Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Daily Divination
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
The boundless golden rice fields stretched far into the distance. Beneath the caress of the breeze, they rippled like waves across a golden sea.
Over the past few days, every household in Dongxi Village had been busy harvesting.
Early that morning, Jianyi Wentian activated [Daily Divination] and divined his fortune for the day.
Ding!
[Daily Divination] has been activated.
Today's Hexagram: Upper-Middle Fortune.
If the host harvests rice today, he will encounter Uncle Chen's family. There is a chance of obtaining information from Uncle Chen regarding an internal strength manual and ownerless rice fields.
A look of joy appeared on Wentian's face.
It had not been in vain that he had spent these past days divining this matter.
At last, he had not missed the opportunity.
An internal strength manual?
Indeed, it was about time to consider practicing martial arts.
However, Wentian had not yet decided which of his children should walk the martial path, because that decision would determine who received the second-generation talent.
In the fields.
"Brother Wentian, the rice from your family's land really is excellent. Every grain is plump, and the stalks are big too. The harvest from your ten mu is probably comparable to fifteen or sixteen mu from my family."
A dark-skinned man looked at Wentian's rice fields, the envy in his eyes plain for all to see.
This man was called Chen Ergou. He was Uncle Chen's second son and was only a year younger than Wentian.
Since childhood, he had admired and respected Wentian.
Their family's rice fields happened to be right beside Wentian's.
"Is there some kind of secret method? Teach me, won't you?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? If he really had a secret method, why would he tell you?"
Uncle Chen walked over at that moment and scolded him with a curse.
"Uncle Chen, how could there be any secret method? It's all just Heaven rewarding me with food."
With [Heaven Rewards Diligence], Wentian's words were not exactly wrong.
Uncle Chen chuckled.
"Who in Dongxi Village doesn't know that you're a master at farming? Otherwise, back then, the Xu family wouldn't have been so determined to keep you."
"You were wise. You quit your long-term laborer position and came out on your own. Now your days are getting better and better."
"I still can't compare to your family, Uncle Chen."
Uncle Chen's family had two sons and two daughters, one hundred and twenty mu of rice fields, twenty mu of farmland, and thirty mu of mountain forest. Even in Dongxi Village, they could be considered a wealthy household.
Moreover, his eldest son was quite promising and had some talent in martial arts.
He was already a third-rate martial artist. He had settled down in Qingjiang County City and married the youngest daughter of a wealthy merchant.
"These days are busy with the harvest. Is Brother Daming not coming back?" Wentian asked casually, his thoughts stirring as he probed without leaving a trace.
At the mention of his eldest son, Chen Ming, a complicated look flashed through Uncle Chen's eyes.
There was pride in it, but also helplessness.
"Your Brother Daming is a martial artist. He has his own matters to attend to."
Family shame was not something to be aired outside. Naturally, Uncle Chen would not speak ill of his son in front of outsiders.
"I truly envy Brother Daming. When I have money in the future, I also want to buy an internal strength manual and let my son try practicing. Uncle Chen, if you see Brother Daming, remember to ask him for me."
"No problem. A small matter."
Uncle Chen grinned and patted his chest.
"This world isn't all that peaceful. Learning a bit of martial arts for self-defense is a good thing."
As he spoke, he sighed softly, his tone turning sorrowful.
"If Old Yu had thought the same way, perhaps his family wouldn't have been robbed by bandits in the middle of the night. The whole household, old and young, died tragically."
"Pitiful. Truly pitiful."
"However, the martial path consumes a great deal of money. Wentian, you must be mentally prepared."
Uncle Chen's tone shifted again, and he reminded him solemnly.
Without talent, even if one had money, all of it might still end up amounting to nothing.
"I understand, Uncle Chen."
"Old Yu's family really was unfortunate. Then what happened to their fields?"
"When a person dies, everything becomes empty."
Uncle Chen's eyes brightened slightly, carrying a hint of a smile.
"The government will naturally take them back. It should happen within the next two days. If you happen to run into the yamen runners, it would be best to make your move immediately."
"After all, your family's population keeps increasing, and the children are growing up too. Even if the yield of your rice fields is several tenths higher than other households, ten mu is still too little."
Having his thoughts seen through did not surprise Wentian.
He scratched his head and flattered him.
"Nothing can be hidden from Uncle Chen. I do indeed have that intention.
"Now that our days are gradually getting better and the number of mouths in the family is slowly increasing, I've begun considering adding more fields."
Whether ordinary peasants or wealthy households, everyone placed great importance on land. Unless absolutely necessary, no one would easily sell rice fields.
They were the foundation people relied upon to survive.
Even if a family declined after several generations, as long as the fields remained, they would still provide a measure of security for the descendants.
Buying rice fields depended on luck.
Fortunately, Wentian's luck was not bad.
He had finally waited until an opportunity appeared.
As for the internal strength manual, it was not the most important matter for now.
If the price was too high, then he could only give up on it temporarily and leave it for future planning.
Wentian understood very clearly what the current Jianyi family needed most.
His mentality was as steady as an old dog.
The Great Wei Dynasty integrated both the martial path and the immortal path into its ruling system, establishing two separate official structures: martial officials and immortal officials.
However, because the immortal path had extremely high requirements for aptitude, those capable of cultivating immortality were one in ten thousand. Once such people achieved success in cultivation, their strength was far beyond what martial artists could compare with.
Therefore, within the Great Wei Dynasty, immortal officials clearly held a higher status.
But regardless of which path one chose, a certain level of strength was required.
Connections were also necessary.
Becoming a martial official or immortal official of the Great Wei Dynasty was equivalent to entering the civil servant system from Wentian's previous life.
It was an iron rice bowl.
Every martial artist and low-level immortal cultivator longed for such a position.
If managed properly, it could allow a family to grow rapidly within ten or twenty years.
After chatting for a while, both families began harvesting.
Wentian's family only had ten mu of fields. They had already been harvesting for more than ten days, and there was not much left.
Because his movements were quick and efficient, he finished everything in half a day.
After lunch, Wentian went to the threshing ground to dry the harvested rice.
This was done to reduce the moisture and prevent mildew.
"Father, where are you going?" the two little ones asked.
"Father is going to dry the rice."
"Father, I'll go help you."
Jianyi Mingwei raised his head and looked at Wentian. His small hands clenched into fists, and his tender little face was filled with determination.
"Good. Shitou will come help Father."
Wentian rubbed Jianyi Mingwei's head, his eyes full of affection.
What parent would not love such a sensible child?
At that moment, Jianyi Mingyuan also began shouting in his childish voice.
"I want to go too, Father!"
"Go, go, go. You can all go."
There were many people busy at the threshing ground.
When they saw Wentian arriving with his two children, they all smiled and praised his children for being sensible and capable.
Wentian smiled in response, and the brief parental exchange of mutual praise began.
However, the two little ones were children after all.
They had not worked for long before they were tempted by something unknown and ran off somewhere without anyone noticing.
Jianyi Mingwei was already quite sensible, so Wentian felt relatively at ease.
Even so, when the two boys returned covered in mud from head to toe, Wentian still gave them a scolding.
Then he stripped them clean and stuffed them into a wooden tub, letting Bai Jing wash them.
Jianyi Mingwei and Jianyi Mingyuan played around in the wooden tub, splashing water everywhere. The water soaked Bai Jing's clothes and presented Wentian with quite the wet-clothed temptation.
Late at night.
The sky was filled with scattered stars, and the evening breeze stepped upon the moonlight, bringing threads of coolness with it.
Bai Jing once again practiced her technique.
Her skill grew increasingly refined and received Wentian's favorable praise.
The next day.
Ding!
[Daily Divination] has been activated.
Today's Hexagram: Auspicious.
At the first quarter of the Si hour, the registrar of Qingjiang County will arrive at the entrance of Dongxi Village. There is a high probability that the host will be able to purchase fifty mu of rice fields.
"Fifty mu of rice fields?"