Courtyard House: After disbanding the Elderly Care Gang, I went to the countryside to cultivate immo

At dawn, the crowing of the village roosters woke Lin Shengli from his dream.

Although he was crammed onto a dilapidated earthen bed, he slept soundly.

After Lin Shengli woke up, he looked at the two little ones, Shuanzi and Yadan, and found that they were sleeping soundly.

After getting up, dressing, and stretching, I heard Grandma Hu Liu busy at the stove in the next room, with the faint sounds of pots and pans clattering.

Lifting the worn-out curtain, Lin Shengli greeted Grandma Hu Liu: "Grandma, why are you up so early!"

"Shengli, get up!" Grandma Hu replied casually while busy with her chores. "When you get old, you don't need much sleep. How did you sleep last night? Did the two little ones wake you up?"

Lin Shengli sat by the stove, helping Grandma Hu Liu tend the fire. He had done this job for many years when he was a child in his previous life.

"Grandma, I slept well, and the two little ones were very quiet."

Watching Grandma Hu Liu's busy figure, Lin Shengli missed his grandmother from his previous life. In his previous life, his family was not well-off, and he slept with his grandparents since he was a child.

Lin Shengli's grandfather passed away early, and every night before going to bed, he would ask his grandmother to scratch his back for several tens of minutes until he fell asleep.

After his grandmother and parents passed away one after another, Lin Shengli became a lonely man.

After arriving in this world, Lin Shengli met many people, but he always felt somewhat detached and had not integrated well into this world.

Helping Shazhu and Li Kuiyong was simply a matter of doing a daily task in this world.

But looking at Grandma Hu's figure, Lin Shengli suddenly felt a sense of belonging to this world.

Looking at the flickering flames in the stove, Lin Shengli felt that the bottleneck in his breakthrough to the mid-stage of Qi Refining had loosened slightly.

Suppressing his thoughts, Lin Shengli chatted casually with Grandma Hu Liu while tending the fire.

Soon, Grandma Hu Liu finished cooking cornmeal porridge. Lin Shengli helped carry it to his bedroom and placed it on a somewhat old table. Grandma Hu Liu went over and gently woke up Shuanzi and Yadan.

The two little ones rubbed their sleepy eyes, obediently got dressed, and came downstairs to eat.

"Shengli, eat up! You have to go to the cornfield to pull weeds every morning these days. You can't keep going if you don't eat your fill," Grandma Hu urged when she saw Lin Shengli sitting at the table without moving.

Lin Shengli picked up the corn porridge, blew on it a few times, and slowly drank it down.

Lin Shengli drank a large bowl, scraping the bottom of the bowl clean—a sign of respect for the food of this era, and also to show Grandma Hu Liu. He noticed that Shuanzi and Yadan's porridge was noticeably thinner, and sighed inwardly.

After finishing her meal, Grandma Hu wrapped two cornbread buns mixed with wild vegetables in an old handkerchief and handed them to Lin Shengli: "Take this with you, in case you get hungry."

Lin Shengli accepted the steamed bun without hesitation, saying, "Thank you, Grandma."

Stepping out of the courtyard, a refreshing chill hits you.

Although it is already the sixth month of the lunar calendar, the temperature in the northeastern mountainous areas is still not very high in the early morning.

The village was bustling with activity as villagers, in twos and threes, carried their farm tools toward the team headquarters. Most of them wore drab, patched shirts, their faces bearing the marks of years of hard work.

Li Kuiyong, Jiang Yuanchao, and Wei Min also arrived at the open space in front of the team headquarters one after another.

The four of them met up, looked each other over, and saw a hint of novelty and trepidation in each other's eyes.

"How did you sleep?" Li Kuiyong asked Lin Shengli. He looked alright, but there were faint dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept well in the unfamiliar environment.

"It's alright, Grandma Hu's family is very nice," Lin Shengli said with a smile, then asked about Jiang Yuanchao and Wei Min.

Jiang Yuanchao has the typical appearance of a southerner, with fair skin. At this moment, his nose is red from the cold, and he speaks with a soft Shanghai accent: "I'm alright, it's just that the kang (heated brick bed) is too hard, it's uncomfortable." He lives in the Wang family's house at the west end of the village. His family is large, and their living conditions are better than those of Grandma Hu Liu's family.

Wei Minze is dark-skinned, thin, and wiry. Speaking in Sichuan dialect, he said, "It's alright, but it's quite cool at night, much cooler than where we are!" He lives in the middle of the village in a house belonging to a family surnamed Hu.

As they were talking, Captain Hu Guangming walked over with his hands behind his back.

He wore a slightly neater old military uniform today, still with a serious expression, followed by several production team leaders.

"Is everyone here?" Hu Guangming glanced at the dozens of commune members and four newly arrived educated youth. "Today, our second and third teams are tasked with clearing weeds and loosening the soil on the slope behind the gully in preparation for planting late potatoes in a few days. Educated youth comrades, please follow Hu Changgui, the team leader of the second team."

Lin Shengli thought to himself, "Sure enough, weeding is an 'easy' job that these grown men can't do. It's probably a task reserved for the women and children in the village."

A man in his forties with a dark complexion and chapped lips stepped forward, nodded to Lin Shengli and the others, and said, "I am Hu Changgui. You four, come with me."

The group set off. Leaving the village, they followed a worn dirt path into the ravine. On both sides of the path were forests that had already turned green again, mainly oak, birch, and pine trees; the air was fresh and crisp.

After walking for about half an hour, a sunny, gently sloping area appeared before us. It was quite large, but overgrown with weeds and interspersed with last year's crop stubble.

Hu Changgui assigned tasks to everyone: "The male laborers will use hoes to shovel grass and clear stubble, and the female laborers will use rakes to gather the shoveled grass together and pile it at the edge of the field. The educated youth comrades..." He looked at Lin Shengli and the others, "You can follow along and learn first. It's okay to work slowly, just be careful not to hurt yourselves or others."

Lin Shengli and his three companions received farm tools—four hoes, the old-fashioned kind with long wooden handles, which were quite heavy.

Hu Changgui personally demonstrated: "Watch carefully, keep your feet firmly planted, keep your back straight but not stiff, use skill to swing the hoe, use your wrist to guide the movement, don't just rely on your arms to exert force, aim at the grass roots or stubble roots, one swing at a time, be careful not to hurt anyone."

With practiced skill, he swung the hoe down, uprooting a large clump of grass and sending soil flying.

It looks simple, but Lin Shengli knows there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.

In his past life, he had done similar work when he was a child. In elementary school, his class organized everyone to grow vegetables on campus to feed the teachers. There was an incident where a classmate accidentally hit another classmate on the head with a hoe, causing a large gash. Fortunately, the elementary school students were not strong enough, otherwise someone would have died on the spot.

The members had already dispersed and started working.

The men took off their outer clothes, leaving only their shirts or vests, and picked up their hoes, soon creating a rhythmic "ch-ch" sound in the fields.

The women followed behind, deftly rake the grass, their laughter and chatter ringing out from time to time.

Lin Shengli took a deep breath and walked to the plot of land assigned to him.

He didn't immediately use brute force. Instead, he carefully recalled the feeling of working in his previous life. Then, he gripped the hoe handle, channeled a trace of spiritual energy into his arms, and swung it down heavily.

"Snap!" The hoe easily entered the soil, uprooting a stubborn patch of "lala vines" and pulling up a small clump of soil. The force was controlled just right, clean and efficient, without wasting energy by over-digging.

An older commune member glanced at him and said with some surprise, "Wow, this young educated youth is quick to pick things up, he's got the hang of it."

Lin Shengli smiled and said, "Sir, please give me your guidance."

He deliberately controlled his speed and strength, making himself look like an ordinary young man who was slightly strong and quick to learn.

Even so, his efficiency quickly caught up with that of ordinary employees, and his movements were standard and he showed no signs of fatigue.

Li Kuiyong was having some trouble. Although he was a good fighter, he had never done farm work before. After a few moves, he felt numbness in his hands and back, his movements became distorted, and he started sweating.

Jiang Yuanchao, who came from Shanghai, fared even worse. He gritted his teeth and dug, one stroke at a time. It felt like he wasn't digging the ground, but rather trying to kill his enemy with a hoe. Before long, his back ached, and blisters appeared on his hands. He was in so much pain that he grimaced.

Wei Min had the tenacity of a Sichuan boy, digging away with his head down, clumsy and inefficient, but he persisted without stopping.

Hu Changgui would come over from time to time to check on things and offer some pointers. Seeing that Lin Shengli was doing a decent job, he showed a hint of approval in his eyes and became more patient with the other three.

As the sun rose higher and the temperature warmed up, after working for about an hour, the whistle blew, signaling it was time for a break.

The commune members went to the shade of the trees at the edge of the field, some smoking, some drinking water.

Lin Shengli walked over to Li Kuiyong and handed him a water bottle—it contained ordinary cooled boiled water mixed with a trace amount of spiritual spring water. "Drink some water and rest."

Li Kuiyong took it, gulped down several mouthfuls, and let out a long sigh: "This job is really not as simple as it looks. Shengli, how did you do it so well?"

"Maybe I'm a bit stronger, and I've seen others do it before," Lin Shengli mumbled, taking a sip of water. The spring water brought a cool and refreshing sensation, dispelling his slight fatigue.

He looked at Jiang Yuanchao and Wei Min. Jiang Yuanchao was looking at the blisters on his hands with worry, while Wei Min was leaning against a tree trunk, panting and pale.

This scene was witnessed by several commune members not far away. A sturdy young man named Hu Dashan muttered, "City people are so pampered. They can't even do a little work without complaining."

An older commune member next to him, Hu Laonian, puffed on his pipe and said, "Say less. Everyone has to start something. I think that educated youth surnamed Lin is quite good."

The break was short; the whistle blew again, and everyone went back to the fields to continue working.

Around noon, the accountant came over, looked at everyone's work, and recorded their work points.

Although Lin Shengli didn't do an outstanding job in the morning, he still got five work points. Li Kuiyong and Wei Min both got four, while Jiang Yuanchao fared worse, only getting three.

Most of the villagers received five points, and some even received six points.

After work, the accountant took the four educated youths to the brigade headquarters and distributed fifty catties of grain to each of them, seventy percent of which were coarse grains such as corn and sweet potatoes.

Lin Shengli and his companions carried the grain back to the homes of the villagers where they were staying.

After handing the grain over to Grandma Hu Liu, I ate a little something for lunch.

The afternoon's work was even more demanding on endurance; the sun was so intense it made you dizzy, and the repetitive mechanical movements caused muscle soreness.

Jiang Yuanchao was almost at his limit, Wei Min was gritting his teeth and persevering, and Li Kuiyong was moving much slower, but he was still persisting.

Lin Shengli maintained a steady pace and efficiency, even having the energy to observe the surrounding environment and people. He found that although the commune members worked hard, their morale was generally good, and they had a simple and genuine dedication to their work.

Captain Hu Changgui is a man of few words, but he has a keen eye. He knows exactly who is lazy and who is truly hardworking.

As the sun began to set, work finally came to an end. Everyone dragged their weary bodies back home, carrying farm tools on their shoulders, their steps heavy.

Back in the village, Grandma Hu had already boiled hot water. Lin Shengli washed himself with the hot water, changed out of his sweaty clothes, and felt much better. Shuanzi and Yadan surrounded him, asking him all sorts of questions out of curiosity.

Dinner was still cornmeal porridge, but Grandma Hu mixed some cornmeal with the wheat flour that Lin Shengli had brought and made two thin pancakes, giving only the pancakes to Lin Shengli.

"Grandma, this..." Lin Shengli looked at the pancake in the bowl.

"You've worked hard, eat something good. The kids and I can eat together." Grandma Hu Liu handed the bowl to Lin Shengli without further ado.

Lin Shengli felt warm inside and didn't refuse anymore, but he gave most of the pancake to Shuanzi and Yadan.

The two children swallowed hard and refused, and Grandma Hu was also unwilling, but in the end she couldn't persuade Lin Shengli to change his mind.

Watching Shuanzi and Yadan wolf down their pancakes, Lin Shengli felt a warm glow in his heart.

That night, after Shuanzi and Yadan fell asleep, Lin Shengli entered the cave space again.

He didn't immediately begin cultivation, but instead planned the production of the famous spatial crops. Today, one day passed in the outside world, and nearly ten days passed in the space.

The wheat and rice are full and nearing maturity, and various vegetables are also growing well. The tomatoes are bright red, the cucumbers have flowers and thorns on top, and the bok choy is lush and green.

"I'll find an opportunity in a few days to go to the mountains and 'pick up' some things," Lin Shengli thought.

Heisonggou Village is nestled against the mountains, and mountain products are an important source of supplementary income. However, everyone has been working these past few days, so Lin Shengli couldn't just run up the mountain directly.

However, when he has a few days off, he can go up the mountain and use his spatial ability and divine sense to secretly gather mushrooms, wild vegetables, wild fruits, and even pheasants and rabbits if he encounters them... This will not only improve his meals but also supplement Grandma Hu's family's income, without attracting too much attention.

As for medical skills, he planned to observe the situation in the village first to see if there was an opportunity.

In those days, the lack of medical care and medicine was a common phenomenon in rural areas. A person who knew a little about medicine would be very popular, but one had to be careful and not be too abrupt at first.

Leaving the space, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), listening to the occasional barking of dogs and the sound of the wind outside the window, Lin Shengli reflected on this fulfilling yet ordinary day.

Physical fatigue is negligible for cultivators, but mentally, he felt as if he had washed away the dust of the city and was closer to this land and its people.

He passed his first lesson on the black soil, but this was just the beginning.

In this seemingly peaceful rural life, how to balance cultivation and worldly affairs, how to use his abilities to improve his life without arousing suspicion, and how to find his place in this special era... are all things he needs to explore and learn slowly.

As night deepened, Lin Shengli slowly circulated the "Primordial Creation Scripture," absorbing the richer spiritual energy of heaven and earth compared to that of the capital city, especially the vitality of plants and trees from the vast mountains and forests not far away.

The bottleneck of the third level of Qi Refining seems to be loosening slightly in this environment that is closer to nature.

He felt a sense of peace and was full of anticipation for the future.

The next day, the rooster's crow resounded throughout the village as promised.

Life in Heisonggou Village passed by day by day. During the day, Lin Shengli worked alongside the villagers, learning various farming skills. He looked after Li Kuiyong and the others, and gradually became familiar with the villagers.

He was strong, hardworking, quick learner, humble, and generous, which quickly won him the favor of many commune members.

At night, he would cultivate, organize supplies, and plan "reasonable" steps to improve his life in the cave space.

Occasionally, he would use the excuse of gathering firewood or familiarizing himself with the environment to wander around the edge of the mountains and forests near the village. He would use his divine sense to explore and always managed to find something—mushrooms, wood ear fungus, wild fruits. Once, he even knocked out a wild rabbit that had stumbled upon him with a stone, which allowed Grandma Hu Liu's family to have an improved meal once again.

His medical skills were not yet apparent, but through observation and casual conversations with Grandma Hu Liu and other elderly people, he quietly learned about the health conditions and common illnesses and injuries of the villagers.

The peaceful and fulfilling days flowed by until one evening a few days later, a series of urgent cries broke the tranquility of the village, giving Lin Shengli his first opportunity to demonstrate his medical skills.

"Captain Hu! Captain Hu! Something terrible has happened! Dashan rolled down the slope and broke his leg. He's bleeding a lot!" A teenager rushed to the brigade headquarters to report the news.

Lin Shengli had just finished work and returned to Grandma Hu Liu's house when he heard the commotion outside. He had an idea, put down the water ladle he was holding, and quickly went out.