In the bamboo grove.
As the sun set, Chen Han, along with Uncle Dagou and Uncle Shuisheng, had nearly completed their bamboo leaf harvest. The bags they brought were filled to the brim with bamboo leaves, each weighing about 40 pounds.
Bamboo leaves are difficult to pick, especially the small bag of about 5 pounds of bamboo leaf cores he carried, which were very time-consuming to harvest.
Before heading back, Chen Han instructed, "Uncle Dagou, cut another bamboo stalk. We'll use it to make bamboo tubes to store the fried Bamboo Leaf Tea."
"Alright." Chen Dagou nodded, picked up the machete from his waist, skillfully cut down a bamboo suitable for making tubes, trimmed the branches, and carried it on his shoulder as they exited the grove.
On the way, Chen Han received a game notification:
[Congratulations, you have gained a follower through a transmitted image from the Spirit Shadow Treasure Mirror, earning 1 point of reputation!]
During the time of picking bamboo leaves and bamboo leaf cores, his reputation also increased by 5 points, reaching 127.
The video of instigating a Dog Demon fight nearly reached 2000 likes, though not many people followed.
After all, this kind of niche entertainment seemed to attract a small crowd who fancied themselves as Daoists or Immortal Venerables.
When the trio returned to the Chen Family, they passed by the open ground where Chen Lin and others were constructing the Frying Pan Furnace, which already had a complete model.
Chen Han spotted a familiar face—it was Mr. Zhao, curiously observing Little Uncle and the others building the furnace.
Zhao Kang also saw the three and inquired curiously, "Patriarch Chen, sorry to bother you again, but what are you up to?"
Chen Han explained, "Recently, I've been studying the family's ancient texts and developed a kind of Bamboo Leaf Tea, so we went to gather some bamboo leaves and leaf cores."
"Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea?" Zhao Kang said in surprise.
He had just heard about this, and now hearing the Patriarch Chen mention the ancient texts piqued his curiosity even more.
Hearing Zhao Kang correctly identify 'Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea,' Chen Han knew Little Uncle had mentioned it, so he nodded directly, "We'll invite Mr. Zhao to taste it when the time comes."
"Thank you, Patriarch Chen." Zhao Kang's eyes immediately lit up.
In his subconscious, he believed the Chen Family was extraordinary, and now whether it was the name of the Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea or its heritage or ancient texts, it all seemed like a fully buffed experience.
This filled his curiosity to the brim.
He then remembered his purpose: "Patriarch Chen, I've heard your Chen Family has a traditional medicinal dish. I was directly tempted to come. I wonder if there are still ingredients available, as I'm very eager to try it."
Chen Han broadly guessed Mr. Zhao's reason for returning must be the medicinal dish, likely informed by Mr. Lin and his group, who Mr. Zhao had recommended in the past.
Now that there was a stable Dog Demon Meat supply, with a freshness limitation, he planned to offer a couple of medicinal dishes daily. So, he said, "Mr. Zhao, your timing is impeccable. Our Chen Family just obtained more materials. We can sell you a serving tomorrow, though it is quite pricey."
"I understand, one serving for 20,000, I can pay up front," Zhao Kang quickly said, now unafraid of the dish's price, only worried they might not sell it to him.
His curiosity about the dish was entirely piqued as well.
"Alright, Mr. Zhao, just find my junior sister to register. We'll prepare the medicinal dish tomorrow," Chen Han smiled and nodded, chatting a bit more with Mr. Zhao before taking Uncle Dagou and Uncle Shuisheng to Little Uncle's courtyard. They then took out three bamboo trays and spread the collected bamboo leaves and leaf cores evenly across them.
Chen Han also took out his phone to film the bamboo leaves and cores, saying, "This Patriarch and two masters from the family, after much hardship, have finally harvested the Thunder Bamboo leaves and cores. Now begins the first step of refining Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea, using special spiritual artifact tools to diffuse the Yin Thunder Water contained in the Thunder Bamboo leaves and cores."
It was essentially spreading the freshly harvested bamboo leaves and cores evenly in a well-ventilated area to allow the moisture to evaporate, softening the leaves for the subsequent frying process.
This would only take about an evening.
Chen Dagou and Chen Shuisheng felt embarrassed seeing him film again.
Did Xiaohan really think the Chen Family had turned into a cultivation family?
Still, Chen Dagou curiously asked, "Xiaohan, is this Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea really reliable?"
Chen Han replied with a smile, "Regardless of reliability, we must try it first. If successful, our Chen Family can certainly expand into the Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea business. By then, there will definitely be more jobs within the family, which Uncle Dagou and Uncle Shuisheng will be responsible for recruiting a few more from the family."
Hearing this news, Chen Dagou and Chen Shuisheng's eyes brightened immediately.
The main branch decided to develop tourism around the Chen Clan Ancient Building Complex, which everyone supported, as success meant job creation and economic income for the family.
Moreover, they successfully applied for a tourism subsidy fund from the county to kickstart the tourism of the Chen Clan Ancient Building Complex, for which Xiaohan's parents had even died in a mudslide while on the road.
However, the tourism around the Chen Clan Ancient Building Complex never really took off, job positions were limited, and even people like Chen Lin were working low-wage, semi-voluntarily, all in hopes of getting the family tourism up and running to boost family employment.
It would be ideal to call back young people working outside.
After all, who doesn't want family reunions, enjoying moments with grandchildren, instead of suffering separation, where even reunions during holidays are hindered by livelihoods?
They now eagerly hoped for the success of Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea, their gazes towards Chen Han shifting.
What used to carry a hint of elders watching over the younger generation had now gained an added respect.
It was at this moment that Chen Han received a message from his junior sister: "Brother, Mr. Zhao found me, saying you agreed to sell him a serving of medicinal dish for 20,000 yuan."
Seeing the message, he replied, "Yes, we just got some more materials, tomorrow we can sell a serving to Mr. Zhao."
"Got it." Xiaoyu.
…
The sky gradually darkened. Chen Han had a warm porridge dinner at Little Uncle's place. After Little Uncle went back to building the Frying Pan Furnace, he also returned to his room to rest.
Maybe because of today's strenuous activities, as soon as he entered the room, he started coughing heavily, due to the cancer cells in his lungs acting up again, forcing him to take painkillers.
Yet the side effects of the painkillers were really discomforting.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Seeing his junior sister standing outside in traditional Han clothing, looking coy, he had to suppress his discomfort and forced a smile: "Junior sister, it's you."
Xiaoyu entered happily and said, "Senior brother, that promotional video for the ancient building complex is doing great. A good number of people are booking through the video. Tomorrow, a group of 13 people is coming, and there will be more in the following days. We're short on service staff."
Chen Han knew that the video had attributes of +2 for ancient appeal and +2 for aesthetics, which attracted a lot of people.
The junior sister has over 600,000 followers, a substantial base. Clearly, it attracted some people. He thought about when he, as the Chen family patriarch, should also enable a booking link.
Followers bring in reputation with each boost. After all, getting people to visit can make money. Manifesting grandeur and the spectacular special spiritual acupoint can also enhance reputation.
This is how you maximize the use of followers.
Regarding the shortage of service staff, Chen Han also said, "Let's recruit a few more from the family. For now, let's raise the wages of Little Uncle and the others to the normal level. I believe our Chen Family will gradually get better."
Once the Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea is ready, it should sell well with good promotion. We can't keep treating Little Uncle and others as half-paid, half-volunteer workers anymore.
He believed this is what his parents would have wanted to see.
"Yeah!" Xiaoyu nodded at the senior brother's words. Even though it meant double the pressure, perhaps helping the senior brother fulfill the master and mistress's last wishes, she just needed to work harder afterward.
She also sent a message in the Chen Family group: "As the number of tourists increases, the current position's wage will be raised to 3,700 a month. Moreover, we need to recruit 5 more servers from within the family with an initial wage of 3,500 a month, increasing after a month familiarization. These positions are for the families currently struggling in the family; we hope everyone understands."
A wage of 3,500 a month is the standard across Linhe County's attractions.
Although Xiaoyu is not part of the Chen Family, her reputation within the Chen Family is very high.
Everyone could see her dedication, except for that young, blind-hearted family head.
As soon as she sent this message, the Chen Family group became lively immediately.
This was absolutely good news for the entire Chen Family.
The Chen Family is very united, and they quickly identified the 5 most in-need families.
Chen Han understood the Chen Family's situation. These 5 families were indeed the neediest and he sent another message: "I've already made a note on my side. One spot will be allotted to each family; tomorrow, please arrive early at the visitor reception hall and report to Xiaoyu."
With Chen Han, the patriarch, setting the tone, the family group became increasingly animated, all talking about the ancient building complex tourism.
Compared to before, this time truly seemed to have some development. Everyone hoped the Chen Family could get better and better.
Chen Dagou and Chen Shuisheng also saw the group messages. They were the most excited since Xiaohan had spoken about the Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea with them today.
Therefore, that Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea must succeed.
In the room.
Xiaoyu was looking at her senior brother with some admiration.
She felt her senior brother was increasingly resembling a patriarch.
"What's up?" Chen Han noticed his junior sister's gaze and asked with a smile.
"A bit in awe of senior brother." Xiaoyu bluntly expressed her admiration.
Chen Han was taken aback, just about to say something when he felt the aftereffects of the painkillers becoming more severe, a wave of fatigue that was hard to resist.
He felt he had no energy to continue the conversation with his junior sister, so he intentionally asked, "Junior sister, do you like me?"
Xiaoyu's jaw dropped at this direct question from her senior brother, her face fully embarrassed: "No way... Senior brother, I'm going back to shoot a video."
With that, she hurriedly left the room.
Seeing this, Chen Han smiled. It's still easy to handle his junior sister.
After closing the door, he collapsed onto the bed.
Back at her own courtyard, Xiaoyu's heart was still racing, but she felt a bit regretful at that moment.
Why be so stubborn just now?
If she admitted to liking her senior brother, maybe...
"Ah!" Xiaoyu sighed, looking at the courtyard set up for filming, set up her phone, picked up her sword, and started making a video.
Tonight, she channeled her sorrow and anger into strength, making her sword dance particularly powerful.
…
At the visitor accommodation center.
Zhao Kang came out after a shower, planning to go to the three old elm trees to cool off. He remembered the magical sensation of complete comfort and ease of breathing under those elms.
As he went downstairs and saw Lin Nan and the others, he asked, "Xiaolin, want to go cool off by the old elm trees?"
"Old elm trees?" Lin Nan and the others hadn't toured the ancient building complex today, and naturally weren't aware of the old elm trees. They asked, "Uncle Zhao, isn't there air conditioning in the rooms? Isn't that cooler?"
Zhao Kang, seeing their lack of knowledge, acted mysteriously and said, "Xiaolin, Chen Family's three old elm trees are different; they are spiritual ancient trees."
"???" Lin Nan paused at this, clearly taken aback.
Though aware the Chen Family had its merits, like medicinal cuisine and such, how could spiritual ancient trees just pop up?
…