Mission accomplished

Looking at the rice jar that was almost empty, Zhao Dongchuan wondered if he should go find Secretary Tian tomorrow to borrow some grain from the brigade or buy some.

Soon, Zhao Dongchuan dismissed the idea, deciding to wait until tomorrow to see what the “Newbie Gift Pack” would drop.

Thinking of this, Zhao Dongchuan washed up and prepared for bed.

He lay in bed, recalling the events and gains and losses of the past few days, wondering if he had been careful enough in his words and actions, or if he should have handled things differently, and slowly drifted off to sleep with these jumbled thoughts.

The next day, Zhao Dongchuan woke up at dawn, unable to help it, his mind preoccupied with the task.

Zhao Dongchuan got dressed and out of bed, skipping washing up and breakfast, and went straight out.

The sky was still grey, the sun hadn't risen yet, and the wind howled, making it quite cold.

Zhao Dongchuan tightened his clothes, hunched his neck, and walked along the Dongla River.

He crossed the Kuyan Bridge and arrived at Jinjiawan, opposite Tianjia Gela.

Last night, he carefully recalled the original novel, which mentioned a detail: in Jinjiawan, wealthy families used to be more common, and their broken porcelain was often fine and beautiful, glazed with lovely patterns.

Now, with the cold weather and withered grass, it would be easy to find.

So, to increase the success rate of the task, Zhao Dongchuan came to Jinjiawan early in the morning, taking advantage of the fact that everyone was still asleep, so he wouldn't be seen.

Zhao Dongchuan took a branch he found by the roadside and began to rake through the grass, exploring along Jinjiawan.

Soon, Zhao Dongchuan found a piece of porcelain with exquisite glazed patterns, which looked like the waist of a large vase.

These items often came in clusters; if one piece was found, many more would appear nearby.

Sure enough, Zhao Dongchuan quickly found more porcelain pieces with exquisite patterns in the nearby grass.

With the two pieces he found today, plus the eight from yesterday, he should be able to complete the task.

However, to be safe, Zhao Dongchuan continued to search for a few more pieces of porcelain with similar beautiful patterns.

Once he felt secure, Zhao Dongchuan decisively stopped searching.

He threw away the branch, clutching several porcelain pieces in his hand, and prepared to go find Tian Er to hand over the task.

He hadn't walked many steps before he heard someone calling him from behind.

"Young man, wait a moment!"

Zhao Dongchuan turned around to see a man in his forties, broad-shouldered and stout, with a pair of piercing, bell-like eyes.

Zhao Dongchuan hadn't expected to encounter anyone so early.

The people of Jinjiawan must wake up very early.

As the man approached, Zhao Dongchuan greeted him, saying, "Hello, big brother, why are you calling me?"

"You don't recognize me? I know you! You're the educated youth from the city.

I'm Jin Junwu, the captain of the Second Brigade.

I saw you from a distance just now, rummaging through the grass.

What were you looking for?"

"Oh, it's Brother Junwu! I know you, you're one of the most capable people in Shuangshui Village!"

"Oh, yes, that's it.

I heard there are some very pretty porcelain shards in the grass in Jinjiawan, so I thought I'd come and look for a few to take home, wash them, and use them as decorations."

As he spoke, Zhao Dongchuan extended his right hand, palm open, revealing the exquisite porcelain pieces.

"You're quite a man of leisure, young one.

Our kids also like to pick these up and play with them; we have quite a few at home.

If you want some, I can find some good ones for you."

"No need, it's no trouble.

I just wanted to find a few to look at; I don't need that many.

Thank you, Brother Junwu."

"Brother Junwu, where are you off to so early?" Zhao Dongchuan asked.

"I get up early to cut some pig fodder, so it doesn't delay my morning work," Jin Junwu said, raising the sickle in his hand.

"Alright, then you go ahead and get busy.

I also need to go back for breakfast and prepare for work."

Watching Zhao Dongchuan's departing back, Jin Junwu muttered to himself, "City folks are so sentimental, always messing with these flashy, useless things that can't be eaten."

At this moment, Zhao Dongchuan didn't know that Jin Junwu was complaining about him behind his back, but even if he did, he probably wouldn't have the mind to care.

He was currently overjoyed and excited, wishing he could instantly teleport to Tian Er's side and quickly complete the task.

But often, the closer it got to the final moment, the more prone things were to go wrong.

Zhao Dongchuan arrived at the entrance of Tian Er's dark cave dwelling, covering his nose and mouth, enduring the foul smell, only to find no one inside when he entered.

Zhao Dongchuan's heart felt utterly cold at that moment.

If he's not home, where could he be?

Could he have gone wandering?

Zhao Dongchuan looked frustrated; the task deadline was almost upon him.

He needed to act fast, find Tian Er quickly, and hope no unexpected problems arose.

So, Zhao Dongchuan immediately scoured the village, going to places where Tian Er might be.

By now, some of the early risers were already up, and many looked at him strangely, wondering why the village's only educated youth was wandering around.

Zhao Dongchuan sometimes asked people if they had seen Tian Er.

Although the villagers found it strange that he was looking for Tian Er, those who had seen him would help point him in the right direction.

Zhao Dongchuan followed the directions given by the villagers, and after much searching, sweating all over, he finally found Tian Er in a mountain hollow.

At this moment, Tian Er was muttering, "Times are changing! Times are changing!" while raking through the grass.

Beside him was a sturdy, simple-minded man, his son.

Although Tian Er's simple-minded son was slow-witted, he had a strong, simple-minded drive, and working in the mountains every day allowed them to barely sustain their lives.

Zhao Dongchuan was panting heavily at this point.

To find Tian Er, he had basically run all over Shuangshui Village.

He no longer cared about the smell coming from the father and son, and he pulled out the exquisite porcelain pieces, handing them to Tian Er.

Tian Er slowly looked up, not taking the pieces, but staring intently at Zhao Dongchuan, a mysterious smile on his face, saying, "Times are changing! Times are changing!" There was a light in his eyes.

Setting aside his disheveled appearance, Tian Er truly had the air of a reclusive master.

An absurd thought involuntarily arose in Zhao Dongchuan's mind: "Could this Tian Er really be the 'immortal' from the legendary Shenxian Mountain behind Shuangshui Village, now traveling in the human world?"

Zhao Dongchuan quickly extinguished this ridiculous idea.

Regardless, completing the task was paramount.

At this point, Zhao Dongchuan couldn't bother with anything else; he directly grabbed Tian Er's arm and put the porcelain pieces into Tian Er's overcoat pocket.

"Ding, congratulations, Host, you have completed the Newbie Task and received ten chances to draw."

"Ding, Host can activate the draw at any time."

Seeing the status of the task in his mind's taskbar change to 'Completed' and his draw chances become 10, Zhao Dongchuan couldn't help but shed tears.

Finally, his hard days were over.

Although he had appeared calm these past few days, deep down, he had been filled with uncertainty and unease.

At this moment, Zhao Dongchuan no longer paid attention to Tian Er and his son.

He rushed home in a hurry; he wanted to go home and thoroughly study the system draw.

Tian Er still had his characteristic mysterious smile on his face at this time, watching Zhao Dongchuan leave, and saying, "Times are changing! Times are changing!"