The sacred tree is about to pass, and the cannon fodder's wish countdown is coming

Lu Shi was up early in the morning, washing up. Qi Qi was also forced to get up early. He had sold out his entire day for a bite of rabbit meat last night.

After stuffing all the things he needed to take with him to Qi Qi, Lu Shi went out with light luggage.

"Xiaoxiao, why did you go out so early today? Are you feeling better?"

"I feel much better now. I've been lying at home for more than half a month. I have to go to town to replenish my energy."

When they met Aunt Liu on the road, they started chatting about family matters.

"What a coincidence! Your brother Dazhuang's wife just gave birth, and I went to town to buy some nourishment for her."

Aunt Liu's daughter-in-law just gave birth to a son a few days ago. Giving birth these days is like walking through the gates of hell, so she really needs to be well nourished.

Lu Shi nodded.

At this time, Aunt Liu noticed Qi Qi standing aside.

"Little boy, where did the guy next to you come from?"

The village wasn't big, so Aunt Liu was a bit curious about the stranger. Everyone knew Lu Shi's family situation, so it wasn't likely they were related.

Lu Shi didn't intend to lie to her, but he still polished his words.

"Two nights ago, he and his brother collapsed at my doorstep, so I saved them. We can't just stand by and watch them die.

You know, I'm not in good health, and they can help me with some work at home.

His brother hasn't recovered yet and is still lying down. I guess he'll pass away soon after he recovers."

Saving a life is better than building several pagodas. Aunt Liu is not well educated, but she has good eyesight. What she saw was that Qi Qi was holding everything, while Lu Shi had nothing in his hands.

This young man is strong and will have someone to rely on when he grows up.

Although Aunt Liu's imagination had gone astray, she still had some sanity left.

"Little boy, I know you have a good heart, but you have to be careful in everything." Aunt Liu hinted at something.

"Well, don't worry about that. I've been through this for so many years, and there's no way I'd joke about this."

Both of them were playing charades. Now, perhaps only some children in the village didn't know that the original owner was a girl, and they were afraid that the children would not keep their mouths shut and easily reveal the truth.

Ever since the village registered him as a male household, apart from the ones already known, no one knew about the subsequent new population.

The village chief warned the villagers not to let more people know, as the more people knew, the greater the risk. It was originally a trivial matter, but since the original owner decided to take the imperial examination, it became crucial.

No matter how great Lu Shi's achievements were, or how serious the consequences would be if he were to be exposed later, as long as the villagers kept quiet and pretended not to know, they wouldn't be held responsible. Therefore, whether for Lu Shi's sake or their own, they wouldn't reveal a single word.

Qi Qi, who was standing next to the two of them, kicked the stones at his feet from time to time, with an honest and simple look on his face.

"Don't worry, Auntie. My brother and I came here from South City. We took refuge here because of the flood there a few days ago. Fortunately, Brother Lu is kind, otherwise we would have died. In this situation, I can't possibly harm Brother Lu. Wouldn't that be ungrateful?"

"It's a good thing you think so."

Aunt Liu knew that there was a flood in South City, and considering Qi Qi's deliberate accent when he spoke, Aunt Liu didn't think much of it.

"Just follow Xiao Shi. He's the only successful candidate in the imperial examination in our area. He's incredibly valuable and has a bright future ahead of him."

The original owner was the only juren here and also the top scorer in the provincial examination. This made the villagers of Changping Village very proud, and they would show off when they met people from other villages.

As Aunt Liu showed off, she couldn't help but raise her thumb.

"Of course, of course."

Just a few minutes away from the village entrance, the three of them were talking and laughing.

"arrive."

There were already a few people gathered at the entrance of the village, and Uncle Niu happened to arrive pulling a ox cart.

Aunt Liu grabbed Lu Shi's wrist and squeezed onto the ox cart nimbly.

This action shocked the usually calm Lu Shi, as the care came so suddenly.

After the remaining people boarded the oxcart, a large-scale chat ensued. Lu Shi attracted the attention of everyone on the car.

The villagers chattered and asked about Lu Shi's recent situation, one after another, it was very lively.

Lu Shi looked at them quietly with a smile on his face. The villagers were talking too fast and even he, the protagonist of the topic, couldn't get a word in.

Fortunately, Aunt Liu next to him was a chatterbox. Knowing that the original owner could not handle these people, she took the initiative to "debate with the scholars" on behalf of Lu Shi, and Qi Qi, who was a stranger on the side, also attracted a lot of fire for him.

After arriving in the town, they agreed on a time with Uncle Niu and left one after another.

Qi Qi's burden mainly came from some calligraphy and paintings, so the two of them first came to the bookstore.

The bookshop owner, who was familiar with Lu Shi, offered a high price of 20 taels for a few of the calligraphy and paintings. After selling the remaining dates to the restaurant, Qi Qi finally felt relieved of his burden.

Next is Lu Shi’s shopping time.

Lu Shi first took Qi Qi to the rice shop, bought two bags of refined rice, one bag of brown rice and a bag of flour, and then went to the clothing store to buy himself some clothes.

On the way, Lu Shi felt guilty. He thought that he couldn't let the two people in his family wear those tattered clothes all the time, so he generously took two pieces of cloth with him.

What? You said you bought cloth because it was more cost-effective!

Anyway, that guy lies in bed every day with nothing to do and can't move his body, but he can at least do the work with his hands!

Lu Shi is always good at making the best use of talents.

After deducting the previous expenses, Lu Shi's total belongings still amounted to 70 taels of silver, including 10 taels of inheritance left by the original owner and 50 taels of Qi Qi's private money.

Well, the main responsibility lies with Qi Qi.

For Lu Shi, money was not a problem he was worried about at all. The main difficulty was to ensure that the villagers who helped the original owner could also live a good life. Even after becoming an official, he had to ensure that the common people had enough food and clothing.

In the short term, he has no idea how to help the villagers get out of poverty.

"that……"

"Hmm?" Lu Shi looked up.

"Hey, Brother Lu, could you lend me some silver so I can buy some medicinal herbs for my young master?"

The wool is pulled from the sheep.

That guy's illness was not simple. Lu Shi quickly threw away two taels of silver.

Lu Shi waited quietly at the door of the drugstore. When he looked around, his eyes stopped on the plaque in front of the drugstore.

"Spiritual Pill Pavilion."

Lu Shi suddenly had an idea, and an idea came to his mind! But there was no rush now. He had to go back and make a detailed plan before discussing it with the villagers.

Any road to wealth requires capital. As for the place where money can be made the fastest, a tall building comes into view not far away.

The fastest way to make money is, of course, the gambling house.

"Brother Lu, let's go. I've bought the medicine."

"Ah."

Lu Shi withdrew his gaze.

The two bought some ingredients and seasonings along the way and followed the group back to the village.

The rice shop's delivery cart arrived home before them. Qi Jin, the only living person in the house, was directing the shop assistants to unload the goods.

Their eyes met. This was the first time they had met officially. Lu Shi suddenly realized that this person was quite good-looking.

The man leaned weakly against the door, his face, still recovering from a serious illness, was as pale as snow, with only the red on his lips adorning it.

Lu Shi's gaze was uncontrollably focused on the red. She was pretty, but she looked even more fragile than the original owner.

But he was not interested in playing the childish game of "you look at me, I look at you" with him now.

So what Qi Jin saw was that the young man didn't even bother to look at him and hurried into the room.

Did he really dislike him so much? Qi Jin touched his face with a little doubt, then let it go.

Since the other person is not a woman, it is normal that his charm is useless.