This is the true immortal of the Taoist sect.

Mr. Qian left after saying a few words, leaving the old man with only a helpless sigh before continuing to plant rice seedlings.

However, his face turned bright red shortly after he bent over. The lump on his back was too heavy, and he had to constantly use his waist and abdomen to keep it up, otherwise he would fall over.

But the old man didn't straighten up; instead, he gritted his teeth and continued planting rice seedlings.

If they don't finish cultivating these few acres of land today and Master Qian takes it back, their family will starve to death this winter.

"Dad, Dad, dinner's ready..."

While I was busy, a girl of about twelve or thirteen years old ran up from the ridge of the field.

He was dressed in coarse linen clothes, had dark skin, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.

The old man glanced back and muttered:

"Oh, put it there, we'll eat it later."

The girl put down the pottery jar and bamboo basket she was holding, and without saying a word, she took off her shoes and jumped into the paddy field.

"Dad, you go eat first, I'll do it..."

The old man glanced at his daughter, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

"Dad, finish planting this row before we eat..."

The old man replied.

The father and daughter remained silent, both concentrating intently on planting rice seedlings.

Just then, a young man in tattered clothes and covered in dust suddenly appeared on the ridge of the field. He stood on the ridge, bowed to the old man, and smiled, saying:

"Greetings, elder brother. I am a wandering Taoist priest who happens to be passing through this place. I am extremely hungry. Would you be so kind as to share some food with me?"

The old man who was planting rice seedlings turned around in surprise when he heard the sound, and was clearly stunned when he saw Li Daoxuan standing on the edge of the field.

"A wandering Taoist priest? What does that do?"

The old man asked.

The girl also looked up at Li Daoxuan with curiosity.

Li Daoxuan explained with a smile:

"I am a Taoist practitioner who travels the world and wanders in all directions, commonly known as a wandering Taoist."

The old man nodded suspiciously, glanced at the earthenware jar on the edge of the field, and turned to his daughter, saying:

"Go and get him some food."

The girl nodded, washed her hands in the paddy field, and then walked with uneven steps to the edge of the field. She opened the bamboo basket covered with burlap and took out a bowl of thick porridge and a dish of pickled vegetables.

The girl looked at the single bowl of porridge and turned to the old man, feigning distress:

"Dad, there's only one bowl. If you give it to him, you'll go hungry."

The old man didn't get up, and replied while planting rice seedlings:

"Give it to him, Dad isn't hungry."

Helpless, the girl had no choice but to hand the porridge to Li Daoxuan.

"Here, take this. I've also got some pickled vegetables."

Li Daoxuan smiled, took the bowl and chopsticks, and began to eat without saying a word.

The girl then picked up the earthenware pot covered with a bowl and poured a bowl of tea for Li Daoxuan.

The amber-colored tea looked especially beautiful in the white bowl.

Li Daoxuan glanced at it and said with a warm smile:

Thank you.

He then picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

The girl looked Li Daoxuan up and down curiously, and muttered:

"You eat, I'm going to get back to work."

After saying that, he turned around and went back down to the ground without looking back.

In no time, Li Daoxuan finished a bowl of porridge and pickled vegetables, even scraping the bottom of the bowl clean with his fingers.

Watching Li Daoxuan scrape the bottom of the bowl with his hand, the old man couldn't help but sigh:

"Looks like I'm really hungry..."

The old man didn't understand anything about Taoism or wandering the world.

In his view, Li Daoxuan was a homeless vagrant.

There have been many people like this in previous years, and most of them met with bad ends.

To the old man's surprise, Li Daoxuan not only didn't leave after finishing his porridge, but instead took off his shoes and socks, tied up his robes and trousers, and jumped directly into the paddy field.

"Stop, stop, stop... What are you doing, young man? Hurry up and get on..."

Upon hearing this, Li Daoxuan smiled and said:

"Brother, I can't just eat your food for nothing. I also know how to plant rice seedlings, so I'll help."

The old man was taken aback and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"This...is inappropriate..."

Li Daoxuan waved his hand and said:

"It's alright, it's alright, just consider it payment for the meal..."

After saying that, Li Daoxuan began to help with transplanting rice seedlings on his own.

To be honest, he didn't know how to plant rice seedlings, and had never done it before.

However, he had carefully observed the old man's movements while eating, and after trying a few times, he was able to imitate them perfectly.

Seeing that Li Daoxuan was doing it quite well, the old man could only chuckle sheepishly and say:

"Thank you very much, young man. Come home with me for dinner when you're done..."

Li Daoxuan turned his head and grinned.

"Okay..."

Then they continued transplanting rice seedlings diligently.

He didn't use any magic, nor did he deliberately speed up; he was just like an ordinary mortal, neither fast nor slow.

The three of them spent the whole afternoon planting rice seedlings. The old man almost collapsed in the paddy field several times due to exhaustion, but fortunately, Li Daoxuan secretly helped him and relieved his stress.

Even so, they still couldn't finish planting all the remaining paddy fields in one afternoon.

Just as the sun was about to set, Mr. Qian indeed arrived at the edge of the field with an air of indifference.

Looking at the small patch of empty field that remained, Master Qian smiled coldly and looked down at the old man, saying:

"You can't blame me for this, you rascal."

"Starting tomorrow, your five mu of land will be handed over to Zhao Si next door. Considering you've been busy for a while, come to my house tomorrow to collect ten jin of rice as compensation. That's all..."

After saying that, Mr. Qian turned to leave.

The old man was terrified upon hearing this, and hurriedly scrambled out of the paddy field, chasing after him and pleading:

"Master Qian, please be lenient. There's only a little left. I'll finish it even if I have to stay up all night. This field can't be taken back, otherwise how will my family survive the winter..."

"What business is it of mine how you get through the winter? Your family has paid the least rent these past two years, you've ruined our crops..."

The old man was extremely anxious and pleaded:

"Mr. Qian, please have mercy! My wife hasn't been in good health these past two years, and I have this ailment too, so... Don't worry, even if our family goes hungry this year, we won't be shortchanged by a single grain of rent..."

"No way, no way. We agreed that if we don't finish today, we'll take the land. No discussion..."

The old man was extremely anxious. After pleading in vain, he immediately tried to pull his daughter down to kneel before Master Qian.

Mr. Qian remained unmoved, glancing at the old man's daughter and smiling:

"Hey Tuozi, your daughter's all grown up now. Why not dress her up and send her to a rich family in town to work as a maid? Maybe that could support your whole family..."

Upon hearing this, the old man's expression changed drastically. He grabbed his daughter and shook his head repeatedly, saying:

"No, no, no..."

The little girl was already terrified; if she were sold to the city, she would be a slave, controlled by others for the rest of her life, worse than death.

"Young man, Brother Yutian is almost finished planting. He only needs to work for another half hour at most. Why don't you make an exception for him?"

At this moment, Li Daoxuan spoke.

Arita was the old man's name; he had no surname, so he was simply called Arita.

When Master Qian heard Li Daoxuan speak, he looked him up and down.

"Who are you? What business is it of yours?"

Li Daoxuan smiled and said:

"I am a wandering Taoist priest. I am grateful for your kindness and accepted a bowl of porridge from you."

Master Qian spat and said disdainfully:

"So you're just a homeless person, get out of here..."

Li Daoxuan wasn't angry. He pointed to the lump on Old Man Youtian's back and said:

"Brother, you're indeed facing many inconveniences. If you could..."

Before he could finish speaking, Master Qian sneered:

"He's inconvenienced? It's just a lump, what's inconvenient about that? Stop arguing, the land will be given to Zhao Si tomorrow..."

After saying that, Mr. Qian turned and left, completely ignoring them.

Old Man Yutian beat his chest in frustration, but there was nothing he could do...

Even though they were already in dire straits, they still warmly invited Li Daoxuan to their home for dinner.

Li Daoxuan smiled and nodded, then went back with Arita.

The You Tian family's house was located in the middle of Shijia Village, surrounded by many neighbors who shared the same hardships.

As soon as he got home, the old man asked his daughter to start a fire and cook. He also specifically instructed her to cook a pot of dry rice that night and to take out the dried salted fish and steam it.

Li Daoxuan ate two large bowls of rice without any hesitation, and also finished the fish completely. Then he took a nice nap at the old man's house.

The next morning, several people came to the old man's door to complete the land transfer procedures.

This Mr. Qian wasn't entirely heartless; he even sent over a bag of white rice, weighing more than ten kilograms.

The old man carried the bag of white rice, but his face was ashen and he looked worried.

The person who came to deliver the rice was a long-term worker from the Qian family. Upon seeing this, he couldn't help but offer a few words of comfort.

The old man pointed behind him and sighed helplessly:

"It's all fate. Who gave me this unlucky thing growing on my back..."

The villagers watching sighed helplessly; they sympathized with Ayuta, but there was nothing they could do to help.

It's already incredibly difficult to just survive, let alone have the energy to help others.

"Isn't the eldest brother going to the fields today?"

Just as Old Man Youtian was sighing, Li Daoxuan suddenly spoke up.

The old man was taken aback by these words and said with a wry smile:

"Master Qian has even sent over the land lease paperwork, what... what else can I do?"

Li Daoxuan laughed heartily and said:

"I've eaten two meals from you, brother. I repaid the first with my labor, so I'll use this tumor on your back to pay for the second meal..."