Chapter 14: Farming
The next morning, Marco packed various goods and set off on the path to Bean Village, accompanied by Chu Jiu and Reg. Not long after Marco’s carriage departed, Aris, a traveling merchant preparing to leave from the same market, noticed their wagon.
Aris twirled his mustache and asked a young assistant nearby, “Isn’t that Marco’s cart? Wasn’t he supposed to stay in town today? Why is he leaving?”
Could it be that Marco had discovered a new trade route?
The assistant replied, “Yesterday, some folks from Bean Village came to pitch their specialty products to Marco. He seemed quite interested, so I guess he’s going to collect the goods today.”
Aris scoffed, “Bean Village? Bean Village? Pfft!”
“Marco must be out of his mind to do business with Bean Village.”
The assistant hurriedly agreed, “Yeah, yeah, you’re right, sir. Bean Village is full of poor folks. Associating with them just brings bad luck.”
Aris nodded in agreement, struggling to climb onto his carriage as he laughed, “If you want to get rich, you have to go to Gulinburg!”
“This time, I’m putting everything I have on the line. I’m going to double my money, no matter what!”
The assistant bowed eagerly, “Absolutely! Sir, this trip to Gulinburg is sure to make you a fortune!”
Soon, Aris’s carriage also set off, heading in the exact opposite direction from Chu Jiu and company.
***
On the road to Bean Village, the carriage moved swiftly. Only when monsters blocked the way did Marco rein in the two powerful horses, allowing Reg to shoot fiery arrows that scared the monsters away.
Crowded amidst sacks of rice, flour, oil, and salt, Chu Jiu witnessed for the first time a gifted person controlling fire in reality and nearly stood dumbfounded.
Watching the giant spider flee from the flames, Chu Jiu sincerely admired, “That’s amazing!”
No sooner had he spoken than he felt the small tin in his pocket stir gently, as if tiny claws were scratching him.
Chu Jiu paid it no mind, gently pressed on it, and continued listening as Reg explained more about abilities.
Reg was straightforward, openly telling Chu Jiu that his fire arrows were actually a low-level ability, enough to intimidate such low-grade monsters. In more dangerous places, these low-level powers wouldn’t suffice; only high-level users could wield mighty fireballs, ice spells, or lightning strikes.
Only then did Chu Jiu realize that gifted individuals were ranked by levels.
According to Reg, high-level users could incinerate entire swarms of monsters with a single lightning strike, a near miraculous feat.
At that moment, Marco interjected, “Unfortunately, many of the high-level gifted have gone to Gulinburg. Ordinary people rarely see them anymore.”
Upon hearing this, Reg’s expression changed slightly, answering somewhat helplessly, “Yeah.”
Curious, Chu Jiu asked, “Gulinburg? What kind of place is that?”
The spice shop owner had mentioned the name before, also with an air of secrecy.
Reg shrugged, “Anyway, it’s not a good place.”
Seeing Reg’s “don’t ask” expression, Marco chuckled and changed the subject.
***
Two hours later, the carriage arrived at Bean Village.
A man named Aman, who had been watching near the village entrance, quickly climbed a tree upon spotting the wagon. From afar, he confirmed: it was a traveling merchant bringing goods!
Sliding down swiftly, Aman sprinted to the village elder. “Grandpa! Grandpa! Brother Chu Jiu is back with the merchant! Brother Chu Jiu did it!”
The old village chief, both surprised and delighted, stood up with his cane. “Really?! So soon?!”
He had thought it would take two or three days, with the merchant bargaining for a long time to persuade them to take a look.
Unexpectedly, on the second day, Chu Jiu returned with the merchant and the goods!
***
Overjoyed, the village chief hurried to tell the others, “Quick, check if your tofu is ready!”
Before setting out, Chu Jiu had instructed clearly: since they wanted to make tofu the village specialty, it couldn’t be made by just one family. It was best to have many making it, to ensure a steady supply.
So, the villagers began soaking soybeans yesterday and started making tofu according to Chu Jiu’s recipe.
By the time the merchant’s cart entered the village, every household had fresh tofu laid out.
Honestly, Marco had been worried that tofu might be scarce, with only a few pieces in total.
Now, seeing nearly half the homes holding boxes of fresh, tender tofu, he felt reassured—
This business was worth pursuing!
Soon, he arranged with the village chief:
Marco would come to Bean Village every Friday, selling daily necessities and buying fresh tofu.
Regarding prices, Marco was frank: when trading with other villages, he usually paid 5% above market price. After all, there were transportation costs and monster threats; prices couldn’t match those in town.
This offer was far more reasonable than Aris’s before, so the chief readily agreed and signed the contract.
That morning, small tents sprung up again in the village square.
Villagers not only exchanged urgently needed oil, salt, and vinegar, but found that trading their soybeans directly for goods was far more profitable.
Under this new arrangement, 10 copper coins worth of soybeans could produce tofu sold for 150 copper coins! The difference was more than enough to trade for precious rice, flour, salt, and olive oil.
Another plus: the merchant would now come weekly, no more waiting half a month.
After a morning of business, every elder and child in the village wore bright smiles.
On Chu Jiu’s side, besides receiving a pile of thank-you gifts from villagers, he earned a full 400 development points from the tofu trade.
He now had 1,600 development points in total.
Counting the points and glancing at the spirit beast icon on the system panel, Chu Jiu hesitated briefly between “repairing the fence” and “cultivating fields,” finally deciding: farming!
***
Chu Jiu took the little tin and the “How-How Rabbit” to the forest edge.
“How-How Rabbit” was the new name he gave the little rabbit. Upon hearing the name, the rabbit hopped excitedly, its long ears twitching, emitting a series of joyful howls.
Following the system’s instructions, Chu Jiu opened the spirit beast tab and dragged the blueprint for “field” onto How-How Rabbit’s work schedule.
[Work assignment matches Spirit Beast #2’s skills and preferences.]
[Spirit Beast #2’s task today: farming.]
[Please select the field area.]
[Note: Each new field requires 500 development points. Please plan carefully.]
The system projected several virtual green grids onto the real scene, each representing a potential plot of cultivable land.
Chu Jiu intuitively selected a plot.
How-How Rabbit immediately jumped onto the chosen square and howled at the rows of trees: “Oh how how how...!”
In an instant, as if a tornado had struck, tall trees were uprooted, their branches swiftly stripped, and neatly stacked aside.
Chu Jiu was stunned. Spirit beasts were really powerful! Not only did they clear land, they provided hundreds, even thousands, of pieces of timber!
Next, How-How Rabbit spun rapidly like a white plush top over the soil—too fast for the naked eye.
Could this be... loosening the soil? Chu Jiu guessed.
Moments later, a 5m by 5m field appeared before him.
***
Before Chu Jiu could marvel further, the system played unprecedented music and displayed several messages:
[Congratulations, host! You have successfully cultivated a field!]
[Regional development increased to 0.8%!]
[Host level up: now a Level 4 Developer.]
[You have learned the active skill “Treasure Seeker’s Aim.” Please use it wisely.]
Wow!
Development points shot up by 0.5% in one go—more than the total of previous days! Plus, a new skill learned!
Indeed, pioneering farming was the most effective—no waste of 500 development points.
Chu Jiu felt a wave of satisfaction.
The system continued:
[Field is now arable. Fertility: average.]
[Please provide seeds or seedlings to plant.]
[Currently, only one type of plant can be sown per field. Choose carefully.]
How-How Rabbit hopped before Chu Jiu, stretched out its front paws, as if asking, “How-How-How, what shall we plant today?”
Without hesitation, Chu Jiu praised the rabbit and handed it some cabbage seeds.
Delighted by the praise, How-How Rabbit grinned broadly, wagged its fluffy tail, and hopped off to sow the seeds.
After burying the seeds, the next step was watering.
How-How Rabbit took a wooden bucket, far larger than itself, balanced it on its head, and dashed to the river.
From afar, it looked as if the bucket had grown legs and was hopping by itself.
Chu Jiu exclaimed repeatedly, marveling, “Spirit beasts are really so capable!”
Just then, he felt a tickle in his chest—probably the little tin scratching him again.
Curious, Chu Jiu took the little creature from his pocket and held it in his hands. Before he could ask, he noticed its round eyes had turned into two half-moon shapes, looking distinctly displeased.
Carefully, Chu Jiu asked, “Are you mad? Is it because... I praised How-How Rabbit?”
The little tin twisted its face and said “Meow”—“No, I’m not.”
Hmph. This human first praised that unremarkable fire spell, then praised How-How Rabbit’s farming skills.
My tricks are way better than a fire spell!
Besides, if I hadn’t beaten up How-How Rabbit a bit, it wouldn’t have obediently come back to farm with us!
And if I hadn’t been thinking every day, “I wish I had a partner to farm with,” we wouldn’t have met How-How Rabbit!
The little tin had a thousand grievances but said nothing.
Chu Jiu smiled and didn’t press further, saying, “Soon we’ll be able to grow sauerkraut fish here.”
“Just plant a fish, water it, and quickly a fish tree will grow, hanging full of delicious fish.”