Bearing the blue sky

He would cultivate himself while lying in a coffin, and then read books with everyone.

In my spare time, I tidy up the belongings of each family and manage the terraced fields that are about to be abandoned.

These are basically the daily activities for Zhuge.

As for the Three Realms Awakening Official?

He is too far away.

Whether it's martial arts or Confucianism, he hasn't even entered the first realm yet.

"Zhu Ge, it's been raining a lot these past few days, we need to speed things up." Duan Lei, the big-bellied dog, carrying a sack of rice in burlap on each shoulder, walked in front of Zhu Ge.

"But your method is really good, really amazing. Using wood ash to prevent moisture and insects is so useful."

The two men are moving grain for unified storage and safekeeping.

"As long as it works." Zhu Ge smiled, carrying three bags of rice on each shoulder. She walked slowly, but still kept up with the big-bellied dog.

"We can eat as much rice as we want now, who knows if the remaining stock will be enough! You've probably noticed that your appetite has increased lately, haven't you?"

"Yes!" the pot-bellied dog grinned, his voice deep and resonant.

"I only recently learned what 'fullness' means. My mother used to tell me that my appetite is the same as hers when she was young, but she has eaten her fill while I have never eaten my fill. She said that when I can eat my fill in the future, it will be because I have met a good government."

"Yes, being able to eat one's fill is such a difficult wish to fulfill!" Zhu Ge sighed.

Duan Lei is quite tall and has a large frame, but he is not particularly strong. He is taller than Ma Laizi but not as muscular.

Because Duan Lei often doesn't get enough to eat, he naturally becomes thinner.

But now that everyone in the village is gone, they can finally eat their fill.

"But you haven't eaten enough these past few days." Zhu Ge smiled. "Eat more, so your martial arts will become even stronger. The stronger you are, the more game we can hunt for, and then we can eat even more!"

"Hehe, okay." The big-bellied dog's smile grew even more hopeful: "Practice martial arts, then eat, then practice again, hehe."

"Yes." Zhu Ge nodded slightly, then looked at the house ahead: "We're here."

The house in front of them was very large. It was originally the home of a villager, but all five members of the family had been sucked to death by the Fungus God. Therefore, Zhu Ge and his group temporarily used it as a place to store their grain, rice.

The two entered the house, their footsteps stirring up some dust and dirt on the ground, before opening the cellar entrance and going inside.

Zhu Ge put down the bag on his shoulder and counted the amount of rice in the dim light. If they ate as much as they wanted, it would be enough to feed the group for a year.

The Mozi states that if one consumes one dou (a unit of dry measure) daily, one needs 36 shi (another unit of dry measure) annually; if one consumes two-thirds dou daily, one needs 24 shi annually; and if one consumes one-third dou daily, one needs 12 shi annually.

There are a full 280 shi of grain here, and the total amount of new and old rice in the whole village is naturally even more!

Unfortunately... Zhu Ge shook her head as she thought of the officials who would come to collect taxes around the time of the Awakening of Insects.

We don't know what the visitors' attitude will be, and we don't know how much of this grain will ultimately be taken away.

"Come on, Big Belly Dog, let's keep moving." Zhu Ge said, leading Duan Lei outside.

There is still plenty of food; they need to fill this place first before moving on to another storage location.

Moreover, the action must be quick, otherwise, in the damp spring, without the supervision of each household, who knows how much rice will sprout and become infested with insects.

"Brother! Brother!"

Just then, Hua Liusha's voice rang in Zhu Ge's mind: "Something's up! Something's up! It seems like a big guy is coming from the north..."

Zhu Ge frowned and looked north, asking in confusion, "Little sister, you're saying that's... the aura of the Third Realm?"

Duan Lei was puzzled, not knowing what Zhu Ge was talking about, but then he realized: "Are you talking to Hua Xiaomei?"

Zhu Ge nodded slightly: "Big-bellied dog, you continue moving things. Hua Xiaomei sensed a powerful aura, I'll go greet her."

Duan Lei: "Okay."

So Zhu Ge went to the north entrance of the village and looked into the distance. Before long, Yu Xiucai, who was halfway through planting rice seedlings, also came over.

"It must be the Jingzhe official." Scholar Yu looked uneasy. "The Jingzhe official usually arrives on the day of Jingzhe, but now it's only a light rain. It seems that Yuanyang City is facing a food shortage."

Zhu Ge frowned: "The master still hasn't returned. Could it be his aura? Has he returned after breaking through to the third realm?"

Scholar Yu raised an eyebrow: "I hadn't thought of that possibility. Alas, I have a feeling that something might have happened to you before you even reached Yuanyang City."

When the teacher was mentioned, Yu Xiucai's mood became somewhat low.

But at that moment, the two of them suddenly perked up and looked into the distance.

A small boat floated slowly in mid-air, with a boatman rowing in mid-air.

As soon as the person came into view, a loud singing voice forcefully squeezed into Zhu Ge's mind.

"The heavy rain is hardly falling, and the drizzle is very sparse!"

"My beloved brother sent a letter asking for a raincoat."

"The raincoat is still there, on the palm tree!"

With just a few notes, the melody is rich and varied, with each phrase containing two or three short sustained notes, creating a call-and-response effect.

It sounds refreshingly expansive.

After hearing just a few words, Zhu Ge's expression changed.

"Brother! I feel terrible!"

In his mind, Hua Liusha let out a painful scream, which quickly turned into a wail, then a groan, and finally silence.

At the same time, bursts of black mist rolled out from Zhu Ge's eyes, like two springs.

Upon seeing this, Scholar Yu quickly called out, "Senior, please wait! This is something we have subdued, not something that has possessed us!"

As he spoke, Yu Xiucai exuded waves of pressure from his body, a power befitting a second-realm Confucian and Taoist master.

In just a short while, a small boat in the distance had somehow sailed up to the two of them.

Its bow was against the village path, while most of the boat was still floating in the air, swaying as if it were sitting on a lake.

Zhu Ge quickly bowed and explained, "Senior, we were saved thanks to the Ghost in Our Mind!"

After bowing, Zhu Ge carefully examined the person in front of him.

The man on the small boat had bulging muscles, wore a straw hat and a raincoat, and was young but had dark skin, like an old farmer who had toiled in the fields for many years.

However, his arms were extremely thick, with veins as prominent as the roots of an old tree.

"I am the official in charge of the Awakening of Insects in Yuanyang City, and my name is: Fisherman in a Straw Raincoat."

The fisherman, who looked only seventeen or eighteen years old, cupped his hands in greeting, his expression as warm as a spring breeze: "Greetings, both of you."

"Greetings, fisherman in straw raincoat!" Scholar Yu bowed first, a smile plastered on his face. "I remember you usually come with Lord Pei, why are you here this year..."

"He's dead."

The fisherman in the straw raincoat maintained his smile: "A plague has broken out across the land, mosquitoes are everywhere, and many people have died."

As he spoke, the fisherman in the straw raincoat ignored Zhu Ge, his smile forced and insincere, seemingly smiling but conveying a cold indifference that kept people at a distance.

"I see." Scholar Yu shook his head and sighed, "Our Jianshan Village was also taken advantage of by a fungus god, and the reason for that is..."

"No one's in the village? Hand over all your money and grain." The fisherman in the straw raincoat interrupted Yu the scholar, his smile seeming to have gained a bit more sincerity:

"There are only six of you, so leave thirty bushels of grain."

As he spoke, the fisherman in the straw raincoat jumped off the boat, put his hands behind his back, and walked towards the village.

Thirty shi of grain?

"It's not enough at all!" Zhu Ge's expression changed.

Scholar Yu quickly spoke up: "Wait, wait! Fisherman in the straw raincoat, could you please hear me out?"

The fisherman in the straw raincoat stopped, turned around, his smile unchanged, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp light, a hint of white in them: "You intend to resist taxes?"

Seeing this, Zhu Ge also spoke up: "Fisherman in the straw raincoat, we..."

"You lowlife, you scoundrel." The fisherman in the straw raincoat didn't even glance at Zhu Ge, casually waving his thick arm. "How dare you answer me while I'm speaking? I could kill you for raising ghosts!"

In an instant, Zhu Ge felt as if she had been struck a heavy blow, and two streams of bloody tears flowed from her ears and eyes.

The person is not good!

"Wait a minute, you fisherman in the straw raincoat!"

Scholar Yu's expression changed drastically. He immediately knelt down, his expression pleading and his voice bitter:

"My brother is ignorant of social hierarchy, so I beg you, Fisherman in the Straw Raincoat, to be lenient! I have prepared a banquet tonight, and I humbly request your presence!"

"A dinner party? Heh." The fisherman in the straw raincoat smirked.

"Do you mortals have beautiful women singing and dancing? Are you satisfied with meat and vegetable soup?"