Time-traveling island

Two days later.

"Lunch is ready!!"

The shouts of the man throughout his life stirred up the people who were resting in various places. They sat up, took their bowls, and looked longingly at the person distributing the food in the distance, wondering when it would be their turn.

Zheng Meng, known as Erniu, was also waiting in the crowd. His stomach was growling with hunger, and any hint of rice porridge aroma would make his stomach rumble.

After a long wait, the person distributing the porridge finally arrived. Zheng Meng quickly picked up his broken bowl, stood up, and squeezed through the crowd. He used his grimy hands to cover the nick in the bowl, and said with a fawning smile, "Third Uncle, thank you for coming to serve us porridge again!"

The person in charge of distributing the food was a relative of his, named Zheng Youqing, who was a rare scholar in the village. His family originally owned hundreds of acres of land, but now they had also fled to the south with them.

I heard that my third uncle went to see the Immortal Lin with Magistrate Wang's family a couple of days ago. After he came back, he looked even more spirited than before. He led about ten people to distribute porridge every day, and there was always a lot left in the bucket when they finished.

"Um."

The old scholar Zheng Youqing nodded reservedly. Without him having to give any instructions, the person serving the porridge naturally scooped a full spoonful of porridge and poured it into Zheng Meng's bowl, and also gave him two pieces of dried pickled vegetables, for which Zheng Meng thanked him repeatedly.

Those who received their share of porridge devoured it, while those who hadn't yet received theirs continued to wait expectantly, yet the scene remained perfectly orderly.

Zheng Youqing nodded in satisfaction, cleared his throat, and said to everyone, "This porridge is a gift from the Prefect, thanks to the kindness of Immortal Lin, to provide relief to the villagers. Please remember this. Those who haven't decided whether to stay or leave, decide today whether to come with us to the island or continue fleeing south."

Zheng Meng, who was slowly drinking his porridge, paid little attention to his third uncle's words and continued drinking his porridge.

He had decided long ago to go to Fairy Island to become a farmhand for Fairy Lin's family. He didn't care about demons or monsters; having food to eat was better than anything else.

Some, like him, made their decision, while others hesitated, asking, "Master Zheng, are there really monsters on the island?"

"I told you, there's a giant fish demon on the beach, raised by Immortal Lin. Also, when you go to the island, you need to summon the demon race!"

Zheng Youqing grew impatient and quickly dismissed those who came to inquire. Those who wanted to go to the island had already pressed their fingerprints on the paper, while those who didn't want to go left Anxing County one after another.

After distributing the porridge, he was about to leave with his men when he suddenly heard a shout from afar: "Immortal Lin is here!"

"What?!"

Zheng Youqing was startled. Just as he was hesitating, Zheng Meng, who had just finished a bowl of porridge, rushed out and said, "I'm going to pay my respects to Immortal Lin!"

The arrival of Immortal Lin caused a stir in the camp of over 100,000 disaster victims. When Zheng Meng rushed over, the crowd was already packed in layers. He could only see about ten people standing on a small earthen mound in the distance, with a young man in a white short-sleeved shirt at the front.

Taking advantage of his seven-foot height, Zheng Meng finally managed to squeeze to the front and get a clear look at Lin Shenxian's appearance:

A handsome young man with short, clean hair held a funnel-shaped object in his hand, and a silver-white box floated in front of him.

He looked at it again and again, and it was indeed floating in the air, which was quite miraculous!

But the most astonishing thing was yet to come.

"cough!"

Lin Shenxian coughed, and the sound carried for miles, like the sound of a large bell in a temple!

Like the others, Zheng Meng was so frightened that he dared not move or speak.

With a warm smile, Lin Shenxian said, "Dear fellow villagers, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lin An, and I am very happy to be here today to meet you all!"

"..."

Zheng Mengren was extremely excited, and he had a feeling that what the gods said was actually quite easy to understand.

Behind Lin Shenxian were the county magistrate's family, as well as Deputy Commandant Zhou and others.

"To make a long story short, my fellow villagers, you probably already know why I've come here. I want to recruit 100,000 people to go to the island..."

Zheng Meng listened carefully and found that it was almost exactly the same as what had been said before:

It covers clothing, food, housing, and transportation.

He earns three taels of silver a month.

You can come back anytime you want, but you need to work for three months before you can take back the clothes, medicine, pots and pans that have been distributed to you.

Oh, so this time there's one more person who only needs to work four hours a day?!

"Working four hours a day?!"

Zheng Meng was just as surprised as everyone around him.

He also worked short-term jobs for wealthy families, where he had to be in the fields before dawn and wouldn't finish until sunset, and he was paid for each day's work.

But Immortal Lin only wanted them to work for four hours!

"in addition."

Lin Shenxian continued, "I heard from Miss Wang that you're curious about whether you'll be exempt from taxes on farming after settling down on the island. I can tell you right here: if you settle down on the island, not only will you be exempt from taxes on farming, but you'll also receive subsidies—money from the government!"

The crowd immediately erupted in uproar.

"Immortal Lin, is it true that no taxes are paid on the island?!"

"How many years can you go without paying taxes?"

"Never paying taxes?!"

People eagerly asked questions, and Lin the Immortal answered them all. Finally, he laughed and said, "You want to farm now, but I'm afraid that even if I pay you in the future, you won't want to farm anymore."

"Only a fool wouldn't go farming!" Zheng Meng blurted out, then realized he had offended the gods and quickly stopped talking.

After the excitement subsided, Immortal Lin continued, "As you all know, my island has elves with lifespans of a thousand years, demons who cultivate and transform into human form, and giant octopus demons that swim and play in the sea. In the future, other similar people will come to the island. But I can guarantee that demons cannot eat people. People and demons on the island are the same. Killing someone is punishable by death; it is only natural."

The previously excited person immediately calmed down.

"As for the rest, you can ask the people who have been to the island. I will discuss it with Prefect Li later. If there are no unexpected events, we will take the people who have pressed their handprints to the island in five days."

"This journey to the island is long and arduous, and it may be several months before we can return to visit our families. Everyone should make preparations in advance."

After a long pause, Immortal Lin said, "I have finished speaking. Now, Magistrate Wang, please say a few words to everyone."

After speaking, he handed the loophole in his hand to Magistrate Wang. When the magistrate spoke, everyone heard that his voice had become extremely loud.

They then realized that the funnel could amplify a person's voice.

After Magistrate Wang finished speaking, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Zheng Meng looked back every few steps and saw several carriages coming down from the city. Officials in long robes walked towards Lin Shenxian, bowed and greeted him with smiles on their faces.

"Five more days until we can go to the island with the immortals."

Zheng Meng muttered to himself.

"Erniu, are you really going to the island?" a fellow villager asked him.

Zheng Meng glanced at him. "Of course! What, you don't want to go?"

"There are man-eating monsters on that island. Hey, who knows if they want us to go there so they can fatten us up and feed us to the monsters."

Zheng Meng immediately became angry. "If you don't want to go, then don't go! Stop talking bad about the immortals behind their backs! I have nothing more to say to you. Goodbye!"

Zheng Meng bowed and went straight back to his original place, where he lay on the dry grass and fantasized about going to the fairy island where he could live a life of plenty.

They only need to work for four hours a day.

"Heh, don't blame me for not warning you. You'll regret it when you get eaten by a monster someday. Anyway, I'm not going!"

The man was initially hesitant, but after arguing with Zheng Meng, he immediately decided not to go. He would have one more meal tonight, collect his food supplies tomorrow, and then leave!