White Meat

Hongku left, Divine Lord Zhenyuan, after giving repeated instructions, also left Chang'an City.

The time frame wasn't long, but it wasn't short either.

High-ranking cultivators all have their own purposes, and it would be difficult for them to gather together without a strong system of control.

Zhang Xuezhou had long known that Divine Lord Zhenyuan would return to Duanhun Ridge one day and wouldn't be able to keep protecting him in Chang'an City.

As he watched Divine Lord Zhenyuan disappear into the night sky, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret, as if he had lost someone to rely on.

"Master?"

"The mules need a couple of days of rest after working, let's take a truce for a while!"

Standing outside the study, Zhang Xuezhou saw A Qiao emerge from the room with a flushed face, then cautiously glance at Lady Yourong and Zhang Zhong's room, prompting him to quickly wave his hand.

"Don't worry, Master is now a Vice Minister, it won't be difficult for him to resolve your issue of being classified as a lowly person!"

"The master has become an official again?"

A-Qiao was a genuine worker, and Zhang Xuezhou was not a person who broke his promises.

As things progressed step by step, his words and actions clearly reassured A-Qiao.

"Not only has the master been promoted to an official position, but His Majesty has also bestowed upon him a fortune. Let's move to the Imperial City District tomorrow so we can better receive this immense imperial favor!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed in the direction of the Imperial City District.

It's inevitable for cultivators to have grudges against each other, and the closer they are to the core of power, the easier it is for them to attract trouble.

Having witnessed the panic of Xu Chang, Zhuang Qingdi, and others, Zhang Xuezhou became more cautious and careful, lest his family be implicated.

Most people in Zhang Household Village will not relocate. In the future, only a small number of people will go to the official residence, or be recruited into the mansion through methods such as hiring servants to avoid involvement.

He and A-Qiao had only been exchanging pleasantries for a short while when they heard a knock on the door outside the house.

The rhythm of the knocking sounded somewhat familiar. Just as Zhang Xuezhou was about to assume that Zheng Wukong and others had come to visit, a sudden thought struck him, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

"Master, what brings you here?"

Zhang Xuezhou felt that these past two days had truly been a period of constant separation and reunion.

He was still lamenting the departure of Divine Lord Zhenyuan when Dong Zhongshu arrived in Chang'an City.

As if he had timed it perfectly, Dong Zhongshu not only avoided Hongku but also Divine Lord Zhenyuan, as if he had avoided both of them, and arrived just before Zhang Xuezhou moved.

It was already dark, and Dong Zhongshu had clearly come specifically for this purpose.

The gate of the house opened, Zhang Xuezhou saw Dong Zhongshu walking gracefully in, wearing cloth shoes and carrying a fan and a sword on his back.

"It's been a while," Dong Zhongshu said with a smile and a nod. "I went to Huainan and found something good. Thinking it might be useful, I returned to Chang'an City earlier than planned!"

"Good stuff? Please come in quickly!"

Zhang Xuezhou was taken aback, then reached out to invite Dong Zhongshu into his home.

Zhang Xuezhou rarely heard Dong Zhongshu praise him, and he even found it hard to hide his smile; the current situation was clearly good enough.

People are in high spirits when they have good news, and Zhang Xuezhou was also all smiles.

After the guests were greeted, Zhang Xuezhou saw Dong Zhongshu take out a translucent, fibrous white stone.

What's the secret behind this stone?

Zhang Xuezhou looked at it for a few seconds and felt that the stone in Dong Zhongshu's hand was ordinary, without any characteristics of a treasure, and he couldn't figure out what it was about at all.

"This stone..."

Dong Zhongshu hesitated, glancing at A Qiao who was standing beside Zhang Xuezhou.

"Master, you must be tired from your long journey. Ah Qiao, go to the kitchen and prepare some food. We can eat and talk later!"

Zhang Xuezhou sent A Qiao to the kitchen before Dong Zhongshu leaned in to listen.

"I once saw Alchemist in the King of Huainan's Household grind soybean powder and boil it into soy milk. After adding this substance to the water, the soy milk clumped together and then turned into white flesh," Dong Zhongshu said in a low voice.

"And then?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"And this white meat is edible, tender and smooth, comparable to dragon liver and phoenix gall," Dong Zhongshu whispered. "After eating it, there will be no bloating or diarrhea, no toxic side effects, and it can even strengthen the body!"

"To improve physical health?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise.

"It's not of much use to us," Dong Zhongshu shook his head repeatedly, "But for the poor, it's a tonic that strengthens their bodies!"

"This good stuff is great for us..."

"The poor make up the majority of the world's population!"

When Zhang Xuezhou hesitated slightly, Dong Zhongshu whispered and reminded him repeatedly.

"Beans are only edible when they are young and green. Once they are old and hard, they can cause bloating and diarrhea, and are not easy to eat in large quantities. They can only be cooked and fed to cattle and horses during the winter," Dong Zhongshu said. "But as long as this ingredient is added, people can eat them, and dried beans can be stored for several years without any problems. Many people do not lack beans!"

You mean to say...?

Zhang Xuezhou's eyes widened slightly.

His reaction was indeed a little slow; after all, hunger had been something that had been absent from Zhang Xuezhou for a very, very long time, so long that he had almost forgotten that he hadn't known where his next meal would come from when he was a child.

In reality, thanks to the massive production of genetically modified crops, there is no shortage of food. Although various compressed foods taste terrible, it is not a problem to eat enough and get enough nutrition to meet the needs of survival.

Dong Zhongshu brought with him a mineral that could produce effects almost like genetically modified crops.

It's quite a significant event that a type of feed used for cattle and horses to survive the winter has been transformed into a nourishing food.

"The royal family of King of Huainan is practically ecstatic," Dong Zhongshu said. "Especially after the Empress Dowager's passing, they practically have 'gathering troops and preparing to overthrow the court' written all over their faces!"

"This matter is a bit urgent," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"It's not just urgent, it's very serious," Dong Zhongshu said.

"Then let's make some bean curd and split the profits evenly," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"That's what they say, but how it's implemented isn't up to us," Dong Zhongshu said. "Moreover, if the King of Huainan's Household finds out who leaked this information, they'll probably be dug up and whipped even in their coffins!"

"Then what do we do?"

"Only His Majesty is capable of doing such a thing!"

Dong Zhongshu pointed in the direction of the palace, indicating that no one could overstep their bounds, and it was not appropriate for them to openly defy him.

"His Majesty misses you very much. He's waiting for your return to the court in Chang'an City. He was still thinking about you yesterday. Why don't you, Master, talk to His Majesty about this matter yourself?" Zhang Xuezhou advised.

"You know I'm different from you," Dong Zhongshu retorted. "I'll definitely mess things up, and I don't want to go back to the court!"

"Then I can't explain this to His Majesty either," Zhang Xuezhou complained. "I'm in Chang'an City; I can't see all the way to Huainan!"

"You'll have to think of something," Dong Zhongshu said. "I'm fine being alone in Jiangdu, but if the King of Huainan really stirs up chaos and changes the court, you'll probably suffer much more than I do!"

"That's not just a matter of feeling uncomfortable, it's like it's going to kill me," Zhang Xuezhou said.

So that's it!

Dong Zhongshu shrugged, indicating that Zhang Xuezhou was unable to extricate himself from the matter concerning the King of Huainan.

Whether you're lying in a coffin or on the floor, you must counter your opponent's move.

It may not seem like much for the poor to have enough to eat, and no matter how strong and healthy they are, they can't withstand the intimidation of a powerful cultivator at will, but this means a significant boost to logistics.

Everything needed for war logistics, including road construction, horse breeding, armor production, and weapon manufacturing, was done by the weak.

The complexity and diversity of humanity also bring about differences, as evidenced by the Aristocratic Clan of the aristocratic families in Western Capital City generation after generation. The selection of elites from ordinary people by Open Source is also what the Scarlet Alliance State Council is currently doing.

Many geniuses are hidden among the weak; these people simply lack the resources to nurture them.

Given a chance, these seeds might sprout.

Perhaps it will take two or three years, or perhaps five or ten years. These things may not show results in the short term, but after long-term implementation, they will have a subtle and gradual effect, changing the whole society without us even realizing it.

Zhang Xuezhou held the fist-sized stone that Dong Zhongshu had given him; the light stone now seemed to weigh a ton.