Wei Yuefu had obtained a fair amount of intelligence from Emperor Wu of Great Xuan. Setting aside how much of it was true or false for the moment, the man certainly knew how to win people over with his words.
In contrast, Master Yaozhang of the Xiao Clan had offered nothing of tangible value after merely replying with words of thanks beneath his intelligence thread.
If that remained his attitude going forward, Wei Yuefu would not consider any cooperation or sharing of information with him.
To put it bluntly, given their capabilities, how could seven whole days pass without him gathering a single shred of intelligence?
It was simply that he did not wish to share it. Concealing one's strengths was normal enough—Wei Yuefu did it too—but one could not expect to simply take advantage of others.
At the very beginning, when the man had promptly replied with thanks, Wei Yuefu had felt quite favorably inclined toward him, but that goodwill had now been completely squandered.
After Wei Yuefu opened his intelligence thread, Emperor Wu of Great Xuan had immediately followed suit by opening one of his own to share information.
That left Master Yaozhang of the Xiao Clan offering nothing but lip service.
Wei Yuefu was searching for a feedback button to see if there was any way to form small groups or use a private messaging feature.
None of them knew one another. If an initial unreserved sharing yielded positive reciprocity, Wei Yuefu naturally wouldn't be petty about it.
Yet since no meaningful value could be gained, self-interest had to take priority.
After exploring the interface for a while, however, he found no such functionality whatsoever.
Faced with this, Wei Yuefu could only let the matter rest for now, assuming it would have to wait for later updates.
After all, everything was exceedingly rudimentary. Simply managing to construct a communication platform at all was already the world doing its utmost.
Furthermore, the Tianya Pavilion platform relied entirely on the heaven-and-earth marvel of the spirit vein; otherwise, it would have neither power nor connection.
When things were reduced to such a sorry state, what more could Wei Yuefu say?
"Old Yuan, instruct the kitchen to prepare a table for a spirit feast," Wei Yuefu directed his subordinate to cook him a meal.
The so-called spirit feast was actually just a gimmick cooked up by Wei Yuefu, meaning that the wine, dishes, staple foods, and everything else were prepared using ingredients infused with spiritual energy.
While Wei Yuefu might not understand proper marketing, he had scrolled through plenty of promotional accounts in his past life; it was nothing more than hyping things up.
"Yes, Master," Yuan Jingting, the steward who had served Wei Yuefu for many years, responded immediately.
"Right, there is one more matter," Yuan Jingting added hurriedly. "The county magistrate has sent over a visiting card for you, Master. How would you like us to arrange the reply?"
Hearing this, Wei Yuefu furrowed his brows and asked, "It's neither a holiday nor a festival. What is he visiting me for?"
It was not unusual for officials to pay him visits in ordinary times. A county magistrate was merely an official of the principal seventh rank, whereas Wei Yuefu's supernumerary post as Assistant Minister of the Court of Agriculture, though a nominal title, was higher in rank than that of a magistrate.
Of course, a nominal title depended heavily on who held it, and in Wei Yuefu's hands, it carried immense weight.
"This... seems... to involve our land purchases," Yuan Jingting hesitated before speaking.
"What? What methods did your people use?" Wei Yuefu's tone instantly turned dangerous.
It sounded disgraceful, but Wei Yuefu had indeed engaged in land annexation. He had little choice; if he did not do it, someone else certainly would.
Yet as a transmigrator, he still retained his bottom line. At the very least, he would never drive people to desperation, and the prices he offered were twenty percent higher than the market rate.
He even paid his hired tenant farmers wages, complete with food and lodging.
Consequently, not a single tenant farmer under his banner had ever starved or frozen to death.
With his limited abilities, Wei Yuefu could not change the Great Xuan Dynasty, but he did everything within his power for those beneath him.
If he had been foolish enough to go around shouting about equality for all or abolishing the emperor, he would never have survived to this day.
"No, no, no! We acted strictly in accordance with your orders, Master. We would never dare overstep in the slightest," Yuan Jingting hurriedly explained.
In the past, someone had tried to curry favor with Wei Yuefu by borrowing his authority as the Baron of Qingpu County to collude with officials and merchants, secretly suppressing prices to acquire large tracts of land.
When Wei Yuefu learned of this, he flew into a towering rage on the spot and dealt with every single person involved.
Another master might have been delighted, but Wei Yuefu saw it differently. It had not only harmed innocent people, but also defied his explicit commands.
It was outright feigned compliance. If he acquiesced this time, who knew what catastrophic trouble they might stir up behind his back next time?
Did they really take him for someone who had never read *Dream of the Red Chamber*?
Wei Yuefu was well aware that he might not be a paragon of benevolence, but he would never resort to murder and plunder just for petty wealth.
As long as he had the Yellow Turban Strongman, he effectively possessed a money-printing press with no shortage of income.
Not to mention his vast farmlands, mountain forests, and shops; cultivating a sterling reputation alongside his political influence would only allow him to earn even more.
"Then how does this involve our land purchases?" Wei Yuefu's expression softened.
"This is the visiting card the magistrate sent for you." Yuan Jingting hurriedly retrieved the card and handed it to Wei Yuefu.
Wei Yuefu took it, looked it over, and then said, "Set it for tonight. Have someone draft a reply card, and remember to look over the wording yourself."
The gist of it was that the magistrate was about to leave office, and if there were any other lands Wei Yuefu had his eye on, this was the perfect opportunity to discuss and finalize the matter quickly.
"Magistrate Chen's term is up already?" Wei Yuefu asked again.
"It isn't up yet," Yuan Jingting said. "However, because of the tributes you provided, Master, he accumulated considerable administrative merits and received an exceptional promotion ahead of schedule."
Hearing that, Wei Yuefu could not help but narrow his eyes.
An exceptional promotion? There were rarely such coincidental windfalls in this world. It seemed the magistrate's visit was not as simple as paying respects before his departure.
He likely had something else to say.
"Understood. Have our people dig around for more information," Wei Yuefu instructed.
As the Baron of Qingpu County, his influence was far from negligible. While his intelligence network could not quite match a cicada sensing the autumn wind before it blew, no major events could be hidden from him.
Accomplishing this was simple: spend money.
Without silver, who would be willing to run errands for you?
"There is another matter. Futian Hospice and Ciyou Hall are nearly finished," Wei Yuefu added. "Remember to hire some runners to spread the word far and wide."
"Then verify and confirm the lists before handing them to me."
The former was an elder-care home, and the latter an orphanage, both built with his direct funding.
Wei Yuefu had not built them for nothing; they served as justification for his land acquisitions, essentially acting as philanthropic projects.
He truly reaped the benefits, but he also genuinely did the charity.
Moreover, he oversaw the projects personally. While spending extra silver was inevitable, the quality was guaranteed to be beyond reproach.
"Yes, Master," Yuan Jingting replied at once. "I will see to it immediately."
Though Wei Yuefu oversaw the projects personally, it was impossible for him to attend to every petty chore.
If he had to handle every minor trifle himself, his title as Baron of Qingpu County would be nothing more than a hollow ornament, and his subordinates would be idling about doing nothing.
With a wave of his hand, Wei Yuefu dismissed him, then returned to the core area of the spirit vein to cultivate the Layered Tower Art.
By the time he finished his practice, the spirit feast would be nearly ready, providing the perfect replenishment of his energy.
Practicing martial arts, after all, was three parts training and seven parts nourishment. But the prerequisite was that one had to train; relying solely on nourishment was nothing more than sheer indulgence.
With the confluence of his aptitude, the environment, and ample resources, Wei Yuefu estimated that he would be able to cultivate the Layered Tower Art to major mastery within a single month.
Chapter 21