Chapter 2: The Magical Peach Mountain Villa
The estate where Lin Jiang lived was called the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa. It covered an area of about thirty miles, all of which was owned by the villa. However, the villa was not very big, with only around a hundred households. It not only had walls, but also a Formation Array.
The Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa had one hundred and twenty acres of peach orchards. These peach trees were not ordinary peach trees, but magical plants. The peaches they produced were not only extremely sweet, but also had a spiritual essence, known as spiritual peaches.
The spiritual peaches in the villa bore fruit once a year. Half of the harvest was used for the family's own consumption, while the other half was sold. They could be sold for about seventy to eighty magic stones. In addition, there were two hundred acres of spiritual land in the villa, which produced spiritual rice that was also sold to the family. The price was slightly lower than the market, and earned about a hundred magic stones each year. This was the villa's total income.
Lin Jiang could keep about half of these two hundred magic stones, because strictly speaking, the villa didn't belong to Lin Jiang, but rather to Lin Jiang's mother as her dowry.
Lin Jiang's dear mother came from a family of independent cultivators. Lin Jiang's grandfather was a Foundation Building Stage independent cultivator. When he saw that Lin Batian was very powerful and had great potential, he arranged for his daughter to become Lin Batian's concubine and gave a generous dowry as well.
Afterwards, Lin Batian became more and more powerful, continuously annexing the surrounding territories. Lin Jiang's mother used her dowry to buy the Magical Peach Mountain Villa, aiming for a stable and sustainable income.
Three years ago, the previous Lin Jiang, angered Lin Batian by his lack of progress in cultivation, and was punished by him. Lin Jiang's mother couldn't bear to see this and handed over the management of the villa to her son, secretly providing him financial support. She hoped that her son could stand up for himself, gain some prestige, and give her some face. After all, a son's success would also give her a chance to compete for favor in Lin Batian's backyard.
"Master Lin."
"Master Lin."
"Master Lin."
Arriving at the spiritual land, the tenant farmers in the fields continuously greeted and thanked Lin Jiang and the Lin family sincerely.
Because in this world, there was no government, but there were still landlords, bullies, bandits, and even wild beasts and demons. It was not an exaggeration to say that ordinary people outside were living in constant danger.
But in the Peach Garden Manor, they had walls and formations for protection. Bandits, as well as wild beasts and demons could not enter. The rent that the Lin family asked for was very low. They only requird one hundred and twenty mu of peach forest and all the output of two hundred mu of spiritual land. They could cultivate the rest of the land as they pleased, and they could keep all the harvest for themselves. They had no problem with food and clothing.
Lin Jiang looked left and right in the spiritual land and found that the spiritual rice paddies were growing well. This year might be better than last year, so they could harvest more spiritual rice and earn more spirit stones.
Along the patrol route, he also encountered several guards. These guards were not cultivators, but ordinary people who had some martial arts training. They patrolled the estate to guard against beasts and regular bandits. If they encountered demons or enemy cultivators, they would sound an alarm, and Lin Jiang would send a voice transmission symbol to the family for reinforcements. There would naturally be more powerful cultivators to deal with them.
When the patrol was over, Lin Jiang returned to his own house and began to meditate and practice cultivation. He set a goal for himself to practice two hours a day. After all, he didn't lack lifespan. If necessary, he could cultivate for hundreds of years to reach the Qi Refining period.
After finishing his training, the food was already prepared by the housekeeper. Although the cook's skills were not as good as the previous servant's, Lin Jiang didn't mind. He had been eating meals from fast food boxes for years, so this was nothing.
······
System Name: Lifespan Check-in System
Host: Lin Jiang
Lifespan: 17/180
In the blink of an eye, three months had passed. On this day, just after Lin Jiang checked in with the system, a guard hurriedly entered the room.
"Young Master, the family's steward has arrived."
"Understood, take him to the warehouse. I'll be there shortly."
Lin Jiang nodded. The spiritual paddy crop had been harvested this year, and the Lin family had sent a steward to purchase it. This was a big event for the estate.
When Lin Jiang arrived at the warehouse, a middle-aged man was already waiting there. He saw Lin Jiang and greeted him with a smile. He was a worker hired by Lin Batian and considered a temporary worker for the Lin family. Even though his status was not high, he was still very respectful to the young master of the Lin family.
"Oh, it's Steward Wu. You must be tired, sir."
"Sixth Young Master, you're being polite. Shall we begin?"
"Alright, let's get started then."
Lin Jiang nodded and gave some instructions. The servants carried the bags of spiritual paddy out of the warehouse and weighed them.
"Sixth Young Master, the weather hasn't been very good this year. The price of spiritual paddy in Yun State has increased a little. Now, one spirit stone can only buy five hundred kilograms. According to tradition, how about six hundred kilograms for one spirit stone?"
Steward Wu said to Lin Jiang that when members of the Lin family sold their personal belongings to the family, they got a slightly lower price than outside. The advantage was that they could sell as much as they had without having to do it themselves.
"No problem."
Lin Jiang waved his hand and agreed. Although he would lose a bit in terms of price, he saved a lot of trouble. This was normal in Lin Jiang's view.
Spiritual paddy was heavier than regular rice. The best spiritual land could yield around 600 kilograms per acre. Lin Jiang owned 200 acres of spiritual land with average quality, and he harvested over 80,000 kilograms of spiritual paddy. He kept 20,000 kilograms for himself and sold the rest to his family.
"Sixth Young Master, this is a receipt. You can go to the family's accounting office to collect the money in a few days."
Steward Wu took out several storage bags, packed them in batches, and gave Lin Jiang a receipt. He could go to the family's accounting office to collect the money.
Lin Jiang nodded and bid goodbye to Steward Wu. He asked the servants to help mill the rice. Immortals didn't eat regular grains, but rather spirit food, which benefitted their cultivation. Lin Jiang planned to send some of the remaining spirit rice to his beloved mother and sister, Lin Ying. Although the family provided some rations, it wasn't enough for a whole year, so he needed to buy extra.
In the blink of an eye, two more months passed and it was the end of the year. Lin Jiang instructed the guards to prepare two large carts loaded with 10,000 kilograms of milled spirit rice. Due to his limited financial means, he couldn't afford a storage bag big enough to hold all the rice. He decided to take it to the Lin family.
The Lin family's gate was approximately 800 miles away from the estate. However, the horses pulling the carts had the bloodline of mythical creatures, extremely strong. Traveling 500 miles per day was a piece of cake, and they reached the destination in just two days.
"Oh, isn't this my Sixth Uncle?"
As Lin Jiang arrived at the entrance, a casual voice sounded. Lin Jiang turned around and saw his nephew, Lin Ke Wen, the eldest son of his elder brother Lin Shan, who was a few years older than him.
"Ke Wen, you don't even pay your respects to your Sixth Uncle. You don't believe I will report you later?"
"You, you…"
"What about me? Has the family forgotten its manners?"
"You're tough, nephew has met Sixth Uncle."
In the end, Lin Ke Wen got scared. The Lin family, as an up-and-coming family, has strict rules. Lin Batian also valued filial piety. Despite Lin Jiang being a disgrace to the second generation of the Lin family, he was still Lin Ke Wen's uncle.
"Nephew, since you've been so disobedient, you won't be receiving the New Year's money this year."
Lin Jiang burst into laughter and then entered through the Lin family's main gate.
According to Lin Batian's rules, except for important matters like secluded practice, the whole family gathered at the end of the year. Therefore, within the Lin family's main gate, Lin family members could be seen everywhere.
"Greetings, Big Brother."
"Hello, Second Elder Brother."
"Hello, Third Sister."
Lin Jiang bowed all the way, in the Lin family's second generation he was the sixth eldest brother, he had to bow first to the five older siblings in front of him, and the younger brothers and sisters behind him had to bow to him.
After that, Lin Jiang went to see his father Lin Batian and his formal wife Mrs. Zheng. He also had to give them each two thousand kilograms of spirit rice. This wouldn't be given for nothing. When the New Year came, they would give him a bigger gift in return.
After greeting his father, he went to see his mother Zhuang Rong. Zhuang Rong, his mother, was naturally beautiful and ranked high among Lin Batian's concubines. Lin Jiang and Lin Ying both inherited her good genes and were also good-looking.
Zhuang Rong had reached the seventh level of Qi Refining and had good Spiritual Root talent, but unfortunately, she had a love brain. She hadn't taken her cultivation seriously since marrying Lin Batian. She was solely focused on competing for his favor. As a result, for more than ten years, her cultivation hadn't progressed at all.
"My child, you have suffered…"
Seeing Lin Jiang, Zhuang Rong immediately hugged him, and tears started to fall. Although Zhuang Rong wasn't very smart, she was very good to her children.
Lin Jiang resisted this show of affection, but his cultivation was not as good as his mother's, so he couldn't break free. He could only seek help from Lin Ying, who came over with a smile and advised him.
Zhuang Rong let go of Lin Jiang and tearfully complained to him. She told him about the mistreatment she had suffered in the sect and how she had been bullied by a certain aunt. Then, she changed the subject and said that a mother's pride relied on her child's success. She wanted Lin Jiang to quickly improve his cultivation so that she could proudly hold her head high and have a sense of superiority. This was more or less what she said every time they met.
Lin Jiang rolled his eyes when he heard this. The original Lin Jiang might believe it, but Lin Jiang knew from the original owner's memories that their mother was a fierce person. She only treated others well if she didn't bully them, so no one could bully her.
"Son, why aren't you speaking? Say something."
"Mother, don't get angry when your son speaks."
"Tell me, why would mother be angry with you?"
"Mother, this is what I think. It's better to rely on oneself than on others. Father is in the Golden Core Stage, able to live for five hundred years. The other stepmothers are in the Qi Refining Stage, able to live for around a hundred years. When they reach their seventies or eighties, even the best cultivation technique can't prevent aging. If I were Mother, I would definitely work hard to improve my cultivation and reach the Foundation Building Stage. That way, I could outlive the other stepmothers. If I could reach the Golden Core Stage, even the main mother's Foundation Building Stage would pale in comparison. We could stay together for five hundred years, just like Father."
"If both Father and Mother could advance to the Nascent Soul or Soul Formation stage, or even ascend together, wouldn't you be able to be together forever, as happy immortal companions?"
Lin Jiang couldn't help but come up with an idea. Silly mother, in the cultivation world, the essence of palace intrigues lay in cultivation. No matter how beautiful you were, you couldn't be eighteen forever. But there were always eighteen-year-old girls every year. Even if you defeated this group of stepmothers, what if father took more concubines?
So it all came down to cultivation. Only when your cultivation level was high was it truly useful. If you reached the Golden Core Stage, you could dance at Mrs. Zheng's tomb after a hundred years or so.
Zhuang Rong's eyes lit up when she heard this. It made so much sense. If she reached the Golden Core Stage, she would see who could outlast her.
