First achieve immortality, then cultivate immortality.

Bishi Village.

Old Scholar Zhang has passed away.

Zhang Yu'an became the new Scholar Zhang.

He spent over ten years taking the imperial examinations to finally obtain the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), and paid a heavy price in the process.

Without this academic title, the Zhang family's land would be subject to taxes after the old scholar's death, and they wouldn't be able to afford it, so they couldn't keep the land.

Therefore, Scholar Zhang went to great lengths to ensure his son's success in the imperial examinations.

Although they have now gained fame and retained their land, the expenses have been too great, forcing them to cut back on spending.

This is why many landlord families declined.

Moreover, their family is now divided between two brothers, and they gave a lot of dowry when their daughter got married, which only made things worse.

Although the eldest brother is simple-minded, his sister-in-law is not simple-minded at all; in fact, she is very domineering and often beats and scolds her simple-minded husband.

Zhang Sha never dared to fight back, and even protected his wife, which emboldened the woman to become even more ruthless.

Meanwhile, in the Zhang family compound, Huang started making a scene again.

Zhang Yu'an was in charge of the household and had his own wife and children. Although they were from two separate families, they still lived in the same compound and were constantly bothered by the disturbances.

He didn't want to stoop to the level of a woman, but Huang always harbored a bellyful of resentment, as if the entire Zhang family owed her something.

Only Zhang Yu'an's wife, Wang, could stand up to her, but Wang was not as shrewish as her. She was a cultured woman at heart, good at managing a household, but not very good at dealing with this kind of tough peasant woman.

Moreover, Huang was a local from the village, while Wang's family was from the county town, so she always came out on the receiving end of verbal exchanges.

The entire Zhang family compound is now in chaos and gradually declining.

Zhang Yu'an saw it all and was deeply troubled.

As a well-read scholar, he had to consider how to make money, otherwise he would have to watch his family decline and fail his father's expectations.

Just then, Huang's child ran home shouting, "The gods have come! The gods have come!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu'an hurriedly went out to greet him.

The two women immediately quieted down and dared not delay.

Especially the Huang family, as villagers, had a heartfelt respect for the old deity.

However, what has arrived now is not the old immortal, but his disciple.

Even though the old immortal lived a long life, he could not escape death, so now his apprentice has succeeded him. He still collects excrement once every six months and treats the villagers at the same time.

This apprentice's medical skills were just as superb as his master's, and his Taoist cultivation was also very profound. He saved the villagers of this generation, so in the eyes of these villagers, whether it was an old immortal or a young immortal, they were all immortals.

At the same time, he would still visit the Zhang family, just like his master.

This is a unique honor for the Zhang family, so even though the Zhang family is now somewhat declining, its status in the village is still very high. As the new scholar in charge of the family, Zhang Yu'an can make decisions on many things in the village.

……

When Zhang Yu'an arrived at the door to greet him, a middle-aged Taoist priest in blue robes walked over unhurriedly.

"Master Zhang," Xu Mu said with a smile, bowing slightly.

"The Taoist priest has arrived," Zhang Yu'an greeted him politely with a smile.

Now in his forties, he looks very composed and is no longer the bookish young man he once was.

Xu Mu would sigh with emotion every time he saw him.

The two sisters took the Youth Preservation Pill, and their appearance remained unchanged. In the valley, time seemed to stand still, but in the village, it was very obvious that everything was changing.

Old Scholar Zhang is dead, Taoist Qingfeng is dead, all the old people I used to see in the village are dead, and now their descendants are in charge, and we can also see their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren.

A new generation replaces the old.

"Greetings, Daoist Master." Both Madam Huang and Madam Wang greeted him politely with a bow.

Xu Mu nodded with a faint smile, maintaining the same distant attitude and appropriate distance as the old Taoist priest, in order to be respected.

"Please, Taoist priest."

"please."

Xu Mu entered the Zhang family compound and drank tea with Zhang Yu'an.

The conversation quickly turned to the topic of feces, which was precisely the purpose of Xu Mu's trip.

Now that he has partnered with Riyuexuan and switched from selling spirit-gathering fruits to selling spirit fertilizer, the next step should be to mass-produce spirit fertilizer.

His original production was only enough for his own use, with no surplus fertilizer to sell. Therefore, he now needs to expand production, and for this, he must ensure a sufficient supply of raw materials, namely manure.

Twenty-one years ago, when the old scholar was still alive, he had already instructed the other party to continuously purchase the herbs to expand the medicinal herb garden.

Now that they need more excrement, they naturally turn to Zhang Yu'an for help.

"Why does the gentleman need so much feces?" Zhang Yu'an asked curiously.

The old scholar never asked this question.

Or rather, he never asked the "old immortal," but now he's just a "little immortal"—that's the impact of his changed status.

Xu Mu smiled faintly and said, "It has its own merits."

Zhang Yu'an wisely refrained from asking further questions and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, Daoist, I'll contact the latrine factory for you and have them send over more excrement."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Master Zhang." Xu Mu cupped his hands in greeting.

"It's nothing, Daoist Master, you don't need to be so polite. Your master is my benefactor. If it weren't for him helping me straighten my brow bone back then, I wouldn't be where I am today," Zhang Yu'an said politely with a smile.

Xu Mu shook his head: "You can't count it that way. My master has been kind to you, that's my master's business. Besides, the Zhang family's help to my master over the years is enough to repay that kindness, and my master doesn't think he owes you anything."

Zhang Yu'an was taken aback upon hearing this, then smiled and said, "The old immortal has always been detached from the mortal world and does not get involved in worldly affairs. You, Daoist, have learned exactly the same from your master."

Xu Mu smiled, reached out and took out some medicinal herbs and a money bag, placing them on the table.

"I feel bad for always troubling your family. Our sect is known as Medicine God Valley, and we have nothing but medicinal herbs."

As the saying goes, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." If Master Zhang is interested, he could use this opportunity to open a pharmacy as a long-term business.

"This..." Zhang Yu'an was stunned, his eyes filled with surprise.

In fact, he had thought about this path long ago. Once this business was done, the Zhang family could transform into pharmaceutical companies, not only overcome the difficulties, but also potentially prosper.

He just didn't know how to start the conversation, fearing he might anger the Valley Master of Medicine God Valley.

Unexpectedly, Xu Mu brought it up himself.

"All profits from the business belong to the Zhang family; all I need is manure," Xu Mu said with a faint smile.

"Thank you, Daoist Master. Please accept my bow!" Zhang Yu'an quickly stood up and bowed respectfully.

"Don't thank me too soon. This isn't free. You'll need to sign an IOU. There are also agreements regarding the supply of medicinal herbs, the pharmacy's profits, and the purchase of manure."

Xu Mu did not intend to help the other party unconditionally, so as to avoid future disputes.

If it's just a verbal agreement, even if Zhang Yu'an has no objections, what about his next generation, or even the generation after that? These are things that need to be addressed in advance.

"Okay, okay." Zhang Yu'an nodded repeatedly, not at all surprised.

The Medicine God Valley lineage has always operated on a principle of mutual respect and fairness, neither owing others anything nor readily helping them.

It is precisely this approach that allows the villagers to feel less psychological pressure or moral burden, and instead experience only pure respect.