Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 513: Chapter 513 Talent and Opportunity (Second Update)

Time quickly advanced to early September, the sky was clear and the air was fresh, and Zhengyang enjoyed more than ten consecutive days of cloudless weather.

However, the atmosphere in Luohua Manor lately had been a mix of relaxation on the outside but tension within. Most of the key figures had returned to the manor, and took turns guarding the edge of the valley’s bamboo forest. Even a few of the striking beauties did the same.

The new workers didn’t know what was happening, but the old ones were aware that something significant was poised to occur in the valley.

Fortunately, Feng Jun chose a good time for his spiritual retreat; he went into seclusion for eight days without even a cloudy sky, much less rain.

Once the Heaven-Swallowing Formation of the twenty-seven Spirit Gathering Arrays was initiated, even if it didn’t rain, the dense white mists would rise during the morning dew, creating an eery atmosphere. But generally speaking, this level of mist didn’t feel too bizarre.

Especially now, as the weather had noticeably become drier, even near the river, the humidity wasn’t too high, and so the mist in the valley wasn’t particularly prominent.

Feng Jun’s retreat was very smooth, advancing to the High-Rank Qi Refining Fifth Layer in a rush. He initially wanted to try for the Qi Refining Sixth Layer but intuition told him it would take at least another five or six days.

Since that was the case, it wasn’t wise to change the plan rashly. He had thought to advance to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer in October anyway.

After deactivating the Heaven-Swallowing Formation and initializing the Spirit Gathering Array, he emerged from the bamboo forest and only found out through checking his mobile phone—there would be rain the day after tomorrow!

Sure enough, it’s best not to force things too much.

Once Feng Jun emerged from his retreat, everyone relaxed and went back to their business as usual.

Li Shishi reported the manor’s recent situation to him, focusing on several aspects.

The Forestry Bureau had sent people to investigate again—Assistant Li believed that they might be planning another harvest of bamboo fungi.

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Sister Hong took care of that issue by blocking them at the manor’s entrance, “Who is your leader? Have them come talk to me… Inspection after inspection, is this ever going to end?”

The police also paid a visit, wanting to understand certain matters. According to what Xu Leigang found out, it was still related to the people from Shinra. The case had concluded, and they were compiling a summary report, wanting to inquire about Luohua Manor as it was somewhat involved.

Yang Yuxin took care of it, indicating straightforwardly that Master Feng was in retreat and would not receive guests.

“What, you say it’s important, and he has an obligation to cooperate? Let me ask you… do you know who I am?”

With these issues handled, there was another matter—Li Xiaobin’s negotiations with Chaoyang, which also were progressing quite smoothly.

If Chaoyang was a demure widow before, it now was definitely a hair salon with glowing pink neon signs, the sort that beckons, “Sir, please don’t bite, it’s beneath your dignity. Why not go for the full package instead?”

Chaoyang’s action to contract mountain land had entered the stage of actual operation, offering three choices, amongst which Feng Wenhui and Zhang Junyi tended to favor the middle option.

The geography was average, not particularly remote, the area was also moderate, barely less than six square kilometers—but in fact, a considerable part of the land in these three options overlapped.

Chaoyang County could offer a maximum of twenty-seven square kilometers, and Feng Jun could choose up to eleven square kilometers.

Anyway, since Feng Wenhui and Zhang Junyi believed that option was fitting, and Dou Jiahui and Li Xiaobin also thought it was good, they decided on this location.

Next were the details of the negotiations. Feng Jun was not in a rush and let them talk it out at their pace.

If, during this time, Hu Changqing could die a natural death, that would be the best outcome; after all, the old man was over seventy. Feng Jun considered himself a pacifist and preferred not to resort to violence if possible.

The situation was pretty much like this. Now, the manor was peaceful, and the workers even began leveling another patch of land, which was behind the backyard and near the mountaintop. Feng Jun planned to build a small jade house there.

He had previously mentioned to the Zhang Family Sisters about constructing a jade house. Since he was currently free and everything was smoothed out, with an abundance of jade mined, it was enough to support his idea.

As this construction affected the backyard, Feng Jun simply suggested everyone practice cultivation in the valley’s bamboo forest instead.

While he had previously kept a low profile, revealing the secrets of the bamboo forest to Yang Yuxin and her daughter now was a move not many could understand.

But in reality, Feng Jun knew very well that they must be aware of the valley’s secrets. It was impossible for them not to know after living there for so long; they had surely noticed something but dared not mention it, maintaining a tacit understanding.

If it couldn’t be kept hidden, then there was no need to keep hiding. Ignoring the elephant in the room, pretending like the emperor has clothes—these things were meaningless.

Besides, Yang Yuxin had been quite on point lately, proactively dealing with many minor troubles for him. Feng Jun could’ve handled these issues, but having help saved him a lot of trouble, and kindness should be mutual.

Of course, the most crucial point was that the pricey jade housing project indicated his intention to settle there long-term, and if an accident were to happen to anyone from Chaoyang, it would greatly reduce any suspicion against him—I’m planning to retire in Zhengyang, after all.

However, he saw no need to explain this motivation to others; could he say he was plotting against Hu Changqing?

Yang Yuxin was overjoyed with Feng Jun’s arrangements. How could she not be aware of the situation in the valley’s bamboo forest? She even guessed that the bizarre deaths of the people from Southern Shinra were most likely related to the recent theft in the valley.

Now that her daughter was allowed to go to the bamboo forest in the valley and could even move about under the guise of delivering meals, it made Yang Yuxin very happy.

The mysteries of the valley were in no way inferior to the back courtyard. Yang Yuxin had reason to believe that the value here was even higher than that of the back courtyard. Not to mention that the bamboo forest here was much denser than the one in the back courtyard, the fact that Master Feng chose this place for his retreat was proof enough of its importance.

Yang Yuxin was definitely sharp-witted. She understood very clearly why Feng Jun tacitly allowed her to come and go here. If it were to be explained using officialdom thinking, it was because her attitude was correct and she was proactive in her duties, so the leadership didn’t mind granting her some benefits.

Of course, if she wanted Master Feng to openly permit her into the bamboo forest, she still had a long way to go.

After wandering in the bamboo forest for a few days, Yang Yuxin could distinctly feel that her body was improving.

For a long time, she had been in a sub-healthy state, including symptoms like nervous exhaustion, imbalance of vital energy and blood, and irritability. Even with her power and influence, these were not things that could be resolved with authority.

Now, her sleep quality had considerably improved, and her skin had regained its luster and elasticity. She believed that if this continued, even her hair quality would improve significantly—at least she was no longer losing hair like before, and her mood had improved a lot as well.

She felt as though her body had become much lighter, almost as if… she had turned back the calendar by more than ten years.

Yang Yuxin enjoyed this feeling and hoped to have more opportunities to enter the bamboo forest. Of course, this was not easy, but as the saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way, right?

As for following the footsteps of those women who received guidance from the master and practiced cultivation, she wasn’t considering such a distant prospect for the time being…

Mid-September came, and Li Shishi’s fellow villagers received their first paycheck. They were also informed that their performances had been good and that next month… no, nine of them would become official employees.

The nine individuals cheered, as this meant their salaries would increase from three thousand to six thousand.

The only one who didn’t become an official employee had a long face but nothing to say because he violated one of the manor’s prohibitions—gambling.

Gambling was prohibited within Luohua Manor. This rule was handed down by the previous owner, Li Ning, and Feng Jun thought it was a good rule and decided to maintain it.

In fact, Feng Jun’s requirements were quite lenient. He allowed the workers to bet among themselves, like if one person claimed they could swim across the river and another doubted it, betting a pack of cigarettes or even a hundred yuan was fine by Feng Jun.

However, he firmly prohibited gambling in the form of mahjong, playing cards like Landlord, not to mention Pai Gow or dice—gambling outside the mountain gate was none of his concern, but once inside, his rules had to be followed.

This unfortunate fellow had violated the prohibition by attempting to organize gambling.

When Gao Qiang received the report and came over, his stance was clear, “If there were no TVs or WIFI provided by the manor and you gambled out of boredom, it would be our fault… But since the manor has provided these, what do you have to say?”

Taking into account it was his first offense, his probation period was extended by a month.

Feng Jun approved of this punishment. He didn’t mind gambling for fun—betting ten or twenty yuan during the World Cup or even a hundred or so yuan was fine as long as one could afford the loss.

But those who gambled away to the point of stealing from their colleagues or even from the company didn’t belong in the manor—it was better to dismiss them early.

This was one of the matters Gao Qiang reported. Another matter he brought up was: I think Di Aixin has potential.

A month ago, he had taken notice of the youngster. After observing for a month, he found that the boy had a decent character and formally recommended him to Feng Jun.

Gao Qiang’s evaluation was: he was simple-hearted with good physical coordination and naturally strong.

In fact, Feng Jun had already heard of the boy. After his arrival, he would not submit to this or that, and had even almost come to blows with the master chef over being served only vegetable stalks in the cafeteria.

Furthermore, the boy had brashly claimed that he would only respect those who were stronger than him.

Overall, he was a teenager consumed with a sense of grandiosity—though not quite a brat, he possessed a strong sense of justice and often stood up for others.

Later, he heard that Master Feng’s three disciples were very strong, so he actively sought them out to compete.

Coach Wang, a sly one, knew he probably had no chance against the boy after hearing that even Gao Qiang couldn’t subdue him, so he directly ignored the challenge—no help for it, he was not naturally strong, and even as a High-Rank Martial Warrior, he was only about on par with Gao Qiang.

Gazi, on the other hand, was no weakling and had a match with the boy, with neither coming out as the winner.

Xu Leigang couldn’t stand watching any longer. Despite being the oldest, he was the strongest among Feng Jun’s three disciples, so he stepped forward and effortlessly overpowered the young Di Aixin.

Gazi was impressed with Di Aixin and thought he had potential, even mentioning him specifically to Feng Jun.

In his heart, Feng Jun could only inwardly sigh: You all really don’t know my standard for assessment.