Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 68 Anping Town

"Okay, you discuss it with Chuci. Shouldn’t we show him some appreciation?" Jiang Yuan looked at a string of numbers backstage, pondering what kind of car to buy.

Yang Hongye was sorting the printed addresses and laughed when she heard him, "No need for that now. He might not care for such small sums. Chuci is so eager to help because he sees future benefits from you; it’s your resource exchange and I’m just benefiting from it."

The first batch of custom Cherry packaging boxes was nearly used up, so they needed to contact the manufacturer for more, and find a designer to create a deluxe box for the mulberries. She hurriedly packed up to ship the goods.

"Indeed, if you can’t lead a team, you end up working yourself to death. It’s a wise saying. Without a reliable assistant, you have to worry and do everything yourself, and any bigger operation leaves you half-dead tired with no time or energy for anything else," Jiang Yuan was once again grateful for the partnership with the smart and efficient Yang Hongye, allowing him to focus more on important matters.

Having cleared out part of the Storage Bag, he locked his door and lay on his bed, entering the Wilderness World.

In the courtyard, the morning stream gurgled, and birds sang softly. The air was much fresher and more refreshing than in the modern city. He took a deep breath, stretched, and began picking large wild strawberries.

"Master, let me do it!" Wan Mingchuan woke up to find his master already working in the field, blushing as he jumped out of bed and ran over to help.

After harvesting the entire field, Jiang Yuan bought seeds from the shop and replanted them. Then he drew water while his apprentice watered the field. The damp strawberry field exuded a distinctive earthy scent. The master and apprentice also cooperated to pick all the big cherries, then washed up and started eating breakfast.

"Braised pork hock, I think you might like it, eat more," Jiang Yuan knew the poor child had never had anything good to eat, so each time he picked a dish he would deliberately tell the name so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed to ask.

"Thank you, Master!" Wan Mingchuan held a bowl filled with white rice, mixed the large, fragrant piece of pork hock his master gave him with rice, and took a bite, "Mm! So delicious!"

The texture was tender, the meat was soft, and along with the rich, thick sauce, it was a delightful experience to chew!

Jiang Yuan also felt the pork hock was well-made, and seeing the uncontainable shock and gratitude on his disciple’s face, a sense of the happiness that comes from spending money welled up, "If you like it, eat more. Eat well, cultivate well, and you’ll surely never lack meat in the future."

"Mm!" Wan Mingchuan vigorously nodded, unable to express verbally but thinking to himself that he would strive to cultivate harder and repay his master in the future!

There was still a pending order on the page, and after finishing the meal and tidying up, Jiang Yuan looked at the countdown of less than two days and decided to visit the town today.

Firstly, to buy a pickaxe needed for a task; secondly, to buy work clothes, shoes, and daily necessities, and thirdly to visit the Guardian God’s statue in the town.

The deserted island was remote and sparsely populated, with few human settlements to begin with.

Anping Town was the largest in the area for hundreds of miles. As there was an Immortal Ancestor Temple in town ensuring the villagers’ safety, more people gathered there, stretching tens of miles to occupy half a mountain and making it busy and prosperous.

Wan Mingchuan had been to Anping Town with his grandfather and led the way.

Jiang Yuan, unsure of the Riverfront Village’s attitude towards him, specifically took a detour to avoid unnecessary trouble. From halfway up the mountain, when gazing from afar, the villagers looked small as ants working in the fields, seemingly unchanged from before.

Walking a long, long way to the northeast until nearly noon, they finally caught a glimpse of a thriving town full of mortal vitality sprawling halfway up the mountain like a ribbon.

"Riverfront Village is too remote. Unless we run entirely out of salt and need some, we wouldn’t waste an entire day going to town,"

Wan Mingchuan shaded his eyes with his hand and explained, "If we can’t make it back to the village and end up trapped when the Wilderness descends, we’ll be in grave danger. To stay overnight in Anping Town, we’d have to pay for an inn; even sleeping like a beggar on the street would mean getting caught and charged for an overnight fee by patrolling officers."

"So although I’ve been here, I’ve never wandered the large town. Each time, we hurriedly sold our goods and bought necessities before rushing back to the village. If delayed, we could only hope to find a hiding place after the Wilderness descends to avoid getting eaten by monsters."

Jiang Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded, "Let’s have a good look around today, buy what we need and visit the Immortal Ancestor Temple."

"There’s no need to make a special trip, the Immortal Ancestor Temple was built for the Guardian God statue, which is really big in Anping Town!" Wan Mingchuan said while searching the town, then pointed towards a smoky place, "Look, that’s..."

He suddenly realized his master couldn’t see it at all, blushed, and stammered, "It’s... it’s the great statue you can see anywhere in town, said to resemble an old grandfather. Apparently, Anping Town venerates the Immortal Elder of the South Pole."

"Pfft!"

Jiang Yuan spewed the water he had just drunk, "Who?"

"I also heard it from the salt shop owner in town, said it’s the Immortal Elder of the South Pole," Wan Mingchuan scratched his head and quietly said, "I find it strange too. Riverfront Village says they worship Goddess Nüwa, but their statue was easily broken by an ordinary person, and Goddess Nüwa’s Divine Power isn’t as strong as the Immortal Elder of the South Pole, who can protect an entire town!"

"Have you seen the Riverfront Village worship?"

"I’ve seen it, but the entire ceremony is hosted by the three big families, and our offerings are swept away by a gust of wind. I’ve never seen the appearance of Goddess Nüwa. All information is relayed by the three big families, so who knows if they’re truthful or not."

Wan Mingchuan didn’t trust the three big families. After all, no one else understood; whatever orders the deities supposedly gave were theirs to dictate.

Talking and walking, the master and apprentice ascended the mountain and officially entered the territory of Anping Town.

"Fresh vegetables, cheap!"

"Firewood, does anyone need it?"

"Just out of the pot, dough rolls..."

......

Even before entering the main gate, the hawking from the crowd gathered in the open space outside Anping Town caught Jiang Yuan’s attention.

Wan Mingchuan whispered an explanation, "These are villagers or refugees from the surrounding area. Selling in town requires a fee, so to save on stall fees, they gather here. Many town residents come to buy fresh and cheap goods. In the past, when I came with Grandpa to sell goods, we often waited for buyers here."

"Are there many buyers for so many sellers?"

Despite forming a small-scale market, with more sellers than buyers, it seemed evident the ragged, barefoot homeless folks were struggling.

"It’s still early, later on someone will come to haggle prices down. As long as one wants to sell, they can sell, but the price is determined by the townsfolk," Wan Mingchuan sighed, recalling the hard times before, and quietly said, "It’s unavoidable; villagers and refugees want to exchange goods for money on their turf, thus they have to bow to them."

Previously, Jiang Yuan viewed these people as mere NPCs in a story, but once he broke that mental barrier and considered them as real people in the Otherworld, passing through the refugees, his mood became complex. No matter the time or place, the common folks at the very bottom lead tough lives.