From Celestial Official to Great Celestial Venerable

Chapter 88 The Last Shift
The girl grabbed the orange and obediently fed her father a piece first. When she tried to feed him another piece, the man smiled and told her to eat it herself.

Then Qin Chuan started chatting with his father, telling him about his work and experiences in the past six months.

When Qin Geng learned that his son was in charge of cultivating this spiritual fruit and had even gone from beyond the heavens to learn the cultivation techniques for it, he called the girl over and asked her to feed him another piece. It turned out that he hadn't tasted it carefully before and only thought it was sweet and delicious.

Now that he knows this is his son's business, he has decided to savor it carefully, otherwise, how will he answer when other people in town ask him about it?
As Qin Chuan was chatting, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Dad, didn't I send two hundred spirit coins home? Did you spend that money?"

Mentioning this, Qin Geng immediately became extremely nervous and lowered his voice: "You still say that you sent back such a large sum of money not long after you took office? How can your father dare to spend this money?"

Hearing that his father hadn't spent the two hundred spirit coins, Qin Chuan felt a sense of relief.

Because he never expected that his life would take such a coincidence, and that he would be promoted to a higher rank in less than half a year.

He never expected that at the time.

Now that he has a chance to be promoted, there will definitely be a round of review and assessment from the Zhuoxiantai before the promotion. Although two hundred spirit coins is not much, it is still better to be careful and not cause any trouble before the nail is driven into the iron plate.

He then said to his father, "In the next month or two, it's best if our family doesn't have any major expenses."

"Your money, it really is problematic?!" Qin Geng was startled and quickly advised, "Child, you've just returned from outer space, you're bound to have a bright future, you must never do this kind of thing again."

Qin Chuan said, "Dad, don't worry, I got that money from treating people's spiritual plants. It's just that I recently came back from outer space, and my superiors might want to reward me, so they told you not to spend a lot of money recently."

Although the money was indeed a gift he received from someone, he was convinced that it was impossible to be completely clean on the path of cultivation. The cleaner one was, the easier it was to bring about one's own death, without even knowing how one died. However, he couldn't let his father worry, so he didn't explain and told a small lie.

Qin Geng was still not quite convinced.

But Qin Chuan said:
"Father, don't you think about it? If it weren't for my talent in spiritual plant magic, how could I have been selected to join the Heavenly Group?"

Qin Geng finally began to believe him and reassured Qin Chuan, saying, "Son, don't worry, the family won't hold you back. I won't touch that money in my life, and no one will be able to find any fault with you."

Qin Chuan said, "It's not that bad. We can spend it after this period is over. After all, if I'm not mistaken, I should have a large bonus sent to Nongling Temple when I come back from this trip. We won't have to worry about the source being unclear. By the way, maybe I'll also get a house in the Lingqu area. At that time, I'll bring you, my mother, and Kui'er to the city."

Qin Geng remained silent, simply smoking in silence.

Qin Chuan didn't want to talk too much about the affairs of the temple with the old man, so he just told him not to worry. Before long, Qin's mother finished cooking, and the family started eating. Qin Chuan had eaten a lot of delicious food in the past six months, but in the end, he still missed his mother's home-cooked meals the most.

After a meal, I taught my family how to use the Listening Box and how to exchange for spirit crystals. Then my younger sister dragged me away, asking me all sorts of questions out of curiosity.

The next day, Qin Chuan slept until late morning, the most comfortable sleep he had had in the past six months. He didn't have to get up early for work, didn't have to worry about work, didn't have to worry about getting promoted, and so on. He could sleep until he woke up naturally.

He had just stepped out of the house at noon when he saw his third uncle, Qin Fengnian, sitting in the courtyard, smiling and smoking. He said:
"Chuan'er, you're finally awake. Your clan elder asked me to call you to the ancestral hall for lunch."

Now that Qin Chuan is a Taoist priest, and even one who has ascended to heaven, it's no longer appropriate to call him by his earthly name, Ya Zi.

"Third Master, when did you arrive?" Qin Chuan asked hurriedly, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

“You child, you’ve been busy with all sorts of things lately, you must be exhausted. Your third grandfather wouldn’t want to disturb your sleep.”

Qin Fengnian walked over and sighed:
"Speaking of which, thinking back to half a year ago, Third Grandfather said that you were not destined to become a Taoist priest. Now it seems that I, this old man, was blind and almost ruined your life. I hope you won't hold a grudge against Third Grandfather."

Qin Chuan subconsciously recalled the day his third grandfather came to deliver rice, flour, and meat half a year ago, which was also the day he woke up from his dream of Su Huizhongdao. He immediately said, "Third grandfather, what are you saying? How could I hold a grudge against you? I have been studying Taoism for six years and taking exams for four years. It was always you, third grandfather, who helped our family. Now that I have become a celestial official in Zhongdao, you have also contributed to this. I am grateful to you more than ever."

Qin Fengnian was deeply moved by Qin Chuan's sincere words.

And so, at noon, Qin Fengnian brought Qin Chuan and his son, along with three generations of the family, to the ancestral hall. Qin Youde, the patriarch of the Qin family, had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing the main figures return, he leaned on his cane, his face flushed, and excitedly stepped forward.
"Our Qin family's good grandson has returned! Quickly, send someone to set off firecrackers outside the ancestral hall."

Amidst the crackling and popping sounds.

The whole town was alarmed.

After the firecrackers stopped, Qin Chuan said with a wry smile, "Grandpa, I just went home for a three-day vacation, why did you set off firecrackers? That's too high-profile."

"Chuan'er, you don't know, before you left, our Qin family was almost bullied to death by the people from Xiangjiagou. They blocked the water upstream... It passed at the time, but recently they've started causing trouble for our Qin family again, trying to forcibly buy three acres of red land from your sixth uncle's family in our clan to expand their brick kiln." Qin Yi told Qin Chuan about what happened a few months ago, and the reason for setting off firecrackers today: "That's why our Qin family is celebrating your return now. Otherwise, people will still think our Qin family is the same as before." Qin Chuan asked curiously about what happened in Xiangjiagou.

During the meal, Qin Chuan heard the old clan chief talk about some of the things that Xiangjiagou had done in the past. He said that there was a ruthless man in Xiangjiagou who ran a brick kiln and, relying on Xiang Changtian as his backer, he was a tyrant in the village. Because the brick kiln required special soil, he had recently even set his sights on the Qin family's land.

"Doesn't my third uncle know about this?" Qin Chuan asked.

The implication is that Uncle Qin Li also has a Taoist identity in the county, and is also a member of the Jing'an Police Station, a real law enforcement agency. Don't those people care at all?
"Alas, the Xiang family is truly fortunate. Not long ago, the head of the town's Taoist temple reached the age limit, and he took over. Now he's the top leader of the entire Guniu Town. He's riding high, and naturally, those people in Xiangjiagou are even more unscrupulous. Even if your third uncle were in the Jing'an Garrison, he'd only be a minor deputy captain, not even a Taoist temple-level official. How could he possibly be more powerful than the head of a town?" Old Master Qin sighed. "Therefore, we can only hope that the aura of you, the Taoist who returned from beyond the heavens, can dampen Xiang Mang's arrogance and let them know that our family not only has your third uncle, but also you, who returned from beyond the heavens."

Qin Chuan understood and kept it in mind, saying, "If that's the case, then I understand."

During the meal, the old man subtly inquired about Qin Chuan's work plans after his return from outer space.
Because his family had Qin Li, a Taoist priest from the Heavenly Court, he knew more about Taoist affairs than ordinary people in towns and villages, and he guessed that his eldest grandson would definitely be moving up in position.

If they could advance further within Nongling Temple and be promoted to the rank of Deputy Abbot, then the Qin family would truly gain real influence in Guniu Town.

Qin Chuan didn't reveal much, only saying that he didn't know and that he was just doing his own thing.

Hearing this during the banquet, Qin Geng thought to himself, "Chuan'er only told me, his father, the truth. He didn't tell the old clan chief at this time, obviously because he was afraid of affecting something. It seems that I can't drink alcohol for the next few months, so as not to spoil the child's character."

Old Master Qin, having failed to ascertain Qin Chuan's subsequent plans, sighed inwardly.

This child may only be nineteen years old at the New Year, but this old Taoist's mind is already on par with his third uncle's. No wonder he was able to fight for the chance to leave the world.

So I didn't ask any more questions.

……

Qin Chuan's three-day holiday passed by in a flash.

On the fourth day, I went to Nongling Temple to plant as usual.

Upon arriving at the observation field, we saw that the number of orange trees in the field had decreased by one-third.

"Teacher, how could this be?" Qin Chuan asked Huo Yuanjue immediately.

Huo Yuanjue had already heard that Qin Chuan had returned and was happy for Qin Chuan's achievements at Tianwai, but now his disciple had come to him directly, asking about Ling Cheng. He was silent for a moment, then sighed:

“Alas, the talismans you drew did indeed maintain the vitality of the spirit orange, but... as time goes by, all plants have to go through the harshest tests of spring, summer, autumn and winter, especially autumn, when everything withers and plants are most likely to decay. At this time, even if there is vitality to maintain, it can only rely on the tenacity of the spirit tree itself to survive. Those that are inherently weak will naturally not be able to withstand the autumn's killing force. However, it is also a good thing. The spirit trees that survive this wave of autumn's killing force have a chance to survive the winter.”

Upon hearing the teacher explain the reason, Qin Chuan had no choice but to fall silent.

So it's because autumn has arrived?

Huo Yuanjue then asked him, "Speaking of which, when you went to Perfect World this time, did you learn how they cultivate these spirit orange trees?"

Speaking of this, Qin Chuan became confident and said:

"Teacher, if I was only 50-60% sure that our spirit tree would survive and bear fruit before, then after this trip, I can guarantee that our spirit tree will definitely mature and bear fruit?"

Huo Yuanjue became even more curious and asked Qin Chuan what exactly he had learned.
Qin Chuan then shared his knowledge of hybridization, grafting, and other techniques with his teacher, as well as the withering and flourishing finger technique.

After hearing this, Huo Yuanjue was extremely excited:
"Hybridization and grafting are techniques that can accelerate the growth of a spirit tree by making it bloom with a single thought. Doesn't that mean that we can quickly verify whether the grafting of a spirit tree has been successful?"

"Exactly," Qin Chuan replied. "Next, let the disciples try to see which of our local Jiuchuan orange trees and tangerine trees can be successfully grafted with this Liuxiang orange."

So, in the following period, Qin Chuan used the power of the Agricultural Economics Special Task Force to apply to the county to purchase many Lingcheng orange seedlings from other counties, even from Lushan Fudi and Chaisang Dongtian.

With a steady stream of saplings being delivered to Nongling Temple, new breakthroughs are being made every day thanks to Qin Chuan's grafting experiments.

More than a month has passed in the blink of an eye...

(End of this chapter)