Divine Level Witch Doctor

The convoy was still some distance away when the villagers spotted it. In the dead of night, the cars’ high beams were incredibly conspicuous! Especially in a village where, once night fell, the only light outside came from the moon.

”They’re here, they’re here! Cars are coming!” someone shouted excitedly.

”Is that them bringing Brother Yuan back? Why does it feel like there’s more than one car?” someone asked in confusion.

In the end, it was the old village chief who settled the matter. ”It must be Brother Yuan,” he said. ”Who else would come all the way out to our village this late at night?” He then called out, ”Come on, let’s all go welcome Brother Yuan. We all have him to thank for the good New Year we’re about to have!”

Since the medicinal herb cultivation base had started operating, the villagers had all become its employees. Their daily tasks consisted of tending to the herbs—turning the soil, watering the plants, and so on.

For people accustomed to farming crops, such work was an absolute breeze! But the salary Zhao Yuan offered was quite good. Moreover, with the New Year approaching, he had also sent a sum of money to his father, Zhao Shiquan, to buy New Year’s goods and distribute them to the base’s employees.

These goods included candy, meat, and vegetables. To city dwellers, they might not seem like much. But for this small village that had always struggled on the poverty line, it was an incredible bounty! What’s more, the quantity was generous, enough for everyone to celebrate an unprecedentedly prosperous New Year!

Everyone understood that their good fortune was all thanks to Zhao Yuan, which was why they were all waiting for him at the village entrance late into the night.

The moment the cars came to a stop, the crowd swarmed forward. Seeing Zhao Yuan was indeed inside, they were all overjoyed.

Only after the villagers had finished their greetings did his father, Zhao Shiquan, walk over, chest puffed out. Looking at Zhao Yuan, his face was a mask of pride.

This son of his could not only earn his own living, but he was also leading their fellow villagers toward prosperity... With a son like this, how could a father not be proud?

Zhao Shiquan gave Zhao Yuan a big hug.

Not many words were needed between father and son; a single hug was enough for them to understand each other.

Immediately after, Zhao Shiquan’s gaze fell upon Cai De and the others. ”And these gentlemen are?” he asked curiously.

”They’re the construction crew I hired,” Zhao Yuan explained.

Zhao Shiquan frowned. ”Construction crew? But the office building for the medicinal herb cultivation base is already almost finished.”

”They’re not here to work on the office building,” Zhao Yuan explained with a smile. ”I hired them to build new homes for everyone. Every employee’s family will get their own house—and not dormitories, either. I’m talking beautiful, single-family homes!”

As soon as he said this, the scene fell utterly silent.

Every villager stared at Zhao Yuan in shock. Many of their mouths hung open, wanting to gasp or scream but unable to make a sound.

They were all completely dumbfounded by Zhao Yuan’s words!

After a long moment, the old village chief’s voice trembled as he asked, ”Brother Yuan, you’re not joking with us, are you? You really plan to build new houses for us?”

Zhao Yuan chuckled. ”I’ve already brought the construction crew all the way here. Would I be joking?”

He then retrieved the renderings drawn by Liu Xiaoya from the car and, under the glow of the headlights, showed them to everyone.

”See these? I specially commissioned someone to design these ancient-style villas. What do you think? Beautiful, right? The houses you’ll be getting will look just like this.”

All eyes turned to the renderings, and a wave of gasps and sharp intakes of breath immediately swept through the crowd.

Liu Xiaoya was truly a prize-winning designer; the renderings were stunningly beautiful. The ancient-style villas in the drawings, with their carved railings and jade-like stonework, exuded a low-key luxury and a stately grandeur. They were captivating and utterly enchanting to behold!

Everyone was completely mesmerized by the ancient-style villas in the renderings.

They simply couldn’t believe that they, too, might one day be able to live in such beautiful houses!

”Brother Yuan, will we really get a beautiful villa like that?”

”My God, a house this beautiful... not even the landlords of old had it this good, right? Can we really live in a house like this?”

”Landlords? I bet even the Emperor’s own palace isn’t as beautiful as these! Brother Yuan, I really don’t know how to thank you! From now on, I swear I’ll work my heart out for you! My life is yours!”

As the villagers exclaimed in awe and wonder, they sincerely expressed their gratitude and loyalty to Zhao Yuan. One man even dropped to his knees with a THUD, crying as he said, ”Thank you! Brother Yuan, thank you!”

Zhao Yuan quickly helped the man up. A nearby villager who knew the situation explained in a low voice, ”That’s Wang Cheng. He’s an honest, hardworking man, but his family is just too poor and his house is too run-down. He’s been set up with a few potential partners, but the women all backed out the second they saw his family’s living conditions! But now, thanks to Zhao Yuan, not only is he an employee at the medicinal herb cultivation base, he’s also getting a new house. He definitely won’t have any trouble finding a wife in the future!”

More villagers spoke up with pride, ”It used to be so hard for the young people in our village to find partners because we were so poor. But now, with jobs at the medicinal herb cultivation base and these new houses on the way, we’ll completely turn things around and become the most sought-after folks in the ten miles and eight villages! And it’s all thanks to Zhao Yuan!”

At that moment, the villagers’ gratitude for Zhao Yuan and their loyalty to the medicinal herb cultivation base rose to a whole new level!

Once everyone had calmed down, Zhao Yuan called over two young lads and had them take Cai De and his crew to the medicinal herb cultivation base. They would set up temporary shelters there and officially begin work at dawn.

The two young men who were chosen looked incredibly proud, as if being able to do something for Zhao Yuan was the greatest honor imaginable!

Back home, Zhao Yuan chatted with his parents and sister for a while before washing up and going to bed.

He woke up bright and early the next day. Just as he was about to head out, Zhao Shiquan called out to him, ”Where are you going so early?”

”I’m going to check on the medicinal herb cultivation base,” Zhao Yuan replied. He thought of Meng Dahua and Li Tao and asked, ”How have those two experts been lately?”

Zhao Shiquan replied, ”Don’t even get me started. Those two are like they’ve been possessed by a Demon. They hole up in the medicinal herb cultivation base every day, staring at those herbs with green eyes, like weasels who’ve spotted a chicken!”

Zhao Yuan chuckled, speechless. He knew why the two experts were acting like this. They must have been stunned to see the herbs at the base changing day by day, their growth rate countless times faster than anywhere else.

Zhao Shiquan suddenly remembered something and quickly warned, ”Oh, right. Whatever you do, don’t go to Xiaqiao Village for the next few days.”

”Why not?” Zhao Yuan asked, turning back.

”Xiaoqiao Village is haunted. The entire village has been possessed!”

In the dim room, a grim chill radiated from Zhao Shiquan’s old face.