Chapter 17: Overestimating Oneself

Xuanbao confidently nodded her small head, "Of course!"

How could such a petty evil being possibly stop her?

She didn't even need to use Immortal Technique; a drop of Ruo Shui would do the trick.

Her Five-Colored Divine Stone contained everything in abundance, but Ruo Shui was the most abundant of all.

Xuanbao took a drop of Ruo Shui and, using Spiritual Power, dispersed it into mist that settled over the entire field.

A black fog arose from the field, which instantly turned into a white mist.

However, Granny Lei couldn't see any of this.

Xuanbao scraped off a bit of Five-Colored Stone powder and added a pinch of soil from the Nine Heavens, sprinkling it over the fields.

She clapped her small hands together, "Done!"

The Five-Colored Stone could mend the heavens, and the soil from the Nine Heavens could nourish all things; fertilizing the fields was definitely not an issue.

Granny Lei: "…"

Was it really that simple?

She had thought...

Well, she couldn't imagine how it should be more complicated.

Granny Lei bent down and examined the rice ears closely to see if there were any changes.

Under the influence of Spiritual Energy and the Five-Colored Divine Stone Powder, each grain of the rice in the fields slowly plumped up, although it wasn't noticeable unless one watched daily.

But Granny Lei did inspect the rice daily, so she noticed the changes in the grains.

Fortunately, the change wasn't too obvious. Since there was still half a month before harvest, it was conceivable that the crops could naturally improve rapidly. She finally felt relieved.

"Grandma, do we have any other fields or vegetable plots at home?"

Granny Lei nodded, "Yes."

The Ruo Family currently had five mu of rice paddies, one mu of dry land planted with peanuts and sweet potatoes, and half a mu of vegetable garden.

The yield from all these fields combined was far from enough to feed the large Ruo Family; it only ensured they wouldn't starve, which was the last of the family's assets they insisted on keeping.

Back when the old master of the Ruo Family hadn't yet fallen in battle, during the Ruo Family's more prosperous times, they once had fifty mu of land.

Later, they had to sell it off at a high price to a Deputy General under the old master's command, who now belongs to the family of the loyal and brave Great General.

Xuanbao declared, "Let's go!"

Granny Lei, invigorated, led her precious granddaughter to the rest of their lands.

The situation was the same everywhere.

The peanuts and sweet potatoes in the Ruo Family's fields always grew poorly compared to others, attracting field mice and insects easily; a half harvest was considered bountiful.

The vegetable garden's leaves were also full of holes from pests.

Using the little Spiritual Power she had left, Xuanbao dispersed another drop of Ruo Shui, scattering some Five-Colored Stone Powder and soil from the Nine Heavens into the ground. After they finished, the grandmother and granddaughter returned home.

When the two of them arrived home, dawn was just breaking, and the distant sound of chickens crowing reached them in waves.

Ruo Shui and Ruo Chuan had already picked all the dates, loaded them onto the cart, and cleaned up the yard.

Ruo Shui was the one who woke Ruo Chuan to help, as he had also assisted with the persimmons yesterday.

Madam Liu had just finished making lamb-filled flatbread, which she'd learned to make from the villagers.

The villagers of Xishui River Village were refugees who had fled from all over during the times of chaos; people from all directions brought their own cuisines, making a variety of foods available.

During festivals and celebrations, neighbors would give each other local snacks; Madam Liu, skilled with her hands, usually needed to see a recipe only once, or even just taste the food, to be able to recreate it.

Seeing that it was almost daylight, Granny Lei said, "Fourth, Sixth, you guys figure out how to sell these dates, and also the wild goods Fourth brought in yesterday. Keep half the goats, wild chickens, and rabbits to sell, and the chestnuts as well—just leave some for the family to eat. Dry the medicinal herbs, and we'll sell them when your uncle returns. For the rest, you brothers decide whether to sell them in the county or the prefecture city."

Xuanbao had been clamoring for rabbit and lamb meat all day; Granny Lei didn't really want to sell them, but as the weather wasn't very cold right now, keeping half would be enough for two or three days, and they didn't want to risk it spoiling by keeping too much, so they had to sell them.

Ruo Chuan then said, "Fourth Brother, you take some persimmons to that family in the county town, bring a basket of dates and ten catties of millet with you. I'll take the rest of the stuff to sell in the prefecture city."

Ruo Shui had no objections, "Okay!"

The old lady of the Ruo Family said, "Then it's decided, it's getting late, hurry up and set off."

Xuanbao had already climbed onto the cart, "Let's go."

At this moment, Ruo Hang, Ruo Bo, and Ruo Xian, her brothers, had awoken and ran out; upon hearing the adults' plan, they instantly began to clamor:

"Dad, I want to go too! I can take care of my sister."

"Uncle, we want to go too, we can help sell things."

...

Ruo Shui ended up taking all the children from the house, including the eldest nephew who came out last without making a sound.

This time, with Ruo Zhou, the elder brother, helping to look after his younger siblings, Madam Liu stayed at home without going out.

Along the way, several brothers explained to Xuanbao their previous experiences of going into the city. Xuanbao, collecting sunlight while gnawing on a lamb burger, listened with great interest.

When she heard that someone in the opera troupe could breathe fire, she suspected that he also knew Immortal Technique, and might even be more powerful than her.

She didn't know how to breathe fire; at most, she could emit the fragrance of various flowers.

By the time Ruo Shui pushed the board car into the city with the children, it was already high noon.

Since the bookstore was close by, he decided to deliver the books there first.

Ruo Shui stopped the board car outside the bookstore. He took a bundle in his arms and entered with the children.

Ruo Shui placed the books on the counter, "Shopkeeper, the books are copied."

The bookstore shopkeeper was attending to a distinguished customer and responded without lifting his head, "Wait a moment, I need to settle the account with Young Master Zhang first."

"Alright," Ruo Shui replied.

First come, first served; it was the proper etiquette.

Xuanbao smelled the familiar sweet scent of persimmons and looked up at a young man dressed as a scholar standing in front of the counter.

Her round, sparkling eyes lit up: This brother is really good-looking! Did he also eat the persimmons that Granny Zhang bought yesterday?

Zhang Qian felt the little girl's curious gaze on him; he looked down and, since there was a little sister of a similar age at home, he felt a sense of kinship with Xuanbao and smiled at her.

Xuanbao returned the smile, sweetly saying, "Brother, you are really handsome."

Ruo Shui: "..."

Could it be he didn't know that his daughter, like her mother, was also inclined to judge by appearance?

He remembered asking his wife once why she would marry no one but him. He had thought the answer would be something like his overflowing talents won her heart.

But her response was: Of course, because my husband is the most handsome man I have ever seen!

Not convinced, he asked further, "If my lady had met a man more handsome than her husband, would she not have married me then?"

Without a second thought, she nodded, "Of course!"

Infuriating!

Zhang Qian chuckled, "Little sister is also very pretty."

Xuanbao's smile became even more radiant.

She was a flower, naturally loving beauty, and she loved being praised the most!

By this time, the shopkeeper had wrapped several books and handed them to Zhang Qian with respect, "Young Master Zhang, that will be five taels of silver, please."

Zhang Qian turned and took out a five-tael silver ingot to pay.

Only then did Ruo Shui unwrap his bundle, revealing ten well-copied books. "Shopkeeper, I copied these two books too diligently. I accidentally wrote my own insights in them. Do you think you'll accept these?"

Ruo Shui showed the two books, flipping them open for the shopkeeper to see.

As he copied the books last night, he was as if inspired by some divine help, his thoughts flowing like a fountain; he and his second brother were so engrossed that they accidentally recorded their own interpretations.

Zhang Qian, holding the books he had purchased and ready to leave, glanced over out of curiosity and internally praised, "What fine handwriting!"

The shopkeeper, however, frowned upon hearing this, his tone carried a hint of disdain, "Books like these can only be sold as second-hand. Our bookstore never sells second-hand books. You should take them to a second-hand book stall to sell!"

Of course, the bookstore also sold annotated books, but those were annotations by famous teachers!

Worth their weight in gold!

Not annotations by someone like him who hadn't even passed the scholar examinations.

He admitted that Ruo Shui's handwriting was good, and many students liked to buy the books he copied.

But that was all he had, good handwriting. He wasn't even a qualified scholar. How dared he sell books annotated by himself?

Wasn't he afraid of making a fool of himself? The shopkeeper was more concerned about misleading the youth and tarnishing the bookstore's reputation!

Absolutely overestimating his abilities!