Chapter 178: Giving Porridge
Gong Youwei left and left Lijia Village with Li Daoxuan's instructions.

She wanted to help Li Daoxuan, as this matter also concerned the life and death of Li Village.

Li Daoxuan has no one he can trust here. Apart from Li Yanming, he can only trust Gong Youwei.

Watching Gong Youwei transform into a white rabbit and jump out of the window, he sat in the room for a while and then went downstairs.

Aunt Sun and Granny Zhou were busy at home. After spending the past two days together, the two old ladies felt that they had met each other too late.

Granny Zhou is a woman of refined conversation, unlike the average old lady from a farming family. She is knowledgeable in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and she even has common topics with Aunt Sun.

The two of them sat in the yard basking in the sun, chatting and laughing, while embroidering shoe uppers.

"Granny Zhou is really amazing. Her embroidery skills are unparalleled." Aunt Sun praised Grandma Zhou's skills and asked her for advice from time to time.

The two of them sitting there looked like sisters, so affectionate.

"No, practice makes perfect." Grandma Zhou smiled modestly, "If we really talk about intelligence, it has to be my granddaughter. She is born smart."

"Grandma Zhou has any family?" Aunt Sun asked doubtfully. She thought Grandma Zhou was an elderly widow brought back from outside by the Third Young Master. She didn't expect that Grandma Zhou had any family. This made her extremely puzzled.

After all, if my family was still alive, why would they have to flee here?

Granny Zhou looked a little sad when she heard what Granny Sun said. She touched the embroidery on her hand and said, "Of course I have family, but I got separated from them a long time ago after such a bumpy journey. I followed the disaster victims all the way and ended up here."

Granny Zhou told Li Daoxuan about her experience along the way. Only then did he know that Granny Zhou had been robbed on her way back to her hometown. The maid who followed her was killed, leaving Granny Zhou alone.

There were refugees fleeing the disaster everywhere, so Granny Zhou had no choice but to go south and drift to Jiangning Prefecture.

Her hometown is Mengdian Village, Luqiao Town, Sanyuan County, Shaanxi Province, but she lived in Henan for some work. Later, when Henan suffered a drought, Grandma Zhou originally wanted to return to Shaanxi.

After hearing these words, Aunt Sun felt sympathetic towards Grandma Zhou's situation and muttered that bandits were very vicious these days and there was nothing Grandma Zhou could do about it.

Fortunately, this person is still alive, and it won’t be too late to discuss returning home later.

Li Daoxuan listened to the conversation between the two old ladies and walked up to Aunt Sun and said, "Aunt Sun, I need some bamboos. Please help me find some."

Aunt Sun naturally agreed and left in a hurry.

Li Daoxuan sat next to Grandma Zhou and continued to talk to her about the drought in Henan.

"It's tragic, it's really tragic." Grandma Zhou couldn't help but tears in her eyes when talking about the drought in Henan.

Wiping away her tears with her handkerchief, she told what she had seen and heard.

"I thought the story of eating Guanyin soil was fake, but I saw it with my own eyes. People were so hungry that they ate tree bark and grass roots. They ground small stones into powder, mixed them with white soil and made cakes, stuffed them into their stomachs. Then their stomachs were so full that they couldn't bear it, and many people choked to death. Alas, I can't bear to see these things." Grandma Zhou lamented and put down her needlework. "There are so many people selling their children on the road. Children that big are sold for a few taels. Even a few sesame cakes can be exchanged for a baby girl. It's really helpless."

"Didn't the imperial court provide disaster relief?" Li Daoxuan asked in confusion.

"How can the imperial court have surplus grain for disaster relief? The officials in Henan are terrible." Granny Zhou talked about the government in Henan and Shanxi, shaking her head. "They are in trouble. They didn't take advantage of the situation to rob people, but they were kind-hearted, not to mention disaster relief. I say, if the imperial court continues like this, there will be chaos sooner or later."

"There's nothing we can do about it." Li Daoxuan sighed. He knew that since the Qing government signed the treaty with the British on July 24, the 22nd year of Daoguang's reign, on the British ship Gao Huali anchored on the river surface of Jinling Xiaguan, the Qing government was destined to be a terminally ill and powerless court, and the "big mess" that Grandma Zhou was worried about was not far away. "If Grandma wants to stay, just live here. If you want to leave, I will help you find a place to go after I finish my work in the village."

Granny Zhou naturally agreed, and after talking to Li Daoxuan, she went about her own business.

Soon Aunt Sun found some bamboos, all of which were large bamboos that were growing well. They felt firm to the touch and had a crisp color. Li Daoxuan was very satisfied with the bamboos.

Before returning to the house, he told Aunt Sun about his plan to provide porridge to the victims at the entrance of the village. Aunt Sun couldn't help showing an embarrassed expression after hearing this: "Master, there is not much food at home. There are only so many servants here on weekdays. The money that Madam Li gives every month is also limited. I'm afraid we can't buy too much food back."

"It's okay. I still have some money." Li Daoxuan insisted stubbornly, "These disaster victims are also miserable people. They have been traveling for a long time without enough food, and they have to endure the pain of separation from their wives and children and the destruction of their families. Since we have come to Lijia Village by chance, although we can't support them, giving them a bite to eat can also be regarded as a comfort to them."

As he said that, he asked Aunt Sun to follow him upstairs, took out the silver from the Zhao family from the package, and placed it in front of Aunt Sun: "Is this silver enough?" "If it is for distributing porridge, it is certainly enough." Aunt Sun nodded repeatedly, "Young Master has a kind heart, and good people will surely be rewarded. I will definitely handle this matter properly and not lose face for you."

"Mother Sun, you still have to be more careful. Although this money is not much for me, it is the Li family's money after all." Li Daoxuan reminded.

"Of course, Third Young Master, don't worry. If these servants are greedy for even a penny, I will no longer manage this family."

Aunt Sun took the silver and went out, and Li Daoxuan no longer thought about giving out porridge.

He took out the box that Zhao Laosan had given him before they parted, and when he opened it, he saw the gold bars lying safely inside.

There are eight gold bars in the box, each weighing an estimated sixteen taels, which is considered a windfall.

In order to express his gratitude to Li Daoxuan, Zhao Laosan presented him with generous gifts after learning that Li Daoxuan needed to continue heading north. In addition to the top-quality white jade, there were also some gold, silver and banknotes.

Li Daoxuan was not polite either. On the one hand, he was involved in the Zhao family's affairs just to earn some traveling expenses. On the other hand, the Zhao family almost risked their lives for him, so he gladly accepted it.

Taking out a gold bar, Li Daoxuan closed the box and put it away again, then found the jade pendant he had obtained in Longling from the package.

This is a jade pendant only the size of a palm, placed in a wooden box. Its surface is warm, like sweet white milk, bordered with gold wire, engraved with secret characters and patterns, like talismans and Taoist texts.

At that time, Li Daoxuan saw an exquisite wooden box with its lid open on top of a pile of gold and silver. The jade pendant was inside the box, and the box had not decayed for a hundred years. He felt that this thing was extraordinary and fell in love with it at first sight. He even had a bet with Swallow Li San for it.

Li Daoxuan also studied this jade pendant for a long time, but still couldn't find out what its function was. He once asked Uncle Jiu about it, but Uncle Jiu said he didn't know either. In the end, he had to carry it with him along with the poinciana tree, waiting for a chance to look at it in the future.

Weighing the jade pendant in his hand, Li Daoxuan hesitated for a long time, and finally put it back.

This jade pendant is so well-made, and perhaps it has other uses that I haven't discovered yet. It's better not to use it now before I figure it out, so as not to waste it.

As for the piece of top-grade white jade given by Zhao Laosan, it was too precious and Li Daoxuan did not plan to use it now.

Li Daoxuan ordered his servant to bring a short sword that was slightly longer than the dagger. He then left the house and searched everywhere in the old house. Finally, he found a jade landscape ornament of a relatively ordinary texture, about half a foot high.

These past few days he has been refining the peach wood sword in front of the altar, burning three sticks of incense every day.

The originally yellowish surface of the peach wood sword is now whiter and as delicate as a woman's skin.

This is the appearance of a magical weapon filled with Qi, and it is also a manifestation of the increased power of the magical weapon.

After lighting the candles on the altar, Li Daoxuan put the gold bars and jade landscape ornaments together, and then drew out the dagger.

He placed the dagger on the fire to roast, then pinched his fingers and chanted: "Please ask the Flying Sword God to descend to the human world and kill people at will. Anyone who harms me will be punished. I will offer the Flying Sword to kill the evildoers. I follow the command of the Flying Sword Ancestor, and the divine weapon is as urgent as the law."

After he finished reciting it, he pointed at the dagger, and the candle flame burned along the dagger, leaving a pattern on it.

Seeing this, Li Daoxuan moved the dagger away from the candlelight and then cut the surface of the jade with the sword.

The short sword was extremely sharp at this moment and quickly cut the jade into several pieces.

He took the most essential part of the jade and cut it into the shape of a jade plaque.

Then he put the dagger back at his waist and held the wordless jade tablet in front of his eyes.

"It should be feasible." Li Daoxuan looked at the jade token and nodded, then picked up the gold bar.

He made a sword-like finger with his right hand, pointed it at the fire, and said, "Fire!"

I saw a ball of flame hovering on the finger, changing from bright orange to deep red.

(End of this chapter)