If one wishes to cultivate this land, all the dense weeds and rubble must be cleared away, which is clearly a difficult task.
If the weeds are not cleaned up, then even if crops are planted, the nutrients in the soil will just nourish the weeds.
Moreover, the rubble underground can easily damage farming tools.
Thus, given that the existing fields are sufficient, the villagers of Xiushui Village lack the manpower and resources to reclaim this land.
Yet, now a road has been made in such a place, with the ground compacted and level, showing no signs of rubble or weeds.
It is evident that great care and effort have gone into its construction.
The road is about three hundred meters long, but due to the surrounding bushes and thorns, roughly a meter high, it's nearly impossible to see that there is a road from the village's perspective.
The three soon reached the end of the road.
In front of Lin Xiao and Liu Yun Nan appeared a completely new small estate.
In the center is a large courtyard; though it cannot be compared to the buildings in the city, it is much more imposing than the various ancestral halls in Xiushui Village nearby.
Aside from the inns funded by the Lingxian Sect, the ancestral halls in the village are the most prominent buildings.
However, upon closer inspection, one would find that the bricks used for this large courtyard are the same as those used in Xiushui Village for the town's construction.
Clearly, when Xiushui Village was building the town, this large courtyard was constructed simultaneously.
Surrounding this large courtyard are vast, neatly cultivated fields, stretching approximately a hundred acres.
Though nothing is currently planted in the fields, the plow marks on the surface are very clear.
It is obvious that someone has been taking care of this land.
The fields are meticulously managed, with not a single stone or weed root visible in the turned soil, which appears fine and of suitable color and moisture, looking quite fertile.
If one did not know the original state of this place, they might think it was prime farmland.
To reclaim this area from such difficult conditions to its current state, one can imagine the challenges involved.
"Grandpa Village Chief, has a wealthy family moved to our village?" Liu Yun Nan asked.
Hearing this, Village Chief Du laughed heartily and replied:
"Isn't it a wealthy family? This is the biggest family in our village, hahahaha."
Upon hearing Village Chief Du, Lin Xiao began to speculate.
However, Liu Yun Nan still looked puzzled:
"Ah? Did they send us gifts here?"
Village Chief Du walked to the entrance of the large courtyard, waving at the two:
"Come, come."
The two obediently approached him.
Village Chief Du then took out a key from his pocket and handed it to Lin Xiao:
"Xiao Ge'er, this hundred acres of land is the villagers' heartfelt intent sent to the Lingxian Sect."
As his words fell, Lin Xiao hadn't yet reacted when Liu Yun Nan's eyes widened in astonishment, pointing at the surrounding fields:
"What? The villagers sent us such a large piece of land?!"
Seeing his shocked expression, Village Chief Du smiled proudly:
"Didn't expect that, did you? Hahaha! Actually, the villagers had already started clearing this land. It was just a matter of putting in some effort. Every day, they come back from their own fields, or when they have spare time, they carry tools over and work a bit here—just like this family using a hoe and that family using a shovel, they managed to clear out this hundred acres."
"Also, this large courtyard required good bricks and tiles, so several prominent families in the village pooled some money together to buy bricks and tiles along with the town construction—very sturdy!" Saying this, Village Chief Du patted the courtyard wall beside him.
The villagers of Xiushui Village had lived here for a long time, and the easily cultivated land had mostly been cleared. The other areas were either rocky beaches or forests; only this place had large tracts of land connected together.
He looked at Lin Xiao with eyes full of joy:
"Our village has relied on the land for sustenance all our lives. In these past three years, we have received so much care from you all, and we can't send anything else good. The best thing we, as farmers, could think of is land. I heard from your grandpa that you also cultivate land on the mountain, so the villagers decided to give you some fields."
"This place is close to your sect and a bit away from the village, so people from the village won't see it from that side. We'll tell outsiders that this area is desolate and not to come this way, so they won't disturb you."
After saying this, he noticed Lin Xiao staring at the fields in a daze and handed the key forward again:
"Everyone appreciates you all, but they don't have much ability; they can only clear some land to show their intentions. You must accept it."
Lin Xiao looked down at the key in Village Chief Du's hand and silently took it.
He felt like something had gotten into his eyes.
Otherwise, why were they so swollen, making his eyes feel moist?
Liu Yun Nan glanced at the copper key in Lin Xiao's hand, then turned to look at the surrounding empty fields.
"This is incredible…" he murmured.
The villagers were all ordinary people without any cultivation!
They still had to busy themselves with their own small plots of land and manage their daily meals.
Moreover, very few families in the village owned more than fifty acres, yet now they willingly offered a hundred acres of well-cultivated land to the Lingxian Sect without batting an eye.
This heartfelt intent was truly remarkable.
Lin Xiao rubbed his eyes subtly and then looked up, smiling at Village Chief Du:
"Grandpa Village Chief, we accept this heartfelt intention. Please thank everyone for us; we especially like this estate."
Seeing him agree to accept it, Village Chief Du's eyes narrowed in a smile, nodding repeatedly:
"Good, good, good! It's great that you like it! I'll tell everyone the good news later, hahahaha!"
He then pointed to the courtyard door, explaining to Lin Xiao:
"Since we didn't know what kind of layout you needed for the buildings, the courtyard is empty for you to plan as you wish. We didn't go through the trouble of building anything for you."
"Let's go back now~" Village Chief Du waved his hand and turned to leave.
Liu Yun Nan came back to his senses and glanced at Lin Xiao, who was holding the key with a thoughtful expression. He tugged at Lin Xiao's sleeve and asked:
"Xiao Ge'er, what are you thinking about?"
Lin Xiao turned the key in his hand and softly replied:
"I was thinking that the mortal realm could use a trading center too."
"Hmm?" Liu Yun Nan looked puzzled.
He couldn't understand why Lin Xiao, facing such a vast expanse of farmland, was thinking about a trading center.
Lin Xiao looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and said:
"I'll tell you later. Come on, let's walk Village Chief Du back!"
With that, he pulled Liu Yun Nan's arm and called out to Village Chief Du, who had walked a short distance ahead:
"Grandpa Village Chief—We'll walk you back! Slow down!"