Assignment

"Lord Fox Immortal, you..."

Hearing Yin Yunze's threat, some villagers immediately grew restless.

It wasn't that they intended to default on their debts; they were simply concerned about the things they cared about, a purely instinctive reaction.

Yin Yunze merely asked calmly in return, "Could it be that you have no confidence in returning my gold in three days?"

Once he said that, no one dared speak up again.

Now that he had put it like that, wouldn't anyone who still objected be admitting they intended to pocket Yin Yunze's gold?!

"Of course, if you have doubts, we shall forget about lending you grain!"

"Don't!" Song Zhao said anxiously at once. "Lord Fox Immortal, if they won't borrow it, I will! You can lend it to me!"

Compared to the others, Song Zhao understood the ins and outs best.

A round trip of only a few dozen li could earn him a profit of three or four taels of gold.

That was far more profitable than toiling away in the fields.

But Yin Yunze didn't respond to Song Zhao right away.

Although Yin Yunze had considered using Song Zhao's connections, he didn't actually trust him.

After all, their relationship could only be said to have improved somewhat. It wasn't trust.

In fact, apart from Sun Qin and Zhao Wan, Yin Yunze couldn't say he trusted anyone in Clear Creek Village, which was why he had summoned a group.

A few taels of gold were enough to make one person take a desperate risk.

But for a group, it didn't seem like quite enough to go around.

"Lord Fox Immortal, I... I want to borrow grain too."

Yin Yunze didn't have to wait long for a second person to speak up. It was the Zhang family woman who had spoken first.

The Zhang woman didn't know about the others, but she knew she really had reached the end of her rope.

If she couldn't get grain from Yin Yunze, people really would starve to death.

With Song Zhao and the Zhang woman taking the lead, the other villagers could no longer worry about much else and began asking for grain too.

"Song Zhao, you and the four who first asked for grain may each have two hundred jin of polished rice."

Yin Yunze had prepared only a thousand jin of rice in total, however, so he naturally couldn't satisfy everyone. Besides, he had a bit of hunger marketing in mind, so he gave the thousand jin only to the first five.

And with it spread out a little, the quantity wouldn't be so conspicuous.

Ignoring the regret on the faces of those who hadn't been chosen, Yin Yunze said softly, "You five, pray!"

"Please bestow grain upon us, Lord Fox Immortal!"

This time, there was no more talk of having hard bones. Song Zhao was the first to drop smoothly to his knees.

Though he got a little less this time, wouldn't there be a next time?!

With profit leading the way, other grudges and grievances naturally ceased to matter.

Then the other four knelt as well and prayed in unison.

"Please bestow grain upon us, Lord Fox Immortal!"

"Be ready to receive it."

To make it easier for them to carry away this time, Yin Yunze didn't play any tricks like leaving the husks behind while taking the rice.

As the five prayed, four fifty-jin bags of rice appeared before each of them.

Everyone, including Song Zhao, eyed the rice packed in woven plastic bags with some curiosity.

The others, who hadn't received any rice, looked at the five with some envy.

"Fifty jin per bag, four bags in all," Yin Yunze briefly explained. "Remember to give me one tael of gold in three days. Now, take the rice and leave!"

"Madam Liu, that's so much rice. I doubt you can carry it all, can you?! Come, let your big brother carry it for you!"

No sooner had Yin Yunze finished speaking than one of the onlookers got an idea.

Seeing this, Yin Yunze added, "You may help, but if you have ill intentions, don't say you weren't warned!"

With those Law Techniques, Yin Yunze had much more confidence when making threats like this.

Unlike Spirit Medium Wang, who had no faith, the people before him were all little points of light marked on the radar map. As long as they were in Clear Creek Village, finding them was fairly simple.

"H-how would I dare?!" The man's face stiffened at Yin Yunze's threat, and he said sheepishly, "I really just wanted to help."

"Please don't blame him, Lord Fox Immortal!" The Zhang woman was quick-witted too, and hurriedly said, "I believe Brother Li means well! Brother Li, it wouldn't be easy for me to transport the grain alone. Could you help me tomorrow..."

"Of course! Don't worry, little sister!" Hearing her words, the man surnamed Li immediately seized the opportunity. "Rest assured, I'll get you to the county town safe and sound!"

With that example before them, other people immediately set their sights on the remaining three, leaving Song Zhao aside.

Since they all lived in the same village, the other three were naturally embarrassed to keep everything for themselves.

So in the end, although Yin Yunze had only given rice to five people, nearly ten of them would actually transport it to the county town together, with Song Zhao at their head.

Yin Yunze naturally had no objection. On the contrary, he was happy to see it-after all, it was safer, wasn't it?

Amid all the commotion, nearly everyone carried away at least one bag, and it was quite a while before things around Yin Yunze finally quieted down again.

Just as Yin Yunze thought the matter had come to a close and prepared to await the outcome three days later, Sun Qin, who had remained there, came before him and said, "Lord Fox Immortal, I would like to ask for grain too."

What are you adding to the confusion for? Have I left you short of anything?

That was Yin Yunze's first reaction to Sun Qin's request.

After all, he had promised to keep her and her daughter fed and clothed, and he hadn't left them short of food during this time.

"What do you mean by that?"

Over the time they had spent together, however, Yin Yunze had come to understand that Sun Qin wasn't someone who shot arrows without a target, so he wanted to hear her reasons.

"Thanks to Lord Fox Immortal's grace, Wan'er and I have been provided for..." Sun Qin began with a torrent of flattery before getting to the point. "But I can't simply accept your kindness forever without thinking of repaying it..."

Perhaps Sun Qin had her reservations. In any case, after she had gone round and round, Yin Yunze finally understood what she meant.

Simply put, Sun Qin felt uneasy being a rice worm and wanted to find something to do.

All Yin Yunze could do was marvel at how simple and honest the ancients were!

Someone provided her with good food and drink, yet she was so idle that she felt uncomfortable.

Now that he understood what Sun Qin meant, Yin Yunze didn't intend to object.

For one thing, Sun Qin wasn't a pet Yin Yunze kept, but a free person with a mind of her own. He was neither kin nor family to her, and had no right to force her to do anything.

For another, Yin Yunze wanted to see how capable Sun Qin was.

As a fox immortal, Yin Yunze ultimately had to maintain the lofty air of an immortal.

What was happening now could be called sacrifice and bestowal in nicer terms, but bluntly put, it was a transaction. Once or twice was fine, but if Yin Yunze kept haggling over every little thing here, it wouldn't look very good and would diminish his image in everyone's eyes.

Most importantly, with his status as a fox immortal, Yin Yunze sometimes had to make plans that let him have it both ways.

And if he wanted to use the resources of both worlds to improve his quality of life, buying and selling were unavoidable.

So, to preserve his image as a fox immortal, the best solution was for Yin Yunze to find a representative to handle these mercenary matters for him.

And Sun Qin, whose degree of faith was second only to Zhao Wan's, was clearly Yin Yunze's best candidate at present.

The only thing standing in the way was Sun Qin's own ability.

And this trip to transport grain to the county town was clearly a perfect chance to test her.

With that thought, Yin Yunze made up his mind.

"I can lend you five hundred jin of grain..."

Hearing this, Sun Qin hurriedly thanked him. "Thank you, Lord Fox Immortal..."

"Wait." Cutting off Sun Qin's thanks, Yin Yunze said softly, "I have one condition. You may go to the county town with the villagers, or find a helper. But you must find someone to sell these five hundred jin of grain to yourself!"

"..." Yin Yunze's condition seemed a little strange, but Sun Qin quickly understood that this was a test. "I understand!"

Sun Qin hadn't expected that simply wanting to find something to do would bring her this unexpected delight.

In Sun Qin's eyes, Yin Yunze was a fox immortal who always spoke with substance, so this test clearly wasn't an arrow shot without a target either.

Thinking of it that way, Sun Qin felt even more motivated about the trip.

"Go and find your helper. Once you have, come back and ask me for the grain."

Seeing that Sun Qin had agreed, Yin Yunze sent her off for the time being.

After all, he had no rice left on hand and needed to buy another ten bags from the grain and oil shop.

"I hope I don't take a loss this time..."

After that remark by the lake, Yin Yunze hopped onto his tricycle and headed for the grain and oil shop.