"Third Brother, I'm so hungry." Luo Fu rubbed her hollow stomach, her eyes red-rimmed.
Luo Xiao patted his empty sleeve. The last flatbread had been eaten tonight as well.
"Third Brother is hungry too." He sniffled. "If only Father were still alive."
The Luo family wouldn't have been exiled, and they wouldn't be living this kind of life—never knowing where their next meal would come from.
"How about we soften up and apologize to Mother?"
Luo Fu watched her third brother's expression carefully as she spoke in a timid voice.
"Absolutely not! Have you forgotten how she didn't care whether we lived or died? Relying on her is worse than relying on Second Brother."
"But… Second Brother has completely sided with Mother now."
Luo Xiao let out a cold snort. "Anyway, you'd better listen to me. Otherwise, if something happens again next time, I won't look after you."
Luo Fu immediately dared not speak another word.
Not far away, Luo Feng and Wu Yunyun were also discussing the day's events.
"Husband, Mother has changed quite a bit recently. You shouldn't defy her so often from now on." Wu Yunyun tested the waters. "Otherwise, you might have had some food tonight."
Luo Feng was no fool, but Grandmother had always been good to him, and Second Aunt and Third Aunt had always doted on him too.
In the past, Mother had been just like him—hanging on Grandmother's every word.
But ever since Father lost the battle, Mother had changed.
"Grandmother must have hidden away some money. Mother has now turned against Grandmother's side. I need to think about our future."
"But…"
"Stop worrying about it. Get some sleep. We still have to travel tomorrow."
Madam Song was also talking to Luo Wenhong about the matter of food. Since Mother had money, she should take some out and spend it.
The silver in her hands wouldn't last much longer.
Luo Wenhong: "I understand. But Sister-in-Law actually dares to go against us now."
Madam Song snorted coldly. "I think she's possessed by some evil spirit. She doesn't know her own place."
"That meal tonight was truly delicious. Once we have money, I'll make sure she cooks us a whole big table of food."
Madam Song smiled happily. "My husband is the most thoughtful. Sleep early, and don't forget to talk to Mother tomorrow."
"No problem."
Luo Wenhong closed his eyes with full confidence, having no idea what awaited him.
The night grew deeper, and occasional wolf howls drifted through the mountain forest. Everyone slept soundly.
Zhu Mingqing also leaned against a tree with her eyes closed to rest, but her consciousness once again entered the spatial realm.
"Qingqing, we meet again!" The Little Realm Spirit, having been lonely for countless millennia, was especially delighted now.
Zhu Mingqing looked at its beautiful form and couldn't help reaching out to touch it.
It was cool and silky—and truly magical.
When the plane crashed, she thought she was certain to die, but instead she had transmigrated into a book.
When she was exiled, she thought she had merely bound a storage space, but it turned out to be a Planting Immortal Abode.
"Little Realm Spirit, what should I do?"
She wanted to see what the true Immortal Abode looked like.
The Little Realm Spirit fluttered its wings and said happily, "The first restoration is very simple. Qingqing just needs to plant ten types of grain, make them into food, and gain the recognition of a hundred people."
Zhu Mingqing caught a key word: "…First?"
Did that mean there would be a second, a third, and even more times?
The Little Realm Spirit looked embarrassed. "Because the Immortal Abode is severely damaged, I'm not too sure how many times it will take."
Zhu Mingqing's head ached at the thought, but the boat would straighten itself out when it reached the bridge. She should first focus on how to complete the first restoration.
The former was easy enough to achieve—just plant the crops. But the latter… where was she supposed to find a hundred people to recognize her food?
"Growl…"
Her stomach rumbled.
Remembering the braised pork from tonight, the matter of planting was pushed to the back of her mind.
She pulled out a clay pot and made a big pot of braised pork, along with a stir-fried vegetable dish.
In the end, she ate two big bowls of rice and finished both dishes cleanly.
She was a bit stuffed by the end.
Lying on the rocking chair, she didn't want to move.
"Qingqing, it's time to plant the fields." The Little Realm Spirit urged.
Zhu Mingqing, full and content, only wanted to rest.
"Let me doze off for a bit. Just a little while." With that, she gradually closed her eyes.
The Little Realm Spirit saw the dark circles under her eyes and, after some hesitation, let her be.
After waiting all these years, it had finally found a destined person—it couldn't scare her away.
Perhaps it was because of the Immortal Abode, but Zhu Mingqing woke up after just one shichen. The fatigue in her body had completely dissipated, and she was full of energy.
She stretched lazily. So comfortable—she really didn't want to leave.
"Qingqing, the fields…" the Little Realm Spirit reminded her in a small voice.
"I know."
Zhu Mingqing dove into the room and managed to dig out ten types of grain seeds: wheat, barley, rice, millet, yellow millet, sorghum, hemp seed, soybean, red bean, and mung bean.
There were ten mu of land in total. Zhu Mingqing set aside half to plant wheat and rice, and used the remaining five mu to plant the other eight types of grain.
They said farm work was the most exhausting labor. This was Zhu Mingqing's first time doing serious agricultural work, and she truly understood what it meant that every grain comes from hard toil.
One shichen later.
Zhu Mingqing struggled to straighten her back and plopped down on the ground.
She rubbed her sore waist. Ten mu of land was really too much.
At this rate, she'd be planting until the Year of the Monkey and the Month of the Horse before she finished.
"Little Realm Spirit, give me a hand!" she couldn't help shouting.
The Little Realm Spirit flew over to take a look and suddenly realized.
That's right—it seemed to have forgotten something.
Qingqing had not yet become the master of the Immortal Abode, so for now she could only honestly plant the land step by step.
And as a mortal body, of course she would get tired.
"Qingqing, let me help you."
It flapped its wings, and small pits appeared in the soil one by one. All the seeds fell into them in sequence, then were covered up.
Then it sprinkled water from the small pond onto the field, and in just a moment, the seeds actually sprouted.
Zhu Mingqing stared in astonishment.
Wow!
This ability to plant crops with a wave of the hand and have them sprout instantly—if this existed in the modern world, how many troubles would it solve?
"Little Realm Spirit, how… did you do that?"
"As the World Spirit of the Immortal Abode, I naturally can control everything within it," the Little Realm Spirit said proudly. "But the spiritual qi in the Immortal Abode is growing scarcer, so the help I can offer is limited. I hope Qingqing can complete the Restoration quickly."
Zhu Mingqing: "Spiritual qi?"
She felt as if she had taken on some impossible task.
The Little Realm Spirit nodded: "Yes. Willpower can restore the Immortal Abode, but spiritual qi is its foundation. As long as spiritual qi is sufficient, the Immortal Abode can operate on its own; otherwise, it will eventually dissipate into the world."
Zhu Mingqing took a deep breath: "Then how do we get this spiritual qi stuff?"
The Little Realm Spirit quickly said: "Qingqing need not worry. As long as the Immortal Abode is restored, spiritual qi will grow more and more."
"Phew—" What a relief!
That really scared her to death. She had thought she would need to go find some object brimming with spiritual qi.
Suddenly, the Little Realm Spirit said, "Qingqing, something outside seems to be approaching."