PDLP Chapter 1 Qingshan Village
Chapter 1 Qingshan Village
Qingshan Village is a small village nestled in the mountains of eastern Zhejiang, surrounded by mountains and boasting beautiful scenery.
Well, that's putting it in a positive light.
To put it bluntly, it's located in a remote area with many mountains and little farmland, and the transportation is inconvenient, so it can't really be considered a scenic spot.
Therefore, despite being located in a developed coastal area, the village has always suffered from severe population outflow.
Many of the older villagers made money in business and settled down elsewhere.
The same goes for young people nowadays; even if they don't go into business, they still try their best to get into a good school and go to a big city.
So the village once had more than 2000 people, but now only about a hundred remain.
There are only a few people in the village during festivals and when people need to worship their ancestors.
On a summer night in early August...
hum~
Amidst the whirring of the motor, an electric vehicle with a green license plate drove past the archway at the entrance of Qingshan Village and slowly came to a stop in front of a house.
The houses in the village were mostly built during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Because they are protected and cannot be demolished or altered at will, they have all been preserved in their original state.
The building in front of us is one of them.
The walls are made of yellow mud, with blue bricks and gray tiles. The beams and pillars are made of wood, and the beams are carved and painted. There are also horse-head walls on both sides of the roof.
Aside from some old spots and broken parts, there are no other problems.
"Mom, I'm home."
Sun Ran got out of the car, opened the trunk, and called out as he unloaded the luggage.
He had just graduated a while ago, but unexpectedly, civil engineering, which was a popular major a few years ago, suddenly collapsed this year.
The senior students have all started to leave, and I heard there are even people paying to work. His job search is truly indescribable.
Over the course of several months, I sent out a ton of resumes but only got a handful of interviews. My roommates, desperate for a job, even tried everything and got scammed.
Seeing that he couldn't find a suitable one, and with the busy farming season approaching at home, he gritted his teeth and decided to return to his hometown.
I plan to finish this busy period first and then see how it goes. If I can't stay in a big city, I'll look for opportunities around my hometown.
"You're back? Was the journey smooth?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged woman wearing camouflage clothing and two arm sleeves, who looked to be around fifty years old, walked out of the courtyard gate.
Judging from his anxious expression, he must have been keeping a close eye on what was happening outside the door.
"It's alright, just a bit of traffic on the way. Where are Grandpa and Grandma?"
"After waiting for so long and not seeing you, I told them to go back and rest with your uncle."
After Sun Ran finished unloading her luggage, she patted the car body and greeted the ride-hailing driver before smiling and giving Zhou Yue'e a hug.
"Mom, haven't you missed your son since we last met?"
"What a load of rubbish!"
Zhou Yue'e rolled her eyes at him and struggled to break free: "You can't even bring back a girlfriend, why should I miss you? I'd rather spend more time with Xiaoping and Xiaoan."
"Fine, so you don't want your son anymore now that you have grandchildren, is that it?"
Sun Ran chuckled, and was about to say something more when he heard a childish voice.
"Uncle's back! Hug me!"
Before he could even speak, a dark figure darted into his arms.
Looking down, he saw a little baby with two short braids clinging to his trouser leg, staring at him with its big, blinking eyes.
Isn't that his five-year-old niece, Sun An'an?
"Hey, isn't this stinky An'an?"
Sun Ran chuckled, picked up the little baby, and lifted him high into the air: "How was it? Did you miss your uncle?"
"Hehe, An'an smells nice and doesn't stink at all, Uncle is the one who stinks!"
The little girl, who was being lifted high, wasn't afraid at all and even giggled as she retorted.
"Really? Uncle doesn't believe me. Let me smell it to see if it smells good."
Sun Ran put her down and wiggled his head against her body, making the little girl laugh nonstop.
The two were having a great time when Sun Ran suddenly felt his trouser leg tighten. Looking down, he saw another baby.
It was Sun Ping, the older of the twins in his brother's family.
Although the little guy looks exactly like the little girl in his arms except for his hairstyle, their personalities are quite different.
One of them can't stop talking, while the other is usually not very talkative.
Sun Ran, naturally, couldn't show favoritism, so he quickly picked up his nephew as well: "If An'an doesn't miss his uncle, does Pingping miss his uncle?"
"Hmm..." The little guy was still a bit shy. He nodded and then hugged his neck tightly, refusing to let go.
"Alright, let's go inside, pay our respects to our ancestors, and then hurry up and eat."
Zhou Yue'e smiled and said something while looking at their affectionate manner, then picked up her suitcase and walked into the door.
The group first put their luggage in the west wing, and then went to the main hall.
Burning incense, bowing...
Holding incense sticks in his hand, amidst the swirling smoke, and gazing at the statues of the Three Pure Ones on the altar, Sun Ran suddenly felt a sense of disorientation.
The reason why they also have a statue of a deity in addition to the ancestral tablets is said to be because one of their ancestors was once obsessed with cultivating Taoism and becoming an immortal.
He studied every Taoist classic, the Five Thunder God Technique, talismans, and alchemy.
At last……
Finally, I heard that he had gone mad from practicing qi deviation.
The person disappeared and no one knows where they went, leaving only this statue of the deity that was brought back.
Now that they've all been invited back, no one has the guts to ask him to leave again.
But that's about it. To say they are particularly devout to this statue is an exaggeration. At most, they would only think of asking for help when they need something.
After all, we're all materialists now, and besides, we've prayed to him so many times but he's never shown any divine intervention.
Therefore, Sun Ran is now extremely devout when worshipping the statue of the god!
I'm already so unlucky, surely my ancestors should at least give me some blessings?
He raised the incense sticks to his forehead with both hands, bowed three times, first inserting the middle stick, then the left, then the right...
The three incense sticks must be inserted horizontally and vertically, with no more than one inch between them.
He learned these rules when he was a child: burning incense an inch too far will make the gods disbelieve.
"May our ancestors bless our family with good fortune and peace... and most importantly, may they bless me, their grandson, to become very wealthy!"
After bowing and praying to the statue with utmost sincerity, Sun Ran straightened his back and stood up.
After paying respects to their ancestors, Zhou Yue'e returned to the east wing, where she had already prepared a table full of food.
Having not tasted the flavors of his hometown for a long time, Sun Ran was like a starving ghost reincarnated, shoveling rice into his mouth with gusto.
Zhou Yue'e, who was taking care of her grandchildren, rolled her eyes at the sight.
"What are you planning to do now?" she asked casually as she picked up a towel and wiped Sun An'an's mouth.
The child is five years old now, and she doesn't need to feed her by hand anymore, but she inevitably makes a little mess when eating, especially this little girl.
So she still has to keep an eye on things.
"Finish your chores at home first."
Sun Ran shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth and mumbled, "I'll keep looking for a job later. As long as I have internet access, that's fine for now."
"What if we still can't find it?"
"If I still can't find one, then I'll have to rely on you to support me..."
"roll!"
"Fine, fine, I'll get out then."
Seeing the chopsticks held upright in his mother's hand, Sun Ran shrank back: "If it doesn't work out, I'll just stay at home. Anyway, as long as there's land, I won't starve to death..."
"There's still land..." Zhou Yue'e shook her head and smiled bitterly when she heard him say that.
"There are fewer and fewer people in the village now. Your uncle has heard the rumors. It's possible that our village might be abolished in a few years."
"Oh, the village is going to be demolished? That can't be right, can it?"
Sun Ran paused, looking at her mother with surprise: "Will everyone agree?"
It's no wonder he was surprised; his uncle was the village committee director, also known as the village chief. If he said something like that, it must have some basis in reality.
"Sigh, what can we do if we disagree? Now there are basically only old people left in the village. Your uncle and I are considered young. A lot of land has been abandoned and no one is farming it."
Zhou Yue'e looked worried as she spoke: "But it's not easy to make money even if we go out."
"I heard the construction team is owed a lot of money, and they don't know if they can get it back. Your dad, your brother, and your sister-in-law are all worried about it there. Sigh..."
Listening to his mother's words, Sun Ran unconsciously slowed down the way he ate his rice.
The atmosphere of a perfectly good dinner suddenly turned somber after those few words from the two of them.
The mother and son were both lost in their own thoughts and lost the will to continue their conversation.
After quickly finishing our meal and clearing the table, we played with the two little ones for a while, coaxed them to sleep, and then went back to our rooms.
Lying in bed, Sun Ran absentmindedly scrolled through her phone.
But as he looked at the screen, all he could think about were the things his mother had said that night.
I was thinking for a moment about how I should find a way out in the future given the current economic downturn and industry slump.
Then I thought about my family's situation. If the village were really abolished, I didn't know if it would be a simple merger or a relocation.
The former is alright, but the latter...
That would mean the entire family has no way out.
So what if I studied at university for four years?
I can't help my family at all.
He sighed, turned off the light, pulled the covers up, lay down, and tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep.
A few hours later, a silver moon hung high in the night sky...
The moonlight, as clear as water, spilled onto the bluestone-paved ground of the old house, and wisps of smoke drifted out from the main hall entrance.
Upstairs in her room, Sun Ran, who was half asleep, seemed to faintly smell a sandalwood scent.
It seemed as if the sounds of string and wind instruments were still lingering in his ears.
Congratulations! You have been bound to the Immortal Cultivation System.
[System startup... Environment check in progress]
[Warning! Insufficient spiritual energy in the current environment, system error, forced startup...]
Sun Ran clicked his tongue in his sleep and turned over.
What kind of dreams are these? They're all a jumbled mess, with all this talk of a system and cultivating immortality.
Instead of spending your time cultivating immortality, you might as well just give yourself a six-digit lottery number!
So he pursed his lips, pulled the blanket over himself, and fell into a deep sleep again.
And so it went until the next morning...
Ooh ooh ooh~
Amidst the crowing of roosters, Sun Ran, who had just had a good sleep, rubbed her eyes, turned over and sat up in bed. She pushed open the window, raised her hands, and stretched lazily.
"Phew, home is the best..."
Putting everything else aside, just the fact that I wake up every day to the fresh air of the mountains and forests is much better than smelling car exhaust fumes every day in the city.
It's such a pity, I wonder how much longer I can smell it...
He lowered his hand, shook his head, and thought, "Forget it, this is not something I can control. Let nature take its course."
He hurriedly put on his clothes and ran down the stairs.
Although it's not yet the busiest harvest season in September and October, in the countryside, as long as you're willing to work, there's always something to do.
Our family is in a difficult situation right now, so we'll try to help as much as we can.
And so, humming a song, Sun Ran took her toothbrush, mug, and washcloth, walked into the yard, and was about to turn on the tap...
[New Quest Triggered: Master the Spirit Veins]
After a great war between immortals and demons, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the Xuan Yuan Realm dissipated, and the once prosperous Qingshan Sect also declined.
Unwilling to let sixteen years of arduous cultivation go to waste, you searched diligently and finally found a spiritual vein within the sect where you could cultivate...
Task requirement: Set up a spirit-gathering array to activate the spirit veins.
Quest Rewards: Sect Reputation +100; Spirit Vein x1
……
Sun Ran stood blankly by the pool, blinking as she looked at the lines of text in front of her.
He picked up the toothbrush with toothpaste already squeezed on it, waved it in front of his eyes, and then pinched his thigh hard.
Ouch, that hurts! This word wasn't an illusion after all!
A mission? Does this mean I have some kind of cheat code?
But what the hell is this Xuan Yuan Realm, and what does the war between immortals and demons mean?
The spiritual energy dissipated completely?
He looked up, his face filled with confusion, glancing left and right.
Isn't this clearly the old house in my hometown, a village that's been abandoned?
Is Golden Finger blind?!