Chapter 2

......

How big is a fire-feathered chicken? Even if you save it, it would be enough for a family of three to have two meals with some left over.

Therefore, Fang Zhengzhi ate a full meal, his little belly bulging, and he kept letting out breaths, with oil still dripping from the corners of his mouth.

He found a stone and rested for a while, then destroyed all the remaining bones to cover up the evidence. Fang Zhengzhi looked around with his black eyes, making sure no one had noticed or followed him. Then, he hummed a little tune, hands behind his back, and slowly strolled towards the village like a little adult.

"The mountain roads here have eighteen bends, and the waterways... Eh?" Just as he reached the village entrance, he heard a noisy commotion coming from inside.

"My goodness, the Divine Monkey Mansion people actually came to our Nanshan Village!"

"Ancestors bless! This is something that has never happened before. Could it be that Nanshan Village is about to produce a great person who understands righteousness?"

Divine Monkey Mansion?

He didn't know if it had any connection with the monkey from the Journey to the West.

Fang Zhengzhi ignored the excited and enthusiastic discussions of the villagers, wiped the oil from the corners of his mouth with his little paws, and continued walking towards his home...

......

Nanshan Village is named for its location south of the Cangling Mountain. It's a tiny place, with a river in front and a mountain behind, and only about a hundred households. In the vast world, it is undoubtedly a speck of dust in the vast starry sea.

At the entrance of the four-door small courtyard, there was a pile of firewood that the owner had cut from the mountain. Fang Zhengzhi sometimes thought that if he set it on fire, the entire four-door small courtyard would probably "ascend to heaven" in an instant.

"Firewood, and that fierce fire..."

Fang Zhengzhi continued humming, quickly bypassed the main gate of the small courtyard, turned onto a side path, and after walking about ten meters, he saw a house made of earth and stone, with green tiles on the roof.

This was Fang Zhengzhi's home in this life.

"Village Chief, let's finalize the quota for the child examination, shall we?"

"That won't do, Village Chief!"

Just as he pushed open the fence gate in front of the house, Fang Zhengzhi heard two women's voices inside.

Fang Zhengzhi was very familiar with these voices and could easily tell that the first one belonged to the mistress of the neighboring four-door small courtyard, a woman with a large build and a round waist, who always wore a red headscarf and was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

A neighbor, Fang Zhengzhi was very familiar with the layout of her house. To foster "friendship" between neighbors, he had just visited her place that morning.

The second voice, of course, belonged to Fang Zhengzhi's mother in this life, Qin Xuelian, a woman with waist-length hair, as pure and beautiful as a snow lotus from the Tian Mountains.

As for why such a mother would marry his old man?

It was purely a coincidence.

According to legend, it was because his old man, when he was young, "accidentally" saw her through and through. Then, his old man was quite honest, telling everyone that Qin Xuelian had been seen by him, and if she married someone else, he would be wearing a green hat. He felt guilty about it, and so on...

He said this for three whole years. Not only did everyone in Nanshan Village know, but even people from neighboring villages knew. Then, his mother had to consider the issue of her reputation.

Fang Zhengzhi found his old man's honesty despicable, but he had to admit that his perseverance in telling everyone for three years was impressive.

"Persistent, really persistent!"

Qin Xuelian had a transcendent appearance and a well-proportioned figure, but the clothes she wore were clearly already quite faded, with the only new part being a patch on the pants that had just been sewn on.

"Mom!" Fang Zhengzhi called out in a babyish voice after pushing open the fence, not to act young, but because his voice was like that now.

If he really shouted with a thirty-year-old man's rough voice, even a god would be startled.

"Zheng'er is back. Are you thirsty? Come and have some water..." As soon as Qin Xuelian heard Fang Zhengzhi's voice, she forgot everything else, picked up a bowl of water, and rushed to him like a gust of wind.

Fang Zhengzhi didn't refuse. Having just swallowed a whole fire-feathered chicken, he was quite choked and gulped down more than half of the bowl of water.

After putting down the bowl and burping, Fang Zhengzhi noticed that there was a guest in his small courtyard.

An old man with a long white beard, always holding a long smoking pipe.

Fang Zhengzhi recognized him—the current Village Chief of Nanshan Village!

Calling him "adult" was not a joke. In a place like Nanshan Village, a "paradise," the Village Chief was truly a big shot, a local king.

To put it simply, all the game that the Nanshan Village residents hunted had to be distributed by the Village Chief!

"Fang's wife, I still have to go to other families to arrange things. We'll follow what Li's wife said! This time, the Divine Monkey Mansion people have come to Nanshan Village, and they need food, drink, and accommodation. Li's wife donated four 'fire-feathered chickens' and offered a large stone house. She should get priority in the quota."

The Village Chief patted his rough hands on his body, knocked the ash out of his smoking pipe, took a puff, and blew out a smoke ring.

"It's just fire-feathered chickens, right? Can I go borrow some now?" Qin Xuelian led Fang Zhengzhi into the house, tidied up her old clothes, and prepared to go out.

This made Fang Zhengzhi curious. His mother usually cared a lot about her reputation and wouldn't ask for help from neighbors unless it was something serious. What made her so determined to borrow fire-feathered chickens?

"Xuelian, are you going to borrow fire-feathered chickens? Hehehe, did I hear that right? There are only a few neighbors with fire-feathered chickens, and they all donated them to the Divine Monkey Mansion today. Where can you borrow them from?" Just as Fang Zhengzhi was puzzled, Li's wife, with her large build, covered her mouth and laughed, her body trembling slightly.

"..." Qin Xuelian paused, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Xuelian, listen to my advice. There are over a hundred households in Nanshan Village. It's impossible for everyone to participate in the Divine Monkey Mansion's examination. The Village Chief's arrangement is for the future of the entire village. Think about it, the Divine Monkey Mansion's examination is to assess our Nanshan Village's strength. If the results are poor, it's uncertain whether we can even set up a 'Dao Hall'!" Li's wife advised again.

Child examination, examination, Dao Hall...

Thinking of the child examination he heard before entering, Fang Zhengzhi's black eyes twinkled, and he finally understood.

It seemed that the Divine Monkey Mansion had come to Nanshan Village to hold an examination, and it was impossible for everyone in the village to participate, so they had to select participants. The Village Chief seemed to be the key person in this selection.

But...

Since the Village Chief is the key person, why did Aunt Li come to our house? It seems she's not very confident, so the only explanation is that they are "colluding"!

Daring to gang up and bully my mother? That can't be tolerated. Fang Zhengzhi is not the type to "endure humiliation and bear a heavy burden." He is the type who, if you push him, he will immediately push back!

"Mrs. Li, you can say that my family can't donate fire-feathered chickens, but why do you say that my son Zheng'er's performance is poor?" Qin Xuelian could tolerate others saying her family was poor, but she absolutely couldn't tolerate others saying her son was no good.

"Alright, no more arguing. It's decided! The Li family has contributed a lot to the village in recent years, and they always hand over more game. They definitely deserve a spot in the main examination. As for the child examination... Although Zhengzhi is of age, he is still a bit young. Li's son, Hu Zi, is a month older than Zhengzhi, so the spot should go to the Li family!" The Village Chief put away his smoking pipe and turned to leave.

A month, how much difference does it make?

Any clear-eyed person could see that the Village Chief was being biased.

Fang Zhengzhi's eyes twinkled, and a thought flashed through his mind. Then, he "innocently" spoke up.

"Mom, since the Village Chief and Aunt Li say that the Divine Monkey Mansion's examination is about performance, why not arrange a preliminary competition to select the participants?"

(For the new book, your recommendation votes are the greatest support! This doesn't cost you anything, so please give me a vote, give me a vote, give me a vote... On the first day of the book, I saw many familiar friends, and I am very moved. I would like to specially thank: You Yan v, Qing Song, Jian Xilai, Chun Chun Zhai Nan, Ran Jiu Yi Shu Fang Hua, Wo Shi Luan Luan, Piao Miao 10 Tu Tu, Pang Ge Ge ZJM, Chui Yan Yong Xiao Huo, for their support! Thank you all!)