Plane Supermarket Plane 1: Da Liang Dynasty C36
On the sofa in the lounge area of the supermarket, Lin You was holding a cup of water with some uneasiness. He looked around anxiously, only to find that Gao Sheng had already, at some point, wandered in front of the shelves, his face filled with curiosity and greed as he looked at the items displayed.
Lin You stood up nervously and walked quickly to Gao Sheng. He lowered his voice and said cautiously, “Cousin! Stop moving around.”
Gao Sheng took a bottle of wine from the container, its glassy surface shimmering.
Encased in such a translucent bottle, even the most ordinary liquor seemed exceptionally noble.
Gao Sheng turned to Lin You, his eyes shining brightly. “Why didn’t you tell me there were still these treasures the immortals left here?”
Lin You was interrupted by and was slightly confused by his sudden change of topic, saying, “These are all luxury things to enjoy, there is nothing to mention.”
There are so many things in the immortal’s cave1 that could indulge a person for a lifetime. Wasn’t this the very proof that immortals regarded wealth as nothing more than dirt?
Anything taken from here would be enough to broaden one’s horizons.
If a bottle of wine was taken out it would stir up a fierce competition among those literati who are addicted to alcohol, right?
Lin You said, “Cousin, if you’re eager for a drink, you’ll find no shortage of it back at home.”
However, Gao Sheng firmly grabbed Lin You’s wrist, with his enthusiastic tone he said, “Is the most important thing here the alcohol?! It’s not just any alcohol, it’s immortal wine! If you can take this wine and offer it to the emperor…
Uncle has been staying and serving in Anyang City for over two decades. Don’t you think it’s time to get ahead and be closer to the emperor?” Gao Sheng continued. “Or do you also wish to spend your entire life confined within Anyang City?”
Lin You blinked, never having thought this. According to his perspective, he should focus on his studies, excel in the imperial examinations, and then, like many other commoners, start from the lowest official positions. If he possessed talent and proved to be a capable official, then the Emperor would surely take notice.
“Lin You…” Gao Sheng gazed at Lin You’s dumbfounded expression. The earlier excitement and enthusiasm had dissipated, leaving him resigned. “In matters of principles from books, one should believe when it’s appropriate to believe, and not believe at all when it’s not. Don’t put your trust in the words of those commoner-born scholars who claim that excelling as an official guarantees a rise to the top at every step.
If it were that easy, how would any of those families have fallen?” Gao Sheng asked. “Don’t we, the scions of these noble houses, possess greater insight and knowledge than commoners?”
“I’m afraid you don’t know this, right? When the founding emperor sought to marry a legitimate daughter from one of the Three Great Clans, not a single one consented. They looked down on the Emperor, who was a lesser branch offspring,” Gao Sheng smiled. “And what about now? Have you heard of the Three Great Clans recently? Those who were once held in high regard are now finding it challenging to send their daughters to the palace as consorts.”
“A noble family can only be called a noble family if their people are standing beside the emperor for generations.” Gao Sheng continued, “Those who reside in the remote mountains and wait for the Emperor to summon them are merely fools. The Emperor will never lack those who are willing to dedicate their lives to him. Only by being close to the Emperor can one touch the power of the throne, and truly bask in that power.”
“How many noble families are trying to send their daughters to the palace? Do you think they don’t know that those women not favored by the emperor will not have an easy life? They are aware. They understand that young talents from noble families compete for favor at court, while women vie for favor in the harem. The intertwined fate between the court and the harem ensures the prosperity and longevity of a family,” Gao Sheng explained.
Lin You looked at Gao Sheng with a mixture of awe and dread.
“If you are really a son from a poor family,” Gao Sheng began, “the highest aspiration you could ever hope for in your life would be to secure a place at the annual palace banquet. And no matter how talented you might be, you’d always be relegated to the back, watching as those wine sacks and rice bags2 stand before you.”
“But with these things,” Gao Sheng’s voice rose sharply, “Perhaps… just perhaps, Uncle wouldn’t have to remain in Anyang anymore. He might even go to the capital city!”
Gao Sheng placed the wine back in its original spot and said, “Take your time to think it over. Consider your mother, consider yourself. Can you and your mother continue as they are. Can you still serve as the Governor of Anyang? What about your future? Will you only end up as a county magistrate?”
“After all, since we made this journey, it shouldn’t be in vain,” Gao Sheng added.
Lin You quickly retorted, “How could it be in vain?! Ten stone of grain per mu of land! Is that considered in vain?”
But Gao Sheng glanced at him and asked, “Are you planning to distribute this immortal grain directly to the common people?”
Lin You asked, “Is that not possible?”
Gao Sheng sneered, “You think the Emperor would let you have immortal goods instead of himself?”
Lin You was momentarily stunned.
Gao Sheng patted his shoulder, “If you don’t give it to the Emperor, you’ll lose your head, and the Lin family won’t fare well either.”
“But…” Lin You grabbed Gao Sheng’s sleeve, “If we offer it to the Emperor and wait for more immortal grain to be distributed, the commoners outside the city will starve to death!”
Gao Sheng replied, “That’s precisely why I had you exchange for some luxuries to bring back!”
Lin You nodded in understanding, “… I see.”
After speaking, Lin You cupped his hands in apology to Gao Sheng. “Cousin, it was my narrow-mindedness that led to a misunderstanding.”
Gao Sheng waved his hand dismissively, “You’re not entirely wrong either. I, too, am driven by ambition.”
Throughout history, many have ridiculed the pursuit of fame, fortune, and power, but how many people still chased after them?
In the end, everyone treads the path of the mortal world. How can anyone be truly aloof and arrogant?
·
“Trading for wine?” Ye Zhou sweeps the agate excitedly, watching the number steadily rise. A smile unconsciously played on his face.
He told Wu Yan, who had come to report, “Let him exchange it, it’s just some fragile wine bottles. Tell him to be careful on the way.”
Wu Yan replied, “Understood.”
Apart from wine, Lin You exchanged for a lot of other items.
It’s all about “eating, drinking and having fun3”.
Although Ye Zhou felt that these things were probably not what Lin You wanted to change, he did not intend to ask, nor did he intend to take care of them. He feels that what to buy is the customer’s freedom. What’s more, the supermarket is full of goods, which are put out for sale.
“Let him make his own choice,” Ye Zhou said as he finished scanning through a crate of agate. His hands were already a little tired. He then glanced over at Zou Ming, who was reading a magazine nearby.
Zou Ming lifted his head in response to Ye Zhou’s gaze, then put down the magazine, and walked to Ye Zhou’s side as if they shared the same mind. He took the barcode scanner and, like Ye Zhou, began the repetitive mechanical motions.
Ye Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I’ll go grab a drink and come back.”
Zou Ming kept his head down, so no one could see his expression clearly. “No need for thanks.”
Ye Zhou replied, “Courtesy is essential. Do you want something to drink? I can get it for you. There’s beverages, as well as milk tea and regular tea.”
Zou Ming said, “Just bottled water.”
In addition to the drinks, Ye Zhou also needed to prepare the grains4 for Lin You.
There are two items in total, sweet potatoes and potatoes. Ye Zhou even printed a set of instructions in traditional characters.
No matter how you put it, nothing could beat the clarity of written words.
Word of mouth always had a tendency to distort the information.
Ye Zhou let Wu Yan and others pack almost all the sweet potatoes and potatoes in the supermarket.
“These are the immortal grains that yield ten stones per mu?” Despite having consumed sweet potatoes and potatoes countless times in the supermarket, Wu Yan and the others had no idea these two items could be high-yielding crops. In addition, when they compared the two, they found sweet potatoes more to their liking.
Soft, chewy, and sweet, with a sweetness that lingered.
Before they arrived at the supermarket, they couldn’t be sure if they would have sugar once a year.
Ye Zhou nodded and said, “Exactly these two.”
Moreover, the sweet potatoes he sold at the supermarket were an improved variety, not only boasting high yields but also sweetness.
Unlike the sweet potatoes his grandparents had eaten in their childhood, which had a bland taste and lacked sweetness.
“After they’re dried into sweet potato chips, they can be stored for a long time,” Ye Zhou said with a smile to Wu Yan and the others.
“If you don’t expose and dry them under the sun, they might sprout if left alone,” Ye Zhou thought for a while and continued. “Once they sprout, they can’t be eaten, but you can use them for planting.”
Wu Yan and the others suddenly became enthusiastic. “Immortal, can we plant them ourselves? Right outside the supermarket!”
“Yeah, we can do the planting ourselves!”
“I haven’t done any farming since I came here.”
“You guys can do the planting, I’ll do odd jobs. I have no intention of farming for the rest of my life!”
Maybe it was because Wu Yan had been a small landowner in the past, running an oil mill, so he hadn’t worked the land himself. As a result, he was curious and filled with yearning for the activities in the fields.
On the other hand, the hired laborers who had grown up farming were reluctant to do it again.
Their memories of farming were filled with bitterness but lacked sweetness. They had never been able to feed themselves through farming or provide anything extra for their families, only toil and poverty.
Ye Zhou shook his head slightly. “You can’t plant it.”
Wu Yan felt a bit disappointed, but he quickly heard Ye Zhou say, “I will probably be leaving this place tomorrow or the day after. It’s a good opportunity for you to go back and inform the others. Those willing to accompany me can gather in the lounge.”
“I won’t force anyone who doesn’t want to. I’ll leave something for you, and Lin You will arrange for you to go south,” Ye Zhou added.
Wu Yan was stunned, and everyone present was at a loss for words. Leave? Go where?
Is the Immortal going to take them with him?
If they were going to the Immortal Realm, could mortals like them truly find their place among the immortals?
Or was the Immortal planning to take them for cultivation?
Can they become immortals too?
Ye Zhou could sense their thoughts and added, “I’m not taking you for cultivation.”
“Instead, we’ll be traveling to countless small worlds, with no specific destination.”
“Likewise, if you wish to return, you should be able to return,” Ye Zhou assured them.
He continued, “Think it through for yourselves.”
Without hesitation, Chen Liu immediately declared, “I’m willing to follow the Immortal!”
With Chen Liu taking the lead, Wu Yan and the others also followed suit, shouting, “We’re willing to follow the Immortal!”
Ye Zhou shook his head slightly. “Your words alone don’t decide it. Go and have a proper discussion with your families. Leaving one’s homeland is not a decision everyone is willing to make.”
For instance, his grandparents. They used to have such a hard time in their hometown. But in their later years, didn’t they miss the fallen leaves returning to their roots5?
Obviously, there is no good memory when they mention it, but they still yearned to return to their hometown for burial.
Ye Zhou waved his hand. “Go and ask. Come back and let me know tonight.”
After watching Wu Yan and the others leave, dragging their potatoes and sweet potatoes, Ye Zhou returned to the cashier’s counter. He placed the bottled water within Zou Ming’s reach and gestured towards it. “I’ll take over for now. Go have a drink and take a break.”
Zou Ming shook his head slightly. “No, aren’t you planning to buy it tomorrow? After scanning everything, you can go buy what you want, and you’ll be able to leave right after tomorrow.”
“We still need to hire another person,” Zou Ming asked, “Do you want me to recommend someone?”
Ye Zhou nodded, “That patient and dependable one you mentioned earlier, right? Is it a man or a woman? What’s their name?”
Zou Ming replied, “Chen Shu, a woman. She was originally a military soldier.”
Ye Zhou was curious and asked, “Which plane is she from? Is it the same plane as yours?”
Zou Ming replied, “No, she’s from a peaceful era.”
Ye Zhou smiled, “That’s quite good then. She’s probably similar to me. So, is she registered as a resource in the system or forced into this situation, like me?”
Zou Ming thought for a moment and then replied, “She volunteered. She wanted to undergo training.”
Ye Zhou replied, “…She must be really talented and powerful.”
·
·Lin You asked someone to have the immortal grains loaded onto the cart, and he personally took a stack of paper handed to him by Wu Yan. To prevent Lin You from accidentally losing any on the way, Ye Zhou had printed a total of ten copies.
“These characters…” Lin You gazed at the words on the paper. He hadn’t even looked at the content yet, but the characters startled him. “They’re so formal.”
It didn’t look like it was written by a person at all. Usually, there would be slight variations when the same person wrote the same character, but in this case, the characters were completely uniform. Whether it was the size or the thickness, every character was exactly the same.
It was as if they were carved and then imprinted, but even if it was an imprint, there was not a trace of uneven ink.
The paper was also different from what they were used to in the past. It was finer, more delicate and whiter. And despite so many characters, there was not a single smudged ink mark at all.
“Truly befitting of writing by an Immortal,” Lin You held the stack of paper as if he were holding some rare and precious treasure.
However, Wu Yan poured cold water on him mercilessly. “It wasn’t written by an Immortal. The Immortal never wielded a pen. This was created through Immortal magic.”
Lin You argued, “… Since it’s Immortal magic crafted by the Immortal personally, that still counts as being written by an Immortal!”
Wu Yan fell into silence for a moment and then conceded, “You have a point.”
Only then did Lin You look at the immortal grain sent by Wu Yan. Because Ye Zhou was not here, and Lin You knew that Wu Yan was a mortal, he asked without restraint, “Wu Ge, have you ever eaten the immortal grain yourself?”
Wu Yan nodded and replied, “Of course, we’ve tried them. This is a sweet potato, and this is a potato.” He had a smile on his face as he continnued. “We prefer sweet potatoes. They’re soft and fragrant, and they’re sweet.”
Lin You was surprised. “Sweet?”
Wu Yan nodded. “Sweeter than sugar.”
A food that can fill one’s stomach, has high yields, and is sweet.
Lin You was so excited that his face turned red.
“Aren’t potatoes tasty?” Gao Sheng asked curiously.
Wu Yan explained, “It’s not that they aren’t tasty, but compared to sweet potatoes, they’re not as good. But when you fry potato chips and season them with some spices, they taste delicious.”
“And they’re great when added to a stew,” Wu Yan added, licking his lips.
He was now craving some stewed meat.
For the sake of the Immortal, Cao Er Niang, who couldn’t read, had already learned how to cook from the pictures in the recipe book.
To Wu Yan, Cao Er Niang’s cooking skills were now better than those of the chefs in the restaurant.
Especially her braised pork.
Wu Yan licked his lips again and swallowed.
Each time, not a drop of the sauce would be left, and everyone would eagerly scoop the sauce to drizzle it over their rice.
The people Lin You had brought along were busy transporting the exchanged goods. They carefully packed the wine. In order to prevent the wine bottles from breaking on the way back, Ye Zhou also provided them with a considerable amount of bubble wrap to cushion the boxes.
“Young Master Lin, are you not going to exchange for some dried provisions this time?” Wu Yan asked.
Lin You felt a bit embarrassed. “Exchanging for wine is already shameless enough. How could I dare to exchange for dried provisions on top of that?”
He believed that the things he brought should not even be eligible for an exchange for food provisions, but now they had not only been exchanged but also exchanged for wine and other items. He felt so ashamed and couldn’t indulge in more exchanges.
Although the immortal never discouraged them and wasn’t stingy with their exchanges, Lin You still felt embarrassed.
Wu Yan said, “Then take some more water for the journey. There are no water sources nearby.”
Lin You cupped his hands, saying, “Thank you.”
He turned to look at the busy guards and the wine and provisions loaded onto the carriage.
How much grain did it take to brew one bottle of wine?
And how many people could that grain feed?
While the officials and noble ones indulged in their drunken dreams, commoners were starving, awaiting death.
Lin You took a deep breath and said, “If the immortal ever calls, Lin is willing to die for the cause!”
“Let’s go!”
He wondered if he would have the chance to visit the immortal’s cave again and see the immortal himself in the future.
The author have something to say: The next chapter will be a change of plane.
This is not a fast transmigration story. The planes are interconnected, so it doesn’t mean I won’t write about a plane again after finishing it. Muah~
Heads up: The change of plane happens like in the last few sentence of the next chapter. So the next arc really begins at chapter 38 (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)
Please buy the raws to support the author if you can.
If there are any mistakes/error, feel free to comment it down below.
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- 洞府 Dòngfǔ: cave dwelling / legendary abode of immortals
Quick note: I was using other words for it, e.g., residence/home but not cave because I was like this ain’t cave at all. But looking back in the first few chapters I was using an immortal cave, and also the immortal cave was the most appropriate one. So, just a heads up. [↩] - 酒囊飯袋 jiǔ náng fàn dài: wine sack, food bag (idiom); useless person, only fit for guzzling and boozing [↩]
- 吃喝玩樂 chī hē wán lè: to eat, drink and be merry (idiom) / to abandon oneself to a life of pleasure [↩]
- 糧 liáng: grain / food / provisions. [The grain here is the grain-seed not the grain-cereal/wheat] [↩]
- 落葉歸根 luò yè guī gēn: lit. a falling leaf returns to the roots (idiom) / fig. all things go back to their source eventually / in old age, an expatriate returns home [↩]
nuttyriu
Thank you for the chapter