Chapter 157 My Charming Ancestor 31 (The End) Bonus Chapter!

Zhou Jue spent the last ten days or so in an unusually leisurely manner.

She stayed in Zhangtai Palace, spending her days either meditating and cultivating or traveling overseas to gather resources. Occasionally, people from the Gongshu or Mo families would come to her with technical problems, which she was happy to answer.

The entire Qin Dynasty, however, was like a giant machine wound up, operating at an unprecedented speed and frantically.

Within Xianyang city, wide and flat cement roads have replaced the bumpy dirt roads, greatly improving transportation efficiency.

Inside the Ordnance Bureau, after countless experiments, the performance of the explosive charge has been stabilized, and deeper research into its applications is being conducted in secret.

Papermaking and movable type printing were already well-established. Li Si and the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Zhang Liang, were working day and night to compile and organize new Qin laws and various classic texts, preparing to promote them throughout the land.

At the young age of twelve, Han Xin joined the army on his own initiative due to poverty. After the news was reported, Ying Zheng personally ordered that the boy, who had not yet come of age, be brought to Xianyang and personally instructed by a group of famous generals such as Meng Tian and Wang Ben.

Xiang Yu, from Chu, surrendered to Qin, and was then transferred by Ying Zheng to the northern frontier to defend against the Xiongnu and temper his character.

As for Lü Zhi, who had been mentioned by Zhou Jue, Ying Zheng did not summon her to Xianyang. Instead, he issued an edict that baffled everyone, ordering her, as a woman, to co-govern Pei County with Liu Bang.

Everything is moving in a new direction and flourishing.

...

There is only one day left before Zhou Jue returns to Earth.

A piece of fantastic news spread throughout the entire Xianyang Palace.

The taro is cooked!

Xiyuantian.

The area was already surrounded by layers of imperial guards, the atmosphere solemn yet unable to suppress a fervent excitement.

Ying Zheng stood on the ridge of the field, dressed in ordinary clothes, yet his imperial majesty was still undeniable. Behind him stood the entire leadership of the Qin Dynasty.

Li Si, Wang Ben, Feng Quji and other former officials clenched their fists, their eyes shining as they stared at the lush green vines.

The newly appointed officials, including Xiao He, Chen Ping, Zhang Liang, and Cao Can, were also breathing heavily. They knew better than anyone what what was about to be unearthed from this land would mean for the Qin Dynasty.

Zhou Jue stood beside Ying Zheng and used a drone to capture this scene.

"Your Majesty, please." The Minister of Agriculture, with trembling hands, handed over a brand-new bronze hoe.

Ying Zheng took it, took a deep breath, and without the slightest hesitation, he personally went down into the field and selected the first one to take root and sprout.

"puff!"

He dug down with the hoe, not using brute force, but carefully prying at the clod of earth.

Everyone held their breath.

As the soil was turned over, a bunch... no, a huge bunch! A huge bunch of round, golden-yellow fruits were brought out!

They were huddled together, densely packed, one next to the other!

"They're out! They're out!" a young agricultural official shouted in a hoarse voice.

Ying Zheng threw away his hoe, ignoring the mud on it, and personally lifted the entire taro plant out of the ground!

It's so heavy!

This fruitful scene was a powerful shock to his eyes!

"Hahaha... Hahahaha!" Ying Zheng looked at the fruit in his hand and laughed wildly to the sky!

This laughter was even more exhilarating and exciting than when he unified the six kingdoms!

"Dig! Dig them all for me!"

At the order, the old and new ministers could no longer contain themselves!

Prime Minister Li Si threw away his crown, a symbol of his status, grabbed a hoe, and rushed down!

General Wang Ben, a general who killed countless people on the battlefield, was now digging in the ground with the gentleness of someone caressing their own child!

Xiao He, Zhang Liang... everyone rushed into the fields, some even digging with their bare hands!

They're not digging up dirt; they're digging up the future of the Qin Dynasty! They're digging up the livelihoods of countless people!

When the last taro plant was dug up, the entire acre was piled high with golden fruits like a small mountain.

An official in charge of measurement came running over, stumbling and crawling, holding a wooden board covered with numbers. He was so excited he could barely speak.

"Your Majesty! We've...we're done weighing!"

"One mu of land! A total of... a total of..."

He took a deep breath, and with all his might, roared out that number that would go down in history!

"One hundred and twenty-eight shi!!"

One hundred and twenty-eight shi!

Everyone's minds went blank. The immortal had said the yield could reach a hundred bushels per mu, and they had believed him, but a sliver of doubt still lingered in their hearts. But now, the facts were right before their eyes!

Not 100 stones!

It's 128 shi!

"Waaaaah..."

Someone in the crowd started crying. Then, the sound of weeping filled the air!

The middle-aged Si Nong, an old man who had spent his whole life working the land, knelt on the ground, holding a handful of soil, and cried like a child!

Even the iron-fisted prime minister Li Si was moved to tears and wept uncontrollably!

They had witnessed too many famines and too many human tragedies of people exchanging their own children to eat! Now, a divine substance that could feed millions of people had truly been grown, not by divine power, but by real growth from the earth, right before their eyes!

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

"Long live Your Majesty! Long live the Great Qin Dynasty!!"

Amidst the thunderous congratulations, Zhou Jue was somewhat surprised.

She remembered that on Earth, the fastest potato growth cycle was sixty days, but all told, it had only been fifty-odd days since they were planted. They matured ahead of schedule, and the yield was so high? Was it because the seeds prepared back home were exceptionally good? Or was it because this land possessed some kind of spiritual energy?

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore.

Anyway, it's a good thing.

...

Late at night, in Zhangtai Palace, Zhou Jue and Ying Zheng sat facing each other.

"I'm leaving."

Zhou Jue got straight to the point.

Ying Zheng's hand, holding the teacup, suddenly stiffened, spilling tea that scalded the back of his hand, but he seemed oblivious. He remembered that on the summit of Mount Tai, the immortal had said that once the Shennong Bureau was on the right track, she would step down. He thought that day was still far away, but he never expected it to come so suddenly.

Why?

Ying Zheng put down his teacup, his voice somewhat hoarse: "Is it because... I haven't done enough?"

“No.” Zhou Jue shook his head: “Your Majesty did a very good job, much better than I imagined.”

"Then why leave?!" Ying Zheng stood up, his emotions running high. "Now, although Qin has a foundation, everything is in ruins! Cement roads need to be paved, schools need to be built, new laws need to be implemented... Everywhere, we need the guidance of an immortal! If you leave, I..."

"Roads are made by people walking on them."

Zhou Jue interrupted him.

"I've given you a start; the rest is up to you, leading your people step by step."

She looked at Ying Zheng with a calm and serious gaze.

"Is it absolutely necessary to leave?"

"Immortal, the world is vast, where can't you make your home? Great Qin can build a Heavenly Altar for you, and dedicate the entire nation's resources to worship you!"

Zhou Jue shook his head and smiled.

"Your Majesty, you are mistaken. I do not belong to any particular deity; I belong to the River of Time."

She stood up, looked at the bright moon of the Qin Dynasty outside the window, and said softly, "The river of time is very long. Downstream, there are still many people waiting for me to help them."

Ying Zheng fell silent, downstream...

He understood. The immortal did not belong to the Great Qin, nor to him. She belonged to the ever-flowing river called "Time."

He slowly sat down, all the excitement, pleading, and resentment on his face fading away: "I understand."

"Before I leave, there is a message that the people living on this land more than two thousand years later entrusted me to deliver to you," Zhou Jue suddenly said.

Ying Zheng suddenly raised his head!

Zhou Jue met his gaze and slowly said, "They say that the history books of the thousand-year-old feudal dynasties may record your merits and demerits, and comment on your tyranny."

"But they, and their descendants, live on this land you built with your own hands. Every inch of the land beneath their feet remembers that you were the first to give it a complete name: 'China'."

"They say that no matter how many dynasties rise and fall, or how many rulers change hands..."

Zhou Jue's voice became very soft: "There was only one First Emperor."

"They...thank you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ying Zheng's body trembled violently. He turned his head sharply and looked out at the dark night sky. Something crystalline slid silently down the contours of his face from his domineering eyes.

Zhou Jue watched him quietly without disturbing him. After a long while, she took out two stones and placed them on the table.

"Your Majesty, this is the last gift I can leave you."

"This is the basic cultivation technique. It doesn't require high spiritual roots, so most people can cultivate it. And this stone is a spirit-testing stone, which can detect whether a person possesses spiritual roots."

"As for whether others should cultivate immortality, who should cultivate immortality, and when they should begin cultivating immortality."

Zhou Jue stood up: "It is up to Your Majesty to decide."

[Host, the return-to-Blue-Star program has been initiated.]

[Countdown: 10, 9, 8...]

"Goodbye, Ancestor." Zhou Jue greeted the First Emperor one last time, this time without addressing him as "Your Majesty."

[3, 2, 1, the shuttle begins!]

"An immortal!"

Ying Zheng turned around abruptly and let out a roar. He rushed over, trying to grab the disappearing figure, but only grasped at nothingness!

The immortal has vanished.

They have completely disappeared from this era.