The front gate of Gaojiabao was buzzing like a festival.
A long caravan of grain wagons rumbled in from the county seat, wheels grinding, horses snorting, servants shouting back and forth. Ever since Liang Shixian personally vowed, "Not a single grain will be stolen," he had treated this relief effort like his own family heirloom. So of course, on the very first day of grain distribution, he came riding at the head of the convoy—official robes fluttering, assistant and yamen runners in tow—standing proudly by the gate as the wagons rolled in full and rolled out empty.
His adviser leaned close and whispered, voice trembling,
"This… this is already the thirtieth wagon of flour. My lord, the power of the Li family is… terrifying."
Liang Shixian nodded.
A dynasty born of the Tang royal bloodline, millennia of heritage—how could a house like that not be monstrous? The fact that such a clan chose to back him… Well, heaven must have personally opened a side door for Liang Shixian. Without them, he truly would have stepped straight into a death trap—guaranteed prey for the eunuch faction.
At last, after forty wagons had departed, Shansier came out from the fortress. He cupped his hands and smiled faintly.
"County Magistrate, the promised forty wagons of flour have now been delivered in full. What comes next… will depend on your methods of saving the people."
Liang Shixian straightened his spine and returned the salute.
"I will personally oversee every grain. If anyone dares embezzle, I will not spare them—even if I must behead them."
Shansier chuckled.
"The countless eyes of Chengcheng County will be watching. If you are a clean official, the people will love you. If you are not… well… hm."
Liang Shixian lifted his chin, full of pride.
"If I embezzle even a mouthful of disaster relief grain, let thunder strike me dead!"
Shansier bowed.
"Then we leave the lives of the people in your hands."
Liang Shixian snapped his reins and followed the convoy away.
Elsewhere, Li Daoxuan was hunched over his computer, studying autumn wheat like some city kid who had just discovered farming was actually cool.
He'd already moved the miniature kingdom's camera view directly above the wheat fields. A whole battery of cameras aimed through the glass like paparazzi staking out a celebrity.
"First step—deep plowing," he murmured as he read.
He glanced at the box.
Inside, little Gao Chuwu was already plowing with his parents—ripping through the soil with pure brute strength, mud flying everywhere.
"Well damn… Clearly they know a hundred times more than I do. Me trying to lecture them is just… showing off my axe at the master's gate."
He slapped his forehead.
"Great. Shansier has infected my vocabulary."
Traditional farming steps? He skipped them. The villagers definitely had that covered.
Then—fertilizer.
"The soil pH needs to be around 6.5? Great. And how on earth am I supposed to check that?"
After frantic searching, he discovered flower shops sold pH testing probes.
Then came the horror of various fertilizers—sulfate this, nitrate that, sheep dung, bio cultures… A headache wrapped in a migraine.
"Crap. Last time the villagers wished for a better harvest and I thought, 'Eh, buy some fertilizer, easy.' Turns out using the wrong fertilizer is basically murder. A man who can't keep his promise isn't a man!"
His manly pride ignited.
He read tutorials.
Watched videos.
Called his rural relatives.
Almost asked the history-and-military forum (which he immediately regretted—those replies were always useless nonsense).
Finally, his rural relatives came through with real experience.
Daoxuan grabbed the pH probe he'd bought and—
SHUNK.
A giant metal rod suddenly plunged into Gao Chuwu's family field from the heavens.
The entire family froze.
"…Huh?"
Fortunately, high-stress divine encounters were normal in Gaojia Village by now.
Gao Chuwu looked up.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun, what game are you playing now? Is this giant stick the Ruyi Jingu Bang from Sun Wukong's place?"
His parents smacked him silent.
"Idiot! Show respect!"
Daoxuan ignored them, staring at the LCD display.
pH 7.5.
Too alkaline.
He sent the numbers to his rural relatives, described the soil, water, surrounding environment… After a moment, they sent back a full plan—fertilizer type, quantity, dilution ratio.
Daoxuan calculated based on their field size, then called out,
"Yiye! Hey, Yiye! Come here!"
Yiye ran up fast.
"These fertilizers—have Gao Chuwu's family weigh out exactly two jin, no more, no less. Dissolve it in water and spread it evenly. Their wheat will flourish this year."
Yiye shot off like a dart.
"Chuwu! Chuwu! Dao Xuan Tianzun has gifted your family divine fertilizer! Guaranteed good harvest!"
Chuwu's father bowed deeply.
"To receive Tianzun's grace… our family is blessed!"
One field down. Next family.
Daoxuan yanked the probe out—
SHUNK.
It plunged into another field.
Yiye dashed over again.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun says: three jin for your field. Dilute with water and spread evenly!"
Cheers all around.
Soon, every field in Gaojia Village was undergoing soil-pH correction.
Meanwhile, villagers from Zhengjia Village, Wangjia Village, Zhongjia Village, and several others stood at the borders watching the divine probe zip back and forth—whoosh, slam, whoosh, slam—like a heavenly hammer testing the earth.
Their eyes gleamed with envy.
"Gaojia Village is so lucky… They've got fields. We… still don't even have rain…"
Hearing that, Daoxuan paused, heart heavy.
If only his vision reached their villages…
Just then, he noticed the Rescue Index outside the box—
tick tick tick—
jump up by five points.
He immediately understood.
Liang Shixian had begun distributing porridge to the starving.