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墨書 Inktalez
Hanno's gaze fell upon Wen Ziyu. Wen Ziyu shivered, his sharp eyes fixed intently on Hanno.
Hanno smiled, "You must be Wen Ziyu, right? Just like Li Yishu, you're a good kid."
Wen Ziyu blushed with excitement at Hanno's praise. "Thank you, Sister Han, for the compliment."
Hanno asked, "Is there anything you want?"
Wen Ziyu shook his head. "I don't really want anything."
As long as he could eat well and stay warm, life was much better than before; he was already very satisfied.
Noticing the calligraphy book on the tea table, Hanno tossed it into the Porcelain Jar. "Since you also study and recognize characters, I'll give you this calligraphy book."
Wen Ziyu held the book with great excitement. This was a calligraphy book by Yan Zhenqing, something many wealthy people couldn't obtain, yet he had it in his hands. He looked around at his older brother and good friend. "Big Brother, Li Yishu, let's use this calligraphy book together from now on."
Wen Zixia smiled and ruffled his younger brother's hair. "Sure!"
Hanno couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Li Yishu gazing eagerly at him from the bottom of the jar. He glanced around and noticed that aside from the tea table, there was only one other item left to give away: a copy of Hero Liu Bo Wen.
"Li Yishu, here’s a storybook for you," Hanno said as he tossed Hero Liu Bo Wen into the Porcelain Jar.
Li Yishu hugged it tightly, grinning from ear to ear. Suddenly, a blue light flickered at the bottom of the Porcelain Jar, and both images disappeared.
"What is this—running low on energy?" Hanno rubbed his chin thoughtfully but couldn't figure out how to recharge a Porcelain Jar. He decided to let it go and returned home in a good mood.
On the other side, Li Yishu brought the book into his room, flipping through the pages. Wen Ziyu sat beside him, stretching his neck to look along with him. Before long, both of them were captivated by the exciting story. It wasn't until Wen Zixia took the book from their hands that they reluctantly followed her out for breakfast. Wen Zixue was already awake, sitting at the dining table waiting for them—these two children were staying at the Li Family and slept in Li Zhoule's room. The child knew that several older siblings had important matters to attend to, so he wisely refrained from asking what they were doing and quietly did not disturb them.
"Li Yishu, Second Brother, come eat! Sister Zhou Le made delicious pancakes!" Wen Zixue cheerfully waved at them.
Wen Ziyu reached out to ruffle his younger brother's messy hair and sat on Wen Zixue's left side, while Li Yishu followed and sat on his other side. Li Zhoule and Wen Zixia brought the porridge and dishes to the table. The dishes were wild vegetables picked by Li Zhoule, blanched in hot water, drizzled with a few drops of oil, and seasoned with salt for a refreshing taste.
"Everyone should rest well today; we’ll perform a play tonight, and then we can retire successfully," Wen Zixia said as he set down his empty bowl.
Li Yishu's eyes sparkled: "I don't want to rest; I want to read. Brother Wen, give me back 'Hero Liu Bo Wen'!"
Wen Zixia pulled the book from his pocket and handed it back to Li Yishu: "Don't get too absorbed."
"Yes," Li Yishu replied loudly, exchanging a proud glance with Wen Ziyu.
Li Zhoule gently spoke: "I hope this time’s Celestial Seeds can help more people."
Li Zhoule continued: "I will go find Aunt Manchong later to discuss purchasing Embroidered Handkerchiefs."
Wen Zixia replied: "Let's hold off for now. We can wait until after the Celestial Seeds matter is settled. Even now, everyone’s mind is focused on the Celestial Seeds; there’s no mood for embroidery."
Li Zhoule nodded in agreement with Wen Zixia's suggestion.
Wen Zixue: ?? Not understanding what her older siblings were talking about.
After breakfast, Li Yishu and Wen Ziyu returned to their room. However, they had been busy all night and were both exhausted and sleepy. Before long, their eyelids began to droop, and they fell asleep on the bed. Wen Zixia went home to rest, while Wen Zixue stayed beside Li Zhoule. Although Li Zhoule hadn’t rested the night before, he wasn’t overly tired and still had the energy to take care of the child. Moreover, Wen Zixue was a very well-behaved child who didn’t require much attention from Li Zhoule; she occupied herself with a copy of the Three Character Classic and a brush, quietly practicing her reading and writing in the room. Feeling too tired, Li Zhoule took a brief rest, while Wen Zixue tiptoed around, careful not to wake him.
Time passed quietly like this. As the sun set and the villagers finished their dinner, a dazzling light illuminated the sky above the ancestral hall. Without hesitation, everyone hurried toward the hall. The last time their ancestors had sent down Celestial Seeds that ensured everyone in the village could have enough to eat; this time, what would their ancestors bring? With anticipation, the entire village gathered at the entrance of the ancestral hall.
When the village chief arrived, everyone urged him to open the door and enter the hall quickly. The village chief cheerfully obliged, pushing open the large door and leading the villagers into the ancestral hall in a grand procession.
As expected, there were more items in front of the main hall this time. Unlike last time when there were only two sacks, this time the courtyard was filled with sacks—so many that it seemed there were at least one thousand jin.
“Ah! Our ancestors have bestowed us with so many Celestial Seeds! Even if we planted them all, we wouldn’t be able to finish using them,” Villager A exclaimed.
Villager B spoke up, “I know! It must be that our ancestors realized that many people have come to our village asking for Celestial Seeds lately, so they granted us this abundance to ensure we have enough to share.”
Villager C’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Our ancestors are truly considerate.”
A piece of paper was also placed in front of the incense burner. Scholar Guan stepped forward without needing any prompting from the village chief and picked up the paper to read aloud.
“It turns out our ancestors truly bestowed these Celestial Seeds for those who are asking for them.”
“Our ancestors surely don’t want those people to go hungry!”
“Yes! Our ancestors are so kind.”
“Truly worthy of being our ancestors.”
The village chief coughed and said, "Since our ancestors have instructed us to deliver the Celestial Seeds to the county for the county officials to distribute to other villages, we must comply. Tomorrow we will head to the county town, Full Granary, Man Jin, and Man Yin... you few come with me. Zhou Le, can you lend your family's ox cart for everyone to use?"
Li Zhoule readily agreed, "Village chief, feel free to use it. This is our ancestors' wish, and as their descendants, we must do our best to fulfill it."
"Good," the village chief praised. "You truly are good children of Aoyama Village. Our ancestors know of your kindness and will surely bless you."
Li Zhoule smiled lightly; they didn't need their ancestors' blessings because they had Deity Sister Han watching over them.
The next morning, everyone in the village rose early, working together to load all the sacks onto the ox cart and handcarts. Aside from the village chief's family, only the Li Family had an ox cart. To avoid exhausting the ox pulling the cart, they didn't load too many sacks onto it; instead, most were placed on the Chicken Cart, pushed by several strong uncles heading to the county town. Their wives worried that the journey would be too tiring for them, so they accompanied them into town, taking turns resting while pushing the carts—though rural women might not match men's strength, they were certainly capable. Thus, when they set out, there were over thirty people in total, creating quite a lively scene.
With so many people walking together, they naturally attracted countless onlookers. Some villagers from Aoyama Village were asked about their journey, and they did not hide anything, sharing the news of their ancestors bestowing Celestial Seeds upon them. This revelation caused quite a stir. It was known that not long ago Aoyama Village had received Celestial Seeds from their ancestors, a fact that had spread to many nearby villages; otherwise, no one would have come seeking them. However, Aoyama Village had very few Celestial Seeds available, and many were unable to obtain any. People expressed their regret and envy; after this event, every village's ancestral hall was filled with incense offerings but no signs of their ancestors appearing. Just when everyone was losing hope, Aoyama Village's ancestors manifested again and sent such a large quantity of Celestial Seeds. Could they also hope to receive one or two?
Filled with hope, these villagers followed closely behind Aoyama Village's residents. The crowd grew larger as more people joined in until they reached the County Office. The gatekeeper was startled by the sight of so many people and feared a riot might break out!
The village chief and Master Guan quickly stepped forward to reassure the gatekeeper: "We come from Aoyama Village with important matters to discuss with the Magistrate; please inform him."
Seeing Master Guan dressed like a scholar and the village chief looking honest and straightforward eased the gatekeeper's worries. "Please wait here," he said.
Before long, the gatekeeper returned after reporting inside: "The magistrate has asked you to enter."
The village chief turned back to give a few instructions to Uncle Man Cang and others before following Master Guan cautiously into the magistrate's office. The Magistrate and Steward had been waiting for them in the hall. The situation of having no seeds for spring planting had left both men deeply troubled; sleepless nights were spent brainstorming solutions to this predicament. However, even skilled hands could not cook without rice—without seeds, all their ideas were futile. In just a short time, both the Magistrate and Steward had grown increasingly haggard; each had lost at least ten pounds. They had heard about Aoyama Village's ancestors manifesting but dismissed it as foolishness—believing that ignorant villagers did not realize someone had simply placed two sacks of grain in their ancestral hall and deceived them into thinking it was a divine gift. Yet now that people from Aoyama Village had come knocking on their door left both men puzzled; did they want rewards from their ancestors? With skepticism in mind, they allowed the village chief and Scholar Guan inside to hear what they had to say.
Upon seeing the Magistrate and Steward, the village chief felt somewhat intimidated and struggled with his words; fortunately, Master Guan was a scholar who had met with magistrates before and remained relatively composed in front of them.
"Why have you two come to see me?" The Magistrate scrutinized the two individuals before him. Noticing that they did not appear to be deceitful and were instead radiating joy, he couldn't help but feel curious.
The Village Chief remained silent, leaving Master Guan to speak up nervously. "Your Honor, we are here to present the Celestial Seeds."
"Celestial Seeds?" The Magistrate raised an eyebrow. "I have heard that not long ago, the ancestors of Aoyama Village manifested and bestowed Celestial Seeds. However, these seeds are scarce, and many have gone to Aoyama Village seeking them in vain. Now you claim to have surplus Celestial Seeds to bring to me?"
Master Guan clasped his hands respectfully. "Your Honor, the ancestors of Aoyama Village manifested again last night and granted us a large quantity of Celestial Seeds."
"Oh?" This surprised the Magistrate. "How large is this quantity?"
Master Guan replied, "Three to five One Thousand Jin."
Both the Magistrate and the Steward gasped in unison. If it were only a couple of hundred Jin, they could be certain it was a human trickery; but with several One Thousand Jin of seeds, they could not dismiss the possibility of something extraordinary occurring. Such a vast amount of seeds could cultivate hundreds of acres.
The Magistrate maintained a stern expression and asked, "You claim these seeds were granted by your ancestors; do you have any proof?"
Master Guan responded, "A radiant light appeared above the ancestral hall in Aoyama Village, visible from miles away. If Your Honor does not believe me, you may inquire with the villagers nearby. Furthermore, the ancestors of Aoyama Village not only bestowed grains but also provided written instructions on how to plant the Celestial Seeds."
The Magistrate said, "I will have someone investigate the matter of the light at the ancestral hall. Do you have the written instructions with you?"
Master Guan looked at the Village Chief, who hurriedly pulled out a cloth bag from his robe and carefully presented the Ancestral Message wrapped in cloth to the county official.
Without even reading the text on the paper, both the Magistrate and the Steward's eyes lit up. The paper was exceptionally white—whiter than snow. They could ascertain that no paper available in this world was as pristine as what lay before them. Could it be that this was heavenly paper rather than that of the Mortal Realm? Just these few sheets had already begun to shift their perceptions. In ancient times, although scholars often claimed that "one should not speak of strange forces or spirits," they still held beliefs in deities and supernatural phenomena.
Looking at the words on the paper, Lord Zhixia couldn't help but tremble with excitement: a single Sweet Potato could be counted as several seedlings. Once the seedlings were cultivated and successfully planted, they could be cut and replanted, greatly reducing the amount of seeds needed. What thrilled him even more was—
"An yield of One Thousand Jin per mu?" The Magistrate stood up in excitement. "Is this for real? You're not pulling my leg, are you?"
The village chief quickly replied, "Our Ancestors would never deceive us."
Scholar Guan added, "Aoyama Village has already begun planting Celestial Seeds, and the method of cutting and replanting has been verified. I believe that an yield of One Thousand Jin per mu is not just a rumor."
"Good, very good!" The Magistrate laughed heartily. If Celestial Seeds truly solved his major dilemma, then it must be something miraculous. "Where can we find these Celestial Seeds?"
Scholar Guan responded, "They are just outside the county office."
The Magistrate hurriedly instructed the Steward, "Steward, take some people to bring the Celestial Seeds into the county office."
Scholar Guan quickly interjected, "My lord, we encountered many people on our way here who have learned about the Celestial Seeds and have followed us to the county office."
This posed a bit of a problem. The Magistrate thought for a moment and said, "Steward, send those people back and ask their village chiefs to come to the county office. We will distribute the Celestial Seeds to each village chief, who will then pass them on to their villagers."
"Understood." The Steward received the order and went out.
Having resolved one issue, the Magistrate felt quite pleased and said to the village chief, "The achievements of Aoyama Village will not go unnoticed by me. Once the crops mature and if Celestial Seeds truly yield One Thousand Jin per mu, I will report this to the court and commend Aoyama Village and your Ancestors."
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