Chapter 291: The Chen Clan Is Fake! Liu Ye: A Heaven-covering Black Pot!
【The Shushan Immortal Alliance sent word that an Outer Realm Demonic Path faction had infiltrated the Central Plains. These outer demonic forces were even more deranged than the domestic demonic path, their demonic energy even stronger. And, through the Immortal Alliance members’ investigations, they had discovered that the movements of some Outer Demonic Path members were headed toward the Chen Clan.
The Immortal Alliance issued a task: capture at least three related members of the Outer Demonic Path, find out their purpose, and you will receive an Immortal Alliance reward! 】
Chen Han froze for a moment when he saw this game system prompt.
An Immortal Alliance task had suddenly appeared.
And the key point was, it involved the Outer Demonic Path.
Previously, that world fighting champion Habak was an Outer Demonic Path expert.
So now, was it because Habak had been beaten so badly that someone else refused to accept it and had come to challenge them?
No, that did not make sense. If that were the case, with those people’s temperament, they would definitely have publicly hyped up a challenge to the Chen Clan, not chosen to hide in the shadows.
If they were lying low, that made him think of another possibility.
…
Linhe County.
Chu Ping and Bao Jing had already returned to the county seat. All the way back, he had been watching online videos. The incidents at the Chen Clan were getting more and more popular on the internet.
All the tourists were talking about how the Chen Clan had suddenly become cooler, and the discussions about the Chen Family Head and Daoist Priest Chen burying the stone tablet were getting livelier and livelier.
However, many science bloggers who did not believe it were doing popular science explanations.
《Could the sudden cooling be just a normal phenomenon of the weather suddenly turning cooler?》
《Everyone mentioned a gust of wind blowing by, and then the coolness suddenly coming. Is that not normal?》
《Back then, Professor Wu said in the matter of the goose that normal scientific phenomena must not be tied to metaphysics or even superstition!》
When Chu Ping watched these videos, he felt a strange sense of bewilderment.
He was very clear about what had actually happened and had personally taken part in it, so in his heart he knew the truth perfectly well.
But the key was, these science explanation videos were well reasoned and well supported by evidence. They were much more convincing than random things said in some tourist’s video.
If he had to come up with proof that the sudden cooling at the Chen Clan was real and was connected to what the Chen Clan had done, he could not think of any way that would fully convince people.
He suddenly felt a sense of absurdity about this world.
You clearly know many truths, yet there will always be a group of people with authoritative voices explaining and popularizing how “not absurd” that truth is, while you have no way to speak.
But when he thought about it again, he let it go.
Is that not just how life is? Many people are actually quite clear-eyed and understand many things, but simply cannot be bothered to speak.
Because Professor Bao and the others needed to test the newly collected rapeseed, he had returned to his own office to handle the day’s documents.
Linhe County had seen great development in tourism, which had brought in a lot of investment. After all, with a tycoon like Liu Ye and a new Kaiwei Group person in charge like Liao Shuang setting an example, many investors had gained confidence in Linhe County.
Because of this, the documents he had to process each day had greatly increased.
With a single signature, many documents could solve employment problems for dozens of people, but at the same time, a single signature might cause damage to green mountains and clear waters, or bring other harms.
So, for every signature he had to be serious and cautious. Anything that needed investigation had to be investigated; anything that required materials had to have its materials prepared.
One set of information, however, caught his attention: 《Notice on lifting restrictions on Chinese rural dogs in Min Province…》
This was something the province had discussed and decided: lifting the ban on keeping Chinese rural dogs within Min Province.
More and more cities had already removed such bans.
Normally, such a minor matter would not land on his desk, but he had given instructions that any document related to the Chen Clan, no matter how big or small, had to be submitted for his review.
This document was indeed related to the Chen Clan.
The reason the province could issue such a document was certainly connected to that New City News segment where Reporter Wu interviewed the Chen Family Head’s local dog.
In that interview video, the Chen Family Head’s local dog was so smart that anyone with eyes could see no pet dog could compare.
This stirred up a sense of pride among the nationals themselves.
After all, the things passed down by the ancestors from thousands of years ago were stronger than others.
Now more and more people were paying attention to the inheritance from the ancestors.
After reading this minor matter, he set it aside.
His secretary would send the document to the relevant departments to handle the lifting of the Chinese rural dog restriction.
After that, he continued dealing with the documents.
By evening, he received a call from Professor Bao and, hearing what he said, he hurried over to the laboratory arranged for Professor Bao and the others.
The laboratory was very simple, but the space was big enough. It was still being tidied up and renovated, but that did not affect Professor Bao and his team’s testing and experiments at all.
To be safe, the county had arranged a small police unit there as well. After all, the rapeseed flowers of the Chen Clan determined whether Linhe County could take off.
As soon as he reached Bao Jing, Chu Ping could not help asking, “Professor Bao, are the data from your tests real?”
His voice was trembling, because the oil content of the newly collected rapeseed being tested had actually exceeded the normal 60 percent.
In just a short time, the oil content had jumped significantly again.
According to this trend, Professor Bao’s team estimated that after the rapeseed was fully mature and dried, its oil content could be double that of normal rapeseed.
How astonishing was that?
Bao Jing confirmed, “County Magistrate Chu, congratulations, your Linhe County is really about to take off.”
The joy on Chu Ping’s face was naturally hard to hide. He immediately smiled and said, “We should inform Mr. Liu of this good news first.”
“Yes, yes,” Bao Jing nodded with a broad smile.
Whether it was Linhe County or his laboratory, they both had to rely on investment from Mr. Liu.
Linhe County had already started planning land for planting. They were just waiting for Mr. Liu to put up the money, then once the county approved the documents and a contract was signed with the Chen Clan, everything would be set.
The laboratory was also waiting for this tycoon’s investment to arrive, so they could purchase the most advanced equipment and go all out.
With their current equipment, no matter how they researched, they had no way to deal with that special substance.
When Liu Ye received the call, he was working at the Chen Clan. Over the past two days, after taking the body tempering pills, he clearly felt much stronger, and even the white hair at his temples had lessened.
Today’s events at the Chen Clan filled him with emotion. The Chen Clan really was becoming more and more like a holy land in the human world.
With his status, he had been to all kinds of vacation destinations. There was absolutely nowhere in the world that could compare with the Chen Clan.
But many people did not believe that.
Take today’s sudden cooling at the Chen Clan. That comfortable feeling was absolutely real, and he believed it was because the Chen Family Head had buried that stone, even though he did not know the details.
Yet the popular science videos online were well argued and had guided countless people.
Many firmly believed one thing: the Chen Clan did have true kung fu, sure, but this was bordering on promoting cultivation, making it seem like the Chen Clan really could cultivate immortality.
That was not right.
Liu Ye really wanted to tell these people that he did not know whether the Chen Clan could cultivate immortality, but he was sure that the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation of the Chen Clan was definitely effective.
But given his identity, there was no way he would explain it publicly.
Teach by words, people may not learn; teach by events once, and they will understand. Without personal experience, no matter how much others say, no one will believe.
Sometimes people simply cannot change someone’s deeply ingrained beliefs from afar with just a few words.
What annoyed him the most was that, in the current environment, the Chen Clan’s resort ranking could not even get into the top 30, whether domestically or internationally.
Just because the Chen Clan had not paid, they simply would not be put on the list.
It was just like the rich list: after the draft list came out and spread to some people, some would pay to have their names taken off it.
Those who understand, understand.
In any case, it was all about money.
After receiving Chu Ping’s call, he hurriedly left the Chen Clan and headed for the county.
He knew the rapeseed business in the country, so once he understood the background of what the Chen Clan had achieved with these rapeseed flowers, he knew it was a huge deal.
He had long since instructed his secretary to prepare a proposal for this merit industry project with the Chen Clan.
Even if he only took 30 percent, once the business was complete, his wealth ranking would rise significantly.
As soon as Liu Ye arrived at the laboratory, Bao Jing and the others handed this tycoon the new test data.
Liu Ye could understand the most basic test figures.
When he saw the results, his face lit up with joy. “As expected, what the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation’s dream guided the Chen Clan to plant is extraordinary.”
These words made Bao Jing and the other professors exchange glances.
In their hearts, the scales were starting to tip as well.
Then one professor suddenly thought of something. “We must keep this matter secret. When we officially begin further experiments, everyone we bring in must sign a confidentiality agreement. This must not be made public too early.”
Professor Bao and the other professors nodded.
Indeed, if others found out, they might rush to compete for the research, creating unnecessary competitors. That was not good.
Even Chu Ping and Liu Ye nodded.
After all, based on their current findings, although that special substance would start to fade and diminish after leaving the area of Linhe County,
it would still take quite some distance before disappearing completely.
In other words, rapeseed could definitely be grown in counties near Linhe County as well. According to the pattern, Linhe County would have the best results, and other places would be quite a bit weaker.
But the growth speed, yield, and oil content would still absolutely surpass normal rapeseed.
When it came time for large-scale planting, that would invite competition, and some might even come to the Chen Clan directly.
So keeping it secret was the best approach.
The few of them discussed this briefly.
Chu Ping, however, wanted to finalize the promotion of the rapeseed flowers as soon as possible, so he said to Liu Ye, “Chairman Liu, our county has already planned the relevant land. Why don’t we go to the Chen Clan together?”
Liu Ye nodded. “Yes, let’s go take a look, and then we can settle things with the Chen Clan together.”
Just then, one professor suddenly said with an ugly expression, “Take a look at this video. The matter of the Chen Clan’s rapeseed flowers might not be able to be kept secret.”
Bao Jing and Chu Ping were stunned.
“What happened?” another professor asked.
Frowning, that professor said, “I just saw someone tagging me to watch a video. When I clicked in, it was about the inside story of the Chen Clan’s sea of rapeseed flowers, and now this video is already trending online.”
Bao Jing’s expression changed. He hurriedly took out his mobile phone and found that someone had tagged him too.
What was going on?
He immediately opened the video. It was posted by an account called ‘Agriculture Enthusiast’: “Hello everyone, you’ve all probably seen the videos of the Chen Clan’s sea of rapeseed flowers recently, and I’m sure you’ve all been shocked by its beauty.”
“Almost every day, another video of the Chen Clan’s sea of rapeseed flowers goes viral, and the Chen Clan’s dedicated tourism account has gained nearly two million followers. That is far faster than many carefully run accounts of culture and tourism departments and scenic spots.”
“But this is not what is miraculous about the Chen Clan’s rapeseed flowers. You should all know that these rapeseed flowers grow very quickly, right? Let me show you a chart: from the first exposure of their planting at the Chen Clan to the news videos of the flowers blooming, here is the timeline.”
As he spoke, this blogger displayed the collected timeline and comparative charts.
He also compared them to the normal growth period of rapeseed flowers, letting people see the difference in growth speed more intuitively.
If it had stopped there, it might have been fine.
But what the blogger said next made all of them turn pale. “If it were only about growth speed, then the miraculous aspect of these rapeseed flowers would still be limited. But three days ago, after I visited the Chen Clan’s sea of rapeseed flowers, I discovered that the rapeseed produced by these flowers was far more abundant than normal rapeseed.”
“Also, as you know, I like to do some research, so I brought some of this rapeseed back for testing. That led me to an even more shocking discovery: the oil content of this rapeseed is far higher than that of normal rapeseed.”
“Do you know what this means? Right now, we rely heavily on imported rapeseed. With high growth speed, high yield, and high oil content rapeseed flowers, we can fully take control of our own rapeseed sovereignty.”
“Of course, with such miraculous rapeseed flowers, everyone will think of the story about the Chen Clan receiving a dream message from the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation. But I want to tell you, that is all nonsense. We must believe in science.”
“This is clearly something developed jointly by Linhe County and several plant research professors. For example, this one, Professor Bao Jing from Qingmin University, a well-known plant researcher with many research achievements, and this one… and this one…”
“And here we have the local leader of Linhe County, and this tycoon, Liu Ye. With all these people together, what does that make you think of?”
“Previously many people said he stayed at the Chen Clan because the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation was very effective there. But if we say instead that tycoon Liu Ye invested in these plant professors and, together with Linhe County, developed this new variety of rapeseed flowers, is that not more reasonable?”
“Those previous mystical news reports about dream messages from the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation at the Chen Clan were actually just smoke bombs paid for by this tycoon.”
“So all our attention was drawn away, and we never suspected that these rapeseed flowers had anything to do with this tycoon.”
“I can say with certainty that once this rapeseed flower project is complete, the wealth and status of this tycoon will soar dramatically.”
“That is also why he has been staying at the Chen Clan for so long, while the Chen Clan is just a lucky one chosen by capital.”
‘???’ from Bao Jing.
‘???’ from Chu Ping.
‘???’ from Liu Ye.
‘???’ from all the professors.
Now Bao Jing and the others finally understood why so many people had tagged them. Checking, they saw it was all people in the industry or students, friends, and so on, apparently probing whether the research was real.
Just from hearing what this blogger said, Liu Ye felt his mouth go dry. He was speechless with frustration.
A vast, sky-covering black pot was dropping on his head from above.
The point was, was this guy stupid?
If he had the capability to invest in research on something like this, could he not just find a discreet place to do it? Was there any need for all this extra fuss?
And seriously, the Chen Clan as the lucky one chosen by capital? Did this guy not understand who the real lucky one was?
The key issue was that the video was already extremely popular, and a look at the comment section showed everyone believed this theory.
Before long, Liu Ye found many people messaging him, obviously probing for information.
They all wanted to know whether the online claims were true, or whether they could get involved in this business.
After all, everyone knew how much benefit this market held.
But this business was the Chen Clan’s merit industry. He had no right to say anything.
This left him exasperated, so on his media account he posted a string of helpless emojis and one sentence: “Do not believe rumors, do not spread rumors!”
Was that not clear enough?
What he did not expect was that his post was quickly reposted onto Douyin.
One post had this title: 《The silent anger of a tycoon!》
“Honestly, after seeing that video from ‘Agriculture Enthusiast,’ I really do not know whether he was trying to show off, or is just ignorant, or is one of the fifty-cent army.”
“Everyone knows that most of our rapeseed is imported and we have to watch others’ faces. Now Chairman Liu has produced rapeseed with fast growth, high yield, and rich oil content, which can completely solve this problem.”
“In the future we would no longer have to look at others’ faces. The country has also been giving a lot of support funds every year for rapeseed research. Now that Chairman Liu has used so many smokescreens, was it not precisely because he did not want foreign countries to notice?”
“Now that there are results, some self-righteous internet celebrity directly exposes it. I am sure a lot of fifty-cent trolls have already seen it and informed their masters.”
When this video’s title appeared, its popularity exploded instantly, because the issue was too serious. Even ordinary netizens understood what it implied.
Was that blogger ‘Agriculture Enthusiast’ actually one of those fifty-cent trolls?
Many people went back to watch the exposé video, only to find it was gone, and the ‘Agriculture Enthusiast’ account had been banned.
This made everyone realize that it really was that tycoon Liu Ye who had been behind these things.
A modern version of “openly repair the plank road while secretly crossing the river”?
It was just a pity that, when the results came out, it got exposed.
A single oversight after a hundred careful moves.
Just as the video said, once the trolls reported to their masters, these research findings might be stolen, which would mean all the work had been for someone else’s benefit.
In the laboratory, after the news broke, Liu Ye, Chu Ping, and Professors Bao and the others were all thinking about countermeasures, not replying to anyone’s attempts to probe.
“Should we just admit it?” Bao Jing suddenly suggested. “After all, the Chen Family Head has always said he believes in science, and this explanation is very scientific.”
Chu Ping and Liu Ye looked at each other. It seemed that, as long as the Chen Family Head did not object, taking the blame would not be unacceptable. That way, other counties or research teams might not try to meddle.
“It seems there is an even worse problem,” one professor said suddenly. “Take a look at this video: 《The silent anger of a tycoon》.”
Liu Ye and Chu Ping pulled out their phones to watch. When they saw the mentions of fifty-cent trolls and their masters, their faces changed.
This really was a serious issue. The key was, if those people came and offended the Chen Clan, what would happen?
Realizing how serious it was, Chu Ping and Liu Ye did not dare hesitate. They hurriedly left the laboratory.
They had to inform the Chen Family Head of this matter.
