Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 75 The Chi Family of Xiaolan Valley

Tailai Peak outer courtyard.

Upper Accounting Office.

Li Xiangming convened a meeting to welcome Li Qianfu and Li Xiangqian to the company.

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Xiangming said, "Currently, the work of the Accounting Office is mainly divided into two parts: the construction of the two townships and the preparation for the Changyang Valley Gathering."

"The former will continue to be handled by Xiang Shuo and Xiang Qi, while the latter will be coordinated by Uncle Qian Bai."

"As for Xiang Qian, I'll trouble you to stay and oversee Xulong Township."

Li Xiangming explained the situation in Xulong Township in detail: "Xulong Township is surrounded by mountains and currently has more than 800 households. Because it has not received strong support from the government, its development has been stagnant. But from now on, we can no longer let it go unchecked."

“I will have Xiang Qi allocate a labor force of more than 2000 people to you for a period of six months, and there will be a second and a third force afterward.”

"What you need to do is ensure the development of Xulong Township and the safety of these people, and at the same time build a road between Xulong Township and Yiyuan Peak."

The establishment of Xulong Township by Shangjifang was not for the purpose of creating a new settlement for ordinary people, but for the purpose of developing the northern mineral veins.

These mineral veins are mostly hidden deep in the mountains, making them difficult to access and excavate.

The Li family estimated that the Zhuoling iron ore vein alone could be mined for thirty to fifty years.

In this context, a large, stable, and affluent logistics town becomes particularly important.

But even with the establishment of Xulong Township, simply mining the minerals was far from enough.

The Li family still needs to transport the ore to Yiyuan Peak and smelt it using earth fire to create spiritual materials for cultivators.

"I understand."

Li Xiangqian was nearly thirty years old and was among the first generation of the Li family to use the character "Xiang" in their name. He had done a lot for the family and was a mature and steady person. He nodded emphatically at this moment.

Seeing this, Li Xiangming stopped giving instructions and turned to look at Li Qianfu.

"Uncle Qianfu, the head of the family has asked our accounting office to be in charge of the tributes from the vassal states under our command. This matter may not seem like a big deal, but if it is not handled properly, it may affect the family's image. How about you come with me to investigate in person?"

"I will comply."

Li Qianfu, true to his name, is of medium build with a round belly, giving him an air of good fortune.

This person has the cultivation level of the late stage of Qi Refining. Li Xiangming values ​​him highly and plans to promote him to the position of deputy manager in the future.

However, we need to see how capable he is before we do anything else.

The meeting adjourned, and the two left Danggui Mountain hand in hand.

Holding the list in his hand, Li Xiangming first went to Xiaolan Valley in the south.

The Chi family of Xiaolangu settled in Pudong at the same time as the Li family.

The head of the family, Chi Jingtong, has a cultivation level of the eighth level of Qi Refining, which is no less than that of Chen Zhonghe.

However, because Chi Jingtong came from a humble background, he only integrated the family bloodline in his later years and established the Chi family in Pu County.

Therefore, Xiaolan Valley's heritage is far inferior to that of the Chen family in Baolong Valley.

Some time ago, Chi Jingtong went to the Puyin Mountains to search for spiritual herbs and encountered a demon cultivator in the late stage of the Spirit Awakening Realm. The two fought for over a hundred rounds.

In the end, Chi Jingtong killed the demon cultivator and seized the spiritual medicine, but he himself was also seriously injured.

At this point, the awkward situation of the Chi family's lack of heritage became apparent.

An unidentified cultivator has set his sights on the spiritual spring in Xiaolan Valley, intending to seize the Chi family's assets while Chi Jingtong is seriously injured.

Unfortunately, apart from Chi Jingtong, the rest of the Chi family members were all minor figures in the early stages of Qi Refining, and were completely unable to resist external enemies.

Left with no other choice, Chi Jingtong sent someone to visit Dangui Mountain to seek the protection of the Li family.

The Li family was naturally pleased to see this situation, and immediately dispatched several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators to drive away the rogue cultivators entrenched around Xiaolan Valley, and signed several unequal treaties with the Chi family.

From then on, the Chi family became a vassal of the Li family.

"Patriarch Chi, are your injuries any better?"

Li Xiangming came here under the guise of inquiring about Chi Jingtong's injuries.

"I feel much better. Thank you for your concern, Your Excellency. Your presence is an honor to our humble abode."

Chi Jingtong was over seventy years old, tall and thin. He looked badly injured, his face was pale and bloodless, and most of his hair and beard had turned white. He exuded an air of old age.

Even so, the head of the Chi family still insisted on coming out to greet the Li family cultivators.

"Master Chi, please don't overwork yourself. Take care of your health," Li Xiangming said. The fate of the Chi family now rests in the hands of this old man.

If Chi Jingtong were to pass away, even if Xiaolangu received a promise from the Li family, it would eventually fall into their hands.

Because the Li family simply wouldn't value the Chi family without Chi Jingtong.

"I understand."

Chi Jingtong sighed. Having lived most of his life, how could he not know the situation the Chi family was facing?
He also wanted to step down as head of the family and focus on recovering from his injuries.

However, the Chi family had no successors, and only their grandchildren were born with spiritual root seeds.

These people are still very inexperienced, and Chi Jingtong doesn't even dare to let them out, for fear that they might offend the Li family's distinguished guests due to their lack of manners.

Compared to the Chi family, the Li family's Xiang generation is already capable of standing on their own.

Chi Jingtong gave Li Xiangming a deep look. From the very beginning, he had noticed that this young man was the true representative of the Li family, while the mature and steady Li Qianfu was merely his deputy.

Li Xiangming was unaware of Chi Jingtong's thoughts, but having followed Li Qianxiong, he knew that being the head of a family was not an easy task, so he said no more and inspected the Chi family's sacred fields with Li Qianfu.

"So, the Chi family already has twenty acres of spirit land?"

"That's right, but the newly cultivated spirit fields are not yet suitable for planting spirit plants. All told, the Chi family only has fifteen acres of spirit fields available."

Li Xiangming hummed in agreement and then asked, "What does the Chi family plan to plant next year?"

"Not determined yet."

Chi Jingtong respectfully cupped his hands in greeting: "My Chi family has a shallow foundation, little planting experience, and no understanding of the current market preferences. Since Your Excellency is here, why not give my family some guidance on next year's plans?"

"Haha, that's only right."

Li Xiangming smiled; Chi Jingtong was still sensible.

Although, according to the agreement signed by the two families, the Li family has the right to interfere with the Chi family's choice of spiritual plants.

However, it would be best if the Chi family took the initiative to propose it, so that the Li family wouldn't have to play an aggressive role.

"In that case, let's plant evening primroses. The seeds will be provided by the Li family, and we will also send someone to guide you on the specific planting methods."

Evening primrose?
Chi Jingtong pondered for a moment, "Evening primrose is quite delicate and cannot be grown in ordinary spiritual fields."

The reason the Chi family chose to establish themselves in Xiaolan Valley was because there was a spiritual spring there.

The Chi family used it for both cultivation and irrigating the spiritual fields in the valley.

Therefore, the spirit fields in Xiaolan Valley are not ordinary, and planting evening primroses should not be a problem.

I just don't know how much production will be.

The Chi family has always grown spirit rice and has no experience in growing spirit herbs.

Fortunately, evening primrose is the main ingredient for making Huangya Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine), so it sells well and the price is good. Even if the yield is low, it is still acceptable.

Thinking of this, Chi Jingtong felt a little relieved and asked in a low voice, "Thank you for your trouble, but I don't know how the output will be distributed?"

Having used the Li family's seeds, Chi Jingtong naturally dared not claim the evening primroses he grew as his own.

This was also the purpose of Li Xiangming's trip.

"According to the agreement between the two companies, and since we also provided the seeds, I'll take 20% of your evening primrose. Do you have any objections?"

"Two-tenths evening primrose?"

Chi Jingtong hesitated, feeling that 20% was too much.

However, the two families had a prior agreement that the Chi family would unconditionally contribute 10% of their output to the Li family, regardless of the type of product.

All things considered, exchanging only 10% of the seeds for evening primrose is reasonable.

"I'm OK."

Chi Jingtong gritted his teeth and answered.

"Furthermore, the evening primroses you grow must be inspected by my family. Only if my family refuses to buy them, or if they are left over, can your family take them to the market to sell. Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, Chi Jingtong's expression immediately changed.

"Don't worry, all the parts my family buys are at market price."

At this point, Li Xiangming chuckled and said, "Believe me, selling to the Li family is much easier than taking it to Pushui Market yourself, and you definitely won't lose out."

(End of this chapter)