In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 237 Dingchun Tower

After teasing Li Qingyun for a while, Sun Ren's smile faded, and he asked, "Has there been any news from your elder brother?"

"Have."

The Second Young Master Sun replied, "The letter my elder brother sent from the county town this morning has arrived. According to him, there is progress on the matter of the mid-grade martial arts manual. We just need to give him some more time, and he will be able to obtain it!"

"Good good!"

Sun Ren cheered repeatedly, his expression delighted. The Sun family now has more than ten peak seventh-grade martial artists. As long as they obtain mid-grade martial arts, they can cultivate a large number of sixth-grade martial artists in a short period of time!

With such a large number of sixth-rank martial artists supporting them, the Sun family's power will surely be able to advance even further, perhaps even...

It's not impossible for the Sun family to expand their influence into prosperous and wealthy county towns!

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Li Qingyun's home.

Having drunk a bellyful of tea, Chen Dao saw Li Qingyun and Xu Zhiwen returning and asked, "Magistrate Xu, Magistrate Li, how is the situation?"

Xu Zhiwen shook his head and said, "The Sun family is not easy to deal with; they are unwilling to budge an inch! However..."

Xu Zhiwen changed the subject: "During this trip to the Sun family, Brother Li and I confirmed one thing: the Sun family must have some Fire Pattern Fruit left behind!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dao was not surprised. He had already concluded that he could not obtain the Fire Pattern Fruit from the Sun family through normal means. The reason he sent Xu Zhiwen and the other person on this trip was simply to confirm whether the Sun family still had the Fire Pattern Fruit!

At this moment, Xu Zhiwen also gave his answer: the Sun family... indeed still had Fire Pattern Fruit in stock, and that was enough!

Chen Dao said calmly, "Since the Sun family is unwilling to give it, then I will go and get it myself!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyun glanced at Xu Zhiwen. As Xu Zhiwen had predicted, this young friend Chen Dao... indeed intended to retrieve it personally.

"Young friend Chen."

Li Qingyun couldn't help but remind them, "The Sun family has many martial artists, so we must not let our guard down!"

"Not bad!"

Xu Zhiwen echoed, "When Brother Li and I entered the Sun family, we sensed several auras that were no weaker than mine. Young friend, you must not underestimate the Sun family."

Although Chen Dao had Xiao Yuan, a pet equivalent to a sixth-rank martial artist, for protection, there was only one Xiao Yuan. According to Li Qingyun, the Sun family probably had no fewer than a dozen seventh-rank martial artists.

If so many seventh-rank martial artists were to attack simultaneously, Xiao Yuan might not be able to guarantee Chen Dao's safety.

"Well……"

After listening to their advice, Chen Dao hesitated and asked, "In your opinion, what should I do?"

"We can start by targeting the Sun family members."

After thinking for a while, Li Qingyun, based on the information he knew about the Sun family, discussed the specific details of dealing with the Sun family with Chen Dao and Xu Zhiwen.

Meanwhile, in Chenjia Village.

Chen He, along with several villagers, was checking the condition of the wheat in the field.

Aunt Wang followed Chen He and reported to him: "Village chief, most of the wheat in the fields is in good condition and there has been no problem."

Upon hearing this, Chen He felt relieved. The snow two days ago had lasted for two days and two nights. Because of his worry about Mai Zi, Chen He hadn't been able to sleep well for the past two days, constantly concerned about Mai Zi's condition.

Good thing...

The snow has stopped, and although the temperature has dropped, the wheat in the fields is still growing vigorously, showing no signs of being affected by the low temperature.

"Aunt Wang."

Chen He bent down to examine a stalk of wheat in front of him, and said with a smile to Aunt Wang, "The wheat in this field should be almost ripe, right?"

At this time, many ears of wheat have already shown a hint of golden color, which means that the wheat has entered the ripening stage and will likely be ready for harvest soon.

"Yes!"

Speaking of this, Aunt Wang laughed: "The wheat that Brother Dao gave us is truly amazing! Not only is it cold-resistant, but it also grows very quickly! I reckon that in another half month, the wheat in this field will be ready for harvest!"

"That's great! Now that the wheat is ripe, we won't have to worry about food anymore."

"Brother Dao is really amazing! I wonder where he found such a magical wheat variety."

"With this wheat, we won't have to worry about going hungry anymore!"

"..."

Chen He and the villagers following behind him laughed. They knew very well that the wheat did not belong to them, but when they heard that the wheat was about to be harvested, everyone was excited because Chen Dao would definitely not treat them badly after the wheat was harvested, and would not let them go hungry!

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Two days later, in Ding'an County.

As the sun slowly set in the west, the entire Ding'an County was shrouded in night. Most of the people had finished their busy day and were either eating at home or huddled in their blankets to keep warm. The whole of Ding'an County seemed to have become quiet and deserted.

However, amidst the quiet atmosphere, there was one place that was brightly lit.

And this place is none other than the famous Dingchun Tower in the entire Ding'an County!

Dingchunlou was the largest privately owned brothel in the entire Ding'an County. It was just after nightfall, and candles were lit inside Dingchunlou, while lanterns were hung outside, illuminating the area around Dingchunlou as if it were daytime.

Many beggars, hearing the news, gathered in various corners outside Dingchun Tower, their eyes fixed on the tower's entrance, keeping a close eye on the situation inside. As soon as any leftover food was thrown out, they would swarm forward and rush to devour it.

"Master Chen is here!"

The heavily made-up madam of Dingchunlou, beaming, approached Master Chen, who had just stepped out of his sedan chair, and said as she walked, "Master Chen hasn't visited Dingchunlou for three days. Has Xiaocui failed to provide adequate hospitality?"

Master Chen was a regular customer of Dingchunlou. He was a wealthy man with a bloated appearance. Under the lamplight, you could even see the oil glistening on his face.

However, the madam showed no disgust and stepped forward to hug Master Chen's arm, appearing extremely intimate.

“Mother Wu”.

Master Chen leered and took advantage of the madam, saying, "Don't blame Xiao Cui! It's not that Xiao Cui didn't treat you well, but my wife at home has been keeping a close eye on me lately, so I only managed to find time to come to your Dingchun Pavilion today!"

Xiao Cui was considered one of Master Chen's longtime lovers at Dingchunlou. Almost every time he came to Dingchunlou, Master Chen would order Xiao Cui. Only occasionally would he think of changing his taste and order other girls!

"Ouch!"

The madam chuckled and teased, "Master Chen really cherishes Xiao Cui!"

"Haha! Xiao Cui is my darling, how could I not cherish her?"

As they spoke, the two entered the interior of Dingchun Tower.

Outside Dingchun Tower, under the eaves where the lights couldn't reach, five figures stood, gazing at Dingchun Tower from afar.