“Zhen Niang saw it with her own eyes.
The people in the Immortal Realm wear thick cotton clothes, and their food is so plentiful that they throw away what they can’t finish.
More importantly, wages in the Immortal Realm are very high, yet prices are incredibly low!
Refined white rice, which costs sixty to even over a hundred cents a pound in the county town, is only one cent a pound in the Immortal Realm!
The precious pork fat we can’t bear to buy costs thirty to forty cents a pound in the county town, but it’s only five cents a pound in the Immortal Realm!
“Zhen Niang has become a Goddess.
She has now gone to the Immortal Realm to work for the immortals.
They pay her a daily wage of one hundred and ten cents, which can buy one hundred and ten pounds of refined white rice, or a full twenty-two pounds of pork fat!
“Yun Xiu came to me today to convey the Goddess’s decree.
She is going to help us survive this bitter snowstorm, and she’s even treating the entire village to a communal feast!
“I’m saying all this to let everyone know that our Taoyuan Village is saved!
A Goddess with vast Divine Skills has emerged from our village.
From now on, not only will we no longer face death, but we’ll also have full stomachs!”
The village chief spoke with impassioned fervor.
Below him, the villagers were absolutely dumbfounded.
What?
The Yun Family’s daughter, Yun Zhen, had become a Goddess, was taken in as an immortal’s disciple, and had even gone to the Immortal Realm?
“Village Chief, did Zhen Niang really become a Goddess?
And does this miraculous Immortal Realm actually exist?
One cent for a pound of refined white rice sounds too surreal.
A single steamed bun in town costs one cent!
Can you really buy a pound of refined white rice in the Immortal Realm for the price of a steamed bun?”
“Is it true that pork fat is five cents a pound?
Let alone the county town, even in our town, five cents wouldn’t even buy a piece of pork fat the size of a child’s palm!”
“Have the immortals revealed themselves?”
“A Goddess came from our Taoyuan Village?”
“A communal feast?
Is this real or fake?”
A wave of questioning voices echoed among the villagers below.
“Brother Yun, I’ve smelled the aroma of meat coming from your house these past two nights.
Especially last night—the smell made my mouth water so much I was dreaming of eating meat!
I thought you had caught a wild hare, but then I realized that no matter how fragrant rabbit meat is, the scent couldn’t possibly spread through the entire village.
Brother Li, the village chief, said your Zhen Niang was chosen by an immortal to be a disciple.
Has she really become a Goddess?
And she’s treating the whole village to a communal feast?” Spotting Yun Xiu standing next to Brother Li, Tian Ergou excitedly poured out all his doubts.
Yun Xiu nodded heavily and spoke in a loud voice.
“You all know what kind of person I am.
I wouldn’t lie to deceive you.
My daughter, Yun Zhen, was truly chosen by an immortal.
She has become a Goddess and gone to the Immortal Realm.
Everything Brother Li said is true.
“The aroma from the night before last was actually from fragrant noodles bestowed by the immortals.
It’s a type of noodle that emits a unique, wondrous scent when cooked, and its broth is as enticing as the smell of meat.
“As for the meat aroma last night, that was the smell of Zhen Niang rendering pork fat.
“There are still over a dozen pounds of refined white rice at home right now.
Shortly, Sister-in-law Li and I will take a few people to boil two large pots of rice porridge to distribute to everyone.
You’ll know then whether I’m lying or not.”
The village chief’s sons and their wives all stepped forward to testify.
“We can prove that Uncle Yun isn’t lying!”
Seeing their faces full of absolute certainty, the villagers exchanged glances.
Immortals manifesting!
An Immortal Realm with absurdly cheap prices!
Did these things actually exist?
“I believe Brother Yun!” Tian Ergou craned his neck and shouted.
“We’re all on the verge of starving to death, so what’s left to question?
Later, when Old Brother Yun and Sister-in-law Li finish cooking the porridge, those who don’t believe it can just not eat!”
“No, no, no!” someone quickly interjected.
“I believe it!
I believe it!”
“I believe it too.
Yun Xiu is such a good man; there’s no way he would use the entire village’s life and death for his own amusement.”
Hearing that they wouldn’t have to flee the famine, the elderly Grandpa Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.
Little did he know the village chief had an even bigger surprise to announce.
“It must be the immortals making their presence known!
Zhen Niang is a good child.
For her to be enlightened by the immortals is a monumental blessing for our Taoyuan Village.”
“We can help cook the porridge,” Li Cuilan and Zhou Dashan offered.
After hearing the village chief’s words, they had initially harbored the same doubts as the others.
But upon recalling that agonizingly tantalizing meat aroma, they chose to believe Yun Xiu.
“Everyone, remember this: once your stomachs are full, you absolutely must not forget the Goddess’s great kindness and virtue!
From now on, the names ‘Yun Zhen’ and ‘Zhen Niang’ are no longer to be used.
She is to be addressed uniformly as the Goddess.
You must harbor gratitude and reverence in your hearts, for she will be the sole faith of our Taoyuan Village!” the village chief reminded them.
The villagers shouted in unison, “We will never forget the Goddess’s great kindness and virtue!”
Both the village chief and Yun Xiu were highly respected figures in the village.
One was the chief, who always considered things from the villagers’ perspective.
The other was a scholar of noble character.
Driven to the end of their ropes, the desperate villagers chose to trust them.
Seeing that his goal was achieved, Yun Xiu immediately beckoned a few people who knew how to cook to accompany him home to fetch the provisions.
To make the villagers completely devoted to his daughter, he first had to give them a full meal.
He turned to the chief and said, “Brother Li, let’s use that large ancestral iron pot of yours to cook the porridge.” He planned to boil two pots of thin porridge, which would basically be enough to feed the hundred or so people in the village.
The village chief nodded.
“Of course we’ll use our large iron pot.
Ours is the biggest in the whole village, so boiling porridge with it will be fast and convenient.”
“There are still a few baskets of firewood at my house.
I’ll go get them!” Zhou Dashan called out.
“I have some leftover radishes at home…”
“My family only has garlic left.”
“I have dried wild herbs!”
“We’ll help Yun Xiu and Sister-in-law Li cook the porridge!” Several people volunteered, eager to contribute.
Everyone pitched in—some gathering firewood, others adding vegetables, and everyone finding tasks to do.
The village chief felt deeply gratified.
From the Yun Family, they brought back sacks of rice, half a bowl of lard, and all their green vegetable leaves.
Yun Old Lady stood amidst the crowd, holding her granddaughter.
Such a bustling scene hadn’t been witnessed in a long time; it felt as if a family in the village were hosting a wedding.
Smiles finally graced the faces of the villagers, who had been shrouded in gloom for nearly a month, and even the snow falling from the sky seemed to lighten considerably.
“Good heavens, is this refined white rice?
It’s as white as the snow outside, and it smells absolutely heavenly!” The village chief’s wife carefully opened the rice sack.
The snow-like grains inside were round and plump, exuding waves of fragrance that left her in awe.
“As expected of the Immortal Realm!
To think they have such fresh, tender green vegetable leaves in the dead of winter.
This many fresh vegetables would definitely cost a fortune in the county town!”
“The lard is smelling so good it’s waking up all the greedy worms in my stomach.”
Outside the village chief’s courtyard, the villagers clutched their bowls, swallowing hard as they waited anxiously.
After what felt like an eternity, the first pot of thin porridge was finally ready.
Yun Xiu called out, “Everyone outside, line up one by one and come inside!” The crowd surged forward.
The village chief shouted, “Don’t push!”
The aroma of rice permeated the air.
Stomachs rumbled like thunder at the scent, yet the people obediently lined up.
They each received a large bowl of porridge.
It contained refined salt, fresh vegetables, lard, and the leftover rations brought from the villagers’ homes.
It was far too extravagant.
Everyone ate, their mouths filled with the fragrant taste of rice.
“This is the first time I’ve had a full stomach since the heavy snow began!” someone bawled, cradling an empty bowl.
Their cries shook the heavens.
“The Goddess’s great kindness and virtue delivers all living beings!”
…
Morning arrived, and Yun Zhen woke up feeling refreshed.
She had slept the soundest sleep of her life.
A warm room, a soft bed.
She hadn’t struggled to adjust to the new bed at all.
“RING!” Her communicator chimed; it was time for breakfast.
Today, the cafeteria was serving meat buns and black rice porridge.
The white bun skins wrapped around greasy, savory meat fillings, while the black rice porridge was soft, glutinous, and sweet.
These were all delicacies she had never tasted before.