29: Black iron ore: opportunities and crises coexist

“This matter must be kept a secret!”

Xiao Tianheng carefully checked that the order was correct, then turned to the crowd and instructed them gravely.

Xiao Qingyuan nodded along with the others.

The current situation was better than before.

No one in the Immortal Realm had overly radical ideas; wasn't joining the military better than being exploited by minor Qi Cultivators?

With external stability, he could also quietly have children and then amaze everyone.

After the meeting concluded.

The elders still had a small meeting to attend, which had nothing to do with them, the younger generation.

With his parents away, Xiao Qingyuan planned to go home and see his children.

A month had passed, and Zhao Guanyin had long since completed her confinement.

Xiao Qingyuan could finally be intimate with his main wife again.

When they were free, the children were temporarily entrusted to Yang Yan, who loved to dote on them.

Later, Guanyin Nu had to stabilize her Realm every few days, so the twins ended up spending more time with Yang Yan than with their parents.

On another note.

The younger of the Jiang Sisters, Xiaoqing, had already been taken into his household.

He still remembered a stormy night when he went to her bed to seek shelter from the rain... a thousand words are omitted here.

In short, she just wasn't pregnant yet.

Xiao Qingyuan only had one thing to say: he didn't cheat; it was all thanks to his own efforts.

So, he wanted to go and care for Xiaoqing, this somewhat timid country girl, again.

How could a Cultivator with a Spiritual Root have such a personality?

She needed to be properly disciplined.

But then, the next second.

“Seventeenth Brother.” Just then, Eldest Cousin suddenly stood in front and spoke in a leisurely tone: “Did you really hand all those hidden lineage members over to Eldest Cousin? You’re truly something!”

Hearing Eldest Cousin’s resentful tone, Xiao Qingyuan coughed repeatedly in embarrassment.

“Cough!” Xiao Qingyuan immediately patted his chest and said: “This matter is absolutely all Aunt’s fault; all the ideas came from her.”

Eldest Cousin opened his mouth.

“Is that true?”

Xiao Qingyuan heard this, his face not red and his heart not pounding: “Of course it is!”

At this point, Xiao Qingyuan directly repeated his aunt’s words: “Troublesome matters should, of course, be handed over to Big Brother.”

Xiao Qingduo sighed upon hearing this: “Seventeenth Brother, actually, Aunt also said the same thing; both of you said exactly the same words.”

As he said this, his eyes became even more resentful: “Do you both dislike Eldest Cousin?”

“Cough cough cough cough…” Xiao Qingyuan quickly used coughing to cover his embarrassment. This was essentially a direct confrontation: “Of course not!”

“How can Aunt and I be the same? Although I can’t help, I can still offer you advice.”

Following that, Xiao Qingyuan prattled on, bringing up the concept of the Immortal Realm’s Law Enforcement Hall.

He suggested finding professionals to specifically draft Immortal Realm laws.

And perfect the details, and so on.

Then he proposed measures such as labor reform, household registration, and rural labor… until Xiao Qingduo left full of vigor, and only then did Aunt Xiao Yanshi gracefully appear from around the corner.

Looking at Xiao Qingduo’s retreating figure, Aunt’s face was full of surprise, indicating she couldn’t accept it.

“Big Nephew, you’re too terrifying. You managed to fool Eldest Cousin with just a few words. Amazing!”

Xiao Qingyuan’s eye twitched upon hearing this.

“What are you saying? What are you saying? I didn’t fool him at all, alright?”

“I’m not arguing with you about this.”

Saying that, she extended her right hand and waved it in front of Xiao Qingyuan.

“What for?”

“Money, I’m out of money.”

“What?” Xiao Qingyuan paused, disbelievingly whispering: “Thirty thousand taels of silver, you spent it all in two months?”

Xiao Yanshi smiled sheepishly upon hearing this.

“I can’t help it. This money wasn’t enough to begin with, and then there’s the pig farm, the fish pond, the orchard, the chicken farm, and you also wanted to raise silkworms and cultivate mulberry. Plus, practicing martial arts means eating big fish and big meat every day, so of course, it gets spent quickly, doesn’t it?”

“Impossible!” Xiao Qingyuan didn’t believe it at all: “What kind of costs are those? They’ll start making money in no time.”

“Not to mention, after such a long time, the textile factory should have already become profitable, right?”

“The textile factory’s costs are also huge!” Xiao Yanshi said, her face full of defiance. Her delicate, quiet face somehow conveyed a hint of roguishness in her words.

Xiao Qingyuan spoke slowly:

“My textile factory uses cotton, cotton that I started planting years ago.”

“There are no costs at all!”

“And don’t think I don’t know you’re making money like you’re raiding homes and suppressing bandits. Don’t try to fool me.”

Xiao Yanshi was unyielding: “The remaining money was used to build the manor, wasn’t it? And forging weapons and armor, money flows like water, dear Big Nephew!”

Forging weapons and armor?

He eyed Xiao Yanshi suspiciously. He always felt Xiao Yanshi was lying.

Xiao Yanshi felt a little guilty under his gaze and mumbled softly: “Alright, I originally wanted to give you a surprise.”

“Do you remember the cave we discovered earlier?”

“Spoon Mountain?” Xiao Qingyuan raised an eyebrow: “What about Spoon Mountain?”

At this point, Xiao Yanshi’s expression became somewhat excited: “It was there! While I was supervising them digging the cave, I unexpectedly discovered a secret Mystic Iron Mine at the bottom of the cavern!

I immediately hired a group of craftsmen to secretly mine it. From now on, we won’t have to worry about equipment. We’ve struck it rich, do you understand?”

As she spoke, she excitedly spread her arms, looking like she was embracing a happy future.

However, Xiao Qingyuan’s expression immediately turned solemn.

“Mystic Iron Mine? Say Mystic Iron Mine again?”

“Yes!”

“It’s real.”

Xiao Yanshi was very unconvinced.

Xiao Qingyuan, however, quickly pressed: “How big is the Mystic Iron Mine?”

Seeing his expression, Xiao Yanshi also realized there might be some problem, quickly calmed down, and honestly replied: “The entire Spoon Mountain and its surroundings!”

“It’s all buried deep underground, and the deeper you go, the more there is.”

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Xiao Qingyuan’s forehead, and his voice trembled slightly.

“Stop! Quickly make them stop; they can’t dig anymore.”

“The miners hired previously must be strictly guarded, and not a single bit of information must be leaked!!!”

“Should we kill them?” Xiao Yanshi was startled: “Wouldn’t that be bad?”

“Don’t kill them! They don’t know anything; killing them would attract attention!”

Xiao Qingyuan paced back and forth, thinking rapidly, then spoke directly:

“Relocate all of them and monitor them secretly.”

Seeing Xiao Qingyuan’s demeanor, Xiao Yanshi also became a little flustered.

“It can’t be that serious, can it? It’s just a Mystic Iron Mine, isn’t it? Do we need to be this cautious?”

Mystic Iron, while a treasure in the mortal world, wasn’t even a Spiritual material in the Cultivation Realm. She didn’t know why he was so nervous, but Xiao Yanshi still obediently nodded.

“I told you that you don’t like to read, and it’s ‘just’?”

Xiao Qingyuan pursed his lips and said: “A Mystic Iron Mine, a small one is fine, but I’m afraid a large iron mine will inevitably have associated ores.

Anything could be associated with it!

No!”

Xiao Qingyuan’s eyes narrowed slightly, tense but with a hint of barely perceptible surprise: “It should be said that Mystic Iron itself is a natural protective layer for Advanced Spiritual Mines.

Although Spoon Mountain isn’t tall, its area is indeed quite large.

Do you know what this means?”

“Wh-what does it mean?”

“This means that if there’s anything unusual in that iron mine, even the most ordinary Spirit Stone mine,

we’ve struck it rich. But if even a tiny bit of information leaks, we’re finished. Everyone in the Immortal Realm, from top to bottom, will die! Do you understand how serious this is?”