Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 510: Chapter 510: Stability is Paramount

“Topple me?” Gao Qiang glanced at the youth, smiled faintly, and thought to himself, you’re thinking too much, kid, “Securing the job is not just about toppling me, such as… do you know how to use a shovel?”

Planting trees is a physical job, but it’s not only about strength; there are also many tricks of the trade involved.

Put a weightlifting champion to dig holes, and he might accidentally break the shovel, but when it comes to the steadiness of digging hole after hole, he might not be as strong, and compared with the output and the effect, he is likely not as good as most ordinary people.

Many old farmers don’t have exceptional strength, but they know how to use their waists and shoulders together and have mastered the trick of exerting force; they work steadily all morning, and two young fellows together might not do as much as they do.

The young man was not very satisfied with Gao Qiang’s response, but he still sat down nonchalantly and stretched out his arm, “I was just asking casually, anyway, you definitely can’t outstrip me.”

Young man, who gave you this unfounded confidence? Gao Qiang smiled faintly, “Beating me doesn’t count for much…”

As he spoke, he suddenly exerted his strength, wanting to teach the youngster a lesson—weren’t these young people who didn’t know the vastness of heaven and earth just waiting to be polished by society?

A certain retired special forces soldier readily cast himself in the role of “society.”

The young man truly didn’t expect such malice in human nature and resisted for a moment, but having lost the upper hand, he was solidly defeated, his face instantly flushing red with indignation as he shouted, “That was a sneak attack… Try again, I will surely win next time!”

Try again, and you really might beat me! Gao Qiang was crystal clear about this; the kid was indeed strong.

At thirty years old, currently in his prime, and after joining the special forces and undergoing intense training, he learned many ways to exert force, only managing to gain an upper hand by a sneaky attack.

When he was the young man’s age, he wasn’t as good as the other person, indicating a gap in talent—despite his own talent being much stronger than most people.

So he smiled faintly, “Not convinced? Then we’ll compete again later. There are still many people waiting to arm wrestle with me now.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝονǤο.ƈᴑ

He felt that in that moment, he was very much like his drill instructor, shrewd and cunning—his drill instructor’s strength wasn’t necessarily greater than his, but in the first year of enlistment, he had been drilled to his limits.

However, this young man is indeed a promising one. Gao Qiang decided that if Feng Jun neglected this good seedling, he would take him under his wing. As long as the kid’s character is fine, he could push him to heights he himself had never reached.

People of military background also care greatly about passing on the legacy.

Oh right, this young man has a rather effeminate name, called Di Aixin.

Feng Jun didn’t pay much attention to the trivial matter of recruitment; his focus was always on the theft of the Spirit Gathering Array.

A week later, Mr. Park became foolish, the vegetable had brain death, other people who should die mostly did, Chen Ernan also disappeared from Zhengyang, and currently, only Lao Han remained unaccounted for.

The suitable Xiao Han for cultivation had come to replace Lao Han’s position, taking over for almost a month.

Frankly speaking, Lao Han might not have played a major role in this matter, but undoubtedly, he was an informed person—one couldn’t possibly come to know so much within a mere month’s time like Xiao Han did.

Moreover, if you’re really innocent, why run away?

According to Lao Han’s neighbors, the Han family was also scared, especially after Wang Laili drowned; the old mother was so frightened that she wept daily at home, and Lao Han’s wife would diligently come to the hill gate to offer a tall stick of incense three times a day.

In any case, a week went by without any further official news, and that’s when Feng Jun finally relaxed—the toughest times were behind, and even if the officials still harbored suspicions, they presumably wouldn’t take it too seriously.

Only then did he have time to help his brother at Dwarf Hill Post recuperate and allowed Li Shishi to bring people for job interviews.

However, he has yet to restore the Spirit Gathering Array in the valley. He’s still short on manpower, struggling to look after two Spirit Gathering Arrays—which is why he finally understood why in the Mortal Realm of the Mobile Phone plane, Spirit Gathering Arrays were so scarce.

This thing is just too tempting; not many can resist the allure.

Consider that in that plane, dozens of martial masters in a Clan could only drool over a Spirit Gathering Array, while his own power in the Earth Plane included three high-rank Martial Warriors and one at the fourth layer of mortal transcendence, yet was audaciously using two Spirit Gathering Arrays at the same time—it was quite bold.

So, he didn’t plan to restore the valley’s Spirit Gathering Array immediately. In the future, his three disciples and the three women… counting Gu Jiahui makes four, can all cultivate in the backyard. After all, there’s enough spiritual energy here.

In fact, Feng Jun felt a bit annoyed with Wang Haifeng and Xu Leigang—the Forestry Bureau came, and you all were so unrestrained; it was quite inappropriate. Now that you don’t have a dedicated cultivation area, consider it a mild punishment. I hope you remember this.

The Forestry Bureau didn’t really play a beneficial role either. According to Chen Ernan, during the investigation, he learned something from the Forestry Bureau.

Sister Hong may have notified the higher-ups of the Forestry Bureau, but the staff responsible for the inspection harbored deep grievances against Luohua Manor. When they spoke of the Manor’s many secrets, they held nothing back.

Actually, there was no need for them to hide the results of the forestry verification.

Wang Haifeng and his companion’s hospitality essentially went to waste—after all, they thought they were promoting the reputation of Luohua Manor.

Of course, if anyone went to harvest bamboo fungus thereafter, that was no longer their concern.

During this time, Gazi returned. He didn’t think too much of it and simply stated, “Backyard cultivation… it’s quite good.”

Several pairs of almond-shaped eyes glared at him fiercely.

Half a month passed uneventfully, and the elder brother from Dwarf Hill Post had fully recovered.

Of course, he didn’t know that his recovery was thanks to Feng Jun’s care. Dwarf Hill Post wanted to tell his brother several times that his lumbar spine had healed because he gave up a hundred thousand yuan to have a master save him, but in the end, Dwarf Hill Post kept it to himself.

Li Shishi’s group from the same hometown had also gradually found their footing in Luohua Manor. Her hometown wasn’t too far from Zhengyang, and the folks there weren’t completely out of touch. They had a bit more insight compared to those from the lower-level cities.

These somewhat insightful migrant workers were not very welcome to unscrupulous bosses—who couldn’t exploit them excessively—but they also had a rough idea of what their employment environment was really like.

What’s key was that they knew how to keep things in proportion and didn’t take advantage of their relationship as relatives or fellow villagers to make excessive demands of Li Shishi. Struggling in a big city isn’t easy; it’s better to be somewhat perceptive and know one’s place.

Moreover, the work offered by Feng Jun wasn’t as tiring as they had thought. It wasn’t just about planting trees. There were also tasks like watering, maintaining saplings, building houses, and leveling mountains, among others.

As for the canteen, well, how to put it? It was just so-so, but it wasn’t worse than what they had at home. Anyone who really craved something tasty could order takeout, though takeout could only be delivered up to the mountain gate, and they had to pick it up themselves.

Going to pick it up themselves involved another benefit. At the simple workshop, there were two public electric scooters and a motorcycle available for use upon request.

Of course, Feng Jun’s expectation that locals and outsiders would form their own groups had begun to show signs of happening. Although there wasn’t outright opposition, people stuck to their own circles, which led to some conflicts, big and small.

During work, disputes often arose over the division of labor and the use of communal vehicles could easily lead to arguments.

Initially, the local elders were domineering over the outsiders. Li Shishi did well not to jump out and take sides but to first report to Feng Jun.

Feng Jun then sent Gao Qiang to send a message, uttering just one sentence: You’re locals? Even the Han Family Brothers are locals!

In any case, the development of the situation largely followed Feng Jun’s plan. The workers were divided into two factions with not very deep conflicts—an arrangement that allowed for cooperative work, but without too much social mingling. This was perfect for mutual surveillance.

In a blink of an eye, the entire summer vacation had passed, and school was about to start. Gu Jiahui had recovered nicely. However, as Feng Jun had anticipated, she would still need to stay for at least another two months to fully recover.

At the end of August, Feng Jun finally started to re-establish the Spirit Gathering Array in the valley.

Strictly speaking, there were still twenty-seven intact Spirit Gathering Arrays hidden in the valley. These arrays, being well-concealed and seldom used, had not been discovered by outsiders. The only one destroyed was the central Spirit Gathering Array.

In fact, the disappearance of the Han Family Brothers and the drowning death of Wang Laili had already created a terribly frightening impression among the workers. They eagerly delegated jobs closer to the valley to the newcomers.

The newcomers didn’t understand the dangers, but Li Shishi did. She repeatedly emphasized that no one should approach the bamboo forest or pry into its secrets; otherwise, not only would they bring misfortune upon themselves, but they would also implicate everyone else.

Implicating everyone else was a massive deterrent. The former workers might have kept silent, but this new batch entered the manor together, already acquainted with each other before their arrival. If one person did something wrong, ruining everyone’s livelihood, no one would accept it.

Soon, two older workers came forward to declare: You can be assured, we’ll keep an eye on each other. The manor treats us well—we can’t bring shame upon our hometown.

It was for this reason that Feng Jun felt the workers below had stabilized, and he began rebuilding the Spirit Gathering Array.

He planned to reactivate the Heaven-Swallowing Formation at the beginning of September, aiming to advance his Cultivation Level to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. In October, he would reach the Sixth Layer and then shift his developmental focus to the Earth Plane.

He had to wait these two months. Not to mention other reasons, the production of the Boiler Camel Motorcycle had not yet resumed, and he could not rapidly expand in the Earth Plane. This was his flagship product, and one of the main economic pillars supporting cross-dimensional development.

Fortunately, just after he had restored the Spirit Gathering Array, Mou Miao rushed back from Yuyuan the very next day.

He brought three Boiler Camel Motorcycles and also brought news: “County Chief Chi from Chaoyang County said that we could discuss the contract for the land. He hopes you can return as soon as possible.”

Feng Jun’s first reaction was: Without Hu Changqing’s downfall, I absolutely will not contract the forests!