Jiang Baizhou tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Lying on the straw mat, he stared at the pitch black thatched roof above him, his mind filled with images of that place.
The impossibly smooth ground, the vast white light, and the neatly stacked piles of grain.
There was also that patch of black soil. It was so soft beneath his feet that when he had dug into it with his hands, the rich, oily earth had filled the gaps beneath his fingernails.
He had lived for seventeen years, and this was the first time he had learned that soil could look like that.
He had been farming the family’s land for several years. Every spring, when it was time to turn the soil, each strike of the hoe would hit earth as hard as stone, leaving the web between his thumb and forefinger numb from the impact.
Second Uncle had said it was because the land was poor and lacked fertility. After being farmed for several years, the soil had become compacted. Jiang Baizhou did not understand what compacted soil meant. He only knew that every year, digging the fields left his hands covered in blisters.
But that patch of black soil was different. When he squatted down and dug at it with his fingers, the soil came apart immediately. It was unbelievably loose and soft, as though the seeds would grow on their own the moment they were planted.
Was all of this really real?
Jiang Baizhou turned over and closed his eyes.
He dreamed that the patch of black soil was covered in crops taller than a person, their heavy ears of grain hanging low. When the wind blew, they rustled and swayed across the fields.
Before dawn the next morning, Second Uncle was already awake.
He quietly made his way to the stove, intending to light a fire and boil some water. The moment he crouched down, he heard movement behind him. When he turned around, Jiang Wanning was already standing in the courtyard.
“Second Uncle, we’re not eating outside today,” she said in a low voice. “We’ll eat inside.”
Second Uncle was momentarily stunned before nodding.
Not long afterward, the entire family was awake. Only Jiang Baichuan, the younger brother, was still asleep. Since ten hours passed inside the space while only one hour passed outside, he would probably wake up around the time they returned.
Jiang Wanning had everyone join hands. With a thought, they were all transported into the space once again.
This time went much more smoothly than the first.
No one screamed, and no one stood around staring at everything in disbelief. As soon as Grandmother entered, she rolled up her sleeves and walked over to the patch of black soil. Squatting beside it, she grabbed a handful and rubbed it between her fingers.
“This soil needs to be turned,” she said. “The furrows have already been prepared, but the soil is too loose. It needs to be packed down a little, otherwise the seeds won’t take root properly.”
Jiang Wanning did not understand much about farming, so she simply followed Grandmother’s instructions.
The family divided up the work. Second Uncle and Jiang Baizhou were responsible for turning the soil, while Grandmother, Second Aunt, and Jiang Wanxing planted the seeds. Jiang Wanning was in charge of watering.
The seeds were part of the supplies Jiang Wanning had stockpiled earlier. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and rice had all been separated into different bags and neatly arranged on the shelves.
Second Uncle carried over a bag of potatoes. When he untied it and looked inside, he froze.
“Why are these potatoes so big? They’re much bigger than the ones Wanwan brought out before.”
“They were given to us by the immortals, of course they’re big,” Jiang Wanning replied casually.
She had become very skilled at using that explanation.
After all, whenever something was attributed to the immortals, no one asked any further questions.
The potatoes were cut into pieces. Grandmother handled the task herself, cutting them quickly and evenly while making sure that every piece had at least one bud.
Afterward, the pieces were coated with a layer of wood ash.
Jiang Wanxing nodded and helped coat them one piece at a time.
Meanwhile, Jiang Wanning watered the fields on the other side. She used a metal bucket she had found in the space to collect water from the stream, carrying it to the edge of the field bucket by bucket before using a gourd ladle to water the crops.
As the stream water soaked into the soil, she caught a faint, refreshing sweetness in its scent. It was not her imagination. The water itself carried an indescribable hint of sweetness. She had tasted it before, and whenever she drank it, her throat felt pleasantly cool and her entire body seemed lighter.
After watering several furrows, she suddenly noticed something.
The first patch she had watered was already beginning to sprout.
Tiny tender green shoots were pushing through the black soil, each one no thicker than a needle. She crouched down and looked carefully. She was not seeing things. They really had sprouted.
“Grandmother, come take a look.”
Grandmother walked over and bent down to inspect the sprouts for a long moment. The wrinkles on her face gradually relaxed.
“This land is fertile,” she said. “You plant something, and it grows without wasting any time.”
Second Uncle also came over to look. He stared at the sprouts for a long while without saying anything. When he finally straightened up, he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“What is it, Second Uncle?” Jiang Wanning asked.
“Nothing,” he replied. “Something got in my eye.”
There was no wind inside the space.
Jiang Wanning did not expose him.
The family worked for the entire day inside the space. There was no sun there, making it impossible to tell the time, so they relied entirely on Jiang Wanning to keep track.
The electronic watch on her wrist was something she had brought from the modern world and used to tell the time.
When nearly five shichen had passed, she called everyone to stop.
“That should be enough. Let’s go out first, otherwise we’ll get kicked out and land on our backs.”
Second Aunt laughed and put down her hoe. Jiang Baizhou stepped on the soil in the final furrow to firm it down, then straightened and rubbed his aching back. Jiang Wanxing went to the stream to wash her hands, scooped up some water, and took a drink.
After swallowing, she froze.
“This water is sweet.”
“Sweet?”
Second Aunt walked over and took a drink as well. She smacked her lips in surprise.
“It really is sweet.”
Jiang Wanning did not explain. She knew about the spirit spring, but there was no need to tell everyone everything.
The family joined hands, and with a thought from Jiang Wanning, they returned to the thatched hut.
Outside, the sun had only just risen.
Second Uncle looked at the sky, appearing somewhat dazed.
“We worked inside for so long, but only this much time passed outside?”
“The immortals’ realm moves more slowly in time,” Jiang Wanning explained. “That’s why we have enough time to plant everything properly.”
Second Uncle did not ask anything else.
He had discovered something. The more questions he asked, the more he realized how little he understood. It was better not to ask. If Jiang Wanning told him to do something, he would simply do it.
Jiang Wanning left the house and went to the Old Clan Leader’s home.
After the meeting at the ancestral hall, the Old Clan Leader had become the intermediary between Jiang Wanning and the rest of the clan.
Jiang Wanning had deliberately maintained this arrangement. She did not want to manage everything personally yet. It was too exhausting. With the Old Clan Leader handling matters in front, Jiang Wanning had much less to worry about.
The Old Clan Leader was sitting in the courtyard twisting straw rope. When she saw Jiang Wanning enter, she put down her work and pointed to the stone stool beside her.
“Sit.”
Jiang Wanning sat down.
“How is the harvesting going in each household?” she asked.
“Everyone has started,” the Old Clan Leader said. “After you spoke yesterday, every household went to the fields early this morning. A few people didn’t really believe you at first, but when they saw everyone else harvesting, they followed along.”
“Anyone causing trouble?”
The Old Clan Leader thought for a moment and shook her head.
“No real trouble. But you know Jiang Daliang, that woman has a loose tongue. She muttered a few things in the fields this morning, saying, ‘If the immortals are really so capable, why don’t they just take us straight up to the heavens?’”
Jiang Wanning looked at the Old Clan Leader and felt a little more reassured.
“Clan Leader Grandma, there’s one more thing,” she said. “The harvested crops can’t be kept separately in everyone’s homes. They need to be gathered in one place and stored together.”
The Old Clan Leader raised an eyebrow.
“You mean everyone has to hand them over?”
“No. They’ll simply be stored in the same place. Once the earth dragon turns over, we won’t have time to search everywhere for food. If everything is kept together, we can also arrange for people to guard it.”
The Old Clan Leader fell silent for a moment, considered it, and nodded.
Jiang Wanning rose from the stone stool.
“Clan Leader Grandma, there are less than twenty days left. Keep an eye on the harvest. Once a household finishes, have them report it. All the grain will be stored in the place I designate.”
“At your house?”
“No,” Jiang Wanning said. “Store it in the ancestral hall. I’ve checked it already. The side room is large enough, and the lock is sturdy. You can also assign people to guard it.”
The Old Clan Leader glanced at her but did not ask any further questions.
Jiang Wanning left.
By the time she stepped outside, the sky had already begun to darken.
As she walked back along the dirt road, she ran into several villagers, all of whom greeted her. Some called her “Wanning,” while others called her “Wanwan.” Their voices were noticeably warmer than they had been just a few days earlier.
She responded to each of them.