Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

As Li Xingzhi had said, the sooner the better. Construction of the library began the next day, but Li Xingzhi was not involved. He was heading straight to Wangjia Village with Erlang, several strong servants, and a cart full of gifts.

When we arrived at Wangjia Village, we didn't see many people. Even when we bumped into someone, we would just exchange greetings and then hurry away.

It's the busy season for farming!

Li Xingzhi and his party did not delay and headed towards the old clan chief's house.

Just as they arrived at the old clan chief's house, they saw the old clan chief of the Wang family politely seeing a middle-aged man out the door.

When the old clan chief saw Li Xingzhi and his entourage, he snorted and walked back with a stiff expression, ignoring Li Xingzhi who was still standing in front of the door.

Li Xingzhi was somewhat baffled, wondering where he had offended the old clan chief, who was now turning them away.

"You must be that eldest son of the Li family, who has turned the entire city of Tanzhou upside down!" A rather clear voice rang out.

Li Xingzhi turned his head and saw a middle-aged man standing next to him. He was lean and upright, with a scholarly air and a hint of authority that made people dare not underestimate him.

The middle-aged man seemed to admire Li Xingzhi somewhat in his words, but his face remained calm, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Li Xingzhi was not good at speaking, but when he heard the middle-aged man speak like this, he knew how to respond immediately.

The middle-aged man merely turned his head to look at Wang Erlang for a moment before nodding and saying, "The door isn't closed yet. Don't keep the elder waiting too long." Without waiting for Li Xingzhi's reply, he leisurely walked away.

Li Xingzhi was quite puzzled and didn't know the background of this middle-aged man. However, the matter at hand was more important, so he had to suppress his doubts.

He left all the servants outside and only took Erlang into the old clan chief's residence. There, he saw the old clan chief already sitting in the main hall, waiting for them!

Li Xingzhi looked at the house, which was really small, consisting of a main room, a living room, and a storage room, all made of wood; the house, like the old village chief, had weathered countless storms.

"You two gentlemen have come to see this old codger again. I wonder what brings you here!" The tone was quite harsh, causing Li Xingzhi to swallow all the words he was about to say. He was somewhat embarrassed, wondering how he had offended this stubborn old man, who was now ignoring even the second young master.

Although Erlang was somewhat confused, he could sense the unusual atmosphere in the hall. He simply bowed to the old clan chief and did not dare to approach him.

Let alone Erlang, even Li Xingzhi is still completely baffled. Although he knows that the old clan chief letting them in means he's given them an opportunity, but...

Just as the atmosphere in the hall was becoming somewhat tense, an old woman came out.

"You old codger, Erlang finally comes back once in a while, and you're giving him that sour look!"

Li Xingzhi knew that this was the old lady. He hadn't seen her the last time he came because she was unwell.

Ignoring the stiff-faced old clan chief, the old lady first looked at Erlang, then affectionately patted his head, nodded, and said, "You must be Erlang. I didn't see you last time."

As she spoke, she took Erlang's hand, turned her head, and said to Li Xingzhi, "You must be Li's eldest son. You're a good young man. If it weren't for the things you gave me last time, this old woman would still be lying in bed."

Upon hearing this, the old clan chief sitting in the middle softened his expression, his face, which had been as dry as parched land, seemed to be moistened by a light rain.

"Tell your wife what's wrong?"

Li Xingzhi stopped hiding his intentions and said directly, "I want to get a piece of land to farm." He didn't bother to mention Erlang's land anymore; he wasn't short of money anyway, and it would be embarrassing if they didn't save it for him!

If Erlang hadn't been from Wangjia Village, Li Xingzhi wouldn't have bothered. With such a vast and sparsely populated area, it would be easy to find a good piece of land.

At this moment, the old clan chief spoke up, "If you had come two days later, I would have decided to let someone else cultivate the land." Wang Sheng's land was a good piece of land, and if Erlang hadn't come, it couldn't have been left to waste like this; that would have been a curse.

He paused, then said, "Since you're here, I'll take you to see it. But let me make this clear: if you ruin this good land, I'll risk my reputation to give you a piece of my mind."

For someone who has spent his whole life working in the fields, a good piece of land is more important than his life. It's no wonder the old clan chief spoke so succinctly. Li Xingzhi is still young and inexperienced, and Erlang is so small. He's worried about him.

The old clan chief walked in front, while Li Xingzhi and Erlang followed behind. The leisurely figures of the old man and the two children stood out in the busy farmland. Occasionally, someone would see them and call out to them loudly. Li Xingzhi and Erlang would hurriedly reply, as these were all uncles. Only the old clan chief nodded occasionally.

Li Xingzhi followed the old clan chief for nearly fifteen minutes, then turned a corner and the view suddenly opened up!

This is a narrow valley floor. Not far away, water cascades down from a height of tens of meters, creating a misty atmosphere. Below, it carves out a small pool about three zhang in diameter. The pool water is clear and green, and its bottom is not visible. A thin stream flows out of the pool and carves a stream nearly ten zhang long along the mountain wall.

To the right of the stream lay over thirty acres of land, roughly the size of two football fields. The soil was soft, oily, and fertile—truly excellent land, perhaps only slightly inferior to the soil in his cave.

No wonder the old clan chief made it clear beforehand that if this land wasn't properly tended, it would hurt more than being stabbed in the back.

The old clan chief gestured with his hands a few times. Good heavens, that innermost plot of land, nearly ten acres in size, all belonged to Erlang's family. It was clear that Erlang's family used to be considered small landowners.

The old clan chief gestured to the two plots of land in front, which had already been renovated. The middle plot belonged to him, and the one further back, the one closest to the valley entrance, belonged to Wang Ermazi. As for who Wang Ermazi was, the old clan chief didn't say, and Li Xingzhi didn't know either, nor did he ask. Since he was here, they would meet sooner or later.

Back in the old clan chief's house, Li Xingzhi didn't say much, but gave the old clan chief some more gifts.

Knowing that the old lady needed ginseng, Li Xingzhi produced a mature old ginseng from somewhere and sent it over.

The old clan chief didn't refuse, after all, his wife needed this to support her health. He simply took it as a filial gift from a junior, and his expression softened considerably.

While mature ginseng is indeed valuable, at this time, as long as one has money and spends some time, it is not difficult to obtain a few. Moreover, Li Xingzhi does not seem to be an ordinary person, which is why the old clan chief accepted it with such peace of mind.

Li Xingzhi came out of the old clan chief's house and saw the old lady returning from outside. He walked over to her. He still didn't understand why the old clan chief had such a sullen expression.

Since he would be coming here often in the future, he quickly went up to ask the old lady for advice.

Seeing Li Xingzhi's puzzled expression, the old lady was somewhat perplexed. This child seemed quite promising, so why was he so clueless about the ways of the world, still so oblivious to the world's ways? However, the slight resentment in her heart dissipated; ignorance is no excuse.

Why didn't Erlang come during Qingming Festival?

The old lady's words made Li Xingzhi suddenly realize the truth.

This is the first anniversary of the passing of Erlang's elder, and they haven't even come to pay their respects. It's truly unacceptable! This is a grave act of filial impiety!

The ancients valued filial piety above all else! It's already quite kind of them that they didn't beat him out with a big stick.

This time, Wang Xiucai was so busy with the library that he was completely distracted. Without Wang Xiucai's reminder, Li Xingzhi immediately made a mistake that was neither too big nor too small. He thought to himself that he should brush up on Tang Dynasty etiquette and traditions sometime.

Li Xingzhi, accompanied by several strong servants, arrived at Erlang's old house.

The house wasn't furnished; it consisted of a main room, a bedroom, and a storage room. A long fence surrounded the front, and the fence was already quite overgrown with withered grass. The interior of the house was fairly tidy; he had already had it cleaned up when I last visited.

With a little repair and some additions, it will be ready to use.

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I apologize for the delay in writing this chapter due to personal reasons.

I have another class this afternoon, so I probably won't be able to come out until after 7 pm.

Bow again!