Farmland, autumn.
A young man was harvesting crops in the field. Compared to other tenants, he was exceptionally efficient.
"Harvested one mu of land, Body Refinement Realm Ninth Level."
"Harvested another mu of land, Body Refinement Realm Ninth Level."
"Harvested yet another mu of land, why am I stuck?"
Lu Chen straightened his back, his handsome face, not exaggerated beneath his straw hat, showed some confusion.
Three years ago, Lu Chen underwent Transmigration, and in his mind, there was a Mountain and River Diagram.
Cultivating and farming could grant him talent and potential.
Harvesting crops could directly increase his cultivation.
He rented land from the landlord and became a tenant farmer.
From the initial six mu of land to the current sixty mu, from starving three days out of seven to becoming Qingquan Town's top laborer, he only took three years.
Even in remote small towns, there were tales of Immortal cultivation. Lu Chen knew that his Realm had reached the limit for a Mortal.
The next Realm, Qimai Realm, could no longer be achieved by cultivating more land.
After loading three more carts, Lu Chen squatted by the field ridge, picking up the soil beneath his feet and crushing it between his fingers. "It seems I need better fertilizer, better seeds, and better farmland."
"Xiao Chen, thanks to your help, your aunt will stew meat for you tonight!"
Uncle Zhang squatted beside him, puffing on his dry pipe.
Other tenant farmers passing by also greeted Lu Chen warmly.
Enthusiastic and cheerful, gentle and kind-hearted, cultivating sixty mu of land alone without oxen or horses, and still having energy to help neighbors—whenever Lu Chen was mentioned, everyone couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up.
Uncle Zhang said, "Just in time to mill some new rice, we'll steam a delicious pot!"
"Eating is eating, but there won't be another niece you're distantly related to, will there?" Lu Chen had clearly fallen for this trick many times before.
"Eh~ What are you saying? If my niece wants to come eat, can I refuse?"
"But you can't switch nieces every day, can you?"
"..." Uncle Zhang chuckled and asked, "Xiao Chen, how old are you this year?"
"Eighteen."
"You were eighteen three years ago, and still eighteen now? But seriously, when I was your age, my kids could already run around in the fields."
Lu Chen pouted, "I'm still a child too."
Uncle Zhang choked on his smoke and coughed repeatedly. "You kid, you're just too picky!"
"The village belle of Wang Village, she even looks down on the landlord's young master, she just wants to live a good life with you."
"The daughter of Wealthy Li, her dowry includes ten oxen!"
"Not to mention the two young ladies of Landlord Zhao's family, they'd let you marry into their family, and you could even inherit the Zhao family's business later..."
Lu Chen looked at the farmland. He was single-mindedly farming, but he hadn't expected that he had unintentionally broken so many young girls' hearts.
Uncle Zhang repeatedly said, "Do you know how many young women lose their appetite for you, and how many young men suffer sleepless nights because of you?"
"???" Lu Chen.
"You've already become the public enemy of all young men in town!"
"..." Lu Chen.
"A good laborer has ambitions far and wide, only yearning for more fertile farmland in the distance. I can eat, but your niece, I won't see her."
"From what you're saying, you're leaving?"
"The Immortal sect in Panlong City is recruiting disciples, I want to go see."
"You want to cultivate Immortality? You want eternal life?"
"No, I want to go to the Immortal sect to farm."
Uncle Zhang was somewhat puzzled.
Lu Chen continued, "The Immortal sect's land is all spiritual fields, and they grow Immortal grains. Even Immortals have to defecate, and those are fertilizers with Immortal Qi, I can't even imagine how fertile they'd be!"
Uncle Zhang's expression twisted as he listened; he couldn't imagine it either!
Lu Chen went back to work in the field, his sickle moving so fast it left afterimages.
Many tenant farmers would look at Lu Chen during their breaks, his nimble figure a delight to behold.
"Even if I don't go to the Immortal sect, I have to leave. If I don't leave soon, everyone will discover that I'm immortal."
During his Transmigration, Lu Chen transformed into his youthful appearance, and since then, Lu Chen had not changed at all.
Wind and sun could not leave the slightest trace on him. Even though he wore a straw hat all day, people could always spot something amiss.
He had already reined himself in a lot, but when he worked in the fields, he simply didn't know what fatigue was.
"I don't get tired at all; I can keep harvesting for three days and three nights!"
"Whose unlucky child is this?!"
Lu Chen exclaimed, and the nearby tenant farmers all gathered around.
In the field, there was a little girl, six or seven years old, cowering on the ground, trembling.
If it hadn't been for Lu Chen, any other tenant farmer would have surely injured her.
The little girl's hair was messy, she was skin and bones, her skin was dry, her small face was sallow and bloodless, and her eyes were filled with fear.
"How could her parents be so cruel as to abandon her here?"
"Such a pitiful little girl."
"Could she be a wanderer from some other village or town?"
The tenant farmers discussed amongst themselves.
"What should we do?" Lu Chen looked around.
The tenant farmers all avoided his gaze.
This girl clearly looked ill and would be difficult to raise. Although the harvest was good this year, no one wanted to take on such a burden.
After all, not everyone was as capable as Lu Chen.
"How about we leave her at the edge of the field and wait for her parents to find her?" one tenant farmer suggested.
Lu Chen looked at the little girl, meeting her innocent and fragile gaze.
No one would adopt a girl in such a state. If Lu Chen also ignored her, this little girl would have a hard time surviving the winter.
"What's your name?" Lu Chen asked.
"My name is Qiangwei."
"What's your surname?"
"I don't have a surname."
"Then take my surname, Lu." Lu Chen said, taking out a hard biscuit from his Pregnant and offering it to her.
Even for a kitten or a puppy, Lu Chen couldn't bear to ignore it and let it starve or freeze to death.
Lu Qiangwei took the biscuit and devoured it ravenously.
"Xiao Chen, you're not going to take care of her, are you?"
"Think carefully, you're just a child yourself!"
"She probably has some plague... I thought she was already dead at first glance!"
"Alas, Xiao Chen is just too kind-hearted."
The tenant farmers all spoke, but they also hoped that Lu Chen would look after this child, because only then would their consciences not be troubled.
"One more mouth, one more bowl and chopsticks, Xiao Chen can afford it."
"She looks unhealthy now, but she'll definitely get better later!"
During their conversation, the tenant farmers continued to work.
Lu Chen carried Lu Qiangwei onto the cart and gave her another biscuit.
Lu Qiangwei didn't know how long she had been hungry; even after eating all of Lu Chen's dinner, she still seemed not to be full.
"If you were to burst from overeating, that would be truly absurd."
Lu Chen handed over a water pouch, his gaze on Lu Qiangwei's shrunken stomach.
He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he noticed that Lu Qiangwei's skin looked much fuller.
Lu Chen sniffed lightly, leaning close to Lu Qiangwei's hair and taking a whiff, detecting a faint scent of rose.
"I'll take you home when I'm done working."
Lu Chen said, returning to the field to continue harvesting crops.
On the cart, Lu Qiangwei tilted her head, staring intently at Lu Chen's back.
"Home..."
Lu Qiangwei murmured, repeating the word, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
It seemed she had never had a home. She vaguely remembered coming down from the sky. Then she walked a very, very long way to get here.
The smell of the farmland here was pleasant, and the scent on Lu Chen was even more pleasant.
She had never smelled such a comforting and reassuring scent, completely different from anything she had smelled before.
She seemed to recall something, her slender fists clenched tightly, her body trembling, and cold sweat breaking out all over her.
"Xiao Chen! That girl is having a seizure!"
A sharp-eyed tenant farmer noticed and shouted loudly.
Lu Chen turned his head in the field; one moment he was in the farmland, the next he had already appeared by the field ridge.
The tenant farmer thought his eyes were playing tricks on him and rubbed them.
Lu Chen gently caught Lu Qiangwei before she fell off the cart.