Xu Dajun nervously knocked on Xu Zifan's door, afraid that Xu Zifan would scold him. After all, the old man was so angry before, and it was because of his daughter that they separated the family. No matter how you look at it, he would hate their family. Unexpectedly, Xu Zifan opened the door with a very calm attitude and did not look angry at all.
Xu Zifan glanced at the dishes he was carrying and said indifferently, "Take them back. You don't need to send me anything in the future. Just live your own life."
Xu Dajun said anxiously, "Dad, you haven't shared any food with us. What if you get starving? Don't be angry, eat something. Your body won't be able to take it if you don't eat."
Xu Zifan has food in his space, but it would be strange if he didn't openly provide some food. Given the original owner's physique, wouldn't he be starving if he didn't eat for two meals and then went through the night?
He was pondering whether to accept the gifts or go out to find food when he suddenly felt the jade ring in his space trembling, as if it really wanted the food in front of it.
Xu Zifan reached out and took the food back into the house, saying, "Wait a moment."
He took a hat out of the locked cabinet. The original owner rarely wore it, so it was well-preserved and about 80% new; in this day and age, it looked brand new. He handed the hat to Xu Dajun, "This will cover your meal expenses; you can take it."
Xu Dajun hurriedly waved his hand, "Dad, what are you doing! I'm your son, why would I accept anything from you if I'm just bringing you some vegetables? No way!"
"Take it if I give it to you! Go back and eat." Xu Zifan shoved the hat into his hand and closed the door.
Xu Dajun didn't dare knock on the door, standing there helplessly holding his hat. Xu Aiguo came out and asked, "Brother, what did Dad give you?"
"The hat, I brought Dad his lunch, and he said the hat would be used to pay for the lunch." Xu Dajun didn't know what to do, and after saying that, he went back to his house dejectedly.
Xu Aiguo glanced into Xu Zifan's room, hesitated for a long time, and decided to keep his distance from the old man. They had just separated the family, and he might get scolded if he said something wrong.
Xu Zifan locked the doors and windows and then took the food into the space, taking out his jade thumb ring. The jade ring vibrated even more violently as it approached the food. A thought flashed through Xu Zifan's mind, "Could there be a spiritual spring in this food? Shaohua, did you monitor the kitchen?"
[Shaohua: Host, because you didn't request it, I didn't monitor any area.]
"Then start monitoring them now, see what they're up to, and see if the boss's family is arguing."
Shao Hua projected the image onto the virtual screen, and Xu Zifan saw Liu Xia scoop out the remaining food and call Xu Shengnan to their room to eat.
Xu Shengnan went over unhappily, and became even angrier when she saw that there was only a little food left on the table. "Where's the food? How come there's so little? Who's going to eat this?"
Liu Xia frowned and said, "Your dad and I have no appetite, we're not eating anymore. Isn't this enough for you?"
"What about the rest? Did you put them away? Don't let the second or third wife take them."
Xu Dajun slammed his hand on the table. "Are you done yet? Shengnan, what's wrong with you these past few days? What second wife, third wife? Those are your second and third uncles! The family has been divided, what are they doing with our food? Even if they did eat it, we're still family, so what? Why are you so heartless now? Don't you recognize your family anymore?"
Xu Shengnan sat down to eat with dissatisfaction, "I'm only doing this for the good of our family, aren't I? Our family isn't rich, we just separated from the family and we only have so little stuff, of course we have to be frugal."
Xu Dajun felt a little better after hearing her say that, but he was still saddened when he touched the hat in his hand. "I sent the rest to your grandfather. He is my father, and I have to be filial to him. But your grandfather used this hat to pay for his meal. He was really so angry that he didn't recognize me anymore."
The forty-year-old man was momentarily moved to tears, but Xu Shengnan exploded upon hearing this, "What did you say? You sent it to him? You, how could you... give him the food I made... you..."
Xu Shengnan was furious. She had used a lot of spiritual spring water in the food, and a sip of it would normally make her feel refreshed. She wouldn't have used so much if it weren't for celebrating today, and now that old man had eaten it all?! She was really angry, but she couldn't say it, because what she said would sound completely absurd.
Liu Xia was furious. "Shengnan! What kind of talk is this? You're worried about your grandfather eating a piece of vegetables? Do you have a grudge against your grandfather? What are you thinking?"
Xu Shengnan knew she couldn't explain herself, and she was so angry that she couldn't eat anymore. She threw down her chopsticks and ran back to her room. The well in her space could produce three bowls of spiritual spring water every day. She wasn't particularly concerned about the spiritual spring water itself; she was angry that the old man had taken advantage of it. It felt like a piece of her flesh had been bitten off, and it made her feel terrible all over.
Xu Zifan confirmed that there was indeed spiritual spring water in the food, and raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Was I too unlucky in my past life, and now I'm starting to have good luck? The spiritual spring water from my 'enemy' is still being delivered to me."
He tasted a spoonful of the soup and immediately felt refreshed and comfortable. Then he noticed the jade ring vibrating even more intensely. He chuckled twice, dipped the jade ring into the soup, and said with amusement, "What kind of magic weapon are you? You even know how to recognize good things, but there's only so much of it. There won't be any more."
Although spiritual spring water was rare, he had seen many in the cultivation world and didn't find it particularly special, so of course he wouldn't try to take it from the jade ring. However, he never expected that the jade ring would actually absorb the spiritual spring water!
The vegetables visibly dried out, losing all moisture. He then put the jade thumb ring into the mixed rice, which quickly lost its moisture and turned into dry grains.
Xu Zifan held up the jade thumb ring and looked at it. "Shaohua, is there water flowing inside this thumb ring? I feel like the spiritual energy is increasing."
[Shaohua: Host, according to observation, there is indeed a trace of water flowing within the ring.]
As soon as they finished speaking, the jade ring suddenly shot out. Xu Zifan was startled and got up to grab it. He saw the jade ring quickly land in a corner of the space, rapidly grow larger, and turn into the shape of a well—a very beautiful jade well!
Xu Zifan walked over in surprise and found that there was a spring in the center of the well, with water gushing out. The water was full of spiritual energy and was indeed spiritual spring water!
He reached out and pressed his hand on the edge of the well, clearly sensing that the jade thumb ring was a magical artifact from a spiritual spring space. Because several generations of abbots of Qingfeng Temple had not used it, the jade thumb ring had been abandoned.
Magical artifacts possess a spirit and their own temperament. Over time, the jade thumb ring simply seals itself off, requiring the absorption of spiritual spring water to activate the spring. This can be seen as a test for its successive owners.
Xu Zifan brought it to this world, and it absorbed the spiritual spring water, which brought the jade ring to life. It then merged directly with Xu Zifan's space, providing a continuous supply of spiritual spring water.
[Shaohua: Host! The space has expanded!]
Xu Zifan looked around when he heard Shao Hua's voice. Sure enough, the space had doubled in size, and there was now black soil, a small pond, and a small wooden house, making it look like a rural farmhouse.
This jade thumb ring is truly a treasure; I really struck gold this time!
Xu Zifan's face lit up with joy. Although he had seen spiritual springs before, his biggest regret was that the ones he had brought back were long gone, used up for planting spiritual herbs. Now, with a continuous supply of spiritual springs, he not only wouldn't have to worry about food and drink, but he could also plant spiritual herbs and refine pills again! This was the greatest benefit.
Although he obtained the spiritual spring, Xu Zifan didn't drink a drop. He was now an old man in poor health, and if he drank too much of the spiritual spring and suddenly looked several years younger, wouldn't that scare people? Didn't you see that Xu Shengnan's face became fair and tender just a few days after her rebirth? No one would say anything if a young girl became beautiful, but if an old man like him changed too much, it would seem sinister.
Xu Zifan simply got to work. He rearranged the space, moved everything to the back of the small bamboo house, and prepared to find something to build a warehouse, where he would live normally.
Then he turned over another piece of land to use as a medicinal herb field, first watering it with spiritual spring water to improve the soil, and kept busy like this until late at night.
He slept directly in the space that night; the high bed and soft pillows were much more comfortable than the hard kang outside.
On his first day after transmigrating, he separated from his family and even gained a precious treasure. Xu Zifan slept with a smile on his face; he hadn't been this happy in a long time. He definitely needed to collect more good stuff for his spatial dimension; this was his true home, the place where he would stay forever. Maybe he could even raise a pet in the future.
He slept comfortably here; no one else in the Xu family could sleep well except him.
Some were dreaming about the future, some were calculating their assets, some were excited about buying jobs, some were sad and at a loss, and some were uneasy.
Even the children were influenced by the adults, refusing to sleep well and whispering to each other all night in their own rooms, yet they were still quite energetic when they woke up the next morning.
Xu Zifan could tell at a glance that these people hesitated and felt uneasy when they divided the family property, but after the division, they were happier than uneasy. Even the eldest son and his wife seemed to feel less pressured. No one was genuinely planning for their father's retirement.
They probably still think Xu Zifan was just saying things out of anger, and they don't believe he would move out and live alone. Maybe they're even unhappy because he gave the house to his daughter as a dowry.
Xu Zifan dumped the previous night's food into the trash can in his spatial storage. After Xu Dajun finished washing his face, he handed him the dishes. Because of the spiritual spring water, he smiled faintly and patted Xu Dajun's shoulder, saying, "You're good; you know how to think of me. I'm very pleased. From now on, you're the head of the household. A real man should stand up and support his family. It doesn't matter if you don't have a son, as long as you live well and have a clear conscience. You don't necessarily need a son to be fulfilled, understand?"
"I know! Dad, I know!" Xu Dajun nodded excitedly. The fact that the old man was speaking to him so kindly meant that he had already forgiven him.
Xu Zifan spoke with a hint of self-suggestion, which was meant to boost Xu Dajun's confidence. However, he did not intend to get involved with his son any further. He withdrew his hand and said, "Just know that. Live your own life. Don't send me anything in the future. I can get whatever I want myself. None of you need to worry about me."
Xu Dajun was eager to say something, but Xu Zifan had already walked out of the courtyard with his hands behind his back. No one knew where he was going so early in the morning; after thinking about it, they assumed he didn't want to see them and had gone for a walk to clear his head.
The old man at this age is truly capable of doing a lot of things. He's been busy all day, and everyone just thinks he's still angry and will cause trouble for a while, so they don't take it seriously and go about their business and get ready to go to work.
Xu Zifan strolled leisurely around the village, familiarizing himself with the surroundings, before fixing his gaze on the mountain.
You can find food and supplies in the mountains. Let's get some things to take home and fool people. We'll go to the county another day.