Heading to Chang'an
"My whole plan is like this..."
After attending three banquets, Zhang Xuezhou listened to Rong Tianding's little plan.
His cousin was clearly not one to follow the rules. After obtaining a new travel permit in Chang'an City, Rong Tianding's journey was smooth sailing, without any obstacles caused by a lack of permits or other necessary items.
He even estimated that Zhang Xuezhou might return to Hibiscus City after going north, and he caught him red-handed.
Of course, if Zhang Xuezhou is slower, he will leave a message for Zhang Xuezhou. After all, the banquet they organized to mark their retirement from the pig slaughtering business is no small matter, and Zhang Xuezhou can find out their whereabouts by asking a few neighbors.
"The plan is excellent," Zhang Xuezhou nodded. "Don't feel pressured. I received a reward of 100,000 gold coins in Jiangdu, which I've already delivered with the King of Jiangdu's entourage. That should be enough for the people of Zhang Household Village to eat and drink for half a year!"
"One hundred thousand gold?"
Upon hearing the numbers, Rong Tianding began to doubt his life choices. After counting on his fingers for a moment, he finally realized that even shorting the Rong Household's stock wouldn't be enough to cover the reward.
Even after accumulating wealth for two generations, the Rong Household wealth amounted to only a little over twenty strings of cash.
In small towns, houses aren't as valuable as those in Chang'an City. Even though the Rong Household was quite well-built, it didn't fetch a good price, and few people were willing to take it over.
"So we're not that close," Rong Tianding said with a sigh of relief.
"Moving the whole family is a big deal. Do you have a positive outlook on the development of Chang'an City, cousin?" Zhang Xuezhou asked with a smile.
"There are far more opportunities in Chang'an City than in Hibiscus City," Rong Tianding said in a low voice. "Look at us, from our grandfather's generation to my mother, it's been a full sixty or seventy years, and we can only come up with twenty strings of cash, but we can make nearly ten strings by reselling two months' worth of grain in the West Market."
Without this comparison, Rong Tianding felt that Hibiscus City's comfortable and prosperous life was wonderful.
But after seeing the world expand, he felt that Hibiscus City was a stagnant pool.
Having witnessed the prosperity of Chang'an City, it's hard to return to the quiet and Hibiscus City.
On the one hand, he needed to help the people of Zhang Household Village, and on the other hand, he really wanted to take his family to Chang'an City to develop. Moreover, this would at least allow him to see his parents, so that they wouldn't be separated by thousands of miles and Rong Li wouldn't have to miss them every day.
All these considerations, coupled with the convenience brought by Zhang Xuezhou's request for a job, Rong Tianding to come up with this plan.
"Cousin, you've already entered the imperial court, and I've also gained some cultivation, soon enough to manifest True Spirit. Our cultivation levels aren't particularly impressive in Chang'an City, but it won't be difficult to establish ourselves at the bottom, and besides..."
Rong Tianding thought for a moment, and he couldn't help but think of the group of three generations of people in Zhang Household Village who were as fierce as wolves and tigers. Even the women of Zhang Household Village were skilled with bows.
The people in this kind of village are far inferior to cultivators, but if they were to fight against an ordinary village, it would be like an adult beating a child.
Even if these people were placed in Chang'an City, they would still be among the best of the common people.
It wasn't difficult for the people from Zhang Household Village to squeeze into that chaotic and disorderly area Chang'an City.
Moreover, they have excellent seeds to plant, agricultural cultivators to guide them in farming, and they are also knowledgeable about buying and selling grain. Rong Tianding felt that the prospects for development were good.
"My cousin is so thoughtful!"
Compared to Zhang Xuezhou's still clueless arrangements, Rong Tianding felt that developing production, coupled with some commercial operations, would allow many people to settle down Chang'an City.
If you can get through the first few years, things will definitely get better.
If someone could become a minor official in Chang'an City, they could even buy a house in the city.
Of course, not being eligible to buy a house in Chang'an City is not a big deal, since there are too many ways to enter and leave Chang'an City.
"I knew my cousin would agree," Rong Tianding said happily. "Once Mom and Dad have their turn in Chang'an City, they definitely won't be thinking about Hibiscus City anymore!"
That's it!
"As long as I can earn a living, they won't worry about slaughtering pigs!"
Rong Tianding and Zhang Xuezhou whispered to each other, while Rong Li and Jia Zhiyuan watched Zhang Xuezhou eat very politely, their hearts pounding with fear.
Zhang Xuezhou's demeanor was extremely calm, but the amount of food the other person ate far exceeded that of an average person; he ate the amount of food that would take other people three days to finish.
When Rong Li and the others first saw it, they only felt sorry for Zhang Xuezhou, who was so hungry that his skin was practically touching his bones.
But after Zhang Xuezhou continued to eat, and his face and abdomen showed little abnormality, the two began to believe what Rong Tianding had said: that their nephew had become a highly capable cultivator.
Even just being able to eat is a skill in itself.
Although she didn't know what cultivators were capable of, Rong Li couldn't understand the situation in Chang'an City. If it was true that only cultivators who could eat their fill could thrive there, then perhaps that explained why Zhang Xuezhou was able to become an official in the imperial court.
The couple muttered things that no normal person could understand, and occasionally called out to the guests loudly, until the banquet came to an end, at which point the couple saw off their neighbors who had come to offer their congratulations.
"Your cousin..."
"My cousin's due for bedtime soon. We'll make the arrangements. First, we'll go to the post station to retrieve the official horse, then head south along the way, and then turn west!"
"What, lying down?"
Having filled their bellies, Zhang Xuezhou and Rong Tianding also settled their matters.
Compared to Zhang Xuezhou's previous twelve-day stay in Hibiscus City, this time was slightly different; he was able to hitch a ride to Chang'an City when Rong Tianding moved.
Twelve days is not a long time, but it's not short either. By the time he regained consciousness, he should have already traveled more than half the distance.
As for the minor troubles during this trip, Zhang Xuezhou ignored them. After all, he had already successfully completed the task of recruiting Li Shaojun, and any things that did not conform to the official standards along the way would not cause any major controversy. If all else failed, he could still use his poor health as an excuse.
He touched the innate spiritual object he had retrieved from Fangzhang Island, and after examining the stick, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he was probably destined to use a cane for the rest of his life.
After refining the treasure once more using the Refining Treasure Technique, Zhang Xuezhou also gave Rong Tianding some instructions on related matters.
He arrived at the Rong Household's house quickly, ate and drank his fill, and then lay down just as quickly, leaving him little time to catch up with Rong Li and the others. He could only offer his apologies.
Rong Tianding responded with "uh-huh" and "ah-ah" for a while, but then Zhang Xuezhou, who was lying on the bed, fell silent, as always, his memory completely blank and difficult to wake up.
"My cousin is really capable! He's making money, finding treasures, saving lives, and even doing official duties. I couldn't possibly do all that!"
Rong Tianding thought about the two people when he left Luoyang, and then about the scene when Zhang Xuezhou completed the task with this official document. He couldn't help but sigh at how many things had happened in between, and there must have been a lot of things he had never encountered.
"Once my cultivation level is high enough, I'll definitely be able to keep up with my cousin's pace, and then all of us can live a good life!"
He thought about the legacy of the Corpse-Slaying School he had acquired, and then about Zhang Xuezhou's unfathomable Technique Method, and felt that the two of them had a bright future ahead of them.