Chapter 77

When Zhou Buchu arrived with the guest, Ye Chen had already been respectfully waiting at the door for quite some time. From afar, he spotted Bai Ze carrying an elderly man and hurried to greet them.

The elderly academician carried no air of authority and was dressed simply. At a glance, he looked like an ordinary old man, which explained why Zhou Buchu had such difficulty recognizing him.

After Bai Ze entered the courtyard, he gently placed the man and his bicycle down, then picked up a cloth bag from the bicycle basket with his mouth. He walked behind a tree, transformed, and put on his clothes. Ye Chen helped Zhang Zhaoqian into the main house and seated him. Before the elderly academician could even sit properly, Bai Ze swiftly entered, buttoning his clothes as he walked, as if afraid someone might harm the elderly man if he wasn’t watching.

Bai Ze’s inner core had healed well, and his human form had reverted to looking around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. His long hair was tied loosely into a bundle, draping lazily over his chest like moonlight. His eye color, visible behind a monocle, was much lighter than that of regular people, and the delicate chain of the monocle swayed slightly as he walked. Ignoring the available chairs, Bai Ze walked straight to Zhang Zhaoqian’s side, standing like a personal assistant.

Zhang Zhaoqian said, “Sit.”

Only then did Bai Ze take a seat next to him.

Zhang Zhaoqian glanced around the room, inspecting the divine beasts one by one. His expression was both kind and tinged with a youthful curiosity. Ye Chen calmed himself and began introducing everyone to each other. Having never interacted with someone of Zhang Zhaoqian’s stature, Ye Chen was as nervous as a young pioneer giving a report to the principal, stumbling over his words. Fortunately, Zhang Zhaoqian lived up to his reputation—humble, gentle, and as easy to get along with as a neighborly grandfather. After completing the round of introductions, Ye Chen relaxed considerably, and the tension in his muscles slowly eased.

Ye Chen then briefed Zhang Zhaoqian on the restoration efforts in the Mountain and Sea Realm, the current challenges and needs, as well as short-term plans for the future, including the cultivation of the Immortal Tree.

“…First, we need to significantly expand the scale of spiritual plant cultivation, which requires mechanized farming. I have to learn all the techniques for mechanized cultivation from scratch,” Ye Chen explained methodically. “Second, we need to formalize the sale of these products without revealing the secret of the Mountain and Sea Realm. To accumulate enough divine power to grow the Immortal Tree, I must sell these spiritual plants on a large scale.”

Trying to gauge Zhang Zhaoqian’s thoughts, Ye Chen added, “It’s actually a win-win for both buyers and sellers. These products have already helped a lot of people… I don’t sell them for much, so even ordinary people can afford them.”

Zhang Zhaoqian nodded repeatedly, his ears perked as he listened, his expression lively like a teenager. 

He had inherited all of Bai Ze’s knowledge, so even though he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he was well aware of how miraculous the spiritual plants in the Mountain and Sea Realm were. Many of the rare treasures in the realm could be researched and refined. One of his research breakthroughs in recent years was inspired by a certain plant from the realm—a single result that had already restored sight to nearly ten million blind individuals. If the resources of the Mountain and Sea Realm could be used wisely, what other possibilities would unfold? On a smaller scale, many ordinary people suffering from illness could be saved. On a larger scale, it could drive unprecedented revolutionary progress in human civilization. Even without the temptation of the Immortal Tree, Zhang Zhaoqian was willing to help Ye Chen expand the industry.

However, there were many issues involved in the process. For instance, striking the right balance between exploring heavenly secrets and benefiting humanity was crucial. The bottom line was not to expose this millennia-old secret to the world. Otherwise, given humanity’s inherent greed, who knows how many disasters could arise from self-interest?

Zhang Zhaoqian had read Bai Ze’s memories and knew that the saying “those who pry into heavenly secrets will suffer heavenly punishment and shortened lifespan” was actually a restrictive spell placed by Jing Ling. Thousands of years ago, the existence of the Mountain and Sea Realm was not a secret, but rather than benefiting mortals, it had led to endless wars between tribes driven by insatiable greed, plunging the world into chaos. As a result, Jing Ling, inheriting Pangu’s will and tasked with protecting humanity and benefiting the people, was forced to establish the rule of “Heavenly secrets must not be revealed.”

After the restrictive spell was established, the Mountain and Sea Realm gradually became a secret, hidden within the flow of time. However, the resources and divine beasts formed from the concentrated spiritual energy of the realm still needed management. This manager had to always stand on the side of humanity, benefiting the people without revealing the secret. Therefore, when choosing each new master of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the realm’s spirit always selected a mortal with a pure soul—someone whose pure soul signified a kind heart, willing to perform righteous deeds for the common good.

In exchange, Zhang Zhaoqian shared all of this information with Ye Chen.

These events occurred so long ago that even some of the younger divine beasts, who were only a thousand or two thousand years old, hadn’t experienced them. But Bai Ze, one of the earliest divine beasts formed from the world’s spiritual energy, had witnessed everything firsthand. Born with perfect memory, every event from thousands of years ago remained as vivid in his mind as if it had happened yesterday.

Ye Chen was stunned as he listened, pointing at himself in disbelief. “Me… a pure soul?”

Zhang Zhaoqian smiled kindly.

Worried, Ye Chen added, “Actually, I’m pretty greedy and a compulsive liar…” His soul didn’t seem all that pure!

Just then, Ye Chen’s phone chimed with a notification.

Ye Chen instinctively felt it was from the realm’s spirit. Sure enough, when he pulled out his phone, the screen displayed a push notification: “A friendly tip from Mountain and Sea Realm 2.0: The user is correct.”

Ye Chen: “…”

This Jing Ling was outrageously cheeky, even going so far as to send a notification to mock him.

Ye Chen grumbled, “Then why did you choose me?”

Jing Ling’s robotic voice echoed through the phone’s speaker: “After scanning, the user’s soul is pure, but unexpectedly fond of petty advantages, prone to wild exaggeration, and tells lies like it’s second nature. The user appears to be of a different species than previous masters of the realm…”

Ye Chen silently lowered the phone’s volume, but since Jing Ling had upgraded to version 2.0, it was no longer controlled by his phone’s hardware. It continued on, unbothered: “At first, I thought there was a scanning error and considered secretly striking you down with lightning…”

Ye Chen’s face turned pale.

You’ve got to be kidding me!

Jing Ling: “But after repeated scans and extensive analysis of your behavior, I concluded that while the master’s heart is pure and capable of great deeds, their mannerisms are somewhat unscrupulous, and they tend to overlook minor faults.”

Ye Chen’s face flushed red. “Hey, hey, that’s enough. It’s not like I owe billions and can’t afford to eat…”

Isn’t it just snagging a few free meals or rolls of toilet paper!

Standing while speaking doesn’t hurt your waist^[1]Being an armchair expert. It’s all very well to talk but getting things done is another matter!

“The issue of formalizing the products—I’ll work with Mr. Zhang to figure out a solution. You don’t need to worry about the details.” Bai Ze, who had been silent, finally spoke. His voice was calm and cool, with a formal tone that seemed out of place in modern times. “The resources in the realm are inexhaustible, so Mr. Zhang and I hope you will prioritize the well-being of the people and avoid becoming blinded by greed. Can you promise that?”

Ye Chen immediately agreed, “I can!”

His ChenChen Wellness House was practically the epitome of conscience-driven business!

“As for the issue of expanding the cultivation scale…” Bai Ze hesitated for a moment before adding, “I will provide you with the necessary knowledge.”

Although Zhang Zhaoqian held a high status, his salary wasn’t substantial. Research funding for his projects often ran into the tens or hundreds of millions, yet he had no personal connection to that money. As for the various awards and bonuses he had received over the years, he had poured them all into the research and innovation foundation he had established, which was designed to reward young researchers who made breakthroughs in medical and biological fields. He lived a frugal life and was content with it, refusing all the special privileges offered to him by higher authorities.

This was often the case with the older generation of researchers in the country. They devoted their hearts and souls to the nation, asking for nothing in return.

“How are Qilin and Di Ting doing? Do you know?” Bai Ze asked.

Among the severely injured, his condition was relatively lighter. He had just woken up not long ago and was currently learning to adapt to modern society, so he hadn’t yet had the chance to contact his old divine beast friends.

“Di Ting was the most seriously injured back then, so it might still be a while,” Bi An’an replied. “Fifth Sister said the Qilin is almost recovered, and it’s happening soon. The person he protects is called Qin Wensheng, who holds the title of Asia’s Gambling King and runs casinos abroad.”

Bai Ze raised his eyelids: “So, could he be responsible for funding?”

Bi An’an sighed helplessly, “We contacted him through Fifth Sister. He’s been bedridden for a while now. His third and fourth sons are managing the family business, while the rest of his ten-plus children are fighting tooth and nail over the inheritance. Getting money from him would be harder than cutting flesh from Zhou Buchu.”

Zhou Buchu glared at her, nervously adjusting his collar like a timid wife.

Bai Ze raised an eyebrow: “Ten-plus?”

“He has five wives and over ten children,” Bi An’an raised five fingers and added with discomfort, “He’s guilty of bigamy. I want to sue him.”

Ye Chen: “…” Please, hold back.

“Funding is not an issue right now,” Ye Chen said with confidence. “I’ve already ordered a tractor, and it should arrive in a few days.”

At the moment, money wasn’t the biggest problem. The main concerns were certifications, product testing, and production permits. Once Bai Ze handled those, Ye Chen was ready to move forward.

Over the past couple of days, Ye Chen had been busy comparing prices and seeking advice from various tractor experts in forums. Eventually, he settled on an Oriental Red wheeled tractor. This model was nimble and compact, featuring a reinforced half-axle that could be swapped out for either a “Mountain King” half-axle or a “Transport King” half-axle, making it versatile enough for mechanical operations in hilly and mountainous areas. With this tractor, the task of restoring the vegetation in the shared habitats of the birds and rats would become much simpler.

A single tractor couldn’t accomplish much on its own, so Ye Chen also purchased a matching set of farming tools, including a rotary tiller, seeder, subsoiler, and a tree-planting pile driver, to meet various planting needs. This set of small agricultural equipment cost over 50,000 yuan, and once they got the hang of it, they’d likely need to invest in several larger sets.

Finally, Ye Chen collected samples of various spiritual plants from within the realm and handed them over to Zhang Zhaoqian for research. He also gave him samples of the pillow and hair-growth device and asked him and Bai Ze to handle the production permits.

…

Ye Chen had been so busy registering his company and purchasing farm equipment that, before he knew it, a week had passed, and the second episode of Leisurely Vacations was about to air.

Since spending the night at Shen Mofeng’s house last week, the two had been so busy that they hadn’t had a chance to meet again. Tonight, Shen Mofeng repeated his invitation from last week, asking Ye Chen to come over to watch the reality show together.

The author has something to say:

Celebrating Thursday (?), let’s give out two hundred red envelopes! ╰(°▽°)╯

Originally, I wanted the Asian gambling king to show off a golden finger, but as I was writing, I felt that the character was too un-socialist, so let’s just drop it. Anyway, Ye Fu Fu^[2]Fu – rich isn’t short on money right now… (Lu Qi Qi is really an unreliable woman.)

Ye Fu Fu: I’ve changed my name! ╰(°▽°)╯

In the next chapter, Shen Ge’s big move will be revealed. Poor old Shen hasn’t been online for days; the kid must be bursting with energy. He really needs to have some fun…