CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48: WARNING AGAINST CALAMITY AGAIN

"You’re going to pull out all my vegetables to plant pear trees?"

"Does a small pear tree really need to take over the entire vegetable garden?"

"If we don’t grow vegetables, what will we eat?"

"What? You said we’ll buy vegetables every day?"

"Oh, our family buying vegetables to eat?!"

Mrs. Cai blocked the garden entrance like a protective mother hen, reciting her complaints to Zhao Xing.

"Mrs. Cai, I’ll cover the cost of buying vegetables, alright?" Zhao Xing said helplessly.

Mrs. Cai, a bit reluctant, replied, "It’s not about the money, really. I just can’t bear to part with this vegetable garden. I love growing vegetables myself for the family to eat..."

"I’ll pay double for the vegetables!"

Mrs. Cai’s face immediately lit up, and she stepped aside. "Go ahead and pull them up, pull them up. Do you want me to help?"

"..." Zhao Xing found it amusing how quickly she changed her tune.

"No need for your help, I can handle it myself."

Zhao Xing entered the vegetable garden, preparing to make space for the Tianyuan pear tree.

At this moment, Zhao Ruide, who had heard the commotion, walked over and, hearing what Mrs. Cai said, immediately frowned:

"You demanded money for vegetables from Xing’er? Is that how an elder behaves?"

"The third family has an unused yard; why don’t you go plant there."

Mrs. Cai muttered, "He offered, it’s not like I asked for it. Besides, doesn’t he eat the vegetables bought with that money... What’s wrong with him showing some filial piety if he can afford it?"

Zhao Ruide sighed, "You’re really short-sighted. That pear tree is worth more than ten vegetable plots. If it survives, won’t it lack for any food going forward?"

Mrs. Cai, suspicious, asked, "How valuable can a single pear tree be? He promised double the money."

"You! What a shame..." Zhao Ruide pointed at her before turning to leave.

Mrs. Cai looked at her husband and then at Zhao Xing in the garden, feeling a pang of regret. "Since it’s so precious, and he’s going to be an official somewhere else in the future, won’t this treasure of a pear tree be left for Zheng’er? I must have been out of my mind just now..."

Mrs. Cai’s eyes shifted, and she hurried off.

Soon, she had Zhao Zheng brought over.

"Big Brother, mother said I should come and help."

"No need, go play on your own."

Zhao Xing waved his hand and then began casting a spell.

"Summon wind!"

Whoosh~

A strong wind blew, uprooting all the vegetables and flipping the soil.

"Wow! Big brother is amazing, big brother is amazing!" Zhao Zheng clapped his hands excitedly. "Do it again, big brother!"

"You think I’m putting on a show?" Zhao Xing said irritably, wondering what his little brother was thinking.

After clearing the soil, Zhao Xing controlled the wind spell again.

It turned into a small tornado, digging a large pit.

Then he broke the potted plant and planted the Tianyuan pear tree.

"Grow strong!"

Another spell landed on the Tianyuan pear tree.

However, it was not intended to ripen the tree but to help its roots settle quickly into the new soil environment.

Re-rooting a third-tier top-grade sapling took at least an hour of continuous spellcasting.

"Big brother, those pears are so delicious; why didn’t mother want you to plant them?" Zhao Zheng, who had tasted a small piece, remembered it distinctly and thought it was the best-tasting pear in the world, cold and refreshing.

"Your mother hasn’t tasted it; maybe she doesn’t know."

"Mother really has bad taste."

"Shut up!" Zhao Xing scolded, "Don’t badmouth your mother."

"I’m sorry, big brother." Zhao Zheng pinched his ears and lowered his head obediently.

Mrs. Cai, who came from an entertainer background and had a child late in life for Zhao Ruide, would have flaunted it otherwise.

However, despite Zhao Ruide’s modest savings, she didn’t mind the dirty and tiring work of growing vegetables and cooking at home, which could be considered virtuous.

Although she loved money, she rarely seriously pressured Zhao Xing to move out, probably because as his adopted son, Zhao Xing also had inheritance rights, making her insecure. It was just her way of protecting herself.

Zhao Xing had no grudge against Mrs. Cai and fully understood her; he could say that her selfish intentions were entirely focused on her son.

"Never let me hear you speak ill of your mother again, or your butt will pay for it, understand?"

"Understood." Zhao Zheng nodded, somewhat bewildered.

.......

"Got it. Zhao Xing’s house is in Pingkang Square. I have a relative in Tongji Square, just two streets away. There’s plenty of chances to encounter him; chatting with neighbors is totally natural, Venerable, rest assured."

"Don’t be too deliberate," the Master of Sanwan Hall instructed, "Just chat as usual when you go to East Market to sell fish."

"Understood." The fishmonger nodded.

"The Xuantian sect will protect you."

"I would die for Xuantian." A flash of fanaticism appeared in the fisherman’s eyes before he carried his load and walked off.

.......

[15th year of Jingxin Calendar, September 13th, Si hour, 7:15 AM.]

[Warning of Minor Calamity: Small evil; spies are watching, disaster lurks in all directions.]

"Hmm?"

Zhao Xing was on his way to the Minister of Agriculture Supervision when he suddenly noticed the Calender of Evil flipping pages automatically, revealing a warning.

Immediately, a more detailed explanation appeared on the panel.

[You have triggered the effect of the third-rank treasure ’Calender of Evil.’ Based on your Qi fortune level and known information, you receive the following prompt:]

[You have thrice scored high marks, which has drawn the attention of the Xuantian sect. They decided to send followers to spy on you and gather information. Wherever you go, potential disaster will follow.]

"The Xuantian sect again?!" Zhao Xing frowned, "Why are they still around Gucheng, haven’t they had enough?"

"I don’t bother them, yet why do they keep focusing on me?"

Annoyed, Zhao Xing now only wanted to farm peacefully and develop himself without causing any trouble. He had initially thought that after the last strict investigation, the Xuantian Sect had moved elsewhere, but they were still around and even started eyeing him.

"This is only a minor calamity, indicating the Xuantian sect won’t take action yet, but they will act eventually. In the Jingxin case, what did the Xuantian sect do?" Zhao Xing recalled the details.

"Right, they captured many agricultural officials to induce man-made disasters across the Great Zhou. They captured weavers and mechanical masters to mislead people, but their main target was agricultural officials."

"The Xuantian sect is closed off, but its followers are not insignificant. They caused trouble throughout the Great Zhou to assert their presence, planting the seeds of the Xuantian sect among the people to gain worship and faith, laying the groundwork for the recovery period."

"After the Jingxin case, players analyzed that this plundering activity of the Xuantian sect lasted for an entire decade. For the first nine years, they secretly captured people, brainwashing officials, and cultivating them in secret. In the tenth year, they caused chaos throughout the region, all erupting simultaneously. Their ultimate goal was... Yuanling Cave Heaven in Guangling State!"