from the Ghost Festival on July 15th. Even the worst spiritual token is worth 120 strands of divine power. How could the crow spirit not be excited?

"Since the Sun Guardian is treating me so kindly, I, this humble demon, will certainly do my utmost to complete all tasks!"

The crow spirits initially thought that the Sun Watcher had only made these promises, but after they actually arrived at the East-West caravan, they received another big surprise.

"Besides the series of paper-cuts at the Ghost General level, there are also two sets of mid-grade mechanical spirit artifact puppets!"

The birds in the paper-cuttings could be controlled by the crow spirit, and the paper figures and horses in the paper-cuttings brought Zhu Nanshan a great sense of security.

The mechanical puppet belonging to the crow spirit is of medium-grade general quality, while the one belonging to Zhu Nanshan is of medium-grade excellent quality.

In a short time, Zhu Nanshan and the crow spirit upgraded their weapons and equipment, and their combat power was greatly improved.

Even so, Su Ji was still not completely at ease with the East-West Chamber of Commerce and began to plan the matter of the Human God position according to Yan Tianchou's advice.

The reason why caravans lacked means to ward off ghosts and spirits was because they lacked a guardian deity.

The guardian deity worshipped by the Qian family's Chamber of Commerce is naturally Qian Gong, the God of Wealth of Jinfeng County, while the guardian deity worshipped by the Ren family's Chamber of Commerce is the ancestral god of the Ren family.

Since Su Ji wanted to follow the path of the God of Wealth, he needed to condense a body of the God of Wealth. He had not put it into practice yet, precisely because he lacked a stable faith.

Now, Su Ji has gained a foothold in Jinfeng County with the help of the restaurant, and at least the people of Jinfeng County have heard of the name of Laifu Restaurant.
Furthermore, by using the concrete symbols such as the golden toad flags and golden toad patterns carried by the East-West Chamber of Commerce, the name of the Golden Toad Messenger and the God of Wealth was spread far and wide.

Finally, Zhou Lan used silkworm farming methods to spread the name of the Golden Toad Messenger to the ears of the most grassroots silkworm farmers...

"Back when Zhang Xiaolian was cultivating with the [Dong Shen Tong Xuan] technique, I even thought about using this method to condense a divine position containing the divine power of the God of Wealth. Now I can finally put it into action!"

With a sigh, Su Ji turned his attention to Yan Tianchou.

Yan Tianchou immediately said, "If you want to condense the human god position, you still need to make some preparations. The right time, the right place, and the right people are all essential."

"The timing is perfect, as it is the second round of silkworm harvest. At that time, all silkworm farmers will develop faith in the Golden Toad Messenger and the God of Wealth because they want to make money."

"The advantage lies in the location between East Sang and West Sang villages. It is not only the base of the God of Wealth's plan, but also the real dream of Zhang Xiaolian."

"Although Zhang Xiaolian became a Dongxuan Master at the beginning of the month and possessed several mid-grade Xuan techniques, we still need to invite the Earth Yang Serpent Lord to protect her."

"As for the [Divine Insight and Profound Understanding] technique required to condense the Human Godhood, it still requires 30,000 units of computing power..."

Su Ji wanted to condense a position of the God of Wealth that possessed innate divine power, so he naturally wouldn't think that 30,000 units of computing power were too expensive; his current computing power reserves were more than enough to handle it.

As early as when he broke through the Cai family's large water vein spiritual realm, Su Ji had already become famous for his five Blazing Crystal Treasures, and his name was even known beyond Jinfeng County.

As a result, Su Ji accumulated 23,000 units of computing power from the popularity of his wishes alone. Including the computing power mined by Tianchou itself and the computing power provided by the power of faith, Su Ji's computing power has reached as many as 28,000 units.

In addition, the food business in the Yin-Yang realm of Wusheng's hometown also brought Su Ji a lot of incense offerings and prayers. Even after deducting the costs of the City God Temple's taxes, venue, and personnel, it could still be converted into 15,000 units of computing power.

Not to mention, Su Ji also has reserves of divine power, which he can find ways to exchange for incense offerings and prayers, and then convert into more computing power.

"The second round of silkworm harvest?" Su Ji's heart skipped a beat.

From the time the silkworm eggs hatch to the time the silkworm cocoons are drawn, it takes about forty days, which is around May 27th.

The manufacturing of the large deflecting magical artifact will be completed by the end of May.

After Su Ji finished dealing with all matters, he turned his attention to cultivation.

Su Ji's magical power was constantly accumulating, and his bloodline, spirit, and foundation building were also steadily progressing.

The only thing I look forward to is practicing mystical arts.

(End of this chapter)