My Days as a God in Ancient Times
o0o
The old man’s shout was nothing short of hysterical. He was crying out from that tiny sliver of hope in his heart, hoping that an immortal had truly come to save them.
If Chu Qiuzhe's legs were healthy, he probably would have jumped back in fright. He took two deep breaths and patted his chest to calm himself before attempting to explain that he was no deity who had descended to earth.
However, before he could speak, the scattered people on the street had already surrounded him, their eyes burning as they stared at him.
Their gazes were like those of starving wolves, glowing with a terrifying green light.
Chu Qiuzhe felt his scalp tingle. He awkwardly cleared his throat and said “Everyone, don’t be nervous. I still have some food here. Let’s share it.”
Though he spoke kindly, no one dared to come forward.
The people glanced at his short hair and strange clothing, along with that bizarre chair he was sitting on. They looked at each other, and their fear of the unknown outweighed their hunger.
For a moment, the atmosphere was tense.
At that moment, a refined-looking scholar stepped forward. “I am Chen Cuizhi. May I ask how to address you, sir? Do you truly have food?”
Chen Cuizhi's tone was calm and composed, immediately drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd.
But Chu Qiuzhe nearly laughed—who would name themselves Chen Vinegar Sauce?
Still, judging from his attire, this man was clearly of a higher social standing than these disaster-stricken people. Chu guessed he might be someone in charge.
Imitating Chen’s formal tone, Chu Qiuzhe replied “I am Chu Qiuzhe. I do have food, but I came in a hurry today and didn’t bring much. Please make do for now. Tomorrow, I’ll bring rice and flour for everyone. Would that be acceptable?”
As he spoke, he opened the plastic bag on his lap to reveal the food inside.
Fruits, vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, snacks—everything one could think of.
Chen Cuizhi's eyes flickered. If it were just these foods, he wouldn’t have been so moved, but hearing that rice and flour would arrive tomorrow left him speechless with excitement.
Seeing that no one moved, Chu Qiuzhe sighed helplessly.
He took out a bag of whole-wheat bread, tore it open, and pinched a small piece to eat. “It’s made of flour. It’s edible.”
The old man, who had spoken first, mimicked Chu’s actions and tore open a package.
But unlike the plain taste of whole-wheat bread, the old man held a rich, milky cheese toast. The aroma of the food drifted with the wind, and Chu Qiuzhe could even hear people swallowing their saliva.
Chen Cuizhi was the first to kneel before Chu Qiuzhe. “Thank you, sir, for your generosity.”
As soon as he spoke, the others followed, kneeling down, their gazes toward Chu Qiuzhe filled with near-religious devotion.
Many of them mumbled repeatedly “A living immortal here to save us... an immortal descended to earth…”
Chu Qiuzhe’s mouth twitched twice. Internally, he harshly criticized this ancient habit of kneeling for everything.
And what was with treating him like some immortal?
Then again, he thought, when people are desperate, they turn to gods and spirits. These villagers were barely clinging to life. If that thread of hope snapped, so would they.
Forget it. Once the food arrives tomorrow and they see real hope, he would explain then.
He reached out to help Chen Cuizhi up. “Distribute the food to everyone. No need to kneel.”
Seeing that he didn’t deny their assumptions, the people became even more convinced of their beliefs.
Not to mention the food they had never seen before, even the thin, translucent packaging made them certain it wasn’t something ordinary.
So, if this man wasn’t an immortal, he must be some kind of spirit or creature.
But why would a spirit bring them food?
Chen Cuizhi, however, remained relatively calm. He took the food from Chu Qiuzhe and began distributing it.
Before long, the air was filled with the sounds of ravenous eating and people licking bottle caps. At the same time, gratitude values of varying levels appeared above the heads of the villagers.
Chen Cuizhi stared at the vacuum-sealed raw meat in a daze. He had never seen such strange foods before.
And this bag of rice—each grain was plump and crystal clear, even better than the emperor’s royal supply.
This man’s identity was incredibly suspicious. But... if he could truly bring them food...
Seeing that the commoners had almost finished eating, Chu Qiuzhe beckoned Chen Cuizhi to the side. "Mr. Chen, can you tell me more about the situation here?"
Chen Cuizhi pondered for a moment. Regardless of this strange man's intentions, as long as he could deliver food, he would be a benefactor to the Great Han. However, he remained cautious and first tested Chu Qiuzhe by asking about his background.
Of course, Chu Qiuzhe didn’t dare tell the truth. He simply claimed he was just passing by and happened to have some special abilities.
Chen Cuizhi didn’t press further at this critical moment. He merely explained that he had accompanied his master in purchasing a batch of rough rice from wealthy merchants, distributing porridge daily throughout the county and nearby towns. For now, this effort was just enough to prevent people from starving to death, but it wouldn’t last much longer.
After hearing this, Chu Qiuzhe thoughtfully asked "So how many people still need relief aid?"
"Many have died, and many have fled" Chen Cuizhi shook his head, his expression pained. "There are probably less than twenty thousand people left."
In ancient times, with vast lands and sparse populations, a county having only tens of thousands of people was normal.
Chu Qiuzhe quickly did some calculations. Ordinary rice and flour only cost two or three yuan per jin, even cheaper when bought wholesale. Money wasn’t a problem!
But the issue was how to transport the goods. He couldn’t possibly carry the bags himself, especially in his condition.
"Host." Xiao En appeared in time to solve his problem. "I can temporarily open a portal from your villa to this place. You can have the people here carry the goods themselves, but they’ll need to pass my morality check first."
Chu Qiuzhe understood. "Can you open the portal in the underground garage?" His garage was currently empty, and it was a closed space—much more convenient than any other room.
"Yes."
With a definite answer, Chu Qiuzhe formed a plan. "Tomorrow, I'll bring you ten thousand jin of rice and ten thousand jin of flour. After that, we'll figure out the next steps."
Chen Cuizhi was overjoyed. Although twenty thousand jin of grain wasn’t much, it was enough to alleviate their urgent needs. As long as they could hold out until the disaster relief arrived, it would be fine.
"Gratitude Points +1000"
Seeing the sudden number above Chen Cuizhi’s head, Chu Qiuzhe's heart rate skyrocketed. The previous wave of gratitude points he received from the crowd had only been in single or double digits. Yet this scholar had contributed a whopping 1,000 in one go. Impressive, little brother!
"Ahhh! I declare, from now on, Chen Cuizhi is my long-lost brother from another mother!" Chu Qiuzhe screamed excitedly in his mind.
Chen Cuizhi felt a chill down his spine, sensing that something strange had locked onto him.
After discussing their plans, Chu Qiuzhe didn’t linger and returned to the modern world to prepare food supplies.
At home, Chu Qiuzhe happened to run into the housekeeper staring blankly at the empty refrigerator.
"Ahem!" Chu Qiuzhe felt guilty and avoided eye contact. "Go buy more groceries, a lot more. My appetite has been quite good lately."
Fortunately, the housekeeper wasn’t very talkative and simply nodded before leaving.
Chu Qiuzhe let out a sigh of relief, but when he turned around, he saw an owl with wings right in his face.
"I'm Xiao En!" The winged owl flapped cutely, looking adorable, though a talking owl head was still a bit unsettling.
Chu Qiuzhe, still wary of this system, kept a straight face. "You have a physical form?!"
"Of course!" Xiao En said proudly. "I told you I’m a very user-friendly system. Since I don’t have a shield function, if I stayed in your head all the time, I’d see everything you do—even when you poop or fart! How awkward would that be?"
Chu Qiuzhe chose to automatically block out the phrase about defecating and farting. He still felt uneasy about having this mysterious system residing in his mind. Now that it had taken the form of a cat head, it gave him a bit more sense of security.
The man and the cat head secretly discussed the plan for the next day, and Chu Qiuzhe contacted a grain and oil wholesaler online to order supplies.
Although the shop owner was curious why this customer wanted to order so much rice and flour, seeing the delivery address was a villa area made him understand. Who knew what kind of peculiar hobbies wealthy people might have?
This made it easier for Chu Qiuzhe since he didn’t have to come up with any excuses.
After such a thrilling day, it was destined to be a sleepless night.
o0o
In another space and time beyond the door, someone else also couldn’t sleep.
Under the dim candlelight, a man in dark clothing frowned as he carefully examined a transparent glass bottle in his hand.
"Your Highness" Chen Cuzhi spoke respectfully "this was indeed brought by that strange man, and it originally contained goat milk."
This man was the Regent Prince of Dahuan, Lan An, who was also the imperial envoy in charge of disaster relief.
Lan An appeared thoughtful. Such crystal-clear glass was indeed not an item that should exist in Dahuan.
"And the writing on this is also very strange." Chen Cuzhi handed over a packaging bag. "Some characters are missing strokes or parts, and while they look familiar, their meaning is incomprehensible."
He pointed to a line of text: "This part should roughly translate to ‘contact phone number,’ but what kind of object is a ‘phone’? And what are these rows of twisted symbols supposed to mean?"
It wasn’t just that—there was also the contact address. Despite his many years of traveling, Chen Cuzhi had never heard of a place called Shanghai City.
Lan An glanced at it but didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he asked "Did that strange man make any demands? And how does he plan to transport the grain alone?"
"He made no requests, only inquired about the current disaster situation. As for how the grain will be delivered..."
At this point, Chen Cuzhi still looked incredulous. "I personally witnessed him disappear before my eyes. Perhaps he really is an immortal from the heavens!"
Lan An let out a cold snort. "Nothing but cheap tricks to fool people!"
His eyes were icy, and an aura of killing intent radiated from him without restraint. "If he fails to bring grain tomorrow, treat it as deceiving the emperor and execute him on the spot."
"Achoo~!" Chu Qiuzhe, lying in bed, suddenly felt a chill on his back. "Who’s bad-mouthing me?"
The cat-headed Xiao En yawned on the pillow. "Why don’t you think someone might be missing you?"
Chu Qiuzhe ignored him. Looking out the window, he saw the sky was beginning to brighten. Since he couldn’t sleep, he might as well head out early to organize manpower.
But as soon as he opened the door, he was stunned.
The ten-mile-long street was packed with people. All of them were in ragged clothing, disheveled and dirty. At a glance, it looked eerily like a zombie siege.
Those closest had witnessed Chu Qiuzhe appear out of thin air.
"He... he’s truly an immortal descended to earth. We are truly saved!" someone in the crowd shouted.
As soon as the voice fell, the crowd knelt down like waves of wheat blown by the wind.
Chu Qiuzhe was a bit dazed. When he left yesterday, there were only about a hundred people. How did it turn into such a massive crowd overnight? Could it be that the entire county had shown up?
That was indeed the case. In just one night, news of an immortal descending to the mortal world had spread everywhere. Lan An stood on the roof behind Chu Qiuzhe, facing the wind.
Through the faint morning light, despite his odd attire, Lan An had to admit that Chu Qiuzhe’s appearance did carry the air of a celestial being exiled to the mortal world.
Completely unaware of the danger, Chu Qiuzhe cleared his throat and said "Everyone, please stand up. I need to select some strong young men to help me move grain later."
A few bold young men volunteered, but Chu Qiuzhe shook his head in dissatisfaction. They were young, but all as skinny as bamboo poles. Moving twenty thousand catties of grain might cripple them on the spot.
Just as he was about to ask where Chen Cuzhi was, an alarm suddenly rang in his mind.
"There's killing intent!"
As Xiao En’s voice fell, a long sword was already pressed against Chu Qiuzhe's neck.
o0o