If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

. . . . . . . .

"Thump~ thump~ thump~~~~"

"Who?"

A questioning voice came from the courtyard.

“Auntie, it’s me, Zhou Wu.”

At this time, Niu Er should have already gone to work in the fields. Only his mother, Niu Zhangshi, and his younger sister were at home, so it's normal for the mother and daughter to be a little cautious.

"Oh, it's Xiao Wu. Come in and have a seat."

Upon hearing that it was Zhou Wu, Niu Zhangshi opened the door with relief and warmly invited him to come in and sit down.

"Auntie, has Niu Er gone to the fields?"

"Yes, I get up before dawn. It's too hot during the day, and it's cooler in the morning."

"Then I won't go in. I hunted a deer in the mountains this morning and will bring some to my aunt."

After saying that, Zhou Wu took out the deer leg. When Niu Zhangshi saw the large deer leg, she quickly declined.

"No, no, your family has had a hard time too, I can't accept it."

"Auntie, please accept it. If it weren't for you and Niu Er, I, Zhou Wu, don't know if I would still be alive today. If you don't accept it, wouldn't that be a slap in my face?"

Indeed, since his father's death, the original owner of Zhou Wu only knew how to study and had no life skills. If it weren't for the help of Niu Er's family, he probably would have followed his father long ago.

"Brother Wu, you're here! Wow, deer leg!"

Seeing their mother chatting animatedly with someone at the door, Niu Er and Niu Xiaoniu quickly followed her out. Unexpectedly, it was Brother Wu, and a large deer leg. This was incredibly attractive to Niu Xiaoniu, who hadn't had meat for several months.

"You brat."

Niu Xiaoniu stared intently at the deer leg, making Niu Zhangshi's face instantly flush with embarrassment.

"That's all for now, Auntie, I'm leaving."

Taking advantage of Niu Xiaoniu's distraction, Zhou Wu quickly shoved the deer leg into Zhang Niu's hand and hurried away.

. . . .

Zhou Wu then went to the village head's house.

It was already noon, but no one in the village raised any cooking fires, not even the village head.

"Dong dong dong."

"Hey, Scholar Zhou, what brings you here?"

Muramasa's surname was also Niu. He was an old man in his fifties. In fact, if we were to go back to Zhou Wu's time, fifty years old would not be considered old at all. But this was ancient times, when the average lifespan was only forty years. Muramasa, who was in his fifties, was already considered to be of advanced age and long life.

"Mr. Muramasa."

"Is something the matter, Scholar Zhou?"

The Zhou family were considered outsiders in Niujia Village, but the kind of bullying of outsiders that happened in the novel did not occur. On the contrary, the locals took good care of the Zhou family. Even after Zhou Wu's father died, they still often helped him. However, although he was the village head, his life was not easy.

The entire Niujia Village has only about a hundred people, mostly the elderly, women, and children. The able-bodied men have mostly died in the wars over the years, so it's easy to imagine that the situation in the entire Niujia Village is not good.

"We hunted a deer this morning. We usually get a lot of help from the village head."

After saying that, he took out the deer leg.

"Your family isn't doing well either, so there's no need for the deer leg. Just cook it and treat this old man to a meal."

"It is only right to invite Lord Muramasa to dinner, but please accept this deer leg."

Muramasa's wife, who was standing to the side, had long been unable to bear it any longer, fearing that her old man would turn away this good thing that had been delivered to his door.

"You old fool, Scholar Zhou is just trying to be kind. His family is so poor they can't even afford to eat. What are you pretending for?"

After finishing off his own old man, he immediately turned around and looked at Zhou Wu with a kind expression, taking the deer leg as he did so.

Speaking of Muramasa's wife, she was also a well-known figure in the surrounding area. Her way of doing things was completely opposite to Muramasa's. She loved to take advantage of others and spoke in a sharp and sarcastic manner. The couple quarreled for a lifetime.

"Scholar, come in and sit down."

After receiving the deer leg, the village head's wife quickly invited Zhou Wu inside. Zhou Wu had something to ask of her anyway, so he went inside as well.

"Scholar, have some water."

That's how the village head's wife is. If she takes advantage of someone, she'll greet them with a smile. But if someone offends her, she'll instantly turn into a shrew and yell at them all night long.

"Thank you, aunt."

"Scholars are just being polite. You two keep chatting."

As if afraid that Zhou Wu would change his mind, the village head's wife quickly grabbed the deer leg and went into the inner room to hide.

"Lord Muramasa, I have a small favor to ask you for."

"Hehe, I knew you'd come to see me, haha, tell me."

Muramasa's bluntness made Zhou Wu feel a little embarrassed.

"I want to start a new endeavor."

"You want to start a new project?"

Because of its vast land and sparse population, the Great Dragon Dynasty had very relaxed regulations regarding land reclamation. Villagers only needed to register with the village head to legally reclaim land. However, this law only applied to the citizens of the Great Dragon Empire. For unregistered refugees, it was a different story. Refugees could only become tenant farmers, cultivating land for others. Any attempt to reclaim land at will would at least result in military service or exile.

Therefore, many powerful and wealthy people and landlords used various means to turn ordinary people into vagrants, so that they could expand their tenant households and the rich would become richer and richer.

"Yes, there's an extra person in the family now, and they're just sitting around doing nothing all day."

The news of Zhou Wu's wife coming to their door has spread throughout the village, but everyone is still struggling to make ends meet, so they are only slightly curious about this kind of gossip.

"I've heard about your husband's situation, but it's good that you've changed a lot since your wife came. That's a good thing. I'll come over tomorrow to take your measurements and make sure everything is taken care of."

The villagers' willingness to reclaim wasteland is a good thing for the village head, since no one wants to see people starving to death in their village.

"Thank you, Lord Muramasa. I won't bother you any longer."

After delivering the gift and finishing his business, Zhou Wu left cleanly and efficiently. Why would he stay for dinner?

"Oh, the scholar's leaving already? Why don't you eat before you go?"

Upon hearing that Zhou Wu was leaving, the village head's wife quickly came out to greet him. However, if Zhou Wu dared to stay for dinner, she would probably witness once again what it means to change one's attitude.

"No need for you to trouble yourself, Auntie. There are people waiting at home."

"Oh dear, yes, the scholar is a married man now, haha."

Zhou Wu remained silent in the face of the teasing. That's how it is in the countryside; the more you explain, the more teasing you get.

Seeing that there was still some time, Zhou Wu went up the mountain to check the remaining traps and caught a rabbit, two pheasants, and a monkey.

Zhou Wu quickly took the monkey out of the trap. The monkey was still baring its teeth at Zhou Wu. Monkeys are primates, and Zhou Wu felt very uncomfortable with it, so he just released it.

"Now Bai Wei won't complain about having nothing to do."

After loading his prey into his basket, Zhou Wu hurried home. However, just as he descended the mountain, he encountered a man at the village entrance whom everyone in the village avoided.