Chapter 80: The Gift-Giving Has Arrived

  After everyone left, Li Wenjun was alone in the yard collecting materials to make mechanisms with wood, which was a very time-consuming task and had to be rushed.

  About an hour later, Li Wenjun heard the sound of gongs and drums outside, firecrackers bursting into the sky, and someone shouting "Huatou" in the distance. Li Wenjun smiled and continued to work on his mechanism with his head down.

  Just then, Li Wenjun heard someone knocking on the courtyard door. "Excuse me, is Master Li at home? I am Zhang Jianjie from Fengshou Town, and I hope to see Master Li."

  Is Zhang Jianjie?

  Li Wenjun suddenly remembered that when he was in Fengshou Town, he had been to Zhang Jianjie's mansion and listened to the famous doctor Xu Yidan from Beijing. At that time, he heard that Zhang Jianjie was not only the richest man in Fengshou Town but also one of the top two wealthy men in the entire Mingchuan Prefecture.

  This rich old man came over to pay his respects to him, what is he after?

  "The door is not locked, Mr. Zhang, please come in." Li Wenjun said calmly.

  Zhang Jianjie pushed open the door and left, with two house servants following behind him, carrying a gift box together.

  Upon entering the courtyard, Zhang Jianjie looked at Li Wenjun in surprise as he was sawing wood and said: "A Xian Shi's status is so noble, how can you do such a menial task? I have a team of carpenters under my command, whether it's building pavilions or making furniture, they can handle it. If the Xian Shi doesn't mind, I can send them over to serve at your beck and call, and not take a single penny."

  Li Wenjun glanced at Zhang Jianjie, as far as he knew, this guy was not someone who would do a losing business. Last time at his house, the lecture was expensive, surpassing the entire trading conference. Zhang Jianjie's ability to make money and calculate was impressive, which could be seen from this.

  "What brings Mr. Zhang to me?" Li Wenjun asked back.

  Zhang Jianjie hastily bowed to Li Wenjun and said, "I have had the heart to seek immortals and ask about the Tao since I was young. When I heard that Master Li was hiding here, I suddenly felt a sense of reverence and specially came to pay my respects to the immortal master, hoping to establish a good relationship."

  Besides, as the saying goes, "a great hermit lives in the city", but an immortal master is still a transcendent being, a god on earth. Being able to choose to live in seclusion in Sanshan County is a recognition of the parents and fellow villagers of Sanshan County.

  "As a wealthy family in this county, I have the responsibility and obligation to express our respect to Master Xian on behalf of the elders of our county. Therefore, I have prepared a humble gift, which I present to Master Xian. Please, Master Xian, grant me some face by accepting it."

  The two servants put down the gift box and opened it in front of Li Wenjun.

  This is a large red wooden gift box, divided into three layers.

  The first layer, with red silk as the lining, had a hundred gold ingots that shone brightly. These gold ingots were all eleven taels each. One hundred ingots made up exactly one thousand taels of gold.

  This first gift made Li Wenjun secretly admire Zhang Jianjie's wealth, and his generosity was indeed extraordinary.

  The second layer was opened immediately after, this layer, also with red velvet lining, inside were dozens of paper packages, the gift box was opened, and a strong medicinal scent filled the nostrils.

  Li Wenjun sniffed and his face changed instantly. He was too familiar with these medicinal scents, which were clearly the main and auxiliary medicines needed to refine the Gathering Qi Powder.

  Zhang Jianjie stepped forward, opened several paper packages and said: "Immortal Master, I heard that your pharmacy is actively purchasing these medicinal materials. My family also relies on the sale of medicinal materials to make a living, and we have some inventory at home. This time, I came to see you without bringing anything else, so I brought all the inventory here. The quantity is not large, a total of 120 catties, please take a look."

  Zhang Jianjie really understood Li Wenjun's needs, the several paper packages he opened were not repeated, and the number was just right, exactly what Li Wenjun needed, a few main medicines and auxiliary medicines, each with one package.

  Li Wenjun estimated that these herbs were enough for him to refine one or two hundred doses of Qi-gathering soup. His eyes suddenly became fiery, and the thought of ten thousand taels of gold no longer mattered to him, but these herbs had touched his heart.

  Zhang Jianjie was paying attention to Li Wenjun's expression at all times, and he smiled slightly before opening the third layer himself. This layer of gift box had a yellow silk lining, inside which there was a long, bar-shaped object wrapped in red silk.

  Zhang Jianjie took out the thing wrapped in red silk, and after opening it, there was a jade box over a foot long inside. He opened the jade box, holding it with both hands, and presented it to Li Wenjun, saying: "I have searched far and wide for this 300-year-old wild ginseng plant, especially to offer to Master Xian."

  Li Wenjun's eyes lit up, and he carefully took over the jade box, admiring it. Inside the box, the wild ginseng root was complete with its roots intact, the thickest part of the stem as thick as a thumb, almost human-like in shape. A strong medicinal fragrance wafted out, refreshing his mind and spirit.

  Zhang Jianjie took a few steps back, clasped his fists and bowed deeply, saying: "Immortal Master, these are all gifts from humble people like myself. I beg of you, Immortal Master, to grant me the favor of accepting them all."

  Li Wenjun covered the jade box, looked at Zhang Jianjie and said: "When giving gifts to others, there must be a request. Mr. Zhang and I have no relationship, even if I am a cultivator, I think that when I am not threatening Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhang will also ignore me? You sent me such a heavy gift for no reason, I dare not accept it."

  Although he said he wouldn't accept it, Li Wenjun had no intention of putting the jade box down. These herbs were enough for him to cultivate for over a month, so how could he easily give them up?

  Zhang Jianjie hastily said: "I dare not hide anything from the immortal master, I have a relationship with Qin Yue, the county magistrate of this county, that outsiders do not know. Qin Yue's first wife died early, and later he remarried. Few people outside know that his second wife is actually my daughter. Qin Yue and I are in a father-in-law and son-in-law relationship. Now, San Shan County has undergone great changes, Wu Qi and others offended the immortal master, after their death, they left behind a power vacuum, the immortal master intends to promote my son-in-law, we are grateful. Therefore, I specially offer a generous gift."

  "So that's how it is. You two are grateful to me and have already given me a thousand taels of gold, which is more than enough. With such a large sum of money, buying a county magistrate should be sufficient. Why did you still give me so many medicinal herbs? Especially this 300-year-old wild ginseng, it's something that can't be bought with money, and this is even more excessive. You must have some other intention?" Li Wenjun asked.

  "The immortal teacher's wise eyes pierced through the thoughts of the little people. Indeed, I and Qin Yue have another small request, Qin Yue was favored by the immortal teacher and temporarily holds the power of San Shan County, this is just a temporary measure, whether he can sit firmly in the county magistrate's position still needs to be supported by powerful figures behind him. The little people dare to ask the immortal teacher to be Qin Yue's backer. I don't dare to ask the immortal teacher to run errands for Qin Yue, only asking the immortal teacher to make a public appearance once and show support for Qin Yue, that would be enough." Zhang Jianjie said respectfully.