RBCT Chapter 18, "The Story of Ling Zhiyan"
Chapter 18, "The Story of Ling Zhiyan"
"Young master, this item is far too valuable."
These past two days, she's been using this magical device called a lighter to start fires and heat dishes. With a simple press, it can ignite a fire out of thin air. If she took it to Chang'an, she could probably exchange it for a few silver coins.
The pay is too high for making such a small trinket.
"Just do as I say."
He bought the lighter for one dollar. In later generations, if you wanted to have a set of exquisite wooden mahjong tiles made, the price would be at least several hundred times higher.
It was clear that I had gotten a great deal.
Zhao Qimei dared not say anything more and ran back to Zhao Family Village before it got dark.
"Seventh Sister is back."
"Girl, does the Divine Farmer have any instructions for today? Tsk tsk, what a blessing it is to be able to serve the Divine Farmer."
Before Chen Yue appeared, Zhao Qimei was ignored in Zhao Family Village, and everyone knew to some extent about her situation at home.
Things have changed. Now, he has been kept by Shennong as his personal maid, and she even stayed overnight last night. His status has soared instantly.
Countless families envied him. Even his wicked stepmother's attitude towards him changed drastically, and she even spoke to him with a smile.
They were all followers of the old Shennong. If she continued as before, not to mention whether Chen Yue would be angry, Zhao Xiong and the others would never allow it.
As someone directly involved, Zhao Qimei felt it all very deeply; she knew exactly how all of this came about.
The villagers along the way greeted Zhao Qimei with obvious respect and flattery.
Since Chen Yue announced the list of recipients, every household in the nearby villages has had an extra task: to go into the mountains to find the mountain products that Chen Yue needs.
They dared not use the same old methods to make do. According to the old rules of Shennong City, they only accepted the freshest harvested fruit.
Some merchants from Chang'an City once voluntarily took out goods from their shops and handed them over to the villagers, offering them a small fee in exchange for the goods held by Shennong Envoy.
When Chen Shan found out, he immediately blacklisted all those people, banning them from ever participating in Shennong City again.
Because his identity is a time-traveling mountain peddler, all his mountain goods can only be exchanged from these mountain people. If they are given to him by merchants, the nature of the goods changes, and he will not be able to bring them back to the modern world.
As for the calligraphy, paintings, gold, and silver, they were special permissions granted to Chen Shan by the Time-Space Gate after he completed his mission. Chen Yue has not yet activated any permissions.
Zhao Qimei happened to pass by Zhao Tie's house. The family of five had just finished eating in the courtyard. These past two days, Zhao Tie had done nothing but go into the mountains to look for a few things that Chen Yue needed. He had made some progress, but he didn't know if he could catch the eye of Shennong.
"Seventh Girl? What brings you here?"
Zhao Tie was a burly man in his forties with dark skin. He was estimated to be only about 1.6 meters tall and looked sturdy and honest.
He and Zhao Lin were about the same age and had a good relationship.
Seeing this, Zhao Xiong and the other villagers followed.
Zhao Qimei unabashedly took out the blueprints given to her by Chen Yue.
"Uncle Tie, the young master asked me if there were any carpenters in the village, and I recommended you. He asked you to help him make something called 'Mahjong.' Here are the blueprints."
Upon hearing that it was a mission dispatched by Shennong, Zhao Tie's expression changed instantly. He quickly stood up, wiped his hands on his clothes, and then carefully took the papers.
He understood the diagram, but he couldn't understand the written explanation at all, so he looked at Zhao Xiong.
"Third Master, what does it say on this?"
Zhao Xiong was also a little curious. Of the more than one hundred people in the entire Zhao Family Village, only a handful could read. He took the paper and read it aloud at a steady pace.
"Seventh Sister, what does the Divine Farmer want this for? Has he explained?"
"It must be a toy for the young master to pass the time; I know nothing else about it."
Zhao Xiong did not press further, but looked at Zhao Tie with a solemn expression, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"Since this is the order from the Divine Farmer, Tiezi, you must do your best and follow his instructions exactly. There must be no mistakes whatsoever."
"Third Master, rest assured, I will do my best. This request is not difficult. I will make it even if I have to stay up all night. However, my family doesn't have any good wood. What should I do?"
Zhao Qimei quickly waved her hand.
"Uncle Tie, the young master said that no special wood is needed, just the most ordinary kind will do. Oh, and this is the payment he gave you."
As he spoke, he took out the red lighter and handed it over. All the drawings on it had been torn off by Chen Yue, leaving only a transparent object filled with liquid.
"Lighter!"
Upon seeing this, Zhao Xiong and the others stared wide-eyed, their gazes fixed on it.
The previous Shennong Envoy had used this item to exchange for mountain goods. This thing is extremely magical; it can start a fire with just a light press, which is quite miraculous.
It was a very popular item in Chang'an, and many important figures were willing to spend a lot of money to buy it. Even though it wasn't very useful, its rarity made it valuable, and it could be used to show off.
They sold the lighter to a merchant for three silver coins based on the price ten years ago, but the merchant sold it for dozens of times more, making it a case of high demand but low demand.
It was just a small job, yet Chen Yue paid such a valuable item as wages, making Zhao Xiong and the others green with envy.
Zhao Xiong clearly knew something about the origin of this item. His lips trembled with excitement, his throat bobbed, and he looked at Zhao Qimei in disbelief.
"Seventh girl, is the master really going to give me this as payment for my work?"
"Yes, Uncle Tie, the young master said it would be best if it could be completed by tomorrow."
"Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll definitely do a good job tomorrow."
In Zhao Xiong's view, it was just a matter of carving patterns on a few hundred small wooden blocks and then painting them with different colors. Although it took a lot of work, it wasn't difficult.
"Uncle Tie, then I'll have to trouble you. I'll deliver breakfast to the young master tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM). If you've already prepared it, I'll bring it over as well."
"Don't worry, I won't let you down."
Zhao Tie carefully handed the lighter to his wife, instructing her to keep it safe. His youngest son was seven years old and had been intelligent and quick-witted since childhood; many people said he was destined for academic success.
The couple was just talking about this, because education is so expensive, and it would be a huge burden for their family to support it.
Now everything will be fine. All they need to do is sell the lighter in Chang'an City and, if they have the chance, attend the Shennong Festival. Their lives will be completely turned around in an instant.
In nearby villages, including Zhao Family Village, there are many people who have become rich overnight like this.
……
With Zhao Qimei gone, Chen Yue was really not used to it. He sat alone in the room reading a book, and this time he was no longer drowsy, but rather enjoying it.
I don't know which of the two, Wang Xian or Liu Boyan, actually sent me a little erotic book called "Ling Zhiyan Ji". The descriptions in the book were not that explicit.
It was unsigned, but the writing was incredibly skillful. With the simplest language, the author perfectly captured the tension and eroticism of the story, making it both subtle and captivating.
If this were written into a web novel in later generations, it would definitely be very successful.
The protagonist is named Xu Fang, and it seems to be his autobiography. He participated in the imperial examination in the fourth year of the Wude era.
Xu Fang did not come from a prominent family; his parents were fishermen on the Wei River. Apart from that, he was very handsome and proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
He was the kind of male god that women in the Tang Dynasty adored. While others might spend money at brothels and still not be able to sleep with the woman they desired, he rarely went to brothels without spending money. On the contrary, several courtesans were deeply in love with him and took the initiative to help him spend money.
The book contains numerous methods he used to woo women, and even some of his experiences in sexual matters.
"I don't know if this person really exists, but if he lived in the future, he would definitely become the Sea King."