Marrying Wives and Attaining Immortality in a Chaotic World

Chapter 196: Strategy

Xu Lian raised his hoe high and brought it down on the field, but he only managed to dig up a shallow layer of soil. His movements were vigorous, but the results were minimal… At this rate, it would take at least ten days, maybe even twenty, to plow one acre of land.

“We can’t waste time like this. We have to find a way.”

He firmly believed that there was always a solution to every problem. His mind began to race, trying to figure out how to get out of their current predicament.

The four of them were suppressed by the laws of the Divine Kingdom, their bodies weak, unable to even compare to the children of this world. They couldn’t change that. After all, the power of the laws was one of the most powerful forces in the world. Not even a Great Grandmaster could alter it, let alone young cultivators like them.

Since they couldn’t change their own situation, the only option was to focus on the villagers.

The villagers used primitive farming methods. Perhaps he could invent a farming tool to improve their efficiency and win their favor.

Thinking of farming tools, he recalled the plow he had seen in rural areas during his past life.

The plow, which was originally derived from the Yuan Shuo Plow, could greatly speed up the process of cultivating the land.

That’s it!

Having made up his mind, he put down his hoe and called out, “Village Chief, I have something to tell you”.

The village chief also tilled the field, no different from the other villagers. He was a simple man.

The chief walked over, “What is it?”

Xu Lian pointed to the villagers working in the fields, “The way you’re working is too slow.”

Hearing this, the villagers turned their heads and burst out laughing.

“These four have been digging for a day and a half and have only managed to cultivate a small patch. How does he have the nerve to say that we’re slow?”

“If we called a child, he’d probably dig faster than these four. And he dares to say that we’re slow? What a joke!”

Ye Beining, Shui Yingyue, and Xiang Chengxing all turned pale, frantically signaling to Xu Lian with their eyes, urging him not to speak carelessly. If he angered the villagers, the punishment could become even worse.

Xu Lian said to the chief, “We are weak, so we are digging slowly. But I have a way to make your digging ten times faster!”

“Ten times faster?”

The chief’s expression darkened instead of brightening. “In our village, boasting is also punishable. For every exaggeration, the punishment is doubled. You exaggerated ten times, so you’ll have to cultivate ten acres of land!”

Xu Lian’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected such a rule.

Ye Beining’s face turned green. With their weak bodies, it would take twenty days to cultivate one acre. Ten acres would take two hundred days! The Hundred Boats Secret Realm had only been open for one year, and two-thirds of that time had already passed. How could they find any opportunities?

Shui Yingyue and Xiang Chengxing also groaned inwardly. If Ye Beining was a jinx, then Xu Lian was a devil… He had just increased their punishment tenfold.

Xu Lian said, “Fine. If my method doesn’t work, we’ll accept the tenfold punishment.”

Ye Beining quickly shouted, “I don’t know him! He’s the one bragging. It has nothing to do with me!”

Xiang Chengxing also distanced himself, “We just happened to come here together. We don’t really know each other.”

Shui Yingyue hesitated, then gave Xu Lian an apologetic look. “I’m not very close to him either…”

How real… Xu Lian sighed helplessly.

Not close? The chief looked at the four suspiciously, but didn’t say anything. The one who boasted was the young man in front of him. “What’s your method to make cultivation ten times faster?”

Xu Lian put down his hoe. “I saw a blacksmith’s shop in the village. Let’s talk there.”

The villagers whispered to each other.

“I think he’s just trying to slack off.”

“This guy is too evil. His punishment should be increased.”

The chief snorted at Xu Lian, but led him to the blacksmith’s shop. He wanted to see what tricks Xu Lian was up to.

At the blacksmith’s shop, Xu Lian immediately sketched out the general design of the Yuan Shuo Plow.

“Is this for tilling the land?”

The old blacksmith’s eyes lit up. An expert could tell at a glance. He immediately saw the potential in the design.

Xu Lian nodded, “Yes, this is called the Yuan Shuo Plow. One person pulls it from the front, and another person presses it from the back. It can turn the soil much faster. Unfortunately, there are no oxen, horses, or donkeys in the village, otherwise it could be even faster”.

Even the chief was half convinced. Could this thing really work?

As if he had been given a new toy, the old blacksmith eagerly began forging the plow.

The design looked simple, but the actual forging process was not easy and would take some time.

The chief watched for a while, “I have to go back to the fields. Keep an eye on him. Don’t let him run away.”

The blacksmith nodded.

As the chief walked back to the fields, Xu Lian couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration. The people here were so simple and hardworking. Even the village chief didn’t take a moment to rest.

Xu Lian sat on a chair and said nothing. He didn’t know anything about blacksmithing. It was best to leave professional matters to professionals and not to interfere.

At noon, the chief returned to take him home for lunch.

Ye Beining, Shui Yingyue, and Xiang Chengxing all sat far away from him… pretending not to know him.

Xu Lian didn’t bother to explain and ate his meal in silence.

Perhaps food was scarce, as the meal was not as “lavish” as the first one. Each person was given a fixed portion: two small flatbreads and a bowl of vegetable soup. Once it was gone, there was no more.

After lunch, they rested for a while.

The chief’s wife took the three geniuses back to the fields to continue farming. The chief first brought Xu Lian to the blacksmith’s shop before heading out to the fields himself. Clearly, he was making sure that Xu Lian didn’t try to escape by keeping a close eye on him at all times.

And so, Xu Lian spent his days at the blacksmith’s shop.

On the fourth day, the Yuan Shuo Plow was finally finished.

The village chief, the blacksmith, and Xu Lian went out into the fields to test it.

The chief pulled the plow from the front, while the blacksmith pressed it from the back. A long furrow was cut into the ground.

Looking back at the result, the chief was overjoyed, his eyes red with emotion. He knelt on the ground and bowed to the sky, “This is a divine tool given by the heavens.”

What does this have to do with Heaven? Xu Lian was speechless. “I wasn’t exaggerating, was I?”

The chief looked at him with awe, “You created this divine tool for the people on behalf of Heaven. The whole village will be grateful to you. From now on, you are an honored guest of our village.”

Xu Lian was delighted. He had already received a glowing drum. Now he planned to visit every household to see if there were any other glowing items. With his new status as an honored guest, he was confident that the villagers would be willing to give him anything he asked for.

When the chief demonstrated the Yuan Shuo Plow to the villagers, they were astonished. Their gazes toward Xu Lian changed, filled with respect.

Ye Beining, Shui Yingyue, and Xiang Chengxing were stunned. Had Xu Lian really won the villagers’ favor just by creating this thing?

Coming to his senses, Ye Beining put down his hoe, “Since we’re now honored guests of the village, does that mean we don’t have to be punished anymore?”

The Chief glared at him, “Little Xu is the honored guest of the village. What does that have to do with you? Didn’t you say that you don’t know him?”

The villagers also gave Ye Beining unfriendly looks.

“Keep digging. Don’t slack off.”

“This guy is like a fence-sitter, swaying with the wind. One moment he says he doesn’t know Little Xu, the next he wants to be an honored guest of the village. He’s too wicked. We should add another acre to his punishment.”…

Ye Beining almost spat blood. He didn’t dare to say more, fearing that his punishment would increase.

Shui Yingyue and Xiang Chengxing were also at a loss for words. They regretted having distanced themselves from Xu Lian earlier.

Xu Lian smiled. Fate was truly mysterious.

Soon, the Chief assigned more people to the forge to produce more Yuan Shuo Plows.

As the number of plows increased, the efficiency of cultivating the land improved dramatically.

In just a few days, the entire village’s fields were plowed.

However, with so much time and labor saved, the villagers found themselves with nothing to do, which was a bit inconvenient.

Xu Lian made some suggestions: “The saved time and labor can be used to build irrigation systems, weed and eliminate pests. Improving irrigation channels and removing weeds and pests can increase crop yields.

They can also select seeds, choosing the larger ones for planting.

In addition, the villagers can learn from the elders how to weave bamboo baskets, straw mats, and other items to sell in the market to supplement their income.”

The chief thanked him repeatedly. This had opened up new ideas for managing the village.

Xu Lian visited every household, ostensibly to offer advice on “getting rich,” but in reality he was searching for glowing items.

He was warmly welcomed by every family. The villagers were simple and friendly.

Unfortunately, after searching every household in the village, he found no glowing items.

“It seems that the rattle drum is a special case, not an ordinary item.”

Xu Lian thought that it made sense. If there were glowing items everywhere, the geniuses who had entered the Hundred Boat Secret Realm in the past would have taken out countless treasures and become wealthy. That obviously hadn’t happened.

Xu Lian asked the chief about the origin of the rattle drum.

The chief’s wife said, “It was given to us by a family from the city who came to visit the village. They ate at our house, and their child gave it to our Tie Wa’er.”

The city? Xu Lian’s eyes narrowed, “Where is the nearest city?”

The chief shook his head, “We’ve only been to town. We don’t know much about the outside world.”

This stunned Xu Lian.

Without knowing where the city was, it seemed unrealistic for him to go there.

After all, when the four of them had first seen the village, it hadn’t seemed far away, but it had taken them a full day of running to reach it.

Even if he knew the location of the city, it would likely take him a year to walk there, by which time the Hundred Boats Secret Realm would have already closed.

Moreover, his “frail body” made him vulnerable. If he encountered any bandits or thieves, he’d be done for.

“Will I be stuck in this village until the Hundred Boats Secret Realm closes?”

Xu Lian did not want to accept this. This couldn’t be the “right strategy” for the Hundred Boats Secret Realm.

He found Shui Yingyue still working in the fields and asked, “When the geniuses of your Shui family entered the Hundred Boats Secret Realm in the past, how did they search for opportunities in this world?”

Shui Yingyue was happy to share, since half of Xu Lian’s profits would go to the Shui family. “According to the notes left by our predecessors, they searched everywhere for glowing items. Once they found one, they tried to obtain it.”

Xu Lian was puzzled, “How many glowing items did they find in total?”

Shui Yingyue replied, “One.”

“…” Xu Lian didn’t know what to say. Obviously, the “strategy” of the Shui family’s predecessors wasn’t right either. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have found only one item, right?

A few more days passed.

The villagers had woven many bamboo baskets and straw mats, loading them onto a wooden cart to take them to the town’s market. Xu Lian saw his opportunity.

He proposed that he wanted to visit the town, but his frail body couldn’t handle the long journey. He hoped to ride on the cart and let the strong villagers pull him along.

This was inevitable. Outsiders were oppressed by the laws of the Divine Kingdom. Once they left the village, the roads became incredibly long. Even if Xu Lian ran at full speed, he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the villagers.

The villagers readily agreed. After all, adding a person to the cart wouldn’t add much to the weight. Of course, they were also grateful to Xu Lian for creating the Yuan Shuo Plow.

And so, Xu Lian sat on the wooden cart and rode into town with the villagers.