Chapter 2
Having a house and land didn’t mean all their problems were solved.
Even the most skilled cook couldn’t make a meal without ingredients.
Ling Zeyu and Xie Heng stood before their dilapidated little house, their stomachs empty, staring helplessly at each other.
With neither money nor grain, what were they supposed to eat?
Fortunately, during their journey as refugees, they had developed an impressive ability to find food.
One advantage of fleeing a cold-weather disaster rather than a drought was that the farther south they traveled, the warmer the weather became. As long as they were capable and knew how to identify edible plants and animals, they could always find something to fill their stomachs.
Wanhe Village was nestled between mountains and water, with abundant natural resources. After settling down, they dug bamboo shoots in the bamboo grove at the foot of the mountain, caught fish in the stream, gathered wild fruits they recognized in the mountains, and made simple traps to catch pheasants and wild rabbits.
Thanks to nature’s generosity, they temporarily solved their food and clothing problems.
However, until the crops in their fields were ready for harvest, they remained impoverished.
As for the copper coins he received from checking in every day, he saved them as points.
The virtual shop contained all sorts of locked items, but exchanging for them required accumulating a large number of copper coins.
During their flight from famine, he had needed to exchange his coins for coarse-grain flatbreads every day, leaving him unable to save even a single coin.
Now that they could live off the mountains and streams, those flatbreads were no longer essential. He decided to save his copper coins and exchange them for more useful things.
Every time he looked at the locked Marrow Cleansing Pills, Appearance Preservation Pills, Qi Induction Pills, Qi Gathering Pills, Foundation Establishment Pills, sword-flight manuals, and other treasures in the virtual shop, his mouth practically watered.
Unfortunately, the points required to exchange for these treasures started in the tens of thousands, with no upper limit.
Although the number of copper coins awarded gradually increased as his consecutive check-ins accumulated, the progress was slow, extremely slow, unbearably slow.
A year and a half had passed, and his daily check-in reward had only increased from two copper coins to five.
If there had been an AI he could talk to, Ling Zeyu would have loved to laugh sarcastically in its face. Who knew whether this system was responsible for his transmigration into the novel? If it was, why couldn’t it have simply given him a powerful golden finger? At least then he wouldn’t be stuck in his current predicament, with treasures he could see but never obtain, tempting him every day and shaking his resolve.
Unfortunately, it was merely an emotionless virtual interface. Apart from displaying a pile of tantalizing treasures, it possessed no intelligence he could interact with.
Occasionally, Ling Zeyu suspected that the thing was actually a pocket dimension belonging to some mighty cultivator, and that a tiny crack had somehow formed in it, allowing him to benefit from it by sheer coincidence.
However, he quickly dismissed this theory.
Would a mighty cultivator keep coarse-grain flatbreads in their pocket dimension? Would it contain technical manuals on papermaking, incense making, silkworm breeding, plant grafting, and other crafts?
As a content creator specializing in intangible cultural heritage, Ling Zeyu had read a vast number of relevant books, visited numerous inheritors of traditional cultural practices, and watched educational videos made by other creators to produce high-quality videos.
He had originally believed his knowledge was quite extensive. Yet after browsing the dazzling array of manuals and jade slips in the virtual shop, he suddenly realized how limited his knowledge was and how much more he still needed to study.
These manuals cost anywhere from a hundred to tens of thousands of copper coins. To improve their living conditions, Ling Zeyu used his savings to exchange for three practical manuals.
They covered house renovation, stream water diversion, and a comprehensive guide to plant identification.
After spending more than a thousand copper coins, he was penniless once again.
Of course, the results were entirely satisfactory.
After the renovations, the little home he shared with Xie Heng looked completely different.
Although it was a single-story house, it had been divided into three bedrooms, two living areas, two bathrooms, and one kitchen.
The three rooms were the master bedroom, a second bedroom, and a study.
The two living areas consisted of a sitting room and a dining room.
The bathrooms were divided into a private bathroom and a guest bathroom. The private bathroom was next to the bedroom, making it convenient to relieve themselves at night and wash up, while the guest bathroom was beside the study and could be used by visitors.
The kitchen stood separately on the left side of the house, connected to the dining room by a small door. Another storage room had been built beside it to hold grain, firewood, charcoal, farming tools, and other supplies.
A surrounding wall more than two meters high enclosed the courtyard, dividing it into a front yard and a back yard.
The front yard was spacious, covering approximately eighty square meters. Stone slabs paved the ground, the main path ran straight through it, and everything was arranged in a clear, orderly layout.
A small pond had been dug in the southeastern corner, with stream water diverted into it. Fish were raised there, and water lilies were planted. A small pavilion stood nearby, where they could drink tea, play chess, admire flowers, appreciate the moon, and gaze at the stars during their leisure time.
Several plum trees transplanted from the mountains grew in the corners of the courtyard. Eight unremarkable flowerpots held autumn chrysanthemums and orchids. Together with the bamboo grove at the foot of the nearby mountain, they completed the Four Gentlemen.
Unlike the elegance of the front yard, the back yard had a rustic, pastoral style.
There were four neatly arranged vegetable plots, two rows of bamboo cages for chickens, ducks, and geese, a woven bamboo cat house, an open area for drying clothes and bedding, a laundry trough carved from a massive stone, and a small channel of flowing water connected to the stream that curved halfway around the back yard.
These facilities couldn’t have been completed overnight.
They were the result of a year’s worth of hard work by Ling Zeyu and Xie Heng, who had gradually planned the layout, repeatedly experimented, considered different possibilities, and carefully refined every detail.
Xie Heng had never questioned the origins of his unusual ideas.
Just as Ling Zeyu had never questioned Xie Heng about his background or identity.
They had met during a time of danger and gradually come to understand each other through everyday life. They shared both blessings and hardships, their bond stronger than gold and their love as deep as the ocean.
Ling Zeyu had his secrets, and Xie Heng had his own.
Through an unspoken understanding, neither asked about the other’s past. They cared only about the rest of their lives together.
Although they could obtain some building materials locally, many things needed to be purchased.
Where did the money come from?
Xie Heng earned the big money, while Ling Zeyu managed the smaller expenses.
As someone who had transmigrated into this world, Ling Zeyu naturally understood it less than Xie Heng, who was a native.
Back when they registered their household in Yuwen County, Xie Heng had handled everything himself.
Xie Heng was the head of their household and was recognized as the husband, while Ling Zeyu was the married-in spouse, recognized as a Liangjun.
As for why they were classified this way, don’t ask. It was simply a setting invented by the author.
Don’t forget that the world he now inhabited was an old-school, melodramatic danmei novel.
The author had been too lazy to conduct historical research and had therefore chosen a fictional setting.
A fictional setting was essentially a chaotic stew of everything imaginable. The author could let their imagination run wild, throwing all sorts of things into the novel, whether they made sense or not. The result was a world that didn’t quite resemble anything in particular, but had a rich and colorful setting.
It was only after Ling Zeyu received his identification token that he learned a Liangjun held the same position as a wife in a marriage between a man and a woman.
The character liang meant a beloved or worthy person, while jun meant beautiful jade. Combined, the two characters conveyed the meaning of a beloved as precious as jade, to be cherished tenderly for a lifetime.
The symbolism was wonderful.
Ling Zeyu didn’t particularly care whether he was the husband or the Liangjun, as long as he and Xie Heng were legally married.
As the head of the household, Xie Heng voluntarily took on the responsibility of supporting their family.
In March of the previous year, with the village headman’s recommendation and sponsorship, he had participated in the county examination and easily earned the rank of Preparatory Scholar. In July, he passed the academy examination on his first attempt, becoming the third Worthy Scholar in Wanhe Village.
In this fictional world, a Worthy Scholar was equivalent to a xiucai, exempt from agricultural taxes and compulsory labor, permitted to remain standing before government officials, and qualified to establish a private school.
To repay the village headman’s kindness, Xie Heng turned down a position at a prefectural government school that offered excellent conditions and stayed in Wanhe Village to provide elementary education to young children.
The village headman was overjoyed and praised Xie Heng for his righteousness, gratitude, and willingness to repay kindness.
The villagers were equally delighted. They eagerly sent their mischievous children to the private school, hoping that if their children studied hard and achieved something, they might eventually take the imperial examinations, become officials, earn wealth, and elevate their families’ status.
After Xie Heng became a private school teacher, their household income increased slightly.
However, the villagers were generally poor, so the tuition gifts they could afford were limited. At most, the money was enough to cover the family’s basic food and clothing expenses.
Xie Heng’s largest source of income came from copying books for a bookshop in town.
With the title of Worthy Scholar, he was recognized as a genuine scholar and qualified to earn money by copying books for bookshops.
Without that scholarly title, no matter how beautiful someone’s handwriting was, nobody would pay them any attention.
This was a world that placed great importance on social status.
Xie Heng’s calligraphy was extraordinary. After copying three books, his reputation soared, and he quickly became a highly sought-after professional copyist.
As the bookshop earned more money, it paid Xie Heng more. With his income increasing, their family’s standard of living improved dramatically.
Ling Zeyu also wanted to copy books.
Unfortunately, he knew next to nothing about classical literature and couldn’t pass the examinations to become a Worthy Scholar.
As a content creator specializing in intangible cultural heritage, he knew how to write with a brush, but compared with Xie Heng’s calligraphy, his was worlds apart.
His brushwork was weak and lacked vitality. Although the forms were there, it lacked spirit and strength of character.
To improve his calligraphy, he practiced every afternoon. After a year, he had made considerable progress.
Now that everything was developing in a positive direction, Ling Zeyu was completely satisfied.
He didn’t need a life of great wealth or luxury. All he wanted was to live alongside his beloved, finding endless happiness in the mountains and rivers.
Pulling his wandering thoughts back to the present, Ling Zeyu cleared away the dishes and chopsticks, then returned the uneaten dried fish to the cupboard to prevent the little tabby from stealing them.
“Meow, meow—”
The little tabby circled his feet, voicing its dissatisfaction.
Ling Zeyu ignored its little schemes and returned to the bedroom. He took some gauze from the cabinet and began repairing the window screen that had been torn by its claws.
Seeing this, the little tabby immediately felt guilty. It quietly slipped into the back yard, crawled into its cat house, and pretended to sleep through the day.
Ling Zeyu quickly finished mending the window screen, put away the remaining gauze, and went to the back yard. Rolling up his sleeves, he began scrubbing the clothes they had changed out of yesterday.
Xie Heng had to leave early for the private school. Preparing breakfast, cleaning, fetching water, chopping firewood, and feeding the chickens, ducks, and geese in the limited time available was already difficult enough. Therefore, Ling Zeyu took responsibility for tedious chores such as doing the laundry.
First, he soaked the clothes in homemade soapy water. Then he picked up a wooden bucket, drew water from the channel flowing through the back yard, and carried the bucket in one hand and a water ladle in the other to water the vegetable plots.
Hearing the commotion, the little tabby poked its head out of its cat house. When it noticed Ling Zeyu passing by, it quickly withdrew its head and continued pretending to sleep.
Ling Zeyu caught sight of its cowardly behavior out of the corner of his eye and shook his head with an amused smile.
After watering the vegetable plots, he proceeded to clean the bamboo cages that housed the chickens, ducks, and geese.
At this time, the cages were empty.
Every morning, after feeding the chickens, ducks, and geese, Xie Heng would open their cages and let them roam freely.
The ducks and geese would swim along the water channel into the stream, while the chickens would spread their wings and fly over the courtyard wall. When evening came, all they had to do was call a few times, and the birds would return to their cages one after another.
When they first began allowing the poultry to roam freely, Ling Zeyu had worried that they might never return. Xie Heng told him that domestic birds had an instinct to return to their roosts at night, so there was no need to worry.
He tried letting them roam freely for two days, and sure enough, they returned to their cages on their own every evening, leaving him thoroughly amazed.
After cleaning the bamboo cages, Ling Zeyu returned to the laundry trough and continued scrubbing the clothes.
Fortunately, he had been a content creator specializing in intangible cultural heritage and had learned numerous traditional production techniques, such as making soap, tooth powder, paper, ink, and wine using ancient methods. Now that he had transmigrated, those skills finally had a practical use.
Of course, he wasn’t all-knowing or all-capable. There were still many things he didn’t understand.
Fortunately, the check-in system’s virtual shop offered him a convenient solution.
After finishing the laundry and hanging each garment out to dry, Ling Zeyu hurried back into the house.
Summer was scorching hot. Even with the shade provided by the trees in the courtyard, he was still drenched in sweat.
He went into the bathroom and quickly wiped himself down. Then he retrieved a wide-brimmed bamboo hat for protection against the sun and a bamboo basket for carrying things from the storage room. With a small hoe over his shoulder, he leisurely headed outside.
It was already the Si hour. He needed to go out and gather some of nature’s bounty for lunch.
Ling Zeyu left the courtyard, locked the door, and followed the stone-paved path toward the bamboo grove at the foot of the mountain.
The bamboo grove contained four delicious ingredients: bamboo shoots, bamboo worms, golden cicada flowers, and bamboo fungus.
Previously, the villagers of Wanhe Village had only known how to dig up bamboo shoots. After Ling Zeyu arrived and introduced them to bamboo worms, golden cicada flowers, and bamboo fungus, the number of people entering the bamboo grove to gather food multiplied.
He had only just entered the bamboo grove when a handsome, sturdy young man approached him. Ling Zeyu greeted him with a smile. “Morning, Brother Yi.”
Brother Yi’s full name was Liu Yi. He was also a refugee who had fled famine and was two years older than Ling Zeyu. Matchmakers had practically worn down his doorstep with their visits, yet he remained single.
Liu Yi looked Ling Zeyu up and down. When his gaze landed on the marks on his neck, he smiled suggestively. “It’s not early anymore. I’ve already finished digging bamboo shoots.”
Ling Zeyu blushed furiously under his gaze and silently cursed Xie Heng for being so shameless, leaving yet more hickeys on his neck.
Summer clothes had low collars that couldn’t conceal his neck. Having those marks exposed was terribly embarrassing.
When he had some free time, he would definitely figure out how to make concealing powder so that people would stop teasing him whenever he went out.
Although he and Xie Heng loved each other deeply and had complete faith in their relationship, he didn’t want to flaunt their affection in front of outsiders every single day.
“Brother Yi, are you going into the mountains this afternoon?” Ling Zeyu awkwardly changed the subject.
“I am.” Knowing that Ling Zeyu was easily embarrassed, Liu Yi stopped teasing him while he was ahead. “I made several new traps the day before yesterday. I need to go up the mountain and check them today.”
Ling Zeyu smiled. “Then I’ll go into the mountains with you, Brother Yi.”
He had exchanged his points for a comprehensive encyclopedia of plant identification and was currently fascinated by it. He planned to head up the mountain to collect plants. If he was lucky enough to find some ginseng, he could sell it in town for a good price.
“Sure!” Liu Yi readily agreed.
After parting ways, Ling Zeyu walked deeper into the bamboo grove. He found an area that nobody had visited yet, put down his bamboo basket, pulled on a pair of homemade woven hemp gloves, and began digging bamboo shoots.
One advantage of doing plenty of physical labor was that he seemed to have endless strength.
It had rained two days ago, and the bamboo shoots had grown astonishingly fast. If he didn’t dig them up soon, they would become too old to eat.
With one swing of his hoe, he effortlessly dug up a fresh, tender bamboo shoot and tossed it accurately into his bamboo basket.
After digging up five bamboo shoots in succession, he put down his hoe, squatted to gather golden cicada flowers, and pulled up any medicinal herbs he recognized along the way.
After searching the area, he failed to find any bamboo fungus, which meant he couldn’t make a delicious soup.
What a pity.
After working for more than half an hour, Ling Zeyu carried his bamboo basket to the stream at the foot of the mountain.
The stream was home to crabs, shrimp, snails, loaches, and small fish. All he had to do was place a woven bamboo fish trap in the water, and by the next day, it would be full of catches.
Ling Zeyu lowered the bamboo basket from his back, took off his straw sandals, and bent down to roll up his trouser legs. He then stepped barefoot into the stream and carefully made his way across the smooth stones to the spot where he usually placed his fish trap.
“Splash—”
He pulled the bamboo trap out of the water with a firm tug. Looking inside, he broke into a delighted smile.
Not only were there crabs and shrimp, but there were also more than a dozen lively little fish flopping around.
Excellent! He could fry some more crispy dried fish again.
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