Chapter 36: The "Big Turkey" Is a Divine Item, and Crocheting Makes Money

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: The "Big Turkey" Is a Divine Item, and Crocheting Makes Money

Yun Zhen said, "This isn’t a Spell. It’s a Big Fire Chicken I brought back from the Immortal Realm!"

The name was bizarre, but Yun Zhen felt it was no different from a divine artifact. A simple press would produce a flame, and releasing it would put the fire out. She had seen much of the world in the Immortal Realm, yet even she had been startled when she first saw a lighter. Not to mention the villagers, who had never seen anything like it. They almost fell to their knees before Yun Zhen.

"Stand up straight, all of you," she said. "I brought this out to tell you that this is a divine artifact from the Immortal Realm called a Big Fire Chicken. It might look small, but as long as you press its head, a flame will shoot out. With this, we won’t have to waste energy striking flints or rubbing sticks together to make fire anymore."

The village chief could barely maintain his solemn expression. "A divine artifact! It really is a divine artifact!"

An imaginative villager guessed, "Big Fire Chicken? What a strange name. Could it have originally been a chicken that the immortals refined into a fire-breathing magical treasure?"

Zhou Dashan’s mouth hung open for a long time before he finally said in shock, "I’ve never seen a chicken that can breathe fire!"

Another villager was ecstatic. "The Goddess said that with this chicken, we can use it to start fires! We won’t have to waste effort using flint or rubbing sticks together anymore!"

A bolder villager asked, "Goddess, how many Big Fire Chickens did you bring? Can every household in our village get one?"

"Keep dreaming!" someone chided. "This is a divine artifact; there probably aren’t even that many in the Immortal Realm. It’s already a blessing that the Goddess brought one back. Taoyuan Village has really made it! Not only can we worship the Goddess, but now we can also worship a divine artifact!"

The villagers immediately began speculating about the origins of the divine artifact known as the "Big Fire Chicken."

Yun Zhen told them, "I have five Big Fire Chickens on hand. Actually, it’s just a tool the immortals use to start fires. I’ll keep one, and I’ll leave one for my family. The remaining three will be kept by the village chief. If anyone’s fire goes out, you can go to his house and borrow one."

The village chief accepted the three Big Fire Chickens with both hands, breathing heavily in his nervousness. "Thank you for your trust, Goddess. I will definitely take good care of the divine artifacts!"

"From now on, if our fires go out, we can go to the village chief’s house to request the divine artifacts!" the crowd cheered again.

Yun Zhen said softly, "Next, the village chief will help distribute cotton to the families with elderly members and children. Everyone gets one pound. Those scheduled to learn crochet today should stay, and the rest of you can go back to sleep."

The crowd, having admired the Goddess’s grace, heard piece after piece of good news, and witnessed a divine artifact from the Immortal Realm, couldn’t snap out of their daze for a long time. They left reluctantly, one by one.

Looking at the ten people arranged by the village chief, she said, "Come inside and learn the craft from me."

The ten people obediently sat down around the fire pit. Yun Zhen brought over two large bags of crochet materials and took out the newly bought pattern tutorials. She then handed them the crochet doll she had kept for her daughter to play with.

"Watch closely, everyone. Crocheting isn’t difficult; you’ll get the hang of it after practicing a few times. Today, we’re not only going to learn how to make this finished horned doll you see here, but we also have several new patterns to try out."

"Don’t worry, Goddess. We will study hard."

All ten of them were highly motivated. Knowing this was a craft that could make big money, they didn’t dare slack off. They did exactly as the Goddess instructed, listening attentively and trying it out a couple of times until they got the hang of it.

There were only two sets of raw materials again today. One set was for her to teach with, and the other was for the ten people to use. However, there was more chunky yarn than last night, so nearly everyone was able to finish a complete doll.

The flames in the fire pit flickered. Yun Zhen taught earnestly, and the group learned with equal dedication. Once they had fully mastered the basics, Yun Zhen assigned each of them a task: to crochet an entire doll from start to finish.

More than two hours later, twelve dolls of various styles were completed. The ten villagers made one each, while Yun Zhen made two. There were sheep, pigs, monkeys, and cats. The twelve dolls stood in a row, looking endearingly chubby and cute. It was a much richer variety than the previous night.

"This craft is easier to learn than embroidery."

"The Goddess is amazing to have found such good work."

"Such a tiny doll can actually sell for sixty cents in the Immortal Realm. Money is so easy to earn in the Immortal Realm."

"It’s all thanks to the Goddess’s boundless merit. Otherwise, how would we ever have the fortune to sell our crafts to the Immortal Realm!"

Yun Zhen appeared calm, but in reality, she still wasn’t used to everyone’s constant praise.

Yun Zhen praised them in return. "You all did very well. You’re just as smart as Aunt Cui Lan and the others from last night—you get it right away. Once we make some money in a few days, I’ll buy more raw materials. By then, your hands won’t be able to stop working."

Receiving the Goddess’s praise, the crowd felt overwhelmed by the honor. This was the praise of the Goddess, carrying the blessing of her Divine Power. Their breathing turned ragged as they couldn’t control their excitement.

Yun Zhen packed up the crochet dolls from the previous night. "You can all go back to sleep now."

"Yes, Goddess. We won’t disturb your and your family’s rest any longer."

After the ten people left, Yun Zhen shut the door tightly.

Yun Old Lady scooped a bowl of food for her daughter. "Zhen Niang, you haven’t eaten yet, right? I kept some porridge warm for you. Today, your father and the village chief rendered lard, so I added two extra spoonfuls of it when making the porridge. There are even pork cracklings inside. It’s delicious."

Yun Zhen touched her stomach. She didn’t feel hungry at all. "Mom, I’ve already eaten. You and Dad have it."

Seeing that Yun Zhen didn’t look like she was lying, the old couple split the rice porridge in the pot between themselves.

"Dad, you and Mom should rest early. I’ll keep Little Bao company tonight." There was a fire going in Yun Zhen’s room tonight. When she was teaching the villagers, her father knew she would be staying at home, so he used tree bark to start a fire for her.

Perhaps because she was full, she didn’t feel as cold. Of course, it still couldn’t compare to the heated rooms in the Immortal Realm. Her daughter was asleep, lying obediently in bed. Yun Zhen hugged her, sinking into the soft blankets, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, she woke up early and returned to her dorm.

After eating breakfast, she went to class to learn how to read. Today, Mr. Gao was teaching "numbers." It turned out they used special combinations of symbols to represent quantities.

"1 looks like a pencil, thin and long!"

"2 looks like a little duck floating on the water!"

"3 looks like an ear listening to a sound!"

"..."

One, two, three, four...

Yun Zhen learned the numbers from one to fifty in a single day. Mr. Gao called on her multiple times, and she answered every question with perfect accuracy. Mr. Gao praised her for being a diligent student with a great memory!

Aside from her studies, her time was entirely devoted to working. After ten o’clock, she went out to scavenge for recyclables. She made a round at her usual spots before heading to the Red Sun District to collect more. During this time, she didn’t see Granny Qin. The security guard mentioned that Granny Qin’s close friend had fallen ill, so she had gone to visit her and wouldn’t be home for a while.

Yun Zhen collected all the recyclables in the neighborhood by herself and sold them for eighty-two yuan.

She then went to work at the restaurant. After two hours of exhausting labor, she was ready to collapse, but the moment the fifty yuan landed in her hands, it didn’t feel so unbearable anymore. Yun Zhen smiled happily.

After leaving the restaurant, she laid a ginger-yellow cloth on the ground and neatly arranged the twelve crochet dolls on it. Whenever someone asked about them, she replied, "They’re purely handmade by me. They’re much more exquisitely crafted than the ones online. Sixty yuan each."

By the time she had fifteen minutes left before she needed to go to Sister-in-law Liu’s house to sort vegetables, all twelve crochet dolls had been sold out.

"Seven hundred and twenty yuan!" Yun Zhen’s eyes sparkled. She had earned seven hundred and twenty yuan in a single day. It seemed she would need to make more of these in the future.

Today, she planned to buy more cotton. She couldn’t afford new clothes, but having the villagers wear old clothes stuffed with cotton was still better than freezing.