I Have a Penglai Immortal Island

The next day, after spending half the night collecting two bags of feastweed seeds, Zhao Zhao sent them to the Poseidon, intending to claim they were purchased through a contact.

Before she could go find Secretary Liu, she unexpectedly received a call from him. Zhao Zhao thought it was a coincidence.

Upon arriving at the village committee, she realized it wasn’t a coincidence; everything had been premeditated.

She had skipped a previous full meeting and now found herself elected as the village chief, also known as the village director, reportedly with unanimous votes.

"Wasn’t the last meeting about protecting the coastal waters and discussing housing? How did an election happen? Why didn’t my second uncle mention this to me when he got home?"

Secretary Liu smiled broadly, "I asked them not to tell you yet. What if there were unforeseen changes? Now everything is official; the town’s documents have been issued." He was just worried you’d oppose it.

I really appreciate it!

Zhao Zhao was unwilling to give up and brought up her old argument, "But I don’t have the time! Whether or not I’m the village chief, I will help with what I can, really!"

Secretary Liu, having achieved his goal, was very satisfied, "You don’t have to come to work every day. If something comes up, people will naturally find you. You know, many places have college graduate village officials now. If we get someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing, what will happen when their term ends and they leave? What will happen to our island? I discussed it with your third uncle, and we agreed that you must take this position! No one else has your vision and commitment to the island, plus you’re a college graduate with broad knowledge. You’re the perfect fit! Don’t worry, our island is dirt poor and has very few matters to handle!" Secretary Liu was almost pounding his chest with pride.

Dirt poor and you’re proud of it?

"How long is the term?"

"Three years."

Heart heavy.

"I bought some seaweed seeds to donate to the village. Please arrange for someone to plant them. The seeds are on the Poseidon’s deck. I’m leaving now." Zhao Zhao, suddenly burdened with a new job, needed some time to process this.

Secretary Liu said, "As the village chief, you can directly arrange it!"

Zhao Zhao replied, "No! It wouldn’t look good if my first act as village chief was to order people around."

Before she even got home, the island's loudspeaker broadcasted Secretary Liu's joyful voice, announcing that the island had a new village chief. The newly appointed village chief had not only donated funds for building houses but also spent money on seaweed seeds to improve the outer sea, aiming to restore Jinshi Island to its former glory. The new village chief had invested significantly, and the villagers only needed to contribute their labor. Anyone with free time should head to the dock to help plant the seaweed...

What former glory did Jinshi Island ever have?

Did he ever broadcast with such enthusiasm before?

Is he this happy to share the burden?

T﹏T

Returning home, Zhao Zhao collapsed in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the tea room, "Yaoguang, I have a headache. Today, you go dig the backyard."

Yaoguang quickly rushed over, concerned. "Headache? That’s a word I haven’t heard in hundreds of years! I was just playing on the swing under the eaves. It sounds so pleasant. It cost a fortune to custom-make in Tongchuan."

Seeing her unmotivated state, Yaoguang realized it wasn’t a real headache but rather a ploy.

"How can you have a headache? Could it be some strange illness that I can’t diagnose? This is serious. We might need to open your head to check. We have the spiritual spring; it guarantees no scars!" Yaoguang said with concern.

Zhao Zhao: …

"You heartless bird, you’re just as bad as Secretary Liu and Accountant Xiong. Go dig the greenhouse in the backyard before Da Linzi gets back. Dig it deep, hurry!"

Yaoguang was indignant, "You’re the one who’s heartless, always bullying the bird. Didn’t your big fool say he’d dig it? Why are you ordering me around?"

"It would take Da Linzi two days to dig, but for you, it’s just a flick of the wrist."

Lazy Zhao Zhao, you know it's just a flick of the wrist.

Zhao Zhao knew the big parrot too well. "Don’t secretly curse at me. I’m already being bullied, sob sob~"

Ew! So disgusting, did you learn this from your biological mother?!

The big parrot was greatly disturbed by this behavior.

For several days, Zhao Zhao used her sobbing act to get the big parrot to do a lot of work, like finding beautiful plants for bonsai, and chiseling stones...

It was like this: The little inn was now topped off and beginning internal renovations. Zhao Zhao didn’t have good calligraphy or paintings to decorate it and didn’t want to use cheap ones. After all, she aimed to attract wealthy customers, leaving budget-friendly lodging to the villagers.

Zhao Zhao’s inn didn’t need to be bustling with business. It was right next to her house, and she didn’t want too much noise. The island had to cater to various spending levels, and her place would focus on quality, not quantity. It was a sentimental project for her and her grandpa.

The inn was designed with only sixteen rooms. The goal was to sustain the staff and make a small profit. She didn’t expect it to be a major money-maker.

So, after much thought, she decided to use rare flowers and trees to make bonsai arrangements for decoration. This would be quite elegant. She asked Yaoguang to find some pretty, albeit useless, plants, like the Lollytree.

Yaoguang found several attractive plants, some insect-repellent, some with fragrant branches, and one suitable for large bonsai arrangements, which also served as medicinal herbs. Its fruits could make a spirit beast's fur grow longer. It was indeed very impractical—take Gun Gun, for example. Its fur was already long. Making it grow even longer would serve no purpose. Was she supposed to trim and sell the fur every day?

The most special plant was a tree called Yunmeng. Yaoguang said placing it by the bedside could ensure a good night’s sleep, making one feel like flying through clouds, bringing complete physical and mental relaxation.

Zhao Zhao tried placing a Yunmeng tree by her bed. Although she didn’t have insomnia, she slept exceptionally well, dreaming of floating through clouds and feeling like an immortal, free and at ease.

This is a treasure, perfect for running a guesthouse. This type of tree likely secretes a substance that promotes sleep. It might not have been useful in ancient times, but it's certainly valuable now! So many wealthy people have trouble sleeping.

Zhao Zhao ran to the hill where the Yunmeng trees were and found only eight or nine of them. Well, there goes the dream of mass production.

She checked the Spiritual Plants Encyclopedia, which said these trees grow slowly, each producing only one seed that will grow into a new tree after falling and maturing.

With the Yunmeng trees as a magical addition to the guest rooms, she immediately called the small guesthouse manager.

Initially, the third floor of the small guesthouse had two large suites, intended to be their presidential suites and the most expensive. Now, she planned to add a special touch to these two suites to make them even more expensive. She instructed the manager to get two plaques made for the doors, naming them "Cloud Haven" and "Dreamscape."

Using such bonsai arrangements, purchasing factory-made ceramic pots online wouldn't be suitable. Zhao Zhao and Yaoguang spent a few days exploring the space, finding not only materials for the flower pots but also gaining a more detailed understanding of the space, discovering places she had never visited before.

They chose materials for the flower pots from a mountain with little vegetation. The stone had a jade-like yellow pattern, not cold to the touch, and its appearance alone was impressive. To avoid monotony, they also collected some large blue stones from the mountain streams.

Zhao Zhao directed Yaoguang to chisel out many pieces, roughly dividing them into different sizes for making flower pots, which she would handle herself.

Initially thinking it would be hard work, she was willing to endure it to save money. Ordering such pots from famous ceramic artisans would be expensive. To her surprise, chiseling the pots turned out to be an excellent way to practice her precision in using spiritual power. After making two pots, she became more proficient, combining work and practice seamlessly. "Why didn't I think of this before?"

On the day Jiang Jianzhu and his group came to visit, Zhao Zhao was fully immersed in her chiseling, oblivious to external disturbances.

Outside, there were three adults and one child.

Jiang Jianzhu, Wang Mingyang, the chubby Chen Jian, and Jiang Jianzhu's younger brother, Jiang Papan.

After knocking three times with no response, the three adults exchanged glances while Jiang Papan showed interest in the drum-shaped stones by the door.

"Brother, don't ancient mansions usually have stone lions at the entrance? What's this?"

"Not everyone can have stone lions. Those are for officials. These are drum-shaped stones. Be quiet." He now had a sense of reverence for Zhao Zhao, having asked his father to find out more about martial arts in China, only to conclude they couldn't afford to provoke her. They needed to apologize quickly. Next time, if she climbed up again without warning, it would be seen as suicide by the police.

They knocked again, lightly. Still no response. Just then, an older lady, Mrs. Haiming, who often took a detour to admire the beautiful mansion on her way to the store or dock, saw the strangers at the door. She approached to help, "You look unfamiliar. Are you here to see Zhao Zhao? Why aren't you going in?"

Jiang Jianzhu replied, "We're here to see her, but there's no response when we knock."

Mrs. Haiming stepped up and knocked harder, "Maybe you knocked too softly. Don't worry, this door is sturdy. The mansion is big, so they might not hear light knocks." She also called out twice before leaving.

This time, Zhao Zhao finally noticed. She released Gun Gun from chasing sheep in Yaoguang's realm and sent it to open the door.

There was a latch at the bottom of the door. For her strong dog, opening this wooden door was easy.

After waiting a bit, the door finally opened, but there was still no one in sight. It was a long-haired dog that opened the door. Once the four stepped into the courtyard, the dog closed the door behind them, barked once, and led them into the covered walkway.

They followed sensibly.

"This courtyard is beautiful!" thought all three adults, though they didn't say it. Jiang Papan voiced their thoughts.

The covered walkway was clearly made of high-quality wood, all mortise and tenon joints. To the west were rockeries and green plants on paved paths, and to the east was the water landscape of the covered walkway. Everything was carefully thought out and exquisitely arranged. They couldn't name the green plants, which remained lush even in late autumn.

They were busy admiring the courtyard when Gun Gun got impatient, barked at them, signaling to follow quickly.

Why are you not following? Hurry up, I need to get back to chasing sheep, I'm busy!

The three adults stopped lingering and followed the dog through the covered walkway. The chubby man whispered, "This dog is quite something."

As they reached the top of the water scene, Jiang Papan exclaimed, "Look, what's in the water? A fish with wings?"

The three wanted to stop and look closely, but Gun Gun barked at them again, urging them on. They only managed a quick glance and didn’t dare to linger.

Gun Gun led them into the first-floor living room and motioned toward the sofa with its head. All four understood they should sit and wait.

Seeing them obediently sit, Gun Gun quickly ran to the backyard. Mission accomplished, now I can get back to playing.

It was very familiar with this reception routine, having done it many times recently. It returned to Zhao Zhao's side, nudging her leg, signaling, "Can I rest now? You're wearing out my sheep."

Gun Gun pretended not to understand human words, using its big head to nuzzle her leg, acting like it was still a puppy.

Zhao Zhao already knew who had arrived. Yaoguang had informed her that the man they scared last time had brought a big box, showing the scare worked well. They had come to apologize.

 

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