Seeing no movement from inside for a long time, the visitor couldn’t help but suspect that the occupant might not be home. After all, many people had gone to the Red Leaf Valley market yesterday to celebrate the New Year.

The moment the door opened, a biting, cold wind rushed in.

As a cultivator, Jiang Chen showed no reaction to the chill. However, the sleepy little fellow at his feet shivered all over from the sudden draft.

“It’s me!” Lin An’s eyes lit up immediately, and he hurriedly stepped forward.

“So early?” Jiang Chen was taken aback for a moment before stepping aside to make room. “Come in and talk.”

Lin An stamped the snow off the soles of his boots before entering the room. He was somewhat surprised when he noticed the additional little yellow dog.

“It gets lonely living by myself, so I found a pet for company,” Jiang Chen explained as he closed the door against the wind.

Lin An nodded. “Understandable. Most Spirit Farmers are like that.”

Jiang Chen poured a cup of water for his guest and then asked, “What brings you here?”

“Just say it directly.” Jiang Chen knew well that a visit during the New Year definitely meant there was serious business at hand.

Lin An gritted his teeth. “You know I didn’t plant anything last winter, so I don’t have much Spirit Rice on hand. That normally wouldn’t be a problem, but who knew resources would be so tight this year? The Earth and Water Spiritual Root disciples I partnered with are frantically pressing me for grain.”

Due to the five major forces speculating on resources, the prices of many commodities had skyrocketed.

Originally, one Low-grade Spirit Stone could buy ten jin of Tier-1 Spirit Rice. Now, the ratio changed day by day. As for Tier-2 Spirit Rice, it had reached a shocking ratio of 1:1.5. There was even a downward trend in supply, making it unaffordable for many ordinary disciples.

“I have no Spirit Rice, so I can only ask for your help,” Lin An said helplessly.

Jiang Chen looked slightly surprised. “Why the sudden urgency?”

Lin An immediately replied with indignation, “They got lucky; they both became official disciples.”

When he signed the spirit contracts with those two back then, there was an element of gambling involved. He had bet that one, or perhaps even both, would fail to become official disciples. If that had happened, the initiative would have fallen into his hands. Even if one succeeded, he figured he could barely manage.

But who could have predicted this? Either none become official disciples, or they both do at the same time.

Once they became official disciples, their demand for Spirit Rice increased drastically. Now, both had made their demands clear. For Tier-1 Spirit Rice, each needed at least three hundred jin. If it was Tier-2 Spirit Rice, each still required one hundred jin.

The problem was that Lin An hadn’t planted any Spirit Rice at all last winter. He didn’t have much Tier-1 Spirit Rice on hand, let alone Tier-2.

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, weighing things in his heart.

Admittedly, his relationship with Lin An was good. However, if he really produced a large amount of Spirit Rice—regardless of the tier—it would definitely raise suspicions as soon as the news got out.

For a person who had failed the outer assessment twice in a row, how could he grow so much Spirit Rice just after joining the core of the Spirit Farm? The key point was that this was a winter harvest, a season when yields are naturally reduced!

As the saying goes: A sheng of rice earns gratitude; a dou of rice breeds enmity.

Lin An might be okay; his thoughts weren’t inherently malicious. But someone like Zhao Ziyao would absolutely turn hostile and even cause trouble. If it attracted Wang Hu’s attention, the situation would be even worse.

“If it’s difficult for you, forget it.” Seeing his expression, Lin An knew that coming to borrow rice right after the New Year was indeed a bit excessive.

Jiang Chen thought for a moment and said, “To be honest with you, I only have forty jin of Tier-2 Spirit Rice left.”

“Then… could you lend me some?” A glimmer of hope shone in Lin An’s eyes.

In the Cloud Sea Sect, contracts were taken very seriously. Once breached, even as an official disciple, he would face severe punishment. He might even be expelled from the Spirit Farm entirely.

“At most twenty jin. I need the rest myself.” Jiang Chen agreed mainly because of Lin An’s previous help in introducing him to Wang Ze.

“Thank you so much! I will definitely repay you double!” Lin An was extremely excited.

Jiang Chen asked curiously, “But even if I give you twenty jin, what about the rest?”

Lin An instantly deflated, his face falling as he replied, “I can only borrow from others.”

“Good luck then.” As he spoke, Jiang Chen took out twenty jin of Tier-2 Spirit Rice from his small storage pouch.

“Fellow Daoist Jiang, I will never forget this kindness!” Lin An repeatedly assured him before accepting the rice.

Jiang Chen said seriously, “If I can still stay in the core of the Spirit Farm later on, I’ll treat you to drinks then.”

Lin An was stunned for a moment before nodding vigorously. “Okay!”

Then, he left.

Jiang Chen stood at the door, watching Lin An’s rather disheveled retreating figure, and murmured, “Fellow Daoist Lin, your fortune from now on depends on your own luck.”

As the saying goes: One should not harbor intentions to harm others, but one must not be without vigilance against them.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to help; it was that human hearts were simply too complex.

Unexpectedly, around noon, someone else actually came knocking.

“Senior Brother Jiang! Long time no see!” Tie Zhu, the Earth Spiritual Root disciple, greeted him with a dry laugh.

“What brings you here?” Jiang Chen was somewhat surprised.

“I came specifically to pay my New Year’s respects to you,” Tie Zhu grinned.

“Well, now that you’ve paid your respects, you can go back.” Jiang Chen waved his hand dismissively. “What is it really?”

In fact, Jiang Chen already had an idea in his heart.

Tie Zhu said with a bitter smile, “I wanted to borrow some rice from you!”

Jiang Chen wasn’t surprised at all by this and refused outright. “I don’t have any.”

Tie Zhu refused to give up. Wearing a woeful expression, he complained, “I didn’t want to borrow rice from you originally. But who knew that damned Lin An actually has no rice?”

Leaning against the doorframe with a somewhat amused expression, Jiang Chen remarked, “Isn’t it normal to have no rice? Official disciples don’t have to plant during the winter.”

Tie Zhu hadn’t known about this rule and immediately frowned. “But now that I’ve also become an official disciple, my demand for Spirit Rice is very high.”

“Oh?” Jiang Chen blinked. “I’ll have to call you Fellow Daoist Tie from now on!”

Tie Zhu hurriedly waved his hands in fright. “No, no, no… just call me Junior Brother!”

Hearing this, Jiang Chen stopped teasing him. He spread his hands and said, “I really don’t have any rice.”

Tie Zhu tentatively asked, “Back in the outer area, didn’t Senior Brother promise to let me loosen soil for your fields?”

Borrowing rice would be best, but borrowing rice wasn’t actually the key objective today. The real goal was using this opportunity to bring up the job of loosening soil for the spirit fields come spring.

This was a chance for promotion.

Jiang Chen hadn’t expected this trap waiting for him here. He couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. “You already have Lin An. And back in the outer area, didn’t you loosen soil for many people?”

Tie Zhu immediately became furious. “In autumn, only you and Lin An became official disciples. As for winter… everyone else failed.”

He had privately suspected his own judgment. Maybe there’s something wrong with my eyesight. How come my judgment of people is so off?

Especially Lin An. That guy was on another level—a master scammer among scammers.

“This…” Jiang Chen hesitated. He could now choose more experienced Earth Spiritual Root disciples to cooperate with.

“Fifty jin! Just fifty jin of Tier-2 Spirit Rice per quarter!!!” Tie Zhu gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and went all out.