Reunion

Hearing this, Han Qinhu's mood also calmed down.

However, he was somewhat surprised by Shen Changchuan's reaction.

When Shen Changchuan had initially refused, he had thought Shen Changchuan would stubbornly insist on his way, continuing even if he knew he was wrong.

He thought Shen Changchuan would insist on compensating the families of everyone who died in the line of duty with ten catties of spirit grain, regardless of whether it was right or wrong.

After all, young people are full of spirit.

Few young people realize they are wrong, or even if they know they are wrong, they will push forward stubbornly, refusing to turn back until they hit a wall, not easily changing their minds.

Or perhaps they would feel toyed with and become enraged, eventually taking out their anger on others.

It was precisely because of this that Han Qinhu had noticed the incorrect death toll during the ambush of the Crocodile Demon, but he had many concerns and did not speak up to remind him in time.

It wasn't until this time, during the ambush of the Gale Falcon, that the actions of those below became too excessive, causing the compensation fees to skyrocket and the losses to be too great. Only then did Han Qinhu have to bring this issue up with Shen Changchuan.

However, the result was completely unexpected.

The reaction he had anticipated did not occur.

Shen Changchuan neither stubbornly pushed forward with his mistake due to Han Qinhu's expression, nor did he get angry because he was being deceived by those below.

His expression remained very calm.

It was evident that he had seriously reflected for a moment, and had truly learned from this lesson.

"With such character, my grandson Changchuan truly has the makings of an immortal!"

A hint of a relieved smile appeared on Han Qinhu's aged face, his lips curving slightly upwards.

Recalling when he took office here half a year ago, the reforms Shen Changchuan implemented in Great Bay Village had proceeded steadily, without arrogance or impatience.

When facing demon beast attacks, he remained calm and collected, acting only after careful consideration, and successfully slaying the attacking demon beasts.

Each of these events, had been handled with great stability.

With such character, how could he not succeed in the future?

His Han Family, had made the right bet!

"Alright, I will go announce this matter to them now."

Han Qinhu slightly put away his thoughts and bid farewell to Shen Changchuan before leaving.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, it was time to harvest the spirit grain in Zhao Family Village.

Everything went smoothly.

The spirit grain from those two mu of spirit fields was harvested completely.

This might have been because there were fewer spirit fields there, so the harvesting process did not attract other demon beasts to attack.

However, due to the third of the Four Fiends of Heshan's massacre of Zhao Family Village and arson, some of the spirit grain in the spirit fields was damaged.

Therefore, the final harvested spirit grain was only 178 catties.

But this number was not outside of Shen Changchuan's expectations, as he was well aware of the damage to those two mu of spirit fields.

He had estimated at the time that the two mu of spirit fields in Zhao Family Village would definitely have reduced yields during harvest.

He had long been mentally prepared.

"It doesn't matter. When spring plowing comes next year, we will promote the improved planting methods here to that area, and we will naturally get a greater harvest."

The news of the harvest from Zhao Family Village also made Shen Changchuan feel a bit more at ease.

He had already planned out the spring plowing for the two mu of spirit fields in Zhao Family Village for the following year.

And at this moment, In Great Bay Village, Han Qinhu announced the news he and Shen Changchuan had discussed last night: the reduction of compensation standards for those who died in the line of duty.

The standard was reduced tenfold, an almost exaggerated reduction!

However, this did not stir much of a reaction among the villagers.

The villagers' responses varied;

some looked at the families of the deceased with knowing eyes, while others turned pale, lost in thought.

Still others wore expressions of extreme regret, as if they had missed out on a great opportunity.

But regardless of their reactions, everyone knew in their hearts that

the ten jin of spirit grain as compensation and settlement was overly generous.

It was unsustainable in the long run.

Therefore, they were already prepared for Shen Changchuan's decision, conveyed by Han Qinhu.

Instead of finding it harsh, others felt that Shen Changchuan, the new immortal master, was very kind.

Because while the compensation was reduced, most of the people who had died before were the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled who had intentionally put themselves in harm's way for the compensation. Yet, the immortal master not only didn't pursue the matter, but he acknowledged their deaths and provided the full compensation of ten jin of spirit grain.

This handling of the situation was already very generous.

If it were another, stingier immortal master, they might not have given anything at all. Worse, to make an example of those who tried to deceive them for compensation, they might have slaughtered the families and friends of those who deliberately sought death to claim benefits, as a form of punishment!

This was not an exaggeration;

mortals were nothing more than slaves that cultivators could crush with a flick of their wrists.

Shen Changchuan was so benevolent, that the entire Great Bay Village naturally would not, and dared not, push their luck and become greedy.

However, they didn't have much energy to focus on these matters anymore, because with all the spirit grain harvested and stored, Shen Changchuan had Han Qinhu begin distributing the rewards he had initially promised.

This, even more than the adjustment of compensation, drew everyone's attention!

First were teams eleven and twelve.

Their increased yields were 36 jin and 48 jin, respectively.

According to the initial agreement, thirty percent of these amounts would be given to the members of these two teams as rewards.

Then came teams one through ten.

For the average increase of ten jin per mu of spirit fields they managed, each team would also be rewarded thirty percent of the increased yield, meaning three jin per team.

However, since three jin of spirit grain spread among nearly two hundred people was too insignificant, as Shen Changchuan had originally agreed, the spirit rice was mixed with regular rice and cooked into a large pot of spirit rice porridge, distributed as part of a grand feast, one bowl per person.

However, it was clear that

no one cared about any feast.

After receiving their bowls of spirit rice porridge, everyone quickly returned to their homes, either to eat it themselves or to give it to their children, increasing their chances of awakening and embarking on the path of cultivation.

Thus, after the spirit rice porridge was distributed, the entire Great Bay Village was almost empty.

Everyone stayed in their homes, diligently cultivating.

Striving for that slim chance to step onto the path of cultivation.

Great Bay Village subsequently became rather quiet.

Regarding this, Shen Changchuan didn't interfere.

At this moment, he was in need of cultivators under his command.

If anyone could succeed in Qi Invocation, it would be a good thing, as it would strengthen his forces. Shen Changchuan would no longer have to worry about the defenses against Zhao Family Village.

However, as someone who had been through it before, he knew very well that relying on one or two bowls of spirit rice porridge to achieve Qi Invocation was basically impossible.

But if they succeeded, he wouldn't lose out either.

Shen Changchuan didn't pay much attention to this matter.

With an ample supply of spirit rice resources, he shifted his focus to the two incomplete spells on his status panel.

The two incomplete spells were the Water Dragon Technique, and the Azure Wood Sword Light.

Among them, the Azure Wood Sword Light, a partial spell he had been cultivating for a long time, was stuck at 1% progress and wouldn't budge.

This bothered Shen Changchuan, and he wanted to find a solution.

However, before Shen Changchuan could find a solution, he had to leave his seclusion.

This was because the Shen Family's Transporter had sent someone to collect the spirit grain that needed to be submitted.

To Shen Changchuan's surprise, he recognized the person sent by the Shen Family's Transporter.

It was the Garrison Commander who had left Great Bay Village not long ago—Shen Shiying!