CHAPTER 300: 300. DIVINE POWER

There stood a dark-skinned young man in tattered clothes, somewhat familiar, but... she couldn’t recall who he was.

He called out her name, clearly he knew her. Could he be from her mother’s village or a friend of her two brothers?

As she scrutinized him closely, Hua Jin searched her memory.

It seemed the young man noticed Hua Jin’s confusion and spoke again.

"Hua Jin, s... brother," looking at the cross-dressed Hua Jin, Qin Shu immediately corrected himself.

"You are?" Hua Jin frowned.

"Do you remember... taking the county exam?" Qin Shu reminded her, his eyes bright.

Those words instantly unlocked Hua Jin’s memory, her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at the person in front of her.

"You... are Brother Qin Shu?"

It’s no wonder her eyes failed her; although he still had a faint scholarly air, it was very faint. The most significant change was in his appearance.

The Qin Shu she saw before wasn’t as handsome as her two brothers, but he was still a refined young man.

But now... Hua Jin stared at the man before her.

He had become emaciated beyond recognition, like others she had seen along the way, with high cheekbones, dark skin, and thin, his face smeared with dust from labor, though his teeth were quite white, even his gaze was much deeper than before. If Qin Shu hadn’t spoken first, Hua Jin felt she wouldn’t have recognized him.

"Yes," Qin Shu nodded, a bit excited.

He too felt she looked familiar, and on a whim called out, never expecting it to really be his friend’s sister.

After all, this young lady had changed quite a bit, not only had she grown taller but her features had matured. Yet, her transformation wasn’t too drastic, apart from her complexion being a little sallow, she was still a very beautiful girl.

Seeing Hua Jin implied that his friend must also be doing well, which was the best news he’d had in a long time.

"Jin’er, who is he..." Old Man Hua stepped forward, his gaze sharp as he looked at the unfamiliar young man.

His granddaughter was always under their watchful eyes, how could she have met other young men?

Old Man Hua was quite anxious.

Grandpa’s body was too tense, obviously misunderstanding the situation.

Hua Jin quickly pulled her grandfather to make introductions: "Grandpa, this is my brother’s schoolmate. Do you remember the one who greatly helped my brothers the year they took the county exam?"

"You’re talking about the one who ranked in the top three," Old Man Hua suddenly recalled.

His two grandsons benefited greatly from that young man, it was hard for Old Man Hua to forget.

Hua Jin nodded quickly, her gaze shifting to the young man who, despite being very thin, still stood with a straight back.

"Yes, that’s him, Qin Shu... my brother’s friend."

Upon hearing this, Old Man Hua relaxed, relieved it wasn’t some random person, and his gaze softened.

"So you’re Yun Ao’s schoolmate. I’m Yun Ao’s grandfather, pleased to meet you."

"Hello, Grandfather Hua," Qin Shu brushed off the dust on himself and bowed.

"Alright, alright, us country folk don’t stand on ceremony. Are you earning grain with labor?" Old Man Hua observed the dirt on Qin Shu’s face.

"Yes, Grandpa Hua, you came to claim the grain seeds too." Qin Shu nodded, despite his disheveled state, he still stood tall with a calm demeanor.

"We heard about it late and came to take a look."

"It’s not too late, heading over now, we should still make it before dark," Qin Shu considered and said.

"That’s good, we’re just about to head over."

"If you don’t mind, I can show you the way." Although missing a day’s work meant losing a day’s wages, Qin Shu always remembered how the Hua family helped him that year, so he didn’t mind working an extra day.

"No need, no need, Old Man knows the way to the government hall well, we can go by ourselves, wouldn’t want to delay your work."

Qin Shu saw that Grandfather Hua genuinely didn’t want him to lead the way, so he didn’t insist, nodding instead.

"Alright then, but I’ll trouble Grandfather Hua to send my regards to Brother Yun Ao and Uncle Hua. I’ve always been grateful for how they looked after me that year."

"A simple gesture, no need for gratitude, Mr. Qin. I’ll be sure to pass on your message. It’s getting late now, carry on with your work, we should also get going."

"Farewell, Brother Qin Shu," Hua Jin waved, calling out, and her familiarly outgoing little brother also waved alongside her.

Seeing the little girl who had grown up, Qin Shu slightly lifted the corners of his mouth, which hadn’t done so in a long time, and said, "Farewell."

Though he didn’t know when they would meet again, as long as they were in Shanggu Town, Qin Shu believed they would reunite someday.

Although delighted to meet someone familiar, this brief interlude was soon put behind Hua Jin as she pulled her brother along, focusing on their journey.

Though it seemed quite far, it wasn’t actually very far once they started walking, and they soon reached the government hall.

From afar, one could see two long lines moving slowly bit by bit.

Upon reaching here, Old Man Hua paused—they had only come for a look, not to actually claim anything, as they weren’t lacking in grain seeds, so they opted not to compete with these frail townsfolk.

Though the line was long, it was orderly, with government officials maintaining peace, along with some civilians carrying simple weapons helping out.

"Village chief, are we going?" Seeing the lengthy line ahead, Hua Qiang and the others already felt queasy.

This line, it’d be a miracle to get the seeds before dark.

The critical thing was each family had enough grain seeds, no need for these.

Old Man Hua shook his head, "Let’s not go."

"Let’s go," having seen what they needed, Old Man Hua turned around.

Upon hearing they didn’t need to queue, the men from Hua Village promptly turned around, reasoning they’d rather spend that time in the village, fixing up their houses or tending the fields.

While others hurriedly queued up, the calm demeanor of the men from Hua Village truly stood out, even catching the attention of Government Official Hu and his team, who initially thought they might be causing trouble, but by the time they reached, the men had already left.

The trip back was much faster than the way there, though halfway through Old Man Hua asked Hua Qiang and Hua Rong to take the others and wait outside the town, stating he had to find a way to get some salt.

Usually, the village chief’s words were to be followed, but in these circumstances, how could everyone not be worried? They all shook their heads, insisting on accompanying him.

"Do as I say; this can’t be done openly. Too many eyes might draw attention, and then we won’t get anything. Trust me; your village chief is still strong and healthy, there’s no problem."

Despite his reassurances, Hua Qiang and Hua Rong were not persuaded.

Hua Qiang said, "Village chief, I’ll just bring two men along. We won’t get too close or let anyone notice us, and Hua Rong will wait outside."

Though the village chief’s granddaughter was indeed capable, the village chief was the village’s soul, and they couldn’t risk anything happening to him; the whole village, from young to old, relied on the village chief, so Hua Huaqiang was genuinely concerned.

"Are you the village chief, or am I the village chief? Listen to me, quickly wait for me outside the town," Old Man Hua saw there was no convincing them, his face turned cold, and his icy demeanor made the men, including Hua Qiang, quite apprehensive, none daring to say more for the moment.

"Villa..."

"Uncle Hua Qiang, listen to Grandpa and wait outside. Don’t worry, I’ll protect Grandpa well, nothing will happen."

With that, Hua Jin effortlessly moved a large several-hundred-pound rock to the side of the road.

Having spent over a year in the mountains, Hua Jin’s strength was no secret, but the men and younger boys were still stunned, eyes wide in disbelief.

Knowing was one thing, but most hadn’t seen it firsthand.

... This wasn’t just strength; it was Divine Power!!

The men thought in astonishment.