Time-traveling island

"Hello, humans from another world. It's a pleasure to meet you on Mr. Lin An's territory."

The tall elves bowed and greeted the gentry and elders with graceful and gentle movements. Even though Lu Xing didn't translate their words, the gentry knew that they were being greeted.

So they quickly returned the greeting.

Wang Wanxiu glanced at her father and the local gentry and elders, then at the elves, and a blush crept onto her face.

These disaster victims were still emaciated and pale, while the elves were all beautiful and handsome; the male elves were gentle and refined, and the female elves were noble and beautiful.

In comparison, it's hard not to feel ashamed.

Fortunately, Young Master Lin did not look down on her because of this.

"Are you those long-lived elves?" An old scholar named Zheng Youqing recalled what Magistrate Wang had mentioned earlier.

Lin An translated his words.

A female elf with dark green hair smiled at him and said, "Yes, our lifespan can reach a thousand years."

"How old are you this year... no, how old are you this year?" The old scholar quickly changed his form of address.

Upon hearing Mr. Lin An's translation, the elven beauty chuckled twice before saying, "I am over six hundred years old this year. I have witnessed the life of the human Thunder Sword Saint Gareth, and I have also adventured with the orc Lord of the Azure Wolves, who disguised himself as a human and traveled the human world."

Lin An was somewhat surprised. This elven beauty looked rather unremarkable, at least much less radiant than Amberley, yet she turned out to be a legendary powerhouse.

The elf beside her laughed and said to her, "Matilda, don't mention your deeds anymore. You were a child when you went out to travel, and you didn't seem to have grown much when you came back. It's a wonder you met so many legendary figures."

The beautiful elven woman from Mathilde did not refute, but simply smiled.

When Lin An translated their words, the old scholar was shocked. Six hundred years old? Six hundred years ago, the Tang Dynasty had just been established, and Emperor Taizong had just ascended the throne. This clever woman who looked less than twenty-five years old was actually from that time?!

"My goodness, the young girl turned out to be an old ancestor!" an old local gentry exclaimed in shock.

Su Zhenzhen jumped out, pointed to herself, and said, "I'm eighty years old too, remember to call me 'Grandmother' from now on!"

Lin An and Wang Wanxiu both laughed, and Su Zhuoyao pulled her back.

Perhaps seeing the lively conversation taking place here, the giant octopus lying on the shore, not wanting to be left out, began to wriggle its eight tentacles toward them, startling the group of elders and gentry of Shunguo Township who retreated in fear.

Su Zhenzhen ran off to play with the giant octopus. Su Zhuoyao watched with a smile, then turned to Lin An and asked, "Young Master, shouldn't we give her a name?"

Seeing that she seemed quite eager to try, Lin An said, "Okay, think of a few names."

Su Zhuoyao smiled sweetly and said, "She hasn't taken human form yet, so there's no need for a formal name. Let's start with a nickname. Let me think... Miss Wang, you're from a respectable family, and your education is surely higher than mine. Would you like to think of one for her?"

"I?"

Wang Wanxiu hesitated for a moment, but seeing that she was asking her seriously, she smiled and said, "Both Miss Su and your younger sister's names come from the Book of Songs, and they are about peach blossoms and peach leaves. Why don't we also give her a name from the Book of Songs, and take the two characters 'Yan Yan' from 'Yan Yan Yu Fei, Cha Chi Qi Yu' as her nickname."

Su Zhuoyao's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands, saying, "We've got a formal name too! Lin Yan... Yu!"

Wang Wanxiu quickly stopped her, whispering, "A woman's name should not be easily revealed to others, although it is not so important nowadays."

Lin An had called her by name before, and now the elves didn't mind saying her name either. Since arriving on the island, many things had changed.

"I think the name is good, so I'll call her Yan Yan from now on, and see how long it takes her to remember it."

Lin An agreed and asked Su Zhenzhen to teach the giant octopus to recognize her name.

He turned to Wang Zhixing and the others and said, "You have come to see the island today, but there are still some things that are not ready. For example, clothes and food have not yet been delivered, and farming is not yet possible on the island. It will take a few more days."

Yesterday, Olvia took some soil from the island and some seawater back with her to test how to improve the soil.

In addition, the cargo ships carrying supplies will take ten days to arrive.

Upon hearing that they could not start work immediately, the gentry became anxious and, disregarding whether it was a monster or not, hurriedly asked how much longer it would take.

Wang Zhixing, looking somewhat embarrassed, said to Lin An, "The rice and noodles that Young Master Lin generously gifted us last time are only enough for three days, so the villagers are all a bit anxious."

"Can it last for three days?" Lin An asked in surprise.

"It's three days of starvation," Wang Zhixing said.

"Oh! That explains why a pound of coarse rice can last for three days."

Lin An pondered how to solve the problem.

The elves stood still, watching how the future lord, whom Amberley had approved, would solve the problem of feeding her people.

Wang Zhixing said, "I'm sorry to trouble you, young master. This matter shouldn't have bothered you. You can hire people again in ten days, and the people can come to work in ten days. There's no reason to force people to work. However, the people are currently lacking food and clothing, and they have no choice but to ask you for help. If you have a way to help, we'll consider these ten days as an overpayment."

"Father!"

Before Lin An could speak, Wang Wanxiu said, "There is rice in the city." Everyone looked at her. The young girl wasn't shy at all and continued, "They are citizens of Shun Kingdom. According to custom, the prefect should provide disaster relief."

"But the imperial court has not issued any decree for disaster relief! What can we do!" The old scholar sighed repeatedly.

Wang Wanxiu said, "Although the imperial court has not issued any decree, this is still a matter of life and death. In times of emergency, we must act expediently and not stick to rigid principles. Besides, rebels are leading troops to besiege Anxing County. If the disaster victims do not leave, the number of deaths and injuries will be countless."

The gentry and elders fell silent for a moment, then asked, "How can we persuade the prefect to open the granaries and distribute grain?"

Wang Wanxiu bowed to Lin An, smiled, and said, "May I borrow a ray of divine light from Immortal Lin?"

Lin An understood; this was an attempt to use his face. So he smiled and said, "Alright, do as the female strategist says. Go and ask the prefect to open the granaries for disaster relief. If you can't get it, come back to me."

"Young Master!"

When she was called the female strategist, Wang Wanxiu blushed.

Lin An smiled and said to Amber and the others, "There's nothing much to do today. You can wander around the island. Come ask me if you have any questions later."

"Does Mr. Lin have something to do?" Lil asked.

"Okay, I'll make a call later and coordinate the item list with the boss's secretary."

"Okay, Mr. Lin, please go ahead with your work. We'll take a look around the island."

The elves walked along the coast, admiring the vastness of the sea and experiencing what a world without magic would be like.

Su Zhuoyao ran off to play on the sea with her sister and the giant octopus Yan Yan, while Wang Zhixing and his group climbed to a high place to see how big the island was.

Only Wang Wanxiu remained by Lin An's side, watching him pick up the satellite phone and make a call, curious about this thing that could communicate across thousands of miles.

At the same time, hundreds of satellites in the sky were pointed at the island.