Li Banfeng laughed and said, "Silly boy, who needs several decades? Three years is enough. We can also reduce the craftsmanship, it doesn’t have to be so exquisite, and strive to keep the cost under three thousand."
"Three thousand?" Xiao Chuanzi shook his head, "That’s not even enough to cover the cost of the spring, which can run for five hours."
Li Banfeng waved his hand and said, "We don’t need five hours, half an hour is enough."
"Half an hour? You can’t even finish showing one shadow play."
Shadow plays in Puluo State usually last about one hour.
"Just show half, and for the remaining half, wind it up again and continue!"
Chuanzi scratched his head and went back to pondering over the Shadow Play Machine.
Li Banfeng packed his bag and returned to Greenwater City.
The main reason for this trip to Greenwater City was to find Shui Yongquan and inquire about some knowledge concerning Local Deities.
At Dream Tugging Tower in Inner State, Li Banfeng saw many Cultivators of the Tenth Layer, and according to Grandpa Train, they were all competing for the chance to become a Local Deity, but he hadn’t had the chance to elaborate.
Of course, Shui Yongquan might not be willing to tell Li Banfeng this information either, and Banfeng was still contemplating what conditions to offer Shui Yongquan in exchange.
As soon as he arrived in Greenwater City, Ma Wu first briefed Li Banfeng about the situation with the Lu Family.
"The Lu Family has no one capable of taking charge now, and the only one who could save them is probably Lu Chunying."
Lu Chunying and Xiao Yeci were now in Zhengjing Village.
After pondering for a moment, Li Banfeng said, "This matter needs to be discussed with them, mother and daughter. If they are willing, you can go ahead and speak to Monkey Qiu and send them to the Lu Family. If they are not willing, immediately arrange for them to leave Zhengjing Village to avoid stirring up trouble."
Ma Wu sighed, "I hope this will work out because if Lu Maoxian gets his hands on the Lu Family, we might lose our backing."
"A backing will eventually fail you one day, but no matter what, that old dog Lu Maoxian shouldn’t get off cheaply," Li Banfeng said, lowering his hat brim and headed back to Zhengjing Village with Ma Wu.
On the way, Ma Wu brought up Zhang Huaiyi, "He’s Lu Yuanshan’s cousin, but rumors say he’s actually Lu Dongliang’s son, and now he treats the Lu Residence as his own home."
Li Banfeng raised an eyebrow, "Is Lady Duan that open-minded? Is there another reason for this?"
When they arrived at Zhengjing Village and broached the subject of going to the Lu Family, Lu Chunying immediately refused, "Why would I go there? Can’t I find food to eat anywhere else? It’s also very nice teaching here in the village with my mother."
Lu Chunying had borrowed some money from Li Banfeng and opened a school in Zhengjing Village.
It turns out, Hunters usually have some spare cash on hand, and they too were keen to learn to read, but because of their age, they felt embarrassed to show their unfamiliarity in other places.
In Zhengjing Village, there’s no need to worry about losing face; Seventh Master doesn’t care too much about face, and Master Wu never considers it.
The school business was booming; after deducting the costs of food and living, the mother and daughter could earn an Ocean Dollar in two days.
"I’ll just earnestly teach with my mother here, visit New Land when there’s nothing else to do, and I can still improve my cultivation level. Why should I go to the Lu Family and suffer their attitude?"
Li Banfeng said, "If you don’t want to go to the Lu Family, I’m afraid you can’t stay in the village either."
"Why not?" Lu Chunying said, feeling wronged.
"Every day, you and your mother interact with so many Hunters; your whereabouts will soon be leaked. Sooner or later, Lu Maoxian will find out about you, and he will try to kill you to silence you."
With tears in her eyes, Lu Chunying said, "I don’t believe it. There has to be a place for me and my mother in Puluo State!"
Li Banfeng said, "There are places to stay, but definitely not in Greenwater City. I can help you find another place, but you will have to live incognito for the rest of your lives, and I can’t guarantee absolute safety."
Lu Chunying fell silent.
Next to her, Xiao Yeci bit her lip and said, "Actually, ever since we received that letter, this situation was bound to happen. Nannan, go to the Lu Family. They won’t treat you badly."
"Mom, what about you?"
Xiao Yeci laughed, "I’ll continue teaching here, isn’t that good? Nannan, we are destined for different stations in life."
Lu Chunying did not agree, but Xiao Yeci smiled, led her back to the log cabin, and after discussing it all night, Xiao Yeci indeed convinced Lu Chunying. Chunying agreed to go to the Lu Family, but with conditions.
Li Banfeng, having heard the conditions, actually admired Lu Chunying quite a bit, "You’re a clever girl."
"Brother Seven, if he agrees to these conditions, I’ll go to the Lu Residence; otherwise, I’ll just open up a New Land myself and look after it with my mom," she said.
Li Banfeng nodded and said, "Your mom and I are of the same generation, so isn’t it inappropriate for you to call me ’Brother Seven’?"
Lu Chunying chuckled naively, "We shouldn’t only look at seniority; our relationship is what truly matters."
Early in the morning, a haggard-looking Monkey Qiu was sitting in the small building when a Servant brought an invitation.
Monkey Qiu opened it and saw that it was a message from Ma Wu, inviting him to a gathering at Xiaoyao Lodge that night.
He threw the invitation aside.
After a while, he picked up the invitation again and noticed that besides Ma Wu’s name at the signing place, there was a "Seven."
Qiu Zhiheng pondered for a moment, then immediately burned the invitation.
That night, Qiu Zhiheng arrived at Xiaoyao Lodge, where Ma Wu had prepared fine wines in the private room. After a couple of drinks and exchanging pleasantries, Ma Wu found an excuse to leave the room, while Li Banfeng, with his hat brim pulled down, walked in.
"Big Brother Qiu, long time no see." Li Banfeng sat opposite Qiu Zhiheng and poured himself a drink. "Big Brother Qiu, I invited you here to tell you a piece of news concerning Miss Lu, the legitimate daughter."
The legitimate daughter referred to Lu Dongliang’s daughter.
Qiu Zhiheng frowned, "Is it Lu Xiaolan?"
To this day, Lu Xiaolan was still the criminal of the Lu Family; that identity had not changed.
Li Banfeng shook his head, "It’s about Lu Chunying."
Monkey Qiu was shocked for a moment, and the wine cup fell to the floor.
"Where is Miss Chunying?" he urgently looked at Li Banfeng, as if seeing a life-saving straw, "Brother, I won’t ask you for nothing, name your price!"
"We’re not talking price; let’s first talk conditions. Miss Lu’s condition is that she can return to the Lu Family, but will not return to the Lu Family Mansion."
"Does she mean to live separately?" Qiu Zhiheng said gravely, "If that’s the case, I can’t guarantee her safety."
Li Banfeng shook his head, "Big Brother Qiu, to be frank, if Lu Chunying stays in the Lu Residence, can you guarantee her safety?"
Monkey Qiu did not respond.
Weighing the pros and cons, Monkey Qiu agreed, "We’ll do as she says; she won’t enter the Lu Family Mansion."
Li Banfeng nodded, "Now, to the second matter. I heard that Lu Yuanshan’s cousin, Zhang Huaiyi, is also at the Lu Residence; what’s the situation there? Is Lady Duan thinking about recognizing a son to bring back?"
Qiu Zhiheng nodded slightly.
"What are you planning to do about this?"
Qiu Zhiheng had a method but it was not easy to act, "It would be best to spread the news, but it can’t come from me."
Li Banfeng had an idea, "With the Lu Brothers in trouble, there’s no one to manage the newspaper. We’ve operated a newspaper at Black Stone Slope before and have some experience. How about you let us handle this business for now?"
Qiu Zhiheng thought for a moment and nodded with a smile, "The business can be given to you guys, but the name must change."
"Don’t worry, our newspaper will be called ’Night-blooming Jasmine’."
"Then it’s settled."
Li Banfeng pulled his hat brim lower and took out the Contract Book.
PS: Just because Lu Maoxian spared Li Banfeng, it didn’t mean that Li Banfeng would spare him.