After careful consideration, Yun Shu restrained herself and closed the system panel, suppressing the urge to continue pulling from the prize pool to complete the Thousand Machines and Myriad Crafts Set.
The skills of the outfits she currently owned were mostly on cooldown. If she didn't save some Shock Value, any sudden problem could disrupt her entire plan.
She needed to save the remaining 66,000 Shock Value for emergencies and unexpected situations.
This was a habit she had developed since childhood; she always kept a backup plan or a trump card, otherwise she felt insecure.
Next, she took out the newly obtained Casket of a Hundred Crafts.
The iron casket was only the size of a palm. A Vermilion Bird with its wings spread was carved on the surface, every feather rendered in exquisite detail.
She was about to press the ruby button in the center when she suddenly remembered something and jerked her hand back.
“No, no,” she muttered under her breath, rolling out of bed. “I need to wash my hands first.”
Walking out of the room, she nimbly drew a bucket of water from the well and submerged her hands, meticulously cleaning every finger.
Once finished, she shook the water off her hands.
Only then did she return to the bedside, satisfied.
She sat cross-legged again, placing the Casket of a Hundred Crafts formally in front of her. She pressed her palms together and closed her eyes in silent prayer for three seconds.
“I don't need planes or cannons. Just give me a steam engine, a curved-shaft plow, or a spinning machine. I'm not picky!”
She pressed the ruby, and the lid popped open.
In the next second...
The casket seemed to be pushed open from the inside by invisible hands, its four sides unfolding like the petals of a blooming lotus.
First, several wooden components materialized in the light and shadow above the casket, extending outward as they locked together with mortise and tenon joints.
Next came the flying shuttles, yarn frames, and rollers—these parts coalesced into physical form from the void.
The entire process took only a few seconds.
Yun Shu’s mouth hung open, unable to say a word.
It was a Spinning Jenny!
It was about eight or nine feet long and four or five feet high. The wooden frame was polished to a shine, the copper gears gleamed yellow, and every spindle was wrapped with fine white yarn.
It stood quietly in the open space of the room.
“Holy crap, it really is a treasure!”
She rushed over excitedly and touched the spinning machine, looking at it as if she were staring at a gold mine.
Actually, truth be told...
A spinning machine was more valuable than a gold mine.
What did it mean to bring this thing to ancient times?
It was equivalent to taking the locomotive of the Industrial Revolution and slamming it onto the chessboard of an agrarian civilization.
The textile industry would skip the era of hand-cranked spinning wheels entirely.
Going from a single spindle to multiple spindles.
Production efficiency would increase by several, or even a dozen times...
The system looked confused. “Host, it’s just a spinning machine, isn't it? And an antique that was phased out long ago. Why are you so excited?”
Yun Shu had no intention of explaining it to the simple-minded system.
“Go out immediately and find out if there are any famous craftsmen in Xindu City.”
Having the spinning machine alone wasn't enough.
It was better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.
She had to use this machine to let the people of this era master the technology to manufacture them.
“Host, there’s no need to go out and ask.”
The little fox wagged its tail. “When I was coming back, I saw Shen Yu and his men building the Divine Lady Temple. I heard people saying that Su Aheng is the most skilled artisan in Xindu City.”
Yun Shu stroked its fox tail. “System, I’ll buy you two large braised pork hocks tomorrow.”
Su Aheng—she remembered. It was the young girl who was almost burned alive on the ritual altar today.
The little fox’s eyes lit up. “Great, great!”
...
The next day.
Because the construction of the Divine Lady Temple was of great importance, Shen Yu worried about making a mistake and displeasing the Divine Lady.
He hadn't closed his eyes all night.
He didn't leave until dawn.
He was preparing to get some rest.
However, after walking only a few steps, he ran head-on into an old classmate from the Imperial Academy, Pei Du, also known as Pei Zirang.
“Zirang, I didn't expect you to actually come.” A trace of irrepressible surprise flashed in his eyes.
He had originally thought the first person to be lured to Xindu would be Lu Buyan. After all, among their classmates, Lu was the most gullible.
Who would have thought...
The person who came was actually the least gullible, Pei Zirang.
Truly a miscalculation.
But it didn't matter; it wasn't a big problem. Since he had come to Xindu City, there was no way he would be allowed to leave.
“Shen Fuyan, you sent me a letter saying you found a way to save the thousands of commoners from their suffering, inviting me to Xindu City to work for the cause. Your words were quite passionate.”
Pei Du paused, slowly raising his eyes to look at the Divine Lady Temple still under construction behind Shen Yu.
“Don't tell me.”
“This is your method of saving the people?”
Shen Yu forced himself to stay alert. “Brother Zirang, let me explain it to you slowly. After I left the capital, I encountered a Divine Lady with vast supernatural powers on my way to find my brother. She can not only make wheat seedlings grow into ears of grain in an instant but also bestowed upon us a Divine Seed called the sweet potato, which can yield two thousand jin per mu!”
“As long as we promote this sweet potato to the world, the tragedy of people eating their own children will surely never happen again!”
Pei Du: “...”
He looked at the agitated Shen Yu, his gaze sweeping over the dark circles under his eyes, and his brow furrowed. “Shen Fuyan, has your brain gone soft from taking Five Minerals Powder?”
Suddenly, he remembered something that happened at a poetry gathering six months ago. A scholar who had taken the powder had a drug-induced fit and actually stripped off his clothes in public, acting completely manic.
That incident had made him lose all interest in poetry gatherings.
The more he thought about it, the deeper his frown became.
“That Five Minerals Powder is not a good thing. If you are still the Shen Fuyan I know, stop taking it.”
“Otherwise, we shall part ways here.”
Shen Yu: “...”
“I really haven't taken Five Minerals Powder,” he said helplessly.
Pei Du clearly didn't believe him. “You should know that your brother hates sorcery and the pills refined by sorcerers the most. If he finds out you are using Five Minerals Powder...”
“He definitely won't let you off easy.”
As the saying goes, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Just as he finished speaking, Shen Jue arrived on horseback.
He dismounted and said concisely, “Fuyan, the wheat outside the city is mostly harvested. I happen to be free, so go and rest. I’ll keep an eye on things here.”
Pei Du’s expression turned strange for a moment. “General Shen, did you order this Divine Lady Temple to be built?”
Shen Jue only then noticed that there was another person beside Shen Yu, and a familiar face at that.
He was only a year and some months older than Shen Yu.
He naturally recognized Shen Yu’s classmate.
“Fuyan, Zirang has come to Xindu City, why didn't you tell me?” He gave his brother a meaningful look. “A visitor is a guest; you must entertain Zirang well.”
After Zhao Qian died, his followers scattered like rats. His subordinates, fearing they would be implicated, fled Xindu City overnight.
The Governor's manor had been looted clean.
Fortunately, the people of Xindu were all believers of the Divine Lady, and Shen Yu held great prestige among them.
With his pacification, no chaos had broken out in the city.
However, they were severely short-handed, especially when it came to literate people. This resulted in him, a military general, having to do clerical work.
He had truly come to understand how Shen Er felt.
Now that a literate person had finally arrived...
No matter what, he couldn't let Pei Du leave Xindu City. He had to keep him here by any means necessary!
Making a General do clerical work...
Was that even right?
Rate on N.U.
