From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 125 Mountain Yu
Tonggu County, the main hall of the county government office.

Lu Yisong sat in the main seat, with three celestial officials in the auxiliary seats: Jiang Hao, Baili Wei, and Xu Xiaoniu.

Xu Xiaoniu had just received his appointment as a celestial official when he was summoned by Lü Yisong to discuss matters, but he was unaware of what was going on.

"Um, cough cough."

Lu Yisong cleared his throat and said, "I summoned the three of you here to discuss the matter of military officer registration. With Director Xu being promoted to the celestial official rank, the military officer registration for the county magistrate is now vacant."

Do any of the three of you have suitable candidates in mind?

As he spoke, he looked at Bailiwei and Xu Xiaoniu.

As for Jiang Hao, he's one of his own. Therefore, it really only depends on the opinions of Bailiwei and Xu Xiaoniu.

As always, Bailiwei maintained a nonchalant attitude: "You don't need to look at me. Just discuss it yourselves. I agree to everything."

Where is Director Xu?

I?
Xu Xiaoniu had never thought about this question.

He still remembered that fifteen years ago, when he obtained his military officer status, four celestial officials were present, and he received unanimous approval with his letter of military merit.

Today, he has become a celestial official with the power of nomination.

Should Xu Xiaohou be appointed as the county magistrate?
The moment the idea popped into Xu Xiaoniu's mind, he dismissed it: it was inappropriate from any perspective.

He had just become a celestial official when he recommended his own younger brother for the position of county magistrate, which was blatant nepotism. None of the other military officials in Tonggu County were known to be related to the celestial official; presumably, this was a rule they followed to avoid suspicion.

Besides, he felt that Xu Xiaohou's current situation was not suitable for him to appear in public.

After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly realized that since Lü Yisong had summoned them, he must have already chosen someone.

“Lord Lü, I don’t have anyone suitable by my side. You have a discerning eye, so why don’t you recommend someone?”

Xu Xiaoniu's answer was exactly what Lü Yisong wanted to hear.

He smiled and nodded, saying, "I do have a suitable candidate, Yang Lingyun from the Yang family, a second-level innate cultivator, in..."

Upon learning of Jing Zhuo's death and Xu Xiaoniu's promotion to celestial official, this person immediately offered benefits to Lü Yisong, finalizing the "official status" before anyone else could react.

His own conditions were also suitable, so Lü Yisong agreed.

Xu Xiaoniu recognized the man and nodded in agreement: "I know Yang Lingyun. He is a conscientious prison manager and has never caused any trouble. I approve."

Thus, the candidate for the county magistrate's military officer position was determined.

Lu Yisong handled all the paperwork and procedures, while the other three only needed to sign their approval.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

As the event was ending, Xu Xiaoniu hurriedly called out to Bailiwei, who was about to fly away.

He was just about to visit Bailiwei at some time, and took this opportunity to say hello: "Chief Supervisor Baili, wait a minute, may I speak to you in private?"

"Oh? Director Xu, please go ahead."

The two arrived at a secluded spot inside the county government office.

"My family wants to take over Hundred Valleys Mountain. I wonder how many spirit stones we need to prepare?"

This happened to fall within the jurisdiction of the Forestry Bureau, so Xu Xiaoniu got straight to the point without any formalities.

"Baihe Mountain? That's a wild mountain without any spiritual veins, right? It's not worth many spirit stones. Registering it for cultivation will cost at most a few dozen spirit stones, and the annual rent after that will not exceed 10 spirit stones. The specifics will depend on the information in the mountain forest register and the actual situation on site."

If your family wants to take it...

Bai Liwei paused here, then chuckled twice: "Haha, but don't worry, we're colleagues, I'll definitely give you a discount within my authority."

"Thank you so much."

Xu Xiaoniu hadn't expected Bailiwei to be so easy to talk to.

"How about this, I'll bring the documents from Baihe Mountain tomorrow morning, and we'll conduct an on-site inspection at Baihe Mountain. What do you think?"

"Okay, thank you."

The two agreed on a time, and Bailiwei flew away.

Fifteen years ago, when Xu Xiaoniu became a county magistrate, Bailiwei had been serving as the supervisor of the forestry bureau for less than two years.

Back then, he was only at the third level of Qi Refining, the lowest level among the four celestial officials.

Now, he's at the eighth level of Qi Refining!

In fifteen years, he achieved a leap from the early stage of Qi Refining to the late stage.

The reason he advanced so quickly was because he came from the renowned Foundation Establishment family of Yuanli County: the "Baili" family.

The Baili family is a family with a tradition of weapon crafting, and produces a variety of common magical artifacts.

For example, Xu Fugui's top-grade magic weapon, the "Feather Pattern Flying Sword," was produced by the Baili family.

Bai Liwei has no shortage of spirit stones, and his family is much wealthier than even Foundation Establishment families like the Lan family of Qingqiu Mountain.

He possesses three true spiritual roots. After being selected as a celestial official by Yuanli County, he relied on his connections to become the head of the Forest Supervisory Office in Tonggu County. This celestial official position is easy, has few responsibilities, and is extremely safe, unlike the head of the Demon Subduing Division who faces various dangers.

It took him more than a decade and thousands of spirit stones to reach the eighth level of Qi Refining in a place without spiritual veins.

Thousands of spirit stones could buy the lives of countless Qi Refining cultivators.

Bailiwei was just coasting along in Tonggu County, seeking no merit but avoiding mistakes. After a decade or so, once his cultivation reached a certain level, he would be promoted to Yuanli County and become a celestial official in the county government.

Therefore, he avoids offending anyone and doesn't get involved in other people's conflicts of interest.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next morning.

On the only road leading from Baihe Village to Baihe Mountain.

Xu Xiaoniu couldn't keep Bailiwei waiting, so he arrived ahead of time.

The endless, ravine-lined mountains ahead are Baihe Mountain.

"Someone?"

Xu Xiaoniu used his lightness technique to move forward swiftly, and saw that there were people guarding the entrance to the mountain path ahead.

He lightly touched the ground with his feet, floated far away, and stopped in front of this person.

The old man, over sixty years old, had gray hair but a robust physique and exuded the aura of a primordial martial artist, roughly at the second level of the primordial realm.

Baiheshan Mountain Yu: Fang Yue.

He received news yesterday that Xu Xiaoniu, who had just been promoted to a celestial official, wanted to occupy Baihe Mountain and had invited Baili Wei to conduct an investigation.

As the official in charge of Baihe Mountain, Fang Yue naturally had to personally receive them, so he waited there before dawn.

"Greetings, Lord Xu!"

Upon seeing Xu Xiaoniu, he immediately bowed respectfully. He was filled with unease because of an incident from long ago.

"you are?"

Xu Xiaoniu recognized him but couldn't place him.

"I am Yu Fangyue from Baihe Mountain. Lord Xu, you are a man of great importance and you have a bad memory. I attended your wedding."

Fang Yue, a minor official without official rank, dared not address Xu Xiaoniu as "this humble official." He subtly mentioned that he had given gifts at Xu Xiaoniu's wedding, but dared not bring up the incident from thirty years ago.

Back then, he only used his power slightly, never imagining that the boy who dared to talk back to him would rise step by step from a villager to a military officer, and then to a celestial official.

"Come to think of it, it must have been about thirty years ago, haha."

Xu Xiaoniu chuckled lightly, but said nothing more.

When he was thirteen, he argued with Fang Yue over a two-tael hunting tax and was scolded by his father.

Upon hearing this, Fang Yue trembled: "Back then, I was..."

"Enough, enough. It happened so many years ago. There's no need to bring it up again. Let's just let it go."

Xu Xiaoniu said casually.

Given his current status as a celestial official, it would seem petty and narrow-minded for him to make things difficult for a mere official over such a trivial matter.

"Thank you, Lord Xu." Fang Yue breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had been given a second chance at life. If Xu Xiaoniu held a grudge, he could easily find a pretext to kill him and no one would care.

While the two were talking, Bailiwei flew down from the sky and landed in front of them.

Fang Yue quickly bowed again.

He had amassed considerable wealth over the years working under Bailiwei, as Bailiwei was too lazy to manage affairs and allowed his subordinates to run amok.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The three of them entered Baihe Mountain.

Bai Liwei held a map in his hand: "Director Xu, look, although Baihe Mountain is a wild mountain without spiritual veins, it is very large. According to the map, it is twenty li from east to west and ten li from south to north."

This number is fixed and I can't change it, so at least thirty spirit stones for the registration and initial development fee is essential.

Registered reclamation refers to the practice of paying a fee to any family that wants to occupy and register a piece of forest land like Baihe Mountain, which was previously unclaimed or had not been occupied by any family for many years.

Undeveloped mountains and forests are full of plant resources, including trees and shrubs. There are ancient trees that are decades or even hundreds of years old, and medicinal herbs that have been growing for many years in dangerous places and nooks and crannies. Some spiritual plants may even grow in some mountain gullies with abundant spiritual energy.

There are also wild animals, as well as fish, shrimp, and crabs in the streams and pools...

Once these resources are claimed by a particular family, they become the private property of that family.

Hundred Valleys Mountain requires dozens of spirit stones to register and cultivate because of its large area. Otherwise, wild mountains without spiritual veins wouldn't need so many spirit stones.

Xu Xiaoniu nodded in agreement, "Of course, Supervisor Baili, you just need to calculate according to the regulations."

These spirit stones were to be handed over to the imperial court, not at Bailiwei's discretion. He could only reduce Xu Xiaoniu's pay within the limits of his authority; he couldn't violate the court's rules.

"The rest of the trees and herbs, although they don't make up a large proportion, I can give you a smaller amount, maybe three or five spirit stones less for the designated land reclamation."

"Thanks……"

The three then continued to explore various parts of Baihe Mountain.

Fang Yue had served as a mountain hermit in Baihe Mountain for decades. He followed behind them, occasionally explaining to the two celestial officials: "This mountain has a lot of trees. Because the terrain is steep and difficult to cut down, there are dozens of trees that are over a hundred years old, and hundreds of trees that are over fifty years old..."

It's impossible to record every single tree and blade of grass in such a vast place as Baihe Mountain; we can only make a rough count.

By evening, the three had roughly surveyed the situation at Baihe Mountain.

Bailiwei stood atop a low hill, looking at the trees that had been felled and were now just stumps, his face grim.

He flipped through the records of Baihe Mountain and raised a question: "Fang Yue, so many trees were felled, why does the record only show that more than two thousand taels of silver were paid as logging tax?"

There must have been embezzlement involved!

If it were just a small amount of embezzlement, that would be one thing, but according to Bailiwei's estimate, the amount embezzled must be a large sum of tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Fang Yue panicked because Bailiwei, the supervisor, didn't manage things properly, while the other mountain guards were making money at will. The loggers were people who had business dealings with him and had given him a lot of benefits.

He didn't expect that Bailiwei would bring Xu Xiaoniu here because the Xu family suddenly wanted to occupy Baihe Mountain.

He was caught off guard and had no time to prepare.

If he had known beforehand, he could have found a way to cover it up.

He knelt down with a thud: "My lord, spare my life! I was momentarily bewitched and accepted the benefits from logging. So please reduce their taxes."

After saying that, he started kowtowing repeatedly.

Bai Liwei frowned. He was indeed too lazy to get involved, but he had been caught red-handed trying to fool him. He could only blame Fang Yue for being unlucky.

Xu Xiaoniu, who was standing nearby, said, "Supervisor Baili, Fang Yue and I are old acquaintances. If he is willing to pay the back taxes, spare his life."

"Alright, since Director Xu says so, I'll let him off the hook."

Whether Fang Yue lives or dies is indeed just a matter of a single thought for Bailiwei.

Fang Yue repeatedly said, "I'm willing, I'm willing to pay all the money! Thank you, Lord Xu, thank you both for sparing my life!"

This is the best result.

If the two men are unhappy, he will not only lose his head, but his family property will also be confiscated, resulting in an even worse outcome.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Based on his own calculations, Bailiwei estimated: "Director Xu, if your family wants to register and occupy Baihe Mountain, you will need at least thirty-eight spirit stones to clear the land. This is the minimum I have calculated."

Except for the first year, a mountain rental fee of 5 spirit stones is required every year thereafter.

When do you want to register? I'll handle it.

"This……"

Xu Xiaoniu looked troubled. He just wanted to ask where his family got so many spirit stones.

His monthly salary as a celestial official is one spirit stone. Even if he starts saving now and doesn't use any spirit stones at other times, it would still take him more than three years to save up thirty-eight spirit stones.

"What? What's the problem?"

Bailiwei was puzzled. There was already so little left, so what was there to hesitate about?
Suddenly realizing what he'd just said, he quickly smoothed things over: "I just did the statistics, and it's already recorded. There's no need to update the register for the next three to five years. As long as your family wants to maintain their registered ownership of Baihe Mountain for the next three to five years, this number will remain the same."

Just because he doesn't lack spirit stones doesn't mean others don't.

For him, dozens of spirit stones were a small amount, but for cultivators without family connections, earning even a single spirit stone was very difficult.

Xu Xiaoniu smiled wryly: "Thank you for your understanding, Supervisor Baili."

"It's nothing, haha."

Bai Liwei couldn't help but feel fortunate to have been born into such a Foundation Establishment family, where there was no shortage of spirit stones, and he didn't have to scrimp and save for a few spirit stones, or run around or even lose his life fighting for a few spirit stones.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The Xu family mansion.

Xu Zhongche had just finished refining a batch of Qi and Blood Pills when he walked out of the alchemy room.

Xu Xiaohou was already waiting for him at the door, his beard unshaven and his eyes bloodshot: "Zhongche, have you refined the Qi and Blood Pills yet? Give me three."

"Sixth Uncle, this..."

Xu Zhongche had been resentful of Xu Xiaohou because of his father and sister Zhongxi's situation, and hadn't spoken to him for several days.

But seeing Xu Xiaohou in such a state, and having promised to improve his strength as soon as possible to save Xiaoxi, he couldn't bear it and made a lot of Qi and Blood Pills for Xu Xiaohou.

However, what he is worried about now is that Xu Xiaohou is going crazy.

Xu Xiaohou didn't care whether he could fully digest the Qi and Blood Pills; he took as many as he could. Besides practicing martial arts and stance training, he devoted himself to cultivating immortality. When he got tired of martial arts, he cultivated immortality; when he got bored of cultivating immortality, he practiced stance training again, and so on...

This state is truly frightening.

At this moment, Xu Xiaoniu returned from Baihe Mountain. He was stopped by Xu Xiaohou as soon as he entered the door.

"Big brother, is there any news about Xiaoxi?"

"Ah~~"

Xu Xiaoniu shook his head. He had done his best, sending people to secretly gather information, but after Fan Kongye came that day, the entire Tonggu County became peaceful.

All the calamity cultivators and demonic cultivators stayed far away, and no clues could be found in Tonggu County.

"Liu Zi, calm down, don't ruin yourself."

Xu Xiaoniu felt sorry for his sixth brother and comforted him.

"..."

Upon hearing that there was no news of Xiaoxi, Xu Xiaohou looked disappointed and took the Qi and Blood Pill that Zhongche had given him to the training ground in the backyard.

Xu Xiaoniu waited for a long time at the door of the secret room where Xu Fugui usually practiced, and finally waited for him to come out.

"Father, the forest ranger gave me accurate information. Registered land reclamation will earn 38 spirit stones, and 5 spirit stones per year thereafter."

Upon hearing this number, Xu Fugui began to calculate in his mind.

　I'd like to recommend a book to everyone; it's a masterpiece of the Xianxia genre and very enjoyable.

　　Who said I got promoted because of women?

(End of this chapter)