Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Oh?”
The Fire Phoenix looked at Dragin, half-smiling. “Are you threatening me?”
Dragin looked wronged and pitiful. “I’m not trying to show off. I’m just discussing with you, Sister Fire Phoenix.”
The Fire Phoenix smiled. “Ha-ha, there’s nothing to discuss. Go water the plants!”
“Oh…”
Dragin was like a deflated balloon, eyeing the cake that was in the making as she slowly turned away to leave.
Her little heart was sad. She already told her such a big secret. Was her ancestor’s name not big enough?
…
Meanwhile, below the mountain.
Three figures were at the foot of the mountain. They were Zhou Yunwu, followed by Meng Junliang, and Rich.
Zhou Yunwu looked concerned. He said, “Is it okay for us to come here without bringing something?”
He had prepared a car full of rare treasures, almost emptying the entire Xia Kingdom. If possible, he even wanted to pick a few beautiful women to be sent over.
Meng Junliang said, “My King, the expert’s a Godly man. He won’t be concerned with things like these. In fact, it might have a negative effect.”
Rich said, “Yes, My King! I think by bringing this battle report to Mr. Li, it will be the best gift.”
Zhou Yunwu frowned. He did not know what to do. “Sigh, Mr. Li’s done a big favor for the Xia Kingdom and yet, I can’t give him anything. This is so…embarrassing!”
Meng Junliang said, “My King, you attacked the demons, ruled the world, and preached to the world to help humankind. These are the best gifts you could give Mr. Li.”
Zhou Yunwu nodded and said with a serious tone, “That I can do.”
As he spoke, the four-part architecture appeared in sight.
Meng Junliang gradually walked over to the door and gently knocked.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Click!
Daji answered the door.
“Greetings to Miss Daji!” Zhou Yunwu and the other two wasted no time. They hastily bowed a ninety-degree bow at her.
Daji nodded at the three of them. “Please, come in.”
Upon entering the four-part architecture, a strangely sweet scent greeted their noses. They could not help sniffing a few times. Then, they looked toward Li Nianfan who was busy. They greeted politely, “Greetings to Mr. Li.”
“It’s you guys!” Li Nianfan smiled and nodded. “Greetings to King Zhou. You’re in luck today! I’m making a dessert. You’re all in luck!”
Xiao Bai said, “Everyone, please, have a seat.”
Zhou Yunwu and the other two instantly picked a place not far away to sit down. They could not help looking at the Fire Phoenix by the side.
The three of them jumped as they felt chills rising from their backs.
This woman… Why did she look like the woman who descended from the Immortal Land last night when the group of cultivators Immortalized?
This outlook and hairdo… There was no one else who looked like her in this realm.
As the Human Sovereign, Zhou Yunwu was naturally more aware of cultivating matters. The phoenix that flew away from the Natural Tribulation that night had become a heated topic.
Thus… She was the…phoenix?
Gasp!
Zhou Yunwu gasped. The expert was indeed an expert. His abilities were way beyond the imagination of an ordinary man.
He was glad that he did not pull over the car of treasures, or else…it would be so low! The thought of it was embarrassing!
The Fire Phoenix could feel their eyes on her. She said coldly, “I’m Fire Phoenix.”
The three of them instantly stood up and made a gesture. “Greetings to Miss Fire Phoenix.”
While Li Nianfan was making the cake, he asked, “What brings you all here?”
Now that the demons were messing things up, the Southern area was in a mess. They should be busy battling instead.
Zhou Yunwu smiled as he said proudly, “Mr. Li, we won the battle five nights ago. We have defeated the demons and made humankind proud!”
“Oh? Great news!” Li Nianfan’s eyes lit up. With that, it seemed that his security was guaranteed for now. This bunch of people was reliable!
Rich said, “This is all thanks to Mr. Li’s preaching and his tips on how the weapons should be made. Those were the key to winning the battle!”
Zhou Yunwu nodded hastily. “Yeah, Mr. Li’s the reason we won! If not, the result would’ve been so bad!”
“No way, I only offered you some advice. The merits go to the soldiers!” Li Nianfan felt good, but he still told the truth instead of taking all the credit.
He merely wanted some security. The soldiers were the ones who were sacrificing themselves.
He could not help smiling. “No wonder I suddenly felt like making a cake. It’s because there’s delightful news we can celebrate!”
Daji was playing with the flour. She curiously asked, “Mr. Li, is cake related to a celebration?”
Li Nianfan simply said, “Indeed, it is. However, it’s just a practice where I used to live. Whenever there was something to celebrate, we’d have a slice of cake.”
“I see.”
Everyone shivered without showing it on their faces. Their heads were unable to calm down.
The place he used to live must be the ancient Immortal Land.
So, the bigshots in ancient times used cakes for celebration!
They got so lucky! They were about to taste the special food from ancient times! Life would be complete!
Zhou Yunwu and the other two thought even further than that.
Was this coincidence? Obviously not!
It was likely that the expert already knew that they would succeed! Thus, he made the cake to celebrate with them!
It seemed that the expert was pleased. They had to work harder to unite all of humanity one day!
“It’s almost ready.”
Li Nianfan clapped his hands and walked to the pond in the heart of the yard. He put his hands inside it to wash them while Daji brought over a wiping cloth, helping Li Nianfan to wipe off gently.
“That’s it for now, then. Steam it for a few minutes and it’ll be done. Xiao Bai, keep an eye on it, don’t overbake it. I’ll entertain the guests,” Li Nianfan instructed before walking toward Zhou Yunwu and the rest.
He smiled and asked, “How’re the herbs? Easy to use?”
“Easy, too easy!” Zhou Yunwu nodded hastily. “Now, whenever someone falls ill, we can just mix up some herbs. Unlike before where people frequently fell ill and never got up again. Furthermore, many soldiers survived this battle due to the herbs. Mr. Li, you’ve helped thousands of men. You’re a legend to be remembered!”
“Not a legend. You don’t have to mark my name down as well. Just call me the Divine Farmer.” Li Nianfan smiled and waved it off.
A man should be terrified of becoming famous, like how a pig should be terrified of growing big. Especially since he was in the Immortal Realm because he was merely an ordinary man.
Everyone was stunned. They all had words on their lips but they held their tongues.
To praise him? It seemed unnecessary. The expert’s realm was way beyond that. Furthermore, the words of praise seemed rather useless.
They could only remain stunned. Perhaps this was the realm of the expert!
Li Nianfan continued, “Hope everything else goes well.”
Zhou Yunwu smiled, “They should. Thanks to the herb manual given by you, I’ve asked for some stimulating liquid from the cultivators. Although they’re not advanced yet, they’re five times more effective than before. At least our soldiers won’t have to worry about the shortage of food in the future.”
“That’s good,” Li Nianfan nodded.
Suddenly, Meng Junliang sighed and said, “Mr. Li, I actually have a problem without a solution. I don’t know how to fix it.”
Zhou Yunwu and Rich looked concerned. Obviously, Meng Junliang’s problem would be their problem, too.
Li Nianfan made a ‘please, speak’ gesture and said, “Please.”
Meng Junliang composed his thoughts and said, “Mr. Li, the roots of the Xia Kingdom aren’t deep. With such a big battle happening…the national storage is gradually being emptied out. If this goes on, we won’t be able to fight any more battles.”
Li Nianfan nodded. “I see.”
Three words—lack of money!
One had to admit that regardless of which realm one was in, money was a treasure. Li Nianfan knew that even the Immortals had to live under the power of money. Of course, the currency up there must be different.
To a country, money represented its economics, while economics was directly correlated to how strong and powerful the country was!
The economics determined the foundation of the architecture. Economics was the root of everything!
The Xia Kingdom was a small country. After having fought with the demons and being involved in a high-leveled battle, of course, they would be emptied out soon.
Li Nianfan hesitated for a moment. “This is a matter related to state governance.”
One could tell that he had more to say.
Zhou Yunwu stood up and bowed deeply. He said with respect, “Please, teach me!”
State governance was a difficult topic to teach. Anyone could know the theory and share the theory, but how to enforce it and how to put it into action was not something the theory could fix.
Theory-wise, Zhou Yunwu had done quite well. He was kind and polite. He loved his people like his children but some matters required specific tactics.
Everyone looked at Li Nianfan, waiting for his answer.
Including the Fire Phoenix.
The expert was indeed the expert! He knew everything about the world and everything was within his grasp, easily manipulated.
Nobody would doubt whatever Li Nianfan was about to say.
However, Li Nianfan did not answer. Instead, he asked, “If you didn’t come to me, what were you going to do?”
Meng Junliang did not hide. He said, “To be honest with you, I’ve proposed two ideas to my King. One is to increase the tax of the farmers, the other is to ask the officers to donate money.”
“Both wouldn’t work.” Li Nianfan shook his head instantly. He said, “First of all, the farmers are using physical strength. Now, most of the men are at the front lines, leaving the women, children, and elderly behind. Yet, you want to increase the tax? This doesn’t seem right. Secondly, during the war, it’s important to maintain a good relationship between the officials. If you ask them to donate money, it would be bad!”
Meng Junliang stood up and said guiltily, “Mr. Li’s so wise. Your words are too accurate. I’ve learned something today.”
Zhou Yunwu was obviously excited. He said, “Please, give us some pointers.”
“Now that we’re facing some extreme times, it’s rather hard to find a solution within a short amount of time.” Li Nianfan enjoyed being a teacher. He smiled and said, “Actually, there’s one way to fix this problem. Trade!”
“Trade?”
Everyone was stunned.
The order went from farmer, worker, to trader. Traders were at the end of the chain as they only cared about the profits. Nobody liked them.
Meng Junliang curiously asked, “Mr. Li, the traders are evil. They neither produce nor plant, and they don’t even create anything of value. How’re we going to fix the problems by trading?”
“You’re only looking at it from one perspective without seeing the other.” Li Nianfan shook his head. “This shows that you didn’t spend enough time understanding the traders.”
Meng Junliang’s face flushed red. He realized that he knew too little. How ignorant was he in the past to claim to know everything in the world?
“The traders care about the profits. They resell things and determine the price of goods in the market. They sell things that one no longer needed to someone else, directing goods that have been over-produced to areas that lack those specific goods. They trade to avoid wastage, liquefying wealth, re-using resources to unleash their value. They make more than just money.”
With a pause, Li Nianfan continued, “Improve the status of the traders. Provide them with benefits and then collect taxes from them. With that, your problem will be greatly solved.”
“I understand! I see!” Meng Junliang’s eyes widened. With just one pointer, he was able to understand the rest!
Zhou Yunwu was confused, but he tried his best to remain calm. The truth was that his head was filled with question marks.
He secretly glanced at the blank-faced Rich, and then at the frowning Fire Phoenix.
Suddenly he felt better.
Although he did not understand what the expert was saying, he understood the conclusion. He merely had to do as he was told.
Instantly, he wore a look of realization. “Thank you for helping us, Mr. Li.”
Meng Junliang frowned slightly. He could not help asking, “Mr. Li, if we encourage trading, what if everyone ventures into trading instead of producing? What should we do then?”
Li Nianfan said with an unperturbed face, “The prosperity of the world is for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit.”
Instantly, Meng Junliang’s head went blank after a loud ring. He had goosebumps all over his body. He felt as if this short sentence had touched his soul like the morning bell was awakening his being. His heart thumped rapidly and he had a sudden desire to cry out loud.
It was like having a problem that was unsolvable until someone uttered a simple sentence that ended up being the perfect solution. It was so on point and very powerful!
Feelings of confidence, worship, and excitement rushed into him. It was beyond words.
“Mr. Li’s indeed the teacher of all men!” Meng Junliang wanted to kneel in front of him so badly. He said politely, “I’m in luck to be able to be taught by you!”
This was the grasp of the Truth, the control of the world! His understanding was too far behind!
Meanwhile, Xiao Bai walked toward them. “My master, the cake’s ready.”
Li Nianfan smiled and said, “What a coincidence. The time’s just right. Let’s taste the cake.”
