After learning the general situation from Zhao Hangao, Shen Changchuan fell silent for a while.
He must have found out who Shen Changchuan was through some channel or other.
Though Shen Changchuan was little more than an insignificant nobody among the Shen family patriarch Shen Fuxing's more than fifty children,
there was no denying it:
he was a descendant of the Shen Clan patriarch,
and the son of the Shen family head, Shen Fuxing.
Even if that meant little within the Shen Clan, where everyone knew everyone's background,
perhaps not even a servant would think much of him,
in the eyes of outsiders,
he was still a highborn, important figure!
At the same time,
Shen Changchuan gave a faint shake of his head.
He felt no pride at being treated with such respect and awe.
Shen Changchuan understood perfectly well:
Zhao Hangao revered the Tiannan Shen Clan,
not him.
He had done nothing to inspire such awe.
Naturally, there was nothing for him to be proud of.
"By the way, Brother Zhao, are there any cultivators' markets nearby?"
As they chatted, Shen Changchuan suddenly remembered the giant wild boar he had killed. He had eaten all its meat, but still had its hide. He couldn't help asking about it.
If he had that boar hide made into leather armor, it would offer a measure of protection, enough to block some spell damage and give a cultivator an advantage in battle.
If he could sell it, he should be able to get at least a dozen or twenty Spirit Stones for it.
"A cultivators' market? Well, this area is rather remote. The nearest one is in Qing City, over a thousand li away."
"Over a thousand li away?"
At that, Shen Changchuan's expression shifted.
That was
far from close.
At his current pace, even if he traveled alone, the round trip would take him more than half a month.
And that didn't even account for the possibility of running into trouble along the way, like an attack by a Demon Beast.
If he really made the trip,
it could take a month there and back.
And it wouldn't be safe, either.
Shen Changchuan couldn't help hesitating.
"Where do you usually go to trade for cultivation resources? Surely you don't travel all the way to Qing City?"
"Not quite."
"Not long after the Spirit Grain harvest, merchant caravans set out from Qing City and travel through the villages in the Border Wilderness. Then people like us, who can't make the journey ourselves, can take the spirit medicines we've gathered in the mountains, materials from the Demon Beasts we've killed, harvested Spirit Grain, and other cultivation resources we've accumulated, and trade them for what we need."
"Their nearest stopping place to us is Wu Family Market, two hundred li away. They should arrive in about four months."
"Something could happen along the way, so they might arrive late, or even early. But there's no need to worry. If they're late, we can wait a day or two at Wu Family Market. And if they arrive early, they'll rest there for a while and won't leave until after the trading day."
"If you need anything, Young Master Shen, I can take you to Wu Family Market in four months."
Zhao Hangao explained carefully.
"In that case, I'll be counting on you in four months, Brother Zhao."
From his seat at the head of the table, Shen Changchuan heard him and spoke with some resignation.
There was no helping it.
He would just have to go to Wu Family Market.
Fine.
The Spirit Grain should be harvested by then. Hopefully, the yield would be better this time, and he'd be able to trade for some cultivation resources at the market.
At the same time,
he couldn't help grumbling to himself.
He'd known Dawan Village was remote,
but he hadn't expected it to be this remote.
It had no cultivators' market, and even the market only came around once every six months or so.
It was enough to leave anyone speechless.
But there was a silver lining. If this place hadn't been so remote, he wouldn't have been sent here to take charge.
Still, judging by this,
cultivating in the future would be even harder than he'd imagined!
Shen Changchuan couldn't help sighing inwardly.
"It's no trouble at all. Being able to help you, Young Master Shen, is an honor."
Zhao Hangao looked delighted as he spoke.
They chatted a little longer, and Shen Changchuan learned more from Zhao Hangao about the distribution of local powers around Dawan Village, as well as the customs and conditions of the area.
About an hour later,
Zhao Hangao took his leave, saying it was getting late.
Shen Changchuan personally walked him out of the village,
leaving Zhao Hangao so flattered that he could hardly believe it.
He went on his way, excitement written all over his face.
Shen Changchuan watched him leave in silence for a moment. Only after he had disappeared from sight did Shen Changchuan turn and head back.
He returned to the main hall,
then opened the gift Zhao Hangao had brought when he called on him, carefully wrapped inside a jade box.
It was a mountain ginseng root, rich with spiritual energy.
Judging by its spiritual energy, it would probably fetch about two Spirit Stones at a cultivators' market.
It would be quite useful for cultivation.
For a cultivator in the early or middle stages of the Qi Induction Realm, this was a generous gift.
Shen Changchuan fell into thought.
His fingers tapped absently on the table beside him.
From their earlier conversation,
he could more or less understand why Zhao Hangao was so pleased.
Small cultivation households like theirs were simply too weak.
In the Cultivation World, they were little different from weeds in a field.
With no means to protect themselves,
they had no choice but to submit to a larger power, paying a hefty protection fee every year in exchange for protection in name.
Otherwise, in a place like this, where the strong preyed on the weak and there was no law, they would end up as fat meat on a bandit cultivator's chopping block.
Shen Changchuan could imagine it:
without the backing of a major power, bandit cultivators would surely take the trouble to roam from village to village each year, making off with the Spirit Grain painstakingly grown by small cultivation families and lesser powers.
Murdering people and wiping out entire villages
was hardly out of the question.
From what Zhao Hangao had said earlier,
twenty years ago, Zhao Family Village had to hand over at least seventy percent of its annual Spirit Grain harvest to Dawan Village.
Of course, Dawan Village would then send sixty percent of the tribute collected from villages like Zhao Family Village, which had submitted to it, on to Wu Family Market.
The Wu Clan of Wu Family Market, in turn, would send powerful cultivators out each year around harvest time to patrol the surrounding area and drive away Rogue Cultivators who entered its territory. That helped ensure the harvest went smoothly and maintained a measure of order in the region.
Of course, there were even bigger fish above the Wu Clan,
but that could wait.
Later, Dawan Village came under the Shen Clan, and the tribute from Zhao Family Village and the other nearby villages naturally went to the Shen Clan cultivator stationed there.
With the reputation of the Tiannan Shen Clan,
there was no need to send the protection fees they collected on to Wu Family Market.
So this extra income
went straight into the hands of the Shen Clan cultivator stationed in Dawan Village.
"I never knew Dawan Village came with perks like this."
"That means the benefits Dawan Village can bring me are even greater than I thought!"
At that moment,
Shen Changchuan once again felt
that his decision to flee the Shen Family Estate and get posted out here had been incredibly wise!
At the same time,
as he thought about Dawan Village and the surrounding area,
another idea occurred to him.
"If my strength were greater—if I reached the late stage of the Qi Induction Realm, or even the Out of Body Realm—then I could protect a larger region. Could I collect 'tribute' from even more of the surrounding area?"
"There seems to be plenty of potential here!"
But before Shen Changchuan could think any further,
a commotion and shouts rang out from outside,
as if something had happened.
What was going on?
Shen Changchuan's train of thought was interrupted. He frowned, but had no choice but to get up and walk out.
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