Chapter 162: The Recipe for Imperial Flowing Nectar

He Lingchuan was speechless. Panglong City was evidently turning everyone into workhorses for the collective.

"Currently, a large number of outsiders are flocking into Panglong City from the Panglong Wasteland. They have labor but no land, so they either work odd jobs or become tenant farmers to support themselves," Hu Min explained with a smile. "Therefore, you won't have to worry about finding people to cultivate your fields. Both Pengcheng Bureau and I can help connect you with them."

Hearing this, He Lingchuan immediately said, "I'll trouble you then."

Land and property were precious means of production, unobtainable with money in Panglong City. They could only be exchanged for military or civilian merits, clearly indicating a distribution system. Newcomers who wished to establish themselves in Panglong City had to contribute significantly to the city.

As for the soldiers of the Great Wind Army, who fought battles and killed enemies, they were bound to accumulate a lot of land. Since they usually had no energy to manage it themselves, it was ideal to entrust it to tenant farmers for cultivation.

The landlords profited, and the tenant farmers could feed themselves. Everyone got what they needed.

This meant that in his dream, He Lingchuan had officially been promoted to landlord. He patted his chest, feeling an inexplicable sense of pride.

It was truly strange. In reality, he was the distinguished eldest son of the Xia State Governor. Forget a few acres of barren land; he could buy any manor, restaurant, shop, or gambling den he wanted, as many as he desired. Why did he not feel as accomplished as he did in his dream?

As for chewing tobacco, it was a type of tobacco leaf that was first smoked and then soaked in syrup. When used, one simply took a piece and chewed it, no lighting required. The effects of tobacco needed no elaboration; the army allowed soldiers to use it to stay alert during missions, so it had always been a hard currency.

He Lingchuan planned to keep it and sell it later if he needed money.

Of course, he didn't forget the most important matter: "Oh, right, I want to practice archery. Can you give me some pointers?"

Hu Min's archery skills were exceptional; he could hit whatever he aimed at. He Lingchuan recalled the battle at Xianling Village, where the mission difficulty had been passively increased several times because of his lack of archery proficiency.

He had to practice.

"Giving you three or four pointers is no problem at all," Hu Min replied with exceptional straightforwardness.

He wasted no time. Sitting on a chair, he told He Lingchuan to take out the small rush mat from under the rice pot and nail it to the courtyard wall.

This time, he was accompanying He Lingchuan to take possession of the house, not to fight, so he hadn't brought his bow and arrows. But it didn't matter; he drew a small knife from his lower back and another from his boot shaft, handing them to He Lingchuan: "First, practice your aim. Whether it's throwing knives or arrows, stand inside the house and shoot."

He Lingchuan took the knives, returned to the house, aimed, and threw one!

A cold glint flashed.

The rush mat was perfectly clean and empty.

It had flown into the corner of the wall.

Meeting Hu Min's gaze, He Lingchuan's face reddened, and he coughed: "It slipped out of my hand by accident."

"The error is too large. It seems we'll have to start from the basics," Hu Min said matter-of-factly, offering no comfort. He began explaining how to apply force and coordinate movements from the shoulders, neck, arms, and fingers.

The insights he shared came from actual combat and were exceptionally valuable. He Lingchuan listened with intense concentration. Such opportunities, with a master's guidance, were rare.

Finally, Hu Min summarized: "There's no need to think about how to aim or how to apply force. Where your eyes go, the knife or arrow goes—that is true mastery."

"If you throw knives or shoot arrows a thousand times every day, you'll gradually develop the feel for it," he said, patting He Lingchuan's shoulder. "By the way, what are your plans for the future? Although Panglong City is safe, living comfortably here isn't easy."

He Lingchuan had already thought of the answer to this question over a month ago. Without hesitation, he replied, "I want to join the Great Wind Army!"

If he was going to join, he would join the best!

This was not just about sentiment, curiosity, or passion; he had a deeper consideration. After He Chunhua's promotion to Xia State Governor, he would also raise troops to support the northern war, confronting the Grand Marshal or the Xun State Governor. He Lingchuan would have many opportunities to go to battle with them. Compared to large-scale army clashes, his experiences with government soldiers fighting bandits seemed like child's play.

For his own safety, he needed to adapt to the brutality of war as soon as possible and quickly accumulate combat experience.

The battle damage from his dreams would not carry over to reality. How could he miss such a huge advantage?

Hu Min smiled: "Alright, tomorrow I'll talk to Chief Xiao and see if he can recommend you. But be prepared: the Great Wind Army is not easy to get into!"

The Great Wind Army was Panglong City's elite ace troop; only the best of the best were selected as soldiers.

Just as He Lingchuan thanked him, a clang-clang-clang of gongs suddenly rang out from the street outside. Someone shouted, "Public announcement at the street corner! Public—announcement—at—the—street—corner!"

Hearing it, Hu Min immediately told He Lingchuan, "Four gong strikes in a set. The authorities have urgent news to announce. Let's go out and listen."

When the authorities issued announcements, they would post notices and communiques at designated places with heavy pedestrian traffic. However, many people were illiterate, so special announcers were also deployed to convey and implement the official message.

The gong-striking also had its rules: the more frequent the gongs, the more urgent the matter.

He Lingchuan had excellent hearing and seemed to hear gongs ringing in the distance as well. Clearly, the street corner announcements were being made in sections and at different intersections, intensified over a wide area.

What could be so incredibly urgent?

The crowd, drawn by the gongs, quickly gathered. He Lingchuan accompanied Hu Min across the street. The herald, channeling qi into his dantian, announced in an exceptionally loud voice: "Within three days, Imperial Flowing Dew will descend from the heavens! By order of Commander Zhong, Panglong City will be under curfew for the next three days, starting today! From 7 PM to 5 AM, city residents must return to their homes and are forbidden to go outside. Violators will be punished for creating a public disturbance, and will have a finger severed! Those who submit Imperial Flowing Dew to the Merit Department will be rewarded according to their contributions!"

This person, like a time-telling bird, would loudly repeat the above announcement three times every few minutes, answering commoners' questions in between. After half an hour of such announcements, he would leave the street corner.

He Lingchuan's attention sharpened when he heard the words "Imperial Flowing Dew."

The surrounding commoners were also whispering, their faces showing joy and delight rather than much surprise.

It was He Lingchuan who was surprised. Turning to Hu Min, he asked, "How do they know when the Imperial Flowing Dew will arrive?"

"You'd have to ask Commander Zhong about that; I wouldn't know," Hu Min shrugged. "Counting this upcoming one in the next three days, the Imperial Flowing Dew has appeared four times in three years. The predictions have all been accurate, with an error margin of no more than two days."

Thus, the commoners were generally certain that the Imperial Flowing Dew would arrive within the next three days, and they were all joyfully awaiting it.

As for the warnings mentioned in the announcement, the penalties sounded severe: commoners stepping even half a step outdoors would have a finger severed. However, He Lingchuan had personally witnessed how the Imperial Flowing Dew could incite human greed, so he felt it was necessary to make the stern warnings upfront. Without such precautions, the city would surely be plagued by countless tragedies and much hatred.

Panglong City constantly faced the pressure of external invasion, so naturally, it hoped its military and civilians would unite, with as few internal conflicts as possible.

"The curfew starts at 7 PM, so make sure to buy your food and drinks early and absolutely do not go out. If you have time, collect the Imperial Flowing Dew from rooftops and trees. Submitting it to the Merit Department can be exchanged for merit points," Hu Min said with a smile. "It's not easy for commoners who don't participate in combat to earn merit, which is why everyone is so delighted."

He Lingchuan scratched his head: "I'm afraid I won't be able to resist drinking it."

"You absolutely must resist! How can you drink such a treasure directly?" Hu Min sighed. "At the very least, process it into a medicinal powder and ingest it. Its potency will at least double."

He Lingchuan's joy was immense: "Brother, good Brother Hu, do you know how to refine it?"

"Of course, it's no secret. Panglong City has announced the method for making Imperial Flowing Powder many times already, not just a few."

He Lingchuan listened to the loud voice from the street outside, momentarily finding it hard to imagine that such a valuable medicinal formula was readily available in Panglong City, allowing commoners to refine it as they pleased.

Hu Min couldn't help but laugh: "What's that expression for?"

"I thought..." He Lingchuan said, embarrassed. "Right, there's no way to force everyone to hand it over. If everyone kept it for themselves, Panglong City couldn't possibly punish so many commoners, so they simply published the formula, allowing everyone to make good use of this treasure without wasting it."

Commoners were the cornerstone of the city; if their physiques improved and they suffered less illness, it would be a significant benefit for Panglong City.

Hu Min casually listed a string of medicinal ingredients, but stopped halfway.

"Why?"

"Oh, I'll just take you to A-Luo," Hu Min said, patting his head. "He lives nearby."

"A-Luo?" He Lingchuan asked, bewildered.

"Have you forgotten? He treated our wounds before."

He Lingchuan immediately remembered. When he had fractured his hand, it was that teammate, who was a part-time medic, who had bandaged and stabilized it. With such a military doctor present, the team's sustained combat capability would be greatly enhanced.

"He's the adopted son of Hèlián Chēn, the Grand Apothecary of the Elixir Bureau, and has learned a great deal about medicine and pharmacology," Hu Min said, standing up. "The formula I recited for you is just a common, generic one. A-Luo can custom-prescribe one for us, which will be more effective."

That sounded excellent. So, He Lingchuan followed Hu Min's lead, venturing deeper into the neighborhood.

"A-Luo has accumulated a lot of military merit, hasn't he? And he's the adopted son of the Grand Apothecary of the Elixir Bureau, so why does he still live in such a neighborhood, in such a house?" The neighborhood was full of low-lying houses, packed tightly together, with high density and a very poor living experience. Some rooftops even had several patches of different colors, probably from countless leaks.

The only commendable aspect was that the external streets were flat, wide enough for three carriages to travel side-by-side. This was primarily for ease of transportation during peacetime and troop movement during wartime.

"A-Luo made a mistake and had to use all his accumulated military merit to avoid execution. So, he has to start over," Hu Min mentioned briefly, but didn't elaborate, merely sighing, "Human hearts are treacherous."

He Lingchuan looked around. The road was now bustling with people, several times more numerous than when they had arrived by carriage just moments ago.

"Are all these people suddenly on the road because of the Imperial Flowing Dew?"

"Of course," Hu Min replied. "Everyone knows the formula, so they're rushing to buy and hoard medicinal herbs, waiting to prepare the Imperial Flowing Dew. It seems the price of herbs in the shops will go up again. We should hurry and buy some too, or the prices will change three or five times a day."

A-Luo did indeed live very close; they arrived before Hu Min grew tired from walking with his cane.

He raised his cane to knock on the door, but before the cane head even touched the door panel, the wooden door creaked open by itself, and someone stepped out.

The cane head nearly poked him in the mouth.

The person was startled and jumped back. Hu Min quickly retracted his cane and chuckled dryly: "Where are you off to?"