"Are you the Chen Jianghe whom Young Master Bufan praised?"
"Not bad. You raised three spirit beasts in only your second batch of Small Blue Fish. You truly have an outstanding talent for fish farming."
The thousand-foot ship stopped in the lake channel in front of Chen Jianghe's waters, and three late Qi Refining stage cultivators hauled aboard all the Small Blue Fish.
The ship's manager looked at Chen Jianghe with appreciation, and a trace of envy flashed through his eyes.
Had Yun Bufan praised me?
Chen Jianghe had forgotten.
But from that trace of envy in the ship manager's eyes, he knew that Yun Bufan's standing in the Yun Household was rising rapidly.
"My name is Yun Wu. I'm the younger brother of Yun San, Young Master Bufan's personal attendant." The ship's manager smiled faintly, showing his friendliness.
"So you're Senior Yun San's younger brother. Forgive my lack of courtesy," Chen Jianghe said, cupping his hands.
At that moment, he recalled a scene from thirteen years ago, during Yun Bufan's first year serving concurrently as a steward in the Outer Waters.
Yun Bufan had indeed praised him, saying that he had a good talent for fish farming, and had also said that he hoped to see him in the Inner Waters.
Thirteen years had passed. If Manager Yun Wu had not mentioned it, he would have long since left that memory forgotten in the deepest recesses of his mind.
Chen Jianghe had never expected that Yun Bufan's casual words to him back then would stir envy in a ship manager who was at least at the eighth level of Qi Refining.
Yun Wu smiled and nodded at Chen Jianghe, then turned toward the cultivators working nearby.
"Have you finished counting?"
"Yes. Excluding the three spirit beast Small Blue Fish, there are ninety-two Small Blue Fish, with an average weight of one jin and three liang."
"An average weight that low?"
Yun Wu looked astonished. Turning to Chen Jianghe, he said admiringly, "Young Master Bufan truly has eyes like blazing torches. He spotted your exceptional talent for fish farming at a glance."
Chen Jianghe smiled along.
He really found every possible way to flatter Yun Bufan!
"Three spirit beast Small Blue Fish earn a reward of three spirit stones. With an average weight of one jin and three liang, your commission comes to three jin and two liang, or three hundred and twenty grains of spirit sand."
"Since Young Master Bufan thinks highly of you, you're bound to achieve something in the Yun Household someday. Keep up the good work."
Yun Wu took out a storage pouch, withdrew six spirit stones and twenty grains of spirit sand, and handed them to Chen Jianghe.
Then he gave Chen Jianghe's shoulder a firm pat, showing that he, too, had high hopes for him.
Chen Jianghe thanked him repeatedly.
His gratitude was heartfelt. After all, Yun Wu had paid the commission of three hundred and twenty grains of spirit sand as three spirit stones and twenty grains of spirit sand.
He had given him fifteen extra grains of spirit sand.
After seeing Yun Wu off, Chen Jianghe tidied up, preparing to head to Port No. 1 for their small year-end gathering.
But just as he finished, a streak of sword light flew from Heart of the Lake Island and reached Bing District Waters No. 12 in the blink of an eye.
"Brother Jianghe."
The flying sword stopped above the black-canopied boat, and Yu Daniu leaped down with his eldest son, Yun Xiaoniu, landing at the bow.
"I knew you wouldn't have left yet. Let's go together."
Yu Daniu walked toward Chen Jianghe with an honest grin, urging his son to greet him.
"Xiaoniu, greet your uncle."
"Your nephew pays his respects, Uncle."
Yun Xiaoniu took after Yu Daniu in appearance, dark-skinned and sturdy. At only five years old, he was already 1.3 meters tall, but his temperament differed from his father's. He was rather steady, and he came up to Chen Jianghe and greeted him politely.
"Xiaoniu has grown taller again. At this rate, you'll catch up to your father in just a few years," Chen Jianghe praised him.
Last New Year's Eve, Yu Daniu had invited Chen Jianghe to a small feast at his home, where he had met Yun Xiaoniu. Yun Xiaoniu had been only four then, yet already stood 1.1 meters tall.
Chen Jianghe had also met Yu Daniu's second and third sons, while his fourth son had still been in his wife's womb.
Yu Daniu's wife was pretty, and she was also a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining.
Their second and third sons took after Yu Daniu's wife, with skin as fair as jade and lively, adorable faces.
Yu Daniu's second son was named Yun Youniu. Back when his eldest had just been born, Yu Daniu had thought his wife's pregnancy was entirely a stroke of extraordinary luck.
So he had named him Xiaoniu. Who could have imagined that their second son would be born just a year later? The couple had thought it over all night before finally naming him Yun Youniu.
Then, less than two years later, their third son had been born.
Choosing a name had truly stumped the couple.
They wanted their third son to share a character in his name with both his older brothers, so their relationship could be closer in the future.
They had pondered it for a month.
Their third son was named Yun San Niu.
At the beginning of the year, their fourth son had been born. This time, the couple had no trouble choosing a name and simply called him Yun Siniu.
At the same time, Chen Jianghe had learned why he always felt that the spiritual energy on Heart of the Lake Island was not particularly dense, scarcely different from that in the Inner Waters.
It turned out that each residence on Heart of the Lake Island had a Spirit Gathering Formation. The spiritual energy in Yu Daniu's home was nearly twice as dense as that in the Outer Waters.
"Brother Jianghe, why do you think Sister Peiyao wants to leave Mirror Moon Lake?"
After entering the cabin, Yu Daniu channeled his magical power to propel the fishing boat toward Port No. 1. Chen Jianghe said nothing about it.
With Yu Daniu's cultivation at Qi Refining, fifth layer, this little expenditure of magical power was nothing.
"Peiyao isn't reckless. Since she wants to leave Mirror Moon Lake, she's probably thought it through carefully."
Chen Jianghe glanced at Yu Daniu and said, "Fairy Miaoyun is leaving with Peiyao. The two of them probably discussed it beforehand."
"As for the reason, we'll find out when we reach the Welcoming Inn."
Yu Daniu nodded, then added, "It's good that they're going together. Though Zhou Miaoyun is somewhat status-minded, she's still an ally who swore the oath with us. She wouldn't go so far as to cheat Sister Peiyao."
"Oh, right, Brother Jianghe. I have some spirit stones to spare. Take them and use them for now." As Yu Daniu spoke, he took out a storage pouch and withdrew eight spirit stones.
Chen Jianghe glanced at them but did not accept the spirit stones in Yu Daniu's hand.
"Brother Jianghe, you don't need to worry that I'll lack cultivation resources, or that Huizhen will scold me when I get home. I discussed it with Huizhen before coming, and she agreed."
At the mention of his virtuous wife, Yu Daniu scratched his head with an honest air and revealed a happy smile.
"Besides, as for the resources I'll need to break through to the late Qi Refining stage, the clan said that as long as three of my children have spiritual roots, they'll reward me with a Calamity-Breaking Pill to make that breakthrough."
"All right. I'll accept the spirit stones."
Chen Jianghe took the spirit stones from Yu Daniu's hand.
Since Yu Daniu had gone so far, he could hardly spurn his kindness.
Besides, he really was desperately short of spirit stones right now.
Adding his newly received pay to the ninety-two grains of spirit sand he had saved, he had a total of six spirit stones and one hundred and twelve grains of spirit sand.
It seemed like a lot, but it was nowhere near enough.
He needed to buy a Qi-Nurturing Pill to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.
Without a Qi-Nurturing Pill, he would need two or three years to wear down the bottleneck. Though his lifespan was long, that would be extremely poor value.
Moreover, he also had to take Xiao Hei's limited lifespan into account.
A single Qi-Nurturing Pill cost five spirit stones.
After rewarding Xiao Hei with a Qi-Nourishing Pill last time, he had promised Xiao Hei another Qi-Nourishing Pill for four more years of hard work.
Thus, the spirit stones he had would only buy one Qi-Nurturing Pill and one Qi-Nourishing Pill.
Even if Yu Daniu had not brought up the spirit stones himself, Chen Jianghe had planned to ask him for some help next year.
After all, he could hardly stop living after buying the Qi-Nourishing Pill next year.
The Small Blue Fish had a three-year farming cycle. Before his next payment arrived, he would not even be able to afford daily necessities.
On top of that, Gao Peiyao and Zhou Miaoyun were leaving Mirror Moon Lake.
Chen Jianghe still owed each of them two spirit stones. As the saying went, one could scrimp at home but needed money on the road. He had to find a way to repay them!
"With the eight spirit stones Daniu gave me, I can also put my earlier plan into action ahead of time. Otherwise, raising Small Blue Fish alone won't even sustain the most basic cultivation needs for Xiao Hei and me."
(End of chapter)
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