Harvest and Insurance Fraud

With the harassment of the Gale Falcon gone, the twelve mu of spirit fields were quickly harvested through the efforts of the sturdy villagers.

Among the twelve mu of spirit fields, ten mu were cultivated using traditional methods, yielding a total of 1,131 catties.

About 12 catties were lost due to the battle with the Gale Falcon; otherwise, the harvest would have been even greater.

As for the experimental plots using the improved methods managed by the eleventh and twelfth teams, one mu yielded 136 catties, and the other yielded 148 catties.

The yield per mu had undoubtedly seen a significant increase.

This seemed somewhat exaggerated, but after Shen Changchuan integrated the increased yields from the ten mu that had not changed their cultivation methods, he roughly understood the reason behind it.

It was not strange at all.

There was no other reason, it was simply a matter of diligence.

In the past, the cultivation of spirit fields was done by everyone—men, women, old, and young—all driven to work together.

The harvest obtained after such arduous labor, however, had nothing to do with them at all.

Under such circumstances, the villagers' mindset was likely just to get by; there was no initiative to actively seek improvement.

After all, there was no reward for doing a good job, and conversely, if things went poorly, they would be blamed. Any normal person would know how to choose.

But after Shen Changchuan arrived, he began to attempt new reforms, making the output of the spirit fields closely tied to every single villager.

Because of this, the villagers became more attentive to the cultivation of the Spirit Grain Crop and took much better care of the Spirit Grain Crop.

Just this alone, brought about a ten percent increase in the spirit field's yield.

With this comparison, the thirty to forty percent growth in the spirit fields of the eleventh and twelfth teams became understandable.

Shen Changchuan was very satisfied after obtaining the specific data.

When the spring plowing arrived next year, he would promote the cultivation experience of the eleventh and twelfth teams, and the amount of increased production would only be greater!

Moreover, Shen Changchuan could clearly feel, that there was still potential for further exploration and improvement.

"The Spirit Grain Cultivation Manual should still have room for further refinement."

"Furthermore, now that the Crocodile Demon in the Dawan River has been slain by me, when next year comes, I can dig out the deposits formed by the combination of Water Vein Essence and Earth Vein Essence from the riverbed silt to use as fertilizer. By then, my harvest will be even greater!"

Taking stock of the harvest after the Spirit Grain Crop was reaped, Shen Changchuan felt at ease.

Even the fatigue accumulated from the previous great battle with the Gale Falcon dissipated quite a bit.

One must know, although this Dawan Village could be considered his main base, he still had extra income from outside.

For instance, the two mu of spirit fields in Zhao Family Village belonged entirely to him.

There was also the allegiance of the other six surrounding villages, which was also a large sum of income.

Shen Changchuan did a quick calculation, subtracting the 1,000 catties to be handed over to the Shen Clan, plus the output from the two mu of spirit fields in Zhao Family Village, and the sixty to seventy percent tribute from the four mu of spirit fields across the other six villages, the harvest he would obtain this season was already over eight or nine hundred catties!

Converted into spirit stones, that was already nearly eighty or ninety pieces!

Although he still needed to pay some expenses from this, such as bonuses and pensions for the people below, as well as the compensation for his grandfather and eldest uncle, who had now become cultivators.

But those were only minor costs, and even after deducting all expenses, Shen Changchuan's final income would not be less than seventy or eighty spirit stones!

This number made him gasp for a moment.

Don't be fooled into thinking that seventy or eighty spirit stones isn't much just because he had obtained over a hundred of them after slaying the Four Evils of He Mountain.

But the former, was a one-time deal, and one that required risking his life, fighting enemies above his own level, where the slightest carelessness would result in death on the spot.

However, cultivating spirit fields was a stable source of income that came every single year!

And it was two harvests a year, at that.

In terms of both safety and actual value, this kind of continuous, steady stream of income far exceeded the former!

Such a massive windfall

was something he never even dared to imagine back when he was at the Shen Family Estate!

"I wonder to what extent the internal strife within the Shen clan has reached."

"But regardless of how they fight, my decision to leave the Shen Family Estate and come to this fringe territory was the right one."

"If I had stayed at the Shen Family Estate, how could I ever have an income of seventy or eighty spirit stones every half year like I do now?!"

Shen Changchuan felt joyful in his heart, unable to help but feel extremely satisfied with his original decision.

With such a large sum of spirit stones, it would certainly have to be used toward increasing his cultivation base, but how should he go about using it?

Shen Changchuan began to calculate in his heart, not knowing what the merchant caravans over at Wu Family Market might have.

However, his primary goal should be medicinal pills that could increase his cultivation speed.

Having taken a Qi-Inducing Pill and advanced from the mid-stage of the fourth level of Qi-Induction to the fifth level in a mere two months, Shen Changchuan had personally experienced the benefits of pills for accelerating cultivation.

As for the "pill toxins" mentioned by novelists, it was the same logic as saying that discussing a medicinal herb's properties without mentioning the dosage is just being a hooligan.

As long as one didn't treat pills like daily meals but instead took one every few days, a cultivator's body would naturally be able to digest and expel the negligible amount of pill toxins during the cultivation process, so there was no need to worry too much.

And besides pills, he also needed to look into spells, magical artifacts, formations, and other means to strengthen himself, especially things that could deal with the Gale Falcon; those had to be prioritized.

After all, that Gale Falcon was a major headache for Dawan Village.

If he were lucky enough to discover a legacy related to alchemy, artifact refining, or perhaps formation mastery, he could consider those as well.

Of course, this last point was a bit of a daydream.

A single craft was enough to serve as the foundation for an entire cultivation family, and with a mere hundred or so spirit stones, he probably wouldn't even be qualified to get a whiff of one.

"So, in the end, I'm still just a poor wretch?"

Money needed to be spent here, and money needed to be spent there.

After just a brief calculation, his entire budget was already spent clean.

Shen Changchuan couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, which made him deeply realize the fact that he was still a poor wretch!

A big, capital "miserable"!

Just as Shen Changchuan was taking stock of his assets and sighing in his heart, Han Qinhu walked in carrying a few sheets of paper with something recorded on them.

"Changchuan, there is something I think you should know."

Han Qinhu looked at Shen Changchuan, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke up.

"What is it, Grandfather?"

"You are the person I trust most; if there is something, just say it directly."

Seeing Han Qinhu's reaction, Shen Changchuan felt a bit strange.

Han Qinhu did not answer, but instead handed the papers in his hand to Shen Changchuan.

Shen Changchuan took them curiously, and saw that they recorded the names of several people, followed by detailed household registration information such as their ages and the number of family members.

Shen Changchuan had originally been a bit puzzled, He watched for a moment, but his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he quickly flipped through the next two pages.

His brows furrowed tightly at that very moment.

"Of the five people on the first page, the first four were villagers who rushed forward during the battle in the spirit fields yesterday and were killed by the Gale Falcon. The last one worked himself to death in the spirit fields this morning while harvesting the remaining Spirit Grain."

Han Qinhu's voice was steady.

"The people on the second page are the six who died during the battle when the Crocodile Demon came ashore and we laid an ambush for it."

"Among these people, they were either over fifty years of age, disabled, or chronic invalids. I've checked the past records, and such a situation has never occurred before."

Han Qinhu explained in a low voice.

He did not continue to spell out the implication.

In the air, the atmosphere fell silent for a time.

"So, you're saying someone is committing insurance fraud?"

After a long while, Shen Changchuan said in a low voice.

"Insurance fraud?"

"Oh, it just means swindling the bereavement compensation."

"Then that is indeed what they are doing."

Although Han Qinhu did not know how the "insurance" in Shen Changchuan's term connected to bereavement compensation, that did not stop him from following the other's lead.

"Changchuan, I have actually wanted to speak to you about this for a long time. The compensation you set for those two villagers killed by the Crocodile Demon was far too high."

"Ten catties of Spirit Grain—if one is lucky enough, it is enough to set a person on the path of cultivation; it is enough to make a person sell their own life!"

"It was only because you announced the reforms back then, promising that a portion of the future increase in yield would be used to reward them, that you gave them hope of obtaining Spirit Grain, which is why there wasn't a large-scale rush to throw their lives away."

"But even so, those mortals who feel their remaining years are useless and that living is a burden to their families do not mind trading their broken bodies for the prosperity of their descendants."

Speaking to this point, thinking of those old, weak, sick, and disabled people who threw their lives away for compensation, Han Qinhu's voice became murderous.

"Such base people are simply taking advantage of your youth and kind heart."

"In my opinion, we should kill the chicken to warn the monkey, retract the original decision, and never give these fraudsters even half a grain of Spirit Grain!"

Shen Changchuan did not speak, a moment of silence.

When he originally decided to give those two villagers who died in the jaws of the Crocodile Demon ten catties of Spirit Grain as compensation, it was because he was the one who proposed using riverbed silt for compost to improve the yield of the spirit fields.

The others followed his suggestion, and as a result, an accident occurred and they died.

In a sense, they could be considered to have died because of Shen Changchuan's mistake.

Having only transmigrated for two and a half years, he still harbored the humanitarian values shaped by the industrial civilization of his past life, which left him feeling guilty, so he decided to grant them that compensation, which was extremely generous for mortals.

But the subsequent developments

were something he had not foreseen.

After all, Shen Changchuan before his transmigration was nothing more than an ordinary person.

He was not a sage who could calculate everything, and he could not account for every situation.

"No, let the bereavement compensation for these people remain at this standard."

Shen Changchuan closed his eyes and pondered for a long time.

A quarter of an hour later, he opened his eyes, his gaze firm.

Hearing this, Han Qinhu's expression grew anxious, and he wanted to say something.

But Shen Changchuan raised a hand to stop him, as if explaining to himself:

"The matter of the bereavement compensation was my lack of consideration; it was my mistake."

"Although these people are suspected of fraud, they ultimately went to their deaths because of the compensation I proposed, losing their lives, and in the battles, they were not entirely without use."

"Let these sacrifices be the price for paying for my mistakes."

"Of course, starting from today, for anyone who dies on village business, the bereavement compensation will be adjusted to one catty of Spirit Grain as compensation."

One catty of Spirit Grain as compensation, was already very low.

Furthermore, if the reforms were to be rolled out next year, any yield exceeding one hundred catties per mu would be split on a three-to-seven basis, so there should no longer be anyone willing to throw their lives away for such a meager settlement fee.

As for the expenditure of those dozen or so spirit stones, he would simply consider it the price paid for a lesson learned from his own mistake.

Very well, This lesson was actually quite painful to purchase, After all, it was an outlay of more than ten spirit stones.

But he had always felt that, It was not terrifying for a person to make a mistake; one simply had to correct it.

What was truly terrifying was not knowing one was wrong, Or even worse, knowing one was wrong and refusing to change.

Therefore, although Shen Changchuan felt some regret in his heart, He merely tucked this lesson away in his mind, without letting it stir up any anger or lead him to vent his frustrations on others.

The expenditure of those dozen spirit stones would serve as a warning to himself, A reminder to be more cautious in the future and to think things through more thoroughly before making any decisions.