The long winter was still ongoing, but the Dock was livelier than ever. Everywhere, you could see adults lining up to buy Braised Beans, children running out to play, and jobseekers waiting to apply for various positions.
A sea ship was about to dock on the ocean. The sailors on board were shocked by the scene from afar.
Especially when they saw so many elderly and children on the Dock, their mouths dropped open even more.
Was this really the Dock of their hometown?
Why weren’t the old folks and children afraid of the cold?
In the past, whenever they went out, they had to shut the doors and windows tightly, afraid the wind and snow outside would make their families sick.
Why was it that before they’d even docked, they could already hear the crisp laughter of children? Kids could never stay quiet—wherever they were, there was always some noise.
Sailor Moji was a silent and taciturn gull. He heard the laughter from the shore, but remained lost in his own thoughts.
He would be home soon.
Now, there was only his white-haired old mother at home. His older brother had married and moved in with his wife’s family, only coming back occasionally to visit.
Worse still, their neighbor was a poor widow with a child just over ten, so it was hard to count on her for help if something happened.
But he had no choice but to leave home, because there really weren’t any good jobs in Woye Province that could support both him and his mother. Being a sailor, though, offered a generous wage.
Besides, he was still young. He had to go out and see the world.
Sailor Moji prayed in his heart: “I wonder how my dear mother is doing now? I really hope nothing has happened where she needed her son by her side, or else my heart will never be at peace in this life. Mother Goddess above, please watch over us poor souls with no one to rely on!”
Moji, homesick as he neared his hometown, was lost in thought when someone called his name from the deck: “Moji! Moji!”
It was his sailor friend, a blond kid who loved joining in the fun—Jinpo.
As Jinpo spoke, he ran over, excitedly saying, “Come quick, come quick! Take a sip of sour wine and go look from the deck!”
Moji said, “We’re about to dock, why are you drinking sour wine now?” Before he could refuse, Jinpo had already poured a mouthful of sour wine from his beast-hide flask into Moji’s mouth and dragged him toward the deck.
All the sailors who weren’t on duty had gathered at the bow, craning their necks to look at the shore. If it weren’t for the rule that they couldn’t transform into birds without the captain’s permission, they would have all turned into birds and flown straight home already.
Moji didn’t really want to join the crowd, but his friend pulled him up to the rail. He lifted his head to look at the shore. Not far away, flocks of happy birds chased each other through the sky, and a large group of people waited at the spot where the ship would dock, gazing eagerly at their return.
At the very front stood a white-haired old lady.
She was wearing the best cotton dress in her wardrobe, straining to look their way.
Like the others waiting at the Dock, her eyes were filled with the longing to see her beloved family.
Moji couldn’t describe how he felt at that moment. He felt his eyes grow hot.
Woye Province was just too poor, and its resources too scarce. Even with a seaport, few merchant ships ever docked here. Only in the coldest part of winter would the captain detour and let them return home for a visit, to see their families after so long.
In this bitter cold, every time they came home, they had to brave the wind and snow just to see their loved ones.
Moji wiped away the tears that welled up uncontrollably at the sight of his family and choked out, “Let’s stop staring and get this ship back to the Dock!”
The other sailors snapped out of their daze and rushed to help the sailors on duty, working with unprecedented efficiency. When the heavy cargo ship finally docked, Moji was the first to jump off, running to his mother he hadn’t seen for almost a year.
Mother and son hugged each other tightly. The embrace was warm, and so were their hearts.
The other sailors, too, snapped out of it, leaping from the ship to embrace their waiting loved ones.
After their tears, they finally asked what on earth was going on—
Weren’t their families supposed to stay inside at home?
Ordinary members of the Bird Tribe were extremely afraid of the cold.
What’s more, Woye Province was colder than most places.
So why was the Dock so lively now?
They really wanted to know what had happened.
After a flurry of explanations from the crowd, the sailors learned that this was a recent change.
Now, the Dock was selling a magical Braised Beans—not only were they delicious, but they also gave a Magic Warming Buff!
Each time, they would get a pound of Braised Beans, freeze it in the snow, then heat up a portion each day to eat with their staple food, and they could freely go out for several days.
The sailors were incredulous: “Is there really such a food? We’ve never seen anything like it at any other Dock!”
Now, the reputation of Jiang Zhuozhuo, the Lord, at the Dock had completely changed. When some doubted the effectiveness of the Braised Beans’ buff, many birds proudly explained, “These are the magical Braised Beans our new Lord brought us! If you don’t believe it, go line up and try some for yourself!”
Although the sailors could tough out the cold, who would refuse to be a little warmer?
They all felt their mothers, wives, and children seemed warmer than themselves—their rosy cheeks weren’t from the cold, but from being cozy all over.
The sailors all went to line up at the Get Some Fries Chain Store.
There was a purchase limit on Braised Beans—each person could only buy (or exchange for) one pound, so that more people could benefit from the Magic Warming Buff.
Everyone understood this and sincerely appreciated their new Lord. Every time they bought Braised Beans, they would earnestly pray to the Mother Goddess, hoping she would bless their Lord.
In their simple minds, as long as the Lord stayed healthy and happy, their lives would surely get even better!
Jiang Zhuozhuo was in the midst of her daily flight training (meaning flying from the Castle to the Dock to see what excitement was going on).
When the little round bird arrived at the Get Some Fries Chain Store and landed in her exclusive landing spot, she heard a white-haired mother instructing her sailor son—
“You must pray, and you must be sincere, understand?”
Even though her son was now a head taller than her, a mother still had absolute authority over her child.
That son was Sailor Moji. He nodded seriously, “I understand.”
He was very grateful to the Lord who let him see his mother at the first moment, so when he got his box of Braised Beans, he prayed very devoutly to the Mother Goddess.
The same thing happened with his friend Jinpo, only the one pressing Jinpo to pray was his Songbird girlfriend.
The Songbird had a gentle temper and a pleasant voice, but Jinpo didn’t dare disobey.
That was another kind of authority.
Not just them—near every window with a long line, families gathered together to pray sincerely over their box of Braised Beans.
The little round bird, who hadn’t patrolled the store in days, looked increasingly puzzled.
What was going on?
Was there a new step to buying Braised Beans now?
Did everyone have to pray to the Mother Goddess before leaving?
Jiang Zhuozhuo, bewildered, went to find the manager of the Shoestring Fries Main Dock Store, wanting to know if they’d secretly added this process.
In nearly twenty years of education, she’d learned that preaching in public was not appropriate—every citizen had freedom of belief.
But here, it didn’t really matter. Right now, on the Eastern Continent, there was only one faith—the legendary Mother Goddess of the Bird Tribe!
Jiang Zhuozhuo just felt it was odd to force people to pray, especially when the prayer was for the Mother Goddess to bless her, the Lord!
She was just selling Braised Beans, after all. Forcing people to be grateful was not acceptable!
The manager was still dressed in Mistress Maid attire, but her expression had gained the competence unique to professional women.
She gave a standard smile and patiently answered Jiang Zhuozhuo’s question: “No, Mistress, everyone is praying to the Mother Goddess for you of their own accord.”
“Mistress may not realize just how important it is for many people to be able to leave their homes in winter.”
Ordinary people’s houses were no better than Birdcages. In winter, they had to shut themselves in for months on end. Braving the cold to step outside was an extravagant thing.
For those who had never been in a Birdcage, it was hard to imagine what it was like to be locked inside day and night.
That’s why they prayed so sincerely for Jiang Zhuozhuo.
Of course, Jiang Zhuozhuo knew how important the Magic Warming Buff was for ordinary Bird Tribe members. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have bothered to open such a store.
But she hadn’t expected that just this bit of kindness could earn so many devout blessings.
Jiang Zhuozhuo had, for a long time, lost interest in dealing with people.
After her grandmother passed away, her parents took her back to the city.
By then, her parents already had a younger sister and brother for her. They didn’t welcome her, and she didn’t like them either, so she only asked for what she was due and never expected much love from her parents or siblings.
At school, she was a transfer student who arrived midway, a country bumpkin in the eyes of many. No one wanted to be friends with her—having a bumpkin friend was embarrassing.
Jiang Zhuozhuo didn’t care if she had friends or not; most of the time, she kept to herself.
Later, she excelled in her studies and had great artistic talent. Her parents and teachers grew more and more fond of her, and more people approached her, but she only found it amusing when her siblings and those who once shunned her now resented her.
Her friends said she was too pessimistic about relationships.
Jiang Zhuozhuo thought there was nothing wrong with that.
As long as she didn’t care, no one could hurt her.
Relying on others’ affection and pity was always a foolish thing.
The little round bird tilted her head, looking at the lively flocks outside, her eyes briefly lost in thought.
Then she flew out, curiously asking Sailor Moji, who was closest: “Aren’t you setting up a stall this time?”
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