A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 55: Eighteen Years Old

Another new year arrived, bringing fresh beginnings and new prospects. Ergouzi had turned eighteen.

This Spring Festival, he wasn't celebrating alone but with over 300 people in lively companionship. Due to the famine, they couldn't purchase pork, so Ergouzi caught several large fish from his gourd and prepared a massive pot of fish stew with dried wild vegetables.

Everyone even fished out the fish scales and bones from the broth, chewing and swallowing every last bit without wasting a single morsel.

During the previous winter, he had made continuous purchases, acquiring over 300 people in one go. Half were children under ten—the cheapest labor since they couldn't do much work, most bought for just a couple of pecks of grain.

Among them were over fifty unmarried young women, fifty married women, and only thirty-odd male laborers.

When families fell into dire straits, women and children were always the first to be sold.

Despite buying so many people, the total cost didn't even reach 1,000 taels of silver. Purchasing them was cheap, but feeding 300 mouths required substantial amounts of grain. Even with strict rationing, they consumed a full dan (about 60kg) of rice daily. The few dozen dan stored in his warehouse wouldn't last long.

To address this, he ventured into the black market and bought another 200 dan of grain. Originally costing over 1,000 taels, he used refined silver and spent only a little over ten taels. For Ergouzi, this wasn't a significant expense.

With such a large group idle, it wasn't suitable to leave them without tasks. After several days of meals, their strength gradually returned. After careful consideration, Ergouzi decided they would dig clay to make mud bricks and build houses—houses they would live in themselves.

He selected several elevated fields as the digging site. Excavating these plots would also allow him to convert them into ponds for water storage and fish farming.

During the recent drought, Ding Family Village in Anchang County was the only place unaffected, enjoying a normal harvest—all thanks to their massive mountaintop reservoir that stored water for irrigation during dry spells.

Ergouzi didn't have as much land as Ding Family Village, but by converting five mu into ponds, he could ensure irrigation for his few dozen mu of fields.

Since last winter had been snowless, another drought was inevitable this year. Thus, after the New Year celebrations, everyone resumed digging clay for bricks and excavating ponds, working with enthusiastic vigor.

These people all came from impoverished backgrounds—not a single one was lazy. As long as they were fed, they feared neither hardship nor exhaustion.

Though the New Year had just passed, the weather remained bitterly cold. Adults dug soil and carried water while children chopped straw and mixed it into the mud, then trampled it barefoot until the mixture became soft and free of clumps or stones. Only then was it packed into wooden molds to form adobe bricks.

After drying, children transported the bricks while adults built walls. With over 300 people working simultaneously, efficiency was remarkably high—two adobe houses had already been completed before the New Year.

The roofs were temporarily thatched with multiple layers of straw, sealed with mud. Ergouzi only occasionally checked on the construction, not participating directly.

His days were spent farming on the mountain, cultivating his skills, and studying. His Rejuvenation Technique had reached a high level of proficiency—each use now expelled some poisoned blood from his wounds.

Five daily sessions of the Rejuvenation Technique, combined with antidote pills, had purged most of the corpse poison from his system. At this rate, he could save that precious Antidote Pill for later.

One day, he prepared another batch of Strength Pills and headed to the county town.

Since discovering that refined silver could be used in the black market, selling Strength Pills was no longer necessary for income. But while he didn't need the money, Sima Yi still relied on selling them for profit.

With refugees increasing daily, even thin gruel required substantial grain reserves.

A long queue still stretched outside Huichun Hall. Ergouzi waited until nightfall before entering.

"Ergou, perfect timing—I have good news for you," Sima Yi said with a smile upon seeing him.

"What news?" Ergouzi couldn't imagine any good news in these times.

"Remember that vial of Drought Demon corpse poison you obtained last time?"

"Of course. You submitted it to the county office for me."

Having long lost faith in the county officials, Ergouzi was surprised to hear this might actually yield results.

"The county office felt incapable of handling the Drought Demon, so they forwarded the vial to the prefectural capital. With numerous experts there skilled in tracking, they actually located a cult stronghold using that sample."

"Prefectural authorities dispatched experts to eradicate the cult, killing three Foundation Establishment leaders and dozens of Qi Condensation followers on the spot."

"This major achievement was reported to the imperial court. Both the prefecture and county will receive credit, and though you didn't participate, you should also be rewarded. The awards should arrive soon."

Ergouzi never imagined the government could be so terrifyingly effective beyond just extorting civilians. Eliminating three Foundation Establishment cultivators and dozens of Qi Condensation practitioners in one battle was astounding—considering Anchang County currently had zero Foundation Establishment experts, who were practically legendary beings.

"However," Sima Yi added, "the zombie with Drought Demon bloodline escaped. The vial you submitted has been exhausted, so tracking it now is impossible."

As expected—too much hope was unwise.

"What level was that zombie? Isn't it more dangerous now that it's roaming freely?" Ergouzi felt they'd stirred up a hornet's nest. A powerhouse of that caliber, unrestrained, would be unstoppable locally.

"Rumored to possess Drought Demon lineage, its strength likely surpasses ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. During the siege, it tore apart one Foundation Establishment expert before breaking through the encirclement."

Having personally experienced a zombie's strength—the one he'd encountered previously matched him in power—Ergouzi understood the threat.

"Alright, what rewards will the government give me?" he asked curiously, focusing on tangible benefits rather than distant zombie threats.

"I heard the prefectural leaders were promoted, while others received medicinal pills. We should get one or two pills here too."

"Pills?" Now Ergouzi's interest was genuinely piqued.

After chatting longer with Sima Yi, Ergouzi left Huichun Hall for the black market, where he sold a large sack of red dates for over 1,000 taels. Cultivators' money remained easiest to earn—anything remotely spiritual skyrocketed in value.

As he exited a grain store, a street vendor's call caught his attention at a corner stall:

"Esteemed customer, authentic medicinal pills for sale!"

Ergouzi was skeptical—since when could genuine pills be bought from street stalls?

"You actually sell real pills here? They're not fake, are they?"

"Absolutely genuine! See for yourself." The vendor produced a white jade vial, pouring out a crystalline blood-red pill.

"Smell that rich spiritual energy! Only with this year's plummeting ingredient prices could such quality be so affordable. One pill equals a year of meditation!"

"Just 1,000 Peiyuan Gutben Pills per exchange, or equivalent spiritual items."

As the vendor enthusiastically promoted his wares—1,000 Peiyuan Gutben Pills being worth 10,000 taels—Ergouzi inquired earnestly while offering a large bottle of Peiyuan Gutben Pills:

"May I ask where these pills are sourced from?"

The wary vendor immediately pocketed the Blood Marrow Pill.

"If you're not buying, don't interrupt my business."

Finding nothing else noteworthy after circling the market, Ergouzi left and hurried back to Shekou Mountain overnight.

The journey from Shekou Mountain to the county town, which once took a full day's walk before his cultivation, now required only half a day using his Wind Riding Technique. Unless urgent, he preferred traveling at a normal pace.

Along the way, he encountered numerous refugees heading toward Ding Family Village. Mingling among them, he learned that Village Head Ding was being praised as a great philanthropist for distributing porridge and recruiting laborers to repair their reservoir.

Additionally, Ding Family Village sought strong men for guard duty. Having visited before, Ergouzi knew the village was so secure it didn't even need closed doors at night—guarding the single mountain pass entrance made additional guards redundant.

Hearing of these efforts deepened Ergouzi's respect for Village Head Ding. Compared to such large-scale benevolence feeding thousands, his and Sima Yi's efforts seemed childish.

With only fifty mu of land, matching Ding Family Village's scale was impossible. Other village lands were controlled by Zhang Youliang. However, beyond Shekou Mountain lay vast wilderness where Ergouzi often gathered firewood—over ten li of uninhabited territory reportedly owned by some county noble.

These nobles habitually hoarded land for future generations. Perhaps Sima Yi could inquire about purchasing it.

Returning to Shekou Mountain's peak, Ergouzi gazed at the wild mountains behind. Emulating Ding Family Village, he could build a large reservoir between those mountains and flatten lower areas into fertile fields. Labor was cheap now—just a meal would suffice.

But without owning the land, these remained mere thoughts.

In the following days, Ergouzi continued cultivating on the mountain. The corpse poison was nearly purged from his system, though its lingering effects had stalled his progress.

However, his control over that sword technique projecting True Qi had significantly improved. Previously, each use drained his dantian completely—gathering all his True Qi into one overwhelmingly powerful strike that left him utterly vulnerable afterward.

Through relentless practice, he'd advanced further. Now he could release a sword beam from his blade, consuming only half his True Qi. This beam could fly rapidly to strike distant targets. Though less powerful than his full-force attack, it was incredibly sharp, and he retained some energy afterward.

These were developments he'd painstakingly deduced from his master's teachings. However, his sword beam's dazzling light paled compared to his master's effortless, invisible True Qi projections.

Youthful imagination sparked another idea—what if he rode his giant goose, launching sword beams at enemies from above? He could attack while remaining out of reach.

Limited to only two beams currently, he considered supplementing with thrown daggers or stones—even inaccurate, the enemy's inability to retaliate would be infuriating.

Among his recent purchases were several strong men who could learn blacksmithing to forge weapons. But when he showed them his "Hundred Weapons Manual," none could read—nor could any women or children among the 300.

With cultivation demanding his time, teaching literacy and smithing was impossible.

As Ergouzi pondered this dilemma, Huang Laocai appeared before him, swaying slightly.

Renowned in the village for literacy and calculation, Huang Laocai had traditionally named villagers' children. That Ergouzi owed him 110 taels annually demonstrated his financial acumen—this debt ensured Huang's family wouldn't starve for twenty years.

"Huang Laocai, could you do me a favor?"

"Master Zhang, your wish is my command." Huang Laocai bowed with clasped hands, his once-proud demeanor now perpetually humble since his family's downfall—especially toward Ergouzi.

In truth, his fear was unnecessary—Ergouzi believed debts should be repaid and wasn't the type to kill creditors.

"Could you teach this book to some of my men?"

Huang Laocai flipped through the "Hundred Weapons Manual," his aged eyes glinting.

"Master Zhang, are you training blacksmiths to forge weapons?"

"Yes. I want swords and such, but none of these hundreds can read."

"My eyesight fails me now. How about my son Huang Fugui assisting instead? If you'd accept him as an apprentice smith, it would be his honor."

Huang Laocai's humility didn't diminish his shrewdness. This manual—obtained from that plump youth—contained weapon-forging secrets that could establish a livelihood.

Too old for hammering, he proposed his son instead, simultaneously securing Ergouzi's patronage.

Ergouzi had no objections—knowing Huang Fugui since childhood was preferable.