Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Meeting an Old Friend Again

"Why are you here?" Wei Wuwei asked.

"The harvest this year was quite good. I still have some grain left," Chen Mo replied.

"You have more?" Wei Wuwei was somewhat surprised. The grain tax alone for fifteen acres of Spirit Fields was usually enough to hollow out a Spirit Plant Cultivator. He hadn’t expected the other party to actually have a surplus! However, with a cart full of grain placed right in front of him, he had no choice but to accept it. "How much in total?"

"Seven hundred catties. A little bit left over from each acre."

At this, Wei Wuwei burst into laughter. He stepped forward and patted Chen Mo on the shoulder, acting as if all their previous estrangement and gloom had completely vanished. "See? Look at that! I told you so! Contracting more Spirit Fields definitely has its benefits! Reaping an extra thirty or fifty catties per acre is absolutely not a problem!"

"Many thanks, Shopkeeper Wei!" Chen Mo cupped his hands and bowed.

"Come, come! Once I finish weighing it here, I will pay you the Spiritual Sand!"

Wei Wuwei hadn’t expected this kid before him to actually be a skilled farmer. It truly surprised him that one acre of Spirit Field could yield around 250 catties of Spirit Rice. Of course, for their grain station, they naturally hoped for as many of such Spirit Plant Cultivators as possible. Who wouldn’t want to earn a bit more? Especially in this year of famine!

The two exchanged a few hypocritical pleasantries. Soon, Chen Mo obtained another seventy taels of Spiritual Sand from Niu’s Shop. Only then did he reveal the true purpose of his trip.

"Shopkeeper Wei, I raised four Spiritual Birds last year and can be considered to have learned the basics. I want to expand the breeding scale this year."

"Oh? Raising Spiritual Birds? That’s a good thing! A wonderful thing!" Wei Wuwei was delighted. Indeed, the capable always shouldered more work!

"I wonder if Shopkeeper Wei could provide a recommendation? I would like to build a chicken coop around my residence."

As soon as these words were spoken, the other party immediately caught on. "You want to set up a defensive Spirit Array?"

"Evil entities roam about. Without any protective measures, I’m afraid they would all die in a single night."

Wei Wuwei nodded. This was a standard request. It was quite normal for a Spirit Plant Cultivator to pay the money and have a Spirit Array Master set up the array formation. The other Spirit Nurturers did the exact same thing. "Alright! Wait a few days for me. When the time comes, I’ll directly invite a Spirit Array Master over. How does that sound?"

As he spoke, Chen Mo took out ten taels of Spiritual Sand and stuffed it into the other’s hand. "Many thanks, Shopkeeper Wei!"

Watching Chen Mo leave with his wheelbarrow, Wei Wuwei looked at the Spiritual Sand in his hand, then at the retreating figure. For a moment, it felt somewhat surreal. After a short while, he seemed to come to a realization. The corners of his mouth curled up into a chuckle as he muttered to himself, "It seems he doesn’t care about those ten taels of Spiritual Sand!"

Carrying a massive fortune of three hundred taels of Spiritual Sand, Chen Mo strolled through the Ancient Dust Marketplace.

He visited the shop where he had previously bought the Blue Python Robe, originally planning to purchase a Magical Artifact. However, after seeing the prices and effects, he gave up on the idea for now. He had intended to make another trip to the Wandering Bookstore, but ran into an acquaintance on the way!

That’s right! It was the peddler who had sold him the mysterious seeds two years ago.

Seeing the man enter the Fragrance Pavilion, Chen Mo pondered for a moment before following him inside. Hong Yan, who had been greeting guests at the door, immediately welcomed him with a beaming smile upon seeing his arrival.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, it’s been a long time. I thought you had taken a dislike to our place."

Looking at her charming smile, Chen Mo mocked himself, "I’m just a farmer. How could I afford to come here often?"

"What are you talking about!" Hong Yan feigned displeasure.

"Did Sister Hong know that person just now?"

"Which one?"

"The one wearing a cyan robe, with long hair and a handlebar mustache."

Hong Yan peered inside and finally spotted Yi Tingsheng, who was sitting on a bench drinking clear wine. "Him! He’s a Loose Cultivator who loves adventuring, and he can be considered a regular patron here. He visits every once in a while, and every time he comes, he looks for Qiao’Er. Are you looking for him?"

Chen Mo nodded. "I’ll go in and take a look."

"The usual?"

"Let’s start with a pot of Immortal Peak. If Sister Hong is busy, it’s fine to have Yu Xi keep me company for a while."

"Alright!" Hong Yan’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. It had been so long since they had any business that the Fragrance Pavilion was barely scraping by.

Chen Mo stepped into the central courtyard hall and walked straight to Yi Tingsheng’s table. Ignoring the man’s astonished gaze, he pulled out a bench and sat down. Qiao’Er, who had been chatting and laughing nearby, blanked out slightly before looking between them. "You know each other?"

Yi Tingsheng sized Chen Mo up but seemed to draw a blank. "You are?"

"I bought some seeds from you and planted them in the ground later. They originally bore some fruit, but before I could even harvest them, they all rotted in the soil. Moreover, the Spirit Field and its surroundings were drained of their Spiritual Qi, making it impossible to cultivate Spirit Rice there ever again."

As Chen Mo narrated the story in detail, Yi Tingsheng’s face grew redder and redder. He hadn’t expected the victim to actually come knocking on his door! He vaguely recalled that the other party might have perhaps bought seeds from him, but how could he possibly admit to such a thing? How could he spit back out the Spiritual Sand he had already pocketed?

"Fellow Daoist, you have the wrong person."

While they were speaking, Hong Yan came over with a pot of Immortal Peak and took a seat. Qiao’Er stood up proactively and gave her a slight bow. "Sister Hong."

"Oh my, so you two are friends. Come, come. Fellow Daoist Chen and I are practically confidants. Today’s pot of clear wine is on me." With that, she proactively filled Yi Tingsheng’s cup.

At this moment, a strange light gleamed in the eyes of this Loose Cultivator, who spent his years adventuring in the outside world. He vaguely remembered that the other party was merely a Spirit Plant Cultivator! It was already surprising enough for a Spirit Plant Cultivator to enter the Fragrance Pavilion, but he absolutely hadn’t expected that even Steward Hong Yan would give him this much face! Just what kind of identity did this person have?

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, I’m not here to ask for your Spiritual Sand back!" Chen Mo smiled faintly. "How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?"

"Yi Tingsheng."

"Since fate has brought us together, why don’t we become friends?"

Yi Tingsheng hesitated. The Spirit Plant Cultivator before him was somewhat unfamiliar. Striking up a conversation like this out of nowhere—who knew what his motives were! "I spend all year rushing about on the outside, putting my life on the line every day, never knowing when I might lose it. I think we should just forget it."

The man’s refusal did not exceed Chen Mo’s expectations. Of course, he didn’t take it to heart either. If a mere sentence or two could make the other party drop his guard and genuinely treat him as a brother, then Chen Mo would be suspecting him of having malicious intentions instead. After all, the mysterious cave the man had mentioned was Chen Mo’s true objective! A cave capable of growing Spirit Fruits likely contained other good things as well!

"No matter. If Fellow Daoist Yi has any more Spirit Plant Seeds in the future, you might as well sell them to me."

"You still want more?" Yi Tingsheng paused slightly. He hadn’t expected that after being scammed once, this guy would actually dare to buy seeds from him again. He knew the peculiar traits of the Red Fruit; he had nearly caused a massive disaster back then! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been hawking them at a street stall!

"Naturally!"

Hearing this, Yi Tingsheng was overjoyed. He pulled a bag of seeds directly out of his Storage Ring and spread them out on the table.

"I still have this many left. If you want them, I’ll sell them all to you for fifty taels of Spiritual Sand."

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