Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 528

"As long as you’re aware of that, it’s fine." Chen Nuo nodded, "That’s all I have to tell you. If there’s nothing else, I’m going to go now."

After saying this, Chen Nuo turned around to leave.

"Shopkeeper, wait a moment." The instant Chen Nuo turned, Tian Peng immediately stopped him.

Chen Nuo looked back, "What is it, is there something else?"

"Shopkeeper, if I can really return safely, could you take me as your disciple?"

Tian Peng was somewhat anxious but still asked, "I truly want to repay your kindness. I feel that just working as an assistant at Chaos Residence is not enough to express my gratitude."

"So I beseech you, can you accept me as your disciple? I truly do want to repay you properly!"

"You want me to take you as my disciple?" Chen Nuo assessed Tian Peng.

"Ding! Host, if you complete the task of accepting Tian Peng as your third disciple, the system will reward you with one hundred thousand Merit Points, plus a fully automatic ice cream machine!"

Chen Nuo actually had a lot of Merit Points, and hearing about the reward of a hundred thousand didn’t move him much.

It was just a hundred thousand Merit Points after all, and if he took on a disciple, he would have to teach much more than what he would a mere assistant.

Chen Nuo, who preferred to avoid trouble, hesitated quite a bit at the prospect of taking on a disciple.

However, the ice cream machine was indeed something that tempted Chen Nuo. With it, he could definitely take his beverage shop to the next level, and even create many desserts related to ice cream.

For a chef, this was indeed a tantalizing prospect. There were hardly any desserts in his shop, and if he had an ice cream machine, it really would be like adding wings to a tiger.

"Alright, I agree." For the ice cream machine, Chen Nuo reluctantly agreed.

"But remember, you need to make a name for yourself and ascend before I’ll agree to accept you."

"Shopkeeper! Rest assured, I will definitely become your disciple. The position of your third great disciple has already been claimed by me!" Tian Peng said loudly.

Chen Nuo smiled, "Good, I’ll be waiting."

Tian Peng kept watching Chen Nuo’s retreating figure until he disappeared. What he didn’t know was that Chen Nuo could have used his Teleportation Divine Skill to return to Chaos Residence instantly, but in order to show off, he’d forcibly held back and instead used a Dharma cloud to vanish in front of Tian Peng.

After Chen Nuo left, Tian Peng looked at the Nine-toothed Rake in his hands. With this, even turning the soil should definitely be more effective than an ordinary hoe.

Tian Peng plowed the land again with the Nine-toothed Rake in hand, and following Chen Nuo’s instructions, he dug a hole, planted a seed in each hole, and sowed them one by one. After sowing, it was time to water them.

It was only when it was time to water the seeds that Tian Peng realized, with drought plaguing the region for two years, the water in the nearby rivers had almost completely dried up. The only source with water was the Yellow River.

But the waters of the Yellow River were too turbulent; no one dared to draw water from it for fear of being swept away at any moment.

Repairing the river channels was indeed a feasible solution, but it required a lot of manpower, and it would take Tian Peng many days to do it alone.

The villagers did not know how to save themselves and were only thinking of praying for rain, doing nothing else.

Tian Peng had originally planned to gather the villagers to repair the river channels, but given that no one had responded to his calls earlier, he suddenly lost heart.

Talking to them about what to do was useless now; the most important thing was to let them see the results.

If they couldn’t see results, not a single person would believe him.

Especially since he had previously given them the wrong impression that he was their supporter, yet he had let them down.

Tian Peng had now realized the issue with himself, but currently, the most important thing was how to alleviate the water shortage for plants caused by the severe drought. As long as he solved this problem, the villagers would know he was a trustworthy person.

Tian Peng knew that fixing the river channels by himself wouldn’t be an easy task.

But he had not yet built trust with the villagers, and if he didn’t do something, there would be no progress in his relationship with them.

To take their relationship to the next level, it was up to him to make a move. If he couldn’t manage this step, he could forget about everything that followed.

With that in mind, Tian Peng picked up his Nine-toothed Rake. He decided to locate an area where the flow was relatively slow to start repairing the channel for irrigation purposes.

There were also wells in the village, but that water was for drinking, and there wasn’t enough for watering the crops.

Moreover, the villagers were reluctant to use the water for the fields, so they continued praying for rain every day.

Walking along the river, Tian Peng saw that it was the middle and lower part of the stream, which was difficult to divert water from.

The issue of fixing channels had been considered by others, but there was no way to accomplish it. They lacked the strength, the government did not allocate funds, and it was indeed not an easy task to rely solely on themselves.

As he walked down the stream, the river ran swiftly with water so muddy it looked frightening.

However, it wasn’t just here; the current was likely even stronger upstream.

But the drought wasn’t as severe upstream; presumably, the officials there were doing their jobs.

After searching all morning, Tian Peng finally found a good spot.

The channels had to be repaired properly before opening the waterway for diversion since a poorly done job could lead to breach and potential floods.

As he was contemplating how to repair the channels, the County Magistrate arrived with a group of men in tow.

"You there, I’ve finally caught you. You escaped from the dungeon on your own, and I will definitely bring you to justice!"

Tian Peng placed his Nine-toothed Rake beside him. Such a small group thought it could trouble him? What a daydream!

"What, I escaped from the dungeon?" Tian Peng scratched his ear. "But I remember walking out of there just fine."

The County Magistrate was at a loss for words. He had not considered the situation thoroughly at the time, which was why Tian Peng had managed to escape, given that there were only three people in the dungeon.

If it really came down to a fight, it could have been the Magistrate who would end up dead in the dungeon, considering Tian Peng’s physique, it was certainly possible.

"Regardless, it was you who tricked me into untying you. Let me tell you, you’ve got charges to answer for now."

"You’re accused of jailbreak and owing so much in taxes and not paying. Do you still think you’re in the right?"

To overpower Tian Peng, the County Magistrate had handpicked several strong men.

Although it pained him to spend so much silver, if he could capture Tian Peng, there would no longer be anyone to fear in town. He could strut around the town as he pleased.

"You think with just this handful of men, you can capture me?" Tian Peng sneered. "But I would still like to say, did you consider what I told you back in the dungeon?"

What he spoke of was allowing the County Magistrate to act as an upright official, to fulfill his duty instead of always thinking of exploiting the villagers.

The County Magistrate wasn’t foolish. The town, and even the villages, suffered greatly from the drought. He reported upwards, but the higher-ups were also corrupt and released only a little relief silver.

Seeing the small amount of silver in his hands, the County Magistrate couldn’t bear to part with it and pocketed it instead. This led to the villagers suffering from both the drought and exploitation, a truly miserable state.