「Seven days later.」

With the date for the County Magistrate’s Office’s land sale approaching, Chen Li loaded his silver taels onto an ox-cart and slowly headed toward the county seat.

Transporting the silver taels back and forth was quite troublesome, but he really had no other choice.

This world had banks and silver notes, but they weren’t the same as the banks and notes from the ancient times of his previous life.

The silver notes were more like the checks of his past life.

To complete a transaction, one had to present the holder’s note, exchange instructions, a transaction password, and so on at the bank to redeem the silver taels. It was extremely inconvenient.

There were advantages, though. At the very least, it prevented Martial Dao experts from robbing large amounts of silver taels.

After all, a person’s strength was finite. No matter how powerful someone was, stealing tens of thousands of taels of silver at once was the limit.

Chen Li didn’t feel comfortable leaving his silver taels in a bank, mainly because the banks were a monopoly run by the Court. If the Government Office wanted to look into his information, they could find out at any time. He would just be asking for trouble.

The Revenue Division of the County Magistrate’s Office.

The air was thick with the scent of old paper and faint ink.

Several clerks were hunched over their desks, copying documents.

Chief Steward Qian Yiqian sat behind his desk. Upon seeing Chen Li enter, his face immediately broke into a warm yet reserved smile as he rose to greet him. "Nephew, you’ve arrived. Please, have a seat."

"Greetings, Uncle," Chen Li said, bowing with his hands clasped.

After a clerk served tea, Qian Yiqian let out a long sigh. "Nephew, you have no idea. For the Third Master to approve these three hundred mu of land in Lingxi... it wasn’t easy!"

"Has something gone wrong?" Chen Li’s heart skipped a beat as he asked in surprise.

"Not exactly," Qian Yiqian said, shaking his head as he stroked his beard. His eyes narrowed slightly, a cunning glint within them. "It’s just that, as you know, grain prices have skyrocketed these past two years. The Third Master’s intention was to raise the price and sell it for forty taels of silver per mu."

"Uncle, once this year’s autumn harvest comes in, the grain prices are sure to fall," Chen Li said with a smile.

"The Third Master pays no mind to such things." Qian Yiqian lifted his teacup, took a sip, and spoke slowly. "I argued until I was blue in the face with him, explaining that the three hundred mu in Lingxi are all third-rate, inferior fields that can’t fetch a high price. Only then did he agree to sell them at the usual price for inferior land."

"I’ve troubled you, Uncle. I hope you’ll do me the honor of joining me at the usual place tonight."

’This Steward Qian has quite the appetite,’ Chen Li cursed inwardly.

Having lived two lives, how could he not know what this Head of the Revenue Division was plotting?

He was playing up the difficulty only to squeeze Chen Li a little more.

However, he was more afraid of the man *not* asking for anything than he was of him asking.

Although the County Magistrate’s Office’s clerks weren’t the same as hereditary functionaries, their positions were often passed down in an orderly fashion.

He would inevitably need to buy more fields and land in the future, so this relationship needed to be maintained.

Qian Yiqian laughed heartily. "The necessary documents are all prepared. We were just waiting for you to sign and affix your Hand Seal."

On the desk, stacks of contracts and documents were piled neatly.

Qian Yiqian personally guided him, while Chen Li focused his attention, reading carefully.

The location and the four boundaries of Wang Shizhang’s family’s three hundred mu of paddy fields were clearly and explicitly defined.

The lands of the Lingxi Wang Family and the Chen Family were mostly demarcated by the Lingxi stream, their boundaries distinct.

The three hundred mu belonging to Wang Shizhang’s family were extremely concentrated, not scattered, and located right next to the Lingxi stream. This would save a lot of trouble in managing them later on.

For land transactions in the Mirror Mountain area, first-rate paddy fields went for thirty-five taels per mu, second-rate for thirty taels, and third-rate for twenty-five taels.

The terrain around Lingxi was flat and easy to cultivate, but it suffered from being low-lying, making the fields prone to flooding. They could only be considered second-rate paddy fields.

This purchase was priced at twenty-five taels of silver per mu, for a total of seven thousand five hundred taels of silver. The terms for payment and delivery were written out in black and white.

Chen Li was satisfied. After confirming there were no errors, he followed Qian Yiqian’s instructions and pressed his bright red Hand Seal onto the transfer documents and contracts.

The formalities were complete.

Only then did Qian Yiqian lower his voice and say, "Nephew, the land is good land. The Wang Family has sent people to inquire about the sale several times. I’m afraid they have other ideas. You’ll need to put some thought into how you handle this."

"Thank you for the advice, Uncle."

Chen Li accepted the deed and nodded.

Seeing his composed expression, Qian Yiqian stroked his beard and smiled. "That’s good, that’s good."

...

That evening.

A private room in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Qian Yiqian and Liu Wende arrived together.

Shortly after, Chen Li rose to greet them, and they exchanged pleasantries before sitting down.

The table was laden with fine food and wine, their aromas filling the air.

They toasted and drank, and the atmosphere was congenial.

After three rounds of drinks, Liu Wende took advantage of a moment when Qian Yiqian had gone to the latrine. He lowered his voice and said, "Nephew, regarding the Tu Sandao case, Gu Zongqi of the Jingwu Bureau gave the word before he left. It’s been closed as a Jianghu vendetta. The case file has been sealed."

Chen Li’s expression remained unchanged, but deep down, he was stunned.

He hadn’t expected that Chief Banner Officer from the Jingwu Bureau, who had arrived with such aggressive momentum and an attitude of not resting until he got to the bottom of it, would wrap things up so hastily in just a few days. It started with a bang and ended with a whimper.

’So he just came and went for nothing?’

Liu Wende continued, "Chen Yongquan is still locked up in the County Magistrate’s Office’s jail. Gu Zongqi might have forgotten about him and didn’t give any specific instructions. Now that the case is closed, nephew, what do you think? Do you need me to... take care of him for you?"

Liu Wende was the Chief of the Criminal Division; he was very clear on the details of the case.

He also knew that Chen Yongquan had used Tu Sandao to try and force Chen Li to hand over his fields and property, which was why he offered to solve this problem for Chen Li.

Although his duties were limited to paperwork, he had considerable influence over how a case was handled after the fact.

"Thank you for the kind offer, Uncle, but let’s let him live," Chen Li said, shaking his head slowly after a moment of thought.

Whether Chen Yongquan lived or died was irrelevant to the bigger picture.

In fact, if he had wanted to make a move, he could have snuck into the man’s house long ago and used his Inner Qi to stop his heart, ensuring a silent death.

The death of a country landlord wouldn’t warrant an investigation from the Jingwu Bureau. At most, a constable from the County Magistrate’s Office would come and go through the motions.

As long as it wasn’t a Qi Realm master, no one would be able to detect anything amiss.

His most pressing problems right now were still the two brothers, Chen Zhengping and Chen Zhengtong.

Their connections were complex, they are both backed by Kao Mountain, and their influence was not insignificant. If he handled it poorly, he would only bring disaster upon himself.

Liu Wende gave Chen Li a long, deep look. "You’re very magnanimous, nephew."

Chen Li smiled. "I was wondering, how is your son’s recovery progressing?"

A look of relief mixed with worry crossed Liu Wende’s face. "He’s been lucid ever since your treatment, nephew, and hasn’t had another episode. But his constitution was fundamentally damaged. He’s weak, his qi is deficient, and he gets out of breath after just a few steps. I’m afraid it will take years of nursing him back to health, and even then, a full recovery isn’t guaranteed. Sigh..."

Chen Li thought for a moment, then handed him a portion of his personal Mysterious Black Tortoise Tribulation Secret Medicine. "I have a restorative Medicinal Cuisine here. Uncle, you can have him try it. It might be able to Strengthen the Foundation and Nourish the Essence."

Overjoyed, Liu Wende accepted it, feeling even more grateful. He thanked him repeatedly. "Nephew, I don’t know how I can ever repay your kindness."

Chen Li waved his hand. "Please don’t be so formal, Uncle."

Just as he spoke, Qian Yiqian pushed the door open and returned, asking with a smile, "What private matters are you two discussing?"

Liu Wende laughed. "Just about my worthless son, who continues to be a bother to our nephew here."

The banquet concluded in a cheerful atmosphere where both host and guests were satisfied.

Chen Li personally saw the two men to the entrance of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

"Take care, Uncle." After Qian Yiqian had settled into his sedan chair, Chen Li took a step forward. With a slight movement of his sleeve, a silk pouch containing one hundred taels of silver silently slipped into Qian Yiqian’s hand.

Qian Yiqian paused imperceptibly, and the smile on his face instantly grew wider. "Rest assured, nephew. In the future, whether it’s for land taxes, title transfers, or name changes, if you need anything at all, just come find me. For trivial matters like these, I can certainly help out a bit and save you the extra trouble."

"You’re too kind, Uncle. I am deeply grateful."

Chen Li smiled and cupped his hands.