Looking at the bags of rice filling the room, and then at the meat spread out on the cloth, Village Chief Du and Du Zhengya couldn’t help but secretly swallow their saliva. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Du Zhengya had never experienced wealth, never had a full meal since childhood. Seeing this scene felt like a dream to her; the impact was large, but her emotions were unified in excitement.

But for Village Chief Du, who fell from prosperity to poverty, gazing at the view before him brought him abundant emotions, and tears streamed down his old face.

How many years has it been? How many years since he’s seen so much rice, so much meat!

Ever since leaving their homeland, the Du clan had fallen into decline. Those outside were like rootless duckweed, drifting uncertainly, no longer possessing the scholarly spirit of directing the land and making bold advances as in the past.

But now, their Du clan encountered the sacrificial spirit and welcomed a new opportunity.

They were actually chosen by the ancestral god of the Lin clan, a disciple under the Nine Heavens Profound Lady, to become the first disciples in the human world. It was hard not to rise!

At fifty, knowing the will of heaven, Village Chief Du stood before the grain pile illuminated by the magic artifact from the Heavenly Court, recalling the vibrant years of the past, even his gaze grew youthful.

In the village, besides the Du surname villagers, there were a few households gathered over the years due to their Han ethnicity, seeking warmth by sticking together.

Lin Wanwan looked at Village Chief Du and Du Zhengya who were counting the grain totals in the wooden house, her heart moved, she glanced around the crowd in front, and asked, "You family members who are not of the Du surname, elect a representative, and he will be the deputy village chief here in the future."

Several villagers of different surnames glanced at each other, quietly discussed a few words, and finally a dark-skinned young man in his early twenties stepped forward, saluted Lin Wanwan, and said, "Returning to the sacrificial spirit, I am Lu Baihua, I swear to serve the sacrificial spirit to the death, and am willing to take on this responsibility."

Here, the term "sacrificial spirit" is equivalent to "mother," the whole village collectively acknowledging their ancestors.

Lin Wanwan looked at the small-eyed, flat-nosed young man in front of her, with an earnest face, and felt slightly disappointed. She was quite worried that he lacked the capability to lead the villagers of different surnames to break out from the Du surname and secure a share for themselves.

Of course, he wasn’t as pleasing to her as Du Zhengya, whom she chose herself. Lin Wanwan wouldn’t admit to being a face-connoisseur verbally, but in reality, she was quite inclined to judge by appearance, a standard face-connoisseur indeed.

This was evident from the fact that apart from Kun Lun, her personal servants were all people with excellent looks.

When selecting people with decent appearances as first-class and second-class maids, Lin Wanwan had ample reasons—a modern scientist researched that enjoying beautiful things like beautiful people every day contributes to longevity.

Now, with a rather plain, even somewhat ugly deputy village chief, Lin Wanwan wasn’t very satisfied, but she said nothing.

She convinced herself that since the main purpose of selecting a deputy village chief was to balance the power of the Du surname in the village, it would be best to choose someone they elected themselves.

Such a person at least has grassroots support and has been endorsed by the villagers.

She wouldn’t stay here for long, it was best to let them govern themselves eventually.

"Since everyone trusts you, then join us and take part in the grain distribution." Lin Wanwan casually instructed.

Lu Baihua accepted the order, first respectfully bowed, then stepped into the small wooden house.

Watching his calm demeanor, Lin Wanwan nodded silently. Although Lu Baihua appeared overly honest and straightforward, he seemed steady in his actions, appearing to be a familiar opinion leader.

The pace of the grain and meat distribution was swift. After counting, Village Chief Lu, Lu Baihua, and Du Zhengya stepped out of the wooden house, each selecting a few villagers to assist with distributing grain and meat.

This village comprised fifty-two households, averaging seven people per household, totaling three hundred sixty-four people, not considered a large village, not even qualifying as a unit in the Great Tang.

Lin Wanwan brought two thousand jin of rice here, distributing equally by the head without regard to age or seniority.

Families with more people happily received more, while those with fewer did not complain.

Seeing such snow-white rice for the first time, along with large chunks of meat, everyone was overwhelmingly happy.

Moreover, the sacrificial spirit announced that tonight they would host a collective outdoor barbecue, everyone only thought about how to celebrate, not considering anything else.

Lin Wanwan stayed longer in the past to attend the grand feast in the village.

A large steamer produced a wooden barrel full of white rice, along with roasted pork belly, roasted beef, roasted lamb, sprinkled with cumin and other spices. A bite was delicious, leaving a lingering aroma in the mouth.

Apart from these, living on an island, one couldn’t forego seafood.

Everyone brought forth dried shrimps, dried squid, dried small fish, etc. from their homes to present to the sacrificial spirit.

Fresh seafood caught today was placed on the grill, perfectly suited to Lin Wanwan’s taste.

Just like the people from Lin Family Manor, the villagers here were not fond of eating seafood. They ate it every day, grew tired of it, and feared it.

Huge crabs and shrimp were steamed and piled like mountains on the dining table, but only Lin Wanwan would be pleased, it didn’t spark much interest among the villagers.

Watching the sacrificial spirit focused on eating seafood, ignoring the white rice and big chunks of meat, everyone felt deeply moved.

Look, how great their sacrificial spirit was, the delicacies were left for them to enjoy, she only consumed what could be caught anytime in the sea.

The villagers’ bowls were filled with white rice, covered with a few slices of meat, eating what they had never tasted before - white, soft, fragrant, pure rice, while tears streamed down their faces with emotion.

Of course, Lin Wanwan didn’t know the villagers imagined so much, thinking she intentionally left the delicacies for them.

She ate and took as well, unapologetically.

These seafoods, more than fourteen hundred years ago, entirely unpolluted by plastics and nuclear waste, were large and all wild, were indeed premium seafood!

No need for extra cooking, steaming with clear water would be the best enjoyment.

Of course, if one wished, a little further processing was naturally an option.

Lin Wanwan decided to take some back for Lu Shouyue to taste.

Thus she loaded a net bag full of seafood, carrying it, she returned to the village chief’s small wooden house.

Then she traversed through time back to the present, opened the door, and said to the bodyguard Ah Hao waiting at the entrance, "Let’s go, back to the hotel."

Ah Hao promptly, keen-eyed, took the net bag from Lin Wanwan’s hand, not knowing exactly how much was in the warehouse but seeing it was all food items.

Thus, Lin Wanwan carrying a bag full of seafood out wasn’t surprising at all.

The smell of seafood was strong, leaving a lingering odor in the car for a long time.

It was because Lin Wanwan was a top-tier VIP at the hotel’s penthouse. Not just a bag full of seafood, even if she desired to fill the trunk and cabin entirely with seafood, the driver dispatched by the hotel would only help her load up, never uttering a complaint.