Chapter 193: Chapter 137: Inducent and Proposal; Entering the City Again
"Alright, I’m off," Cheng Zongyang said with a smile.
With that, Cheng Zongyang waved goodbye to his uncles, then headed to the Storehouse. He collected the more than seventy taels of gold sand that had been accumulated over the past three months.
After saying his goodbyes, he left and headed out of the mountains.
As winter set in, the Salt Workshop had ceased operations to prevent any accidents. They had produced several thousand jin of salt over the past few months, far more than Cheng Family Village could currently consu. It wouldn’t be too late to resu production after the start of spring next year.
’If they stockpiled a bit more, they might be able to try selling it later.’
The gold panning, however, was still ongoing.
Outside the mountains, Cheng Zongyang stowed his belongings in the Wilderness World and sighed at the sight before him. It was a desolate scene. Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but black, scorched earth.
A single fire had incinerated everything outside the mountains.
There was still no rain outside the mountains, so no new life could sprout. Thankfully, the weather had turned cold and was no longer scorching hot.
But compared to the world within the mountains, the outside felt like an abandoned land with little sign of life.
But Cheng Zongyang knew that all it would take was one heavy rain for everything to recover. He just didn’t know when that rain would ever co.
Walking along the country road, Cheng Zongyang headed north, his mind turning to the situation in the county.
He had only been to the county once in the last three months, and that was to deliver dicinal powder to Li Lu.
The County Town had been relatively lucky. Although a few of the fireballs had landed within the walls, destroying and burning down many houses, the casualties had been limited. Overall, the losses weren’t too great.
But on his last trip to the county, he had learned of the shocking changes in the outside world.
In September, the Thirteen Royal Families—a group he’d never heard of—had broken through the borders of Xiangyang and Linchuan. They pushed deep into the heartland, conquering one county after another, all to coerce Emperor Liang into handing sothing over.
Emperor Liang naturally refused to compromise, gathering a grand army and nurous Martial Artists to suppress and expel the invaders.
But then, the northern Jin Kingdom also dispatched an army of several hundred thousand, demanding certain things as well.
And just like that, the war to besiege Da Liang erupted!
Jade Peak County, within Qianye Prefecture, was located in the Tianduan Mountain region, but it was also the closest county to Linchuan. Naturally, this made Jade Peak County extrely unstable.
County Magistrate Luo Dingran, caring little for the rules, had no choice but to call upon the Reincarnation Bureau. They forcefully suppressed all the local family factions, led by the Wang Family, which managed to stabilize the County Town internally.
But even so, and even though the war had not yet reached Jade Peak County, the ripple effects were enormous.
Prices had gone haywire. Resources had beco scarce.
Although Luo Dingran had ensured the city still had a water supply by drilling deeper into the existing wells, it did little to alleviate the grim situation.
But with Martial Artist governnt officials like Li Lu standing guard, assisted by the County Soldiers, and with all destabilizing elents either killed or captured, public morale had more or less stabilized.
This was all on the condition that the armies of the Thirteen Royal Families didn’t attack!
These days, the County Town was easy to leave but difficult to enter. Entry was restricted. Once you left, it was nearly impossible to get back in unless you were an official or had connections.
Cheng Zongyang, however, didn’t have this problem.
At the city gate, Cheng Zongyang took out the internal access Token Li Lu had given him and entered the city without any trouble.
The streets were still desolate. The shadow of approaching war weighed on everyone’s mind, and they all feared when the fighting might begin.
As Cheng Zongyang walked, he saw that apart from a few designated governnt posts rationing grain, all other shops were closed.
This was another of Luo Dingran’s policies, ant to reduce unnecessary turmoil!
He made his way to his house and breathed a sigh of relief to find it still intact. He went inside, retrieved a prepared burlap sack from the Marketplace, then left and headed for Li Lu’s ho.
Although Li Lu was now a public official and could still purchase grain, at and vegetables were basically out of the question. Especially now that winter had set in, they were even scarcer.
He had prepared so jerky and dried radishes.
The radish harvest hadn’t been large; after all, besides the portion set aside for the villagers to trade for, the rest had to be saved for seeding. This ti, he only brought ten jin of dried radishes and thirty jin of fresh at. ’It’s a small gesture,’ he thought. ’I shouldn’t bring any more than this.’
As it happened, Cheng Zongyang arrived early, before Li Lu had to leave for his shift.
Seeing Cheng Zongyang for the first ti in two months, Li Lu was incredibly excited.
"Co in, co in! It’s been too long, I’ve really missed you... Oh, and you’ve brought gifts again! I... I’m always in your debt. I don’t know how I can ever repay you!"
As happy as Li Lu was to see him, he also saw the bags in Cheng Zongyang’s hands, and he felt a mix of gratitude and sha.
"Haha, Uncle Li, there’s no need for that. We’re not strangers. Oh, you broke through!?" Cheng Zongyang said in surprise, sensing the change in Li Lu’s aura.
’For Li Lu to break through to the Eighth Grade in about three months with his level of aptitude... that ans his daily progress must be around ten points, about the sa as my youngest uncle.’
’His elders and two of his peers had also advanced to the Eighth Grade. They were only a little faster than Li Lu.’
"Hahaha, it’s all thanks to you," Li Lu said, leading Cheng Zongyang into the house. He asked his wife to pour so tea and continued happily, "Half a month ago, the County Magistrate appointed
as Chief Constable! I’m the only one holding the position now!"
Cheng Zongyang cupped his fist and congratulated him with a laugh, "Congratulations, Uncle Li! This ans you’ve beco the County Magistrate’s trusted man."
Li Lu waved his hand dismissively. "Not at all. The County Magistrate just values my familiarity with Jade Peak County. Once the County Town is stable again, who knows what will happen."
"Brother Yang, it’s cold out. Have so tea to warm up," Mrs. Wang of the Li Family said as she ca in with a cup of hot tea, a constant smile on her face.
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