Some generous villagers, when they had broken furniture—such as wooden basins or buckets that had rotted, or cracked pottery—would bring them to the beggars living in the shed.
The shed on the west side of Shuishui Village, with the efforts of the villagers and the beggars, had become a unique presence in the village. The elderly and children who lived there formed a makeshift family, despite not being related by blood.
Hearing Village Chief Du mention this, Du Changsheng, who had been chopping wood, stuck his hatchet into the ground, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and replied, "Don't worry, Dad, I've got it in mind."
With the construction funds exceeding their original plans, Du Changsheng, as the leader of the younger generation and a key figure in the village's development, had already discussed with others the plan to rebuild the shed on the west side. They intended to transform it into a proper relief station for the town, providing a formal shelter for the helpless elderly and orphans.
As he spoke, something seemed to come to his mind. He slapped his forehead and said to his father, "Oh, Dad, that old man from the shed asked if he could rent a few plots of land on the west side of the village to grow some vegetables."
Village Chief Du paused and asked, "Is it the old man with the mole on his chin?"
"Yes, that's him," Du Changsheng nodded.
Village Chief Du said, "That's a good thing, isn't it? Even though they're not in the best health, if they can grow some vegetables, they'll have something to eat, or they could sell it. Either way, it gives them a way to support themselves. You don't need to ask me about such things in the future. If you can't make these small decisions, someone more capable might take your place as village chief. Don't come crying to me then."
Feeling embarrassed by his father's words, Du Changsheng's face turned slightly red. "Last time I made a decision without asking, you chased me around the village with a stick…"
Hearing him argue back, Village Chief Du glared and said angrily, "That was when you were a kid! You're older now! Back then, it was time for you to learn, but you insisted on doing things your own way. Now that it's time for you to take charge, you can't even make a decision on a trivial matter! If Da You wasn't off cultivating on the mountain with his son, I wouldn't even have considered you for the role of village chief!"
Du Changsheng mumbled, a bit disgruntled, "It just means that Uncle Da You teaches better than you…"
"What did you say?! Are you implying I'm not as good at raising a son as Old Lin?!"
Seeing his father about to blow his top, Du Changsheng quickly backtracked, "Nothing! Dad, I'm going back to chop wood!"
With that, Du Changsheng grabbed his ax, picked up a bundle of firewood, and darted off to the backyard before his father could say anything more.
Watching his son run off, Village Chief Du huffed and puffed through his nose. Thinking about the old beggar with the mole on his chin, he remembered something that Yu Nan had told him a while ago.
Yu Nan had mentioned that the old beggar was a relative of one of the new disciples from Lingxian Sect. He had asked Village Chief Du to keep an eye on the old man and take care of him when possible.
Village Chief Du hadn't seen the old beggar for some time after that, until one day when the man showed up at the village gate, looking weak and frail. It was a villager who had spotted him and informed the chief.
Though not that old in years, the beggar's body had become frail from years of begging, hunger, and cold. When he arrived at the village, he didn't seem to have much hope left. His only request to Village Chief Du was to be buried somewhere in Shuishui Village when the time came, even if it was just in a simple dirt pit.
However, knowing he was a relative of a Lingxian Sect disciple, Village Chief Du couldn't grant such a grim request. He immediately contacted Liu Yunan, who later sent over a pill for the beggar. After taking it, the next day the beggar was much more spirited. Since then, he had stayed in the shed on the west side, living alongside the other elderly and weak residents.
Sitting in his wicker chair, reflecting on these events, Village Chief Du sighed deeply, "They're all such kind-hearted children..."
A cold autumn wind, carrying a biting chill, blew by, causing a few leaves to fall onto his lap.
Brushing the yellowed leaves off his clothes, Village Chief Du slowly stood up and made his way to the backyard, hands behind his back.
"The weather's changing... I better remind that careless boy to make sure the shed has enough warm bedding…"
While Shuishui Village was bustling with activity and joy, Lingxian Sect on the mountain was equally busy.
Although the sect had started cultivating a wider variety of plants, the spiritual grain (linggu) remained the most valued crop.
With the help of various formations, spiritual fertilizers, and even special pills—yes, Sun Yigao had recently developed pills that could nourish crops and treat pests and diseases—the harvest had improved significantly.
Sun Yigao had taken it a step further, carefully observing the crops during different growth stages and developing customized pills for each plant species. He even created pills specifically for enriching the soil, allowing different types of land to be tailored to the needs of different crops.
The elders in charge of the spiritual fields couldn't stop praising Sun Yigao for his brilliance, marveling at how even his agricultural pills were works of art.
Though Sun Yigao's parents had tried to explain many times that being the top scorer in the provincial exam wasn't the same as being a "zhuangyuan" (the top scorer in the imperial exams), it didn't matter to the elders. To them, being the top scholar in the entire Lake Province meant he was the zhuangyuan!
Eventually, Sun Yigao's parents gave up correcting them. After all, it wasn't a big deal—if the elders wanted to call him zhuangyuan, so be it.
Seeing Sun Yigao bask in the endless praise, the young and competitive Mo Yuanjiao couldn't resist. He threw himself into his work in the Formation Hall and, after a period of intense effort, managed to develop a series of agricultural formations.
Basic formations that could control the temperature based on the needs of the crops were just the start.
He even developed formations that could assist in pollination, ensuring that every plant requiring pollination did so at the optimal time.
Mo Yuanjiao didn't stop there. He combined Sun Yigao's agricultural pills with his formations, creating setups that could administer the pills to the crops at just the right time.
His hard work eventually earned him just as much praise from the elders of the Spiritual Field Group.
But I digress...
Though the growth cycle of many crops had been effectively shortened through various methods, and yields had significantly increased, the power of natural law was still strong.
The highest yields for spiritual grain still came in the autumn.
So no matter how many harvests they had already gathered, the Spiritual Field Group always made sure to prepare thoroughly for the autumn harvest season, ensuring no opportunity was missed for the spiritual grain.