The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 897: The Dust Settles

Li Qing and Jing Yan had only been waiting for about ten minutes when Xuan Chen Zhenren and Dian Chunqiu arrived together.

Following them was a moderately tall, extremely handsome young man who looked rather bewitching.

With Li Qing’s experience of frolicking through the flowers, he reckoned this man was either extremely effeminate or possibly a woman.

He had hair that wasn’t short but wasn’t very long either, just long enough to cover his ears, and he had deliberately styled it to look wet, making his face even more enchantingly masculine.

"Qingzi, I think we need to check your constitution again. It must not only be a ’Body Close to the Way’ but also touched by great fortune, right? How come all the good things seem to fall into your lap?" Dian Chunqiu said enthusiastically, his mood obviously very good.

"Can’t help it, sometimes you can’t block good luck when it’s coming!" Li Qing laughed, "Director, I think you should give me another reward. It’s fine if you don’t have anything good, a reward of a few million would be acceptable to me."

"You little brat, don’t get too ahead of yourself. I compliment you a bit, and now you’re floating?" Dian Chunqiu’s eyes widened suddenly in warning.

Li Qing chuckled, "Aren’t you the one who said it? How come you get angry when it’s time to give out something?"

"What did I say? I simply praised your good luck," Dian Chunqiu replied irritably. "Hundred Trees Spirit Spring will certainly involve you, now shut up and listen. Also, meet your colleague in charge of technical matters, Xue Guanyu. From now on, he and your several junior apprentices from Nine Truth Palace will be jointly defending this place."

"You’re wrong, it should be junior grand-apprentices!" Xuan Chen Zhenren said indifferently.

Dian Chunqiu clicked his tongue lightly, "Isn’t this little brat’s seniority too high?"

"My disciple, how can he not have high seniority? You old novice, don’t talk nonsense if you have no clue. If my disciple lacks seniority, what would that look like?" Xuan Chen Zhenren shouted angrily, "This brat is of the same generation as the current Sect Leader of Nine Truth Palace. Can’t you figure that out?"

"I was just saying, what’s with you and your disciple today?" Dian Chunqiu seemed to be somewhat frustrated.

"Getting Qingzi’s generation wrong is a sign of disregard for him. Showing disregard for him, are you also showing disregard for me as an old Taoist?" Xuan Chen Zhenren directly escalated the issue, making his argument sound incredibly righteous.

Dian Chunqiu’s expression became blank, "Fine, I apologize. But were you two stimulated by something today?"

"Director, I didn’t scold you; don’t drag me into this. As for my master, he probably finds this spring quite adorable and thinks dividing it up is quite troublesome," Li Qing said with a faint laugh.

These two unreasonable guys, riding on their status, calling him ’little brat’ and ’little bastard,’ were seriously getting on Li Qing’s nerves.

But what could he do?

Snapping back was already the limit, he couldn’t really fight them, nor could he truly curse at them.

"Really, Zhenren? Are you being serious?" Dian Chunqiu suddenly felt unsettled.

"Not necessarily." Xuan Chen Zhenren’s lips curled faintly, "Back to the point, the villagers here should be relocated as soon as possible, and the disciples of Nine Truth Palace can descend the mountain at any time. Also, I have temporarily pacified the Tree King, but the spring water was previously taken nearly to its limit. For the coming month, I suggest we slow down and then resume using the spring water."

"Good," Dian Chunqiu said seriously, nodding his head as he turned to look at Li Qing, "Aren’t you busy with infrastructure and developing tourism in Sanhe Village? How about relocating the villagers from Five Springs Village to your village? This would solidify the population base."

"I don’t mind either way, whichever works for you big shots!" Li Qing said casually.

The things that Qin Wenjun was doing in the village had no direct relationship with the population.

What they really needed to attract was the transient population, not the permanent residents.

"Since you won’t fight for it, we’ll see how to arrange it. We need to discuss it with your county," Dian Chunqiu said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

After briefly confirming this matter, Xuan Chen Zhenren left first.

Li Qing looked as though he had nothing more to do, so after Xuan Chen Zhenren left, he also left the village with Jing Yan.

The gains from this occasion were anything but meager, and even if the Ninth Bureau gave him no further benefits, he had already made a fortune.

At the entrance of Five Springs Village, Zi Ling and Huan Ling Ji, among others, were eagerly waiting.

Although Huan Ling Ji had said that there was nothing amiss after coming out, Zi Ling and Wang Baichuan couldn’t completely let their guard down.

"Lingji, come to my house for a visit," Jing Yan said, glancing at Huan Ling Ji, her tone casual.

Huan Ling Ji was taken aback to be greeted with such a remark upon meeting and hesitated, "This... I have some things to do later, so how about another day? I’ll come over to visit you then."

"What do you have to do later?" Jing Yan pressed.

"Later, I need to... I have to go to..." Huan Ling Ji thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with an excuse. Her shoulders suddenly slumped as though deflated, "Alright, I admit that I really don’t have anything to do later."

"Then come over for a bit, get to know the place," Jing Yan said indifferently.

Huan Ling Ji’s expression immediately became strained.

Yet faced with Jing Yan’s calm and composed demeanor, as if she was discussing an exceedingly ordinary matter, Huan Ling Ji couldn’t muster any temper at all.

Jing Yan’s presence was simply too overpowering.

What she exhibited was akin to the domineering aura of an ancient Princess Consort.

Even if her tone was light and her words were gentle, her bearing made it impossible to not take her seriously.

"...Alright, then I’ll go." Huan Ling Ji capitulated to Jing Yan’s pressure.

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Jing Yan’s mouth, and a trace of amusement appeared in the corners of her eyes.

Huan Ling Ji took a deep breath, her alluring cheeks nearly contorting into an abstract shape.

"I told you before, if Sister Yan takes a liking to you, just accept it. Look at you, still insisting on resisting," Zi Ling teased with a grin, grabbing Li Qing’s arm and tilting her head to ask, "So, how do you feel now?"

"After successfully achieving Foundation Establishment, I feel like I’ve suddenly become much stronger," Li Qing replied with a smile, though his gaze drifted towards Huan Ling Ji.

What exactly was this woman’s attitude? He couldn’t quite figure her out now.

She teased him upon meeting, but then she had the look of someone whose life was at stake when it came to the real thing.

"Really?" Zi Ling exclaimed in delight, "By the looks of it, I need to work even harder. I can’t afford to lag behind. I’m going full throttle!"

She was like a little tiger cub, waving her arms, her expression both cute and fierce.

"There’s no need for that, don’t be so hard on yourself," Li Qing chuckled.

"Well, let me interject here. Since Qingzi is alright, shall we talk about the village affairs first?" Wang Baichuan called out from the side.

On Li Qing’s right was Jing Yan, on his left was Zi Ling, and standing in front was Huan Ling Ji.

In such a situation, Wang Baichuan felt too awkward to step to the front and even more reluctant to speak.