Chapter 1 Part II

    Today, she made one tael and ten brass coins. After exchanging for eggs and rice, she still had 960 brass coins left, a substantial amount that Miss Wang was very satisfied with. While the weather’s getting colder, she planned to buy thick fabric for her husband and children to keep warm and, if there’s some money left, she would use it to repair the roof of the house. This sum would help the family get through the winter more comfortably. 

    "Father, have another spoonful of porridge, please. It's almost finished. Mother made egg porridge with spinach today, and it smells so good," Zhenzhu spooned the sweet smell porridge to her father's mouth. Though this man was not her biological father but the father of the body she inhabited, she decided to repay the body's owner by taking care of him. 

    After Miss Wang went to collect herbs on the mountain again today, especially after finding spirit herbs a few days ago and earning a good amount of money, she asked Grandpa You to buy three pieces of thick fabric and hire someone to repair the roof slightly, making the nights less cold for them. 

    When Miss Wang went out to collect herbs. He Ming, the elder brother, went out to collect firewood at the foothills not far from home, the duty of taking care of their sick father fell to her.

    "Father has eaten enough, child," He Lei told his daughter with a dim gaze, feeling sorry for his little daughter and wife. Beyond being unable to help, he felt like a burden to his family, wishing for heaven's mercy to end his suffering, thinking they might live better without him. 

    "Then, Father, drink some water. I'll go fetch some more from the stream," Zhenzhu offered water before heading out with a large bucket, nearly as big as herself. 

    Her home was not far from the stream behind the house. Zhenzhu only filled the bucket halfway due to her small and frail body, fearing that a full bucket might cause her to trip and fall before reaching home. 

    "Ah, there's freshwater algae too," Zhenzhu was surprised, not having heard anyone mention that the stream behind the house had algae. Algae could be used to make soup, saving another meal for her family. 

    Zhenzhu reached for the algae under the clear water to fill her bucket instead of the water she had poured out earlier. Suddenly, a school of small and large fish surrounded her small hand. Besides fish, she saw a large crab slowly emerging from under a rock as if something was attracting them. 

    "Ah, these fish aren't afraid of people at all?" Zhenzhu exclaimed in surprise, scooping up a large fish quickly with her right hand.

    "Wow, these fish in the stream are so foolish!" Zhenzhu exclaimed in shock. In her hand, she held a large fish the size of two adult hands. It wriggled as she lifted it from the water, almost slipping from her grasp. She quickly placed the large fish into the bucket. 

    "Gotcha, you silly fish!" 

    With a big fish caught, who would care about algae? Zhenzhu felt excited. She reached into the water again with her left hand, but this time, the fish quickly swam away. 

    "Aw, why did that happen?" Zhenzhu was puzzled, but then she felt warmth on her right wrist, where she wore a bracelet adorned with a golden fish scale. 

    Why did the fish scale warm up? 

    The golden fish scale that had transcended with her from Beijing, aside from being useless and bringing her to poverty, always returned to her whenever she tried to throw it away. Once, after tossing it into a bush, she found it under her pillow the next morning. Zhenzhu tried to find a purpose for it, but it seemed to be nothing more than a pretty, useless fish scale. Out of desperation, since it was at least visually appealing, she had drilled a hole in it and wore it as a bracelet, never imagining that she'd accidentally discover a way to use it. 

    Without delay, Zhenzhu dipped her wrist with the golden scale back into the water. This time, she closely observed the golden scale, which emitted a faint blue glow, turning the surrounding water into spiritual energized water. 

    Spirit energy! 

    It could release spirit energy! 

    What a treasure! This is a valuable treasure! 

    Zhenzhu's heart raced with excitement, her heartbeat is audible in her chest, almost bursting out. Finally, heaven’s emperor had soothed her aching heart with this precious golden fish scale. 

    The fish and other aquatic creatures, attracted by the fragrant aura of spirit energy, foolishly swam towards her again. Zhenzhu scooped up two more large fish before happily carrying the bucket full of fish back home. 

    If the golden scale could turn ordinary water into spiritual energized water, she could use it to attract schools of fish and other aquatic creatures. She could catch fish to sell and exchange for money, providing another source of income. 

    Then, if she used this spiritual energized water to water vegetables or herbs, would they become spiritually energized plants? 

    Growing spiritual plants was something only those who had reached the dark blue tier of spirit energy cultivation could do, as spiritual plants needed to be nourished with spiritual energy from a cultivator. Silver-tier cultivators could only grow blue-tier spiritual plants, so higher-tier spiritual plants required even higher-tier cultivators. Thus, spiritual plants were expensive, and ordinary people couldn't afford them. 

    If Zhenzhu used the golden scale to make spiritual energized water, that water could nourish plants just as a cultivator's spiritual energy would, turning them into spiritual plants. She could then make money from this too. Excited by the idea, Zhenzhu hurried home to do some experiments with growing plants. 

    "Sister, where have you been? Why did it take you so long to fetch some water?" Her little brother ran from the front of the house to meet her. 

    "It’s not that long! Who's been running around playing until he’s tired and then coming home?" 

    "No way, I was helping Aunt Zhou plant some vegetables. Look, Aunt Zhou gave me a turnip," the little boy proudly showed off a turnip the size of a fist, smiling broadly. 

    "Hmm, why did you take Aunt Zhou's turnip? Now her family might not have enough to eat," Zhenzhu teased, knowing their neighbor wasn't well-off, and a single turnip could make a meal. Taking something from someone else means one less meal for them. 

    "I said no, but Aunt Zhou insisted and stuffed it into my cloth," the little boy said, looking a bit guilty for not refusing firmly. 

    "Let it be. Look, what I've got," Zhenzhu beckoned He Yu over. 

    "Wow, sister! You caught three big fish! How did you do it? You're amazing. I want to eat fish. I want to eat fish!" They had been frugal with their spending and hadn't eaten meat for many days. Today, they would finally have fish. He Yu swallowed hard, craving the smell of grilled fish. 

    "Yes, today our little Yu'er will have fish." 

    "Yay, I want to eat fish. Come on, sister, let's go inside. Mother will be back soon," He Yu eagerly pulled his sister towards the house, both are in high spirits. 

    When Madam Wang and He Ming returned home in the evening, they were surprised and intrigued to see the fish Zhenzhu had caught. 

    "How did you manage to catch three big fish, sister? Look, if we sold these, we could easily get 10-15 brass coins each," He Ming looked at the big fish excitedly, wondering how his little sister managed to catch such big fish. Were the fish blind or nearly death for his sister to catch them so easily? 

    "Big brother, can't we just keep one for me to eat?" He Yu puffed out his cheeks, not wanting them to sell the fish. He had been craving meat for days. 

    "Ha ha, I was just joking. How could I sell it if little Yu'er wanted to eat? Our family will enjoy these fish together tonight." 

    "Let's not argue now. But child, how did you catch these fish?" Madam Wang inquired. 

    "Mother, let's prepare dinner first. Let's cook all three of them. No need to sell. If you want to sell, I'll catch more later. As for how I caught these fish, I'll tell everyone later," Zhenzhu said, handing the bucket to her mother. She needed to discuss this with her family first and ask her mother to help her examine growing herbs and watering them with spiritually energized water. 

    After the delicious fish dinner, the He family gathered in the father's room that evening. He Lei was half-sitting, half-lying on the bed, waiting for the family meeting called by his second daughter.

    Everyone was puzzled about what was going to happen, as the He family had never sat down to seriously discuss matters like this before.

    "What is it, sister? Do you have something to tell your father and me?" He Lei broke the silence, everyone eager to hear what Zhenzhu had to say.

    Zhenzhu stepped out of the small bedroom for a moment before returning with a bowl filled with plain water. 

    "Alright, everyone must be wondering how I managed to catch fish without any fishing equipment," she said, lifting her right wrist for everyone to see. 

    "Do you see this fish scale? I found it by chance a few days ago while fetching water from the stream. It floated towards me. Noticing its shimmering golden color, I kept it as an ornament. But today, I discovered its secret; it's a magical object." 

    "How is it magical, sister?" He Yu couldn't contain his curiosity. 

    Zhenzhu removed the bracelet and dipped it into the bowl of plain water. The golden scale emitted a faint blue glow, barely visible. Suddenly, the plain water in the bowl radiated blue spirit energy, filling the room with a refreshing fragrance. 

    "This is!" 

    "Spirit energy!" 

    "How is this possible?" 

    "Can something like this really happen?" 

    Everyone in the house exclaimed in shock and amazement. What kind of treasure was this that could transform ordinary water into spiritually energized water? Spirit energy was something out of reach for many, something they could only dream of. 

    Even though the water in the bowl only possessed blue-tier spirit energy, it was more than enough. 

    Zhenzhu took three sips of the water, feeling the spirit energy spread throughout her body, rejuvenating her as if a parched desert had been drenched in rain. Fatigue and soreness gradually faded away, and she felt her body slowly recovering. 

    "Try some, He Yu," she offered the bowl to the little boy, who looked at it with wide eyes and puffed cheeks. He took a few sips, as if he had been thirsty for days. 

    "It's good, really good, sister!" he exclaimed, then rushed out to refill the empty bowl with water from the jar. 

    "More, sister, dip the magical object in again!" Zhenzhu obliged, and once more, the ordinary water turned into blue spiritually energized water. He Yu carefully held the bowl to their father to drink. 

    "Father, try this. It will make you stronger. If you drink this every day, you will surely recover," he said eagerly. 

    He Lei, still in disbelief, blinked slowly before taking a sip of the spiritually energized water his son offered. The energy spread through his body, easing his weakness bit by bit. He felt refreshed and was so moved that tears dropped. All a sick person desires is to recover. After lying ill for over three years, he had resigned himself to waiting for death, never imagining that today, a glimmer of hope would be reignited. Now he had hope. If he could drink this spiritually energized water daily, he would no longer be a burden to his family. 

    "Zhu’er, my child, heaven must have mercy on our family to give us such a treasure," Madam Wang said, tears streaming down her face. 

    "Indeed, our sister is a good person. Heaven has seen her kindness," He Ming supported. 

    "This spiritually energized water attracted many aquatic animals, making it easy for me to catch them," Zhenzhu explained. 

    "So that's how it is." 

    That night, they were too excited to sleep.