In his sister’s world, he bought a holographic projector—a device common there but beyond our current technology here, capable of producing almost lifelike projections. Loading it with homemade animations and setting the playback time and duration would distract the red dragon long enough for Dad and Mom to return home safely and on schedule.

As for the money to buy the projector… Fa Muzhi could only take from his dad and use it for his dad. He didn’t have the currency from that world, so he had to dip into his dad’s stash of secret savings hidden there.

Besides buying advanced electronics there, he also went to watch his sister’s matches. Though he never showed up in person, he would order a bouquet of flowers and have them delivered after every major tournament.

Dad’s secret savings dwindled a little more each time.

Precisely because of this, while others remained unaware, Fa Muzhi knew: his sister was truly giving her all on the soccer field over there—and she was playing exceptionally well!

If the bouquets he sent initially were the only flowers his sister ever received, later on, his floral gifts were practically drowned out by the sheer volume.

Then there was the cultivation realm—he could access that too.

He even taught himself alchemy.

He didn’t possess a cultivator’s alchemy furnace—his brother wouldn’t just bring such a thing back for no reason. But he did have a portable stove bought from his sister, one from the future world with extremely precise temperature control. After failing over a hundred times, he finally mapped out the corresponding heat levels between the stove and a cultivator’s furnace.

For instance, the “Glowing Flame” equated to the stove’s lowest setting; The “Pill-Swallowing Flame” matched the stove’s fifth setting, and the “Sky-Burning Flame” was equivalent to the stove’s maximum tenth setting.

Forget the cultivation world—even ordinary people in their own realm had no access to such intense heat levels! It certainly existed, but likely only as industrial-grade fire, inaccessible to common folk. Only a future world could possess the capability to transform such immense heat into a portable stove safe for ordinary people to use.

The alchemy furnace was secured, but where did he source the rare herbs for refining elixirs?

These were brought back from the logging forest. Perhaps noticing the bare patches in his home courtyard, he’d occasionally return with seeds of rare herbs—varieties he’d meticulously selected: “easy to grow,” “beautiful blooms,” “evergreen throughout the seasons.”

Surprisingly, these divine herbs did live up to his expectations and actually took root. The process, however, was far from simple. Initially, the plants struggled terribly, dying within three days. It wasn’t until the lumberjack went to the cultivation realm via Fa Muzhi and brought back soil from there—not just any soil, but several types he tested—that he gradually figured out which plants preferred which soil.

Once the plants adapted to the soil, combined with the specialized nutrient solution for future plants that Zhizhi bought from him, the lumberjack family finally had a small garden that was starting to take shape.

Currently, Fa Muzhi can refine two types of pills—both health-preserving elixirs that boost vitality and extend longevity. However, he himself isn’t entirely sure if he’s truly refined them correctly. After all, the only person who’s ever consumed his pills—Su Huanliu—didn’t seem to feel any potency from them. He thought they were just sugar beans he made himself, carrying them around for low blood sugar. When he popped one during a hypoglycemic episode… well, the blood sugar-boosting effect wasn’t exactly stellar.

Fa Muzhi: …

Later, when refining pills again, he simply loaded them with sugar, maxing out the sweetness. When he finally produced the pills, everyone genuinely believed they were his homemade candies.

In short, not only his parents and sister, but even his brother—who lived in the cultivation realm—couldn’t tell these were immortal pills. They just thought they were homemade candies, cheap and handy. Whenever they ran out, they’d ask him to make more so they could bring them back and give them away as gifts.

Fa Muzhi: …

Just look at this—after finally making it home again, his parents brought back not only a basket of eggs but also half a chicken.

Literally half a chicken—the part severed below the waist, still attached to the rear end.

Staring at the half chicken his mother produced, Fa Muzhi pondered: Hmm… Why hadn’t this struck him as odd before? In most households, half a chicken would at least be split evenly down the middle, right? Only in our family is “half” the rear half, severed cleanly at the waist.

Now that I think about it, it’s probably because the front half was clearly not a normal chicken.

Glancing at Mom busily preparing chicken soup for him, then at Dad beside her, staring longingly with obvious hunger…

Fa Muzhi murmured silently: Dad, you’ve been through so much. Judging by your expression, you probably haven’t had chicken soup made with anything but chicken heads in years, have you?

Three chicken heads, at that.

With that thought, when Fa Muzhi’s mother lovingly placed a bowl of chicken soup before him, he immediately picked up the chicken leg and handed it to his father.

“Da Bao, you’re such a filial son!” Father Fa was so touched, he nearly teared up as he accepted the drumstick!

Mother Fa wasn’t pleased, but she wouldn’t show dissatisfaction with her son. She merely shot Father Fa a sidelong glance before clearing her throat after a moment.

Father, who had just lifted the large chicken leg to his mouth, froze. Only then did he notice his wife’s displeased expression beside him. His hand trembled, and the chicken leg seemed poised to fall into his wife’s bowl. But Fa Muzhi moved again—

“Mom, you should have some too.”

“Actually, I had chicken soup for lunch today. My classmate is so health-conscious—he drinks soup with every meal.” Fearing his mother might refuse, Fa Muzhi added.

It was true. Su Huanliu insisted on having soup with every meal, and not just any soup—it had to be sweetened with sugar.

He always suspected Su Huanliu’s poor health stemmed from his small appetite, combined with all that soup taking up space. Yet, despite eating similarly, his own health had improved significantly—he’d even outgrown his genetic height range.

Fa Muzhi pondered this, glancing at his parents beside him: Hmm… neither of them was particularly tall.

Sure enough—

Hearing her son mention his classmate, Mother Fa smiled with satisfaction.

“You mean that egg-loving classmate of yours? Xiao Su, right?”

“Speaking of which, I owe him a debt of gratitude. Not only has he patronized our business for so many years, but he also keeps teaching you good habits—encouraging you to study hard and, more importantly, to eat properly.”

“Heaven knows you were my biggest worry before. Your dad says your sister gets perfectly balanced nutrition—legally mandated, no less. I don’t fret about your brother either; he’s off cultivating immortality, so nutrition doesn’t matter much. And even when it comes to meals, their food is the least polluted around~.”

“It’s all on you. Sigh, with Mom and Dad gone, you’re the only kid in your growth phase left here. I was always worried you wouldn’t eat properly, just getting by. And then—”

“See how well Xiao Su takes care of you?” Mother Fa beamed proudly at her eldest son. “Look at that big guy! 5’10“ tall! Goodness, she’s only 5’1” herself, and Father Fa barely reaches 5’7″.

They’d even considered taking him to a specialist to see if hormone injections might help, but when they came back… Wow! No need to worry anymore—

So Mom and Dad were genuinely willing to supply Su Huanliu with free eggs.

But Su Huanliu just wouldn’t accept them.

“I even brought half a chicken for Xiao Su. Take it to him tomorrow. That boy loves soup—tell him to stew it up!” Mom said, taking a bite of chicken leg before closing her eyes contentedly.

Fa Muzhi glanced over: Alright, looks like Mom hasn’t skipped a single chicken head.

After a moment’s thought, he said to his mother, “Mom, next time, bring some chicken heads? Actually, Su Huanliu loves chicken heads the most.”

If he likes chickens with three heads, and he likes multiple heads… in a flash, it’s roughly equivalent to liking chicken heads?

Anyway, he’d brought him chicken soup before without any special praise. That guy wasn’t one to settle for mediocrity—if he liked something, he’d say so; if not, he’d just smile politely. He could tell the genuine praise for their eggs came from the heart, but the compliments about their chicken soup were just polite niceties.

Since that’s the case, might as well save two drumsticks for Mom and Dad. That guy never eats the meat in the soup anyway! He only drinks the broth!

Fa Muzhi made the decision for Su Huanliu.

He said it so casually, but hearing him, Mother Fa nearly choked on her soup—

“People who like chicken heads? Our chickens just have—lots of heads!”

You could tell she wanted to say, “We’ve got plenty of chicken heads,” but luckily, Father Fa cleared his throat beside her. Mother Fa managed to hold back, quickly changing her words—close call, she almost slipped up.

But whether she slipped up or not didn’t matter anyway, since Fa Muzhi already knew.

“Then next time we’ll bring chicken heads back,” Mother Fa said cheerfully.

Nodding, Fa Muzhi indicated that it was fine.

After wrapping up the chicken talk, the family chatted for a while longer.

“This is so rare—just a few days in, and we’re back already. Wonder what happened to that red dragon. Suddenly flew off, when before it stayed cooped up in its nest for nearly half a year without moving…” Mom whispered the reason for their early return.

“Wasn’t it because it was incubating eggs before?” Dad guessed.

Fa Muzhi: Actually, it was because the player fell and broke.

“Anyway, seeing we could come back, we hurried home. But this time the interval was too short—we barely gathered any eggs, just brought back two and a half chickens,” Fa Muzhi explained.

Fa Muzhi: “Two and a half chickens”… that phrasing is rather… subtle…

“Oh, right, A-Zhi. Our neighbor over there is getting married. She tried our candied beans and thought they were delicious—just the right sweetness. She wants us to make a batch for her. I couldn’t commit before since I didn’t know when we’d return. Now that we’re back, could you make a few pots of candied beans for her?” Mom looked at her son, her eyes sparkling.

Her son’s sugar beans were getting better and better. Maybe this could become another family business?

At this thought, a fierce determination suddenly ignited in Mom’s heart.

That gaze… it was practically “sky-burning fire” level… Nearly scorched by the intensity in his mother’s eyes, Fa Muzhi calmly nodded. He ate his meat, drank his soup, and after finishing his meal, headed outside to gather grass, wash it, and prepare for “frying sugar beans.”

This was also why Mother Fa intended to start a sugar business. She realized that aside from white sugar, the ingredients her eldest son used for making sugar were mostly homegrown, and white sugar was quite cheap around here…

What a business!

So, without wasting a moment, she joined her son in washing the “grass.” After clearing the table, Father Fa also joined in. The family of three worked busily for three hours. Before bedtime, two pots of beautiful “sugar beans” had formed, glistening on the cooling trays.

They set aside enough for Su Huanliu as usual, then had Mom pack up the rest. Fa Muzhi took a rare break—leaving the mess for Dad to clean up while he headed upstairs to sleep.

No wonder—he’d spent half the day pruning branches and then hanging out with Mom!

He really was exhausted, but as long as it meant getting his parents back, he’d gladly endure the fatigue.

With a bag of “sugar beans” by his pillow, Fa Muzhi fell asleep sprawled across the bed.

Whether it worked or not, Su Huanliu seemed to be doing well now, didn’t he? Though he still got sick occasionally, if he pushed himself a bit harder, maybe he could refine a pill that would truly benefit his health?

Su Huanliu should be able to wait. He should be able to wait…

That’s what Fa Muzhi thought before falling asleep.