Simple, honest folk

An Weiyan had already arrived in Linbei County. He still had no idea that quite a few people had come to Cloud-Stilling Temple after he left.

"My lord! My lord!"

An Weiyan had only just returned, and as soon as he stepped out of the county office, he heard shouts from up ahead.

He looked toward the voices and saw quite a crowd gathered ahead.

Somewhat puzzled, An Weiyan nevertheless strode over.

Seeing An Weiyan approach, the crowd immediately parted to make a path. Then they looked at him with delighted faces, seemingly waiting to see his reaction.

But after taking a few steps forward, An Weiyan saw only several exceptionally thick tree trunks laid out before him.

At the sight of them, his brows rose involuntarily, and he looked at the woodcutters beside him in confusion.

"What's the matter?"

They're just a few big trees. Is there something different about them?

As he asked, An Weiyan lowered his head and examined the trunks before him closely.

He did not know many varieties of trees. Suddenly confronted with trees of this kind, he was honestly rather stumped for a moment.

"My lord, this is golden-thread nanmu!"

Seeing that An Weiyan did not seem to recognize the trees, a woodcutter beside him explained softly.

This variety of timber was used only by high officials and dignitaries. Furniture made from it reflected golden threads in the sunlight.

Moreover, golden-thread nanmu grain was divided into grades, primarily according to the patterns within the wood.

There were roughly five grades.

The ordinary grade included golden-thread patterns, mountain-peak patterns, and the like.

The medium grade included ordinary ripple patterns, black tiger-stripe patterns in new timber, and the like.

The fine grade included black tiger-stripe patterns in old timber, gold-line patterns, gold-ingot patterns, and the like.

The exceptional grade included exceptional ripple patterns, exceptional wave patterns, phoenix-tail patterns, dense waterdrop patterns, and the like.

The treasure grade included dragon-gall patterns, dragon-scale patterns, gold-and-jade-filling-the-hall patterns, and the like.

The more precious they were, the rarer they became.

Hearing the woodcutter's explanation, An Weiyan immediately recalled the grades of this kind of timber.

This is golden-thread nanmu?

An Weiyan froze for a moment, then hurried forward to inspect it. The more he looked, the more astonished he became. These golden-thread nanmu trunks were enormous.

He could not yet tell what the grain inside looked like, but one thing was certain: golden-thread nanmu this huge was exceedingly rare back on Earth.

Shocked, An Weiyan raised his head and looked at the woodcutters around him.

"You felled these?"

"Yes, my lord!" The woodcutter seemed somewhat nervous now and hurriedly explained, "This humble commoner is only a woodcutter, with nothing to his name. I thought I could cut some timber to repay your great kindness."

These are for me?

An Weiyan was taken aback. He truly had never expected that they had gone out specifically to fell golden-thread nanmu to give to him.

Looking at the simple, honest faces of the commoners around him, An Weiyan found himself at a loss for words.

Although some people had become greedy after seeing the large quantities of grain he had brought back, there was no denying that many of the commoners here were still simple, honest folk.

"This golden-thread nanmu is too valuable."

An Weiyan swallowed, then spoke in a slightly dry voice.

With these in hand, if he could find a way to sell them, he would have no shortage of money to spend.

The woodcutter immediately grew anxious at his words. "My lord, without you, my children would have starved to death by the roadside long ago. How could I still be standing here? This golden-thread nanmu is just a few pieces of wood. It only looks a little prettier."

"Even if I had cut it down before, there would have been nowhere to exchange it for grain to eat. Please, my lord, you must accept this token of our gratitude."

The woodcutter spoke so anxiously that he looked ready to drop to his knees before An Weiyan.

Listening to him, An Weiyan glanced at the golden-thread nanmu before him. Come to think of it, he really did need it.

If he could sell it for money, he could put that money toward developing this place better.

At that thought, An Weiyan stopped declining.

Seeing that An Weiyan was willing to accept it, the woodcutter beside him was immediately overjoyed. "Then we'll have Cheng Er next door make a few fine pieces of furniture for you, my lord!"

An Weiyan nodded at this. The county office did indeed lack some furniture.

Although using golden-thread nanmu to make it was somewhat extravagant, making a few pieces would do no harm.

However, An Weiyan had them set aside two trunks and deliver them to his courtyard. Later, he would see whether he could sell them on Earth. If he could, he would simply take them over there.

Once the timber had all been hauled away, the matter came to a close.

Yet a few people in the distance glanced this way, their expressions gradually turning somewhat strange.

"Hah, those old woodcutters did pretty well for themselves. They made His Lordship happy and really showed us up!"

Several fishermen nearby grew rather indignant at the sight.

"Let's go catch some fish in the river and give them to His Lordship, so he can feel our sincerity too."

There were so many people in Linbei County, yet only those woodcutters had given His Lordship anything. How could they let themselves fall behind like this?

They had to go to the river and catch some fine fish for His Lordship!

Hearing this, the other fishermen nearby immediately nodded in agreement.

Hadn't people said that some of the demons had temporarily left recently? Presumably, nothing would happen if they went fishing in the river.

Those woodcutters had gone up the mountain and come back perfectly fine, hadn't they?

At that thought, the fishermen immediately perked up, fetched their fishhooks, and headed for the river.

An Weiyan still had no idea that, no sooner had the woodcutters returned with golden-thread nanmu than the fishermen nearby had started making plans of their own.

Watching the golden-thread nanmu being delivered to his courtyard, An Weiyan examined it closely several times.

Judging by the cut ends, there was indeed a golden gleam showing inside.

The golden color was truly rich.

After looking it over carefully several times, An Weiyan began pondering how he should sell it.

"How about asking Su Qingyun?"

Thinking it over, Su Qingyun's family was exceptionally wealthy. Perhaps some people around her enjoyed collecting timber of this grade, or using it.

With that thought, An Weiyan made up his mind to ask Su Qingyun later.

It was just that having to trouble her over everything did leave him feeling somewhat ashamed.

Fortunately, he now had this Portable World. Once he had developed it a little further, he would still be able to repay the favor.

Having settled the matter in his mind, An Weiyan headed out to the fields. He wanted to see how the land reclamation outside was progressing.