On the 8th of November, leaves were falling outside Guang County. Winter was approaching.
When Hua Kai woke up early in the morning, he felt that the weather had suddenly become cold. After his morning exercise and breakfast, he asked the housekeeper to distribute the remaining 200 kilograms of bear meat to all the experts above the Natal Opening Realm in the village. Each family could get about 5 kilograms of bear meat. The main family gave benefits to the strong warriors in the village. This was done in many villages to encourage everyone to train diligently and set an example during winter training.
Hua Kai and his grandfather left early in the morning. The last time they went to the Ju Country's market, Lie Yan's physical strength was not enough. The main reason was that the lunch break was too short. Today, Hua Kai and his grandfather left early in the morning. This way, Lie Yan could rest more at the market and eat some grass to replenish her strength.
Today, Hua Kai felt that there were more desolate beasts on the way to Ju Country than the day before. Lie Yan was also very smart. When she encountered a dense area of desolate beasts, she tried her best to avoid them. When Hua Xing encountered a desolate beast, he tried his best to drive them away to avoid conflict. This way, they quickly arrived at the place where they killed the black bear.
Along the way, this was the area with the most desolate beasts. Perhaps it was because there was a river on the opposite side. When the frozen season arrived, these desolate beasts would all head to the North Sea Country. Then, the desolate beasts would spread to all parts of Qingzhou.
After the border river last time, the chances of desolate beasts appearing were greatly reduced. Only then did Lie Yan slow down her pace.
This time, Lie Yan's performance was obviously much better than last time. After entering the North Sea Country, the two of them did not stop to rest. In less than an hour, Hua Kai saw the Buju Country's market in the distance.
When they arrived at the Ju Country's market, it was still bustling. In about ten days, the entire Qingzhou would enter the frozen season. The river would gradually freeze and wild beasts would roam freely. This market would also be closed, so everyone hurried to buy what they needed.
After buying the black bear last time, Hua Kai had money in his hands. Today, he specially bought more specially made tea. These were usually only bought by aristocratic families. One tael of tea would cost several taels of silver. Hua Kai steeled his heart and spent 30 gold to buy 100 kilograms. This tea had strict requirements for preservation. The price of transporting it to the grasslands was not something an ordinary person could imagine.
Because the tariffs were too high and it was difficult to preserve them, most small worlds did not dare to touch the high-end tea business.
Hua Kai bought some high-quality silk, over a hundred catties of white sugar, and half a catty of Spirit Rice. After spending more than ten Gold Coins, he had less than 30 Gold Coins left. He planned to bring these items to the grasslands next year to test out their prices. If they were successful, they would become a major source of income for his family. There was no concept of time in the Dimensional Pocket, so the items would not deteriorate no matter how long they were stored.
The reason Hua Kai bought the spirit rice was because he wanted to try planting it himself next year. The reward of the system's main mission was spirit rice seeds. If he could sum up his experience of planting spirit rice early, it would be a good way for his family to make a living in the future.
When they returned home in the afternoon, Lie Yan ran from her county to Guang County in one breath. Hua Kai felt that she had increased her speed a little. They set off from the big market at three o 'clock in the afternoon and returned to Fort Wah Ka before six o' clock.
In the next two days, Hua Kai and his grandfather went to Ju Country's big market twice. As winter approached, the number of people in the market became fewer and fewer.
Some merchant ships from the Southern Kingdom were ready to return. On the last day, Hua Kai could not help but spend more than 20 Gold Coins to buy a lot of things because the price of the caravan was too cheap at this time.
On November 16th, Hua Kai woke up early in the morning and heard the familiar sounds of morning exercises in the village.
In the past few days, the number of people participating in morning and evening training in the martial arts field had increased. Third Uncle had no choice but to temporarily expand the area of the martial arts field. Now, the new martial arts field was given to the new villagers. Hua Xing and Hua Zihuan would often wander around the new martial arts field when they had nothing to do. If they met someone with good aptitude, they would be accepted into the Hua family and be given a cultivation method.
In fact, there was no cultivation method in this world. One could cultivate by themselves, but the speed was much slower.
In this world, cultivation methods were a symbol of a family's strength. If a high level cultivation method declined and the number of experts decreased, the essence of the cultivation method would slowly be lost. In the end, the cultivation method's level would slowly drop until it reached the low yellow level.
On the other hand, if the family became more prosperous and there were more experts above the Qi Refining Realm, they could conclude that the cultivation method was inadequate and correct it, allowing the family's cultivation method to continue to improve.
Therefore, a family's cultivation method was very important. People who were influenced by the family's cultivation method from a young age would cultivate it much faster than other cultivation methods when they grew up. Hua Kai was able to master the Meditation Mantra at the age of 12 because he knew the family's cultivation method from the moment he was born. If he were to change his cultivation method now, he might not be able to get started even after a few years.
Hua Kai practiced his spear skills in the martial arts field for three hours. In the winter, most people in the village would increase the intensity of their training when they had nothing to do. After meditating for a while, he felt that his Zhen Qi had fully recovered and wanted to quickly upgrade his family's cultivation method.
Upgrading a cultivation method would speed up everyone's Zhen Qi recovery and give them more time to train their bodies. Moreover, a family's cultivation method was related to the increase of the entire family's strength.
It was far more useful than earning more money in Hua Kai's upgrade space.
Thinking of this, Hua Kai went to the stable to upgrade the last horse. Seeing that his family's Luck had reached 149, he went home and entered the [Family's Secret Realm]. He entered the [Mantra Enlightenment]. Now, the [Mantra Enlightenment] was the only cultivation method that was displayed in the [Mantra Enlightenment]. Hua Kai clicked to confirm the upgrade and saw that more than half of the Luck on the crystal pillar in the center of the realm had entered the [Mantra Enlightenment]. Hua Kai could not help but meditate and cultivate the cultivation method. In the past, the [Mantra Enlightenment] only had 200 words or so, but the system had changed more than 30 words. However, the effect seemed to have changed greatly. He followed the new [Mantra Enlightenment] and circulated his Zhen Qi. He felt that his body's Zhen Qi absorption speed had increased by 30% and his understanding of Zhen Qi had also deepened!
Opening his eyes, Hua Kai could not help but smile. After participating in the [Mantra Enlightenment] upgrade, his understanding of the family's cultivation method had deepened.
These understandings could not be clearly explained by the few hundred words in the mantra. With these feelings, he was confident that he could help the important members of the family to upgrade their cultivation methods in a short period of time.
Hua Kai: Body Tempering Realm Level 4
Aptitude: D-
Physique: 14
Energy: 15
Willpower: 19
Cultivation Method: Mantra Enlightenment (Intermediate Yellow Cultivation Method)
Spear Technique: Space-Splitting Spear (Advanced Yellow Spear Technique) (Small Success)
Special Cultivation Method: Great Dream Visualization (God Level) (Elementary)
Special Technique: Eye of Truth (Unable to upgrade)
The [Mantra Enlightenment] was already a Intermediate Yellow Cultivation Method and his Energy had increased by 1 point. Other than that, there were no other changes. With his current cultivation speed, it should not be a problem for him to reach Body Tempering Realm Level 5 by the end of winter. At that time, he would be safer when he went to the Linhu Grassland.
The upgrade of the cultivation method allowed Hua Kai to reflect on the training he did during the day. He finally understood why there were so many masters in the noble families. Increasing the absorption speed of Zhen Qi was a comprehensive improvement to a person's strength. When he used the [Sky Splitter Spear] again, he could clearly feel that there was something that could be improved.
The next day, Hua Kai went to find his grandpa and told Hua Xing about his new understanding of the [Mantra Enlightenment].
When Hua Xing heard his grandson's explanation, he was shocked. Normally, only experts who had entered the Qi Refining Realm would be able to make changes to their own mental cultivation methods. No matter what the reason was, this grandson of his could be considered a genius to be able to find a flaw in his mental cultivation method and improve it. Moreover, he was only in the Tempered Body Realm.
Hua Xing followed the mantra of the [Mantra Enlightenment]. He only needed to circulate his Zhen Qi once to know that the new cultivation method was much better than the previous one. The Zhen Qi in his body circulated faster, and the absorption speed was also much faster.
Seeing that his grandpa had entered the new cultivation method, Hua Kai checked his grandpa's status.
Hua Xing: Mortal Realm Level 1
Aptitude: B
Physique: 39 (43)
Strength: 40
Will: 46
Cultivation Method: Mantra Enlightenment (Middle Yellow Rank Cultivation Method)
Spear Art: Space Splitting Spear (High Yellow Rank Spear Art) Completion
Loyalty: 100
His grandpa's cultivation method had dropped from completion to completion. Maybe it was because he was still not familiar with the new cultivation method. His physique of 39 points was infinitely close to the Mortal Realm, and with the completion of the [Space Splitting Spear Art], it should not be a problem for him to deal with normal Mortal Realm warriors.
Hua Kai had been worried that the family's luck had dropped and that it would bring bad things to the family. In the afternoon, his third uncle told him that someone had accidentally fallen from a high place when they were building a new house in the east of the village. Luckily, the fall was not serious.
In the afternoon, there were more small groups of wild beasts looking around the village. This should be the result of the family's luck being low.
In the next few days, the number of people breaking through in Fort Wah Ka suddenly decreased. This made Hua Kai realize the importance of the family's luck. If the family only had a few points of luck left, he was afraid that the village would be besieged by wild beasts this year. This would not be a joke.
So in the future, he had to be careful when using his luck.
Hua Kai reminded himself.
The [Mantra Enlightenment] leveled up at first, but it was only slowly spread to the core members of the Hua family. Without any guidance, it was very likely that they would go crazy.
Hua Kai personally taught his second uncle, third uncle, Fourth Uncle, housekeeper, and Erzhuang the new mantra of the [Mantra Enlightenment] and taught them how to practice it. A week later, his grandpa and Fourth Uncle first familiarized themselves with the new mantra. Only then did the new [Mantra Enlightenment] spread to the whole village.
What Hua Kai did not expect was that as more and more people used the new [Mantra Enlightenment], the family's luck increased by quite a bit. In just a week, the remaining 49 points of luck returned to 66 points. The loyalty of many important members of the family increased, and the number of people who were loyal to more than 90 points exceeded 50. As for the Fifth Uncle, Hua Zichen, who had always been worrying Hua Kai, he was finally kicked out of the crystal pillar list.
His grandpa had already sent the news to Linzi City. Fort Wah Ka had encountered an unforeseen event this year. Logically speaking, Hua Zichen should have rushed back home as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there was still no news of his Fifth Uncle, Hua Zichen. His grandpa had already started to worry these few days.
On the 23rd of November, the weather suddenly turned cold, and frost started to form on the ground. Fortunately, more than half of the new houses in Fort Wah Ka had been completed, and it was enough for all the new villagers to live in. That afternoon, Third Uncle went to look for Hua Kai.
"Winter is a kind of torture for the villages outside Guang County, especially for the small villages. Many of them do not have much savings, and they do not have enough food. Over the past few days, more and more people have come looking for me to find a job in Fort Wah Ka. I can only follow your request and try my best to satisfy the families with geniuses in their families. However, there are many people waiting at my doorstep every day. If the family has enough money, I am thinking of finding more jobs for them!"
Hua Kai understood what Third Uncle said. Every family would want to have someone in their family who could cultivate. For this, many families would save their food to buy meat for the most talented youngsters, even if they only ate one meal a day. They were the hope of their family's future.
The trend of martial arts in Fort Wah Ka was especially obvious this year. This made many families, who were already in poor conditions, even more desperate. As the number one manager of the outer village, Third Uncle was the clearest about this.
"The city walls have been repaired, but the houses can't be built because of the frost.
We can't ignore the people who are seeking refuge in Fort Wah Ka … How about this?
Send a notice to the entire village. As long as they train at the martial arts field for more than four hours a day, the family will provide them with a meal in the afternoon. Arrange for people to cook in the afternoon. This way, we can have more jobs, "Hua Kai said after some thought.
In fact, regardless of whether it was Guang County City or the eight villages, they had to provide help to these people every year. Otherwise, they would not be able to gain the support of the surrounding villages and fight for their rightful position in Guang County.
"Then … Alright!"
Hua Zijie wanted to object. The pressure of helping the family was too great. Even if Hua Kai went to Ju Country to buy a large amount of food, it would at most be enough for everyone to eat for two months.
"Also, I noticed that the hygiene situation in the village is getting worse!
Arrange for some villagers to be in charge of cleaning up the village. Tell everyone that if anyone dares to urinate or defecate in the village, they will be disqualified from eating in the afternoon … That's right, there is only one public toilet in the village. Now that there are so many people in the village, it is not enough. Build another four public toilets in each direction of the village. Build another one outside the main courtyard. "
Speaking of the toilets in this world, Hua Kai was at a loss for words.
Hua Kai had been reforming the toilets for the past few years, forcing everyone to develop good habits. Only then did the environment in the village change slightly. Now that he was the head of the Hua family, he planned to focus on the hygiene of the village.
The news of "the main family providing meals for the martial arts field" quickly spread throughout the entire Fort Wah Ka. Initially, the men in the village who had nothing to do came to the martial arts field to train. Later, some women and children who had nothing to do at home also came. The entire field was crowded with people. Hua Kai had no choice but to allocate twenty people from the village guards to be in charge of the training. However, the training grounds were placed on the roads of the village.
One of the reasons why Hua Kai spent so much effort to get nearly a thousand people in the village to participate in the training was to prevent everyone from organizing an effective resistance after the village was breached. Another reason was to cultivate the training atmosphere of the village and cultivate more and more outstanding young people from the family.
Time passed slowly like this. Although the entire Fort Wah Ka had entered winter, it was still very lively every day. There were two shifts of people in the salt-making workshop every day to purify the coarse salt. In more than ten days, there were already two thousand pounds of refined salt stored in the warehouse. The toilets in the village were also built one after another. The environment in the village was getting better step by step. The entire Fort Wah Ka seemed to be in good order. No one could be seen on the county road outside the Fort Wah Ka anymore. Every day when night came, Hua Kai could hear the constant roars of the beasts outside the village. Some of the villagers could not help but feel afraid when they heard this. The test of winter was coming!