Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

“Little sister, don’t misunderstand, this old man isn’t making fun of you,” the old man said. “I just envy you for having such a good brother, and your brother for having such a good sister.”

The younger sister didn't reply, and she didn't want Zhuang Xing to get her the bowl anymore. She snatched the bowl away and held it herself.

Zhuang Xing chuckled. He didn't say anything to comfort his sister. His sister wasn't in a bad mood at the moment. If she were really unhappy, she would have started crying and making a fuss long ago, or she would have raised her head and pouted to argue with the old man.

Zhuang Xing couldn't figure out what she was thinking.

However, she will likely remember this moment for a long time, perhaps even for a lifetime.

Zhuang Xing was eventually hungry, so he patted his sister's head and picked up his own bowl to drink the porridge.

This porridge has a light flavor and is simple to make, but it is still a delicious dish.

The fish was very fresh, and adding a little salt eliminated any fishy smell. The main reason was that the old man sliced ​​the fish very thinly and then blanched it, making the rolled-up fish meat very springy and giving it a different flavor altogether.

"call..."

Zhuang Xing exhaled a few breaths of hot air, feeling extremely refreshed.

My younger sister also finished the whole bowl of porridge.

The old man came forward and collected the bowls and chopsticks, then washed the pot as well.

"Is it delicious?" Zhuang Xing asked.

"It's delicious," the younger sister said.

"Then say thank you to Grandpa," Zhuang Xing instructed her.

She glanced at the old man and said politely, "Thank you, Grandpa."

"You're welcome." The old man smiled broadly; the more he looked at the child, the more he liked him.

After finishing his porridge and tidying up a bit, the old man continued rowing away.

By the afternoon, the younger sister was less noisy. She sat next to Zhuang Xing, still looking around, but asking fewer questions.

The two brothers also lay down and took a nap. For a while, the only sound was the sound of oars propelling the water.

The small boat moved forward, time passed quietly, and the ancient capital came into view.

On the high city walls built of black stone, soldiers clad in armor stood guard, the tops of the walls covered with a layer of white snow, and a river led directly into the city.

"We've arrived in Yidu!" the old man shouted, pushing the oars straight towards the river mouth.

The small boat did not dock at the city wall, but sailed directly into the city.

Hearing the old man's shout, the people on the boat began to pack their belongings.

Ahead was a huge square entrance, and beside the entrance were hanging bronze gates. On the bronze pillars covered with green patina, there were patterns of ferocious water beasts, including a water tiger with its mouth wide open and a giant tortoise as steady as a mountain.

These ferocious beast totems are believed to have the power to drive away evil spirits and bring peace and tranquility. They are carved with exceptional ferocity, and when night falls, the bronze gate is lowered from inside the city.

The younger sister seemed frightened by the patterns, clinging tightly to Zhuang Xing and daring not to let go.

As the small boat passed through the city wall, the light suddenly dimmed.

They entered the narrow entrance, and it only took a few seconds to pass through the city wall. Bright light shone ahead, and the old man stopped punting, letting the small boat drift with the current.

After a brief period of darkness, the view suddenly opened up.

The surrounding noise suddenly increased. In front of them was a wide river crossing, with ferries coming and going, soliciting passengers and shouting enthusiastically.

Both sides of the ferry crossing are lined with shops and stores, from silk and cloth shops, ironware shops, porcelain shops, to cloth and grain shops, jewelry shops, musical instrument shops, and so on. You can see Yidu people gathered together drinking tea by the roadside. They are very leisurely, roasting charcoal stoves, drinking hot tea, and talking loudly as if they are pointing out the world.

Warriors carrying swords and dressed in tight-fitting clothes passed through the streets under the inspection of the officials. Several white-haired monsters were also brought into the city. They were wolf demons that had been shot to death by a hail of arrows. Even in death, they had ferocious faces and a man-eating aura. They were about the size of a calf and had a strong bloody aura.

This wolf demon attracted the attention of those around, but some people from Yidu seemed unfazed, simply drinking tea and saying, "What's so strange about this? More than ten years ago, a tiger demon several times larger than this was brought in. That tiger demon was far more powerful than this little wolf demon, as if they had some incredible ability to eliminate that tiger demon as well."

This is Yidu, this is the prosperous age we live in today.

In those mulberry wood restaurants, there were women singing and dancing; under the eaves with red lanterns hanging, there were women selling food; and there were also demon hunters with heavy auras, their faces and hands covered with scars, licking blood from swords.

All these scenes were reflected in the eyes of the little girl on the small boat.

She stopped holding her brother's hand, and a longing light appeared in her eyes. She walked towards the bow of the ship, slightly opened her mouth, and scanned from left to right, from top to bottom.

Zhuang Xing stepped forward, picked her up, and let her sit on his shoulders, so she could see the wonderful and magnificent world.

"Brother!" she called out cheerfully.

"What's wrong?" Zhuang Xing asked.

"Thank you for taking me out. I have a great time today."

Her smile was as bright as the warm sun, melting away the ice and snow of this cold winter.

Chapter 269 The Temple Fair is Approaching

Zhuang Xingxian went ashore, stepped onto the bluestone slabs, and reached out his hand to the girl on the boat.

The small boat was just a step away from the shore. The little girl looked at the rippling blue waves, hesitated for a moment, then lifted her small cotton shoes and, guided by Zhuang Xing, lightly leaped over.

All five people on the boat went ashore, each with a different feeling.

The two brothers, returning from the mine, gazed at the familiar scenery, their faces filled with joy and nostalgia. This was their hometown, their home, and someone was waiting for them to come home.

The couple were filled with anxiety. Being strangers in a foreign land, they should have been reuniting with their families to welcome the New Year, but instead, they had left their hometown and traveled from Mingzhou to Chenzhou. They didn't know if they could establish themselves in this unfamiliar city, and the future was uncertain. But at least they weren't alone. The couple supported each other and set foot on this land they had never been before.

The five people parted ways on the shore and went in different directions.

"Take care, sir!" The old man stood at the bow of the boat and said goodbye cheerfully.

"Please take it easy, old man." Zhuang Xing cupped his hands in greeting.

"Goodbye, Grandpa," the little sister said softly.

"Haha, goodbye, goodbye."

The old man laughed twice and rowed his boat towards the city to anchor.

He began to sing a long, drawn-out boat tune, merging into the continuous stream of boats.

Zhuang Xing and his younger sister watched him leave, and then lined up to be inspected by the officials before going out into the street.

Zhuang Xing was surprised to learn that Yidu had a special management policy for people from other places. The couple was led aside by the officials. Zhuang Xing kindly inquired with the officials and learned that this was because in recent years, more and more people from other places had come to Yidu to find work, so the prefect had introduced a new policy.

Yidu was in a period of development and was short of people everywhere. These people who came were looking for work, so the government took care of this matter. Those who were interested could directly obey the government's allocation and work in various places. If they had a skill, they could also find some good positions.

This is a time of great opportunity. In any case, the couple should be able to rest easy and have enough to eat and a place to stay.

These preferential treatments did not come out of thin air; they were the result of the booming development of the textile and iron smelting industries, which led to the current situation.

Zhuang Xing couldn't help but think that without such developments, the couple probably wouldn't have been able to find a livelihood so easily.

Moreover, the couple came from Minnesota in the south, which was the first place to suffer from snow disasters. A sudden cold winter is most likely to cause a major blow to a place that rarely sees snow.

In previous years, the disasters were particularly severe in the south. Heavy snow delayed spring planting, resulting in a lack of food. Without any winter clothing reserves, winter was like living in an ice cellar. Even when the government provided disaster relief and distributed affordable firewood and charcoal in the market, people still died from looting and fighting.

Add to that the extreme cold, and even the monsters couldn't find food, so you can imagine how unbearable it must have been over there.

If none of this had happened, the couple might never have had the chance to come to Yidu; they would have starved and frozen to death in the cold winter. The couple was not young, yet they came here alone. The reason for this is hard to explain.

If one were not forced to, why would one leave the land where one was born?

Zhuang Xing looked down at his hands and realized that he was much taller than his little sister. He had grown up, and there were still many things he could do and many things he wanted to do.

But night is about to fall, and the most urgent thing is to find a suitable place to stay.

My younger sister is young and not some kind of martial arts prodigy with a special physique. Zhuang Xing didn't want her to get cold, so he needed to find a warm inn for her to stay in.

He has the means to live in a nicer place, so there's no need for him to suffer.

He took his younger sister to see several inns, but to his surprise, they were all fully booked with no vacancies.

He didn't pay much attention at first, because he asked around near the city gate. Yidu is a large city, so it's not unusual for the most prominent inns to be full.

But after inquiring at the fifth inn, he was somewhat surprised to learn that only one inferior room was left, which was a room with a hard kang (heated brick bed), cold quilt, and probably a bit drafty.

"Brother, are we going to have to sleep on the streets tonight?" the little sister asked.

She didn't look frustrated at all; on the contrary, she seemed eager to try.

After a day out, the little one has completely let loose; she's always been a bit of a troublemaker.

"We'll have a place to stay," Zhuang Xing said, patting his sister's head.

He was someone who had met the emperor in the capital and received an award, so he couldn't possibly end up sleeping on the streets.

If he couldn't stay at the inn, he naturally had ways to find accommodation elsewhere. Putting aside the fact that the prefect of Yidu was an old acquaintance of his, he had quite a few friends, including Baima Temple, the Wu family's tea shop, Chu Sheng who had become an agricultural official, and the old man who sold paper in the North Market.

If he were to get involved with the government, he could simply go to the prefect's residence, sleep in a large house, and have people bring him lavish meals.

He didn't go to visit his old friends because he thought staying at the inn would be a completely new experience for his sister, but he didn't expect it to be fully booked. Are there so many people coming this year?

Just as Zhuang Xing was about to ask, the innkeeper seemed to be getting impatient. Perhaps sensing that Zhuang Xing didn't intend to stay, he said, "Sir, don't think there will be any rooms available as you go into the city. The temple fair at Dongwang Temple is in two days. Many people have already arrived at Dongwang Temple. This year, the prefect will also be presiding over the ceremonial procession. My inn was originally full, but a guest had to cancel his room at the last minute, so this room became available."

"Sir, you have a little girl with you. It's more important to find a place to shelter from the wind and snow. Otherwise, when it gets dark, you'll have to squeeze into a woodshed or sleep on the ground in a temple. If you miss this opportunity, you won't find another place like it. You'd better think it through, sir. There are plenty of people who want to stay at a hotel outside."

The shopkeeper only spoke kindly to Zhuang Xing because he had a child with him. If Zhuang Xing had come alone, he wouldn't have bothered to say anything more and would have gone to serve the next customer long ago.

Zhuang Xing's focus, however, was not on the hotel. After hearing what the innkeeper said, he understood that Yidu was holding a temple fair.

No wonder so many people came. Come to think of it, he doesn't seem to have come to Yidu at this time of year before. He either came earlier or later, and he probably missed it all.

He was very familiar with temple fairs. Although he hadn't participated much in this life, he had been to many in the past. In his memory, it was a large shopping festival and a large food street that was held once a year or sometimes every few years. But according to the shopkeepers, this year's temple fair seemed to be a little different. The prefect was presiding over the procession, so it should be bigger and more lively, which attracted a lot of people.

Chapter 270 Perhaps the Taoist Priest Has Been Here

"Is there going to be a temple fair in Yidu in two days?" Zhuang Xing asked the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper looked at him like he was an idiot, as if someone had run into his inn and asked him, "Master, what do you do for a living?"

However, out of professional ethics, he refrained from swearing. He thought the little girl was adorable and the man beside her was handsome, so he figured that this was probably some young master who had taken his little sister out to play. It was understandable that a young master who was used to being waited on hand and foot would be unaware of such obvious common sense.

So he patiently explained to Zhuang Xing, "Yes, the birthday of the Eastern King God is in two days, on the third day of the twelfth lunar month. This year, the Prefect will be coming to preside over the procession. This was arranged at the beginning of the year. I see you're from out of town, young man. Did you come to Yidu to attend the temple fair?"

"Actually, I came to deliver a letter for my elders and also brought my younger sister to Yidu for a visit. I didn't know about the temple fair."

As Zhuang Xing spoke, he took out a handful of copper coins from his pocket and put them into the shopkeeper's sleeve.

“I’ve been to Yidu in previous years, but never at this time of year. I guess I’ve missed the best time. I only heard about it today from you.”

It's only right to pay someone a small fee for asking them for information.