Shen Huaisang didn't get angry upon hearing his sister's words, "I'm just afraid you all will be too tired and overwhelmed."
It wasn't his fault. Ever since his younger sister returned, the household had been incredibly busy every day. Moreover, with his sister now pregnant, there were very few people available to help. If he left now, all the household matters would truly fall upon Shen's father and mother.
"Don't you worry, Mom and Dad have already hired some people. We'll find a few more in the next few days, and they definitely won't be tired."
They would hire a few more people then, not any fewer. Once Shen's father and mother were freed up, the eldest brother and his wife could manage the farm stay.
"Then I'll go tell the leaders tomorrow morning. Once the farm stay is open and things settle down, I'll rejoin my post." He then asked, "Little sister, can third brother practice the cultivation technique you use?"
He had wanted to ask for a long time but felt it was too unrealistic. However, now that he was preparing to leave, it would be too late if he didn't ask.
"No."
Shen Yao said with chilling finality.
Shen Huaisang's face visibly fell. As expected, immortal cultivation was too distant for them mortals.
"However, there is one cultivation technique that mortals can practice."
The technique Shen Yao mentioned was one used by mortals in the immortal cultivation world. It was quite similar to spiritual energy in that its characteristic was to cultivate inner strength! Inner strength, through practice, made all the joints in the body nimble, and the mind connected, resulting in a force that could change direction and size at will, hidden within the dantian and not outwardly apparent. In essence, it was similar to what were now called qigong. However, many claims of using qigong for healing were clearly scams. Cultivating inner strength was extremely difficult, so those with true skill would never engage in such acts. With inner strength cultivated, one might not be able to fly to the heavens or burrow into the earth, but fighting ten opponents at once would be no problem.
"What method?" Shen Huaisang's eyes lit up, shining with anticipation.
"Here!"
Shen Yao tossed two books to him across the balcony. One taught how to cultivate inner strength, and the other was a set of exercises.
Shen Huaisang fumbled to catch the books, "Be careful! You might drop them and damage them."
Shen Yao rolled her eyes, "Even if you dropped them, they wouldn't get damaged." Otherwise, why say that the longer one lived, the more things one had seen? Shen Yao had so many items in her spatial dimension that she didn't even know what she had. If Shen Huaisang hadn't asked today, she wouldn't have even remembered these things. She probably found this item in a cave while hiding in the mortal realm during a chase. She even remembered using this manual to teach quite a few disciples with exceptional skills out of boredom.
"Just practice according to what's written inside. The content is so detailed even a dog could understand it," Shen Yao said.
Shen Huaisang thought, so if he couldn't understand, he'd be worse than a dog?
"Should I call Big Brother and the others?" Shen Huaisang asked.
"That's not necessary. In a few days, I'll teach them a boxing technique that can strengthen their bodies."
Shen Yao had thought it through. Her family members were different from Shen Huaisang. Although Shen Huaisang had never mentioned his specific branch of service in the military, judging by his injuries, he must have been in a dangerous one. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sustained so many injuries, including gunshot wounds! She had given him those two books so he could protect himself!
Holding the books his sister had given him and understanding the implied meaning behind her words, Shen Huaisang knew her intentions.
"While you have time now, let Mo Xuan teach you how to cultivate inner strength. Aim to achieve it before you leave," Shen Yao said.
At that moment, Mo Xuan appeared behind Shen Huaisang like a phantom.
"I'm fine with it!"
Shen Huaisang thought, *You're fine, but I'm not! You scared me to death!*
Shen Yao watched as Mo Xuan picked up Shen Huaisang and leaped from the third floor, landing in the adjacent courtyard. Shen Yao once again felt fortunate that there were no neighbors nearby, otherwise, anyone who accidentally witnessed this scene would be terrified.
Mo Xuan trained Shen Huaisang with no mercy, adopting the same intensity Shen Yao had used when training him: if he didn't die, keep training. Furthermore, Shen Yao had left Mo Xuan several bottles of spiritual spring water. Whenever Shen Huaisang couldn't hold on any longer, he would be given a sip before continuing his training. Shen Huaisang practiced while crying, his miserable appearance unbearable for the Shen family to watch. However, no one spoke out to stop it, because they knew that enduring hardship now was better than enduring it on the battlefield. The hardship now was merely difficult and tiring, but on the battlefield, it could cost one's life!
With Shen Huaisang setting the example, no one refused when Shen Yao offered to teach them boxing. Even the chubby toddler, barely a year old, joined the training. Thus, every morning, the Shen family would run laps in the large adjacent courtyard, practice boxing, and after breakfast, they would go about their tasks, tending to the greenhouses, surveying the barren mountains, and organizing the farm stay. Shen Huaisang alone trained from morning till night, teaching on the mountain during the day and in the courtyard at night. Finally, after a full week of training, Shen Huaisang cultivated inner strength, albeit a tiny amount, which was enough to excite him. Shen Yao looked at Shen Huaisang with a hint of pity, lamenting his timing. If Shen Huaisang had been born in the immortal cultivation world, his talent would have rivaled the monstrous Mo Xuan.
With inner strength cultivated, Shen Huaisang's training method changed. Mo Xuan began taking him into the mountains, making him carry stones, and teaching him to uproot willow trees—no, it was uprooting plane trees! Shen Yao had asked Mo Xuan to be careful and not train too harshly, to which Mo Xuan retorted that Shen Yao was biased, as she hadn't said the same thing when training him before. Shen Yao... Fine, she touched her nose. She had indeed been harsher when training Mo Xuan before, so she let them handle it themselves.
On June 18th, the farm stay officially opened. The Shen family opened the farm stay early, and the staff were also asked to arrive early today. After several days of searching, they hired five cleaning aunts for the guest rooms, including Aunt Zhang, five waiters, and two dishwashers. Two people were also hired for front desk reception. For the kitchen, thanks to the efforts of Shen's eldest brother, his master and two other apprentice cooks from the past, who were now assistant chefs, along with Uncle Zhang, who knew how to prepare large village banquets, they had a total of five people.
At 8 o'clock, the farm stay began to receive various flower baskets intermittently. Shen Yao was puzzled at first, but upon seeing the names on them, she understood. The Xia family, the Wang family, and the Zhou family had all sent flower baskets. Xia Chao and others had also sent them. Dozens of flower baskets were displayed outside, making quite a show! Coupled with the various firecrackers and fireworks that were sent, the morning was filled with celebration. (For plot purposes, please refrain from setting off firecrackers casually.)
At 9:18 AM, the Shen family's farm stay welcomed its first guest.