All-class Gu Immortal

Chapter 1: Silkworm Farming in Miao Territory, A Gratitude for a Meal

Southern Xinjiang, the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Heishan Town is located east of the Heishui River.

"Wow~"

Along the stream, women got up early to wash clothes.

The morning in April was still chilly.

The women's rough hands were red from the cold stream water, but they did not slow down their washing of clothes at all, and they could chat while washing.

Just then, a boy dressed in coarse linen clothes and straw sandals passed by the stream.

He carried a basket about half his height on his back, filled to the brim with mulberry leaves, which weighed down his once straight back.

The boy's hair and clothes were wet with mountain dew, and there were mud marks left from a fall on his clothes. His dark face was handsome, but he looked pale and his eyes were somewhat numb.

Judging from his unsteady and heavy steps, he had clearly reached his limit.

thump!
The boy wasn't paying attention to his footing, stumbled, and fell onto the pebbly path by the stream.

He tried to get up, but the mulberry leaves weighed him down and he couldn't get up.

"It's Aqing from Zhou Xian's family."

"What a terrible thing to do!"

Seeing this, the women washing clothes looked at him with pity, and several kind-hearted ones stepped forward to help the boy up and collect the scattered mulberry leaves for him.

"Thank you, aunties." The boy's voice was weak and feeble, and he uttered a few words of thanks from his chapped lips.

"Did you go up the mountain without eating anything? Your father is such a bastard!"

Faced with the women's pity, Zhou Qing remained silent.

I only had a bowl of thin porridge this morning.

He was so hungry that he had no strength to speak.

There was no rice at home, and all the money had been taken by his dead father, Zhou Xian.

No one is having an easy time these days; we've already borrowed all the rice and grain from our neighbors.

He was hungry, but the silkworms in his house couldn't go hungry even for a single meal.

So, just as dawn was breaking, Zhou Qing went up the mountain to pick mulberry leaves and dig up some wild vegetables for the day's food, trying to hold out until Zhou Xian returned.

Seeing Zhou Qing's pitiful state, several women couldn't bear it. They reached into their pockets, touched the half-eaten, hardened pancake, hesitated for a moment, but still didn't take it out.

They were all poor families, and they made a living by washing clothes and mending clothes for others.

This half-pancake was their daily ration; if they gave it to Zhou Qing, how could they possibly survive the rest of the day?

Moreover, one should provide emergency relief, not long-term support.

Zhou Qing's family used to live a relatively comfortable life in Heishan Town. However, after his mother died, his father, Zhou Xian, started drinking heavily and developed a gambling addiction, which led to them struggling to even afford food.

Zhou Xian has been away for almost half a month.

If we give them cakes today, what will we do tomorrow?

"Aqing, these mulberry leaves are dirty. Let us wash them for you. Why don't you sit down and rest for a while?"

The women carried their baskets to the stream, poured the dusty mulberry leaves onto the stones beside the stream, rinsed them with the stream water, shook off the water droplets, and put them back into the baskets.

"Thank you," Zhou Qing squeezed out through gritted teeth.

He came to a rock by the stream, scooped up a handful of cool water and drank it until he was full.

Unfortunately, even though my stomach was very full from drinking, the feeling of hunger became more and more pronounced.

After the women washed the mulberry leaves for Zhou Qing and put them all back in the basket, they squatted down again to wash the clothes.

Zhou Qing sat on a large rock, enduring his hunger while resting.

Mulberry leaves become much heavier when they get wet.

The sun is about to come out, let it dry in the sun for a while until the moisture on it is mostly gone, then he can go home.

Silkworms cannot eat mulberry leaves that are wet, otherwise they will get sick.

Of course, it shouldn't be too dry, otherwise it will affect the silkworms' appetite and thus affect silk production.

The silkworms in his home are now like his beloved relatives and friends, his brothers and sisters, and his own father!
He was just waiting to sell all the silkworms so he could have a good meal.

'I really don't want to time travel!'

Zhou Qing cried out in his heart.

He never imagined that one day having enough to eat would become a luxury.

I've been in this world for two months now, and I've practically never lived a normal life.

For the past two weeks, I haven't been able to eat a full meal, let alone have two meals of thin porridge a day.

Working on an empty stomach is worse than death!
His only hope each day is to eat.

Ultimately, it's all because of his gambling-addicted father.

Zhou Qing sat on a large rock to rest for a while, and the women washing clothes soon became talkative again.

It's great to have energy to speak!

Zhou Qing sighed inwardly. As his gaze gradually lost focus, he seemed to drift away from reality and saw a jade tablet in his mind with a line of text written on it.

Occupation: Silkworm farmer

[Craftsmanship: Silkworm rearing and mulberry harvesting]

[Progress: Proficient (125/800)]

[Effect: Skilled with hands, adept at unraveling complexities.]

Zhou Qing stared blankly at the jade tablet in his mind.

Just two months ago, he had just graduated from university and volunteered to go to the disaster-stricken area. On the way, his car encountered a landslide, which sent him directly to this ancient world called Da Jin.

He is currently in Heishan Town, located at the foot of the outer edge of the Shiwan Mountains in southern Xinjiang, built along the Heishui River.

When he first transmigrated, he was somewhat excited.

Especially when he discovered the jade tablet in his soul, he thought that the plot of the novel was about to happen to him.

Zhou Qing originally had both parents. He raised silkworms with his father and his mother reeled and spun silk.

Two months ago, my mother became pregnant, but the pregnancy was unstable. My father took her to see a doctor in the county town, but when they returned, she was already dead.

The previous incarnation was so grief-stricken that it died.

The father and son were able to make ends meet by relying on each other, but unexpectedly, after the father returned from the county town that day, his personality changed drastically. He stopped raising silkworms and instead spent his days drinking and gambling, turning into a street ruffian.

Zhou Qing tried to persuade him, but was instead beaten up.

He raised silkworms and harvested mulberry leaves with the jade tablet in his soul, awakening the profession of "silkworm raiser". His hands became more and more nimble, and his silk reeling skills became more and more proficient, but life became more and more difficult.

He originally wanted to take a gamble and sell the family's silkworms and two mud-brick houses while his dead father, Zhou, was out gambling, so he could pay tuition to the martial arts school to learn martial arts.

With the ability to awaken a profession using the jade tablet, plus the ability to display a progress bar, there's always a way to survive.

Unfortunately, when he went to the martial arts school, the master briefly examined his bones and then sent him home.

Upon further inquiry, it turned out that he originally had decent physical condition and aptitude, but he was injured by his father, Zhou Xian, and had no money for treatment, resulting in damage to his internal organs and deficiency of qi and blood.

Now that his injuries have mostly healed, his vital energy has been depleted. Practicing martial arts will only cause his old injuries to recur, leading to further strain and injury. Not only will he not be able to make progress, but he will also be in danger of losing his life.

Zhou Qing asked several martial arts schools, and all of them gave the same answer.

In despair, Zhou Qing only wanted to escape from here.

However, Zhou Xian learned that he was planning to sell silkworms and his house.

That time, Zhou Qing pulled out a kitchen knife and fought desperately, so Zhou Xiancai didn't dare to lay a hand on him.

Zhou Qing even considered taking a risk and ending Zhou Xian's life with a single blow.

However, Zhou Xian was a compulsive gambler and alcoholic, but he was physically excellent and much stronger than the average farmer.

Unless attacked by surprise, Zhou Qing definitely can't win.

Besides, he wouldn't be able to escape far after killing someone, so he endured it.

He pinned all his hopes on silkworm rearing, believing that as long as he continued to improve his skills in silkworm rearing and mulberry picking, he would surely see a turnaround.

"You gambling addict! You drunkard! Why don't you just die?!"

Zhou Qing was so hungry that he felt dizzy and cursed inwardly.

At this moment, a dark, rough hand, as coarse as tree bark, reached out to Zhou Qing, holding a steamed bun.

'Hallucination?' Zhou Qing thought he was hallucinating from hunger, but after looking at the steamed bun for several seconds, the hallucination still didn't disappear.

Zhou Qing raised her head.

An elderly woman with gray hair, who looked to be in her fifties or sixties, said to him:

"This old woman is all alone and getting old. She has a very poor appetite. Here, have some."

"Thank you, thank you!" Zhou Qing was stunned for a moment, then grabbed the cornbread that was as hard as a rock.

He carefully broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth.

The dry, hard, and bitter cornbread tasted surprisingly sweet, surpassing all the delicacies of my past life.

Zhou Qing chewed vigorously, reluctant to swallow it directly.

He knelt down by the stream and ate the cornbread with the water.

He would even pick up a tiny piece of debris that fell into a crack in the rock and put it in his mouth.

'He's alive!'

Although I'm still very hungry, the feeling in my stomach is different now.

"If you ever get hungry in the future, come find me around this time. If I have work to do, I'll give you a cornbread," the old woman said to Zhou Qing.

"Grandma, thank you! After I sell the silk, I..."

Zhou Qing was filled with gratitude, but the old woman shook her head at him, indicating that she did not ask for anything in return.

Zhou Qing originally intended to say, "I will repay this kindness of a meal with a thousand pieces of gold in the future."

But when I think about the current state of this tattered bag...
He could at most afford to feed the old woman a few meals, provided the silkworms were productive enough.

"Go back, the silkworms can't go hungry." The old woman pointed to the basket behind Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing didn't say anything more, bowed to the old woman, picked up the basket, and walked towards home.

"Selling steamed buns! Two big meat buns for three coins!"

"Snake soup! Freshly made cauliflower and snake soup, incredibly delicious, try it while it's hot!"

Zhou Qing entered the town, where the market was full of vendors hawking their wares along the streets.

The busiest places to sell breakfast are early in the morning.

The aroma lingering around his nose made Zhou Qing's stomach rumble again, even though he had just gotten a little something to eat.

However, the market road was the shortest route back to Xin'an Lane, where his home was located.

'It all stinks! It all stinks!'

Zhou Qing silently recited in his heart.

After finally reaching the end of the street, a boy with a pockmarked face ran towards them, shouting as he ran.

"Aqing, Aqing! Something terrible has happened! Your father is dead!"

"What did you say?!" Zhou Qing stared wide-eyed at Wang Mazi, who had run up to him.

“Your dad’s dead! He got drunk, fell into the pond, and drowned!” Wang Mazi hurriedly said.

"Uncle Jun, may I leave the basket here for a moment?"

Zhou Qing suppressed her emotions and went to the tofu pudding stall next to her.

The owner of the tofu pudding stall was a middle-aged man, whom the locals called Old Li. He often boasted that when he was young, he was a famous handsome young man in the surrounding area, and so many people wanted to marry him that they practically wore down his doorstep.

"Alright! Go home and take a look!" Old Li liked it when the young man called him Uncle Jun. He took the basket from Zhou Qing's back and placed it against the wall.

"Pockmarked guy, let's go!"

Zhou Qing couldn't wait to head home.

Hearing the sudden mix of bad and good news, he had to go and see for himself.

"Aqing, wait for me!"

Wang Mazi hurried after him, but he couldn't catch up with Zhou Qing's pace.

(End of this chapter)