Daily Divination

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The endless golden rice fields rippled in the breeze like waves upon a golden sea.

Over the past few days, every household in Dongxi Village had been busy harvesting.

Early that morning.

Xu Chuan performed [Daily Divination] to divine his fortune.

[Today's divination: moderately favorable. While harvesting rice today, you will encounter Uncle Chen's family and may learn from him about an Inner Force Manual and ownerless rice fields.]

Xu Chuan's face lit up with delight.

All these days spent divining this matter weren't wasted. I finally caught the opportunity.

An Inner Force Manual?

It really is time to consider practicing the Martial Way.

However, Xu Chuan had yet to decide which child should follow the Martial Way, because that would determine who received the second-generation talent.

Out in the fields.

"Brother Chuan, your rice really is something. Every grain is plump and big. Your ten mu yield as much as our fifteen or sixteen!"

A dark-skinned man gazed at Xu Chuan's rice fields, the envy in his eyes plain to see.

His name was Chen Ergou, Uncle Chen's second son, and he was only a year younger than Xu Chuan.

He had admired and looked up to Xu Chuan since childhood.

Their rice fields lay beside Xu Chuan's.

"Got some secret recipe? Teach me, won't you?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Even if he had a secret recipe, why should he tell you?" Uncle Chen walked over, grumbling and scolding.

"Uncle Chen, there's no secret recipe. Heaven's just putting food on my table."

With [Heaven Rewards Diligence], Xu Chuan wasn't wrong to say that.

Uncle Chen chuckled. "Who in Dongxi Village doesn't know you're a master farmer, Sanshu? Otherwise, the Xu Lineage wouldn't have insisted on keeping you back then."

"You were wise to quit being a hired farmhand and strike out on your own. Your days have only been getting better."

"We still can't compare with your family, Uncle Chen."

Uncle Chen had two sons, two daughters, a hundred and twenty mu of rice fields, twenty mu of farmland, and thirty mu of wooded hills. His was a wealthy household even in Dongxi Village.

His eldest son had also done him proud, possessing some talent for martial arts.

He was already a Third-Rate Martial Artist, had settled in Qingjiang County's county seat, and had married a wealthy merchant's youngest daughter.

"Is Brother Daming not coming home during the busy harvest season?" A thought occurred to Xu Chuan, and he asked without giving anything away.

At the mention of his eldest son, Chen Ming, a complicated mixture of pride and helplessness flickered in Uncle Chen's eyes.

"Your Brother Daming is a martial artist. He has his own affairs to attend to."

A family's dirty laundry wasn't aired in public. Naturally, Uncle Chen wouldn't speak ill of his son in front of outsiders.

"I really envy Brother Daming. Once I have money, I'll buy an Inner Force Manual too and let my son practice. If you see Brother Daming, Uncle Chen, remember to ask him for me."

"No problem. A small matter." Uncle Chen grinned and thumped his chest. "The world still isn't very peaceful. Learning some martial arts for self-defense is a good thing."

As he spoke, he let out a soft sigh and lamented, "If Old Yu had thought the way you do, bandits wouldn't have struck in the middle of the night and slaughtered his whole family, young and old."

"What a tragedy!"

"But the martial artist's path eats up a great deal of money. You'd best prepare yourself, Sanshu." Uncle Chen changed tack again, offering a solemn warning.

Without talent, even a fortune would come to nothing in the end.

"I understand, Uncle Chen."

"What happened to Uncle Yu's family was a terrible shame. What's become of their land?"

"Once you're dead, everything comes to nothing." Uncle Chen's eyes brightened, a hint of amusement in them.

"The authorities will naturally reclaim it. Probably within the next couple of days. If you happen to run into the bailiffs, you'd best act right away."

"After all, your family keeps growing, and the children are getting bigger. Even if your rice fields yield several tenths more than everyone else's, ten mu is too little."

Xu Chuan wasn't surprised to have his intentions seen through. He scratched his head and offered some flattery. "Nothing gets past you, Uncle Chen. I've been thinking about it too.

"Life's gradually improving, and the family keeps growing, so I've started considering buying more land."

Whether common folk or wealthy households, everyone placed great value on land. Unless absolutely necessary, they would never sell their rice fields lightly.

It was the foundation of their survival.

Even if a household declined several generations later, as long as its land remained, it would still provide some security for its descendants' livelihood.

Buying rice fields came down to luck.

Fortunately, Xu Chuan's luck wasn't bad. His waiting had brought him an opportunity.

As for the Inner Force Manual, it wasn't the most important thing at present. If the price was too high, he could only set it aside and make plans for it later.

Xu Chuan knew perfectly well what the Xu family needed most right now.

He was as unflappable as an old dog!

The Great Wei Dynasty incorporated both the Martial Way and the Immortal Way, maintaining two separate systems of office: Martial Officials and Immortal Officials.

However, the Immortal Way demanded exceptional aptitude. Not even one person in ten thousand could cultivate immortality, and once they achieved success, their strength far surpassed that of martial artists.

Thus, Immortal Officials held distinctly higher status within the Great Wei Dynasty.

But either path required a certain degree of strength—and, more importantly, connections.

Becoming a Martial Official or an Immortal Official of the Great Wei Dynasty was equivalent to joining the civil service in Xu Chuan's previous life.

That was an iron rice bowl!

Every martial artist and low-level immortal cultivator yearned for one.

With careful management, it could allow a lineage to expand rapidly within ten or twenty years.

After chatting for a while, both families began harvesting.

Xu Chuan's family had only ten mu of rice fields. He had already spent more than ten days harvesting, so there wasn't much left. With his deft movements, he finished in half a day.

After lunch.

Xu Chuan was going to the Grain-Drying Ground to spread out the harvested rice, reducing its moisture to prevent mold.

"Daddy, where are you going?" the two little ones asked.

"Daddy's going to dry the rice."

"Daddy, I'll help you." Xu Mingwei looked up at Xu Chuan, his little hands clenched into fists and determination written on his young face.

"All right. Stone can come help Daddy."

Xu Chuan rubbed Xu Mingwei's head, his eyes filled with affection.

What parent wouldn't adore such a considerate child?

At that moment, Xu Mingyuan also piped up in his babyish voice. "Me wanna go too, Daddy."

"Yes, yes, yes. Everyone can go!"

Quite a few people were busy at the Grain-Drying Ground. Seeing Xu Chuan arrive with his two children, they smiled and praised his children for being considerate and capable.

Xu Chuan smiled back, beginning a brief round of parents praising one another's children.

But the two little ones were children after all. Before they had worked for long, something tempted them away, and who knew where they had run off to.

Xu Mingwei was already quite sensible, so Xu Chuan felt fairly at ease.

Still, when they returned covered in mud, Xu Chuan gave them a scolding.

Then he stripped them bare, put them in a wooden tub, and had Bai Jing wash them.

Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan played in the tub, splashing water all over Bai Jing's clothes and treating Xu Chuan to a display of wet-clothed temptation.

Late that night.

Stars dotted the sky, and the night breeze stepped through the moonlight, bringing threads of coolness.

Bai Jing practiced her skills again.

Her growing proficiency earned Xu Chuan's praise.

The next day.

[Today's divination: auspicious. At a quarter past the hour of the Snake, the Qingjiang County Registrar will arrive at the entrance to Dongxi Village. You have a high chance of purchasing fifty mu of rice fields.]

"Fifty mu of rice fields?"