Chapter 9: Stranger

The villagers had never been more united in heart.

As the saying goes, “When people are of one mind, they can move Mount Tai.” With everyone pulling together, what couldn’t they accomplish?

Uncle Chen Jiu had the villagers spread out to search the area again and, to everyone’s surprise and delight, they discovered more than a dozen living old pine trees.

An An kept her achievements and name hidden. She had attempted to grant the villagers a koi-blessing buff, leaving only a tiny trace on each person. Even combined, the whole crowd didn’t receive as much blessing as a single member of the Zhao family.

That effort was only enough for a dozen or so living pine trees.

It was really strange—when she gave koi buffs to the Zhao family, not a single bit of energy dissipated.

She wasn’t sure if it was because her own level wasn’t high enough or if these people simply couldn’t bear that much koi fortune.

She couldn’t figure it out. Since she couldn’t figure it out, she decided not to think about it! Mama’s embrace was soft and fragrant—time to sleep!

Since the mountain had yielded such a harvest, the villagers naturally became hopeful and frequently ventured into the mountains over the following days. Unfortunately, they came back empty-handed each time, and gradually lost interest, refocusing on their vegetable gardens and farmland.

They were envious of the Zhao family’s good fortune, but not resentful. After all, the Zhaos shared what they found—how could anyone feel anything but gratitude?

Their current survival was thanks to the Zhaos!

Meanwhile, the seedlings the villagers were cultivating had begun to sprout one after another, though with varying success. In comparison, the Zhao family’s seedlings had the highest germination rate and looked the healthiest.

When Auntie Zhao heard about the low sprouting rates in other households, she shivered in fear. Thankfully—thankfully—she had listened to Yingzi back then and didn’t sow all 100 seeds like the others. Even so, she had ended up with over a dozen more saplings than the others!

To avoid standing out, Qin Ying and Auntie Zhao discussed it and deliberately took An An along to visit other households, helping care for their saplings and vegetable plots.

An An understood the situation and quietly gave them a bit of koi-blessing as well.

With nearly a month of meticulous care, the villagers transplanted the surviving saplings to the mountains. Uncle Chen Jiu assigned people to guard and water them daily.

With An An’s protection, all the saplings survived, and the lush green foliage painted a picture of flourishing hope.

As time went on, the crops in Tongshu Village and the surrounding villages grew well. But so did the number of prying eyes in the shadows.

Chen Jiu added more patrols, leaving no gaps in surveillance. They carried hammers, sickles, and other tools on every round.

There had already been several bloody confrontations. Fortunately, with An An’s protection, Tongshu Village and its neighbors suffered no real losses.

One day, Qin Ying and Zhao Hu were coming down the mountain when they encountered a group of people whose appearance and manner clearly differed from the local mountain folk.

She hurriedly pulled Zhao Hu to the side to avoid them.

But the more they tried to avoid the group, the more the strangers approached.

A middle-aged man with a short beard and dressed in a plain blue robe walked up with a smile. He bowed slightly and clasped his hands in a respectful salute.

Qin Ying thought he looked quite similar to the colleagues of her father whom she had seen as a child.

Zhao Hu stepped forward, shielding Qin Ying behind him, and asked with a guarded face, “What do you want?”

The middle-aged man blinked, amused. This young man was certainly alert. But as for the young woman—though youthful, her skin was dark and her frame emaciated, just barely resembling a human figure. Who could harbor ill intentions toward her?

Still, anyone who knew how to protect family was good in his book.

So he politely said, “Young man, we’re only looking to ask for directions.”

“Ask away,” Zhao Hu replied stiffly, “but I can’t promise I’ll know.”

The middle-aged man smiled again. “We’re trying to find a village. Even a rough idea of the location would help. It’s called Tongshu Village.”

Zhao Hu turned to look at Qin Ying.

Qin Ying sighed inwardly. Silly little brother! You’re giving yourself away! She then asked the stranger, “Why are you looking for Tongshu Village? Everyone in our village is just honest, hardworking farmers.”

A tall, slender young man stepped out from the group. He wore a sapphire blue robe, and a wide bamboo hat shaded most of his face.

As he came closer, he took off his hat and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture. “Thank you for your help.”

The middle-aged man from before bowed respectfully to him and stepped back several paces.

Qin Ying raised her eyes to get a good look.

The young man appeared to be in his early twenties. His cheeks were thin, but his eyebrows were sharp and eyes bright. His nose was especially straight and handsome, and his lips well-shaped—though cracked and dry. His face and clothes were covered in dust, like a pearl hidden in grime.

She only glanced briefly before lowering her eyes and returning the greeting.

The young man’s gaze flickered slightly, and he politely said, “My surname is Zhou. I work for the county yamen. I heard water was found here and came to investigate.”

Zhao Hu immediately tensed. “Are you here to steal our food?”

“No, no,” Zhou Yu quickly waved his hands. “We were ordered to assess the drought conditions in the county and look for ways to combat the disaster.”

Zhao Hu curled his lips mockingly. “It’s been three years of drought. Back when people were starving to death, we never saw you. Now that we’ve finally found a sliver of hope, here you come?”

“Young man,” the middle-aged man quickly said, “you’ve misunderstood. The disaster in Qinxian is severe. Compared to other places, your situation is relatively mild. Elsewhere, there’s robbery, murder, arson…”

“Jinzhi, that’s enough,” Zhou Yu interrupted. He turned back to Qin Ying and Zhao Hu. “We’re severely understaffed at the county office. Before, we truly couldn’t manage everything.”

He explained sincerely, “We only want to understand the situation here. We promise not to take even a grain of your food. If we can learn something from your experience and help more people, that would be ideal.”

Zhao Hu clenched his fists and looked at Qin Ying again.

Qin Ying gently patted his shoulder. “Huzi, let’s take the officials to Uncle Chen’s place.”

Zhou Yu quickly responded, “You flatter us. It’s you who are our saviors.”

Qin Ying didn’t reply and simply walked ahead with Zhao Hu in silence.

Zhou Yu tried to chat with them more.

But unfortunately, the siblings were tighter-lipped than a clam.

When they reached the entrance to Tongshu Village, Qin Ying planned to let Zhao Hu take Zhou Yu’s group to Uncle Chen’s house while she carried An An home first.

An An had been asleep, but even in her dreams, she felt a force urging her to wake up.

She sniffed and caught the scent of energy.

Whoosh—

Her eyes snapped open. She wriggled her nose, then stretched her neck over Qin Ying’s shoulder and spotted a tall, slender figure emitting a white glow of energy all over his body!

Wow~~~

She nearly drooled. This man! He could increase her energy levels too!

Her Celestial Eye activated instantly!

Zhou Yu, age twenty-two, height 8 chi (approx. 6’4″), nephew of Empress Zhou, heir to the title of Lord Cheng’en. Exceptionally gifted, skilled in both civil and martial disciplines. However, due to the paranoid nature of the Emperor of Great Zhou and his distrust of the empress’s clan, Zhou Yu had long hidden his talents and remained a background figure among the capital’s elite.

When the rebellion of the Nine Princes erupted, chaos spread in the capital. Empress Zhou died during the palace coup, and the Lord Cheng’en estate evacuated immediately. Zhou Yu secured a position as a county magistrate.

A year into the drought in Qinxian, the original magistrate died in a riot, and Zhou Yu was appointed in the crisis. He traveled extensively, strategizing drought relief efforts.

With the imperial bureaucracy nearly paralyzed and the drought worsening by the day, his pleas to the court for aid went unanswered. He joined forces with neighboring counties and opened government granaries, but it was like pouring water into a sieve.

Especially in Qinxian, a mountainous region—though only a county, its territory exceeded that of five plains counties combined.

In the most devastated areas, conditions were so dire that cannibalism had begun. Entire villages had turned into human-devouring monsters.