18: Elder Du's Love Story

Xiao Cong, that's the name of his neighbor.

As the saying goes, the faster the payment, the shorter the construction period.

In just half an hour, over a dozen colleagues began to clean up the mess in the house.

Looking at the wine jars scattered everywhere and smelling the lingering aroma of wine in the air, their gazes at Jiang Hanwen changed from disdain to a hint of flattery.

"Different people, different fates, huh? Look at him, he can make connections with the higher-ups as soon as he comes in."

"Lower your voice. Didn't Brother Xiao say that this gentleman's backer is Elder Du?"

Five days later, the new house was finished. Not only was it brand new, but it was also over ten square meters larger than before, allowing for a small sitting room for guests.

With the bloodline grass planted in the soil, days flowed by like water, similar yet different.

He watered in the early morning, read in the morning, Cultivated at noon, developed new fertilizers in the afternoon, and reviewed his day in the evening.

Jiang Hanwen was like the bloodline grass in the soil; each day was completely different from the last, growing robustly.

One month passed like this, and so did two months.

On the day of Su Xin's wedding, Jiang Hanwen remained unswayed, reading, Cultivating, and tending to the tender seedlings.

In a flash, three months passed, and it was time to turn in his work.

Jiang Hanwen picked twenty-three bloodline grasses and arrived early at the Council Hall, waiting in the front courtyard.

He recalled his first visit to the Council Hall: it was mid-summer, the branches were lush, and the beautiful woman's eyes curved like crescent moons.

In the blink of an eye, the beautiful woman was already married.

The clean Council Hall now had many fallen leaves and few people to sweep them.

Oh, and there were no meat buns either.

"Click~"

After an unknown amount of time, the door to the middle courtyard opened.

A kind old man, dressed in a loose cotton robe, stood in the courtyard, gazing at the sky for a long time.

"Come in if you're here," Du Qingfu said with a slight smile.

"Yes," Jiang Hanwen walked into the middle courtyard and handed over the cloth bag.

The old man opened the bag, glanced at it casually, nodded, and handed over a stool, gesturing for Jiang Hanwen to sit down.

The morning sun shone through the tiles into the courtyard, casting crescent-shaped shadows on the ground. A few withered leaves were wedged in the cracks of the stones, stifling the vitality of the green grass beneath. An old man and a young man sat on the stools.

"He took ten from you, right?" Du Qingfu asked.

"Ten of what?" Jiang Hanwen looked at the old man with an innocent expression.

The old man continued:

"The bloodline grass you Cultivated is plump and full of bloodlines, selling for sixteen taels.

The ones he Cultivated were poorly cared for, withered and weak, selling for no more than ten taels."

Jiang Hanwen remained silent. Sure enough, he couldn't escape Elder Du's sharp eyes.

So, when Elder Du publicly reprimanded him back then, it was just an act for Gong Qing.

It was like meetings in his previous life; the real outcome was decided long before the meeting, merely a formality to appease people.

Jiang Hanwen suddenly felt a little sympathy for Gong Qing. Including himself, everyone knew the outcome, but only he naively believed that if he defeated Zhuang Bai, he could marry Su Xin.

Alas.

In this world, if honest people don't suffer, who does?

"You are a clever person, and yet you are also someone who can work diligently. Coming to the Zhuang family is a pity.

After I die, the Zhuang family will not allow an outsider to take my position.

Child, relax a bit, don't strain yourself too much. That key to the book tower, I'm giving it to you."

Jiang Hanwen understood Du Qingfu's meaning. The old man was telling him not to be too diligent, to be lazy when he could.

After all, even if he struggled for a hundred years, without the bloodline connection and not being named Zhuang, even if he was capable enough, he wouldn't be able to sit in that position.

Rather than adding to his sorrow later, it was better to free himself now.

Jiang Hanwen had words in his heart but couldn't speak them. My Elder Du, if I really wanted that position, would I need the Zhuang family's approval?

If I endured for two hundred years, and the Zhuang family still had someone who could defeat me, what about two thousand years?

He thought this, but after all, the key was an extension for him.

Jiang Hanwen quickly rose to express his gratitude, but a hand landed on his shoulder, pressing him down like a mighty mountain.

"Tell me, was it a good thing or a bad thing for me to marry Xiao Xin to Zhuang Bai?" As he spoke, the old man's tone carried a hint of confusion.

Jiang Hanwen saw hesitation, uncertainty, and even regret in the old man's eyes.

The two sat on the same stool, with Du Qingfu pressing on him. This meant he wasn't treating him as a subordinate, but as an equal in conversation.

Jiang Hanwen pondered for a moment and offered his analysis.

"Young Master Zhuang comes from a good lineage. Even if, in the worst-case scenario, power falls into other hands, Miss Su will have a lifetime of food and clothing without worry.

Elder Du, you shouldn't worry too much."

Du Qingfu suddenly said:

"The day before yesterday, Zhuang Bai took a concubine."

Jiang Hanwen fell silent. To take a concubine just one month after marriage was indeed difficult to comment on.

"Actually, at first—never mind, let's not talk about these things." Du Qingfu took out a yellowed book and pressed it into Jiang Hanwen's hand.

"This is my process for Cultivating bloodline grass. Read it carefully."

Holding the book, Jiang Hanwen asked the question that had always been buried in his heart.

"Elder Du, this Junior has a question."

"Haha, you want to ask why I'm so good to you, don't you?"

Jiang Hanwen smiled awkwardly; the answer was unspoken. You know, yet you still ask.

"Let me tell you my story.

When I was twenty, I fell in love with the Zhuang family's second Young Miss.

At that time, I had already begun to Cultivate early..."

His opening was an old-fashioned love story.

The Young Miss eloped, the Genius was favored. The story unfolded in Du Qingfu's gentle and melancholic tone.

For their love, the Zhuang family's Young Miss gave up her inheritance, left alone, and stayed by Du Qingfu's side.

Later, Du Qingfu was poisoned by an enemy, his Cultivation almost completely abolished, and he wanted to commit suicide.

It was his wife who took him, hiding from their enemies, wandering, encouraging him, and seeking medical help everywhere.

After recovering his strength, news came that his parents had been killed, and only one younger brother remained in his family.

After much wandering, Du Qingfu, unwilling to see his wife suffer, simply returned to the Zhuang family.

In the third year after his return home, his wife, due to the hardships of earlier years, became incurably ill. Ordinary Medicinal Pills had no effect, and even selling the Zhuang family's assets wouldn't be enough to buy expensive Medicinal Pills.

Thus, he watched his wife die in his arms.

Before her death, his wife wanted to see the Blue Jade Roses bloom.

Later, Du Qingfu planted Blue Jade Roses all around his wife's grave.

Therefore, in Du Qingfu's eyes, he had a natural fondness for any farmer.

And Jiang Hanwen, by chance, was someone who toiled in the fields.

The infatuated Elder Du, however, married his adopted daughter to a "clever person" who took a concubine within a month. Was this fate's arrangement, or a mockery?

"At first, it was because I was in a good mood after the Medicine Field finally got a new person.

Later, your attitude showed that I had not trusted the wrong person.

Do you still remember the matter of the Snake Tongue Orchid?"

"Elder Du, didn't you say that I—"

Mid-sentence, Jiang Hanwen stopped.

That's not right!

Two separate times Cultivating bloodline grass, once for three months, making it exactly half a year. It seemed like a test, but wasn't it also successfully isolating him from his other colleagues?

Du Qingfu smiled and nodded:

"That's right, the two methods you proposed are not only useful but also very effective. This year's Snake Tongue Orchid yield has increased by thirty percent.

Have you considered what you'd like me to reward you with?"

Hearing that his ideas were indeed useful, the pride of being recognized flowed into his heart like honey.

Jiang Hanwen grinned, waved his hand grandly, with three parts pride and seven parts boldness:

"No need!"

"Take it." Du Qingfu stuffed a brand new Secret Manual into his hand. On the Secret Manual were the words "Mang Fist."

There was still a faint scent of ink in the air, clearly indicating it had just been transcribed.

"This book only records the first five levels; the rest depends on your performance."

Du Qingfu smiled as he looked at Jiang Hanwen, his eyes complex.