Lu Zheng was shocked inside, and the look he gave Liu Qingyan carried a hint of peculiarity.
Merit, is also a type of mysterious qi in the world, more mysterious than the commonly seen Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, Nether Qi, and other such energies, somewhat similar to the Light of Fortune.
Cultivators find it very difficult to actively pursue, and most can't even see it; only those with special techniques or those who are notable can sense it.
Do you think doing good deeds will surely earn you merit?
No, no, no, it doesn't. First, you must have a kind heart, and then what you've done must indeed align with the grand dynamics of this world.
For example, if you approach doing good deeds with a transactional mindset to earn merit, sorry, not a shred of merit will be gained.
For instance, if you assist a malicious anomaly in escaping the pursuit of the Anomaly Suppression Bureau, sorry, no merit will descend.
These are the prerequisite conditions discovered by cultivators, but whether there are more, many people don't know now.
Lu Zheng only understood this after delving into the Innate Cloud Transformation Qi Method Scripture and the Nine Heavens Golden Palace True God Transformation Technique and achieving success in cultivation.
So, merit is rare; one must act in goodness and sincerity, and only those with merit qi protecting them are truly virtuous.
It's a bit like the Muscle Strengthening Scripture in martial arts novels, where you must harbor no intention of cultivating martial arts to master it, so those who master it are not vile individuals using force to commit evil.
And the role of merit qi isn't in combat.
For cultivators, it has a unique effect on defending against evil sect spells and aiding cultivation.
For ordinary people, merit qi can keep one's body healthy, ward off all evils, often leading to longevity and a good end.
Regarding Liu Qingyan's family using it to conceal their qi, it was just their most trivial trick.
Liu Qingyan getting so much merit only proves that she is truly kind-hearted and played the most significant role in this disaster relief effort.
Additionally, what amazed Lu Zheng was Du Yueyao; this young girl quietly earned more than thirty percent of the remaining merit, outshining nine others including Lu Zheng.
Is the intake of merit qi always a pyramid structure?
When will the workers rise up!
Having determined the best prescriptions, everyone then stayed nowhere for too long, merely distributing porridge for relief, setting up houses and sheds, distributing grains, treating the sick, and helping people.
"Lu Lang." Liu Qingyan walked up with some concern, "Isn't our stock of medicinal supplies and grains running low?"
On this day, the group passed another village near the water, distributed millet, and treated some sick villagers; now at sunset, they were enjoying the sunset on the open ground in front of the newly repaired grass shed.
"Yes." Lu Zheng nodded, "It is running low, but don't worry, I'm prepared."
Liu Qingyan glanced at Lu Zheng, unsure what he had prepared, "Are you going to buy more from the state capital?"
Lu Zheng shook his head, "I went there a few days back and found out the state's stock isn't abundant either, given this disaster hasn't only affected Chuandong Lingbei, but also several southern routes like Sanjiang Dao and Yinan Dao faced floods, even the Northwest saw actions from Great Demons.
In short, even though this flood isn't particularly severe, it has drained a lot of the Great Jing's stored grains and foundation."
"Yes, fortunately, the floods passed, taking advantage of the long winter to plant a short rice season, but the yield doesn't match the spring sowing."
"It's likely the imperial government has grown lax after prolonged peace, surely it'll focus on addressing this next year, and another one or two years of bountiful harvests should replenish the grain and foundation." Du Yueyao said.
"Now the issue is that the court's grain supplies won't arrive here for a while; probably another one to two months." Hua Yixing said.
They've been in disaster zones for five to six days, and the initial grains and medicinal herbs brought along were insufficient.
"No worries, I can bring a batch of grains back tomorrow." Lu Zheng paused, "And medicinal herbs."
"Medicinal herbs?" Liu Qingyan wondered.
"Medicinal herbs!" Lu Zheng nodded, "Though they're just ordinary herbs, of mediocre quality, not including Star Grass and Tongqi."
"Star Grass and Tongqi are not hard to find herbs, present abundantly in the southern mountains; with dedication even ordinary people can harvest them, whereas Chaihu and Huang Qin are hard to come by." Liu Qingyan frowned.
"So here's the coincidence..."
"What's the coincidence?"
Lu Zheng shook his head, "Nothing, I'll go out tomorrow."
"Alright." Liu Qingyan obediently nodded, not asking more.
Having moved past the initial flooding, now over ten days later, cultivators around Yu State had started appearing more frequently, and the rampaging little demons had vanished. Alongside the women of Five Beauties Manor, who are not defenseless, Lu Zheng could now leave without worry.
"Hello? President Liu?"
On the other side of the phone, Liu Zhenming's voice came, "President Lu! Finally managed to contact you!" Fresh chapters posted on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
"Sorry, I've been busy and couldn't answer the phone." Lu Zheng smiled.
"I understand, no problem! That's why I've been waiting," Liu Zhenming said eagerly.
What do you understand? I just babbled randomly, haven't even thought up an excuse, how come you already get it?
"The Kun City food factory's 300 tons of rice are ready, can be dispatched anytime, but I don't have the key to the warehouse!" Liu Zhenming said over the phone.
"That fast? Wasn't it supposed to take a week for scheduling?" Lu Zheng asked.
Liu Zhenming sounded exasperated, "President Lu, you're buying old stock at 20% above the wholesale price, such an opportunity is rare, several surrounding storage points are eager and even asked if you want more."
"Haha... Is that so..."
Lu Zheng managed a few awkward laughs and considered the situation on the ancient side, "I might need a bit more, but I'm not sure how much. How much can you arrange?"
"The past few years have been blessed with favorable weather, every year new rice enters storage; local storage points are unloading old rice at low prices, you can have as much as you want."
Liu Zhenming said, "If you've got the capacity, I can arrange for 100,000 tons."
Lu Zheng nearly spit his tea.
"Haha." Liu Zhenming laughed, "I know too much grain isn't valued, but you mentioned this is the first batch, I bet a few thousand tons later won't be a problem, right?"
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin, "I suppose there really might not be a problem... right?"
"President Lu truly is exceptional, managing to seize the market from major players!" Liu Zhenming praised.
Lu Zheng roughly guessed what Liu Zhenming was assuming, so he humbly replied, "Just doing small-scale business, merely sipping soup."
"President Lu is so magnanimous!" Liu Zhenming laughed heartily, "With President Lu sipping soup, Old Liu might even get to lick the bowl!"
Lu Zheng chuckled along and agreed to meet at the warehouse, then hung up.