Seeking Shelter

Galen Veritas watched as his young master Magnus Valorion took out a delicate porcelain bottle from his pocket and asked in confusion, "Young master, what kind of medicine is this?"

"This is Yunnan Baiyao. It can promote blood circulation and treat injuries from falls and hits," Magnus replied. He opened the lid and found a red safety pill attached to the cap. Without a second thought, he swallowed the pill and handed the bottle to Galen.

Galen took the bottle, filled with doubts, "This is strange. I've been changing the young master's clothes myself these past two days. Where did this medicine come from?"

Magnus noticed Galen's confusion and quickly explained, "Galen, did you forget? I did many good deeds for the people, and this Yunnan Baiyao was secretly given to me by them. I just didn't have the chance to ask you to apply it before I passed out."

Galen felt relieved and silently admired, "Indeed, the young master is reaping the rewards of his good deeds. From the moment he took office, he refused to collude with corrupt officials. This Yunnan Baiyao is truly a reward for his benevolence!"

Galen quickly drove the ox cart to the roadside and found a secluded spot to stop. He carefully unwrapped the bandage on Magnus's back, revealing bruises and severe injuries, some even festering and oozing pus.

Seeing these horrifying wounds, Galen couldn't help but shed tears, cursing, "Those damned corrupt officials! They conspired together and pushed the young master into this state..."

Magnus, hearing Galen's choked voice, comforted him, "Galen, don't cry. Hurry and apply the medicine!"

Galen wiped his tears, took a clean towel from the bag, and gently cleaned the pus from Magnus's wounds. Then, he carefully sprinkled the Yunnan Baiyao powder. The powder stung like pepper but soon brought a cooling sensation, gradually easing the pain.

In this cool sensation, the weakened Magnus unintentionally fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up again, he found that Galen had brought him to a rural household. The sound of Galen negotiating for shelter with an old man woke Magnus.

This household consisted of an elderly man and a young boy. The old man, over sixty years old, looked like he was in his seventies or eighties due to the hard labor. The boy, about seven or eight, was as thin as a stick and looked at Magnus with wary eyes.

Magnus gently said, "Sir, we are not bad people. I am the new Sheriff of Green River Town, on my way to take office. It's getting late, and we hope to spend the night here."

The old man, seeing Magnus's miserable condition, softened a bit and hesitantly said, "You can stay, but I won't provide food."

Magnus nodded, "Of course, we only seek shelter from the wind and rain. We are very grateful for your kindness."

The old man pointed to a room on the left, saying, "That used to be my son's room. You can stay there tonight." Mentioning his son, a hint of sadness appeared in the old man's voice.

Magnus guessed that the old man's son had likely met a tragic end, probably due to war.

"Thank you for taking us in, sir. Galen, come over and take some grain from the cart for the gentleman," Magnus instructed.

Galen was puzzled. The dry food was kept with him, and he wondered if Magnus intended to give away more black rye cakes to the household.

"Young master is truly kind-hearted. We already have little food and money, yet he still thinks of helping the poor. His benevolence is greater than that of a saint!" Galen thought as he walked to the cart, ready to follow Magnus's orders.

However, Magnus didn't mention the black rye cakes. He took a small bag from the straw pile and handed it to Galen, saying, "Take this grain to the gentleman as a thank you for his hospitality."

Galen was shocked, looking at the bag Magnus handed him. When he opened it, he was even more astonished, "Rice! This is rice!" The white grains looked like snow, a luxury only enjoyed by the wealthy nobility.

"Young master, are you really giving this rice to them?" Galen asked in disbelief.

Magnus nodded slightly, "Yes, just some rice, don't worry too much about it."

Galen glanced at the fine rice in his hand and then at Magnus's determined expression. With no other choice, he reluctantly took the rice bag to the old man and his grandson.

"Sir, this is a gift from my young master, Magnus Valorion, to thank you for your hospitality."

When Galen and Magnus sought shelter in this village, most villagers, fearing the chaos of the times and the risk of harboring criminals, refused their request. Only this elderly man agreed to let them stay, with the condition of not providing food. Otherwise, Magnus and Galen would have had to spend the night in the wild.

Galen reluctantly handed the rice bag to the old man. The old man, guessing it contained food, was stunned for a moment.

The old man roughly estimated that the bag contained about fifteen or sixteen pounds of grain, enough to last about a month if used sparingly. Excited, he asked Magnus and Galen for confirmation, "Sirs, is this grain really for me?"

Galen remained silent, but Magnus, still on the cart, weakly responded, "Yes, sir, this grain is to thank you for taking us in."

The old man, receiving Magnus's affirmation, opened the bag excitedly. Seeing the white rice inside, he was speechless for a while. Finally, he stammered, "This... this... sirs, is this fine rice really for me?"

In Nova Latium Imperium, commoners usually ate wheat and soybeans, which were low in yield, poor in taste, and rough on the throat. Eating enough to fill their stomachs was already a luxury, let alone eating well or finely.

Although the old man had never seen fine rice, he knew that the white, snow-like grains were food for the wealthy. Initially, he thought the bag contained coarse grain, enough for half a month if used sparingly. But seeing the fine rice, he realized it could be traded for three to four times its weight in coarse grain.

Thinking of this, the old man felt he was holding not rice, but a lifeline for him and his grandson. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he knelt before Magnus on the cart, kowtowing in thanks, "Thank you, sirs, for your life-saving grace. I will never forget this kindness." He expressed his gratitude while urging his grandson to kowtow as well.

At that moment, Magnus noticed his reputation value increased from 53 to 54. The increase was likely because the young boy was too young to understand, and the system only counted the old man's gratitude.

Magnus never imagined that a small bag of rice could make an elderly man so grateful.