Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 102 Fifty Thousand Households

With the Green-backed Demon Lizard in tow, Li Xiangming did not return to Pushui Market, fearing that the crowds would attract attention and he might be targeted.

Instead, they used a sound transmission talisman to summon Li Qianfu.

"The Blue-backed Demon Lizard is good, but it's a bit too big."

Li Xiangming sighed, "In today's cultivation world, there is no such thing as a spirit pet pouch; one cannot simply put away a spirit pet."

It's understandable, really. If a pet pouch can hold pets, it can naturally hold other items as well.

What's the difference between this and a storage bag?
How big would a storage bag have to be to hold a Blue-backed Demon Lizard?

It would probably cost several thousand, or even tens of thousands of spirit stones, right?

Li Xiangming shook his head at the thought.

Fortunately, the Blue-backed Demon Lizard was conspicuous, but the two of them also had the cultivation level of the late stage of Qi Refining. Along the way, there were occasional disturbances, but they were not major incidents.

"Uncle Qianfu, you should settle the Blue-backed Demon Lizard in Xixiang and keep a close eye on it. I'll go and sound out the patriarch's opinion first."

Although Li Xiangming judged that Li Qianxiong was overjoyed to have seen the Blue-backed Demon Lizard.

But since he had acted on his own initiative, he only bought one mount for 500 spirit stones, which was a bit embarrassing.

Therefore, it is necessary to sound out their opinions beforehand.

Upon arriving at Changlin House, only Li Xianglin was standing guard outside the door.

"Xiang Lin, why are you all alone?"

Li Xiangming asked in confusion.

With the establishment of the Inner Affairs Hall and the Outer Affairs Hall, the relationship between the halls and departments was no longer that of equal size institutions, but rather a superior-subordinate relationship.

The Shouyu Hall also established three offices internally: the Guardian Office, the Inspector Office, and the Direct Attendant Office.

The guardhouse is responsible for guarding the Tailai Peak pass and important locations.

The patrol office is responsible for intelligence gathering throughout the entire Danggui Mountain area.

The main house is specifically responsible for the safety of the head of the household.

Currently, Li Xianglin is a member of the direct management team and it seems he has been promoted to deputy head.

"Everyone else went to Bailu Gate with the patriarch."

Li Xiangcheng replied.

"Bai Lu Gate?"

Li Xiangming was greatly surprised: "Why would they go to Bailu Gate for no reason?"

"I don't know, my second uncle went with him."

Second Uncle?
Li Xiangming frowned. His second uncle, Li Chengkang, was a high-level combatant in the late Foundation Establishment stage of the family, but he rarely took action.

Li Qianxiong not only went to Bailu Gate in person, but also brought Li Chengkang with him, which suggests that something big is about to happen.

What an eventful time!
Unable to meet the patriarch, Li Xiangming had no choice but to leave. He then returned to the central courtyard and found Li Chenglu to inquire about the cooperation with the Geng family.

Because Changtai Township was attacked by locusts, Li Xiangming was stationed in both townships. He also went to Pushui Market on the way, but he still does not know about the cooperation between his family and the Geng family.

"Qianju has already found a buyer in Zhangning Prefecture, so the Purple Cicada Cloud Sand is not a problem. The only issues are the access to Puyin Mountain and the contact with the Geng family; there are still many details that haven't been agreed upon."

Li Chenglu naturally wouldn't hide anything from Li Xiangming, and revealed the source of the disagreement between the two families.

The Li family wanted to place the delivery location at the entrance of Puyin Mountain, where the animal trapping houses frequently appeared. This would greatly reduce the Li family's risk, and even cultivators at the early to mid-stages of Qi Refining could easily complete the transaction.

However, the Geng family disagreed, feeling that sending someone from Meiling along Puyin Mountain to Qingyang Temple was too far.

The journey is long, and the risks are naturally greater. To be on the safe side, the Geng family must send at least two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

However, most of these people were well-known to the Qin family after years of war, and if they did not show up for a long time, they would inevitably attract the attention of the Qin family.

After their investigation proves fruitless, the Qin family will almost certainly intensify their offensive in an attempt to stop the Geng family's "schemes and tricks."

This is definitely not the outcome the Geng family wanted.

After understanding the situation, Li Xiangming did not express any opinion. These were minor issues, and as long as both parties were willing to cooperate, the matter would be resolved properly sooner or later.

"Has the Geng family offered to buy pills or talismans from us?"

"Not yet, but soon. I heard from Qianyou that the Geng family's envoy is inquiring about our family's alchemist and talisman maker."

"Hey, the Geng family is quite calm."

Li Xiangming chuckled, saying that the so-called Purple Cicada Cloud Sand was nothing more than a golden brick used by the Geng family to knock on the door of the Li family.

A stable supply of goods is what the Geng family truly needs.

After a brief chat, Li Xiangming took his leave.

Li Chenglu pulled him aside: "You young people are easy to talk to. Please tell Xiangcheng to come to the talisman array room more often."

Li Xiangcheng often worked odd jobs in the talisman room a few years ago, and through this exposure, he became a talisman maker.

However, he didn't care much about talisman making, which gave Li Chenglu, who was a talisman maker and also in charge of the talisman array room, a lot of headaches.

With the cooperation between the Li and Geng families, the number of people in the Fuzhenfang (a talisman-making workshop) has become visibly insufficient.

The Li family has a limited number of talisman makers, so having another Li Xiangcheng makes a big difference.

"no problem."

Li Xiangming readily agreed. He himself was busy running around for the family, while Li Xiangcheng was focused on studying magic and traveling around on a short-tailed golden eagle. What kind of behavior was that?
-
Upon returning to Xixiang City, Li Xiangming summoned the staff of the Accounting Office to inquire about their recent situation.

Thanks to the effective defenses established by the monks of the Service Institute, the two villages, despite being repeatedly attacked by locusts, were not seriously harmed.

"Sir, a few days ago, the Chi family of Xiaolan Valley asked us for help."

Li Qianbai's expression was solemn.

"The Chi family? What happened to them?"

"The Chi family also suffered from the locust plague. Because the Chi family was out of touch with the news and had no precautions, and the locusts came suddenly, Chi Jingtong could not bear to see the spiritual fields suffer, so he took action."

"While the locusts were driven away, he himself suffered a backlash and fell into a coma."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangming frowned; the locusts wouldn't just come in one wave.

Sure enough, Li Qianbai continued, "Not long after, the locusts attacked again. The Chi family was powerless to resist and led their people to hide underground."

"What is the extent of the damage to Lingtian?"

Li Xiangming interrupted.

"Because of Chi Jingtong's intervention, the Chi family bought time and was able to harvest almost all of the spirit rice."

“But the locusts have almost completely devoured the ordinary paddy fields and mulberry fields. The Chi family didn’t have much grain to begin with, and now they’re running out of it. So they hope we can provide them with a batch of grain.”

"can."

Li Xiangming did not object. The Chi family, a mix of immortals and mortals, numbered less than a thousand and could not consume much food.

Moreover, since they were beholden to the Chi family, the Li family took this opportunity to further control the Chi family.

Even if the cultivators of the Chi family are weak, surely they can still farm, right?
Next, the group discussed the precautions for post-disaster reconstruction in the two townships, as well as the matter of opening up new fields and relocating some residents to Xulong Township.

Soon, three days passed.

Li Qianxiong finally returned home, accompanied by the two family heads, Chen Zhonghe and Luo Wantao.

Half a day later, Chen and Luo left.

Li Qianxiong immediately summoned Li Xiangming.

"Green-backed Demon Lizard?"

Li Qianxiong was very surprised when he heard Li Xiangming's report.

"That's right, I bought one back, a genuine Blue-backed Demon Lizard."

"If the breeding facility can produce offspring for the Blue-backed Demon Lizards, the Li family will never lack riding pets again!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qianxiong fell into deep thought.

One end costs 350 spirit stones, so both ends cost 700 spirit stones.

To improve the success rate of the breeding house, it is natural not to prepare only one pair, but at least two pairs for comparison.

That is 1400 spirit stones.

This is a huge burden for the Li family.

Of course, the Li family could also choose a cheaper riding pet.

But the Blue-backed Demon Lizard is a rare find, and it's also a top-tier riding pet. Should we just give up on it?
After hesitating for a moment, Li Qianxiong agreed.

"This matter will be handled by the Municipal Jinfang Office; you have a more important task."

"Oh?"

Li Xiangming was curious.

"Bai Lu Men demanded that our Li family accept 50,000 ordinary people who had moved out of the Pucheng area."

"Fifty thousand households?"

Li Xiangming stood up abruptly, his face filled with shock: "Has Bailu Sect gone mad? How can Danggui Mountain possibly accommodate so many people?"

When Guishan was established, the Li family moved in 30,000 households. In order to avoid intermarriage between people with the same surname, more than 6,000 other families were moved in.

Why not move more people in?

This is because the Li family has determined that Changtai Township can only accommodate a maximum of 40,000 households.

As it turned out, the Li family's guess was correct.

In just a few years, Changtai Township experienced a situation of disorderly expansion.

The reason for this is that Changtai Township has little arable land, which is insufficient to support so many people.

Therefore, many villagers moved outwards in search of a better living environment.

Later, the Shangji Office was established, and Changtai West Township, Changtai East Township, and Xulong Township were re-planned.

Xulong Township has a small population, so we won't discuss it for now.

The government offices of the remaining two townships introduced policies to encourage separation and the reclamation of new farmland. The people were highly motivated, and their quality of life gradually improved.

But the good times didn't last long. With the large-scale locust plague in Pu County, the two townships were also swept away, and they are now struggling to make ends meet.

What were they thinking when 50,000 households moved in at this time?

Who will support these landless people?

(End of this chapter)