Xia Chen mused with a hint of dissatisfaction. Taoist Xu claimed he lacked both martial arts and Taoist talent, but who knew what gifted disciple the old priest had recently taken in? The first time he saw the boy, Xia Chen was startled.

That morning was blessed with fine weather. Xia Chen had lingered in bed while enjoying a lazy start to the day well past breakfast. Only when the hour of the snake was half gone (9 am – 11 am) did he finally rise. Mother Xia scolded him gently, though her words carried more love than reproach.

Xia Chen flashed his charming smile, melting away his mother’s disapproval with a few sweet words. Qiao Niang, witnessing this, grinned as she brought him a bowl of warm porridge to enjoy in the courtyard.

As Mother Xia and Qiao Niang chatted while doing needlework, Xia Chen sat at the stone table and leisurely sipped his brown rice porridge.

In modern society, this humble fare was prized as more nutritious than refined white rice, yet difficult to acquire without the right connections. In reality, the rice simply had the husk removed until only a layer of bran remained. It lacked the refined texture of ordinary white rice and even required longer cooking times.

Accustomed to life’s finer things, Xia Chen was a picky eater. The plain brown rice porridge lacked side dishes, and its taste was slightly bland to his discerning palate. But he acknowledged his family’s good fortune; a mix of brown and white rice was considered good food in that era.

In some impoverished households, bran (used as pig feed in modern times) served as the staple food.

His father had already gone to great lengths to provide him with the best possible life. If Xia Chen desired more, he would have to find his own way. As their family prospered, their standard of living would naturally improve.

His thoughts drifted to the rice cultivated in his space. He always set aside land for it because of his unfinished random task. Unable to create a proper paddy field, he resorted to watering it as best he could. He used the gathering technique to collect the seeds after they matured, and then continued the planting process. His aim was to leverage the space’s exceptional soil quality to select superior varieties through multiple cycles.

This method proved effective. Compared to his initial crop, the rice showed steady improvement. However, progress had now stalled. Perhaps he should construct a paddy field to simulate a more optimal environment.

Unfortunately, his system was uncooperative. He would pester Tongban about it whenever the thought crossed his mind. Bored and sipping porridge, he mentally lectured Tongban again, urging him to create a paddy field.

Just as the two were engaged in their back-and-forth bickering, someone called at the outer courtyard gate. Qiao Niang went to answer and returned a moment later with two Taoist priests, one old and one young.

Xia Chen studied the young Taoist priest. The boy was surprisingly thin and small. Despite being nine years old, he looked two years younger than Xia Chen. Yet, the child possessed a delicate appearance.

Wearing an oversized Taoist robe that hung loosely on his frame, the child seemed even more frail. In the early spring, he wore only straw sandals, and his exposed toes and heels bore red chilblains. He cut a rather pitiful figure.

The young priest had kept his head down, hiding behind Taoist Xu. But sensing Xia Chen’s gaze, he looked up. Seeing a friendly-looking child, he offered Xia Chen a shy smile.

Xia Chen smiled back, his heart softening. ‘This little kid has dimples! He’s actually a bit cute…’

Meanwhile, Taoist Xu paid his respects to Mother Xia. He came straight to the point and said he had come to beg for food.^[1]In ancient China, Taoist priests usually would not beg for alms, as they were accustomed to being self-reliant. The term used here, “begging for food,” isn’t commonly associated … Continue reading

Mother Xia was taken aback. Behind the Taoist temple, Taoist Xu had reclaimed a small piece of land to grow crops. Although the harvest was meager, coupled with occasional alms from nearby villagers, it was enough to get by. The elder priest had almost never gone down the mountain to beg for food before.

Moreover, she had recently sent a substantial amount of rice and flour to the temple. Taoist Xu was not one to waste things, so how could he have run out of food and come to beg?

Mother Xia soon understood. This young Taoist priest must have been bought by Taoist Xu, and the rice, flour, and cloth were probably all taken to exchange for money.

Just then, a loud rumble of a hungry stomach sounded. The young Taoist priest was startled at first, then covered his stomach as his face flushed red. He lowered his head, wishing the ground could swallow him whole.

Mother Xia’s heart softened. Considering the kindness of Taoist Xu towards their family, she quickly made a decision and said with a laugh, “It’s still a distance up the mountain. Why don’t you have a simple meal at our house first?”

She then smiled at Xia Chen, “This rascal just got up. The pot has been kept on the fire to warm his porridge. It’ll be quick to cook a bowl of vegetarian noodles.”

“Then we’ll impose on you,” Taoist Xu replied politely and took down the bamboo basket on his back. Inside was a small sapling and a paper package.

“I found a wild pear tree in the mountains. I heard the young layman likes to collect seeds. This old Taoist has also collected some during his travels and brought them along. I hope the young layman won’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all!” Xia Chen hurriedly said. His father and big brother had already bought all the seeds that could be purchased in the county and town. Unfortunately, there were few varieties of seeds in this small place. He was worried that without new seeds, his experience gain would slow down. All the seeds he didn’t have were available in the mall, but they were outrageously expensive, almost as bad as Xia Tongban.

Mother Xia glared at Xia Chen but didn’t object to the gift. She instructed Qiao Niang to entertain the guests and turned to enter the kitchen. Her husband said there was too much work in the fields during spring plowing, so he had Granny Lei go to work in the fields instead.

Qiao Niang, a young wife, didn’t know what to say to Taoist Xu. Xia Chen tactfully struck up a conversation, thanking the elder Taoist for the seeds and asking the young priest his name.

The young Taoist priest blushed and timidly glanced at Xia Chen, softly saying, “Master said my name is Xu Helai.”

“Your name is really nice,” Xia Chen said with a hint of envy. Even the name sounded more befitting of a Taoist than his own. “I’m called Xia… Yuanbao.”

“Your name sounds nice too,” Xu Helai responded. He spoke slowly and gently, his mannerisms matching his appearance.

It was truly difficult to dislike a child like Xu Helai. After just chatting with him for a while, Xia Chen found that he was genuinely an honest child. He had a good temper, wasn’t talkative, was polite, and although he was easily shy, he wasn’t overly timid.

As the children were talking, Qiao Niang went into the room to fetch a pair of shoes and placed them by Xu Helai’s feet while kindly saying, “These are my eldest son’s old shoes. I hope you don’t mind using them. Although they’re old, they were made with care back then and are still quite sturdy.”

Xia Chen’s focus shifted. “Sister-in-law, can he wear Dong’er’s shoes? We should give him mine.” As the youngest in the family, Xia Chen had the smallest feet.

“He can’t fit into yours. His feet are bigger,” Qiao Niang said with a smile. “The young Taoist will definitely grow up to be tall.”

Xia Chen surreptitiously compared their feet and found that he was indeed smaller. He secretly retracted his feet and thought it was only because he was younger.

Xu Helai seemed to blush easily. He looked at Taoist Xu in a fluster, and seeing his master nod, he thanked Qiao Niang, then carefully changed into the new hand-me-down shoes, a joyful smile blooming on his face.

Xia Chen felt a twinge of sadness seeing this. He wasn’t jealous of the young Taoist at all. This was just a pitiful child, and he resolved to take care of him more if he could.

Mother Xia cooked the noodles and brought them out in two bowls. Taoist Xu’s sect didn’t abstain from meat, so Mother Xia had even added an egg to each bowl of noodles. 

Taoist Xu picked up the egg and put it in Xu Helai’s bowl, just as Xu Helai was about to pick the eggs in his bowl to give to his master. Master and disciple then looked at each other and smiled.

After the meal, Mother Xia packed a bag of grain and some vegetables for Taoist Xu to take. The elder Taoist and young priest thanked them again before getting up to leave.

The moment the guests left, Xia Chen rushed to put away the seeds. He asked his mother if he could plant the pear tree in the yard, and the ever-indulgent Mother Xia agreed. 

When Father Xia returned at noon and heard about the tree, he heartily approved. He had his eldest son remove a section of stone slabs to make room in the yard.

Under his father and brother’s guidance, Xia Chen successfully planted the pear tree. As he brushed the dirt from his hands, about to wash up, Xia Tongban informed him of his level-up.

Xia Chen was perplexed. Even if crops in the space matured, he would need to harvest them to gain experience. How had he suddenly leveled up without completing any tasks?

Xia Tongban explained: [Planted a wild pear tree.]

So planting outside gained him experience too! This realization struck Xia Chen, and he angrily retorted, “You were withholding my experience points for all the planting I did before!”

[Could any of the seeds you planted before germinate? Meaningless planting that does not yield fruit will gain no experience. Please don’t try to cheat, Host.]

Xia Chen was left speechless. He simply hadn’t known how! A horrifying conspiracy theory hit him. “You want me to farm in reality too? Tongban, are you a devil?”

Not waiting for Tongban’s reply, Xia Chen dashed to his father. “Dad, I want to study and learn to read! Send me to school!”

His goal was to slack off. Once he reached level ten and automated the farming, he could go to school. Otherwise, classes by day and farming by night would be too exhausting. He was afraid it would stunt his growth.

Who could have anticipated Tongban’s coercion would extend this far, even resorting to incentives? Xia Chen, fearful that he wouldn’t resist the temptation, took the initiative to plan his schedule.

“Okay!” Father Xia was overjoyed. Though a simple man, he knew the value of studying and understanding the principles. When his eldest son reached schooling age, the boy had been unable to answer the teacher’s questions and was always the one who got beaten in class.

Eventually, his eldest son flatly refused to go to school any longer. Father Xia couldn’t bear to force him, so he let the matter drop.

Just as Father Xia was planning to send his second grandson to school this year, his youngest son, who was no longer foolish, surprisingly took the initiative to study. It was simply perfect timing.

“Alright, I’ll go inquire right away. Nan’er will go too. You two can keep each other company,” Father Xia said happily.

Just as Nan’er burst in from outside with his big brother, eager to show his dear Little Uncle the grasshopper he’d caught, he overheard his Grandpa talking about sending him to study.

Nan’er then vividly recalled his big brother’s daily suffering as a student—memorizing books, writing practice, and the occasional beating that swelled his hands so badly he couldn’t use chopsticks.

His heart trembled, and his legs went weak. He didn’t care about the grasshopper anymore. He wailed, mimicking his brother’s old pleas, “I won’t study, I’ll never study even if I die. I want to farm!”

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