Chapter 538

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Protagonist:

Chen Yi

Xi Tan returned to his hometown of Dongshan by train, receiving an unprecedentedly warm welcome at the estate; the recently departed-from-the-center Xi Tan was moved to tears, thinking: As expected, it's still the fellow townsfolk who are best.

The Dongshan Xi Family Clan Chief welcomed him into the house, settled him in his youngest son's room, then leaning on a three-legged cane, said in the local dialect: "The bedding's all been changed to brand new; if you need anything, just find Xi Bai. Boy, come here..."

"Ah, you're too polite." Xi Tan smiled.

"Rest a bit; we'll eat dinner tonight." The Clan Chief left, leaving behind his nearly thirty-year-old youngest son to attend to Xi Tan's bath and other matters.

Travel-worn from the journey, though anxious at heart, Xi Tan still groomed himself from head to toe.

The evening banquet was, as usual, a seafood feast.

The Dongshan Xi Family is a century-old great clan; as early as the Early Ming era, tales of Xi Family boatmen circulated, and to this day most make their living off the lake, with many joining the Navy or going out to fish.

Fresh river fish and shellfish, field snails and yellow eels, plus squid and sea cucumber, shark fin and abalone — a full banquet table beautifully arrayed with scarcely any seasoning needed.

After Xi Tan ate his fill heartily, various matters surged to mind; he gently set down his chopsticks and asked with a smile: "I recall the River God Festival day is approaching, right?"

He stopped his chopsticks, and the others dared not eat voraciously either; all paused. The Clan Chief's eldest son, also the Village Chief, said affectionately: "Exactly. General Xi still remembers. Alas, young people nowadays don't really bother with it."

"If there's anything I can help with, don't be polite; I'm also a member of the Xi Family." Xi Tan patted his chest, wanting to take on this task.

The diners exchanged glances; Xi Bai, guileless, said: "If General Xi wants to participate, that's fine; if the village youngsters hear of it, they'll fight to come."

"A bit of liveliness is good." The Village Chief pondered, voicing what Xi Tan wanted to say.

"Liveliness is easy to arrange; I think we can first order some flower baskets and lanterns, start preparations now, propagate first — only then can we draw people from all around to come watch." Xi Tan cut the figure of an enthusiastic helper.

Getting people from all around to gather at Xi Family Village would be the Village Chief's greatest achievement in life. The Village Chief had no more reservations and took the initiative: "We'll do as General Xi says; tonight I'll call a meeting and get those flower baskets and lanterns hung up."

"Also place ads on the Television Station and in the Newspaper. I have a few connections there; I'll ask for you — a few hundred yuan will be enough."

"On TV, a few hundred yuan is enough?"

Xi Tan lied without the slightest hesitation: "Enough; would they dare charge more?"

The listeners were both surprised and delighted, flattering him relentlessly. Xi Bai looked at Xi Tan like a god; he scraped by guarding a small reservoir, and if he could seize the chance to climb a high branch, how wonderful would that be.

To the Xijing Xi Family, Xi Tan far from the center held little value anymore; but for the Dongshan Xi Family, Xi Tan's identity had hardly changed. He remained that formidable figure who could arrange a capital job with a wave of his hand. The Navy's independent administrative organs, factories, schools, and hospitals — all were Xi Tan's background; getting into just one would be more than satisfying.

Before coming, Xi Tan had made all kinds of preparations; now he spoke earnestly: "This matter brooks no delay; once the date is set and the troupe invited, we must build stages on all the open ground by the lake, with capacity for many people."

"That... how many people capacity?"

"At least 100,000; build to a standard of 300,000."

Everyone gasped in unison.

300,000!

Worship the River God?

The Village Chief felt it a bit inappropriate, but too embarrassed to say so, suppressed it; by the time he woke the next day wanting to speak, it was already too late.

The entire lakeside open space, even the few families' private plots, was occupied. Fences surrounded the pond edges; small ponds were simply covered with wooden boards — the fish inside, needless to say, those that couldn't be scooped out were all as good as dead.

Villagers helped with smug delight; youngsters and children with nothing to do wandered about, commenting on everything.

Xi Tan stood in the crowd, looking complacent as if commanding a fleet.

Beside him stood a large sign; red paper read "Compensation Office," and the village accountant was explaining to people in the local dialect.

The Village Chief recognized that red paper — it was what they'd used last year to write Family Planning Slogans.

Strange as it was, he couldn't fathom what Xi Tan ultimately wanted to do; perhaps returning home in glory? Or maybe selecting a burial site for Xi Rong in Dongshan?

Once he started thinking, his thoughts couldn't stop; by the time the Village Chief thought himself satisfied, night had fallen; he tucked his hands in his trouser waist and could go home to dream.

Many Dongshan Xi Family old-school types were dreaming

The River God Festival is a very important matter; since ancient times countless rules have been invented, sacrifices of various scales established; waterside residents, even those who don't believe in gods, seeing vast waters and deep lakes, cannot help but feel reverence — on the boundless earth, a flood sweeps down with unstoppable power, striking mountains, drowning pastures, bombarding forests... the so-called river channels are precisely formed under years upon years of river water assault; if one considers river course changes caused by different eras' climates, one can imagine the fear of residents on both banks.

The worst is, most people can only live relatively near the river, always ready to endure the River God's wrath.

Holding the River God Festival in Dongshan is a manifestation of Xi Rong's wisdom.

A clever idea can achieve twice the result with half the effort — if a person doing a certain job never has a flash of inspiration to improve efficiency, he is surely unsuited for that job.

Xi Rong spent his life pondering people; even without bribing that Malacheng Young Priest, he could himself devise a method that both gathers crowds and avoids attracting Chen Yi's attention.

A traditional custom like the River God Festival could not be more perfect.

Half a month flashed by.

Following Xi Rong's secret letter, Xi Tan quietly arranged the altar and High Priest. A secret passage was also designed beneath the altar.

The night before, he carefully inspected all designs, confirmed no issues, then soaked in the bathtub...

A 300,000-person party, no matter how simple, would tire the organizer; let alone the official-side cover-ups and greetings.

Eyes slightly closed, a wisp of black shadow brushed lightly past.

Xi Tan bolted upright, heedless of the splashing water, shouting: "Who?"

"Brother Xi, it's me." Liu Chuanzhong knocked twice gently on the door. From inside the bathroom.

Xi Tan quietly gripped the copper lamp stand, saying: "Little Liu? How did you come to Dongshan?"

"Want to talk to Brother Xi about Chen Yi's matter."

"Things have reached this step; what's there to talk about."

The figure drew nearer; Xi Tan's fingers whitened from gripping, secretly regretting not bringing his pistol into the bathroom.

Liu Chuanzhong did not continue entering, lowered his voice: "Brother Xi, I brought a friend, want to talk to you about West Continent matters."

Xi Tan made no sound.

"Brother Xi, Chen Yi discovering a new continent or whatever isn't surprising news; everyone's heard, just no one dares say if it's true." Liu Chuanzhong paused, then said: "This friend of mine is a person of great ability, wants to get some information from you."

"Buying is also an option," Liu Chuanzhong said, his Chinese carrying a strange, off-key tone.

"A foreigner?" Xi Tan thought of the Naval Major General; he was far more sensitive to foreigners and such than local officials.

The other party answered very quickly: "Korean Liu Chengyou."

Liu Chuanzhong let out a hehe smile and introduced, "This gentleman is the president of the Korean Trading Company, Mr. Liu Chengyou. He has some connection with our Xijing Liu Family. He has a request this time, and I couldn't very well refuse."

Xi Tan gave a dark hmph, grabbed a towel and dried himself off, thinking: Isn't it just because they saw this old man has retired and returned to his fields, wanting to get something on the cheap? As luck would have it, they just had to run into today.

Thinking of the River God Festival sacrificial ceremony that was to begin tomorrow, Xi Tan smoothed things over: "Since you've come, meeting is no harm. Please wait in the inner room, both of you."

Liu Chuanzhong and Liu Chengyou had run into the bathroom — clearly conducting secret business — so he had no reason to arrange for them to go to the living room or outside.

The door sounded again.

Xi Tan swiftly drilled out of the bathtub, put on his clothes, found a personal small dagger and tucked it into his boot, then headed toward the bedroom.

Liu Chengyou had the typical Korean appearance: flat face, protruding eyes, and a large face. His build was relatively good, and his clothing was extremely meticulous.

After scrutinizing them up and down, Xi Tan nodded and greeted them: "You two."

"General Xi, excuse me," Liu Chuanzhong said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes: "This is Liu Chengyou of the Korean Trading Company.

Same surname Liu, but the two actually have no blood relation. They united for the same reason — Chen Yi.

Liu Chengyou is a core member of the Human Development Research Society. His family inheritance spans hundreds of years, forming a shared-glory situation with the Research Society. His power domestically is also extremely vast, basically able to achieve 'one word carries the weight of nine tripods' happiness. However, the Korean Trading Company suffered a loss at Chen Yi's hands during the Martial Arts Hall's early establishment period. The cause was Kim Doona's sister-in-law Li Xiumei.

Regardless of right or wrong, Liu Chengyou lost face in Jiangning, so naturally he wanted to reclaim it a hundredfold or thousandfold. Thus he constantly paid attention to news from this side. When the tale of the West Continent spread wildly, the Research Society's Jiangning branch actually had no definite information, so Liu Chengyou seized the opportunity and obtained an appointment to investigate in China.

The Liu Chuanzhong family has close ties with the banking system; he is precisely one of Liu Chengyou's allies in China. Coinciding with a party struggle defeat, the Liu Family suffered a heavy blow. Mobilizing resources to cooperate with the Korean Trading Company gave them a natural motivation.

Liu Chengyou sat ramrod straight on the rattan chair, nodded his chin and said: "May I ask General Xi, is the West Continent real?"

"It is indeed real."

"Is there any evidence?"

Xi Tan hesitated slightly, replied: "No."

"Oh, then, what is the method to go to the West Continent?"

"There is a channel."

"A wormhole?" Liu Chengyou had done his homework before coming.

"Perhaps." After riding the Magic Subway, Xi Tan didn't dare say it was a wormhole. If the West Continent's local customs weren't truly strange, many might have thought it a scam.

Now, millions of tons of resources transported in, transported out, plus the existence of the Light Curtain and Divine Art Knights — no one can say clearly what's going on, but it's probably not a scam.

Such speculation, however, need not be spoken aloud.

Liu Chengyou asked a few more questions. Xi Tan was obviously impatient. Liu Chuanzhong then took over the conversation, smiling: "Heard the locals are holding a River God Festival?"

An idle remark, yet it made Xi Tan a bit nervous.

Liu Chengyou raised his face strangely and said: "Can we participate tomorrow?"

"Of course." Xi Tan coughed once, his heart annoyed to death.

…… (Unfinished. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian. com) to cast Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)