My Days as a God in Ancient Times
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The most shocking thing had to be Chen Suzhi's reaction. Setting aside the mystical and unpredictable nature of rain summoning, what truly shocked him was not knowing what had transpired between his master and his idol during his absence.
How could his master utter something as straightforward as 'You're amazing'?
Could it be that his idol had already won over the prince?
Chen Suzhi glanced at Lan An's lower body with a speculative look.
Lan An's brows furrowed slightly as he shot a cold, sharp look at Chen Suzhi. That gaze carried an undeniable chill and murderous intent.
Chen Suzhi immediately froze like a startled cicada. This was the prince he knew. Quickly adjusting his demeanor to that of a loyal advisor, he began offering suggestions, "Your Highness, in my humble opinion, rain summoning might be worth believing in"
To be honest, before this, Lan An would never have believed anyone could truly summon rain.
After all, even the highly respected national priest in the palace couldn't achieve such a feat. But he couldn't deny the fact that Chu Qiuze had said it could be done and delivered on that promise.
His face had already taken quite a metaphorical beating.
Perhaps it was worth trying. He tapped the table, signaling Chen Suzhi to continue.
Chen Suzhi thought for a moment. Right now, water was critically scarce; finding a water source was indeed a pressing issue.
However, Yuhou County was surrounded by mountains, and from a distance, the deep forests in the mountains still appeared lush with trees.
This suggested that if there was a water source to be found, it would have to be deep in the mountains.
But venturing into a primeval forest was rife with danger with wolves, tigers, leopards, venomous insects, and snakes. Even the most skilled martial artist might not come out unscathed.
Unless they had an experienced hunter as a guide, someone who knew the terrain well.
Lan An carefully considered this and finally spoke, "Post an announcement. Offer a high reward to recruit hunters and civilians familiar with the Yuhou Mountains, or anyone who knows the location of a large water source."
Regardless of whether Chu Qiuze could summon rain or not, searching for a water source was a task that had to be done. Who knew how much longer the water in the wells would last?
Meanwhile, the culprit responsible for all this commotion, Chu Qiuze, was at the hospital undergoing physical therapy. Normally, all he had to do was lie down for about half an hour without feeling any pain or discomfort.
But today, as soon as the equipment was connected, he felt a faint ache. As time went on, the pain grew increasingly intense.
"Host, hang in there" Xiao En continuously encouraged him. "The fact that you're feeling pain means your legs are slowly recovering. Doing this therapy is worth it, otherwise, even if you can stand again in the future, you'd still need rehabilitation"
Chu Qiuze understood this logic. The pain he was feeling now was on par with the car accident itself, but for the first time in over six months, he could clearly sense his legs.
For the past half year, his legs had been completely numb. Back when he struggled to accept his condition, he even tried self-harm, cutting his thighs with a knife.
Blood had pooled on the floor, yet he felt nothing.
But now, he could feel pain!
For the first time, Chu Qiuze realized that pain could be such a beautiful sensation.
Chu Tianze, who had stepped out to take a call, returned to the hospital room and was immediately alarmed by the sight of his younger brother sweating profusely, clearly enduring immense pain.
"Qiuze!" Chu Tianze rushed over and grabbed his hand, his voice filled with concern. "Are you feeling unwell? Let me call the doctor"
Chu Qiuze grabbed his brother's hand before he could press the call button and quickly found an excuse, pretending to be embarrassed. "Ge, I just need to... go number two. I've been holding it in, and it's really uncomfortable. Besides, you're a doctor, right?"
Chu Tianze looked skeptical. "Are you sure? If anything feels off, you must tell me"
His face turned sorrowful. "Qiuze, I'm not a competent doctor. Otherwise, I would’ve been able to cure your legs"
The guilt in his voice was palpable. "The only thing I can do now is make sure your muscles don't atrophy. Maybe ten or twenty years from now, medical advances will give you a better chance of walking again."
Here we go again. Over the past six months, what Chu Qiuze found hardest to deal with was his brother's constant self-blame.
The car accident wasn’t his brother’s fault. Chu Tianze wasn’t even a professional orthopedic doctor, and three years ago, he had been forced to take over the family business, leaving no time for medical research.
As for his legs, not even the world’s top orthopedic experts could help. How could his brother possibly be to blame?
"Ge [Brother], let’s not talk about this anymore. My legs will just have to leave it up to fate!" Chu Qiuze quickly changed the subject. "Now, hurry up and take off this machine. I really need to go, or I'll end up soiling the bed"
The two brothers, both raised with excellent manners, rarely spoke so crudely. But hearing this, Chu Tianze unexpectedly found his younger brother... kind of cute.
It seemed his mood wasn’t too bad after all.
"Sorry about that" Chu Tianze removed the machine and scooped his brother up effortlessly with one arm supporting his back, the other under his knees in a princess carry. He then carried him into the bathroom.
While at it, he even helped him take off his pants.
Chu Qiuze: "…Ge, I’m just paralyzed in the legs, not the arms. I don’t need help taking off my pants. I’m 22, not 2."
Completely unfazed, Chu Tianze responded without any embarrassment. To him, his younger brother would always be his younger brother, forever the little kid who used to trail behind him begging for candy.
Seated on the toilet but unable to do anything, Chu Qiuze shooed his brother out and sat there, launching into a brainstorming session with Xiao En.
The topic of discussion was none other than Lan An’s extraordinarily high gratitude points and what else he could do to extract more of them.
Ideally, something that would improve the lives of the people. After all, it was better to teach someone how to fish than to give them fish.
"Qiuze" Chu Tianze’s voice came from outside the door for the third time, filled with concern. "Are you still not done? Do you need help? Should I get you a laxative?"
Chu Qiuze was mortified. "Please, no! I’m done. Just wait a moment before coming in so the smell doesn’t hit you."
He made sure to put on an elaborate show, taking his time to put his pants back on, flushing the toilet three times, and then finally letting his brother come in to carry him out.
"Qiuze, I have a business trip tonight. The earliest I’ll be back is in three days." On the way home, Chu Tianze gave instructions. "The day after tomorrow, Aunt Fan will take you to the hospital."
Aunt Fan was the housekeeper who cooked for Chu Qiuze. She was a woman of few words who only followed orders from his older brother.
Knowing he couldn’t escape this arrangement, Chu Qiuze nodded in agreement.
"Why don’t you move to my place instead?" Chu Tianze suggested again, clearly worried. "There are more people at my place, and it’ll be easier to take care of you."
Chu Qiuzhe was almost speechless. "Ge.., I live right next door to you. Is it really necessary for me to move in with you? Besides, I like peace and quiet. Your villa is full of people inside and out, it’s so noisy."
Hearing his brother’s tone, which sounded almost like a playful complaint, Chu Tianze’s hand on the steering wheel froze. How long had it been since his brother spoke to him like this?
Or rather, how long had it been since he said so much at once?
Ever since the car accident, his younger brother had become taciturn. If not for the fact that he had seen a psychologist, Chu Tianze would have suspected that his brother was depressed.
So today, his brother must be different. Had he met someone or experienced something?
Without saying more, Chu Tianze dropped his brother home and made a phone call afterward. He needed to ensure his brother’s safety.
At this moment, Chu Qiuzhe was unaware that his recent expenses were about to be exposed. As soon as he got home, he quickly called the grain supplier and asked for a delay in the delivery to avoid being caught red-handed by his brother.
The next morning, when he went to Daheng, he heard that they were looking for someone to scout the area and search for a water source.
"You’re working fast!" Chu Qiuzhe teased. "I thought you’d accuse me of being a fraud again!"
Lan An didn’t respond directly. "If we find the water source, are you planning to go into the mountains with us?"
He glanced doubtfully at Chu Qiuzhe’s legs. It wasn’t out of disdain, if this man could bring rain, Lan An would carry him into the mountains on his back if necessary.
But if the rain couldn’t be brought, there was no point in dragging him into the wilderness.
Moreover, the primitive forest they needed to venture into was dangerous, not to mention it would take more than just a day or two to return. This delicate-looking man clearly hadn’t endured any hardship before.
Chu Qiuzhe despised Lan An’s condescending attitude the most. "Who are you looking down on? For all you know, I might be better at finding directions in the mountains than you."
It wasn’t just empty boasting. Not only did he have a high-tech compass, but back when his legs were in good condition, he often explored the mountains for fun.
He then brought out his hovercraft, parking it boldly in front of Lan An. "I don’t even need my legs. I can just fly up there."
The hovercraft, however, was limited by its ground-based energy source and couldn’t fly more than five meters above the ground; otherwise, he would’ve just flown over for an aerial survey.
Lan An no longer objected after hearing that.
Thinking of what he had discussed with Xiao En earlier, Chu Qiuzhe asked, "Your Highness, what are Daheng’s main crops? How’s the yield?"
He had already consulted Xiao En. As long as he could successfully bring rain, and if there was enough rainfall, it would be possible to reverse the drought.
It was only autumn, if the climate allowed, they could plant another season of crops.
Lan An hesitated for a moment. Having grown up in the palace, where his mother was not favored but never lacked food or clothing, he had little knowledge of such matters.
After all, the royal family had its own estate that produced high-quality grains, and they naturally ate from these supplies. He truly wasn’t familiar with the rest.
"Ahem... Your Highness" Chen Cuizhi quickly stepped in to relieve his master, bowing respectfully. "Sir, Daheng currently grows rice, wheat, millet, and sorghum, with yields ranging from 200 to 400 catties per acre"
Only that much???
Chu Qiuzhe gave it some thought. Well, it made sense. In the modern era, there was the great agricultural scientist Yuan Longping, but here, there was no one to improve crop varieties.
But leaving aside rice, crops like potatoes and sweet potatoes, which had high yields and could easily fill stomachs, seemed to be nonexistent here.
This was going to be a bit troublesome. He’d have to think this through carefully. For now, he’d focus on bringing the rain first.
"Your Highness" a black-clad guard walked in hastily, kneeling on one knee. "There’s a pair of siblings claiming they know where to find a water source and are familiar with the mountain paths."
Already got news so quickly?
"Bring them in" Chu Qiuzhe said excitedly.
Before long, the pair of siblings timidly entered. Remembering what Chu Qiuzhe had told them earlier, they did not kneel to him but, faced with the prince’s presence, felt it inappropriate not to.
With a loud thud, they knelt before Lan An. "This commoner greets Your Highness"
Lan An glanced at the woman, finding her somewhat familiar. Without telling them to rise, he let them remain kneeling as he asked, "Where is the water source? How do you two know about it?"
Chu Qiuzhe cast him a sidelong glance but said nothing. He understood that this era operated this way.
"The water source is deep in the mountains, and I’m a hunter in the area. I can navigate the paths with no problem," the burly man replied cautiously."But only my sister knows the exact location of the water source."
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^Gege [Brother]