FID – Chapter 963

Chapter 963: A Bunch of Ordinary Mortals

“Come on, Xinghua Village and Xiapo Village are basically on the same land. Can a single Qing River really block all the blessings?” An Cai’s eyelids drooped; he’d have to be crazy to believe Elder Liu’s words.

“That’s not impossible,” Liu Erlin retorted. “Our village has a blessed child, yours doesn’t.”

Liu Dalin nodded. “Our family does good and gets rewarded; even the gods watch over us. Village Chief An Cai, from now on you have to do more good deeds in Xiapo Village. Who knows—hundreds of years later, your descendants might enjoy the blessings too.”

An Cai’s eyes began to twitch. The implication was clear: his Xiapo Village hadn’t done enough good deeds in the past.

“After the autumn harvest, I dug up two baskets of soil in Xinghua Village and piled it in the vegetable garden, planting a small row of greens,” An Cai said slowly.

After that, he could clearly feel the three Liu men’s breathing grow heavier.

“They taste pretty good. The frost didn’t kill them, almost like the greens from your village’s garden,” he added.

But immediately after speaking, he sensed a chill radiating from the King who had been deliberately holding back his presence. Only he felt it.

It was directed at him.

He covered the two baskets of grain and put them back in the corner. Using the brief pause while leaving to weaken the oppressive feeling, An Cai continued, “So I wanted to discuss something with you. I think it’s a matter of water and soil. After the new year, I want people in my village to dig up some soil from Xinghua Village’s fields and bring it back to Xiapo Village, and also open a small canal from your side of the Qing River upstream, mixing your leftover water into ours to irrigate our fields. This way, our water and soil would be like yours in Xinghua Village, and maybe we can grow rice and vegetables as good as yours too.”

The three old Lius stared at An Cai, speechless for a long while, looking at him like he was some kind of monster.

Finally, Grandpa Liu pursed his lips and spoke, “Old fool, back in the day you roamed the streets and barely knew more characters than we did. But why are your ideas always so layered?”

Feng Qingbai lowered his gaze slightly, suppressing the aura he had deliberately projected earlier. An Cai’s words had caught him off guard.

Digging up soil, creating a canal to redirect water—this method could even be applied in the imperial court to assist with water management.

No wonder Xinghua Village had been completely suppressed by Xiapo Village in the past.

An Cai was indeed a rare talent. Ruthless and shrewd, and intelligent. 

Liu Jinfu was no match for him.

Fortunately, although this man was cunning and ruthless, his ambitions were small; his focus was entirely on the village.

In an instant, his mind raced, unreadable to anyone nearby. Then An Cai spoke again, “I wasn’t thinking of anything serious, just testing the idea. What do you think, Brother Liu? If you agree, I’ll go talk to Liu Jinfu.”

“Finally, after all these years, you’ve learned some manners,” Grandpa Liu hummed. If it had been in the past, An Cai wouldn’t have even asked; he would have acted immediately. “I have no objections. Go ahead and speak with Liu Jinfu. Our village won’t really begrudge a little soil and water, will we?”

After leaving An Cai’s house, they had finished visiting the entire Xiapo Village.

On the way back, Grandpa Liu kept sighing, “This old fellow… How did his mind develop into such? He really is smarter than most people.”

Feng Qingbai walked at the rear, a faint smile lingering at the corners of his lips, without offering any explanation to him.

Earlier, when leaving An Cai’s house, An Cai had whispered to him, “Your Highness, rest assured, though I’m rough, I would never harm my own people.”

Indeed, a clever man.

By the time they returned home, it was mealtime.

In the kitchen, the dishes had been prepared and kept warm in the pots, just waiting for them.

After feeding the three little ones and setting them in their cradles to play on their own, the family gathered for the meal.

During the meal, Grandpa Liu recounted the events with An Cai, chuckling and sighing, “That old fool really knows how to think. Watch and see—if the rice and vegetables in Xiapo Village grow better than in previous years, the soil in our Xinghua Village will probably be dug up entirely.”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh.

And indeed, it was likely to happen; when that time came, wouldn’t every village be stirred into action?

Even though nearly every household now had someone working at the distillery, earning more than enough silver each month to live comfortably, the roots of rural households were still in farming and tending the land.

If there were a way to make the crops grow better, who wouldn’t rejoice?

Amidst the elders’ cheerful chatter, Feng Qingbai looked at Liu Yusheng and saw the young girl’s face alight with a radiant smile, showing no hidden worries or hesitation.

Noticing his gaze, the girl playfully winked at him.

Feng Qingbai’s heart stirred slightly, his eyes darkening a bit, causing the girl to immediately turn her head away in embarrassment.

She had seen the color in the man’s eyes most often while lying in bed.

“I told that old fellow An Cai that the crops in Xinghua Village grow so well because this place is blessed. If he really succeeds over there, do you think in the future people might come to our Xinghua Village to offer incense and pray to the gods?” Grandpa Liu asked with a laugh, teasing everyone.

“That’s highly likely. The temple in our town has always had steady worship because so many good men and faithful women come. If they truly believe our village is blessed, maybe they really will come to pray,” Grandma Liu murmured thoughtfully.

Like her and her husband, they also believed in gods and Buddhas.

When Nannan was born, they had gone to the temple to ask the old monk for her name. From the very beginning, she had been called the ‘Nannan,’ perhaps because her name carried fortune.

Hearing the elders speak increasingly mystically, Liu Zhiqiu clicked his tongue, “All this talk of gods and Buddhas is nonsense. Instead of praying to spirits, why not let people come to find our Nannan? Her medical skills can cure illness and improve health. Doesn’t that matter more than worshiping imaginary gods or ghosts?”

Elder Jiu nearby shook his head with a smile, “Exactly. Rather than praying to gods and Buddhas, drink a jar of Xinghua Village wine; that’s a benefit even gods and Buddhas can’t give. A bunch of blind, ignorant mortals…”

Laughter rang out around the table again. Though Elder Jiu spoke in such a mystical, almost exaggerated way, he really made sense.

In the two years since Liu Yusheng married, the distillery had expanded to all the major prefectural cities of Nanling, and the reputation of Xinghua Village wine had spread throughout the Nanling kingdom.

Back when they established a partnership with the Li family in Beicang, Xinghua Village’s nourishing tea and wine were promoted and sold by the Lis in Beicang. In just over two years, the Lis had firmly become the top merchant in the kingdom.

This showed just how popular Xinghua Village wine had become.

In Elder Jiu’s words: it strengthens the body, prolongs life. Anyone who drinks it knows.

Because it was Lunar New Year’s Day, local custom dictated not visiting other households. After the meal, the family would gather around the fire to warm themselves, followed by an unwavering midday nap.

Liu Yusheng and Feng Qingbai returned to the inner courtyard. After soothing the two little ones to sleep, they began a quiet conversation about An Cai’s matter.

“Could it affect you?” He was now the only one in the family who knew about the space, and he had long suspected that Xinghua Village’s uniqueness had something to do with Shengsheng.

Liu Yusheng shook her head with a smile. “It won’t have any effect. Xinghua Village is a blessed place, and there’s a pagoda tree at the village entrance that brings fortune. I was born here thanks to that blessing.”