Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

Late autumn and September are the busy farming times.

Outside Chenjia Village, every household is working in the fields, plowing and fertilizing in preparation for sowing winter wheat.

Farmers are born to work hard, and they can only enjoy a moment of leisure in the cold winter. At other times, they have to face the loess with their backs to the sky, and they have no time to cut wheat and plant crops.

By the Qingping River, in a flat and vast field, more than two dozen farmers are working hard.

Chenjia Village is located on the edge of the Chimang Mountains. The terrain is undulating and the fields are divided by ditches and ridges.

A family's fields are often scattered in different places, vary in size, and have poor soil quality.

A field like this, dozens of acres connected together, with flat terrain and close to a river, with fertile soil and convenient irrigation, is first-class land that only wealthy people can afford.

Among the men working in the fields, the leader is a young man with dark skin.

He was wearing linen clothes, with two iron-like arms still exposed in the cold autumn wind, and his whole body was steaming. He followed an ox pulling an iron pear and turned over the ground with his head buried in the ground. His movements were powerful and swift.

Beside him, a middle-aged man with a weathered face held a dry cigarette, took two puffs, smiled and watched everyone working, and said a few words to the young people from time to time.

He was thin and thin, with thick calluses on his hands, but he was wearing a rather expensive satin dress, which made him look a bit nondescript.

Next to this continuous flat field, there are several inferior fields with irregular boundaries and uneven terrain. They are connected together and located on the edge of the road. There are also farmers farming.

Maybe they were tired after working for a long time. Several farmers stopped their work, sat on the ridges of the fields, looked at the blue sky in the distance, and chatted to rest.

One of them looked down and saw the middle-aged man smoking a cigarette. He sighed and said sourly:

"Why do you think Chen Tiezhu is so lucky? He doesn't know a single word, but his son is so promising. Last year he sent back a large sum of money, built a village, bought hundreds of acres of good land, and became a rich man!"

Another person lamented:

"Isn't that right! Chen Tiezhu's life was worse than mine before, but now he is doing well. When Chen Rongcai sees him, he has to respectfully call him Brother Tiezhu. Even the nobles in the county come to wish him a birthday. During the holidays, I rushed here to give the gift, what a pomp!"

"I'm just confused. I hugged Chen Erniu when he was a child. He was silly and naive, as dry as a skinny monkey. How could he develop martial arts skills? If my dog ​​Dan was as capable as him, I would May you enjoy peace and happiness!”

Several people chatted, their words filled with envy.

A thin-faced man sitting on the edge with a piece of dogtail grass in his mouth sneered and said:

"What is there to envy Chen Tiezhu? He gave birth to an unfilial son. He is so bright on the face, but secretly he sheds so many tears!"

One person said in surprise:

"Three Donkeys, what are you talking about? How can Chen Daniu not be filial? The Chen family bought so many acres of land, and he still works in the fields. He does a better job than a long-term worker. He is more responsible and honest!"

"Who said Chen Daniu? I said Chen Erniu!"

Several other people were even more surprised:

"Why are you telling lies with your eyes open? If Chen Erniu is not filial, are there any filial people in Chenjia Village?"

"That's right! If it weren't for Chen Erniu, would Chen Tiezhu have become a rich man?"

The thin-faced man cast a disdainful glance at them and said:

"What do you guys know? Chen Erniu sent some money to Chen Tiezhu, but if he was really filial, why didn't he bring Chen Tiezhu to the city to enjoy the blessings and stay in the country to be a rich man? This is unfilial!"

After everyone heard this, they started talking:

"This makes sense. If Chen Erniu is really filial, why doesn't he bring his parents to the city to enjoy their blessings?"

"Our Chenjia Village is so remote. Even if we buy a lot of good land, we will still be a rich man. It will be hard for us to watch the drama. How can we live in the city and be a nobleman!"

"It's true. I heard that Chen Erniu didn't come back even during the New Year. This is not something a filial son would do..."

Several people were talking about it, and the thin-faced man chuckled and said:

"I still don't know how Chen Erniu made his fortune. How could he be so stupid as a child? Maybe he fell in love with the daughter of the shopkeeper of Baibing Hall in the county and became his son-in-law. Leave your parents alone in the countryside to avoid embarrassment!"

Everyone gathered around and said curiously:

"Three Donkeys, are you telling the truth?"

"Chen Erniu really became the son-in-law of the shopkeeper of Baibingtang?"

The thin-faced man became interested, cleared his throat, and planned to compose a paragraph:

"Then I will give you a good explanation..."

Suddenly, he froze on the spot, his eyes widened, staring at the galloping road in the distance, and said in silence:

"Chen...Chen Erniu!"

Everyone looked back and saw a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing coarse cloth clothes, with long hair hanging casually, wearing a pair of tattered cloth shoes, and carrying a baggage, slowly coming along the galloping road.

They opened their eyes wide and stared for a long time before a man said doubtfully:

"These eyebrows look like two cows..."

"It's Chen Erniu. He came back for the New Year the year before last. I saw him. I can't be wrong!"

"Why is he wearing such shabby clothes?"

"You don't care about that much. I am a master in the world. Wear whatever you want. Be careful what you say and don't get into trouble!"

While several people were talking, the young man had already come closer. They all saluted hurriedly, their eyes full of awe, and they were evasive and did not dare to speak.

The thin-faced man also forgot that he was just making up stories about this "son-in-law" and rolled and crawled to the side, shaking all over.

This young man was Chen Yuan. He used the light body technique and walked out of the Chimang Mountains in just one day and headed straight for Chenjia Village.

He glanced at a few people, smiled slightly, and continued to walk forward.

He heard everything they said just now.

But Chen Yuan didn't care about their offense.

He had already embarked on the immortal road and would not care about the gossip of mortals.

And the thin-faced man was right. If he took his parents to the city, he would definitely live a more luxurious and wealthy life than in Chenjia Village.

It was just that Chen Yuan was cautious and didn't want his family to be involved in the disputes in the rivers and lakes, so he let his parents stay in Chenjia Village, and even didn't come back during the New Year to avoid attracting attention.

Now it seems that this move has worked well. Even the villagers in the same village don't know his details, let alone the Sanjiang Gang.

...

Chen Yuan walked down the road and entered the flat field.

Chen Tiezhu saw someone walking into his field and was about to scold him, but Chen Yuan smiled and said:

"Dad, I'm back."

Chen Tiezhu shuddered, rubbed his eyes, and walked towards this side with one foot deep and one foot shallow, and said anxiously:

"Erniu, what's wrong with you?"

Chen Daniu, who was working, heard Chen Tiezhu's shout, looked back, recognized Chen Yuan, threw down the hoe in his hand, and ran towards this side:

"Erniu, why are you like this?"

The farmhands also stopped their work and looked over here.

Chen Yuan smiled and said:

"Dad, big brother, I'm fine."

The two came to him, touched his arms and shoulders, and walked around to check him carefully, and then they were relieved.

Chen Daniu was relieved to see that Chen Yuan was fine, but Chen Tiezhu's eyes were red, and he muttered:

"It's good that he didn't get into trouble. It's better to be safe and sound. You have to fight with people in the underworld. I'm afraid that you will lose your hand and get into trouble..."

Chen Yuan was moved and grabbed Chen Tiezhu's hand and smiled:

"Dad, don't worry, I'm fine all the time, nothing happened."

Chen Daniu smiled innocently:

"Dad, Erniu is so capable, nothing will happen to him."

Chen Tiezhu also smiled, showing dense wrinkles on his face, and said:

"Hey, when people get old, they like to worry about nothing. Let's go home and let the chef cook a table of good dishes to welcome Erniu..."

Chen Yuan looked at Chen Tiezhu's weathered appearance, and a wave of emotion rose in his heart.

Chen Tiezhu is only in his forties this year, but he has aged so much.

He is lucky to have a son like Chen Yuan, become a rich man, and live a rich life.

Ordinary farmers suffer many disasters and usually only live to 40 or 50 years old.

How hard it is for ordinary people to live their whole lives.

…

When Chen Yuan returned home, everything in front of him had changed.

Outside the original three brick and tile houses, a manor covering an area of ​​dozens of acres was built, with a wall ten feet high and extraordinary style.

Chen Tiezhu smiled and said:

"Thanks to you, our family can build such a large manor. It's a pity that you didn't come back during the New Year's Day, and you didn't burn the first stick of incense when offering sacrifices to the ancestors. This is a matter of honor for the family!"

His face was full of pride. Chen Yuan looked at the manor in front of him silently, but he couldn't get up the slightest interest. He forced a smile and said:

"Dad helps me burn incense, it's the same."

After he was promoted to the deputy head of the Law Enforcement Hall, although he didn't go home, he entrusted Wei Wuding to send two thousand taels of silver back to his home one after another.

This money is nothing in the county town, but in the countryside, it is enough to buy a huge family business.

Everyone entered the manor, which was like a general landlord's manor, with mills, granaries, workshops, etc.

Going around this area of ​​buildings, there was a three-story house, which served as the residence of the Chen family.

As for the three brick houses, they were converted into ancestral halls to worship the ancestors of the Chen family.

The three people entered the house, and a girl happened to walk out of the hanging flower door connecting the second courtyard.

When she saw Chen Yuan, she blinked her big eyes, rushed over in surprise, and shouted:

"Second brother, you are back!"

Chen Yuan hugged the girl and smiled:

"Girls really change a lot when they grow up. It's only been more than a year, and my little sister has become so beautiful!"

Compared with the last time they met, my little sister has grown a little taller, slimmer, and more beautiful.

But in front of Chen Yuan, my little sister is still the same little sister.

She hugged Chen Yuan tightly, crying:

"Second brother is a bad guy! He never came back for the New Year, and I ate rice cakes, eggs, and braised pork alone, but nothing tasted good!"

Chen Yuan gently stroked the top of the little sister's head and said softly:

"Second brother was wrong, I came back to apologize to you, didn't I?"

The little sister raised her head and looked at Chen Yuan with a pitiful look, and said:

"Then you promise to come back every year and spend the New Year with me!"

Thanks for the reward of one kill every ten steps!