Instead of leaving, he opened his mouth, seeming hesitant to speak.

Jin Fugui gave a dry laugh. “Can I invest in… no, I mean, invest in manure!”

Jin Fugui said with a helpless expression, “There are still two years until the Formal Disciple Competition. During this time, the prices of all kinds of resources will keep rising. Just selling manure alone won’t be enough to live on.”

Jiang Chen suddenly understood. “You want to use spirit beast manure to invest in my Tier-2 Spirit Farm.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Jin Fugui nodded vigorously.

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but ponder.

Fertilizing spirit rice does indeed increase yield; that was tested last winter. If he could secure Jin Fugui’s long-term investment, the benefits would definitely outweigh the drawbacks.

The problem was, how much did the other party plan to take? That was the crucial point.

Too little, and the other party certainly wouldn’t agree. But too much, and he himself wouldn’t agree.

Jin Fugui seemed to read his thoughts and immediately said, “If you only want hundred-year spirit beast manure, then I’ll take one-tenth of the total yield.”

That meant taking one hundred jin out of a thousand jin. Two hundred jin out of two thousand jin. Of course, the portion submitted for tasks would have to be subtracted first.

“You have even better spirit beast manure?” Jiang Chen asked in surprise.

Hearing this, Jin Fugui patted his chest. “I have some connections in this area. Even five-hundred-year, or even thousand-year spirit beast manure, I can get it.”

Jiang Chen thought for a moment and said, “How about this: let’s test it out this spring first. If we’re both satisfied, we can continue cooperating afterwards.”

Jin Fugui’s eyes lit up. “No problem!”

Thus, Jiang Chen obtained enough hundred-year spirit beast manure to cover his entire Spirit Farm. Afterwards, he would only need to hand over about one to two hundred jin of Tier-2 Spirit Rice to fulfill the agreement.

The reason Jin Fugui asked for so little was because of the saying a cunning rabbit has three burrows.

He wasn’t just investing in Jiang Chen. In fact, he had partnered with many Spirit Farmers. To put it bluntly, he had transformed from a simple manure seller into a manure supplier.

He might lose money at the beginning, but he could make a big profit later. All he was losing was the manure that spirit beasts produced every day anyway. But for Spirit Farmers, this was something good for increasing yield.

Therefore, even Jiang Chen couldn’t help but be tempted.

After finishing fertilizing all the spirit plants in the Spirit Farm, Jiang Chen didn’t hesitate and turned to head toward the Core Management Office.

Since he had started, he couldn’t waste time. He had to seize every opportunity. Might as well go now to post the Rainfall task and find a formal disciple with a Water Spiritual Root to cast the Minor Rain Spell.

Actually, there was another option: finding a Water Spiritual Root Dao Companion.

But the problem was, Jiang Chen had too many secrets on him; they couldn’t be easily revealed.

If others found out that a Spirit Farmer who just joined the core area already had a per-acre yield comparable to, or even exceeding, those at the Foundation Establishment stage, it would absolutely cause a sensation and even attract the “attention” of the Immortal Elders.

If it were simply attributed to talent, that would be far-fetched. After all, in the outer area, Jiang Chen only succeeded on his third assessment attempt.

Therefore, he needed to first raise his cultivation realm to a certain level before considering this matter.

Just like last time: post the task, fill in the reward. Afterwards, receive a notification talisman. Next, all he needed to do was wait patiently.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was the next day.

Jiang Chen had just finished breakfast when the talisman on his person began to vibrate and flash. This meant a Water Spiritual Root disciple had already accepted the task and was on their way.

Jiang Chen wasn’t in a hurry either. First, he cultivated on the ridge of the field, absorbing Wood Spiritual Energy. Then, he chased the little yellow dog all over until it was panting with its tongue out.

Finally, the talisman’s flashing frequency grew faster and faster.

Jiang Chen originally thought the other person would walk over. Unexpectedly, they arrived standing on the back of a flying Paper Crane.

Jiang Chen looked up and saw it was a female disciple with a Water Spiritual Root. Her appearance was rather pure and innocent, with a pair of large eyes that were particularly striking.

“Are you Fellow Daoist Jiang?” came a questioning voice from above.

Jiang Chen replied, “I am Jiang Chen. And you are…?”

“My name is Lin Yu. I’m the Water Spiritual Root formal disciple who accepted your Rainfall task.” As she spoke, the Paper Crane above slowly descended.

Whoosh!

Lin Yu jumped down.

Jiang Chen went from looking up at her originally to looking down directly. Lin Yu even tilted her head back and stood on her tiptoes.

Seeing that she only reached his chest level, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but ask with a smile, “Didn’t your parents come with you?”

Lin Yu said indignantly, “This is my accepted task. Why would my parents come along!”

Jiang Chen’s intention had been to tease her. Hearing her reply, he couldn’t help but pause for a moment before tentatively asking, “Are your parents also in Rain Pavilion?”

Lin Yu gave a slight nod. “My father is a Talisman Master in Rain Pavilion.”

The smile instantly vanished from Jiang Chen’s face, and his attitude became more polite. “I’ll be troubling Fellow Daoist Lin this time.”

Goodness gracious… better not mess with her.

Although he had never been to Rain Pavilion, he still knew that Talisman Masters held quite high status there. If he accidentally offended Lin Yu with his words and her parents came looking for him later… that wouldn’t be good.

Therefore, better behave properly.

“Alright!” Lin Yu turned around to face the Spirit Farm directly.

She activated the Minor Rain Spell (Second Layer).

With a wave of her small hand, the Water Spiritual Energy in the air ahead rapidly gathered. In no time at all, a layer of mist formed above the Spirit Farm.

Moreover, this mist seemed faintly dark, as if evolving toward real dark clouds.

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow inwardly. I saw it once before in the outer area. Compared to now? Completely different levels. It seems Lin Yu’s aptitude isn’t low.

Splash, splash, splash!

The sound of rain began. Dense spirit rain fell, covering most of the Spirit Farm.

A moment later, the spirit plants that received rainfall clearly grew more robust, covered in a layer of “dewy glow” from top to bottom.

“All done.” Lin Yu looked very relaxed.

“This is your reward: twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones.” Jiang Chen promptly took out payment.

The reason for using Spirit Stones was mainly to create an illusion for others that he didn’t have Spirit Rice either. This way, it wouldn’t raise suspicion. After all, Spirit Rice prices had gone crazy by now.

Lin Yu accepted the Spirit Stones and then took out a talisman. “This is my communication talisman. When you need help next time just say so; no need to post a task.”

“Alright.” Jiang Chen carefully accepted it.

“I’m off.” Lin Yu jumped onto her Paper Crane and quickly left.

Jiang Chen only relaxed after she was completely out of sight. “Luckily she’s young and didn’t understand what I said earlier; otherwise I’d be in trouble.”

Then, he turned his gaze back to the Spirit Farm.

Now, loosening the soil, fertilizing, and rainfall were all done. As long as nothing unexpected happened, this harvest’s yield would absolutely skyrocket.

It might even exceed three thousand jin!