Chapter 11: Time Flies
In the early morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone into the room, Zhuang Rong got up. After a simple wash, a maid brought breakfast.
"Madam, the young master has brought you breakfast."
After the maid set down the breakfast, she helped Zhuang Rong combed her hair and tie it into a braid.
"My son really cares about me."
Soon, Zhuang Rong started eating her breakfast. It was a simple meal - porridge made from spiritual paddy, a few side dishes, and a glass of milk.
"The young master made this himself. He can cook!"
"If he doesn't study well, what use is it for the young master of the Lin family to be skilled in the kitchen?"
"It's also a way of filial piety. Madam, think about it, among the previous madams in the house, which one could eat dishes personally made by the young master and miss?"
"Well, that is true."
Zhuang Rong nodded. Lin Batian had around ten concubines, most of whom had children. But those young masters and misses, how would they know how to cook? It was the servants who did the cooking.
"Let's go see what my son is doing."
After finishing breakfast, Zhuang Rong said to the maid, and then walked out of the house. After asking a few servants, she found out that Lin Jiang was on the other side of the spiritual land. They went to the spiritual land together.
At this time, Lin Jiang was watering the Fifty-acre Yellow Shoot Grass. Yellow Shoot Grass was a first-grade spiritual medicine. The spiritual energy brought by the spring water of Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa was very weak, so Elder Huang told Lin Jiang that the water source here didn't meet the standards and needed magic to fix it.
Previously, Lin Jiang used to directly buy Rain Talisman to activate spiritual talismans, which could make rain fall. This rain would bring some spiritual energy. But now, Lin Jiang had reached the fourth level of Qi Refining, and the spiritual power inside his body was sufficient to support the magic needed. He used the Cloud Rain Technique to water the Yellow Shoot Grass on his own.
"Mother, why have you come?"
"I was bored at the manor, so I came to see you."
"It's my fault for not considering it. I don't know what you usually do, so I'll find something for you to do."
Lin Jiang said, "People shouldn't be idle. When you're idle, you have a lot of nonsense on your hands. Of course, you shouldn't be too tired either. It's best to balance work and leisure. Since I don't know what Zhuang Rong usually does, I didn't have any plans for her."
"I didn't do anything on normal days. I eagerly waited for your father to come and tried to please him. Looking back now, I wasted my time. Now that my life is short and I have no hope of spiritual cultivation, I don't know what to do."
Zhuang Rong said, with some regret in her voice, that she realized she had wasted her life. She used to spend her days only thinking about pleasing Lin Batian and lived solely for him. She never lived for herself.
She remembered that Lin Jiang had told her before to improve her cultivation. It made sense to her, but she couldn't bear the monotony of the practice and gave up.
"The past is the past. With your body, living for another fifty years is not a problem. In such a long time, you can still live a wonderful life. Instead of thinking about the heavenly beings, many mortals can't even live for fifty years and still have to go on with their lives, right?"
Lin Jiang said, after a lengthy explanation, he managed to persuade Zhuang Rong to stay at the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa for her retirement. Lin Jiang also felt sorry for Zhuang Rong for dedicating her whole life to Lin Batian, so he hoped that she would start living for herself from now on.
"My son is right. What do you think I can do?"
"At the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, there are peach trees. In spring, the peach blossoms bloom. You can go and enjoy the flowers, or you can help maintain the peach orchard. There is also a spiritual land where we grow spiritual rice. If you want, you can also help the tenants take care of the spiritual land. There is a fish pond, and you can feed the fish or go fishing. If you catch any fish, your children can cook them for you. I know several ways to cook dozens of different fish."
"I also have two Aurora falcons. They often bring back some prey, and then I can cook delicious food for you. If that's not possible, if you have any needs, you can let us know, and we will do our best to fulfill them."
Lin Jiang said that he hadn't considered things well and didn't arrange things properly for Zhuang Rong, so she had nothing to do.
"I don't know any of these things. My father raised me as a proper lady, teaching me music, chess, calligraphy, painting, dancing, as well as some cooking and accounting."
"Does Mother still want to reach the Building Foundation Period? If so, I have some spirit stones here that I can use to buy a Building Foundation Pill for you."
"The Building Foundation Pill costs tens of thousands of spirit stones. Your money isn't enough. Besides, I'm almost sixty and don't want to bother anymore. From now on, Mother can cook for you."
"I invited Mother here to enjoy her retirement, not to work for me. How about this, Mother can do whatever you want and let me know if you need anything."
Lin Jiang couldn't think of anything suitable to keep her occupied for the moment. Most tasks were unsuitable. Lin Jiang wanted to help her pass the time without tiring her too much.
Lin Jiang finished casting spells in the Yellow Shoot Grass spiritual land. He had to go back to his cultivation. He followed a strict schedule of morning, afternoon, and evening practice. He was a very disciplined person.
After finishing his cultivation, it was already noon. Lin Jiang personally cooked a lavish meal for Zhuang Rong. His cooking skills were superb. In another world, he had started cooking for his family when he was still very young. Later, when he studied and worked, he mainly cooked for himself. He followed many cooking channels and learned a lot about cooking.
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In the first few days at Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, Zhuang Rong didn't do much. She just watched Lin Jiang work. The Lin family at the mountain gate called Lin Jiang a shame for the Lin family. They scolded him for being lazy, not liking to practice, and wasting time.
However, after a few days, Zhuang Rong realized that her son was not lazy. Lin Jiang woke up early every day. He first used magic to water the Yellow Shoot Grass spiritual land. He also fed the pigs and fish. He had to patrol the spiritual land, train, and practice spells. He had a busy schedule from morning till night. At most, he just didn't like to train hard.
Zhuang Rong also found that Lin Jiang had a great personality. Despite being scolded by the Lin family for decades, he never argued back. He treated the servants with kindness and seemed to be an excellent son.
"It's a pity that such an outstanding son doesn't want to get married."
Zhuang Rong sighed in her heart. The more she looked at her son now, the more satisfied she became. The only regret was that he didn't want to get married. She had reminded him many times and had arranged blind dates, but they all ended up failing. She had no idea what he was thinking.
Lin Jiang didn't know what Zhuang Rong was thinking. He was just doing his own thing and leading his own life. After reaching the mid-level of Qi Refining, he became even busier than before.
Sometimes, when Lin Jiang calmed down, he would think that he seemed even busier than a 9-to-6 job. What happened to lying flat and being lazy?
But then, Lin Jiang thought it was understandable. Lying flat and being lazy was a mindset of only workers. It wouldn't give the boss a chance to live the way he wanted. But now, he was no longer a worker.
The entire Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa belonged to him. All the benefits were his. No matter how much he did, it was for himself. Instead, he became the boss, and the two hundred servants became his workers. It was those servants who should be lying flat and be lazy.
After thinking about it, Lin Jiang suddenly felt much better, and he had more motivation to do things. He had fulfilling days every day.
Time passed mercilessly, and after three more years, on Lin Jiang's forty-fifth birthday, Lin Ying suddenly appeared at Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa. Her pale face startled Zhuang Rong and Lin Jiang.
After careful questioning, Lin Jiang learned that Lin Ying was injured, and the Lin family had suffered a great loss. They had lost more than ten people, and for the first time in decades, the thriving Lin family had been hit hard.
