Carrying a Hoe to Cultivate

When Xia Yi woke up from his sleep, it was already daytime. Xia Yi lifted his hand to block the sunlight and looked towards his side with narrowed eyes. There was no one beside him. The clinking sounds rang from the kitchen. Was Zhu not tired as a dog last night? How did he wake up this early?

Gu Wen Zhu had a strong body. He only required one night to restore his strength..

When Xia Yi walked into the kitchen, he saw a steaming pot on the stove. The delicious smell of chicken stock cooked with eucommia and codonopsis coming out from the pot.

Seeing Xia Yi sniffing and lifting the cover of the pot, Gu Wen Zhu looked at him gently and said, “I am making this for you as a nourishment.”

Actually I think Zhu is the one who needs nourishment.

Gu Wen Zhu filled a bowl of soup and placed it aside, “It’s for you. Let it cool down.” Then he carried two chicken legs using chopsticks to put them into another bowl and gave it to Xia Yi. The chicken legs were big and juicy with an alluring aroma. Xia Yi took one and stuffed it in Gu Wen Zhu’s mouth, then he started to eat the other one.

“Where is Kirin? Leave Kirin some of the soup to eat with the rice.” Xia Yi realized that he had not been seeing Kirin for days and had no idea what he had been eating.

“Kirin is at the old house, with old Meng and the other fellow.”

Having one chicken leg in his mouth, Xia Yi was stupefied, “Can the two of them cook?”

“Can’t starve to death.” Gu Wen Zhu said emotionlessly.

Can’t starve to death? Do those two look like they know how to cook? Their dead bodies might have stiffened after all this time.

“I am going to see them.” Xia Yi finished off the chicken leg quickly with two to three bites and mumbled, “Give me some more chicken soup to take it to them.”

Gu Wen Zhu slightly frowned. I killed and cooked this chicken for Yi. I don’t want to share with those Fang Xian Dao people.

With hesitation, he still took a food box to fill it with chicken soup.

Xia Yi hurried his way to the old house and pushed the door open. At that moment, Xia Yi was shocked and nearly dropped the box in his hands. He began to suspect if he had gone to the wrong house.

The yard was clean with no dust to be found, the blue bricks on the floor were reflecting the sunlight. The pile of deteriorated baskets and stuff at the corner had already gone. Instead, there was a pot of plants. The widely opened well had been covered with a clean piece of wooden board.

“Move. Move.” An unfamiliar male voice echoed from behind him. It did not sound like Meng Wan Zi or Qi Zhou.

Xia Yi looked back and saw a big piece of stone tablet in front of him. He quickly moved to the side of the road. The person carried the stone tablet on his back to the center of the yard and placed it on the ground carefully, revealing his honest face.

Er Niu was brushing off the sweat on his face with his clothes and looked at Xia Yi with a broad smile.

“Er Niu?” Xia Yi asked in confusion, “Why are you here? Where is old Meng and Qi Zhou?”

Qi Zhou’s voice rang from inside the house, “I am putting the rockery together.” As he finished his sentence, Qi Zhou walked out sluggishly with his hands behind him.

Xia Yi asked in shock, “You are putting a rockery together in the yard?”

“Right. No matter where we are, how long we have to stay, we cannot lower our standards of living.” Qi Zhou used his hand to straighten the corner of his sleeve, “Not only do I need a rockery, I am also planting flowers and grass, and keeping some birds and fish here.”

After saying so, he nodded towards Er Niu with restrained approval, “Gu Bei Cheng, good work. You may continue tomorrow.”

Er Niu looked at Qi Zhou with glittering eyes, he smiled earnestly and said, “Then I will come tomorrow to put the rockery together for you.” He thus turned and walked out.

Kirin walked in with two little tablets tied onto its back after Er Niu left.

Xia Yi saw the looks of Kirin and became furious.

Very well, Qi Zhou. If you try to achieve your standard of living on your own, it’s fine. But now you are doing nothing, idle. Not only have you been telling Er Niu to work for you, you are also enslaving Kirin.

“Son, come.” Xia Yi called out to Kirin with a gloomy expression.

Kirin had not seen Xia Yi for days and was carrying the tablets on his back, suffering. Once it saw its owner, he happily rushed towards Xia Yi to lick him and rubbed at his legs, it even turned to show him its back.

Xia Yi quickly removed the stones from it, and looked up at Qi Zhou with fury.

Aren’t people from the Qi Shan Sect dog persons? Why would you treat dogs this way?

“Worry not. Kirin is a mythical beast. They can move mountains, let alone these tablets.” Qi Zhou waved his hand without care.

Mythical beast my ass. Xia Yi immediately checked Kirin all over, seeing nothing abnormal with it and it was lively as usual, he finally felt relieved.

Looking at the chicken soup in the food box which he had placed on top of the wall of the yard, I won’t give it to such a person, I will take it back later.

“Look, Xia is here.” With laughter, a villager looking person came in from the outside. This person was wearing a brown linen short outer, his long hair had been tied up into a bun on top of his head. He was carrying a bamboo basket on his back.

This was Meng Wan Zi.

Xia Yi felt confused all of a sudden. He would not dare to call the fellow’s name if Qi Zhou did not call that guy his master.

It had only been a few days and the dignified and elegant cultivator had already become grounded like this?

Meng Wan Zi put down the basket on his back and took the tea from Qi Zhou. He had a couple of sips and told Xia Yi, “Yes. Today Cai said that the radishes were almost ready to be harvested.”

“Who is Cai?” Xia Yi asked without a clue.

“You don’t know Wang Cai? Isn’t he the head of your block?” Meng Wan Zi looked at him weirdly, with a hint of condemnation, “Cai cares about you. He visited your place everyday while you were sick. He thought that you went to the city.”

“We just called him Mr. Wang. How am I supposed to know his full name?” Xia Yi argued.

How is Meng Wan Zi merging with the crowd so quickly? He is even brothers with Mr. Wang now.

“What is in your hand?” Meng Wan Zi’s eyes glittered once he realised that there was a food box in Xia Yi’s hand.

“Chicken soup for you.” Xia Yi did not want to let Qi Zhou have it, but he could let Meng Wan Zi eat it.

He therefore lifted up the food box in front of him, “Go and wash your hands. Take out your bowl, I will give you some.”

“We need not be too meticulous about it.” After saying so, Meng Wan Zi used his sleeve to brush off his sweat, rubbed his hands with his clothes, and went into the kitchen, taking the food box from Xia Yi.

Some time later, he took two porcelain bowls out.

He placed one in front of Kirin with a smiley face, ”Go ahead, Kirin.” And gave the other one to Qi Zhou.

Then, he directly gulped in the content with the food box in his hand. Qi Zhou stood on the side with a terribly awful expression, he moved the bowl to his lips but could not make himself open his mouth.

At last, he gathered the courage to swallow it with eyes closed.

Meng Wan Zi finished the soup and brushed his mouth with his sleeves, asked, “Have you been healed?” 

“Yes. I am fine now.” Speaking of this, a hint of uneasiness appeared on his face. However, Meng Wan Zi did not notice it.

“I will go to check the farmland then.” Xia Yi waved his hand briefly and ran out towards the farmland, bringing Kirin with him, to avoid being further questioned by Meng Wan Zi.

Right after he left the old house, 179’s merry voice rang in his mind with crackers exploding, “Congratulations. Host. The winter gourds are mature. You have fulfilled your fourth mission perfectly.”

“Mission description: Awakening the Honourable Immortal Leader CangYi. 

Completion 1/1 

Award 1: Huge Gift Pack.”

“What’s the use of this? I haven’t claimed the mission awards of the first mission yet, something called the foundation establishment drink and spirit clearance core.” Xia Yi began to complain, “And some huge gift pack that I don’t want. Can I drink that foundation establishment drink? Give me that if I can drink it, I am thirsty. Let’s drink two bottles of those.”

“You probably can?” 179 answered with uncertainty.

“Said so if I can or cannot. Why are you adding a ‘probably’ to the sentence?”

“You can.” 179 replied, certain this time.

“Then give me one of those. Let me try it.”

A white pottery bottle the size of a bottle of Wahaha AD calcium milk appeared in Xia Yi’s hand just when he finished talking.  The design was ancient. One could tell it was pretending to be a container for some cores or poison just like those shown on television.

179 said that he could drink it, so Xia Yi removed the cover and poured it down his throat without holding back. Smacking his lips, he tasted a fresh sweetness in his mouth. It tasted a little like fruit beer. Nice.

The bottle was not big. Xia Yi finished a bottle within a few gulps, “179, give me two more bottles.”

“I have never had a drink in this world, not even the sweet ones once.” Xia Yi complained while he was opening the other two bottles, “I have been drinking cola in my dreams. I salivated for cola.”

“Host. If you wish to give birth to a child, you should drink red sweet soup and even eat some eggs cooked in it.”

“179 you are so annoying.”

Kirin was breathing heavily with its tongue out beside him, staring at him without blinking. Xia Yi hesitated slightly, then he opened one bottle and gave it to Kirin, “Son, open your mouth. Papa is giving you a bottle.”

Kirin opened his mouth widely. Xia Yi slowly fed him.

Quickly, both of them finished up all the foundation establishment drinks and burped with satisfaction, “Come. Let’s see the winter gourds.”

“Wait, host. You have not received your new mission.” 179 reminded him.

“Say it. What do I have to plant this time?” Xia Yi said casually.

179 cleared his throat and said with his voice raised, “Now, host. Please accept the new mission.”

“Mission description: Get a magical item and summon your mythical beast.  

Completion 0/1  

Award 1: Rare Gift Pack.”

“What do I have to plant this time?”

“Lettuce.”

He was not growing crops in the wrong season this time. It was alright. He could grow and sell them without covering it up.

“Okay, lettuce it is. Now I will go check up on my winter gourds.”

Wao, these winter gourds are enormous. Xia Yi went and saw them in the farmland, stunned.

“My winter gourds are growing this well? This is so obvious and people still believe that these are radishes?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will sell them on the street. Will this be with the price of a winter gourd or a radish?”

“This is…” System puzzled.

Whatever, whatever. Put everything into my storage space.

“If you store all of them. What should you tell Gu Wen Zhu about it?”

“Just tell him that all the radishes were rotten.” Xia Yi patted on the winter gourds, “Store them all.”

When he arrived at home, Xia Yi heard some strange sounds of furniture moving before even entering the room. He entered and found that Gu Wen Zhu was dismantling his bed.

“Zhu, why are you dismantling the bed?” Xia Yi asked, shocked.

“Our new bed is made anyways. Let’s change it out. The old one is too small and squeaks.” Gu Wen Zhu recalled how they used the bed a few days ago, making him blush and his heart racing.

At night, the two slept in their new bed.

This bed was delicate and firm. Not even one splinter could be found on the bed legs. Gu Wen Zhu had been rubbing them with sand paper, and he had painted the bed layer on top of layer. He then moved the bed back in after letting the paint dry out in the yard for some days.

Xia Yi leaned onto Gu Wen Zhu’s strong chest, listening to his powerful and calming heartbeats, slowly fell into sleep. He felt weird in his dreams. The chest he leaned on felt empty. Xia Yi began to search in his bed with his eyes closed.

Hm? Where is he? The touch of the blanket had changed from cloth to soft silk as well.

Xia Yi was alert and was no longer in the mood of sleeping. He sat up immediately.

With the moonlight shining from outside of the windows, the shadows of the furniture stretched tall. He was in a pterocarpus bed with lotus carvings. There was a carved black screen placed in front of his bed.

Outside the half opened window, the bamboo was shaking in the wind.

Isn’t this the Wang Zhu Yard in the Qi Shan Sect? I have transmigrated again.