The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"Can you give me some advice?"

Zhang Wenyuan was stunned and didn't react for a moment, but Aunt Xiao was the first to come to her senses and exclaimed in surprise, "Minister Chen, are you telling the truth?"

"Oh, that's wonderful! You have no idea, after my husband passed away, we were left with only a widow and her children. Farming is hard, and our whole family depends on him for support."

"The other villagers are living even worse lives. If you could give us some advice on how to increase our income, even if it's just to be able to eat meat once in a while, we would build a temple for you."

As these words were spoken, the other villagers chimed in, "Yes, yes, what kind of business are you referring to, Your Excellency?"

"Oh dear, even if Minister Chen doesn't give us any advice, we should still build a temple for him. Anyway, I've been worshipping the Buddha at Mingguang Temple for so many years, but I've never seen them show me any mercy. On the contrary, Minister Chen always thinks of us. We should worship Minister Chen."

"Yes, yes, we should pay homage to Minister Chen."

Chen Huai'an: "..."

Hearing these words, his eye twitched involuntarily.

He's not dead yet, so why is a temple being built for him?

"Alright, alright, listen to me first." Chen Huai'an was both amused and exasperated, knowing that these people didn't understand any of this; they were just trying to express their gratitude out of kindness.

The villagers then stopped their discussion and looked at him with eager eyes.

Chen Huai'an said, "Let's forget about building a temple. It's not worth the trouble. With this time and money, you should find a way to send your children to school. Now that the imperial examination system has been changed, everyone's children will have a chance to succeed in the future."

"At least... there will definitely be a chance while I'm alive."

"As for making a living..." Chen Huai'an paused, then pointed to the pork in front of him, "Why don't you do what Zhang Laosi did and raise pigs?"

"If you take this pig out to sell, you can get at least a string of cash, no doubt."

"If a family raises four or five animals, it will be a considerable income over the course of a year, enough for you to live comfortably."

"And it's not troublesome at all. All you have to do is go out and cut some grass to feed them every day. Even a child can do it."

"Huh?" The villagers were somewhat disappointed when they heard this.

They thought Chen Huai'an was talking about some good business, but it turned out to be raising pigs.

Old Zhang, however, was carefree and explained with a smile, "Your Excellency, you may not know, but only we eat pork. Those who are willing to buy meat look down on pork and will buy mutton instead."

"Because pork has a gamey smell and tastes really bad, only ordinary people would eat it."

"But ordinary people don't have much money, so pork can't fetch a good price at all."

"My pig isn't even worth a string of cash, four hundred coins at most."

"I kept it so that there would be more meat in the house on New Year's Day this year."

"If it were really as good as you say, we would have all been raising pigs by now."

Chen Huai'an wasn't angry. He smiled and said, "What if I told you I had a way to get rid of the pork's gamey smell? And I could even make them grow bigger and fatter?"

"Huh?" Zhang Laosi was taken aback, and the other villagers were also stunned.

Zhang Wenyuan could no longer sit still: "Your Excellency, are you telling the truth?"

Li Chengqian was somewhat displeased: "The master never lies. If the master says he has a way, then he definitely has a way."

"Your Highness, please calm down..." Zhang Wenyuan hurriedly explained, "It's not that we don't trust Minister Shang, it's just... it's just..."

"I just can't quite believe it?" Chen Huai'an said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhang Wenyuan nodded repeatedly. "If pork didn't have a gamey smell, the price would definitely be higher, and it could be sold for a good price. If it were easy to raise plump, white pork, wouldn't that...wouldn't that make us rich?"

"Haha." Chen Huai'an looked at the villagers around him who were looking expectant. "I'm not lying to you. Actually, the method is very simple. Just castrate the pig when it's small, that is, when it's a piglet."

"Without roots, the pigs have no desire for food and no smell. All they do is eat and sleep, and they can grow big and fat very quickly."

"Huh?" Aunt Xiao's mouth gaped open slightly. "Castrated the piglet?"

"Yes." Chen Huai'an nodded. "It's a very simple, yet very effective method."

The villagers looked at each other, not because they didn't believe Chen Huai'an, but because what he said made sense.

Instead, they felt that this method was simply...too simple.

"Your Excellency, can my sister be raised too?" Zhang Peng asked first, as he trusted Chen Huai'an the most.

"Of course," Chen Huai'an said. "Like I said, raising pigs is actually very simple. All you need to do is go out and cut grass every day to feed the pigs. Of course, you'll need to build a pigsty."

"You still have some time before you leave, right? Now you can get busy, buy a few piglets and castrate them. Your sister can raise them at home, it's not much trouble."

"That's great!" Zhang Peng grinned foolishly. Zhang Yan was also very happy. If what Chen Huai'an said was true, it meant that she wouldn't be sitting at home eating away her savings.

If we raise the pigs well, we can take them to Chang'an City to sell when Zhang Peng returns. Wouldn't that be great?

Then, the villagers asked Chen Huai'an all sorts of questions about raising pigs, and he answered them one by one.

Anyway, it's not a big deal. If the people knew about this method, they could raise some pigs at home, whether to sell them for money or to eat them, which would benefit the people of the Tang Dynasty.

why not?

Time passed slowly, and the sky gradually darkened. Chen Huai'an stood up and said, "Alright, everyone, it's getting late, I have to go back now."

The villagers were very understanding and didn't try to stop him. They just said they would see him off. Aunt Xiao quickly ran home and brought him the last two pieces of cured meat she had.

Chen Huai'an accepted the money, but when no one was looking, he had Wang Bai put a package under the table containing ten strings of cash, which the villagers would find when they were cleaning up.

"Gentlemen, I'm leaving." Before leading Li Chengqian onto the carriage, Chen Huai'an bid farewell to the simple and honest villagers.

"Your Excellency, please come again next time. Next time, I'll slaughter a pig for you to eat."

"Yes, I'll catch fish for you again next time..."

A genuine smile appeared on Chen Huai'an's face as he led Li Chengqian into the carriage, and Wang Bai drove them away from Xiaoxi Village.

However, once inside the carriage, the smile that had been on Chen Huai'an's face vanished without a trace!

Li Chengqian's face turned cold!

"Wang Bai!"

"Sir, I am here!"

"Go to the Wannian County Government Office immediately! Once inside, ignore everything else and start beating anyone you see!!!"

"..."