The Hidden Immortal

Chapter 9 The Stone Boiler

If you travel southwest from Songguo Village for seventeen miles, you will reach Pingshui Town.

Although it is just a small town, it is very famous within a radius of hundreds of miles.

More than ten years ago, a scholar named Lin Xianzong emerged from this place.

He was originally a scholar who passed the imperial examination in the previous dynasty, but he became the third-ranked scholar in the first special imperial examination in Jing Kingdom.

He rose through the ranks from a seventh-rank compiler in the Hanlin Academy to a sixth-rank compiler, and then to a fifth-rank academician.

In just over a decade, he rose to the rank of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, a proper third-rank official.

Lin Xianzong's wife and children have naturally been taken to Kyoto to enjoy a life of luxury.

But my parents didn't want to go.

There are too many officials in Kyoto, and they are too powerful.

In Pingshui Town, they were influential figures whose word was law. The county magistrate had to bring people to pay their respects and offer greetings every year. However, this might not be the case in the capital.

As a result, the houses and shops in Pingshui Town have become more expensive.

The houses adjacent to the Lin family's residence were especially expensive, exceeding all other prices.

A shop that is two zhang deep can command an exorbitant price of thirty thousand taels of silver.

This has already changed hands several times, and people keep coming to buy it, making the townspeople drool with envy.

If a family owned a shop like this, they would never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of their lives.

At this moment in the town, Lin Qiaoxi, disguised as a man, was happily eating candied hawthorns.

Seeing that the honest-looking man beside her wasn't leaving, she ran over and followed his gaze.

It was a steamer shop, filled with steaming white vapor. Every time the steamer was opened, it was like a fairyland.

"Silly boy, are you hungry?" Lin Qiaoxi asked.

Lin Xianzong has many relatives in the town, and Lin Qiaoxi is one of them.

Her great-grandfather and Lin Xianzong's great-grandfather were cousins. Although they were still within the fifth degree of kinship, they were already the fourth generation.

Nevertheless, nowadays everyone with the surname Lin is hoping to get associated with the Lin family.

Every year during the Lunar New Year, the Lin family's gate is open from morning till night, and there are still many people who can't get a turn.

Lin Qiaoxi's father, Lin Guiwan, was one of the wealthiest families in the town.

But she never developed a spoiled nature, was kind to people, and especially liked to dress up as a man and go out to play.

But the town is only so big, and over time, everyone knew about her, but no one exposed her.

Lin Qiaoxi was fully aware of the situation and enjoyed it.

The honest-looking man beside her was Zhang Anxiu's older brother, Zhang Sanchun.

She usually helps Chu Xun farm with her younger sister, and when it's not busy with farming, she still comes to the Lin family to do odd jobs.

He was taciturn and not good with words.

Two years ago, Lin Qiaoxi fell seriously ill. Someone told Zhang Sanchun that boiling stones into eggs would cure the young lady's illness.

Anyone but a fool knows this is impossible.

As a result, Zhang Sanchun actually boiled it, boiling it for eight days and nine nights, and finally managed to boil that round stone until it exploded, leaving it covered in cracks.

The whole household of long-term and short-term laborers, servants, and children burst into laughter.

Lin Qiaoxi was almost fully recovered from her illness at that time. Knowing that Zhang Sanchun was boiling stones, she did not stop him. Instead, she came to see who was so stupid.

Just then, the rock exploded, tearing Zhang Sanchun's clothes to shreds, and he cried with tears and snot streaming down his face.

Lin Qiaoxi walked over and couldn't help but say, "It's just a little injury, is it really necessary to cry like this?"

Zhang Sanchun, unaware that it was her speaking, held the scalding hot pebbles and said sadly, "If the stones crumble, they won't be able to cure Miss's illness."

Lin Qiaoxi then realized that he wasn't crying because of the pain from his injury, but because he was saddened by not being able to treat her illness.

There were others in her family who loved her, but no one was as willing as Zhang Sanchun to cook stones for her for eight days and nine nights.

How could Zhang Sanchun not know that you can't cook eggs on stones?

He's not really stupid; of course he knows.

But when Lin Qiaoxi asked, he countered with, "What if it actually turns out well?"

From then on, Lin Qiaoxi stopped letting Zhang Sanchun work as a day laborer and instead took him to work as her servant.

You must take it with you wherever you go.

Not for any other reason than the phrase "what if?"

A fool who would willingly boil stones for eight days and nine nights just in case would certainly not harm himself.

Seeing Zhang Sanchun staring at the steamed bun shop today, Lin Qiaoxi thought of buying him a few white face masks to try.

However, Zhang Sanchun shook his head; he didn't want to eat steamed buns.

"Last year, Ah Xun said he wanted to buy a shop in town and start a roasted nuts business next year, but the shops in town are too expensive."

Lin Qiaoxi knew who A Xun was. Although they had never met, Zhang Sanchun had told her that he was a very intelligent person.

However, she wasn't interested in intelligent people; she only asked Zhang Sanchun, "And what about you? What do you want to do in the future?"

Zhang Sanchun turned around, chuckled sheepishly, and scratched his head: "I'll do whatever the young lady tells me to do."

Lin Qiaoxi said, "Then pluck the stars from the sky and give them to me."

Zhang Sanchun was taken aback, looked up at the sky, and looked somewhat troubled.

So high and so far, how can we pick them?

I wonder if a taller bamboo ladder would be enough to reach it.

Seeing that he was seriously considering what to do, Lin Qiaoxi couldn't help but laugh out loud: "You silly goose, let's go, let's go home and have dinner."

Zhang Sanchun said "oh" and obediently followed behind.

Hearing Lin Qiaoxi humming a little tune in front of him, a whiff of fragrance wafted into his nose, making him want to look up, yet he dared not look around.

He could only think to himself, "This young lady smells so good, even better than the big chunks of fatty meat that Ah Xun fried."

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Two days later, Li Shoutian brought back an ox from the county town.

This is the first draft ox in Songguo Village, and the villagers all came to see it out of curiosity.

Upon learning that Chu Xun had spent five taels of silver to buy it, everyone was filled with envy.

Li Shoutian pried open the water buffalo's mouth, pressed down on the buffalo's lower jaw with his left hand, and pushed his right thumb into the corner of the buffalo's mouth. As the buffalo opened its mouth, he quickly hooked the buffalo's tongue with his index finger, revealing the incisors on its upper palate.

"Look, Ah Xun, four incisors, all perfectly aligned! This is a three-year-old ox, still very young!"

He then reached out and pulled up the cow's hoof: "Look at this hoof, the hoof shell is thick and hard, without a single crack."

Finally, they led the water buffalo around a few times, its hooves landing with a clear sound, neither shuffling its hooves nor darting into the roadside haystacks.

This shows that it's not a gluttonous or lazy cow; it can stop whenever it wants and is very intelligent.

Li Shoutian said smugly, "I searched all over the surrounding villages to find such a fine ox! Last winter it was fed only bean cakes, so it's full of energy right now! Your five taels of silver are well worth it!"

Chu Xun stepped forward and touched the buffalo's horns. The buffalo seemed to know who its master was from now on, and affectionately stuck out its thick tongue to lick Chu Xun's palm.

The villagers who were watching were moved to tears.

Five taels of silver isn't a lot; you can save it up in a few years, but not everyone is willing to spend that money.

Chu Xun was the first to try it, which made some people envious and others jealous.

Seeing this, Li Tianjian's wife exclaimed, "With this ox, Xun can easily clear thirty mu of wasteland a year, let alone another thirty mu!"

These words were purely inciting trouble, reminding many villagers that Chu Xun had reclaimed thirty acres of wasteland.

Even with the help of water buffalo, completing this task within a year would be an impossible task.

If it's not completed, the county magistrate's land surveyor will come and impose a fine.

Thinking about it this way, the villagers stopped being envious. Instead, they half-jokingly shouted, "Keep up the good work, Xun! You'll be number one on the monument of merit!"

Li Shoutian was a little embarrassed. Thirty mu of reclaimed land was indeed too much, and he felt that it was a bit like he was taking advantage of Chu Xun.

Zhang Anxiu exclaimed, "So what if it's thirty acres? If I call my brother back, we might be able to finish it!"

Someone shouted, "Xiuni, you're not even married yet, and you're already protecting your man. If you give him a healthy baby, you'll be ecstatic!"

The crowd started making a fuss, and Li Tianjian's wife was so happy that her mouth was crooked from smiling.

Zhang Anxiu was both ashamed and angry. Just as she was about to speak, Chu Xun stopped her.

Thirty acres of land reclamation is nothing major; there's no need to make a big fuss about it.