Chapter 64

Chapter 64

The next day, the photos were delivered to the newlywed couple, and quite a few villagers gathered around to take a look. Xiao Ruan and Xiao Zhuang got one too, and everyone who saw them was fascinated.

They had seen painted portraits before, and also the illustrations that came with storybooks. But those drawings felt completely different from the photos Xie Licheng took.

If they didn't trust Xie Licheng, seeing such lifelike images would've freaked them out at first.

For folks who'd never seen anything like it, photos that looked just like a mirror reflection were a real shock.

Since they trusted Xie Licheng completely and knew he wouldn't bring them anything bad, they took to the idea of photos right away.

Once they saw the photos weren't some black magic and looked just like the real person, a lot of folks wanted their pictures taken too.

The problem was, Xie Licheng didn't have unlimited photo paper, and printing used up battery and ink.

Xie Licheng had stocked some photo paper and ink in Fengyuan, but there was only enough for him and Gu Zhangyuan. If everyone started using them, they'd run out eventually.

Besides, he couldn't just keep giving free photos forever—people don't appreciate what they don't pay for.

Xie Licheng decided to set aside some photo paper and ink and sell each photo for two taels of silver.

Anyone who wanted a photo had to book ahead and bring enough silver.

Xie Licheng wasn't strapped for cash these days, but he still charged for photos. Mainly because photo paper and ink had a shelf life. If they sat around too long, they might go bad.

He also wanted to spread photo paper, photos, and ink out into the world.

On one hand, it'd open people's eyes in his pocket world; on the other, it might spark some genius to invent these things on their own.

Honestly, the common folk back then were pretty sharp—if they saw more new stuff and learned new things, they could come up with all sorts of inventions.

Plus, to encourage people to start families and boost the population in his pocket world, Xie Licheng offered free photos for newlyweds.

This had two upsides.

First, it nudged young folks to tie the knot.

Xie Licheng used to be pretty open-minded—marriage, being childfree, staying single, he saw it all as a personal call.

But ever since he found out the pocket world could hold people and unlock more maps, his stance had shifted a bit.

He still wanted their numbers to grow.

Only with more people would there be more talent in every trade, a full world could take shape, and they could be totally self-sufficient.

Second, by giving free photos to newlyweds, anyone who paired up on their own had to register with Xie Licheng.

Once they registered, their relationship was officially on the books. That way Xie Licheng knew who was shacking up together and could make sure the weaker side in the marriage didn't get bullied.

The "weaker side" didn't just mean women and the gē'ér. It also covered men who were honest, shy, and easy to push around.

And while snapping their photos, he could also push monogamy.

Xie Licheng pushed monogamy mainly to keep folks from getting into messy relationships that'd cause a ton of problems.

Since everyone was living in his world, they had to play by his rules. If anyone didn't like it, they were free to leave.

He wasn't forcing anyone to get snipped—he just wanted to keep family dynamics simple. That cut down on family drama and also reduced the spread of diseases from complicated sexual entanglements. He figured his approach was totally reasonable.

If they couldn't even handle this, they probably didn't belong in his world anyway. Better to weed them out early. That way, when he rolled out other rules later, these folks wouldn't suddenly pop up to object.

Over the next few days, word got around that newlyweds got free photos, and a few more couples showed up to get theirs taken.

One of them was even a middle-aged couple.

When Xie Licheng shot their photos, the two of them looked pretty stiff. Hard to say if they really wanted to be together or just came for the freebie.

But whatever their reasons, they were now officially on Xie Licheng's books. If Xie Licheng found out they'd tricked him, they'd have a hard time getting his help again.

He might even get so annoyed that he'd kick them out on a whim. And even if he changed his mind later, they wouldn't be able to get back in.

When these photos got printed, there were a couple of shots of Xie Licheng and Gu Zhangyuan together too. They'd taken a bunch of shots together but only printed the two best.

Both photos went into frames—one at the farm, one at their little place in town.

Gu Zhangyuan loved their photo together and would pull it out to admire it whenever he had a spare second.

He figured a big photo like that was a pain to carry, so he planned to ask Xie Licheng to print some smaller ones later so he could keep one on him.

Over the past few days, besides shooting photos for newlyweds, Xie Licheng had also sold a good chunk of farmland in the village and town.

The town land was mostly bought up by Gu Zhangyuan's family.

When Gu Zhangyuan heard Xie Licheng could unlock new maps again, he told his family not to buy too much.

If the new spots turned out even better, all that town land would just be a hassle to manage later.

When Xie Licheng headed out again, he didn't take Gu Zhangyuan with him this time. It was still scorching hot, and dragging Gu Zhangyuan along would wear him out.

He left Gu Zhangyuan behind but brought a young lad along.

Xie Licheng was near the boy's hometown, so the kid knew the area well. Plus, the boy wanted Xie Licheng to save his family, so Xie Licheng just brought him along.

The kid was still half-grown and couldn't hold a candle to Xie Licheng in a fight.

Without Xie Licheng's help, he couldn't survive out there alone, so Xie Licheng wasn't worried about him bolting.

Xie Licheng didn't bring him along just to be nice—he wanted the kid to guide him.

If he wanted to hit a town or city later, wandering around blind would just waste time. And asking random strangers for directions was iffy—they might just lie to him.

The boy had a few good days in the pocket world, but now that he was back outside, he was shaking like a leaf.

Seeing how scared he was, Xie Licheng said, "Don't worry. This place isn't as wild as Lingzhou. Nobody's gonna jump you out of nowhere."

The boy shook his head. "They didn't beat me 'cause you're standing right here. If... if you weren't here, I'd probably already be in a world of hurt."

He'd run away from this area, so he knew the score.

Xie Licheng figured this place was calm because he was strong enough to make it seem that way. When people saw him coming, they'd instinctively give him space, which made it look peaceful.

But the real truth was something only the weak folks living here actually knew.

This place wasn't as peaceful as it looked on the surface. The officials here were basically useless figureheads, so they still had to watch their backs.

Xie Licheng followed the boy into a town that was pretty big and lively.

The two walked in one after the other, and the streets were nearly deserted.

Just because you can't see anyone doesn't mean the place is empty.

Xie Licheng could clearly tell someone had been watching them ever since they entered the town.

As he walked, Xie Licheng looked around and caught a glimpse of a figure in a tavern. The person seemed to notice him looking and quickly shut the window.

Xie Licheng didn't pay it any mind and continued following the youth to his home.

The youth's family were merchants. As they entered an alley, they came across a house with a gate that looked grand and prosperous.

Xie Licheng examined the grand entrance and said to the youth, "Your family's place looks this wealthy—your folks probably aren't still here."

When the world goes to hell, the rich are the first to suffer. Their property becomes the first thing shady types set their sights on.

On the day everything went down, the youth and his uncle happened to be out. Once he heard the town had fallen into chaos, the uncle had a servant take the youth away first. As for what happened to his family and his uncle, the youth knew in his heart they were probably done for.

The youth understood what Xie Licheng meant, but he still wanted to go back and see for himself. What if... what if his dad and little sister were still there, waiting for him at home?

Without a word, the youth reached out and pushed open the gate in front of him.

As the heavy door swung open, the first thing that hit his eyes was two rotting corpses.

The youth jumped in shock, but once he confirmed they weren't his family—just the household servants—he went pale and pushed further inside.

In the middle of summer, bodies rot fast if they aren't buried.

Earlier, Xie Licheng had thought the town smelled weird. Now, seeing the corpses left out in the open, he realized it was the stench of rotting bodies.

Xie Licheng quickly pulled two masks from his personal space and tossed one to the youth, telling him to put it on.

Xie Licheng: "Keep it on. There's probably a ton of germs here—this could easily turn into a plague."

The moment he heard the word "plague," the youth's face went even paler. He quickly put his mask on properly and hurried toward the back courtyard.

He searched the whole house but found no sign of his family. But there was one silver lining: he hadn't found their bodies either. As long as there were no bodies, there was a chance they were still alive.

Seeing that he hadn't found anyone, Xie Licheng asked, "Is there anything you need to take with you?"

The place had clearly been picked clean of valuables, but the heavier furniture had been left behind because it was too much trouble to move.

The youth didn't want anything at first, but after thinking about how broke he was now, he had Xie Licheng help him grab a few valuable pieces of furniture.

Among these items was a golden nanmu box he'd hidden away as a kid when he was being sneaky.

Inside the box were two jade beads and a little gold lock.

He took out the little gold lock and gave the golden nanmu box to Xie Licheng as a gift.

"Benefactor, if you hadn't saved me back then, I'd probably be dead by now. Now that you're willing to help me find my family and even helped me get back my lucky lock, I'm truly grateful for everything you've done for me. This box isn't worth much, but I hope you'll take it."

Xie Licheng didn't stand on ceremony, because what the youth said was true—without him, the kid wouldn't even be alive, let alone have these things back.

Xie Licheng had taken plenty of gold and jewels over the years, but golden nanmu was something he rarely saw.

He liked it quite a bit and figured he could keep it as a box for his future kids' toys.

After taking the box, Xie Licheng left the youth's house with him.

Xie Licheng asked, "Where do you think your family would've run to?"

The place they ran to might still have supplies you can buy.

The youth thought it over seriously. "We could try the neighboring city, Wencheng. When I first ran from here, that's where I was planning to go."

But what he didn't expect was that the servant escorting him had turned crooked and teamed up with outsiders to nearly kill him—and that was when he happened to run into the benefactor.

"Alright then, lead the way. We're heading to Wencheng."

On the way to Wencheng, Xie Licheng ended up rescuing a young woman.

She was hurt pretty badly, so Xie Licheng took her straight to a medical clinic in town.

The woman had no money for treatment, and her injuries would cost a lot. In the end, Gu Zhangyuan found out about her situation and covered the medical costs.

After all, that kind of money was pocket change to Gu Zhangyuan.

A little bit of his money could save someone's life, and he figured that was well worth it.

What surprised Gu Zhangyuan a little was that the woman Xie Licheng had saved turned out to be a doctor herself.

In Dazhou, it was extremely rare for a woman to be a doctor.

Once Gu Zhangyuan found out who she was, he was really glad Xie Licheng had saved her.

With a female doctor like her, the women and the young men in their town would have a much easier time seeing a doctor.

Besides, since Xie Licheng and Gu Zhangyuan had been so kind to her, the young woman probably wouldn't leave this place anytime soon.

This was a really good thing—good deeds paying off.

Meanwhile, two days later, Xie Licheng and the youth arrived at Wencheng. The situation there was indeed somewhat better than in Lingzhou.

Wencheng hadn't fallen yet, and the city gates were still guarded by Dazhou soldiers.

However, with the chaos outside, the guards were unwilling to let refugees enter the city.

Xie Licheng observed from outside the city gates for a while, then sent the youth back into the personal space, planning to try sneaking into the city alone at night.

Besides Gu Zhangyuan, the youth was the only one in their group who had ever been outside.

After he was sent back, the people of Peach Blossom Village couldn't help but gather around him, asking about the outside situation.

Most of the people here were unwilling to leave, but that didn't mean they weren't curious about what was happening out there.

Some who had family members elsewhere were especially eager to know how their loved ones were faring.

So everyone was quite interested in hearing about the outside world.

The youth, upon being asked, recounted his recent experiences to everyone.

"Thanks to the benefactor accompanying me, we didn't encounter any danger. My hometown is practically empty now, and I haven't found my family yet. The benefactor has now reached Wencheng and wants to enter the city to check things out. If anyone has relatives in Wencheng, you can tell the benefactor about them when he returns—maybe he can rescue them and bring them in."

The crowd shook their heads at the youth's words. Most of them were from Lingzhou City, and their relatives were mostly there too.

As for Wencheng, they'd never even been there themselves and had no relatives in that area.

A young woman suddenly spoke up: "The benefactor apparently rescued another young woman, and I heard she's a doctor."

When Xie Licheng had saved her, the youth had been right there. Hearing the woman mentioned, he was quite surprised too.

The youth said, "I didn't expect her to be a female doctor. That's great—we're short on doctors here, and having a female one will make things more convenient."