Great Drought

"Winning the people's hearts counted as one reason as well." Xu Chuan smiled and nodded slightly.

"A great drought was a life-threatening calamity for ordinary common folk, but for wealthy households, powerful merchants, and Families, it was merely a question of how much they would lose."

"Some who only had their eyes on immediate profit would sell their land, but the wise would endure."

"Once the drought reached a certain point, Great Wei would not stand by and watch. They would certainly send people to resolve it. With cultivators around, a drought was not a problem; it was only a matter of sooner or later before it was dealt with."

"Our businesses in perfume, various wines, medicinal herbs, and the like all depended on farmland. The more substantial this accumulation became, the deeper our Xu Family's foundation would be."

Xu Mingyuan pondered for a moment before nodding. "Father is right."

"If these pillar industries lacked our own foundation and most of what we needed had to be bought from others, would that not mean having our throats gripped by others? That would be greatly detrimental to the Xu Family's rapid development."

"A great disaster is also a great opportunity."

Xu Mingwei's eyes lit up as he understood as well.

"Whether people or land, the Xu Family wants them all." Xu Chuan's words rang out with a force that brooked no doubt.

"However, there is no telling when the drought will be resolved—perhaps several months, perhaps a year. So I have also thought of several methods to reduce the Xu Family's losses."

With that, Xu Chuan picked up several sheets of draft paper from the table. They were covered in diagrams and written annotations.

"Take a look first."

The two brothers leaned their heads together and turned through the pages one by one. The light in their eyes grew brighter and brighter, while the smiles on their lips gradually bloomed.

Xu Mingwei's eyes flashed as he said delightedly, "Father, you are incredible."

"With these waterwheel and pipeline designs, as long as we recruit a group of people to make them, we can greatly reduce the losses to grain in the paddy fields, as well as the fruits and vegetables in the farmland and mountain forests. At the same time, we can fully put the manpower of the newly recruited servants to use, so it will not go to waste."

"This method of using black gauze to block the sun's direct rays is very novel, but can it really absorb heat?" Xu Mingwei was equally delighted, though tinged with curiosity.

He had originally thought that the Xu Family would suffer considerable losses to its industries because of this drought.

But if Xu Chuan's methods all worked, then this drought would affect at most one or two parts out of ten. It might even cause prices of all kinds of goods to rise because of the drought.

The Xu Family could earn several times more profit than usual.

"Some small hand-cranked blower gadgets will probably sell very well too. Oh, right, our family also has the secret recipe for ice making. Paired with that, they will surely be a roaring success."

As for saltpeter, the Xu Family only secretly dug up a small amount each summer.

And they kept it extremely confidential; no one had ever learned of it.

Xu Chuan smiled. "Be discreet. We would rather not do this business than let anyone discover it. After all, that mountain forest's Earth Vein does not belong to the Xu Family yet."

"Your son understands the gravity of it." Xu Mingyuan smiled and assured him.

"Go get busy."

"Yes, father." The two clasped their hands, took the draft papers, and left the study.

Xu Chuan left afterward as well, heading to Jade Cold Pond to inspect the medicinal herbs.

More than ten mu of Medicinal Fields had been reclaimed there, specifically for growing medicinal herbs, all of them rare varieties.

If they reached twenty years of age, any one plant would be worth at least ten or twenty taels, while the most precious ones were worth forty or fifty taels.

If all the herbs in those ten mu of Medicinal Fields were harvested, they would be worth a fortune.

However, Xu Chuan had not reclaimed Medicinal Fields and cultivated medicinal herbs in order to sell them for money, but rather to refine medicine and prepare medicinal cuisine.

The Spiritual Energy here was denser than elsewhere, so the medicinal herbs grew somewhat faster as well.

Besides the medicinal herbs, there was also a small tree growing here.

The tree was only a little over half a zhang tall, its trunk as thick as an arm, its branches and leaves lush and green.

It had grown from seeds buried after the Black Hard Fruit Xu Mingwei had brought back was cut open.

Xu Chuan had painstakingly studied medical arts and medicinal cuisine recipes, researching the medicinal properties of many medicinal herbs.

After several months of effort, he improved the Dragon Elephant Sect's Martial Artist Secret Medicinal Cuisine recipe, making it suitable for the vast majority of Martial Artists. Its effects were also thirty to forty percent stronger than those of the original medicinal cuisine.

However, its medicinal effect was potent, so it could only be consumed once every three days.

And because the secret medicinal cuisine was precious, it was currently only provided to Xu Mingyuan and a few others.

As for the Innate Medicinal Cuisine, Xu Chuan was still trying to improve it. For the time being, the two brothers consumed the Dragon Elephant Sect's Innate Medicinal Cuisine to aid their cultivation.

The many Families of Qingjiang County learned that the Xu Family was lavishly dispensing goodwill, taking in large numbers of people and land, and all sneered in disdain. They mocked the Xu Family for its shallow foundation and utter lack of experience in dealing with disasters.

After all, during this drought, it was already a blessing to avoid dismissing people or suffering losses. Yet the Xu Family did the exact opposite, becoming the laughingstock of Qingjiang's Families for a time.

Dongxi Village.

Bai Family.

Bai Fu had partnered with his son Bai Hua and Bai Fang's husband's family to rent over a hundred mu of farmland and grow fruits and vegetables.

Because of their marital relationship with the Xu Family, Xu Mingyuan had exempted them from the rent on their stalls in West Market.

Over the past year or two, their development had been fairly good.

They had risen from ordinary common folk to modestly wealthy households.

In the first half of this year, they had even deliberately pooled funds to buy the previous hundred-plus mu of land, then rented another hundred mu.

Who could have expected that before two months had passed, before the fruits, vegetables, and crops had even been harvested, the drought would strike?

And it was a great drought unseen in a century.

At this moment, both families had gathered at Bai Fu's home to discuss the matter.

Everyone's brows were tightly furrowed, their faces wan and listless, as ugly as though they had swallowed yellow earth.

"Father-in-law, how do you think this matter should be resolved?"

Bai Fu sat there, took a puff of smoke, and remained silent.

"Brother-in-law, how can you say that? You were the one who gladly agreed back then, so how can you blame my father now?" A trace of dissatisfaction entered Bai Hua's eyes. "Everyone contributed money together. If a problem arose, naturally everyone should bear it together."

"Besides, our two families earned quite a bit over the past two years. Although the losses this time are not small, it is not as though we cannot go on living."

Bai Fang hurriedly said, "Ah Hua, your brother-in-law is only anxious. The Zeng Family has many mouths to feed, and their expenses are immense. You should be more understanding and considerate."

"How about you go speak to Eldest Sister? She loves you most. Now that she is the Xu Family Matriarch, it should not be difficult if she is willing to lend us a hand."

"I heard that the Xu Family has recently been buying land as well. Why not sell it to the Xu Family at the original price?"

Bai Hua immediately snapped, "Second Sister, do you know what land costs now?"

"Ordinary common folk can barely survive. What use is land?"

"You still want Eldest Sister to take it over at the original price? How can you even bring yourself to say that? Go yourself if you want to. I am not going!"

"Besides, Eldest Sister has never involved herself in matters outside the Xu Family residence. You know that much too."

"The one who calls the shots in the Xu Family is still Eldest Brother-in-law."

Bai Fang grew displeased at his words as well, her face flushing red as she argued, "But you were the one who started this matter. If you will not go speak, who will? Are we supposed to simply bear this loss? It is a drought now, and who knows when it will end? The further on it goes, the harder life will become. Our two families are not like the Xu Family, with such a vast estate and great wealth that they can afford to endure it."

"Enough, stop arguing."

Bai Fu snorted coldly and tapped the tabletop with his smoking pipe, scattering a shower of sparks.

"I will go speak to them, all right?"

"I will make a trip there now."

With that, Bai Fu rose to his feet and slowly made his way toward the Xu Family, trembling as he walked.

The Xu Family's newly built grand residence had long since ceased to stand where the old Small Courtyard once had. Instead, it had been built in a remote area far from the village.

After all, they needed a vast stretch of land, and they could not possibly demolish other people's houses.

Only after walking for more than half an hour did Bai Fu arrive at the Xu Family's gate. He raised his head to look at the Xu Family's grand manor, his eyes holding both comfort and emotion.

When he had agreed to Xu Chuan's marriage proposal, it was because he had valued Xu Chuan's skill in farm work. With Bai Jing married to him, she would at least never lack food or drink.

Who could have imagined that in little more than a decade, Xu Chuan would bring the Xu Family to heights Bai Fu could never have imagined?

On the day the Xu Family Established Clan, nearly all of Qingjiang's Families and wealthy merchants had attended.

What a magnificent occasion it had been!

"Old Master Bai has arrived. Are you here to see the Patriarch or Madam?"

"I am here to see my daughter."

He spoke as he walked straight through the gate. No one stopped him along the way, and every maidservant and household guard he encountered greeted him in turn, not daring to slight him in the least.

He had come for Xu Dezhao's birth and full moon banquet, so he naturally knew the way like the back of his hand.

"Father, what brings you here today? Have you come to see Zhao'er?" Bai Jing asked, pleasantly surprised.