After binding with a genius, I became an immortal by exploiting loopholes.

After the hundred-day assessment, he spent more than four months accumulating one hundred strands of pure qi from the initial stage of Qi Refining.

This speed is already considered fast among those with low-grade five-elemental roots.

But within the context of the entire sect, it's still slow.

However, Lu Qingchen was not in a hurry.

As his mind sank into his sea of ​​consciousness, the pitch-black Dao stele still stood silently, its surface shimmering with flowing patterns.

On one side of the monument, Chu Yunfeng's illusory figure sat cross-legged, his spiritual light even more intense than a month ago, and the light pearl in his dantian emitted a warm golden glow.

Lu Qingchen drew out a wisp of his cultivation and guided it to seep into the depths of his spiritual root.

The warm current flowed slowly along the lines of the spiritual root, peeling away the imperceptible impurities.

Upon internal observation, the changes in the wood spirit root were the most obvious.

The layer of grayish impurities that originally adhered to the spiritual root has been largely washed away by the cultivation over the past few months, revealing a purer cyan color underneath.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Qingchen finished his cultivation session, opened his eyes, blew out the oil lamp, and lay down on the bed.

......

Lu Qingchen got up before dawn the next day.

The morning mist hadn't dissipated yet, and the dew on the grass dampened his trouser legs.

He carried his hoe to the edge of the field, but instead of rushing to work, he first walked around the field ridges and checked the condition of the twenty acres of wasteland again.

The land needs to be turned over, but it can't turn over by itself.

Twenty acres of wasteland, if he were to turn over them one hoe at a time, it would take forever.

There are tenant farmers and oxen in the village; these are the people who do this kind of work.

He first went to Zhao Demao to borrow a cow.

Zhao Demao was drinking tea in the main room. After hearing his purpose, he put down his teacup and shook his head: "The ox is gone. There used to be three on the estate. Last month, one of them died from some disease, and the other injured its leg and is being cared for."

"The remaining one was borrowed by Sun Zhiyuan, who said he urgently needed it for his field."

Lu Qingchen frowned: "When can you return it?"

"It will take at least five or six days for him to return the land after he finishes tilling it."

Zhao Demao glanced at him. "We don't have oxen, but we do have people. There are about twenty tenant farmers in the village. Just have them help you turn the soil."

"You want all twenty-odd households for me?"

"That's not possible."

Zhao Demao said, "The tenant farmers all have other jobs, but they can still spare a few."

Lu Qingchen thought for a moment, but still hesitated: "Turning twenty acres of land by hand is too slow and too tiring."

Zhao Demao waved his hand: "Don't worry about that. The tenant farmers on the farm occasionally get to eat spirit rice, so they are very strong and have much more strength than ordinary farmers."

"Your twenty acres of land, although it has been abandoned for two years, the soil is not completely rotten. Ten people can turn it over in a day or two, and it won't tire them out."

He paused, then said, "Besides, Qingmu Manor isn't supporting them just to eat. Even if they don't cultivate your wasteland, they have other jobs to do, so you don't need to worry about that."

Hearing this, Lu Qingchen couldn't refuse any longer and nodded, "Then I'll trouble the Master to make the arrangements."

"Wang Fu," Zhao Demao called out towards the door, "take Steward Lu to call for help."

Wang Fu led Lu Qingchen around the village, but they couldn't find a single tenant farmer.

Several courtyards had their gates open, but when you went inside, you found only elderly people and children; no one who could work was there.

In one of the households, an old woman was sitting on the doorstep, basking in the sun.

"Grandma, where are they?" Lu Qingchen asked politely.

The old lady said, "They've all gone to Manager Sun's fields. They said it's the busy farming season and they need to catch up on the work."

I visited a few more households, and the situation was the same for all of them.

All the able-bodied men had been called away, leaving only the elderly, women, and children behind.

Wang Fu glanced at Lu Qingchen, also looking somewhat troubled.

"Manager Lu, how about... you come back a couple of days later? Once Manager Sun is done with his work, he'll naturally be back."

Lu Qingchen stood in the alley, looking at the tightly closed courtyard gates, without saying a word.

Two days later? This is probably not as simple as just two days.

As for what exactly happened, he already had a general idea in his mind.

He turned and walked toward Sun Zhiyuan's field.

Sun Zhiyuan was standing on the edge of the field, his hands behind his back, watching the tenant farmers work.

Seeing him arrive, she wasn't surprised, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

"Manager Lu? Is something the matter?"

"Senior Brother Sun," Lu Qingchen said politely, cupping his hands in greeting, "I need to plow my fields over there, and I'd like to borrow a few people from you."

"Oh dear," Sun Zhiyuan patted his forehead, looking troubled, "What bad luck, I'm also short-handed here. Look, these dozens of acres of fields are waiting to be plowed, we can't do without one person. How about... you postpone it for a few days?"

Lu Qingchen looked at him without saying a word.

Sun Zhiyuan didn't mind, smiled, and continued, "Your land has been abandoned for several years. Even if you dig it up, you might not be able to grow anything. A few days later won't make a difference, right?"

Lu Qingchen gave him a deep look, then turned and left.

From beginning to end, he didn't utter a single unnecessary word.

Sun Zhiyuan stood on the edge of the field, watching his back, and the smile on his lips slowly faded.

"So young, yet dares to come to Aoki Manor to steal food?"

He muttered something under his breath, then turned and shouted to the tenant farmers, "What are you looking at? Get to work!"

Lu Qingchen went directly to find Zhao Demao.

Zhao Demao was drinking tea in the main room when he saw him return. He frowned slightly and asked, "What is it now?"

"Sun Zhiyuan won't release them," Lu Qingchen said. "He's basically taken away all the tenant farmers in the village."

Zhao Demao put down his teacup, remained silent for a moment, and then sent someone to fetch Sun Zhiyuan.

Sun Zhiyuan arrived at a leisurely pace. He entered the main room, first bowing to Zhao Demao, then glancing at Lu Qingchen with a smile on his face.

"Master, what brings you here?"

"Manager Lu's side needs to plow the fields, can you spare a few people for that?" Zhao Demao said.

Sun Zhiyuan looked troubled: "Master, shouldn't we follow the principle of first come, first served? It's not that I'm unwilling, but I have dozens of acres of land there, and it's the busy farming season. We can't afford to lose even one person. But if Steward Lu is in a hurry, can I spare two people for him?"

"Two?" Lu Qingchen asked. "Twenty acres of land, how long would it take two people to till it?"

Sun Zhiyuan shrugged, looking helpless. "Well, there's nothing I can do. I can't let this delay the planting, can I? I have a lot on my plate, Master, don't you think?"

Zhao Demao looked at the two of them without saying a word, and the room fell silent for a few moments.

Sun Zhiyuan glanced at Zhao Demao, then at Lu Qingchen, and sighed, "How about this, I'll give you one more, three in total, is that enough?"

"Not enough," Lu Qingchen said directly.

Sun Zhiyuan's smile faded slightly.