In the global desert, I have a spring of spiritual water.

Inside the council chamber.

Chen Chuan sat down in the main seat without any hesitation. As the owner of Taiping Manor, this position was rightfully his, so he naturally felt no guilt.

Hu Changhe glanced at the seat he had just sat in, said nothing, and silently sat down to Chen Chuan's left, thinking to himself: This spoiled brat is indeed arrogant, he doesn't seem to take us people seriously at all.

Seeing that Hu Changhe had no objection to the seating arrangement, the others also moved down one seat from their previous positions.

Although Taipingzhuang is a small village with only a little over 10,000 people, it has a well-established administrative structure. In the government offices, everyone has a clear seating arrangement, following the principle of respecting the center and the left. Usually, one's status in the government office can be judged by where one sits.

For example, when the number one person in a government office holds a meeting, he will always sit in the middle, the number two person will sit on the left, the number three person will sit on the right, and so on.

During the period when the position of head of Taiping Manor was vacant, Hu Changhe had always been in the main seat. Now that the head of the manor has changed, the officials and clerks sitting on the left and right sides will also face a choice: whether to side with the new head of the manor or follow the original order.

Of course, they don't need to make a choice immediately; they can wait and see for a while to see if the new landlord can keep the Hu brothers in check.

However, they didn't have much time to wait and see, because Taipingzhuang's only water source was on the verge of drying up. If this problem couldn't be solved, everyone would have to embark on a perilous migration.

"Master, I am Hu Changhai, Director of the Water Resources Department."

"Two months ago, the only water source in Taiping Village showed signs of drying up. The villagers immediately reported the news to the prefectural government, but there has been no response to date. May I ask if the village head has brought any relief from the prefecture since taking office?"

"The lives of 13961 people in Taipingzhuang are all tied to this!"

The clash between the Hu brothers and the new manor lord came faster than anyone expected. Before Chen Chuan could even settle into his seat, Hu Changhai launched the first attack, throwing the most pressing problem of Taiping Manor to Chen Chuan, the new manor lord.

In an instant, all eyes were on Chen Chuan. Just as Hu Changhai had said, this question concerned the lives of everyone in the village, and everyone naturally wanted to know whether the county had a rescue plan.

Or perhaps they've truly given up on them completely!

Chen Chuan glanced at Hu Changhai with disdain and replied, "Shanghe County has not received any blessings for three years, and water reserves in various places are insufficient. As far as I know, in addition to Taiping Village, two other villages and one town have also experienced water shortages. The county is powerless to provide assistance, and Taiping Village can only find its own way out."

Wow!

As soon as Chen Chuan finished speaking, the council hall erupted in uproar.

"They really have abandoned us!"

"Find your own way out? What way out? Isn't that just waiting to die!"

"It seems that migration is the only option left!"

"Since you've treated us like disposable pawns, why send someone like you, the lord of the manor, in the first place?"

"The more than ten thousand villagers of Taipingzhuang have been paying taxes to the county every year, and this is the result they get!"

"..."

The crowd chimed in with their own complaints and insults.

Chen Chuan smiled slightly as he quietly watched everyone.

This is exactly the effect he wanted.

Only by destroying the old can the new be built. Only when everyone is completely disillusioned with the county, or even resentful, can they be wholeheartedly loyal to him!

Chen Chuan himself was not a native of this world. He had transmigrated to this world three days ago and opened his eyes to find himself on a camel cart on his way to take up his post in Taipingzhuang.

In the past three days, he sorted out all the information about himself and this world. He was the son of Chen Hongwen, the governor of Shanghe County, but he was born out of wedlock. According to the family's etiquette, he did not have the right to inherit the position of clan leader. This was probably the reason why his predecessor spent his days eating, drinking and having fun, and was a well-known playboy in Shanghe City.

A month ago, this spoiled brat, after getting drunk, attempted to take advantage of his sister-in-law. Although he failed, it incurred his father's wrath, who wanted to kill this unfilial son.

It was his mother who did everything she could to save his life, but although he was spared the death penalty, he could not escape punishment. He was "exiled" to Taipingzhuang and would never be able to return to Shanghecheng!

Because of this scandal, the original engagement was also dissolved!

Chen Chuan had reviewed this matter in detail and found many suspicious points.

First of all, he had no prior connection with his sister-in-law. It was his elder brother Chen Jiang who invited him to his home for drinks, which gave him the opportunity to have private contact with his sister-in-law. In his memory, he had no improper thoughts about his sister-in-law.

Secondly, he only remembered the beginning of the banquet; he had no recollection of the process. The next time he remembered was when he appeared in his sister-in-law's room, which, if nothing unexpected happened, meant he had been drugged.

Finally, this was originally a private matter of the Chen family, and it should have been handled discreetly, not made public. However, it ended up reaching his fiancée's side, and his fiancée had just turned eighteen and was found to be a water-type cultivator!

Based on the information available, Chen Chuan deduced that he had been framed by his elder brother, Chen Jiang. The other party was not his biological elder brother, but the eldest son of the Chen family and the future head of the Chen family.

Logically speaking, Chen Chuan, this playboy, shouldn't pose any threat to him. However, two major events have occurred in the past two months. One is that Chen Jiang's mother and uncle died one after another, leaving him almost without the support of his maternal clan. The other is that Chen Chuan's fiancée was found to be a water-based cultivator.

In the Great Desert Era, there were many cultivators, and almost everyone could cultivate, but most were ordinary cultivators who improved their cultivation slowly and could not reach any high level.

However, "pure cultivators" are different. Their cultivation speed is several times that of ordinary people, and they have a high chance of becoming high-level cultivators.

Among pure-element cultivators, water-element cultivators are the strongest!

Firstly, this was determined by the times; after all, it was a desert era, and water resources were of utmost importance.

Secondly, and most importantly, water-based practitioners have a chance to become "Life Source Masters"!

The Fate Source Master is the most powerful profession of this era, a god-like existence!

The reason why the Chen family was able to become the rulers of a prefecture and live in peace in this desolate era was because their ancestor had a Destiny Source Master.

Although the other party has been gone for a century, his influence still affects the Chen family!

Therefore, based on Chen Chuan's speculation, his half-brother must be scared. If things had gone according to the previous script, Chen Chuan's wife would be a water-attribute cultivator who might become a life source master, and Chen Chuan's mother's family would be very powerful in Shanghe County.

At that point, it won't be a question of whether Chen Chuan, this spoiled brat, wants to compete for the position of head of the Chen family. Even if he doesn't have that intention, the forces behind him might not agree.

Chen Jiang's approach was to nip this foreseeable threat in the bud!

He succeeded.

Chen Chuan not only had his engagement dissolved, but was also exiled to Taipingzhuang and forbidden from ever returning to Shanghe City, thus posing no further threat to his position as head of the family.