Chapter 275: Chapter 162: Where Did Elder Sister Get All This Good Meat

Li Xiaosan’Er currently lived alone. As a Scholar, he could collect one tael of silver each month, but he had no other income. Besides just managing to feed himself, he had to save a little money every month for travel expenses.

Lu Yuan looked at Li Xiaosan’Er’s helpless expression.

’If I hadn’t transmigrated,’ he thought, ’the original Lu Yuan would probably be in the same situation right now.’

Lu Yuan said, "How about this: I’ll lease that plot of land from you. I’ll lease it for thirty years, with an annual rent of twenty taels of silver."

Hearing Lu Yuan’s words, Li Xiaosan’Er was stunned. ’Is he really that rich?’

It was a piece of land nobody wanted, yet he wasn’t buying it, just leasing it. And he opened with a thirty-year lease.

For an annual rent of twenty taels, no less.

’To be honest, it wouldn’t fetch much of a price even if I sold it.’

Seeing Li Xiaosan’Er remain silent, Lu Yuan continued, "Alright, thirty years of rent comes to six hundred taels.

I can’t give you that much silver all at once. Taking inflation into account, let’s call it one thousand taels."

Li Xiaosan’Er couldn’t believe it. His voice trembled as he asked, "Then... how will you be providing the rent?"

Lu Yuan went on, "It comes out to thirty-three taels and three maces a year. Let’s round it up. I’ll give you fifty taels a year."

This sudden, immense fortune left Li Xiaosan’Er’s head buzzing.

Li Xiaosan’Er naturally agreed. If only he had brought a little more traveling money when he went to the Provincial City for the imperial exam three years ago, he wouldn’t have fainted from hunger at the city gate and missed his chance.

After settling the terms with Li Xiaosan’Er and signing the land lease agreement, Lu Yuan left.

Before he departed, he left fifty taels of silver and told Li Xiaosan’Er to take the agreement to the old steward at the Zhao Mansion in Taiping City at the same time every year to collect his payment.

For Lu Yuan, a few hundred taels of silver was something he could easily afford.

Although he wasn’t carrying that much on him, he had it in his System Space—a rough two hundred thousand taels of silver. He could easily find a deserted spot and pull out a whole sack of it.

Lu Yuan considered the annual fifty taels of silver a sponsorship fee.

Lu Yuan could see that Li Xiaosan’Er was an ambitious scholar. Whether he could revive his family’s fortunes would depend on his own abilities.

Lu Yuan had leased this land with a purpose in mind.

After returning to the mansion, Lu Yuan sat down in his study and gave orders to the Mansion Guards who had accompanied him earlier.

He said, "The dozen or so acres of land we acquired this morning—I want you to spend the money to enclose it completely.

Build high walls, and along the eastern wall, construct seven or eight large, tile-roofed houses.

At the four corners of the enclosure, build watchtowers a good ten feet taller than the walls."

Lu Yuan added, "For any expenses, just take what you need from the treasury. Simply record the amount of silver you take in the ledger.

Money is not an issue. The only requirements are that the construction quality must be high, and it must be done quickly."

"Yes, Young Master! We will do our utmost!"

The few Mansion Guards accepted their orders and left. They were Lu Yuan’s trusted confidants, so he was naturally at ease.

Lu Yuan opened a notebook on his desk and looked through it. Various notes were recorded inside.

Closing the book, Lu Yuan found a more remote room and pulled several large chests out of his System Space.

Inside these large chests was the already-dispatched Long Snake.

Lu Yuan opened a chest. The ice shards inside hadn’t changed at all.

’It seems things stored in the System Space don’t change in any way.

They come out exactly as they were when they went in.

It’s as if time stands still inside.’

In that case, Lu Yuan had no need to worry about the Long Snake’s body decaying.

Unfortunately, Lu Yuan had already used a great deal of brute force to cut the Long Snake into several sections.

Lu Yuan took out the snakeskin and then his Golden Silk Armor.

Their durability was almost identical.

Both the snakeskin and the Golden Silk Armor could withstand blades and axes, but neither could endure continuous burning from fire.

He didn’t know what ingredients had been added to the Golden Silk Armor, but it didn’t change shape even when forged in fire.

Still, Armor made from this snakeskin would be extremely precious. The entire hide could probably be used to make just under a hundred sets of Armor.

One of the chests was emitting a faint glow.

Lu Yuan opened the chest and, wearing homemade gloves, rummaged inside to pull out a snake gall the size of a large melon.

He placed it in a basin. ’How could I have forgotten about this thing?

Of everything on the Long Snake, this is the best part.’

Refining it into medicinal ingredients to help his wife recuperate would be absolutely perfect.

In the room, Lu Yuan skinned the snake, took its gall, and extracted its venom.

As for the rest, Lu Yuan rummaged through it but found nothing else of value. He didn’t want the leftovers.

Just as Lu Yuan was wondering how to dispose of the remains, his mother-in-law unexpectedly knocked on the door, asking if he was inside.

Lu Yuan closed the chests, opened the door, and invited his mother-in-law in.

Su Liyan’s mother said, "Son-in-law, are you processing the Long Snake?"

"Yes, Mother. How did you know?" Lu Yuan was very curious. He had specifically chosen a remote room that no one would visit because he was worried about scaring the family with all this.

"Son-in-law, have you forgotten your mother’s skills? Especially since what you’re handling is *that*?" Su Liyan’s mother glanced at the chests behind Lu Yuan.

The moment Lu Yuan had placed the chests containing the Long Snake in the room, Su Liyan’s mother had sensed it from just a faint trace of its scent.

Su Liyan’s mother hadn’t wanted to disturb Lu Yuan, but she couldn’t resist the urge to see what the Long Snake looked like, which is why she had come.

Lu Yuan didn’t hide anything and told her everything from start to finish.

Listening to her son-in-law, Su Liyan’s mother said, "The snake blood and meat are good things, you know. It would be a shame to throw them away."

Lu Yuan replied, "That’s true. Every part of the Long Snake is useful, but I really can’t stand this stuff."

"Instead of letting those wild Xingzi outside the city eat it, why not have someone transport it back to Changliu Village?" Su Liyan’s mother said thoughtfully.

Hearing his mother-in-law’s words, Lu Yuan instantly understood how to deal with the snake meat in the chests.

He would give it to the Xingzi of Changliu Village. To them, it was a rarity, and eating it could even significantly increase their cultivation.

A Long Snake this large would be enough for those Xingzi to have a magnificent feast.

Perhaps he could even earn a favor.

In the future, if Lu Yuan ever ran into trouble, he could ask his mother-in-law to request help from these Xingzi, and it would be a reasonable request.

Lu Yuan really ought to manage his affairs in both the mortal and supernatural realms.

"Mother, you have a point. I’ll order the servants to pack this up and transport it back to Changliu Village," Lu Yuan replied.

"Son-in-law, wait a moment."

Then, Su Liyan’s mother brought out a brush and ink, took a few Yellow Talismans from her robes, drew a few strokes on them, and handed them to Lu Yuan.

She said, "Son-in-law, paste these two talismans on the first and last ox-carts in the procession. Have the leader carry this folded talisman on his person. It will ensure a safe journey."

Lu Yuan took the talismans and examined them. Although he had achieved some minor success in cultivating the *Celestial Master* techniques, he didn’t recognize these particular talismans.

Su Liyan’s mother saw Lu Yuan’s hesitation and explained, "The Xingzi in the village will understand everything once they see these talismans. They naturally won’t accidentally harm anyone."

Lu Yuan then arranged for a team of men. They found a procession of ox-carts, loaded the seven or eight large chests onto them, and set off that very night.

The chests were still filled with ice shards to keep the contents fresh.

Worried that wild Xingzi might attack the convoy along the way, Lu Yuan specifically placed his own Talismans on each chest.

These Talismans would prevent wild Xingzi from getting close. He also arranged for a dozen or so Travelers to accompany the convoy.

At dinner, Lu Yuan barely ate a few bites. He simply had no appetite.

Fighting the Long Snake had been exhilarating.

Extracting the Spiritual Objects from the Long Snake’s body was not.

That’s why it took him half a month to finally deal with the thing.

If his mother-in-law hadn’t suggested it, he really wouldn’t have known how to get rid of it.

The Xingzi of Changliu Village saw people unloading large chests from the ox-carts. The seven or eight chests were left on the ridge of land beside the reservoir.

These Xingzi naturally recognized that the delivery was sent by their Old Sister’s people—that is, Su Liyan’s mother.

After the convoy left, the Ghost-faced White Monkey chattered as it ran up to the chests, "Look, what did Old Sister send us?"

The Human-faced Two-legged Sheep tore the Talismans off the chests and opened them one by one.

The Xingzi exclaimed, "Wow! Where did Old Sister get all this fine meat?"

The Long Snake was quickly eaten, leaving nothing behind...