"I reckon it's probably divine retribution..."
Well, for example, the huge reaction that the old lady in Yueshan City caused, and the strength of the people's gratitude and faith in the heavens above, was enough for Xu Zhengyang to expend the divine power needed to build another City God Temple and raise seven or eight ghost messengers.
Although the expenses of divine power are now enormous, you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. To exchange for millet, you first need to prepare a bicycle, sacks, a scale, and dozens of kilograms of millet as capital, right?
In short, the divine power that had been almost exhausted during the conferment of the gods and the creation of divine artifacts rapidly increased again.
Xu Zhengyang began working on the next step of the plan.
Nothing more than to continue expanding the City God's Palace, the more the better!
Looking at the various social news stories constantly appearing online, some are about injustices and unfair situations, while others are about how strange phenomena suddenly occurred after a certain incident, and how miserable the bastard who did bad things and went against his conscience was, and so on.
Xu Zhengyang felt a great sense of pride and satisfaction.
In particular, when his wife, Li Bingjie, with a slightly protruding belly, sat in front of the computer looking at the discussion posts on the forum, she turned her head and smiled gently at Xu Zhengyang, saying, "Zhengyang, you did this again, didn't you?"
"Hey, you can't say things like that carelessly, you have to keep a low profile."
"Zhengyang, you are a good person."
"Then you're wrong again, aren't you? Your man is a god!"
...
However, as these bizarre and inexplicable events occur frequently, they inevitably raise the alarm among high-ranking government officials.
Admittedly, no one can deny that this is a bad thing. However, once this sentiment spreads, the public will place more trust and reliance on unseen and illusory deities. This is definitely a dangerous sign for those in power.
Very few people know Xu Zhengyang's identity as a deity.
Therefore, some high-ranking officials began to report this situation to frontline leaders, urging them to be vigilant and pay attention.
Therefore, Li Ruiyu and Li Ruiqing, at the request of some people, had no choice but to contact Xu Zhengyang, hoping that he could restrain himself and not cause too much of a stir.
Xu Zhengyang was somewhat displeased by this and said, "You don't need to worry too much. I have said that I will not participate in politics. I am just doing things in a divine way that human legal institutions cannot perfect or even do."
This is absolutely true!
No one can refute that.
To give a simple example, what can the police do about scammers who beg on the street?
The ghost messengers can make them completely repent in one go, so that they will never dare to do such an extremely shameless and morally reprehensible thing again.
There's no point in trying to persuade them.
All the higher-ups can do is increase the enforcement efforts of law enforcement agencies below, improve the country's legal system, and try their best to compete with the gods to do some practical things that can truly win the support of the people.
everything……
Everything seemed to be going smoothly, and the path of the deity Xu Zhengyang seemed to be becoming smoother and smoother.
Volume Six, Chapter 321: The Boundless Grace of the Gods
There are still countless bizarre events in this world that science cannot verify. However, while these things happen every day, they are relatively insignificant on a global scale. Few people pay close attention to these strange and unusual events that have little to do with their daily lives.
However, if some unbelievable events happen around us, and the frequency, number of times, and scope of these events are all narrowed down to a certain range, such as in one city or a few cities... and these are all social news events that are already attracting attention, then we have no choice but to think deeply and do more research.
And they will habitually use these events as topics of conversation in their daily lives.
As a result, these events have a much greater impact on the general public.
The advanced communication technology and widespread use of the internet have enabled news events to spread at an astonishing speed and with an unprecedented reach.
When the very few high-ranking officials in the capital who knew Xu Zhengyang's identity occasionally sat together and talked about him with furrowed brows, they couldn't help but smile wryly and helplessly, just like Li Ruiyu and Li Ruiqing, yet secretly admire him.
Xu Zhengyang doesn't seem to have the same lofty perspective as them, and he always seems a bit petty in his actions, lacking that grand and imposing air.
But look at the results of the small things he did. It's hard not to be moved.
In less than six months, the internet and media have been abuzz with one bizarre incident after another: someone went mad, someone died tragically, a swindler returned stolen money to a victim yesterday, and a criminal surrendered himself to the police today…
Without exception, all of these characters exploit sympathy and compassion to deceive, extort, and commit evil.
Alongside these events, an even more awe-inspiring question has emerged: Does God exist in this world?
Because those who seem to have been punished in some way, and who are lucky enough to live on without daring to trample on conscience and morality again, will often say the same thing afterward, as if by unspoken agreement: "There are gods watching over us!"
Was it a change of heart on their part? Or were they truly punished by a deity?
Before this, many people in society would often express their feelings of regret and indignation. Had our conscience and morality been erased by society, or had they been trampled upon to the point of being unable to hold our heads up by some unscrupulous people in real life? When we talk about improving our quality, how many people who are called social elites, how many men and women with glamorous clothes and gentlemanly or elegant manners, have only treated quality as a face, while neglecting the essence of quality... which is conscience!
Now... the events that erupted in more than twenty cities, which could have been completely ignored by the higher-ups and quickly forgotten by the public as a joke, have begun to affect the entire country as they continue to occur in rapid succession, and have even been widely publicized and speculated about in some foreign news media.
Some foreign journalists and editors, in a lighthearted and humorous tone, remarked: "In that powerful Eastern country we admire, countless Batmen, Spidermen, Flash... angels, demons... have appeared..."
Of course, given the short time frame, it's unlikely to have a lasting impact on people's lives.
However, this is enough to deter a large number of scoundrels who continue to cheat, do evil, and trample on conscience, especially those who deceive and extort the most precious "love" today!
An investigation revealed that in those 23 cities, the crime rate of fraud decreased by 78 percent within a few months, and the number of beggars on the streets also plummeted by 95 percent!
Such incidents have also generally decreased in other cities across the country, averaging at least 30 percent less.
This effect may not seem surprising to us, but in the eyes of those in power, especially high-ranking officials, it is far more serious than launching a war, although this seriousness is benign.
The phrase Li Ruiyu used to comment on Xu Zhengyang's actions best represents the mindset of those in the upper echelons who knew Xu Zhengyang's identity, as well as their views on Xu Zhengyang and these events: "A single spark can start a prairie fire..." Perhaps, from a certain perspective, this is the grand strategic layout of encircling the cities from the countryside?
That's awesome...
Unfortunately, Xu Zhengyang, who came from a humble background, never even considered what planning or strategy meant.
When he learned that those people had criticized him so harshly, he became incredibly arrogant. "Wow, am I really that awesome?"
Of course, Xu Zhengyang doesn't have any ulterior motives and isn't overly self-important.
It's just that we shouldn't underestimate ourselves.
When we do these things, we're not thinking about any grand strategic plans or anything like that. We just want to do good deeds out of conscience, and at the same time, we're also... very selfishly seeking our own benefit.
Li Bingjie said, "People are selfish; selfishness is human nature. But if everyone can act selfishly without losing their conscience and morality, that would be perfect."
"Wife, you're right," Xu Zhengyang nodded in agreement.
I don't know if this guy is just hypocritically praising me or if he genuinely thinks so.
Well, actually, Xu Zhengyang didn't really try to understand what his wife meant by that slightly convoluted statement... He was currently thinking that after the Spring Festival, in addition to continuing to build the City God's Palace, it would also be necessary to collect materials and make a magical artifact.
As the City God's office expands, the position of a second State God will inevitably fall to him again.
Therefore, it is necessary to confer deities again!
In mid-December, Xu Zhengyang and his family moved back to Shuanghe Village. After all, it's the Spring Festival, so they naturally stayed in the village.
Xu Rouyue returned on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, along with Ouyang Ying, the poor girl. Her mother had gone abroad, and her father had left last month. An accident occurred during the company's reconstruction project, resulting in the deaths of five workers. As the person responsible, he was detained by the police for investigation.
Xu Zhengyang, his parents, and Li Bingjie already knew the news, so when Ouyang Ying arrived, the family was not surprised at all. They treated her warmly and were careful not to say anything that would upset Ouyang Ying.
Ouyang Ying, on the other hand, remained as carefree and easygoing as ever, seemingly without a care in the world.
Unfortunately, her worries didn't escape Xu Zhengyang's keen senses, who noticed that Ouyang Ying was on the verge of a mental breakdown. However, Xu Zhengyang wasn't good at comforting or guiding others, so he could only privately tell his sister to keep a close eye on Ouyang Ying and make sure nothing happened to her…
That evening, before he had even eaten dinner, Xu Zhengyang received a phone call from Yao Chushun:
"Zheng Yang, Zheng Ronghua has suddenly fallen ill. The doctor said he seems... not going to make it."
"Hmm?" Xu Zhengyang paused slightly, then sighed and said, "I understand."
Yao Chushun hesitated for a moment before saying, "Zhengyang, could you come over? Zheng Ronghua said he wants to see you and has something to say to you."
"Okay." Xu Zhengyang agreed without hesitation.
Xu Zhengyang wasn't too surprised by the news of Zheng Ronghua's sudden illness and impending death. This was something destined to happen last year. The reason was simple: he had blasphemed the gods, and the Heavenly Laws and the Underworld had already reduced his lifespan as punishment.
However, Xu Zhengyang hadn't thought about this matter much in the past year or so.
Xu Zhengyang certainly wouldn't go to the underworld again to modify the Book of Life and Death for Zheng Ronghua's sake. He died. He died, but Xu Zhengyang wouldn't let such a wise and experienced man die and be reincarnated. Instead, he would keep him and let him take charge of some affairs of the state god's office or city god's office.
After dinner, Xu Zhengyang said goodbye to his family and told them he was going to Fuhe City. Then he got into the Audi A4 driven by Zhu Jun and headed to Fuhe City at a leisurely pace.
Poor Zheng Ronghua was still lying in the hospital bed, clinging to her last breath, waiting for Xu Zhengyang to arrive.
Everyone in the room was anxious, including Yao Chushun, who couldn't help but curse Xu Zhengyang inwardly for not arriving sooner. At this critical moment, how much hatred could he possibly hold for Zheng Ronghua?
How could they possibly know that the dead actually have ghosts, and that Xu Zhengyang talking to ghosts was commonplace for him? So… he wasn't in a hurry. He could say anything important after Zheng Ronghua died. Besides, what important thing could possibly be?
The fact that Xu Zhengyang would condescend to come and see you, Zheng Ronghua, is already an honor for you.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Xu Zhengyang clearly sensed the hostile and resentful gazes directed at him from everyone in Zheng Ronghua's household except for his son, Zheng Yaokai. This Xu Zhengyang, this damned bastard, had forcibly seized the Zheng family's vast shares in Ronghua Group because of his powerful connections.
If this gets out, I wonder how many people around the world will curse Xu Zhengyang!
You're really ruthless, swallowing such a huge fortune in one gulp...
Xu Zhengyang didn't care. What good was more money? Even if he didn't want the shares, once Zheng Ronghua died, could he possibly take some money to the underworld to bribe the ghost officials or the King of Hell? It was all useless.
As for you Zheng family members, well, just live your lives honestly.
At Zheng Ronghua's signal, Zheng Yaokai quickly told everyone else to leave, leaving only him and Xu Zhengyang in the room.
There are some things that should not be known to others.
With no one else present, Zheng Ronghua, whose breath had already weakened, finally mustered the last of his strength and, in a final burst of energy, looked at Xu Zhengyang with reverence, saying, "This time, I'm afraid I won't make it. To be able to see you in person before I die and apologize to you face to face is an honor..."
Xu Zhengyang didn't show any hypocrisy or affectation; he smiled and nodded condescendingly.
"Can you forgive me?" Zheng Ronghua asked in a pleading tone.
"Afraid of death?" Xu Zhengyang asked rhetorically.
“Yes, before I was afraid of dying because I couldn’t bear to leave. Now I’m afraid of dying because I’m afraid of being punished after death… Since people become ghosts after they die, there must be a hell. Although I can’t say I was a good person in this life, I was diligent and hardworking. I have no regrets about the great things I’ve accomplished. But the only thing I truly regret is that I broke my promise to you. Alas…” Zheng Ronghua said with a bitter smile, full of remorse.
This is his honest opinion. He started from scratch and built his business from small beginnings. Although he had bribed officials and tried to win over high-ranking officials, it was out of necessity. In today's society, it is almost impossible to develop without a strong family background and without going through these channels to find connections.
However, to be fair, he has never done any good deeds, but he has always been trustworthy and never broken his promises to others in business.
This is a fundamental requirement that any large corporation that grows step by step must possess!
Zheng Yaokai knelt on the ground, choking back tears, and said, "Dad, we're sorry, it's all my fault..." As he spoke, Zheng Yaokai looked at Xu Zhengyang and pleaded, "Xu Zhengyang, Immortal Xu, please be magnanimous and don't make things difficult for my father. That time when he took over Huayang Tourism Company and swallowed your shares and assets, it was I who forced my father to do it. It really had nothing to do with him..."
"Is that so?" Xu Zhengyang sneered.
Zheng Ronghua and Zheng Yaokai both felt a chill in their hearts. Could such words deceive a god? What's the use of saying these things at a time like this?
However, it's understandable that he would say such a thing, after all, it's a father-son relationship!
Xu Zhengyang knew that the incident was indeed Zheng Yaokai's idea, and at that time, Zheng Ronghua had indeed stopped managing the Ronghua Group and handed everything over to Zheng Yaokai. However, to say that Zheng Ronghua bore no responsibility whatsoever was pure nonsense. When Xu Zhengyang learned of the matter, he only needed to say one word, and Zheng Yaokai would have obeyed without question.