Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Spirit Field Rent Collection
The early morning sun shone through the cracks in the wooden window, filling the room with light. Li Yuan opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and full of energy.
He had cultivated for most of the night, and the Spiritual Power within him was much fuller than the day before. The pure sensation of Spiritual Qi entering his body was still fresh in his mind.
[Spiritual Qi Filtration (White)]
[Permanence Progress: 13/100]
Today, Li Yuan wasn’t patrolling the marketplace; instead, he was heading to the Spirit Field District to collect rent.
A little over twenty *li* east of Qinghe Marketplace lay a vast expanse of Spirit Fields, spanning several thousand *mu*—an estate belonging to the Wang family.
The Wang family didn’t farm the land themselves. Instead, they rented out the Spirit Fields to nearby Loose Cultivators, collecting a certain amount of Spirit Grain as rent each year.
An Inspector General like Li Yuan, aside from his daily patrols of the marketplace, would also take on some rent collection duties.
Collecting rent required a storage bag. These items were expensive, and naturally, Li Yuan didn’t own one. They were usually kept at the administration office; one would borrow one when needed and return it after use.
A storage bag with a capacity of one *fang* cost around fifty to sixty Spirit Stones. In this world, one *fang* was roughly equivalent to a cubic meter in Li Yuan’s past life.
The storage bags used for collecting Spirit Grain were certainly larger than one *fang*. Fortunately, the price didn’t increase proportionally with the volume; a ten-*fang* storage bag definitely wouldn’t cost five or six hundred Spirit Stones.
The administration office was at the end of West Street, a two-story wooden building with two guards standing at the entrance.
Li Yuan flashed his waist token. The guards nodded and let him in.
The ground floor was for official business. Behind a few desks sat a scribe-like Cultivator, handling various administrative tasks.
Li Yuan walked up to the counter and handed over his waist token and a pre-prepared bag. "I’m here to borrow a storage bag, turn in some stall rent, and then head to the Spirit Field District to collect."
The scribe took the waist token and, as was customary, asked if anyone had failed to pay.
Upon hearing that everyone had paid, he checked the register, then retrieved a palm-sized cloth pouch from under the counter and handed it to Li Yuan. "Remember to return it when you get back."
[Equippable Item Detected]
[Item Trait Grade: Green]
[Note: Item does not belong to you. Cannot be equipped. Cannot view details.]
’So equipping a storage bag can grant a green trait?’
After Li Yuan took the storage bag, the system panel suddenly appeared before his eyes.
’Equipping a storage bag isn’t something I should be thinking about right now. Setting aside the issue of equipment slots, I can’t even afford one.’
Li Yuan had already expected the note about not being able to equip items that didn’t belong to him.
Leaving the administration office, Li Yuan headed east.
A little under an hour later, he arrived at the Spirit Field District.
The first thing he saw was a vast expanse of orderly fields, crisscrossed by ridges. A type of greenish-blue rice grew in the paddies, its heavy heads of grain emitting faint fluctuations of Spiritual Qi.
This was Cyan Jade Rice. Its yield wasn’t high, but it had the advantage of being easy to grow, as it wasn’t picky about the concentration of Spiritual Qi, making it very suitable for planting in these outer Spirit Fields.
A few Loose Cultivators were working in the fields. Li Yuan walked straight toward a thatched hut at the very back.
An old farmer with grizzled hair and dark, weathered skin sat at the entrance of the hut, weaving something out of straw. Seeing Li Yuan approach, the old farmer put down his work and stood up.
"Inspector Li, you’re here to collect the rent again."
"Uncle Wang." Li Yuan nodded. "Is this season’s Spirit Grain ready?"
Uncle Wang was an old-timer in the Spirit Field District. He had been farming here for over a decade and was well-acquainted with Li Yuan’s predecessor.
He was at the Qi Refining Second Level of Cultivation, an honest and dutiful man who never delayed his rent payments.
"It’s been ready for a while. We were just waiting for you to come and collect."
Uncle Wang turned and went into the hut, emerging a moment later pushing a cart full of Cyan Jade Rice. The grains were plump and uniform—all top-quality stuff.
This kind of rice, infused with Spiritual Qi, naturally didn’t have as high a yield as mundane rice. It required extremely nutrient-rich soil, and a harvest of over a hundred *jin* per *mu* was considered a high yield.
"The harvest is good this year, about twenty percent more than usual," Uncle Wang said with a smile.
He then, from who knows where, pulled out a bundle of jade-white Spirit Grain and placed it in Li Yuan’s hands.
"Inspector Li, you work so hard running around. It must be tiring. Please accept this small token of my gratitude."
This was one of the unwritten rules of being an inspector, a small perk of the job. Naturally, Li Yuan didn’t refuse.
As he took the Spirit Grain, the moment his hand touched the rice stalks, translucent text once again appeared before his eyes:
[Equippable Item Detected: White Jade Rice (Requires 1 jin)]
[Equipment Slot Full (1/1). Replace Current Equipment?]
[Trait Preview: Five Grains Qi Nourishing (White) — Increases stamina recovery speed by 50% and raises Qi Blood to a certain degree.]
[Permanence Condition: Consume 10 jin of the same type of Spirit Grain.]
Li Yuan’s eyes lit up. ’Spirit Grain can be equipped too? It seems the range of equippable items is much larger than I imagined.’
Moreover, the trait’s effects were quite good: a 50% increase in stamina recovery and a boost to Qi Blood.
For a Cultivator like him who had to patrol, collect rent, and cultivate every day, stamina recovery was a very practical attribute.
The grade of White Jade Rice was higher than Cyan Jade Rice. It could nourish Qi Blood and could be considered a Tier One Low Grade Spirit Grain.
Ten *jin* of White Jade Rice, according to market price, would be worth about five Spirit Stones. Li Yuan weighed the Spirit Grain in his hand; it was about one *jin*.
This type of rice was mostly consumed by Body Refining Cultivators to replenish their Qi Blood. Compared to things like Qi Blood Pills, its cost-effectiveness was much higher.
A moment later, Uncle Wang brought over several more large carts of Spirit Grain, all of it Cyan Jade Rice.
Li Yuan loaded the Spirit Grain into his storage bag, his expression unchanging as he asked.
"Uncle Wang, do you know where I can find any Qi Absorption Rice around here?"
Uncle Wang paused when he heard the question, then shook his head.
"I only know that in the nearly thousand *mu* of fields around here, no Spirit Farmer is currently growing Qi Absorption Rice."
"I can’t say for the fields elsewhere."
Li Yuan felt a flicker of disappointment but didn’t dwell on it.
This Qi Absorption Rice was said to have properties that could help a Cultivator in Breaking Realm. Li Yuan wanted to see if he could obtain a corresponding trait to assist with Breaking Realm.
"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Wang. Here’s your receipt."
Li Yuan took a pre-written receipt from his sleeve and handed it over. Uncle Wang took it, glanced at it, and then carefully put it away.
"Take care, Inspector Li."
Li Yuan nodded and turned to leave the Spirit Field District.
