Recently, Lingxian Sect has been gradually distributing batches of spiritual seeds and spiritual fertilizers for villagers to try planting. Lin Dayou and Lin Dashan even brought down some of the simplest small formation plates to place in many of the farmlands.
Of course, these were not entirely free of charge.
The Lingxian Sect has always adhered to the principle of "teaching a man to fish rather than giving him a fish" when assisting commoners. They also firmly believed in the adage, "A small favor of rice is remembered, but a large debt of grain invites resentment."
The spiritual seeds they provided to the villagers for the first time were given on credit. Afterward, as long as the villagers successfully cultivated spiritual grains, the sect would purchase all of it using spiritual stones. The cost of the seeds and fertilizers would then be deducted from the payment.
When explaining the use of spiritual stones for payment, Lingxian Sect also educated the villagers on the value of spiritual stones. They assured them that if they couldn't spend the spiritual stones locally, they could exchange them for silver at the City Lord's Mansion—one spiritual stone could be exchanged for 100 taels of silver.
The purchase price offered by the Lingxian Sect for spiritual grains wasn't high. This pricing was set mainly to give the farmers an idea of the worth of spiritual stones, ensuring they wouldn't be deceived into giving them away cheaply.
Although the primary currency circulating in Xiushui City was still the mundane gold, silver, and copper coins, it was inevitable that spiritual stones would become the dominant currency in the future. This initiative was seen as a first step for the common folk to start using spiritual stones.
As for whether ordinary people could cultivate spiritual grains and the quality of their yield:
The quality of spiritual grains cultivated by ordinary people would undoubtedly be inferior to those grown by Lingxian Sect's own fields. However, with the support of various aids such as spiritual fertilizers, formation plates, pills, and more, even spiritual grains grown by untrained farmers would surpass the quality of those produced by other sects in the mortal world.
In fact, their quality would be comparable to the lowest-grade spiritual grains cultivated in the cultivation world.
Lingxian Sect purchased these spiritual grains from the villagers, transported them to the cultivation world for trade, and sold them at slightly higher prices. The profits they earned were essentially just a transportation fee.
As for the spiritual grains grown by other mortal sects or the royal families in the mundane world, Lingxian Sect refused to buy them. Instead, they let those grains remain as sustenance for their own cultivation. The Lingxian Sect only purchased high-quality spiritual grains, such as those grown from seeds purchased from their sect and cultivated according to their methods.
For this reason, Lingxian Sect only maintained private negotiations for future spiritual grain transactions with the Qinghe Sect.
Even in the cultivation world, many spiritual grains were cultivated by ordinary people. Numerous major sects employed low-level cultivators and commoners to grow spiritual grains because they were the cheapest labor force.
In Xiushui City, these farmers tended to their fields under the protection of defensive barriers and the City Lord's Mansion, ensuring they didn't have to worry about their land being seized by cultivators.
As for concerns about villagers being harmed after leaving the city—those worries were entirely unnecessary. All farmland within the city was officially registered by the City Lord's Mansion, and its sale was strictly prohibited. This arrangement had already been discussed with the landowners. Anyone unwilling to abide by this rule had their land purchased at a high price by Xiushui City.
However, no villagers opted to sell their land. Instead, they welcomed Xiushui City's policy of forbidding the sale of land, seeing it as a way to protect their fields from being seized or exploited.
The villagers could pass their land down to future generations, though it couldn't be sold. If they no longer wished to farm, they could take the land deed to the City Lord's Mansion to exchange it for silver. While they couldn't sell it to others, they could still liquidate it when in financial need.
Additionally, Xiushui City introduced a new policy: individuals with assets in the city who encountered difficulties could mortgage their property to the City Lord's Mansion for a loan, with only minimal interest charged.
In recent days, Xiushui City had been rolling out one new policy after another, all aimed at improving the livelihoods of its residents. These measures left the common folk delighted, giving them hope and a sense of purpose every morning they woke up.
Though the city had only been established for a few days, its infrastructure and welfare systems were rapidly taking shape.
Most of the policies favored ordinary people while imposing numerous restrictions on cultivators, offering them very few benefits. This contrast surprised He Yi.
He Yi had joined Lingxian Sect not long ago, so he still struggled to adapt to and understand many of the sect's practices. Nevertheless, he found the city's atmosphere quite pleasant.
Watching people of all cultivation levels bustling about their lives in harmony, He Yi felt an inexplicable sense of contentment, though he wasn't sure why.
Of course, while enjoying his leisure time, He Yi didn't forget the tasks assigned to him. He kept a close eye on the city's residential areas, monitoring its infrastructure for issues, observing how citizens interacted with the new systems, and staying alert for any subtle abnormalities that might indicate cultivators were up to no good.
These responsibilities formed the core of his job.
Such tasks couldn't be entrusted to cultivators with lower cultivation levels. For one, they lacked the stamina to move quickly across the vast city, which meant it would take them far too long to complete the inspections. For another, they didn't have the strength or perception to detect and counter potential threats posed by cultivators using special techniques for malicious purposes.
Lingxian Sect had few individuals with both high cultivation levels and free time. Therefore, He Yi was the only suitable candidate for the job.
This led He Yi to wonder whether this task was genuinely meant to aid his cultivation or whether Lin Xiao had assigned it to him simply because there was no one else available and he seemed too idle.
Despite their limited time together, He Yi felt that Lin Xiao, the Sect Master, was a forthright person unlikely to make empty promises. Thus, He Yi earnestly observed everything he encountered in the city, pondering the deeper significance that Lin Xiao had hinted would benefit his cultivation.
To his surprise, after observing for some time, He Yi began to gain insights.
While these insights didn't immediately relate to his cultivation, he increasingly felt he understood the sect's policies and actions. It seemed that sects and cultivators were meant to operate in this manner.
He Yi managed to efficiently and thoroughly inspect all of Xiushui City every day. Afterward, he still had plenty of time to head to the talisman workshop and work on sect orders. If he hadn't intentionally left some work for other disciples to practice and earn sect contributions, he could have completed the current talisman orders on his own in just a few days.
Even after completing those tasks, He Yi had ample time left for his own cultivation.
Nowadays, Liu Chun barely needed to worry about talisman orders. His main responsibility was to oversee his disciples in Yuanling City.
Speaking of this, Liu Chun was initially stunned when he heard that the first-place winner of the recent Talisman Master Competition, He Yi, had joined the sect and was helping with talisman orders. For a moment, he even considered stepping down and handing over his position.
However, upon receiving his personal storage ring, He Yi promptly contacted Liu Chun to clarify that he had no intention of taking over administrative duties, nor was he suited for such responsibilities. He joked that if Liu Chun handed the talisman workshop over to him, it wouldn't be "stepping down" but rather "making trouble for himself." Embarrassed, Liu Chun quickly dropped the matter.