Julian King sent the village chief off, then returned and shut the drafty door. "I've asked around. It just so happens that this year is when the Divine Ritual will be held. Usually, it's scheduled for late summer or early autumn, because that's when the summer grain is harvested—and it's the prime time for the Zhang Family to buy up grain in bulk. The locals can't bear to eat the fine grains themselves, so wheat and similar grains are sold to improve their household situation. The main staple foods here are the rough grains harvested in autumn: sorghum, corn, sweet potatoes, beans, and so on."
"So they're making money and stirring things up," Yina Yin said. "At least we've got plenty of time."
Cherry Miller asked, "Did you find out if we can go to the ritual with them?"
"In theory, yes," Julian King replied. "We have the right to watch, but not to participate—because we're outsiders. Speaking of outsiders, Six Saints Town actually has other surnames, too. Back in the late Qing Dynasty and during local warlord rule, some people drifted here by chance, discovered it was a good place to live, and settled down. But there aren't many of them, so they can't compete with the six major families."
"There's something I don't get," Yina Yin said. "Have you ever wondered: with satellites covering every corner of the earth, why hasn't anyone spotted this place on satellite maps? It's such a huge stretch of farmland—how could there be no signs of life? Why hasn't anyone noticed so many people living here?"
Cherry Miller nodded. "I've thought about that too, and I still can't figure it out. Is there really some kind of divine protection keeping them hidden from satellite surveillance?"
Julian King and Yina Yin both had expressions that said, 'How could that be possible?'
Yeah, just thinking about it sounds unrealistic.
But how do they pull it off?
Even when the GF-112 Project was charting its route, they did their research before making a choice.
Back then, nothing on the satellite maps ever showed a hidden town like this.
How did it suddenly pop up?
Yina Yin joked, "Don't tell me someone got their hands on a satellite jammer and covered the whole town?"
"That would be some serious operation." Julian King shook his head. "It's not even about money—nobody has the resources for something like that."
When he got to his newly purchased three mu of land (Note: 1 mu ≈ 666.7 square meters, a traditional Chinese area unit), Julian King couldn't help but take a deep breath!
"Gotta gather intel slowly, like eating a meal one bite at a time. Enough of that—I'm going to check on the stove and fill my belly first." Cherry Miller stood up and said, "This afternoon, let's get a carpenter to fix the doors and windows. It's almost Jingzhe—the rains come out of nowhere, and we don't want to get soaked in here."
Julian King immediately said, "Leave that to me. I'll get someone to patch up the walls and roof, reinforce everything. This will be our home base for half a year, after all."
Yina Yin found herself a task too: "I'll tidy up the courtyard, level the ground, and plant some veggies. Everything here is self-sufficient—we can't waste a single bit of land."
The three of them split up, each taking on their own job.
By the end of the day, the rundown house was finally cleaned up enough to be barely livable.
There were three rooms in total.
Two bedrooms and one living-dining room combo.
Yina Yin and Cherry Miller pretended to be a married couple, so naturally they shared a room. Julian King took the room next door.
Besides the three main rooms, there were two rooms in the east wing—used as a kitchen and a storeroom.
The west wing was a single room, full of random odds and ends.
Julian King had learned how to farm, but never how to raise chickens—and neither Cherry Miller nor Yina Yin knew either. So, they didn't keep any chickens, ducks, or geese.
The courtyard had about thirty square meters of open space. They'd already cleared the weeds and turned the soil—just waiting to plant.
Thanks to the gifts Cherry Miller had given out, they received plenty of return gifts from neighbors—mostly vegetable seeds and other essentials.
After a few chaotic days, the three of them finally settled in.
Early one morning, their neighbor David Lee came knocking: "Hey, Julian, everyone's heading out to turn the soil. Want to join us?"
"Coming!" Julian King sprang out of bed, quickly washed his face, grabbed two steamed buns from last night, stuffed them in his pocket, and picked up a water bottle before heading out.
Apparently, this is standard gear for anyone working the fields.
Julian King followed suit and got himself set up the same way.
Stepping outside, he saw plenty of villagers already heading out with their farming tools, getting ready to work in the fields.
When he got to his newly purchased three mu of land, Julian King couldn't help but take a deep breath!
No machines, not even an ox—he had to turn the soil by hand. How long would this take?
"Julian, you really plan to turn the soil like this?" David Lee's family's land was right next to Julian's.
David Lee's whole family was out—his brothers Eric and Sam, and their father Shawn Lee. Four of them working together.
Julian King hefted his tool and said, "Yeah, I just got here, don't have any equipment yet. Gotta make do for now."
David Lee glanced at their old ox and said, "Once we're done with our field, we'll come help you with yours."
Julian King quickly replied, "Oh, I feel bad about that—your ox is so well cared for, you can tell you've put in the work. How about I give you twenty jin of corn (Note: 1 jin ≈ 0.5 kg, a traditional Chinese weight unit) as a token of thanks? What do you think?"
Twenty jin of corn (Note: 1 jin ≈ 0.5 kg) is about half a month's food supply for a family of three.
David Lee was thrilled, rubbing his hands together. "No need, no need..."
Julian King knew he was just being polite and quickly said, "It's only right—settled then!"
All of Liford Village was buzzing with the energy of spring plowing.
The men worked in the fields, while the women cooked, did laundry, and took care of the household.
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^ Click next page to keep reading!
Cherry Miller was up early, sweeping the yard and fixing the new fence from yesterday.
Yina Yin was clearing stones from the yard, getting the plots ready for planting.
"Mrs. Gu!" someone called out from outside the door.
It took Cherry Miller a moment to realize that Mrs. Gu was calling her.
She felt a little embarrassed.
She almost forgot that Yina Yin was now going by the name Noah Gu.
"Oh, coming!" Cherry Miller quickly wiped her hands and went outside. There she saw a young woman, dressed in a blue floral jacket and a dark blue skirt—clearly a hardworking villager—standing on tiptoe, peering into the yard.
"Oh, it's Cathy Lee. Did you need something?" Cherry Miller nodded at her.
Cathy Lee was their neighbor from a few doors down. At twenty-two, she was considered an old maid around here.
People here usually get married at seventeen or eighteen.
"My mom said you just moved in and probably need a lot of things, so I brought over some seeds from home." Cathy Lee's gaze drifted past Cherry Miller and landed on Noah Gu in the yard, her cheeks noticeably flushing.
"Thank you so much, we really need them." Cherry Miller, quick to notice, realized Cathy Lee's attention wasn't on her, but on Noah Gu—and couldn't help but find it amusing.
Noah always manages to catch a girl's eye, no matter the place, age, or identity.
That whole 'opposites repel' thing just didn't apply to Noah.
"You're welcome." Cathy Lee handed the seeds to Cherry Miller, but seeing she wasn't invited in, reluctantly turned and left.
Cherry Miller tossed the seeds to Noah Gu: "Here, that's the second person to give us seeds."
"That's great—saves us from having to buy any." Noah Gu said with a grin.
"It's all about looks in this world!" Cherry Miller shook her head, exasperated.
Noah Gu finished clearing the field and got ready to fetch water.
Liford Village had two communal wells—one at the head of the village, one at the tail.
Noah Gu went to the one at the far end.
He hadn't even arrived yet and could already see a line of people waiting to draw water.
"Brother Gu!" came a breathless voice from behind. Noah turned to see Cathy Lee, also carrying a bucket.
"Here to fetch water too, Cathy?" Noah Gu greeted her with a friendly smile.
Cathy Lee's cheeks flushed again. "Yeah. Brother Gu, you're here too."
What she didn't say was that she'd only come out with her bucket after seeing Noah head to the well.
"You go first," Noah said, stepping back to let Cathy cut in line.
Cathy waved her hand. "No, no, I'm not in a hurry. By the way, Brother Gu, you're from the outside world, right? What's it like out there? Are people all like you?"
"More or less," Noah thought for a moment. "It's definitely not the same as here."
"Brother Gu, have you read a lot of books? My mom says the three of you look like educated folks. Do people outside all read lots of books?" Cathy fiddled with her braid, a bit embarrassed.
Noah noticed the villagers around them all seemed to be listening in on their conversation.
Maybe they all dreamed of the outside world too?
If that's the case, things would be much easier.
Noah Yin smiled and replied, "Yes, I've read quite a lot. In the outside world, everyone gets to go to school—at least nine years, and some study for over twenty years."
The people around gasped in disbelief.
Cathy pressed further, "School is so expensive—can everyone really go?"
Noah asked her in return, "Have you ever been to school?"
Cathy shook her head and said, "Girls aren't allowed to go to school. Not all boys can go either—except for the village chief's family, no one can afford it. School is too expensive, and supplies cost a lot. Families can't afford it."
Noah followed up, "Is it really that expensive?"
Cathy replied softly, "Yes, it's very expensive. All the students in town go to the Zhang family's private school, and the annual tuition costs thousands. Only the village chief's family can afford it."