Although, due to contract issues, the land acquisition by Cherry Blossom Wind Group is probably going to be delayed indefinitely.
But Li Xingkong's vegetable garden relocation plan is still proceeding as scheduled.
After all, as his cultivation level increases, his demand for Body Tempering Grass also increases.
The current size of the vegetable garden is no longer sufficient to meet his daily food needs, so increasing the planting area is imperative.
After comparing the situation of several surrounding villages with the documents, Li Xingkong finally chose Xiurong Village.
The village is nestled in a mountain valley, accessible only by a bumpy dirt road. It is surrounded by mountains, and the village's fields are piled up in patches on the surrounding hillsides.
This type of land is difficult to cultivate mechanically because machines simply cannot get in. Furthermore, because everyone used to cultivate their own land individually, even on the same hillside, there was a nearly half-meter difference in elevation between each household's land.
This terrain is very unsuitable for modern agriculture, so it's understandable that it was abandoned.
However, this suited Li Xingkong's taste quite well. After all, with his current physical strength, turning over the ground was incredibly easy for him.
The most important thing is that there's no one around here, so even if someone comes, I can see them immediately. That way, I don't have to worry about anyone coming to steal my Body Tempering Grass.
If no one comes, then I can start planting without restraint, instead of having to carry around the few plants in the yard every day and count how many I need to eat.
Having chosen the location, Li Xingkong began the process of contracting the land.
Although the village has become deserted, it is only uninhabited. Most of the registered residents have moved to larger nearby villages, and many others work elsewhere.
If you want to lease the land, you have to sign a lease agreement with all these villagers.
In Divine Land, this price is much cheaper than in the Prisoner Continent.
A family's land might only cost 300 yuan a year to lease, which isn't even enough for a meal on the weekend.
Although the process was tedious, most people figured the land was just sitting idle anyway, and renting it out would bring in some money, so things progressed relatively smoothly.
While asking people to help with the paperwork, they also started breeding the existing Body Tempering Grass.
Li Xingkong has been busy again these past few days.
According to his estimate, he could rent about 100 mu of land in Xiurong Village.
Actually, I could rent even more, but unfortunately I don't have enough seeds to plant that many. Just for these 100 acres, it would probably take close to two years for me to have enough seeds to meet that requirement.
Judging from the current progress of Bone Tempering, the Bone Tempering of the Qi Refining stage can be completed in another year and a half.
Of course, this speed can be increased further as the amount of Body Tempering Grass planted increases.
The previous estimate of two years to complete Bone Tempering was based on the initial cultivation of the Body Tempering Grass. Now, more than half a year has passed since then, and the most obvious change is that Li Xingkong's Ingestion Spell has improved.
His improved Ingestion Spell significantly accelerated his absorption of the Body Tempering Grass, which in turn further accelerated his cultivation speed.
If you digest quickly, you'll get hungry quickly, which is why Li Xingkong wants to increase the production of Body Tempering Grass.
Returning to his normal daily cultivation routine, Li Xingkong felt a long-lost sense of comfort. It was best to continue cultivating day by day like this, undisturbed by anyone or anything; it felt incredibly comfortable for Li Xingkong.
Li Xingkong has seen the subsequent fates of the few people he is still keeping an eye on over the past few days.
After struggling helplessly for two days, the director of Cherry Blossom Wind Group chose to abscond, abandoning his wife and children and disappearing without a trace.
Although he was being closely monitored by the group, it was clear that his years of hard work hadn't been a solo effort; in short, he was very fast, and the group had started looking for him.
In Li Xingkong's view, this person was no longer a threat. As for whether he could escape, that depended on his own abilities.
Dong Yu's supporters in the group fled, and he himself was abandoned because of his poor performance. Li Xingkong only learned from the news that this person had been arrested as a spy for the Cherry Blossom Country. While Li Xingkong was still thinking about checking on his current situation, the man was already in jail.
It's a pity I won't get to see his disheveled state, since I don't know exactly where he was crouching.
Ximen Feng is in a worse situation. He was supposed to graduate this year, but because of his advisor's incident, he can't even graduate, let alone continue his studies.
Considering that he and Li Xingkong had grown up together since childhood, and although they weren't exactly friends, they had been neighbors for over ten years, and that he was already in such a miserable state, Li Xingkong didn't plan to do anything more to him.
He worked so hard, running around doing everything for his future. Although his methods weren't great, he was still a pitiful person. Fortunately, this matter didn't cause any major trouble in the end, otherwise Li Xingkong wouldn't have let him off the hook.
As for Reiko and her henchmen, after the group informed the director of the handling procedures, they were also summoned back for investigation. After all, they were the ones who personally handled the signing, so how could the investigation let them off the hook?
Before leaving, Li Xingkong made a special trip to see them. This time, they were no longer as arrogant and haughty as they had been when they met before.
Even when he saw Li Xingkong, he only gave a listless greeting.
"Why isn't Miss Reiko being so aggressive today?"
It's not very ethical to verbally ridicule a person who's fallen on hard times, but it feels good.
"Mr. Li, what happened before was just business. Let's not bring business matters into our personal lives."
Although Reiko was completely listless, she still responded to Li Xingkong. After all, what they wanted now was to act as soon as possible, and since they were leaving anyway, why make things worse?
After all, the company isn't hers. She's getting into conflicts with people over company matters, and the worst part is she's not getting paid.
What worker would do that, unless they've been completely brainwashed by the company?
She could be arrogant before because she had powerful backers. Even if Li Xingkong caused trouble or took action, she wasn't afraid.
In this situation, it seems that even if I return to the company, I will be able to continue working, depending on what happens next. Without any backing, I naturally lack the confidence to speak up.
When will the money for the land expropriation be released? I'm waiting for your money.
Li Xingkong continued to feign ignorance. He knew the company couldn't possibly pay for it, and Reiko knew it too, but both of them had to pretend they didn't know.
"Soon, soon, we have something to do, so we won't bother you any longer. Goodbye."
When the topic of money came up, Reiko's tone became even more ambiguous, and she was unwilling to say another word.
Just then, their car arrived, and she quickly said goodbye, got in, and drove away.
Watching the two cars drive away in a sorry state, Li Xingkong felt much better.
Only after the car drove away did the matter truly come to an end.
Watching the car leave, kicking up dust, Li Xingkong smiled and prepared to return to the courtyard.
As he turned back, he encountered Old Master Liu was carrying two pieces of paper.
Upon seeing Li Xingkong, the old man grabbed his sleeve.
"Young man Li, are those people from the Cherry Blossom Wind Group still staying at Granny Caidun's house? Quick, come with me, let's stop them."
The old man walked hurriedly, looking very anxious.
"What's up, Uncle Liu?"
Li Xingkong was quite curious; what was wrong with this Old Master Liu this time?
"This is terrible! We've signed the contract, but the amount is wrong—it's too much!"
The old man and Li Xingkong exchanged a few words.
"I didn't realize you were such an upright man. You want to return the extra money?"
To be honest, Li Xingkong looked at him with a different eye.
"What are you talking about? Are you stupid? Of course we should stop them! If they get away, who's going to pay us?"
Seeing that Li Xingkong didn't move, the old man let go of his hand and hurriedly went to Granny Caidun's house, while also making phone calls to others. It was as if he was planning a village-wide manhunt.
"Hey, you're overthinking it. Where would you find someone so upright?"