After leaving the county yamen, Meng Haoran and Meng Luohai first bid farewell to Magistrate Song Zhiyi and Master Hu, then hurried back to the Xinghua Village Meng Family without stopping even for a moment at the Xinghua Meng Pavilion in the county town.
They needed to quickly report what Magistrate Song Zhiyi had said to Meng Family Clan Leader Meng Jingshan.
In Xinghua Village, deep within the Spirit Spring in the Meng Family's rear courtyard.
Meng Jingshan asked in surprise, "Luohai, did Magistrate Song truly say that?"
Meng Luohai replied, "Absolutely true! Master Hu was there as well."
Upon hearing this, Meng Bohai smiled. "Clan Leader Jingshan, if that is so, then what Magistrate Song said is truly a tremendous boon for our Meng Family!"
Even Meng Jingshan's steady temperament stirred slightly at this moment. He nodded and said, "If Magistrate Song truly fulfills his promise, then our Meng Family's progress toward entering the county town and becoming a Ninth-Rank Cultivation Family will speed up by several more steps!"
"Um..."
Meng Haoran, standing nearby, suddenly spoke, then paused.
Seeing this, Meng Jingshan smiled faintly. "Haoran, we are all family. Say whatever you wish. Even if you are wrong, no one will blame you."
Hearing this, Meng Haoran continued, "All right. It is like this, Clan Leader Jingshan. Ten years ago, a band of criminal forces suddenly appeared within Qingyang County: the Black Mountain Bandits. They came without a trace and went without a shadow, committing every evil imaginable. They carried out more than ten crimes in succession around the county town, prompting the Qingyang County Magistrate at the time to order the entire county to spare no effort in exterminating them. In order to obtain a large amount of cultivation resources from the campaign against the Black Mountain Bandits, our Meng Family joined the Lin and Chen Families and voluntarily took part in the operation."
At this point, Meng Haoran drew a deep breath and said, "We all know what happened afterward. Our Meng Family ventured too deeply and fell into the Black Mountain Bandits' ambush. We lost two clan members at the Half-step Foundation Establishment Realm, along with more than ten at Qi Refining Perfection. Could what Magistrate Song said today be an attempt to walk the same old road again?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present fell silent.
After a while, Meng Jingshan said, "Haoran, you may be worrying too much. The Qingyang County Magistrate who had just taken office ten years ago merely happened to encounter a thorny matter like the Black Mountain Bandits. Because our Meng Family suffered heavy losses, and because the bandits' rampage through the villages around the county town caused such a huge uproar, the Commandery Governor of Qinghe Commandery stripped that Qingyang County Magistrate of his official hat three years later, when the Black Mountain Bandits vanished without a trace. That was how today's Magistrate Song Zhiyi came to be."
Meng Jingshan turned to Meng Haoran and said, "With the previous magistrate's failure as a lesson, Magistrate Song would never dare do such a thing again."
Ten years ago, whether due to pressure from the seven Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families or his own policy failures, the previous magistrate allowed the Black Mountain Bandits to run wild throughout Qingyang County, causing the Meng Family to lose a great many clan members.
It was precisely for this reason that, three years later, the Commandery Governor of Qinghe Commandery stripped the previous magistrate of his official hat and installed Song Zhiyi as Qingyang County's magistrate for seven years.
Hearing this, Meng Haoran nodded. "Perhaps I am worrying too much."
Yet Meng Haoran still could not let go of the fact that ten years ago, his father Meng Liuhai had died unexpectedly because of the previous magistrate's orders.
Meng Jingshan extended a hand and gently patted Meng Haoran's shoulder, comforting him. "Haoran, your father Meng Liuhai did not die in vain. Put another way, he died for the Meng Family. His death was glorious!"
Meng Bohai and Meng Luohai both said in unison, "His death was glorious!"
Meng Jingshan put away his mournful expression, turned, and smiled. "All right. Although Magistrate Song has said he will help our Meng Family become one of the Ninth-Rank Cultivation Families, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Magistrate Song still has roughly two years left in office, so we have ample time. Do not delay our Meng Family's original plans because of this matter!"
Meng Jingshan looked at the three of them and said solemnly, "To become a Ninth-Rank Cultivation Family and establish ourselves in Qingyang County Town, our Meng Family must advance along two paths. First, we must follow Magistrate Song's policies. Luohai, I leave that matter to you. Second, we must accumulate sufficient Foundation Establishment resources in the fastest and most reliable manner. Bohai, keep this matter firmly in mind. Haoran, do not concern yourself with clan affairs for now. Raise your cultivation as quickly as possible. After all, Qingyang County's Family Tournament is approaching."
Meng Haoran, Meng Luohai, and Meng Bohai clasped their fists and acknowledged the order.
In the blink of an eye, several more days passed. During this time, Meng Haoran had constantly traveled back and forth between the Xinghua Meng Pavilion in Qingyang County Town and the Meng Family in Xinghua Village.
Aside from cultivating his own realm in Qingyang County Town with the aid of "Human Path Spirituality," Meng Haoran kept one hand on the five mu of "Six-Pattern Wheat" in the Meng Family's rear courtyard, while using the "Cauldron Liquid" produced by the "Heavenly Cauldron" with the other to raise those Spirit Beast cubs.
The five mu of "Six-Pattern Wheat" in the Meng Family's rear courtyard had now gotten on the right track. Meng Haoran merely needed to keep track of the timing and cast Daoist Magic upon it, and he would be able to harvest the mature "Six-Pattern Wheat" in both quality and quantity.
The Spirit Beast cubs that had consumed the "Cauldron Liquid," meanwhile, had become the focus of Meng Haoran's work.
Some time ago, Lin Qingbai of the Lin Family had joined forces with Chen Jinmeng of the Chen Family to sell inferior Spirit Beasts in West Market of Qingyang County Town. Not only had their two families received punishment from the county yamen and the magistrate, but their respective bases in the county town, Xinghua Chen Pavilion and Xinghua Lin Pavilion, had also suffered to a certain extent.
Most importantly, the Lin and Chen Families both came from Xinghua Village, and the Meng Family also came from Xinghua Village.
When both the Lin and Chen Families from Xinghua Village ran into trouble at the same time, some Rogue Cultivators purchasing cultivation goods could not help but grow suspicious of the Meng Family's credibility as well.
Fortunately, Meng Luohai had remained stationed at the Xinghua Meng Pavilion during this period. Relying on the excellent reputation he and Meng Haoran had built in Qingyang County Town through their joint development of the "Spirit Taming Talisman," he managed to stabilize the Meng Family's image in the eyes of the Rogue Cultivators.
And that day, Meng Haoran had also seen the enormous profits in selling Spirit Beasts through the fines Magistrate Song Zhiyi imposed upon the Lin and Chen Families.
Thus, he thought of opening up a new source of income for the Meng Family by selling Spirit Beasts!
Now, thanks to the excess income brought by the "Six-Pattern Wheat," every member of the Meng Family had gained more cultivation resources, and the entire family was flourishing with vitality.
If Meng Haoran could also open up a path for the Meng Family to sell high-quality Spirit Beasts, it would surely raise the Meng Family's overall income to a whole new level!
Thinking of this, Meng Haoran could not help growing excited.
His father Meng Liuhai's final wish was about to be realized in his hands!
Meng Haoran strode toward the Spirit Beasts and said, "Little ones, let me see how well you have grown."
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