Chapter 254: Expert Buffs Fully Stacked! The System Is Telling Me To Show Off?
When Chen Kai learned from his cousin that the spring water he had brought contained no detectable bacteria, no harmful minerals, and was even cleaner than purified water, he suddenly realized something.
That was the Chen Clan’s spirit spring. Besides the special feeling when drinking it, was it strange for some mysterious power to keep the spring water clean?
And he was still here worrying blindly about this kind of issue?
Was this not doing something thankless and very stupid?
Lin Qing complained, “Cousin, even if you tricked me, being able to purify a bottle of water to this degree is amazing. Your county might be able to build a good industry around this purified water.”
Chen Kai immediately said, “Lin Qing, you think I’d come mess with you for fun? My people took the wrong water. I’ll go back right now and teach them a lesson.”
He no longer felt like staying. After thanking Lin Qing again, he rushed back to the train station. Since there was no need to test the spring water, it was better to return and keep an eye on the matters of Qingfeng Daoist Priest’s Palace.
…
People from the Chen Clan’s work hall were already carrying logs up the mountain, and others were clearing the mountain path.
Now that the spirit spring had been opened, it naturally had to be used.
Although this spirit spring could not support building a factory to produce bottled spring water and such, supplying tourists with it would be no problem, no matter how many visitors came to the Chen Clan.
Chen Lin walked into Chen Han’s courtyard holding a blueprint. “Xiao Han, take a look at this design. If there’s no problem, I’ll take people up the mountain to start work.”
The blueprint was for facilities to protect the spirit spring, to prevent bird droppings and other things from entering, and to add a pavilion for tourists to rest in, as well as a place for Chen Clan members to be stationed and rest.
In addition, the spirit spring would be protected and not open for tourists to drink from directly. The water would be channeled out into a larger reservoir for tourists to drink.
The reservoir would, of course, also need proper protection, and Chen Clan members would have to monitor it at all times.
Of course, tourists also had to be able to see the spirit spring, since news of it had already spread online, and many future tourists would definitely be coming for it.
The blueprint from his uncle considered all aspects. Though those in the work hall were not professional designers, they had spent their lives working as carpenters, cement workers, and in all sorts of trades. Sometimes, with experience, they were no worse than some designers.
Chen Han signed directly and told his uncle to build according to the design.
After his uncle left, Chen Han focused on the task in his mind from the ancestor about erecting the statue of god.
Since the ancestral patriarch robe awarded by this task could become an item of family inheritance and a symbol of the patriarch, it was definitely extraordinary.
So he had to find a way to complete it.
Placing a statue of god in the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Side Hall was easy. After all, there were many carving factories and companies out there, and precision carving technology could make statues vivid and lifelike.
Anyway, no matter who carved a statue outside, it was an empty shell. Only after the consecration ceremony could it become a real statue of god.
But the ancestor’s statue was different. It could not be done by outsiders, unless a highly skilled craftsman was invited into the family home to carve it, with the materials and wood chosen by the family itself.
Finally, there was no need for a consecration ceremony. Instead, it relied on the incense offerings of family members and the clan members calling upon and honoring the ancestor, to draw the ancestor’s spirit into it.
So Chen Han thought of his fifth uncle.
He was a master of carving, the kind of “hidden expert” people on the internet often mentioned.
Having fifth uncle carve the statue of the ancestor, Qingfeng Daoist, would be best.
Whether that ancestor was real or not, since the game system had issued the task, it had to be done.
So Chen Han went to fifth uncle’s house.
Things were very lively there. Mainly, the yield of Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea had increased, so many clan members were working here making carved bamboo tubes, and every salary was good.
So everyone worked with great enthusiasm and learned carving skills from fifth uncle.
Because there were not enough clan members, there was no way to assign enough people for carving, so Chen Xiaoyan had already purchased two laser engravers.
For the ordinary Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea packaging, they no longer required all patterns to be hand-carved, only the important words had to be carved by hand.
Honestly, compared to hand carving, laser carving was far inferior.
Laser carving was too rigid. The smoothness, sharpened edges, colors, and vitality of hand carving could not be reproduced.
When the patriarch Chen Han arrived, fifth uncle instinctively had the clan members put down what they were doing and greet him.
“Patriarch, you’re here!”
“Patriarch, I heard from Xiaoyan that from now on, besides paying everyone’s social insurance, the family will also buy personal insurance and cover children’s tuition…”
“…”
These people were not only respectful, but also warm and full of expectation.
Chen Han nodded to them.
With Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea alone, the Chen Clan could make huge profits. Ticket revenue and accommodation income were also very high.
Once the rapeseed seeds project rolled out, the Chen Clan would earn even more, so providing clan members with personal insurance and covering children’s tuition was nothing.
When the rapeseed flower project expanded, clan member benefits would be raised another level. After all, the clan members were doing very well and fully supported the family, so the family should reward them.
Some might worry that giving too much would change people’s mentality. But they could look at a certain supermarket as reference: with staff treatment getting better and better, did their mentality turn bad and cause trouble?
The mentality would change, but into being more afraid of losing their current benefits. They knew that if they made even a small mistake, many people would be eyeing them, even eyeing their position.
So Chen Han was not worried that high welfare would cause problems. The family rules were no joke. If someone stuck their head out, they would be used as an example: kill the chicken to warn the monkeys, cancel their treatment, cancel all benefits.
Very simple.
Chen Han came to fifth uncle. “Fifth uncle, let’s talk inside. The family has something it needs you to do.”
Fifth uncle hesitated not at all. He invited Chen Han inside, sat him down, brewed him a cup of tea, and then asked, “Patriarch, tell me what you need.”
Chen Han briefly explained about Qingfeng Daoist and Qingfeng Daoist Priest’s Palace, then continued, “Fifth uncle, our Chen Clan needs to set up an ancestor statue in the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall, and later another one to place in the palace temple that will be built in the county.”
Hearing this, fifth uncle’s eyes lit up. He quickly asked, “Patriarch, what are the requirements for carving the ancestor statue, such as appearance? Is there a portrait?”
Chen Han smiled. “There is no such thing. At the time, fifth uncle, just follow your sense. Make it solemn, and the clan will prepare whatever materials you need.”
“That makes it easy, and there’s no need to prepare materials,” fifth uncle said. Then, mysteriously, he invited Chen Han, “Patriarch, come with me.”
Puzzled by fifth uncle’s secrecy, Chen Han followed.
He did not expect that fifth uncle’s house still had a basement, and a fairly large one.
When he saw the two statues in the corner of the basement, he was clearly stunned.
The two statues wore different clothing. The overall carving was complete, only the facial features remained unfinished. From the look of it, they were also meant to be carved as daoist figures.
It should have been related to some daoist immortal image.
Fifth uncle explained, “Patriarch, these two are made from rosewood. Decades ago, a daoist temple commissioned my master and me to carve them. We finished them here, but later, during a special time, that daoist temple was destroyed and the people were gone…”
“At that time, our Chen Clan also suffered, so these were hidden here in the basement. After decades I forgot them. I only remembered recently when I came down, so I polished them up again. They happen to be usable now.”
“Mm, that means they are fated with our Chen Clan,” Chen Han said in surprise. Rosewood was not cheap and was very suitable for carving statues.
Besides, there was a saying: gods have no fixed form.
Gods had no fixed appearance and were not limited to any specific carving.
These two were daoist figures, and the Chen Clan ancestor was a daoist, right?
Moreover, these statues did not yet have facial features carved, so the Chen Clan could inscribe the features and draw the ancestor’s spirit. No problem, right?
As long as the game system recognized them, then from now on these would be the statue of the Chen Clan’s ancestor.
So he instructed fifth uncle, “Fifth uncle, then I’ll entrust the Chen Clan ancestor statues to you.”
“Patriarch, rest assured, I’ll handle it at once,” fifth uncle promised immediately, smiling broadly. Being able to be of use to the family was what made him happiest.
After that, Chen Han went to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall and found aunt-grandmother. The ground-breaking ceremony for Qingfeng Daoist Priest’s Palace in the county would take place the next day, and she would need to lead the hall wardens to manage it.
After giving all the instructions, Chen Han returned to his courtyard and checked the situation online.
Because Director Chen had deliberately hyped things in front of those tourists, with the stories that had been written and the miraculous nature of the spirit spring, the online buzz about it had already reached the trending topics.
Most importantly, Provincial Xin City News had produced a special news feature on the Chen Clan. This feature’s play count on Douyin was extremely high.
In the news video, Reporter Wu’s voice came through: “Today we are introducing a treasure tourist attraction in the Qingmin Region. This place is the Chen Clan.”
“The Chen Clan has deep foundations and a long inheritance, possessing Premium Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea, ancient techniques, 《the Ancient Quiet Heart Art》 and other cultural heritage products, as well as a thousand-year inheritance history. Ancient books confirm written records from more than 800 years ago.”
“It can be said that the Chen Clan is one of the known families in the country with the longest preserved cultural inheritance and memory. In the past two days, Linhe County has consulted information and further confirmed the legendary story of a Qingfeng Daoist from the Chen Clan.”
“This Qingfeng Daoist not only discussed the dao with Ziqing Daoist, one of the five patriarchs of the southern Daoist sect, but also studied the legendary miraculous secret technique for opening a spirit spring. After all, a spirit spring left by Qingfeng Daoist has been discovered at the Chen Clan.”
“More importantly, this spirit spring, unlike the one on Longhu Mountain, has not lost its spiritual charm. Instead, it is very miraculous and has attracted countless tourists…”
“…In the next two days, Linhe County will begin work on the Qingfeng Daoist Priest’s Palace ruins, personally restoring the palace for Qingfeng Daoist.”
With such official-style news media coverage at the provincial level, it was almost equivalent to officially endorsing Qingfeng Daoist’s story.
It was unclear whether this was solely the work of Reporter Wu or whether the county had also intervened.
The key point was that after the Chen Clan ancestor Qingfeng Daoist became popular online, many people started posting topics about him, saying they had found records about Qingfeng Daoist in ancient books, local annals, and historical data.
《Qingfeng Daoist really existed. Our county annals record his travels here…》
《Our local “Qinghe Record” has an entry about Qingfeng Daoist helping to control the river…》
《…》
《Our local records of Qingfeng Daoist are quite impressive. There is an account of a daoist wearing a daoist robe with seven stars who single-handedly wiped out a mountain full of bandits.》
《…》
Chen Han smiled. A Qingfeng Daoist who had never had any rumors before was now the subject of legends popping up all over the internet. Was that right?
Regardless, having people help promote them was a benefit. Now many more people knew about the spirit spring, and next it would attract many tourists eager to see the opened spring.
At sunset, Chen Han received word from fifth uncle that he had finished carving the facial features of Qingfeng Daoist’s statues.
The speed surprised him. He hurried to fifth uncle’s place and found all the carving clan members gathered around the two statues.
They were the two from the basement.
When Chen Han arrived, the clan members made way for him, letting him see the statues’ faces. He had to admit, fifth uncle’s carving skill was superb. The facial features of the two statues were exquisitely lifelike.
But Chen Han still felt something was off.
Why did these faces look a bit like the old daoist he transformed into using the Thousand Illusions Mask?
Well…
He did not care anymore. He directly ordered people to carry the two statues to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall and finish the task first.
The task had two parts. One was to place the statue of Qingfeng Daoist in the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Side Hall; this would be completed as long as it was set up.
The other was tracing the source, which required enough Chen Clan members to conduct a worship ceremony to draw the ancestor’s spirit into the statue.
He left this matter in aunt-grandmother’s hands.
So after the two statues of Qingfeng Daoist were installed in the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Side Hall, a new announcement was posted in the family group, tagging everyone, informing them that clan members who were off duty after dinner should go to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall to worship the ancestor.
The news quickly spread among the Chen Clan.
In one courtyard, the sound of fists striking echoed. Chen Dalong was practicing the Chen Clan’s fist techniques, one move at a time.
His father, Chen Dagou, had covertly told him that the patriarch might let him participate in fighting competitions in the future, so he should train hard.
So now he did nothing but train. After all, his father was the person in charge of the Demon Subduing Hall and had given him a small privilege there.
While he was practicing, Xiao Jun ran over and said, “Dalong, did you hear about worshipping the ancestor tonight? Do you know who the ancestor is?”
Chen Dalong smiled. “The family group already said it, and it’s so popular online. You think I’m offline? Besides, I’ve tasted that spirit spring myself.”
As they spoke, they could not help showing a sense of pride.
Honestly, with nearly a thousand years of inheritance and such an awesome ancestor as Qingfeng Daoist, every Chen Clan member felt proud.
So after dinner, all idle Chen Clan members went to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall.
By now, aunt-grandmother was very familiar with such ceremonies. Under her lead, the ceremony proceeded smoothly, and finally the patriarch Chen Han led everyone in offering incense to the ancestor Qingfeng Daoist.
Almost at the same time that the patriarch finished offering incense, the game system prompt appeared:
【Congratulations, you have successfully placed the ancestor statue in the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Side Hall, and completed the tracing-the-source task. Reward obtained: Ancestor Patriarch Robe!】
Seeing this prompt, Chen Han let out a breath. What he had worried about most was that the two statues from fifth uncle’s basement would not be recognized by the game system.
After all, they were not originally carved as Qingfeng Daoist.
Now it seemed the game system could be quite open-minded.
So he quietly left the hall. He had already received the reward; the rest could be left to aunt-grandmother and the others.
Back in his courtyard, he checked the game warehouse and saw a new daoist robe. The entire robe was purple with a seven-star pattern; at a glance, it was clearly not ordinary.
【Ancestor Patriarch Robe: this was bestowed by the Chen Clan’s ancestor who became an immortal god after the ancestor statue was established. It has special attribute effects: detached +2, aesthetics +2, immortal-like demeanor +
Attached skill: Gentle Breeze Purification Spell （use energy to activate the purification charm and form a special energy aura that keeps clothing clean all day, free of dust, untouched by strong winds, difficult for insects and mosquitoes to disturb, and with a built-in cooling and warming adjustment）】
Seeing the remark information for the ancestor patriarch robe, Chen Han had only one thought: this robe was completely for showing off.
Detached +2, aesthetics +2, immortal-like demeanor +2 all enhanced image, making a person look more like an expert.
The key was the Gentle Breeze Purification Spell. Used for showing off, it was amazing.
In many films and novels, there was often this type of scene: the protagonist meets a great expert. The protagonist is covered in dust from traveling, while the great expert’s clothes remain spotless and hair unmessed.
That was likely the effect of the Gentle Breeze Purification Spell.
In the same swirling dust, yet dust avoided one person. The same fierce wind made everyone’s clothes messy, yet for one person the wind could not get near, and their robe hem did not move at all.
Even with mosquitoes and insects tormenting everyone, one person could sit still in peace, completely unaffected.
It was obviously unnatural.
Moreover, the Gentle Breeze Purification Spell also provided its own cooling and warming adjustment.
In scorching summer heat, when others were drenched in sweat, the one wearing the ancestor patriarch robe would not sweat at all. Was that normal?
So this was basically a piece of clothing with all the expert buffs stacked.
He even suspected the game system knew he would attend the county’s Qingfeng Daoist Priest’s Palace ceremony the next day, with so many daoist priests present and so many tourists expected, so it specifically gave him this ancestor patriarch robe with such attributes, just so he could show off.
And seeing these attributes, he suddenly thought of the G-string Maniac task. As long as he collected five aprons from the Hundred Flowers Palace Fairy, he could gain a charm +2 attribute. （Chapter 111）
The meaning of charm went without saying. It meant a special aura, making a person more handsome, more attractive, better at drawing attention and goodwill, and so on.
Seeing these attributes, he thought that if he could complete that task, would it not be perfect?
As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard footsteps. Turning his head, he saw it was Xiao Mi.
She wore an extremely sexy set of hanfu. And as for how hanfu could be sexy, it truly was.
Xiao Mi was clearly dressed specially, with obvious intent.
She had never done this at night before, especially since the junior sister and Xiao Mi lived together.
“Xiao Yu went to the county to coordinate tomorrow’s Qingfeng Daoist Priest’s Palace ground-breaking matters with the culture and tourism department. She’ll only be back in the morning,” Xiao Mi said as soon as her eyes met his, explaining why.
When she reached him, she leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “I’m wearing an apron tonight.”
Her words made a phrase flash through Chen Han’s mind: think of something and it comes.
Wishes come true.
Silence spoke louder than sound.
