The girl in charge of tending the medicinal garden is named She Qingqing. She is seventeen years old and among the disciples, her cultivation is only at the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation.
Although her aptitude is not outstanding, she possesses a talent for pharmacology and is very interested in growing spirit medicines, handling things with great attention to detail.
The disciples are very satisfied with her management of the spirit field.
Since the previous disciple in charge of the medicine field joined another sect three years ago, She Qingqing has taken over the task of overseeing the medicinal garden and has been living here since.
The living quarters and facilities here are complete, with a spiritual well outside the wooden house used for drinking and watering the spirit medicines.
However, due to the high spiritual energy demand of the spirit medicines, and the need for enough spiritual energy to sustain the spirit field, except for She Qingqing and two other disciples overseeing the spirit field, the sect does not allow other disciples to live or cultivate here.
For She Qingqing, this place is very quiet and suitable for her cultivation.
Lu Yuanshan occasionally comes here to check and has a good impression and evaluation of She Qingqing.
"Hmm, since you are dealing with pest control, I can wait until you finish,"
Lu Yuanshan said with a smile, as clearing pests is particularly important and he does not want to delay this task.
"Oh, okay."
She Qingqing replied and threw herself into the pest control work.
She bent down in the medicinal garden, searching for signs of spirit worms. Her fingertips occasionally glowed, shooting golden spirit needles to kill some of the spirit worms.
After these spirit worms were killed, they fell into the soil and quickly decomposed, becoming nutrients for the soil.
After about a quarter of an hour, She Qingqing finished her work and came to Lu Yuanshan.
"Sect Leader, sorry to keep you waiting."
"It's fine, waiting a bit is to be expected."
"I've come to you this time because a few Spiritual Peach Trees need planting."
Lu Yuanshan mentioned the matter at hand, "You've been overseeing the medicinal garden for years and are familiar with every inch of the land here, take a look and see where it would be best to plant the Spiritual Peach Trees."
"Spiritual Peach Trees…"
She Qingqing thought for a moment and asked, "How big are they? Have they borne fruit or are they saplings? How many are there?"
Lu Yuanshan opened the storage bag and took out the Spiritual Peach Trees.
Since they had been in the storage bag for a short time, the peach trees were still young and showed no signs of wilting.
"Three saplings, it seems…"
She Qingqing extended her delicate fingers and counted the number of peach saplings.
"If there are three saplings, they could be planted in the area where the Clear Heart Grass is. There's a large empty space with abundant spiritual energy and loose, breathable soil, making it perfect for planting the Spiritual Peach Trees."
She pointed to the southeast corner, "There, over that way."
The Clear Heart Grass is one of the primary spirit grasses planted in the medicinal garden, a main ingredient for refining Qi Cultivation Pills. The sect plants a lot of it, and there's still a long way to go before it matures.
Planting the Spiritual Peach Trees there is indeed an excellent choice.
"Alright, we'll go with your suggestion,"
Lu Yuanshan felt it was reasonable and nodded, "I'll leave the planting of the Spiritual Peach Trees to you then."
"Okay, Sect Leader."
Having given instructions, Lu Yuanshan didn't idle. He went to the spiritual well and fetched two buckets of well water to use for watering in a moment.
The first watering of the peach saplings requires spiritual well water to enable their roots to take hold quickly.
Looking at the clear well water, Lu Yuanshan scooped some up to taste, feeling a refreshing coolness and couldn't help but be slightly astonished, "Oh, this water from the spiritual well is getting sweeter, and the spiritual energy is much denser than before."
"Yes, indeed, the water from this well is very sweet. I drink it daily as my drinking water; it tastes so sweet."
Saying this, She Qingqing glanced towards the spirit field adjacent to the medicinal garden.
"Senior Brother Zuo and Senior Brother Li, who tend the spirit field, often come here in their free time to get a few bowls of well water to drink and they speak highly of this well."
This spiritual well, dug by Lu Yuanshan over a decade ago, supplies the entire medicinal field.
Unexpectedly, after so many years, the water source in the spiritual well hasn't dried up but has instead become more enriched with spiritual energy. This proves that the spirit vein under Cyan Lotus Mountain, after years of nurturing, is improving and its tier is advancing.
The optimization of the spirit vein's tier is something worth celebrating.
A spirit vein plays a crucial role for a sect.
"With this spiritual well, the medicinal garden's water source is no longer a worry."
"Qingqing, this spiritual well is the only one in the sect that contains spiritual energy and can provide a spiritual water source, making it the foundation of the medicinal garden, you have to guard it well."
Lu Yuanshan said earnestly, "With the sect currently short-staffed, it's quite demanding for you to stay here and manage the medicinal garden. Try to limit your time away."
"If you have difficulties in cultivation and need to seek guidance outside, you can inform the disciples guarding the spirit field in advance, and have one of them temporarily take over your duties at the medicine field. Remember, this place must not be left unattended."
"Additionally, regarding living supplies or any suggestions for the medicine field, you can report to me. The sect values you greatly and will not shortchange you."
"As Sect Leader, I will remember the contributions you've made to the sect, and you'll receive all the rewards you deserve in the future."
After explaining everything, Lu Yuanshan personally helped She Qingqing dig holes and plant the Spiritual Peach Trees one by one.
In the past, when the sect was strong and prosperous, with plenty of disciples, there were enough hands to handle the affairs of the sect, so Lu Yuanshan didn't have to worry about manpower issues.
But things are different now; with a significant loss of disciples, there's a shortage of manpower, forcing Lu Yuanshan to engage in many tasks personally and frequently partake in labor.
He's accustomed to it and doesn't feel that being Sect Leader should make him pampered, so he's become quite approachable.
Their teamwork increased planting efficiency notably.
The Spiritual Peach Trees are just Tier One Spirit Wood, with modest soil requirements, needing only loose, breathable earth. The designated area in the medicine field meets this requirement and is not difficult to plant.
Each tree planted and watered with spiritual well water, the Spiritual Peach Trees were swiftly planted, adding a new sight to the place.
In the coming days, the peach trees won't need watering, as they can absorb water and spiritual energy from their roots.
They have strong vitality and fast growth.
In the future, She Qingqing's care for the peach trees will involve simple tasks like pest control and pruning branches, much easier compared to cultivating spiritual medicines.
"These three Spiritual Peach Trees are now in your care along with the others,"
"When the spirit field reaps its harvest, I will send someone to Qinghe Market to sell spirit rice and purchase spirit medicine seeds for the sect to plant collectively here, expanding the medicinal garden."
"I'm letting you know in advance so you can be prepared."
After explaining everything, Lu Yuanshan left the medicinal garden to attend to other matters.
Meanwhile, after the planting of the peach trees, in the system interface, Lu Ping noticed the sect's resources had added a new item for the Spiritual Peach Trees.
[Spiritual Peach Tree: Tier One Top-Grade Spirit Wood]
[Estimated Income: 630 Spirit Stones/Year (Including Peach Blossom Spirit Wine 90 Spirit Stones/Year)]
The resource details were comprehensive.
Now that the Spiritual Peach Trees have been planted, it's just a matter of waiting for them to grow strong and bear fruit, bringing profits to the sect.
With both the peaches and the Peach Blossom Spirit Wine, an annual income of over six hundred spirit stones is anticipated—a promising development for the sect.
...
Two days later, at dawn as the sun rose, Xuu Yi, carrying his backpack, bid farewell to his fellow disciples and headed down Cyan Lotus Mountain alone.
[Xuu Yi has descended the mountain for experience.]
Lu Ping was outside his cave mansion, reflecting, when he noticed the system's notification.
He is quite hopeful about Xuu Yi's journey and what he might bring back for the sect, as well as the opportunities he himself might encounter.
The following days passed uneventfully, until midday when Lu Yuanshan found some free time as agreed and brought Lu Zhiwei to the entrance of the cave mansion.
"Father, Zhiwei has arrived,"
Lu Yuanshan called into the cave mansion, pausing outside with Lu Zhiwei.