Chapter 1
**Title: Cultivating Immortality: My Study Abroad Experience in the Modern World**
**Author: Bald and Big-headed**
**Source: Sudu Valley**
**Website: http://www.sudugu.com**
**Chapter 1: Dried Meat and Roast Chicken**
The last rays of the setting sun fell upon the eaves of the Zheng family home, where the ground in front of the door had been sprinkled with water, suppressing the evening dust and bringing a hint of coolness.
At a small table directly facing the main door, the three members of the Zheng family were having dinner.
“The son of Manager Wang got hit with forty lashes by the lady; he was almost dead when they brought him back,” Zheng Fa said, holding his chopsticks, listening to his mother gossip about the happenings in the village.
His little sister, Zheng Shan, sat beside him, half her body leaning against him, her hands cradling a rice bowl larger than her head, her face buried in it as she ate heartily.
Upon hearing the gossip from their mother, Zheng Shan lifted her little head and asked, “Wang Gui? Isn’t his family favored by the lady, chosen to be the scholar’s servant for the Seventh Young Master? Why did he get beaten?”
Zheng Fa glanced at his sister, noticing her round, bright eyes and the corner of her mouth smeared with dark green vegetable juice.
That expression of schadenfreude on her little face was quite something!
Despite being only six years old, she understood that the relationship between the Wang family and theirs was not particularly good.
Both families were tenants on the Zhao family estate, but their circumstances were vastly different.
In the past, when Zheng Fa’s father was the estate manager, the Zheng family lived relatively well, much better than the Wang family.
However, five years ago, during a beastly turmoil, Zheng Fa’s father died while trying to harvest their crops.
With the pillar of the family gone and the managerial position lost, the Zheng family’s fortunes plummeted.
Zheng Fa’s mother had to raise her son and daughter while managing the fields, making life extremely difficult.
In contrast, the Wang family inherited the managerial position left by Zheng Fa’s father, and their situation seemed to be improving.
Usually, Manager Wang was wary of Zheng Fa, the son of the former manager, and subtly isolated the Zheng family.
The other families in the village were not blind to this, but one was a widow with two children, while the other was a favored manager; people naturally gravitated towards the latter, making life even lonelier for the Zhengs.
Children might not fully grasp the reasons behind adult conflicts, but the exclusion in their actions could be even more pronounced.
Wang Gui, as the only son of Manager Wang, was somewhat of a bully in the village, often leading the charge in picking on Zheng Fa and his little sister, Zheng Shan.
Zheng Fa was better off; he was tall and sturdy, with a calm demeanor that commanded respect among the village children, so even Wang Gui dared not go too far.
Zheng Shan, on the other hand, was lively and playful, which often led her to suffer more grievances. It was only natural for her to feel happy upon hearing about someone else’s misfortune.
“What are you acting so strange for?” Zheng Mother shot a glare at her daughter. “They say Wang Gui is mischievous, leading the Seventh Young Master astray. The lady saw him and had him punished to learn some manners. If she saw you acting like this, she’d give you a beating too!”
Zheng Shan opened her mouth in surprise, “I’m not as bad as Wang Gui! Besides, I can’t be a servant. When he was chosen by the lady, he bragged all over the village. No one else had that chance!”
Zheng Fa shook his head inwardly. He had long understood Wang Gui’s character; he was a bully who preyed on the weak, and of course, he acted arrogantly in front of them.
But he didn’t believe Wang Gui had the guts to lead the Seventh Young Master astray.
At this time, it was still early, and the Zheng family had dinner at this hour to take advantage of the fading light and save on lamp oil.
Farm families typically had two meals a day; it wasn’t just the Zhengs, but even the Wang family followed this routine.
On the small wooden table, there were only two dishes: one was a plate of green leafy vegetables, known in the village as pig grass leaves, originally meant for feeding pigs, but poorer families also consumed them.
The Zhengs had this dish every few days, boiled in a large pot with hardly any oil or salt, making it quite unpalatable.
The other dish was different; it was a plate of tender bamboo shoots that Zheng Mother had picked early in the morning from the mountains, long and slender, topped with two glistening, red pieces—
Meat!
Two slices of dried meat!
Zheng Shan’s cheeks were stuffed with pig grass leaves, her big eyes fixed intently on those two slices of dried meat.
If only her eyes could eat, those two slices would have vanished into her stomach already.
She remembered that the dried meat was cured during the New Year, and they had only one thin strip in total. Zheng Mother would cut off a couple of slices every ten days or so, eating very sparingly.
The last time they had dried meat was a month ago.
Zheng Shan wasn’t greedy; she thought, one slice for her brother, and if she could have one slice too, that would be enough…
No, Mother should have some too, so she’d just take half of one slice…
No, just one bite!
One bite would make her very happy!
Finally, Zheng Mother’s chopsticks reached for the two slices of dried meat.
Zheng Shan’s eyes followed the chopsticks, her little head tilting slightly.
The first slice of meat landed in her brother’s bowl.
Well, that’s fair.
The second slice, Zheng Shan noticed her mother’s hand paused in front of her.
In the end, it also landed in her brother’s bowl.
Zheng Shan blinked, feeling a bit wronged, but she consoled herself: her brother had to work every day, so he needed to eat more meat.
Pig grass leaves are good too!
She lowered her head, avoiding looking at the meat in her brother’s bowl, chewing the vegetable leaves with more vigor, as if she were eating meat.
…
A pair of chopsticks fell from above her forehead.
The chopsticks holding the meat were so close that the aroma was practically slapping her face.
Zheng Shan suddenly looked up to see Zheng Fa smiling as he placed a piece of dried meat in her bowl.
“Brother!” She grinned widely at Zheng Fa, joy radiating from her missing front tooth.
“Eat meat,” Zheng Fa ruffled her little head.
“Mm!” She picked up the dried meat, taking small bites, feeling utterly satisfied.
…
Zheng Mother watched this without saying anything. Looking at her son, she thought of her daughter as a piece of her own flesh.
Who would want to see them suffer?
Her favoritism towards her son wasn’t without reason.
Heavy farm work required a man’s strength.
Even the presence of a man in the household changed their status in the village.
If her husband had passed and Zheng Fa wasn’t there, life would have been even harder for her and her daughter.
In Zheng Mother’s heart, it was Zheng Fa who held the Zheng family together.
Her son’s willingness to care for his sister brought her joy.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Fa picked up another piece of dried meat and placed it in Zheng Mother’s bowl.
Zheng Mother looked up at her son, feeling a mix of emotions she couldn’t quite articulate.
After her husband’s death, she felt as if the sky had fallen, wishing she could follow him.
But her son was growing more and more considerate, making her reluctant to let him go, and giving her a glimmer of hope.
“Mother is too old for meat; it’s not good for her. I don’t really like it either. You’re still growing…”
“I’ve grown tall enough already.”
“…”
Zheng Mother looked at her son, who was nearly eight feet tall, and found herself unable to argue.
She was also puzzled; despite the family’s struggles over the past few years, her son was growing taller by the day.
At seventeen or eighteen, he was already half a head taller than the other boys in the village.
Life was hard, but this child was the best-looking in the village.
He commanded respect from the villagers, making them think twice before insulting him.
…
At night, Zheng Fa lay in bed, the mottled blue tiles above him, starlight filtering through.
He could hear his little sister in the next room, smacking her lips in her sleep, and the sound of his mother turning over.
The cotton quilt was old, uneven in weight; some parts were light and airy, while others were heavy and lumpy, making it uncomfortable and not very warm.
He closed his eyes, sinking into a deep sleep filled with anticipation.
When he opened his eyes again, the world had transformed.
Sunlight streamed onto the plain white ceiling above, and the sounds of honking cars filled the street outside.
The down comforter gently enveloped his body.
Though the quilt was so soft, Zheng Fa felt no attachment.
He jumped out of bed barefoot, slipped on his slippers, dashed out of his room, opened the fridge, and grabbed a whole marinated chicken and four steamed buns he had bought at the market the day before, placing them in the microwave.
The aroma of chicken gradually wafted from the microwave, filling the entire room.
Zheng Fa took out the freshly heated roast chicken, its skin sizzling with golden oil, the steam carrying a tantalizing scent that teased his taste buds.
Not caring that the chicken was still hot, he tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth.
The fragrant, warm chicken slid down his throat, warming his stomach and sending a wave of bliss up his spine, escaping as a soft sigh of happiness.
**Chapter 2: The Modern World**
He was alive!
In the past few days, he hadn’t eaten his fill in the village.
Zheng Fa felt a bit ashamed; after tasting all kinds of delicacies in this world, going back to pig grass leaves was even harder to swallow…
After all, it’s hard to go from luxury to simplicity.
As for the dried meat and other tasty morsels, he had always let his sister and mother have them.
After all, he enjoyed a life of indulgence in this world; if he were to snatch that little bit of meat, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
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