Time-traveling island

Anxing County.

Inside the prefectural government office, Li Boyi was discussing matters with his staff when Steward Liu suddenly rushed in to report something.

"What is it now?"

Li Boyi looked somewhat displeased. His plump body, dressed in casual clothes, leaned back in the golden nanmu chair, gesturing for the butler to speak quickly.

Steward Liu, carrying a bag, hurriedly said with a smile, "Master, it's Magistrate Wang requesting an audience!"

"Why is it him again?" Li Boyi flared up, his face trembling. He waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Get out of here and drive them away. Tell them to leave in three days, or don't blame us for being ruthless!"

"Master!" the steward said quickly. "The magistrate Wang said that they have the help of a god who descended to earth and obtained several hundred bushels of top-quality rice. He wants to exchange one pound of rice for ten pounds of coarse rice in the city."

"What?"

"What are you saying?"

Including Li Boyi, everyone in the room wondered if the steward had gone mad.

Steward Liu hurriedly handed over the rough burlap sack: "Please take a look, sir. This is some rice that Magistrate Wang gave me. It is indeed top-quality rice, and it smells wonderful!"

Li Boyi looked suspicious, extended his fat right hand to take the rough burlap sack, opened it and saw a handful of top-quality rice inside, each grain white, clean and translucent.

Then, a faint fragrance wafted over, like the scent of rice or flowers, which was refreshing and delightful.

"Is it really top-quality rice?"

Seeing that the prefect was stunned, his advisors were also surprised.

Logically speaking, there is no such thing as top-grade rice. Rice that is better than top-grade rice is tribute rice, such as imperial white japonica rice and fragrant japonica rice.

"This rice...he has hundreds of bushels?!"

Li Boyi's expression softened. He put down the bag and gestured for several of his staff to come and take a look. One of the staff immediately stood up, took the bag of rice, and examined it carefully with the others.

Butler Liu quickly explained what had happened.

Soon after, Magistrate Wang was invited into the prefectural government office.

"Your humble servant, Wang Zhixing, pays his respects to Your Excellency!"

"No need for formalities, come, come, Lord Wang, please have a seat!"

Li Boyi smiled and invited Wang Zhixing, who was dressed in a worn-out seventh-rank official's robe, to sit down. He then ordered the steward to serve tea. After they finished drinking tea, Li Boyi asked warmly, "I wonder if what Magistrate Wang said about a god descending to earth is true?"

When Wang Zhixing came to visit in the morning, he was turned away at the door. He was only able to see the prefect after guaranteeing the lives of 100,000 disaster victims outside the city.

But now, Prefect Li treats him with great enthusiasm, as if he were an old friend he hasn't seen for many years.

All these changes came from his daughter, from that mysterious young master Lin An.

"I dare not lie to you, Your Excellency, this is absolutely true!" Wang Zhixing suppressed his thoughts and said, "Although I do not know who that deity is, this top-quality rice was brought back from heaven by my daughter."

"The sky?!"

After some questioning, Li Boyi roughly learned where the rice came from: it fell from the sky and was obtained by Wang Zhixing's daughter from a spirit.

As for what the elves are, how they came back from the sky, and whether there is any more rice, none of that is known.

"You want to exchange one dou of rice for ten dou of coarse rice?" Li Boyi twirled the rice grains in the rice bag in his hand, pretending to ponder for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "On the market, one dou of high-quality rice can only be exchanged for one and a half dou of coarse rice. No matter how good your rice is, you'll already be making a profit if you can get two dou of rice. Besides, with the current chaos of war, no one has any surplus grain at home."

Wang Zhixing remained calm and repeated his daughter's words, then smiled and said, "Sir, this rice not only tastes good and has a rich aroma, but eating half the amount of regular rice is enough to fill you up. Moreover, eating this kind of rice regularly can prolong life and cure minor ailments such as headaches and insomnia."

"Oh?" Li Boyi's heart skipped a beat.

"Does Your Excellency know how long people who eat this kind of rice live?"

"You said earlier... that those who eat this kind of rice are elves?"

"Indeed, my daughter said that elves who eat this kind of rice can live for a thousand years!"

"millennium?!"

The prefect of the prefecture was quite alarmed.

Wang Zhixing blushed, but still repeated his daughter's words verbatim, saying in a serious tone, "That's right, elves can live for a thousand years, and their youthful appearance can be maintained for eight or nine hundred years. This is absolutely true, without any falsehood. My daughter is usually well-behaved and sensible, and never lies. I'm sure you, sir, have also smelled the fragrance of this elf rice. You won't find any fragrant rice anywhere in Da Shun!"

After a long pause, Li Boyi finally said, "Exchanging one dou for ten dou is too much."

Wang Zhixing rose and bowed deeply, saying, "If Your Excellency is willing to donate a thousand bushels of rice to save the disaster victims outside the city, I am willing to offer a thousand catties of rice and flour. Your Excellency's act of benevolence will surely make the hundred thousand disaster victims eternally grateful!"

Li Boyi stared at him for a long time before finally waving his hand and saying, "I dare not take away the people's kindness. Fine, I'll buy three hundred catties of your rice, and the rest can be bought by a few wealthy families in the city."

"Thank you, sir!"

Wang Zhixing was overjoyed, feeling relieved and at ease.

While sending people to invite wealthy and powerful people in the city, Li Boyi continued chatting with Wang Zhixing. Observing his words and expressions, he believed that what Wang Zhixing said was probably true, but it was somewhat unbelievable and he would have to see it with his own eyes to know the details.

"Was the rice-swapping plan your daughter came up with?"

Li Boyi was surprised, but after receiving Wang Zhixing's affirmative answer, he couldn't help but praise, "Your daughter is courageous and resourceful, truly an extraordinary woman. It's a pity that my sons are useless, otherwise I would definitely arrange a marriage between our families."

Wang Zhixing declined the tentative marriage proposal.

……

As evening fell, a thousand bushels of rice were gradually transported out of the city, causing a stir among the disaster victims. They came forward with broken bowls and earthenware jars, begging for a bowl of rice to save their lives.

Half an hour later, fires were lit in various parts of the camp, and the aroma of rice filled the air. Everyone who received rice kowtowed in the direction of Magistrate Wang's family, expressing their gratitude to Magistrate Wang, Miss Wang, and the legendary god Lin An.

At first, Wang Wanxiu was somewhat at a loss when faced with the worship of thousands of people, but she gradually became numb to it and hid behind a tree, letting them worship her from afar.

The Wang family has also prepared dinner.

Compared to the coarse rice eaten by the disaster victims, the Wang family of four ate authentic Elf Rice. Its unique aroma whetted their appetites. Although there were no side dishes with the rice, after three months of hunger, being able to eat a bowl of fragrant rice was the greatest pleasure in the world.

Wang Wanxiu was still able to maintain her composure, but her elder brother and mother were eating very eagerly, so she quickly advised them, "Mother, brother, Young Master Lin specifically told me that if you've been hungry for too long, you shouldn't eat too much for the first meal. Just eat until you're half full, otherwise you'll have a bloated stomach."

Young Master Lin doesn't seem like someone who has ever gone hungry, yet he knows these things, which shows that he is very knowledgeable.

After hearing this, her older brother began to chew slowly and carefully.

Although her mother also slowed down her eating pace, she smiled and said, "It's better to die from eating than to starve to death."

Wang Wanxiu smiled without saying anything. After eating half full, she saw that there was still a bowl of rice left, so she picked it up and gave it to Zhishu.

"Miss, porridge is enough for me!"

"You should eat. You've worked hard taking care of me these past few days."

Wang Wanxiu gave her the rice.

The Wang family originally consisted of more than thirty people, including servants, but now only a few servants remain. Among the women, apart from her maid Zhishu, only Aunt Song is left; the rest have all fled for their lives.

Wang Zhixing's gaze fell on Zhishu, and he made up his mind.

They only let her come over after she finished eating.

"Master, did you call me?" Zhishu came to the young lady's side. After eating and drinking her fill, her sallow complexion had improved a lot, and she had more energy to walk. Seeing that the young lady was laying straw, she hurried over to help.

The campsite was still filled with the aroma of rice, but it was already completely dark, and there were no lights around, only the moon hanging in the sky.

"Yes." Wang Zhixing nodded and said to Zhishu, "Tomorrow, the young lady will be going to that island again. You, the young master, and Fugui will accompany her."

"Yes, sir!"

Zhi Shu agreed, and after hearing the instructions, he ran to tell Fu Gui to get some sleep and get up early the next day.

Silent all night.