Chapter 86: Return to the Manor

Because the slaves were bound hand and foot, they moved rather slowly, and Li Xuan, fearing they might escape, only untied the ropes on their feet.

Li Xuan's carriage and the slaves trudged slowly toward Chunqiu Jiuzhuang, and only when the sun set did Li Xuan's party finally arrive at the Winery.

In the fields outside the Winery, Li Xuan halted the slaves, then took out a dozen or so large tents from the Void Pearl and tossed them onto the ground.

"Everyone, from today you are my slaves. See this piece of land on the ground? This is my domain, for growing food. I bought you back precisely to plant crops, so here you need not worry about starving. Understand?" Li Xuan shouted at the surrounding slaves.

"Really? This lord looks young; could he be deceiving us?"

"Yeah, he just looks unreliable."

"Don't you want to live? Though the lord is young, he could afford to buy so many of us, so his wealth must be huge; keeping us alive is a piece of cake."

……

For a moment the slaves began chatting in small groups.

Li Xuan looked at the slaves, who paid him no mind, and let out a cold snort.

Suddenly, Li Xuan snapped his fingers, and the most dissenting slave suddenly writhed, clutching his throat and tearing at his clothes.

This startled the surrounding slaves, who quickly put distance between themselves and the man.

"You are my slaves; you may only do what I command. If you still break the rules, he will be your example," Li Xuan said, his gaze icy as he stared at the slaves.

In the next second, golden‑red flames erupted on the man's body; the searing heat made him unable to breathe, and the intense pain forced him to roll on the ground.

A few minutes later, only a heap of ash remained on the ground.

The other slaves had never seen such a sight; terrified, they knelt and kept kowtowing to Li Xuan.

Watching the slaves, Li Xuan let out another cold snort.

"Get up. I'm going to pick a few people as overseers to manage you," Li Xuan hummed, then selected ten relatively burly men from the slaves.

Li Xuan ordered each overseer, with five tents and two hundred people, to set up camps nearby and prepare to rest.

Because Li Xuan had just shown his power, the slaves behaved more obediently and energetically erected the tents.

"Just as I thought, they're despicable; without a fright they'd have no idea who they are," Li Xuan said irritably.

Li Xuan, with Li Bangchui, sat there waiting for them to finish building the tents.

The slaves, terrified by Li Xuan, quickly completed the tents, and the overseers led them before Li Xuan.

"From now on I'll plant several thousand mu of grain here, and you will be responsible for tending the crops. Understand? Rest assured I won't mistreat you—two meals a day, and on festivals you'll get meat," Li Xuan said, standing as the people gathered.

At the same time, Li Xuan took out a dozen bags of rice and a few large pots and tossed them onto the ground.

"This is your dinner; go cook porridge yourselves," Li Xuan told the slaves.

"It's rice! It's really rice!"

"It really is rice; I haven't had a hot meal in years!"

"Great! We finally get to eat proper food!" …

The slaves, seeing what Li Xuan had thrown out, became overwhelmingly excited, some even with tears of joy; their fear of Li Xuan lessened a bit, though Li Xuan was unaware of their inner change.

Li Xuan glanced at them, shook his head, and then walked toward the manor with Li Bangchui.

Among the slaves were members of a winemaking family; Li Xuan plans to meet them again tomorrow for a chat.

After all, the future Chunqiu Jiuzhuang will still need these vintners to manage it, while the brewing of medicinal wine can only be done by Li Xuan himself.

Li Xuan felt a bit weary today, so he planned to go to the manor to see if any rooms were already built and make do for the night.

After walking several kilometers forward, Li Xuan finally saw the outline of buildings in the distance.

From afar he could see a group of Yellow Turban Warriors diligently practicing, presumably having worked hard while he was away.

As Li Xuan and Li Bangchui entered the Courtyard, the leading Yellow Turban Warrior immediately spotted Li Xuan.

"Immortal Master, you finally returned; if you hadn't come back, I was ready to dig earth and fire bricks myself," the Yellow Turban Warrior said with a smile.

"Ha ha, have the building materials here run out?" Li Xuan asked the Yellow Turban Warrior.

"We can hold out another two or three days," the Yellow Turban Warrior nodded.

"Alright, give me the list; I'll set out at dawn tomorrow to the nearby city to purchase materials. In the meantime, you all rest; I've hired about two thousand peasants—can you design villages for them?" Li Xuan asked the Yellow Turban Warrior.

"That poses no problem. For two thousand people, let's arrange the villages in the form of Eight Trigrams; I'll design several settlements, and Immortal Master, you'll need to depart promptly to procure the materials," the Yellow Turban Warrior continued, handing Li Xuan a procurement list.

"Warrior, rest assured, I'll set out at first light; I should be back by night and bring back half the materials. In two days we should gather all the building supplies the manor needs," Li Xuan said, nodding and taking the list, preparing to purchase tomorrow.

"Mm, then I'll leave it to the Immortal Master," the Yellow Turban Warrior said, clasping his fists.

"By the way, Warrior, are there any completed rooms? I need to spend the night here," Li Xuan, feeling a bit sleepy, asked the Yellow Turban Warrior.

"There's a side room on the east that was finished a few days ago; it's ready for occupancy," the Yellow Turban Warrior pointed to a distant side room.

"Thank you, Warrior," Li Xuan nodded to the Yellow Turban Warrior, then entered the side room with Li Bangchui.

Li Xuan kept a loose hold on Li Bangchui the whole way, fearing the little fellow might run off at night, as people have a natural talent for escaping.

Back in the side room, Li Xuan took out several dishes; while they were still hot, Li Xuan and Li Bangchui ate messily, oil dribbling from their mouths.

After a short while, the two each returned to their own beds to rest.

……

Early the next morning, Li Xuan tossed the medicinal herbs into the side room, then drove the carriage away to Tian Dou City to purchase building materials.

After all, Tian Dou City is a major city, and the goods bought there vary in quality; now that Li Xuan has a medicinal wine order from the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, he shouldn't run out of money anytime soon.

"Wishing all readers and lords a happy weekend (End of chapter)."