Chapter 711
The disciple from Jiushan smiled and nodded, making sure to notify each household one by one before finally leaving the village.
The members of the Xie family watched him depart from a distance, still buzzing with excitement as they returned home.
“An immortal! An immortal came to our house and even spoke to us, smiling at me!”
One of the little grandsons bounced around, filled with joy.
Old Man Xie closed his eyes, the corners of his eyes twitching.
“Grandpa, can you take me to see the immortal in town the day after tomorrow?”
“I want to go too!”
Bang!
Old Man Xie suddenly slammed his hand on the table, causing the ceramic bowls to jump up slightly.
“Immortal… what’s so good about an immortal?”
The entire Xie family looked at him, puzzled by his anger, as they silently watched him hunch over and retreat into his room.
…
Though he didn’t want to see the immortal from Jiushan again, Old Man Xie dared not skip the trip to town; in fact, he had to be there on time.
At noon, a crowd of over ten thousand gathered in an open space in town.
Old Man Xie squeezed into the throng. Due to his age, his eldest son, worried about him, had come along.
The crowd was dense and dark, and with his bent back, Old Man Xie couldn’t see what was ahead.
Suddenly, a glowing large painting floated above their heads.
The painting was five zhang long and three zhang high.
Old Man Xie looked up and saw figures appearing within it. Upon closer inspection, it was the stage in front of them.
He recognized that stage well; it was where troupes used to perform during market days.
On the stage stood several disciples in Jiushan robes, and a girl-like disciple stepped forward—it was Xiao Qing.
Her figure appeared tall and grand against the luminous backdrop. Xiao Qing glanced up, her expression suddenly shy. She tightened her small face and spoke:
“Dear villagers! We are disciples of Jiushan Sect. From now on, this place will be under the jurisdiction of Jiushan Sect!”
The crowd below fell silent, as if stunned by this display of celestial magic.
“No matter what rules existed before, from now on, only the rules of Jiushan Sect will apply here!” As she spoke, Xiao Qing scanned the crowd, “No one, not even the disciples of Jiushan Sect, can violate our rules!”
“The rules of Jiushan Sect will be posted on the wall at the market entrance for you to see and remember.”
“If anyone violates them, our Jiushan disciples will handle it!”
“If a Jiushan disciple violates them, the Law Enforcement Hall will take care of it!”
“When we carry out our duties, we will have proof in the form of recording talismans. If there are any grievances, I will tell you how to seek justice!”
Most of the audience were villagers, and honestly, they felt little about her words.
However, some had dealings with previous sects and exchanged glances upon hearing this.
Old Man Xie felt particularly conflicted. A cold smile involuntarily crept onto his lips, but he quickly straightened his mouth.
Xiao Qing didn’t elaborate further; she knew trust couldn’t be built in a day. Instead, she simply stated:
“I’ve gathered you here today for one thing!”
“Re-establishing the land contracts!”
As soon as she said this, a buzz of conversation erupted from the crowd.
Even Old Man Xie perked up his ears.
“Each household will receive ten mu of land for every adult male!”
“The original land contracts will not be voided. If the land is insufficient, it will be supplemented according to the number of adult males!”
Xiao Qing’s words made the crowd even more delighted.
This was a plan based on the current amount of land Jiushan Sect had—previous sect families had fled, leaving behind large tracts of high-quality land that had become ownerless.
Jiushan Sect didn’t lack food; distributing this land quickly would help win the hearts of the people.
As the murmurs in the crowd began to die down, she continued:
“The land tax will be two-tenths for households with less than fifty mu.”
“For fifty to a hundred mu, it will be three-tenths!”
“For over a hundred mu…”
Old Man Xie felt his breath quicken, almost thinking he was poisoned…
After all, he had been a steward and seen the world; he understood that this tax system targeted the large families, even subtly encouraging them to split up.
But the problem was, the tax rate was too low!
In the past, those big families would take half of the harvest and still be considered virtuous.
“Two-tenths? Is that for real?” someone shouted from the crowd.
Xiao Qing looked up at them, seeing doubt and yearning in their eyes, as if they were dreaming.
“Absolutely!” Xiao Qing tightened her small face, “This tax system will also be posted at the market entrance!”
“I’ve gathered everyone here to count the population and determine the acreage for each household. As for where the land will be allocated, that will be decided by the sect!”
It wasn’t until nightfall that Old Man Xie returned home with his eldest son.
They were tenants without their own land, but this time they would receive land according to the number of adult males.
With him, two sons, and two adult grandsons, their family suddenly had fifty mu of land!
“Our own land!”
At the dinner table, his youngest son murmured, repeating it over and over.
“After a year’s work, we can keep eighty percent?”
“Is it really eighty percent?”
“How can we eat that much?”
Old Man Xie listened as his youngest son bombarded his eldest son with questions, feeling increasingly complicated inside.
Only after his eldest son repeatedly assured him he hadn’t misremembered a single word did his youngest son finally plop down on the wooden stool, murmuring:
“This… this feels like a dream…”
At the dinner table, everyone else was also beaming with joy.
Only Old Man Xie remained silent.
“Grandpa, why do you have a frown?”
His favorite little grandson tugged at his leg, looking up with innocent concern.
“…” He stroked the back of his grandson’s head and softly asked, “Do you want to go outside?”
“Outside?”
“Somewhere that’s not in the village.”
“To the town? Are you going to take me to play in the town?”
“A very far place, where we won’t come back.”
His grandson furrowed his delicate brows, biting his finger:
“A very far place? Dad told me that we’ll have land from now on, and we won’t go hungry anymore. If we go to a very far place, will we still have land?”
“…”
“We won’t go hungry?”
Old Man Xie paused for a long time before softly saying, “What if you could become an immortal?”
“Become an immortal? Then I want to go!”
His grandson jumped up, shouting with glee.
Days passed, and Old Man Xie still hadn’t found suitable transportation or manpower, mainly because everyone was busy dealing with the land, and there were no caravans heading out.
His grandson rushed in.
“Grandpa! Grandpa!”
Seeing him almost trip in his haste, Old Man Xie quickly steadied his shoulder and asked, “What’s the matter? Why the rush?”
“Don’t need to go to a far place!” His grandson panted.
“What?”
“Becoming an immortal doesn’t require going to a far place!” he exclaimed loudly.
Old Man Xie still didn’t understand, until he heard his grandson quickly say, “The immortal is going to build… build…”
“...Build what?”
“Build a school!” His eldest son rushed in, his face filled with joy, “The whole village is talking about it. If we send the kids to school, it won’t cost anything!”
“As long as they learn well, they’ll not only be able to read and write, but they can also be chosen by Jiushan Sect to cultivate immortality!”
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 491: A Great Change Among the Immortals, Unintentional Willow Planting
Old Man Xie sat in his room, listening to the whispers of his children and grandchildren outside the door.
“Is the school in town built?”
It was his eldest daughter-in-law’s voice.
“It’s built,” his eldest son replied. “The immortal from Jiushan Sect came specifically to build it. It was done in just an hour, a beautiful courtyard with three entrances.”
“Truly a celestial being!”
“Keep your voice down; our father doesn’t like hearing us talk about Jiushan Sect!”
Old Man Xie blinked but remained silent.
After a moment, his daughter-in-law’s voice grew louder instead of quieter:
“Doesn’t like it? But everyone in the village loves to hear it!”
“Without Jiushan Sect, where would we have our own land?”
“Without Jiushan Sect, how would Xiao San have a school to attend?”
Hearing this, his eldest son seemed unable to refute her, only helplessly saying, “I’m not stopping you from talking; I just want you to keep it down…”
“I know our father served the immortal,” his daughter-in-law continued, “but did that young master ever come to see him? Did he ever care for us? Have you ever seen him?”
“The immortals from Jiushan Sect come to town every ten days or so.”
With this, his daughter-in-law had left his eldest son speechless, and he finally managed to say, “Just don’t say it in front of Dad.”
Old Man Xie squinted at the sun outside, which was round and red.
He had been looking at this sun for decades; it had always been the same, unchanged.
…
Another ten days passed.
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