Returned

Unfortunately, it's the Lunar New Year now, and it's not yet the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, so the private school hasn't started classes yet.

Otherwise, I could visit Yigao's private school and see how proper scholars in this era conducted their classes.

Upon arriving at the Affairs Hall, Lin Xiao saw Liu Yunan tapping his head with a pen, his brows furrowed as he stared at the booklet on the desk in front of him, deep in thought.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao coughed lightly and said:

Is something wrong with you?

Hearing Lin Xiao's voice, Liu Yunan looked up and, seeing him arrive, said with some delight:

"Brother Xiao, you're here! Come and see this."

As he spoke, he turned the booklet in front of him around and moved it closer to Lin Xiao.

"Since we delivered goods to the Many Treasures Pavilion last time, some new Spirit Plant have been planted in our sect's spiritual fields. Among them, the Mo Mulberry is growing the most, and the spiritual silkworms are reproducing extremely fast. The amount of spiritual silk produced now is much greater than before."

"And Brother Xiao, the Ice Stone Grass you brought back before. I originally thought we were just planting it near that cold pond, not a large area, so the harvest wouldn't be much. But it grew extremely fast, and we've already harvested several batches. It's all piled up in the warehouse now. I was just wondering whether to include it in the trade list with the Many Treasures Pavilion Ice Stone Grass, but I was worried you might need it. I was planning to ask you about it later."

Lin Xiao glanced at the densely filled notebook on the table and said to Liu Yunan:

"That thing isn't of much use to our sect right now. Since it grows so fast, let's sell it if we can. Just keep some in our warehouse for emergencies. The same goes for other things. If they're useless and there's a lot of them, keep a fixed amount and sell the rest regularly."

After saying that, Lin Xiao turned the booklet back to Liu Yunan.

The densely packed content made his scalp tingle.

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunan nodded, took the booklet, and began to write and draw on it diligently.

Lin Xiao did not make a sound to disturb him, but simply sat quietly to the side and waited for him to handle his affairs.

He casually glanced around the Affairs Hall.

Since the establishment of the Affairs Hall, he has hardly spent any time there except when he needs to see the Tuzi.

Looking at it now, it's clear that this place has already taken on the appearance of an office.

Behind Liu Yunan was a bookshelf that took up an entire wall, the craftsmanship of which was clearly the work of his grandfather, Old Master Lin.

It is labeled with various categories.

There are staff files, salary payment records, records of material allocation and usage, material income records, and external transaction records, etc.

There aren't many booklets in each category; now only one or two are full, and the rest are empty spare booklets.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "With Tuzi around, I've really saved myself a lot of trouble."

After waiting a while, Liu Yunan finished dealing with his work, and Lin Xiao finally spoke:

"Tuzi, I'm planning to do some more construction in our sect soon."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunan nodded decisively and said:

"Okay, Brother Xiao, tell me how you want it built? I'll come up with a plan tonight."

Seeing that he agreed without asking any questions and without complaining, Lin Xiao smiled and said:

"There's no rush. I was just thinking that our sect will probably start recruiting new disciples this year, so we'll need to expand many things in our sect. Otherwise, with so many people, it might feel a bit cramped."

There's no rush. You can make plans when you have some free time. Don't overwork yourself. Anyway, we'll decide when to recruit disciples."

Knowing that he was worried that he was overworking himself, Liu Yunan smiled and said:

"Don't worry, Brother Xiao. I don't find these things tiring at all; on the contrary, I find them quite interesting. When I was young, I couldn't help much with family matters and never did anything serious. Now, doing these things is beneficial to the sect. Seeing the sect's development every day makes me very happy."

Seeing him like this, Lin Xiao knew that it was because he used to watch his mother work hard, but he was too young and weak to lift a hoe or plow the land, and couldn't help much. Now that he had grown up, he had cultivation and ability, and could make a difference. He felt his own value and was very pleased with it.

This is probably the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that comes from transforming a useless emptiness into a useful fulfillment.

Lin Xiao smiled and said:

"I know you're happy, but we've only just begun. As our sect continues to grow, there will only be more and more tasks to handle. You should lighten your load appropriately and remember to train some assistants. Otherwise, I'm afraid that when you get busy in the future, you might have to research a Law Technique like a clone technique."

The two chatted for a while longer, then Lin Xiao left the Affairs Hall without disturbing him.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Qin Jianghe's mother hurrying up the mountain.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao asked:

"Auntie Qin, what's wrong?"

When Mother Qin saw Lin Xiao, she stopped in her tracks, sighed, and said to him:

"Brother Xiao, have you seen Jianghe?"

Seeing that he was looking for Jianghe, Lin Xiao replied:

"I haven't seen him, but Jianghe should be in the cultivation room right now."

Because he had been away from home for a long time, for the past six months, whenever he briefly returned to the sect, he would go to the cultivation room whenever he had free time, making the most of the time to cultivate in this place with the richest Spiritual Qi.

Upon hearing this, Mother Qin thanked Lin Xiao and then hurriedly headed towards the cultivation room.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao thought for a moment, then decided not to follow, but instead strolled over to Senior Liao's room, intending to have a chat with him.

On Mother Qin's side.

She arrived at the meditation room and, sure enough, saw her son inside, intently meditating and cultivating.

After thinking it over, she decided not to disturb Qin Jianghe. Instead, she sat down and started cultivating with him, planning to talk to him after Qin Jianghe finished cultivating.

It wasn't until evening that Qin Jianghe broke out of his meditative state and opened his eyes.

Then I saw my mother beside me.

Mother Qin wasn't focused on cultivation; she had been keeping an eye on Qin Jianghe's condition. Sensing that he had finished his cultivation, Mother Qin immediately stopped as well and said to him:

"My son, I heard some news when I went down the mountain today: it seems that Niu Xiaoxue from the Niu Household has returned from the Immortal Sect."

Upon hearing this, Qin Jianghe asked:

"So what if they're back? What business is it of ours? The engagement is off now, and our family has nothing to do with the Niu Household anymore. Why should we care about them?"

The Tuzi had already told him about the Shangyang Sect, as well as the news that Mo Yuanjiao had sent back from the capital about the Shangyang Sect's split after changing hands.

So when he heard that Niu Xiaoxue was coming back, he wasn't surprised at all.

Mother Qin sighed:

"Well, that's what they say, but I heard that after Niu Xiaoxue came back, she told her family that a new sect had emerged in our area. The Niu Household told her about our sect, and now, I hear she wants to join our sect."