Immortality: Raising an Ant Queen to Cultivate by increasing stat points

Chapter 474: Chapter 466: The Xu Family Scandal_1

In his view, Xiao Qing showed exceptional talent in cultivating the Medicine King Sutra, and he estimated her talent in alchemy would be equally impressive.

Elixirs, whether used for healing or enhancing cultivation, breaking through bottlenecks, have an effect that cannot be ignored.

One’s energy and time are limited, and talents differ from one to another.

Qin Niu’s talent lay in cultivating health techniques, raising insect pets, and planting medicinal herbs. He could grow various precious medicinal herbs and then find someone to refine them into elixirs.

If he could train Xiao Qing to become an excellent alchemy master, it would not only save a lot of alchemy costs but also be more secure in terms of safety.

It would also maximize confidentiality.

The benefits were numerous.

“Let’s go buy some elixirs now, then buy some alchemy books for Xiao Qing, and head back to the estate. What do you think, my wives?”

Qin Niu asked for his wives’ opinion.

“It’s fine for you to decide, husband.”

They always followed Qin Niu’s opinions.

Even though they wanted to stay in the city mansion for a few more days to experience the life of living in a luxurious house, they had to go back to the countryside with Qin Niu when he decided to return.

Qin Niu bought a total of twenty Tempering Elixirs, ten for each wife, and asked them to give them to their parents as a gesture of filial piety.

This was something he had discussed with Wang Wanyan.

She never mentioned again the idea of letting her father practice in the Ancient Banyan Tree Maze.

Tang Caixian gave the ten Tempering Elixirs to her parents, which made Tang Wenhаn grin from ear to ear.

Initially, he had strongly opposed marrying his daughter off to Qin Niu as a concubine.

Now, basking in the glory of his son-in-law, his status in the village rocketed, and he even became the village head and the Tang Family patriarch. Economically, he also reaped many benefits from his son-in-law. Whenever Tang Wenhаn saw Qin Niu, he would warmly refer to him as his excellent son-in-law.

In humans, interests always remain eternal.

…

After returning to the village, Qin Niu resumed his ordinary yet fulfilling cultivation life.

Cultivation, raising insect pets, growing medicinal herbs, and studying—these activities nearly filled all his time. Only at night did he have the chance to chat with his wives and foster their relationships.

At the moment, one troublesome issue was causing him a headache.

Owing to his purchase of over six thousand acres of good farmland, he must find a way to cultivate it as soon as possible. He had no choice but to round up manpower, hiring a large number of farmers to work the fields.

Due to this year’s floods and insect disasters, many tenant farmers had lost so much they had nothing left, and there was little enthusiasm for renting farmland. Of the nearly six thousand six hundred acres of good farmland he owned, aside from the few dozen acres of fertile black soil that people scrambled to rent, there was little interest in the rest of the land.

Qin Niu was preparing for the worst-case scenario of farming the land himself.

With his status as a first-class noble, he was exempt from paying taxes on his land according to the regulations. However, with six to seven thousand acres in his name, he did not know if he could be exempted from taxes on all of it.

He would have to ask Fang Lian for advice when he got the chance.

The last time he saved the five ancestors of the Fang Family on the battlefield, essentially saving the Fang Family, his relationship with them became even closer.

He believed that there were many secrets of high society that Fang Lian would probably share with him.

That day, while Qin Niu was having dinner at home with his wives and discussing the idea of teaching a few servants to read with Xiao Qing, they were interrupted by Er Dan’s cries from outside.

“Brother Ah Niu, Brother Ah Niu, something has happened!”

Panic was evident in his voice.

A surge of apprehension arose in Qin Niu’s heart; not long before, an incident had occurred in Aunt Hua’s family, resulting in the death of her daughter. Now that Er Dan’s family had an issue, he wondered if he was indeed the ill-fated “Heavenly Destroying Lone Star” from the legends?

One by one, people close to him were running into trouble.

This was not a good sign.

With a flash, Qin Niu appeared behind the courtyard gate and personally opened it.

“What’s the matter, Er Dan? Don’t panic; just take your time and explain.”

“Uncle Xu’s wife is ranting about jumping into the river to end her life, and no one can hold her back. My dad’s worried someone will die, so he sent me to get you to come take a look,” Er Dan said, pulling Qin Niu towards the village chief’s house.

The Uncle Xu in his mouth was Xu Zhenchang.

For a small place like Shuangfeng Village, with just over two hundred people, the interpersonal relationships were complicated.

Each family had its own way of survival.

The relationship between Er Dan’s family and Xu Zhenchang was extremely close because Xu Zhenchang had hired Er Dan’s father to help farm the land, essentially serving as a long-term laborer for the Xu Family.

During the busy farming season, when temporary help was needed, Er Dan’s mother was often hired first.

Most of Er Dan’s family’s income depended on the wages from Xu Zhenchang.

This naturally resulted in a close relationship between the two families.

Xu Zhenchang, as the village chief, though he acted quite diplomatically, was considered a decent man. His family had always been harmonious and was envied by the villagers as a happy household.

However, why was Xu Zhenchang’s wife suddenly making a scene about jumping into the river?

Making a scene, kicking up a fuss, and threatening to hang oneself were basically the trademarks of a shrew.

Xu Zhenchang’s wife did not seem like the shrewish type, so her current threat to jump into the river must mean that a significant family crisis had occurred.

Qin Niu hurried to Xu Zhenchang’s home at the entrance of the village, where some villagers had already gathered to watch the commotion.

Xu Zhenchang’s wife sat on the ground with disheveled hair, her clothes partly torn, exposing her undergarment. Her face was streaked with tears, and she cried pitifully.

“Don’t hold me back, let me die, I really can’t live like this anymore! Even if you stop me now, when you all leave, I will still seek death…wuu…”

She struggled incessantly, her voice filled with despair.

Xu Zhenchang, however, was holding her tightly, while their two children stood by, helpless and unsure of what to do.

“Auntie Shuixiang, what’s going on? Did Uncle Xu bully you?”

Qin Niu was now the most respected figure in the village, wielding great authority.

His arrival made the onlooking villagers step aside, and some were even saying, “Master Qin is here, he will surely be able to persuade Li Shuixiang.”

“You let Xu Zhenchang say it himself, I can’t bring myself to say it!”

Li Shuixiang said angrily.

Xu Zhenchang, on the other hand, looked embarrassed and managed to force a strained smile at Qin Niu.

Qin Niu, catching on to the situation, vaguely guessed part of it.

It was very likely that some scandalous family matter had occurred.

“Everyone disperse! Go back to sleep early, rest well, and if you’re willing to work, you can all come to work in my fields. You won’t be short of your wages.”

Qin Niu had become the largest landlord in the area.

He even owned more farmland than the Yan Family.

However, he also finally understood why the Yan Family only kept around a thousand mu of farmland.

Having farmland without people to work and manage it doesn’t lead to profit; in fact, you have to invest a significant amount of money into it every year. For example, land tax is a considerable expense.

Moreover, buying ten acres of good land seems like it only requires a little over a hundred Silver Money to secure.

But the subsequent expenses, like hiring farmers, buying seeds, fertilizers, pest control, and weeding are all significant costs. And no matter if the harvest is good or bad, these expenses are incurred annually.

You can only consume as much as your appetite can handle.

The Yan Family had grown gradually and had much richer experience than the nouveau riche Qin Niu.

Although the crowd was reluctant, they dispersed at Qin Niu’s command, as no one dared to disobey. They left one after another.

Qin Niu then said to the couple, “Let’s go inside and talk about whatever’s going on.”

Xu Zhenchang and his wife followed him inside.

Their two children also came in.

“Er Dan, take them outside to play. I’ll have a talk with Uncle Xu and Auntie,” Qin Niu said.

Er Dan immediately took Xu Zhenchang’s children outside to play.

Er Dan’s father and mother, sensing the situation, closed the door discreetly and waited outside as well.

A family’s dirty laundry should not be aired in public.

Xu Zhenchang’s family matters were certainly not for others to hear.

“Now that there’s no one else here, tell me what exactly happened?”

Qin Niu didn’t really wish to get involved in other people’s domestic affairs, but Xu Zhenchang had helped him a lot, and now that the Xu family was in trouble, he couldn’t just ignore it.

“He, he… this heartless man, actually got involved with Liu Qing’s wife…”

“Keep your voice down, lower your voice!”

Xu Zhenchang quickly covered his wife’s mouth, looking as if he feared being overheard, with the guilty conscience of a thief.

Liu Qing was Liu Shengli’s cousin.

His wife was very beautiful but was known for being a bit lazy and gluttonous. Moreover, it was rumored that she was somewhat flirtatious.

Men, even if they don’t have a chance, will still try to create opportunities to cozy up to a beautiful woman.

Liu Qing’s wife being a flirt, it was only a matter of time before she would stray.

Liu Qing himself was not too bright, and many people called him ‘Silly Liu’ behind his back.

“Daring to cheat, yet scared of being talked about!”

Li Shuixiang cursed.