My path to immortality began with my posting to guard Dawancun.

Chapter 39 Harvest and Insurance Fraud

Without the harassment of the Gale Falcon, the twelve acres of spirit fields were quickly harvested thanks to the efforts of the able-bodied villagers.

Within the twelve mu of spiritual fields,
Ten mu (approximately 0.67 hectares) planted using traditional farming methods yielded a total of 1131 jin (approximately 665 catties).
The battle with the Gale Falcon resulted in the loss of about 12 jin (approximately 6 catties), otherwise the harvest would have been much greater.

Teams 11 and 12 were responsible for the improved planting test areas.
One mu yielded 136 jin, and another mu yielded 148 jin.

The yield per mu has undoubtedly been greatly improved.

This seems a bit exaggerated.
However, after integrating the increased yield from the ten acres of spirit fields that had not changed their farming methods, Shen Changchuan roughly understood the reason behind it.

This is not surprising.
There is no other reason,

Only by using your heart.

In the past, farming in the spirit fields was done by everyone, regardless of age or gender; everyone was driven to work together.

And the harvest after hard work
It has absolutely nothing to do with them.

Against this backdrop, the villagers' mentality is probably just to get by, and they have no initiative to make any positive changes.

After all, there are no rewards for doing well, but if you do poorly, you will be penalized. Any normal person knows how to choose.

After Shen Changchuan arrived...

Start trying new reforms,
The produce of the spirit field is closely related to almost every villager.

As a result,
The villagers are more dedicated to cultivating the spirit grains and taking better care of the spirit plants.

That's all.
This resulted in a 10% increase in the yield of the sacred fields.

In this comparison,

It's understandable that the spiritual fields of groups 11 and 12 saw an increase in production of 30% and 40%, respectively.

Shen Changchuan was very satisfied with the specific data he had obtained.

When spring planting season comes next year, the planting experience of Groups 11 and 12 will be promoted, and the yield increase will only be greater!
and,

Shen Changchuan could clearly feel it.
There is also the potential for further exploration and improvement within this framework.

"The Linggu Planting Manual still has room for improvement."

"Moreover, I have already killed the crocodile demon in the Dawan River. Next year, I can dig out the sediment formed by the combination of water vein essence and earth vein essence from the silt at the bottom of the river to use as fertilizer. My harvest will only be greater then!"

Taking stock of the harvest after the spirit grain harvest,
Shen Changchuan was in a good mood.

Even the fatigue accumulated from the previous battle with the Gale Falcon dissipated considerably.

To know,
Although Dawancun is his main base, he also earns extra income outside.

For example, the two acres of spiritual land in Zhao Family Village belong entirely to him.

The income from the contributions of the other six surrounding villages is also a significant source of revenue.

Shen Changchuan did some quick calculations,

After deducting the thousand catties handed over to the Shen family, plus the output from the two mu of spirit fields in Zhao Family Village, and the 60-70% contribution from the four mu of spirit fields in the other six villages,
The harvest he can get this season is already over 800 or 900 jin!

If converted to spirit stones, it would be almost eighty or ninety pieces!
Although some expenses still need to be paid out of these.

For example, there are bonuses, pensions, and payments to those below, including those to my maternal grandfather and uncle who have now become cultivators.

But those are just small parts.

Even after deducting all expenses, Shen Changchuan's final income will not be less than seventy or eighty spirit stones!
This number made him feel suffocated for a moment.

Don't think that seventy or eighty spirit stones is not much just because he got over a hundred spirit stones after killing the Four Fiends of Heshan.

But the former,
That was a one-time transaction.

Moreover, they have to risk their lives to fight enemies of higher levels, and a slight mistake could result in their immediate death.

However, cultivating the spirit fields provides a stable source of income every year!
Moreover, it's only done twice a year.

This continuous stream of income, in terms of both security and practical value, far surpasses the former!
Such a large gain,
This was something I never dared to imagine when I was living in the Shen family compound!
"I wonder how far the internal struggle within the Shen family has progressed."

"But no matter how the fight goes, my decision to leave the Shen family compound and come to this remote place was the right one."

"If I were still staying in the Shen family compound, how could I possibly earn seventy or eighty spirit stones every six months?!"

Shen Changchuan was overjoyed.
I couldn't help but feel very satisfied with my decision back then.

Such a large sum of spirit stones,
The next step will definitely be to utilize my own cultivation level.
But how do you use it?
Shen Changchuan began to calculate in his mind.

I wonder what kind of caravans are operating in Wujiaji.

However, my primary goal should be to obtain pills that can increase my cultivation speed.

Having taken the Qi-Inducing Pill, Shen Changchuan had personally experienced the benefits of the pill in increasing cultivation speed, having advanced from the mid-stage of the fourth level of Qi Inducing to the fifth level in just two months.

As for the erysipelas mentioned by the novelist...
This is similar to the principle that discussing the medicinal properties of herbs without mentioning the dosage is irresponsible.

As long as one doesn't consume pills every day, but rather takes one every few days, the body will naturally digest and expel the negligible toxins during the cultivation process, so there's no need to worry too much.

Besides elixirs
We also need to take a look at spells, magical artifacts, formations, and other means that can enhance ourselves, especially things that can deal with the Gale Falcon; those should be given special attention.

After all, the Gale Falcon was a big problem for Dawan Village.

If you're lucky, you might discover a lineage related to alchemy, weapon crafting, or even formation techniques; in that case, you could consider it.

of course,

This last point is somewhat wishful thinking.

A single skill is enough to establish a family of cultivators.

A mere hundred or so spirit stones are hardly enough to even smell.

"So, does that mean I'm still just a penniless wretch?"

Spirit stones are needed here, and spirit stones are needed there.

After just a quick calculation, the budget I had was completely gone.

Shen Changchuan couldn't help but give a wry smile.
This made him acutely aware of the fact that he was still a poor man!

What a disaster!

Just as Shen Changchuan was taking stock of his assets and lamenting in his heart...

Han Qinhu walked in carrying several pages of paper with some unknown notes.

"Changchuan, there's something I think you should know."

Han Qinhu looked at Shen Changchuan, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke.

"What's wrong, Grandpa?" "You're the person I trust most, so just tell me what's wrong."

Shen Changchuan found Han Qinhu's reaction rather strange.

Han Qinhu did not answer.
He handed the few sheets of paper in his hand to Shen Changchuan.

Shen Changchuan took it curiously.
The top of the document records the names of several people, followed by detailed household registration information such as their ages, family members, and population.

Shen Changchuan was initially a little confused.
But after looking at it for a while, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he quickly flipped to the next two pages.

His brows furrowed at that moment.

"The first four of these five people on the first page are villagers who were killed by the Gale Falcon when they rushed up to fight in the Spirit Field yesterday. The last one is someone who worked himself to death in the Spirit Field this morning while harvesting the remaining Spirit Valley."

Han Qinhu's voice was calm.

"The people on the second page are the six who died during the battle when the crocodile demon came ashore and was ambushed."

"Among these people, some are over fifty years old, some are disabled, and some are chronically ill and take a lot of medicine. I checked the previous records and there have never been such cases before."

Han Qinhu explained in a low voice,
He did not elaborate further.

In the air,

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

"So, does this mean someone is committing insurance fraud?"

After a long while, Shen Changchuan finally spoke in a low voice.

"Insurance fraud?"

"Oh, so you mean you're scamming people out of a resettlement allowance."

"That is indeed insurance fraud."

Although Han Qinhu didn't know how the "insurance" in Shen Changchuan's "insurance fraud" was related to the resettlement allowance,
But that didn't stop him from continuing along with the other person's line of conversation.

"Changchuan, I've wanted to talk to you about this for a long time. The compensation you set for the two villagers who were killed by the crocodile demon was actually too high."

"Ten catties of spirit grain, if you're lucky, is enough to send someone onto the path of cultivation, enough to make someone sell their life!"

"That is, when you announced the reform, you said that a portion of the increased yield per mu would be used to reward them, giving them hope of obtaining the Spirit Valley, which is why there was no large-scale mass casualty incident."

"Even so, those ordinary people who feel they have no purpose in the rest of their lives and are only a burden to their families do not mind exchanging their crippled bodies for the wealth and prosperity of their descendants."

At this point, recalling the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled who sacrificed themselves for insurance money, Han Qinhu's voice became somewhat menacing.

"These lowly people are only taking advantage of your youth and kind heart."

"In my opinion, we should make an example of them and retract our original decision. We must not give these insurance fraudsters even a single grain of spirit grain!"

Shen Changchuan remained silent.
There was silence.

He initially decided to compensate the two villagers who died in the crocodile demon with ten catties of spirit grain.
It was his idea to improve the yield per mu of Lingtian by using riverbed silt for compost.

The other party followed his suggestion, but ended up dying unexpectedly.

In a sense,

They could also be said to have died because of Shen Changchuan's mistakes.

Having only traveled two and a half years, the humanistic values ​​shaped by the industrial civilization of her previous life still linger in her mind.

Make him feel guilty

Therefore, it was decided to grant them a compensation that was extremely generous for ordinary people.

But what happened next...

It was something he hadn't expected.

After all, Shen Changchuan before his transmigration was just an ordinary person.

No one is a sage who can foresee every possible situation.

"No, let's make sure the compensation and resettlement allowances for these people are all calculated according to this standard."

Shen Changchuan closed his eyes and pondered for a long time.

After a quarter of an hour, he opened his eyes and said with a firm gaze.

Upon hearing this, Han Qinhu's expression turned anxious, and he wanted to say something.

But Shen Changchuan raised his hand to stop him from speaking.
It was as if he was explaining to himself:

"The matter of the resettlement allowance was something I didn't consider carefully; it was my mistake."

"Although these people are suspected of insurance fraud, they ultimately went to their deaths because of the resettlement allowance I offered, and they were not entirely without merit in the battle."

"Consider these sacrifices the price I paid for my mistakes."

"Of course, starting today, if anyone dies due to village affairs, the resettlement allowance will be adjusted to 1 jin of spirit grain as compensation."

One pound of spirit grain as compensation.

It's already very low.

Moreover, if the reforms are implemented next year, any yield exceeding 100 jin per mu will be divided 30/70.

It's unlikely that anyone will bother to deliver such a small resettlement allowance anymore.

As for the cost of those dozen or so spirit stones, consider it a lesson learned from my mistake.
Ok,

This lesson actually cost me a lot of money.

After all, it's an expenditure of more than ten spirit stones.

But he always felt that
It's not terrible for people to make mistakes; the important thing is to correct them.

What's truly terrifying is not knowing you're wrong.

Even knowing they are wrong, they refuse to correct it.

Therefore, although Shen Changchuan felt some regret about this...

But they simply keep this lesson in mind and don't get angry or take it out on anyone because of it.

The expenditure of a dozen or so spirit stones was a lesson and a warning to myself.

Let this serve as a lesson for the future, so that I can think things through more carefully before making decisions.

(End of this chapter)