Wu Hua listened with great longing.
"You have to keep your word! The picture book says that if you lie, your nose will grow long!"
Qin Luo raised his hand in guarantee
"Don't worry, I would never lie to you. Let's go to other countries and see what they're like. I've heard that Xiyou Kingdom is a land of women, and all the women there are beautiful, talented in singing and dancing. Shall we go there?"
Wu Hua was getting impatient.
"Okay! Let's go there!"
The man and the beast happily fantasized about life on the road, grinning from ear to ear.
After Wu Hua finished eating, Qin Luo took the corn and left the space.
Mu Feng and the young monk Jingming also got up and sat at the table waiting for Qin Luo to come out.
Qin Luo placed the corn on the table.
"Uncle, brother, have a taste! They were freshly picked this morning, they're so sweet!"
The two glanced at the corn Qin Luo mentioned but didn't ask any further questions.
Each of them took one and started eating.
Jingming's eyes lit up as he ate.
"It's so delicious! It's so plump, sweet, sticky, and tender. I've never had it cooked like this before. I thought it was all ground into flour after turning yellow!"
Mu Feng explained it to him.
"The yield of crops grown by the people of Pingzhao is not high, and the ears of grain are not this big. They are small and the grains are sparse. No one is willing to cook them like this. They wait until they are old and grind them into flour to eat slowly! So it is normal that you have never eaten them before. I have never eaten them either. Thanks to Luoluo, I got to eat them today!"
Qin Luo then realized that the people here didn't cook corn like this.
"Luckily, we didn't give any to the disaster victims before," she asked Mu Feng while munching on corn.
"Uncle, what do you think of this corn? Will it be suitable to grow in the resettlement area?"
"Of course, it's great! With seeds given by Lord Kang, there's sure to be a bountiful harvest! But Luo Luo, the corn you mentioned, we call it maize, and the yield from it isn't very high for ordinary people!"
He seriously considered the feasibility of handing the seeds over to the government.
"Once we get to Weisi County, I'll have Mu Xiao send me a waist token, and then I'll take you to talk to the local officials. Since you're from out of town, you're bound to face bullying and suppression. Giving this seed to the government should help you get assigned to a better village!"
Qin Luo did not make a decision immediately.
"I still don't know what kind of person the magistrate of Weisi County is, or whether they value grain production! My great-grandfather told me that the area is surrounded by rivers, so they should pay more attention to waterways and docks; there probably aren't many people farming there!"
Mu Feng nodded in response.
"Yes, the land there is quite fertile, but farming is not as profitable as doing business. Only the elderly and infirm who are not accepted by the docks stay at home to farm!"
Qin Luo sighed upon hearing this.
"Let's see what kind of place we're assigned first! If it's a very bad place, then let Grandpa take care of the villagers and clansmen, and we'll buy a courtyard and a shop in the county. Grandpa and Grandpa You can enjoy their retirement!"
She thought about what the Qin family was good at.
"My third uncle and youngest uncle can open a martial arts school, my uncle can open a school, and my aunt and youngest aunt can open a snack stall. That would be great!"
"That's good, but I'm worried Uncle Ling won't leave his people."
"Let's talk about it later! Let's not think about things that haven't happened yet!"
After the three finished eating the corn, Qin Luo put the corn cob back into his spatial storage.
Qin Luo and Mu Feng prepared to go find Qin Ling and the others, and then waited to depart.
Jingming also went to find the temple keeper and the others, and then the group reunited.
As soon as Qin Luo and Mu Feng knocked on Qin Ling's door, they heard cries coming from the dormitory downstairs.
She thought something had happened to Jingming, so she quickly grabbed Mu Feng and ran downstairs.
Qin Ling opened the door and saw two blurry figures. Hearing the cries, he also went downstairs.
Qin Luo and Mu Feng ran to Jingming and the others' dormitory and found them all safe and sound.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief
"I thought something had happened to you guys!"
Jingming shook his head
"No, it's next door. The temple keeper has already gone to check; it seems something is missing!"
Having just arrived in the Qinling Mountains, upon hearing that something had been lost, they hurriedly went to the neighboring dormitory to inquire.
"What's wrong? What did you lose? Why are you crying like that?"
The villagers and their clansmen saw the Qinling Mountains as a lifeline, and once they grasped them, they wouldn't let go.
"Chief! Please help us find our children! Niu Niu, Da Ya, and the other girls are all missing! We woke up this morning and couldn't find them! We've searched everywhere, inside and out, but we can't find them! Ah~"
Qin Ling patted the hand that was gripping his arm.
"Let me go first. I need to find the shopkeeper and ask what's going on, then I'll send someone to look for the child. You can't do anything with me holding me!"
The group quickly let go, allowing Qinling to arrange for someone to search for the child.
When Qin Luo and Mu Feng arrived, the villagers and clansmen were still wailing there.
"My poor child, who was that heartless bastard who stole my child in the middle of the night! Aaaaaah~"
Seeing them crying so sadly, Qin Luo kindly stepped forward to inquire.
"Did you notice anything unusual last night?"
When the people crying saw it was her, none of them answered her question.
The scene became extremely awkward!
After a while, an old woman muttered...
"What do you know, you little girl? All you do is cause trouble. How come Niu Niu and the others are missing, but you're perfectly fine? Did you know beforehand and not tell us something?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Qin Luo, who himself was speechless.
If there weren't so many people around, she would have slapped herself a few times.
Why did you have to ask that question for no reason? It made you so angry your head hurt.
Jingming angrily twisted the temple keeper's arm until he screamed.
"Abbot, Abbot, please don't be angry. Come, come, I'll take you to recite the Pure Heart Sutra."
After saying that, he picked up Jingming and left, afraid that if he listened any longer, the abbot would break his vows.
Mu Feng was so angry he wanted to hit someone.
"What do you know? What could a little girl like her possibly know? She's not lost because we uncles kept watch all night, while you all just slept soundly. Instead of reflecting on your own actions, you blame others for the child's disappearance!"
The old woman, feeling humiliated, retorted defiantly.
"Isn't she protected by auspicious beasts? How could she not know? I think she deliberately didn't tell us, letting our child be stolen, and then she claims it wasn't a monster? Who would believe that!"
Mu Feng had never seen such an unreasonable person in his entire life.
"Didn't the village chief tell you during dinner yesterday not to easily tell outsiders about your family matters, and that you should arrange for someone to keep watch tonight? Did you listen?"
His tone and expression turned stern.
"Luo Luo is protected by the auspicious beast, but it only protects her, not you, nor your child. She always saves the water that the auspicious beast gives her for you to drink. What have you done?"
He glared angrily at the surrounding villagers.
"You're talking about your benefactor behind his back as a monster! A bunch of ungrateful wretches! If it weren't for Uncle Ling's sake, I would have beaten you all to a pulp long ago. You have no self-awareness whatsoever, you really think you're something special!"
The villagers all knew that Mu Feng was highly skilled in martial arts, so they didn't dare to say anything and just kept crying...
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