Clearing mountains and building roads is something that mortals should be busy with. Why should a god bother with that? Besides, if you do all that, how many people will be left without work and unable to earn money?
As for wielding power and influence, forget about it; in a modern society, there's no need for that.
Well, there was still a selfish reason behind it. Xu Zhengyang was reluctant to waste his divine power on such a harmful and pointless experiment.
Let's talk about the Soul-Slaying Needle, a divine artifact that Xu Zhengyang found very evil.
The Soul-Slaying Needle, as its name suggests, can annihilate ghosts, achieving an absolute and permanent disappearance of them.
It's considered evil because this thing can take ten years of a person's lifespan and give it to another... Of course, lifespan cannot be given to the City God himself; that's a limitation. However, Xu Zhengyang isn't going to dwell on that for now. He's still young and has plenty of time to live. The Soul-Slaying Needle's ability reminded Xu Zhengyang of a sinister martial art mentioned in a wuxia novel he'd read—the Star-Absorbing Technique.
So cruel and evil.
However, Cheng Juan reminded him that both of the Soul-Slaying Needles' effects were against the natural order of Heaven. If he had no choice but to use them, he would have to report to the Heavenly Court and get approval before he could do so, otherwise he would be struck by lightning.
Screw it!
What good is it if this thing doesn't exist? I'd like to report this to the Heavenly Court, but who will approve it for me?
Furthermore, this time, the effects of the Qiankun Ruler and the Soul-Slaying Needle, which violate the laws of nature, will incur lightning strikes if not approved. This is far more severe than the previous practice of allowing ghosts to possess bodies and return to life; it's a real death trap. Xu Zhengyang clearly remembered how the old Earth God had courted his own demise, attracting lightning that could obliterate his soul. Good heavens, I haven't lived long enough; I haven't reached the level of that foolish old Earth God.
Therefore, Xu Zhengyang didn't even consider using the ancient divine beast bones, the material needed to make the Soul-Slaying Needle, as it was useless to him...
Well, it's fair to say that with Xu Zhengyang's current supernatural abilities, aside from the Qiankun Ruler playing a certain role in carrying out the Underworld plan later, he really doesn't need it for anything else, including the Soul-Slaying Needle.
That day, during his journey to the underworld, Xu Zhengyang rebuilt the Southeast Yama Palace, which consumed too much of his divine power. Therefore, for a period of time afterward, Xu Zhengyang did not engage in any further reconstruction of the Yama Palace. Whenever his divine consciousness descended to the underworld at night, he would mostly sit inside the Yama Palace, reviewing some case files.
During the reconstruction of the Southeast Yama Palace, Xu Zhengyang was surprised to discover the immense power of divine will.
Because he used his divine power to restore the mansion in his mind, he restored everything in the mansion that had been destroyed by his unparalleled strength to its original state. Therefore, everything in the mansion was complete except for Yama, the other gods, and all the ghost messengers.
Xu Zhengyang finally believed the simple words recorded in a scripture he had once read about God: God said, "Let there be light," and there was light...
Xu Zhengyang didn't think he had reached that level yet, but he figured it wasn't impossible.
Because the power of God's will is indeed very strong.
While examining the files in the Southeast Yama Palace, Xu Zhengyang discovered things he had never imagined. These files were all special cases submitted by the City Gods of the human realm, containing rulings and judgments from the City Gods and judges, as well as the official seals of the judges and Yama of the underworld after their final determinations. These cases were then handed over to specific ghost messengers of the Reincarnation Pool or law enforcement officers of a certain level of Hell for execution.
This is completely different from the execution mechanism and operation of the underworld as recorded in human legends and stories.
According to historical records, the so-called Ten Kings of Hell each had their own duties and responsibilities. For example, some were in charge of enforcing the laws of hell, some were in charge of life and death, some were in charge of reincarnation, and some were in charge of animals and other living beings. However, according to the records in the Southeast Kings of Hell's Palace, the administrative enforcement of the underworld's Kings of Hell was not like that.
Instead, they manage all the duties of the underworld according to their respective areas of responsibility. In other words, the cycle of life and death, the lives of humans and animals, and the punishments of hell are all managed and operated by this one palace.
However, this Southeast Palace is responsible for the human and animal beings within the mortal realm, not for the beings in any other area...
Ultimately, they are basically the same as the local deities, officials, and city gods. Each has its own territory under its jurisdiction.
Therefore, it can be reasonably inferred that if there is a Southeast Yama Palace, then the Yama Palace should not be one of the Ten Kings of Hell, but rather one of the Eight Directions Yama Palaces, with the central one being the Yama King, who uniformly governs the underworld, also known as the King of the Underworld. Of course, this is on the premise that the so-called Yama King and King of the Underworld recorded in the stories actually held such divine positions.
In that case, the Five Ghost Emperors recorded in the legend would not exist, and the Six Heavenly Guardian Gods of Luofeng should also not exist.
Xu Zhengyang is increasingly distrustful of most of the stories and anecdotes in the world, especially the more detailed the accounts, the less credible they seem.
Besides the differences in administrative institutions, there is also the so-called eighteen levels of hell.
The eighteen levels of hell do exist. They are located below the Samsara Pool under the jurisdiction of Yama in the southeast. The ghost messengers living in the office buildings next to each Samsara Pool are responsible for sending evil ghosts who need to be punished to hell, where law enforcement officers will carry out punishments of varying degrees.
Therefore, Xu Zhengyang could be basically certain that the Netherworld was circular.
There are countless paths to the underworld in all directions, leading to both humans and animals, as well as different rivers of forgetfulness and three paths, all ultimately connecting to the Pool of Reincarnation.
The underworld is not just the underworld of this country, but the underworld of the entire world.
If we divide it this way, then Xu Zhengyang's territory in the human world falls exactly under the jurisdiction of the Southeast Yama Palace. And the Yama Palace that Xu Zhengyang rebuilt is precisely the Southeast Yama Palace. It can't be said to be a coincidence, because according to his duties and authority, he manages a small town in a region under the jurisdiction of the Southeast Yama Palace. Therefore, when he came to the underworld, he traveled the Yellow Springs Road that belonged to that area, without going around to other places. He followed the road in a straight line and naturally landed here, where he built the Southeast Yama Palace.
No wonder it took more than half of the divine power to build such a Yama's Mansion.
The area under its jurisdiction is indeed too large. Therefore, there are too many things that should have been restored.
After roughly guessing and understanding all this, Xu Zhengyang was completely overwhelmed... Good heavens, he had once fantasized about rebuilding the Underworld and restoring its chaotic order to normal operation. Now it seemed... he wouldn't even dare to dream of such a grand dream! Not to mention how much divine power would be required, the number of staff needed to be arranged would be extremely large. Moreover, the Underworld Judges, Law Enforcers, and Underworld Officials were all legitimate divine positions that required deification.
Whether or not he has the right to bestow titles upon gods is another matter, but even if he did, Xu Zhengyang wouldn't want to do so!
The reason is simple: if they were to be deified, and then, as they rose through the ranks, harbored rebellious intentions and sought to overthrow Xu Zhengyang, then it would be a great loss.
Hmm, it seems I need to think carefully and come up with another solution.
At this time, the busy farming season of May has arrived.
Volume Four, City God Chapter 182: Good Deeds and Merits
The busy farming season in May these days is nothing like the bustling days Xu Zhengyang remembers from his childhood.
Back then, the busy farming season in May was very long. Wheat was harvested manually with sickles, and then threshing machines powered by diesel engines were used to separate the wheat from the straw, dry the wheat, and winnow away debris. This wheat harvest alone took half a month to complete, and afterwards, there was still the work of plowing, leveling, irrigating, raising seedlings, and transplanting rice…
Nowadays, the busy farming season in May is much easier. As soon as the combine harvester hits the field, it makes a few quick trips and in less than half an hour, a family's several acres of land are all harvested. Farmers can simply pack the dried wheat into bags and take it back to dry.
So in reality, the busy farming season in May nowadays is only really busy during the rice transplanting period in mid-to-late May.
Given Xu Zhengyang's family's current circumstances, there's absolutely no need for him to dabble in farm work. But since Yuan Suqin and Xu Neng are happy to farm, what can their son, Xu Zhengyang, do? He can't just shirk his responsibilities in this area, letting his parents work in the fields while he goes off to work at Jinghui Logistics Company or an antique shop in Fuhe City, idly chatting on QQ or posting on forums, can he?
Okay, let's just consider it a way of showing off while keeping a low profile. Isn't that what's popular these days?
Having passed the initial novice stage online, Xu Zhengyang had already grasped some of the popular online "fashion." So, on a clear, sunny morning, he drove his white Audi A4, showing his approachable and down-to-earth nature, onto the embankment of the Fu River south of the village. He parked the car on the embankment, got out, picked up a small stool, and, wearing only shorts, slippers, and a vest, walked down the embankment to help his parents transplant rice seedlings into the rice paddies.
From the villagers sitting on small stools or benches placed in the water in the surrounding rice paddies, busy tending to the seedlings, Xu Zhengyang could see a hint of surprise and astonishment in their eyes.
Xu Zhengyang felt a little smug about this, thinking it was pretty good.
This guy's gotten so into showing off that he's becoming quite blatant...
However, no villager secretly thought he was pretending to be a fool. When people chatted together, they only praised, complimented, and expressed gratitude to Xu Zhengyang. In fact, if someone else had done the same, there would inevitably have been some petty people in the village who would have secretly sneered and ridiculed him. The reason no one viewed Xu Zhengyang that way was twofold. First, his status was undeniable; everyone knew how severely those who spread rumors had been punished after the scandal last year involving someone getting pregnant. Second, the villagers were genuinely grateful to Xu Zhengyang. This young man was truly honest and didn't forget his roots even after gaining wealth. A few days ago, the villagers learned that Xu Zhengyang was going to fund the reconstruction of the village primary school into a two-story building.
Xu Zhengyang's family isn't the only wealthy household in the village with such means, but who has ever thought about making any contribution to the village?
No……
The villagers wouldn't blame the wealthy people for this, after all, nobody's money grows on trees, right? If someone pays for a good deed, we should be grateful and praise them; if they don't pay for a good deed, we can't blame anyone, it's not wrong.
But Xu Zhengyang did just that.
This news was spread by Zhang Zhong and Chen An. It is said that when Xu Zhengyang talked to them about having a construction team rebuild the primary school, the following conversation took place:
"Dad, Uncle Zhang Zhong, Uncle Chen An, how much will it cost to completely rebuild the entire school campus, including the walls, and plaster the entire yard with cement?"
The three of them did the math carefully, and Zhang Zhong said, "Including workers' wages, the renovation and desks and chairs alone will cost at least 800,000!"
Chen An said, "Don't talk nonsense. Zheng Yang paid for the school, and what's the point of paying the workers' wages and his father's earnings? Fifty thousand is about right."
"Ahem, that's true." Zhang Zhong chuckled awkwardly. As the former captain of the construction team, he was used to this method of calculation. However, he overlooked the fact that the construction team was originally owned by Xu Zhengyang's biological father. Xu Zhengyang was spending money to do good things for the village, so how could they, as villagers of Shuanghe Village, have the nerve to ask for wages?
Xu Zhengyang said with a smile, "Public and private matters should be kept separate. They are two different things. I should still get the salary I'm entitled to, and I should also earn the money the construction team is entitled to. Even if my dad just pays me back the money he earned later, that would be fine."
"You little rascal!" Xu Neng scolded with a simple smile.
"I'll contribute one million!" Xu Zhengyang held up his index finger and said very seriously, "Any extra money will be used to improve the quality of the school's buildings..."
All three were stunned, deeply shocked and filled with emotion.
When the news spread, who in Shuanghe Village wouldn't be convinced?
Upon hearing the news, village party secretary Zhou Qingguo personally visited Xu Neng and Yuan Suqin to confirm its authenticity. After receiving confirmation from them, Zhou Qingguo immediately stated that the village committee would report to the township and apply for the allocation of another plot of land in the east of Shuanghe Village for the construction of a new school. This would eliminate the need to rebuild the old school, thus not affecting students' classes and allowing for a larger campus.
Han Dashan also came knocking, confidently declaring that a new school was being built. He also offered to contribute, promising that all the cement needed for the primary school would be provided free of charge by his factory.
...
Xu Zhengyang sat on a small stool, feeling the cool water soaking his calves. His feet were on soft mud. He bent over, reaching his hands underwater to quickly pull out the green rice seedlings. When he could no longer hold all the seedlings in his hands, he straightened up, gathered them together, and washed the mud off the roots by the tips in the water. He then tied them into a small bundle with two wet straws and placed it in the water beside him.
The villagers were busy planting rice seedlings in the surrounding paddy fields, chatting and laughing as they worked. The fields were bordered by the Fu River to the south, where the water flowed gently and the reeds on both banks were lush and green, with birds chirping and flitting among them.
This is a very beautiful scene, brimming with wonderful beauty.
After a while, Chen Chaojiang's parents, Chen An and his wife, came down from the riverbank carrying small stools and walked straight into the rice paddy, greeting Xu Zhengyang's parents with smiles.
"Our three teams never start 'watering' as early as your team every year. We're falling behind."
As they talked, the couple put down the small stools and began to transplant rice seedlings.
Yuan Suqin said, "Hey, it's such a small place to work, why do you have to come and help?"
"Since I'm just idling around anyway, it'd be better to help out and get things done sooner."
"Okay, once we've finished our work, let me know when yours gets busy."
"Why."
As they were talking, Zhang Hao's parents came down from the riverbank, followed by Han Dashan's wife and daughter-in-law...
Before long, more than twenty people were busy transplanting rice seedlings into Xu Zhengyang's rice paddy.
Everyone was busy working together while chatting enthusiastically. Occasionally, when someone asked him a question, Xu Zhengyang would chime in with a few words, but most of the time he would just smile and listen to their conversation silently.
The villagers who were busy working in the rice paddies on both sides also joined in their conversation.
Soon, the conversation turned to the construction of a new school in the village, and naturally, Xu Zhengyang was praised and Xu Neng and Yuan Suqin were envious of their good fortune in having such a wonderful son.
Xu Zhengyang lowered his head and busied himself, a little embarrassed, while smiling sheepishly. In his heart, he was thinking: Look, can I do without making money? Can I do without money?
Yes, Xu Zhengyang has a kind heart and a natural inclination to do good deeds. However, in today's society, doing such a high-profile good deed inevitably invites criticism. People might say you're doing a good deed but don't get any credit, that you're seeking fame, or that you're showing off. So, many times, it's not that people don't want to do good deeds, but rather that they're afraid of what others will say. Nobody wants to do a good deed and then suffer in silence, right?
Xu Zhengyang had considered this point, but he still chose to do it, and he would continue to do it in the future, doing many good deeds.
Of course, doing good deeds is not about giving alms or showing pity, but about doing them in a reasonable way.
So, what do you think? Doesn't Xu Zhengyang look a bit like a great, bright, and holy god?
But what would the villagers think if they knew that when Xu Zhengyang did this good deed, he was actually half thinking that he wouldn't do it without a profit?
Yes, that's right. This is why Xu Zhengyang doesn't care whether anyone will gossip shamelessly or out of jealousy, and why he's determined to do this kind of thing—it's because he wants to accumulate merit...
For him now, he doesn't really care too much about money. Does he or his family lack money?
No problem! Even when money is tight, he can easily dig up a few treasures and exchange them for cash with Zheng Ronghua, the CEO of Ronghua Group. The reason he works so hard to make money in the secular world, to make a lot of money, is so that he can do many things, many good deeds that benefit others, which is equivalent to benefiting himself.
When Xu Zhengyang was asked by Chen Chaojiang about his passion for making money, he once said something like, "Money is the horse when the road is difficult, wine is the army when the city is in trouble, money makes things easier..."
Of course, the money must be obtained ethically, and it should not be used to dabble in places that are likely to cause trouble.
For example, no one can question the profits of antique shops or Jinghui Logistics Company.
The sun was high in the sky. Xu Zhengyang rinsed his hands in the water, dried them on his shorts, took out cigarettes from his pocket, and offered a few to the older men. They chatted and laughed for a while, and then Xu lit a cigarette for himself. After a few words of conversation, he turned his head to look at the riverbank after being reminded by others.
On the riverbank, behind his white Audi A4, was a black Audi A8.
Li Bingjie, with her delicate and elegant appearance, stood smiling on the riverbank, looking at him, wearing a white short-sleeved V-neck T-shirt and blue jeans.