Chapter 2: Fields?

"Jingle."
"Jingle."

Early the next morning, Chu Jiu was awakened by a series of bell rings.

He rubbed his eyes, climbed up from the pile of hay, walked to the window, and peeked out. Huh? Isn't that Aman?

The little boy was standing far away under the road sign, vigorously shaking a copper bell. It seemed the child had something to ask him but was too timid to come into this area to knock on the door.

Chu Jiu hurriedly grabbed his backpack and ran toward the intersection, smoothing down his messy, sleep-tousled hair as he went.

When he arrived at the road sign, Aman looked up, his eyes bright. "Great! You didn't leave, big brother!"

Chu Jiu: "?"

Aman: "Two years ago, another pioneer came, but he ran away the very next day. He just left a note saying he couldn't do this kind of work."

Chu Jiu smiled. "Don't worry, I won't run."

If he ran, how else would he earn those thirty million?

Aman giggled, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a yellow bun, handing it to Chu Jiu. "My grandpa said you probably haven't had breakfast yet, so this is for you. Also, he wants to ask if you have time to come to our house."

As a newcomer, a visit to the village chief's home was only appropriate.

Chu Jiu followed Aman into the village while nibbling on the bun. It was likely made of cornmeal with very little wheat flour added; while it had a faint, fresh corn scent, the texture was dry, hard, and a bit difficult to swallow. However, Chu Jiu believed that in a village where vast fields lay fallow and everything around was desolate, this corn bun was undoubtedly a delicacy.

*

The village chief was about sixty years old with greying hair. His right lower leg was splinted with two wooden boards, indicating clear difficulty in movement. Yet, the old man was in good spirits, his eyes sharp and his speech clear.

After chatting with Chu Jiu for a while, he pulled out a tattered book and a cloth bundle, his expression solemn yet tinged with apology. "By rights, we should have prepared more for you coming to our village to pioneer. But currently, the village can't even scrape together a spare set of farming tools..."

"This half-book—it was passed down from the past. It contains records on how to manufacture furniture... See if you can make use of it."

"And this. These are some seeds I saved this year. I don't know if my legs will hold up to farm next year, so I'll give them all to you."

The system immediately popped up a notification:
[Obtained "Manual of Simple Furniture Manufacturing"]
[Obtained Soybean Seeds x30]

Chu Jiu thanked the old man quickly. After a moment's hesitation, he took the sliced Screaming Mushrooms from his backpack and told them that this was the mushroom that made noise, but it was actually edible.

He was worried the villagers might find the idea of "eating a magical beast" hard to accept, but they showed no aversion at all.

Aman kept pestering him with questions like "Is it tasty?" and "How do you eat it?" while the old village chief sighed, "If only we weren't afraid of magical beasts hurting people, and if only we knew which ones were edible, we probably would have been hunting in the Forest of Oblivion long ago."

When Chu Jiu told them that Screaming Mushrooms could be eaten after being boiled in water or roasted over an open flame, and that they "tasted like meat," Aman began to drool, eager to roast the mushrooms immediately.

At this moment, the system popped up another notification:
[Villager favorability increased! Obtained 20 Pioneering Points!]

So, increasing villager favorability earns Pioneering Points? This was another way to earn money...

As Chu Jiu pondered this, Aman wiped his drool, poked the soft, fluffy mushroom, and asked curiously, "Brother, how did you know this magical beast was edible? Are you an Esper too? The kind with plant-based abilities?"

The system had mentioned yesterday, and Aman had confirmed, that a small portion of people in this world possessed "Espers" abilities—the power to manipulate water, fire, and the like. When dealing with magical beasts, Espers were far more capable than ordinary people.

Chu Jiu froze for a second. He did have a cheat, but did that count as an ability?

After a moment's thought, he replied half-truthfully, "I have a little bit, but this ability is only useful for digging up wild vegetables or identifying which magical beasts are edible. It's not much use for anything else."

Aman wore an "I see" expression, and the village chief nodded. "No wonder you dared to come pioneer alone—if it were a normal person, they probably would have snuck away before even spending a night in the forest."

"People generally wouldn't dare get close to these 'Screaming Mushrooms,' let alone think of making them into food."

The village chief paused, then added, "If you manage to dig up other edible things or grow crops, you could try to sell them or trade them for other goods."

Chu Jiu's eyes lit up: Sell them?

*

Following the chief's directions, Chu Jiu arrived at a small square in the center of the village.

It was called a square, but it was really just a space of about fifty square meters with a few vacant spots for stalls. These stalls were currently empty—it was said that only on the Saturday of every other week would traveling merchants come by wagon to sell goods, at which time the villagers would bring out their own surplus.

What did they do for trade at other times?

There was a wooden board standing by the square. If a family caught an extra rabbit in the nearby woods, they could spare two legs and write or draw on the board: "Grandma Zhang’s house, fresh rabbit legs, 2, looking to trade for rice." Or if someone was running low on salt, they would leave a note: "Auntie Hu’s house, need refined salt, can trade corn cobs."

Looking at the charcoal writing on the board, Chu Jiu's hands itched. He wanted to write something immediately to see if he could trade for pots, pans, or bowls.

However, he had already given all his Screaming Mushrooms to the village chief, so he truly had nothing to trade at the moment. He could only circle the square and leave with regret.

Just as he turned to leave, an elderly woman with a hunched back came hobbling down the stone path. She seemed to want to write something on the board, but her movements were quite slow, and her grip on the charcoal stick was unsteady.

Chu Jiu walked over to her and said softly, "Is there something you'd like to write? Let me help you."

The old woman turned to look at Chu Jiu. Instead of answering what she wanted to trade, she began to ask him questions with curiosity and delight—asking if he was the new pioneer from yesterday, how old he was, what he was called...

In front of such an elderly person, Chu Jiu could only act like a child, answering whatever was asked, appearing incredibly well-behaved.

Finally, this "Granny Zhu" sighed, saying she hadn't expected a young man to actually come for pioneering, much less one so neat and handsome.

Chu Jiu was not a man of many words and wasn't used to such praise, so he felt a bit uncomfortable. He scratched his head and asked again, "What would you like to trade for?"

Granny Zhu said she had some radish seeds at home and wanted to trade for some fish. Any kind of fish would do, but fresh was best.

Chu Jiu thought for a moment and said, "Granny Zhu, I don't have any fish on me right now, but I should be able to catch some in the Forest of Oblivion. Where do you live? I'll bring some over later."

Granny Zhu looked relieved. "That would be wonderful!"

*

There was indeed a small stream in the Forest of Oblivion. But the system's "Pioneering Starter Pack" hadn't provided him with a fishing rod or a net.

Chu Jiu didn't intend to fish the traditional way, either.

If he remembered correctly, he could catch a certain type of large, tender, boneless fish with 100% certainty—he just needed to go into the forest and dig up a few eggs first.

He retrieved his "Small Iron Shovel" from the gift pack. Just as he stepped into the forest, he unexpectedly received a notification:

[Host has met the hidden condition: "Exploring the wilderness while carrying seeds!"]
[Obtained recipe for "Farmland!"]

"Farmland" unlocked just like that?

Chu Jiu excitedly tapped on the detailed description of "Farmland":

[Farmland: Can be used to cultivate crops on the land.
Special Note: Planting is limited to items categorized as "seeds" or materials with the "manually plantable" attribute.]
[Recipe Attribute: Facility]
[Recipe Requirement: 500 Pioneering Points, 1 Spirit Beast]

The joy on Chu Jiu's face froze.

It costs 500 Pioneering Points to open a plot of land? Is it really that expensive?

And what is a "Spirit Beast"? Does this mean I can't farm without a Spirit Beast?