Chapter 4: Gathering Seeds to Transform the Space

Chapter 4: Collecting Seeds to Transform the Space

He Yuzhu left his home and rode his bicycle to the city moat, traveling until he reached a secluded spot. Seeing no one around, he stored his bicycle in his spatial pocket, took out a fishing rod from the space, and carried a small bucket as he approached the water’s edge.

He Yuzhu focused his consciousness, probing into the water. Within a five-meter radius, he could see the underwater environment clearly, even half a meter beneath the muddy bottom. His heart leapt with joy.

Walking along the riverbank, he inspected the aquatic life. At a spot teeming with fish, he cast his hook into the water, pretending to fish to avoid drawing suspicion should someone suddenly appear.

He collected all the fish he found, regardless of size, and transferred them into a small lake within his spatial pocket. He also gathered plenty of aquatic plants—after all, fish need food too. Thus, he continued his patrol, continuously gathering fish.

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed his head, and his vision blurred. He quickly stopped and withdrew his consciousness. Sitting by the shore, he took a sip of spiritual spring water from his space, which eased the discomfort. It seemed his spiritual awareness wasn’t limitless after all.

He resumed casting his hook, feigning fishing, while his consciousness entered the space to inspect his haul. The small lake teemed with various fish species, along with river shrimp, soft-shelled turtles, eels, and loaches. Using his awareness, He Yuzhu designated a small section of the lake to accelerate time and dedicated it for breeding.

Besides the aquatic creatures, he also retrieved a dozen silver ingots and two small chests from the water edge about two meters offshore. Opening the chests, he found one contained fifteen one-tael gold ingots, while the other held six large yellow croakers and four rolls of silver coins, each roll containing fifty coins.

While others who transmigrated had systems and spatial powers, along with sign-ins, task rewards, abundant grain, and meat—even a loyal black dog—He Yuzhu had only his spiritual spring space. It was empty, forcing him to gather seeds and fill it himself, all without money. He had no choice but to venture out and search everywhere.

Fortunately, luck was on his side today, yielding a bountiful harvest. This temporarily solved his money troubles—otherwise, with just over 300 coins, he dared not buy anything.

Seeing no one nearby, he retrieved his bicycle from the space and rode toward the market. At the seed store, he bought various melon, fruit, and vegetable seeds, along with some crop seeds. At the market, he found chicks, ducklings, and goslings, purchasing seven or eight of each. Then he went to the livestock market and bought two lambs and a piglet. He also visited the pharmacy to buy precious medicinal seeds, including ginseng seeds. Additionally, he collected pots, pans, and other sundries into his space. This trip cost quite a bit, but at this time, with abundant produce and land still in farmers’ hands, before the rationing system was implemented, such purchases were still feasible. By 1955, buying so many things at once would be difficult due to material controls, making money less useful.

Leaving the market, he headed toward the countryside, searching for fruit trees. As dusk fell, he found common varieties: apple, plum, peach, and pear. He cut a few branches from each and began his return journey.

After such a long day with little rest, and having purchased nearly everything needed, only He Yuzhu’s cultivation of the Jade Clarity Technique, enhanced by spiritual spring water, kept him going. Most people wouldn’t endure such exertion.

Riding to his master’s home, he saw no one around and retrieved a nearly five-kilogram black fish from the spatial lake. Carrying the fish and pushing his bicycle, he entered the courtyard.

As soon as he stepped inside, two children playing in the yard, Yushui and Xiaohu, noticed him.

“Brother!” Yushui and Xiaohu ran toward He Yuzhu.

He quickly put down his bicycle and embraced the two. “Have you both been good at home?”

“Good,” they answered.

“Since you’ve been so good, each of you gets a candy,” he said, handing each a fruit-flavored sweet.

“Yuzhu is back! Where did you get the fish?” the master’s wife asked as she came out from the kitchen, spotting He Yuzhu holding the fish.

“I saw someone fishing on the road, got hungry, so I bought one,” He Yuzhu replied.

Carrying the fish, he followed her into the kitchen, where she was preparing dinner.

“Master’s wife, you rest. I’ll handle it.”

“Has Fan Yao returned yet? Is she home?” He Yuzhu asked, noticing Fan Yao was absent.

“She’s back, studying inside,” she responded.

He Yuzhu took a knife and quickly and cleanly killed the fish.

“Just the five of us eating tonight. Your master isn’t coming back for dinner. There’s also a block of tofu; we’ll just make a simple fish soup,” she said after he finished preparing the fish.

At dinner, the master’s wife tasted the soup and said, “Yuzhu, you’ve really improved your cooking skills.”

“Mm, delicious!” Fan Yao chimed in.

Xiaohu and Yushui stuffed their mouths, too busy eating to speak.

“Not at all, I still have much to learn from Master,” He Yuzhu humbly replied.

After the meal, the five cleaned up and chatted with the master’s wife for a while before preparing to leave.

“Yuzhu, take your bike. Your home’s not close, and you’ll have to come back again tomorrow morning,” the master’s wife said.

“Alright, Master’s wife,” He Yuzhu replied.

“Master’s wife, you should head back,” he said as he rode his bicycle, taking Yushui with him to say goodbye.

“Careful and ride slowly with Yushui,” she warned.

Watching He Yuzhu and Yushui slowly fade into the night, the master’s wife turned and went inside.

Returning to the siheyuan courtyard, He Yuzhu pushed his bike through the gate. Yan Fugui heard the noise and came out, surprised. “Yuzhu, where did you get a bicycle? You bought it? This is the first bicycle in our courtyard!”

“Teacher Yan, you misunderstood. It’s not mine. It belongs to my master’s family. It’s late today, so I just rode it for a bit,” He Yuzhu explained.

He pushed the bike into the central courtyard. Neighbors noticed and asked where the bicycle came from. He Yuzhu pushed it under his window, locked it, and answered, “This bike belongs to my master’s family. I’m just borrowing it; I didn’t buy it.”

After addressing everyone’s curiosity, he took Yushui inside.

Seeing He Yuzhu home, the neighbors dispersed.

He went to the kitchen, gathered some kindling, and started a fire to boil water. Once boiling, he poured it into a thermos and prepared footbaths for himself and Yushui.

After the chores, he coaxed Yushui to sleep, then lay down himself. His consciousness entered the spatial pocket to organize the day’s gains and began remodeling the space with his will.

First, he planned an area in the small courtyard for raising chickens, then designated another spot for ducks and geese, digging a small pond there. On the other side, he laid out pens for sheep and pigs. He dug two small irrigation ditches from the spiritual spring water to these livestock areas, so they wouldn’t need daily watering.

Around the courtyard, he planted the fruit tree branches he brought back, turned the surrounding soil, and planned two acres for medicinal herbs, sowing the traditional Chinese medicine seeds. He set aside an acre of vegetable garden for cucumbers, tomatoes, and other vegetables, and another acre orchard for watermelons.

By the small lake, he opened an acre of paddy field to plant rice, and sowed wheat, sorghum, corn, peanuts, and other crops in the remaining fields.

Using the spiritual spring water, which transformed into rain, he irrigated all the crops. Under this nourishment, all the seeds began to root and sprout.

After finishing these tasks, He Yuzhu resumed cultivating the Jade Clarity Technique. The external spiritual energy was scarce, slowing his progress, but he refused to give up and persevered.