CHAPTER 118 - HOLY CARP! THAT'S RICE ON THE MONEY!

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Since I had decided to sell livestock, there wasn’t an urgent need to expand the clearing that I had designated for the animals, so the next day we went to the site that I had earmarked for the Immortal Herbs.

As we cut down the trees to make space for the herbs, I told my apprentices about the requirements.

“We can’t just plant the seeds without preparing the soil first. The seeds wouldn’t grow,” I said. “We'll need to use the [Mysterious Goo] and green manure on the soil before we can get started.”

“Green manure?” Mo gave me an inquiring look.

Today we were all dressed in our simple work clothes: unadorned black or brown pants and robes made of plain cotton. The one thing that set us apart from peasant farmers was our fine custom-made leather boots made of the softest doeskin available.

As far as I was concerned, life was too short to wear lousy shoes.

“It’s not really manure. People just call it that because it serves the same purpose as animal manure. What we will do is to plant some fast-growing crops that will enrich the soil. Before it becomes fully mature, we’ll plow it back into the soil,” I said.

“I think I understand. The spiritual plants will go into the soil and enrich it with their energy,” said Kharli.

“And nutrients. We’ll have to do that several times until the soil becomes [Black Soil],” I said.

“Oh, let me guess! [Black Soil] is black because it’s very rich in energy. Did I get it right, Teacher?” Mo looked pleased with herself.

“Yes, that’s right. The soil will turn black when it has a large amount of decomposed organic matter. This would normally take a long time, but we have the System to help us,” I said.

“So all we have to do is to plant some crops and take care of the worms and your demon pet? That doesn’t sound so hard,” said Lari.

“It’s not hard at all. We just have to be patient,” I said.

“How long do you think it will take before we can start planting Immortal Herbs, Teacher?” asked Mo.

“Hmm. I have no idea. The first thing we’ll do is to plant [Buckwheat] We normally can't plant seeds outside of the planting season but since the System gave me a quest to create [Black Soil], it's allowed for now, but we can't harvest these. They will have to be plowed back into the soil.” I gave them some [Buckwheat] to examine.

[Buckwheat:

A fast-growing herbaceous plant with heart-shaped leaves and delicate white or pink flowers that bloom in clusters. The roots of the buckwheat plant grow deep into the ground and break up compacted soil, improving soil structure. The plant’s nutrient-rich grain has a hearty, nutty flavor and can be ground into flour.]

“Bear in mind that we won’t be harvesting this, okay?” The three of them nodded, and I continued my explanation. “We’ll also plant [Spirit Grass], [Wild Seed Mix] and [Soybeans].”

I let them examine some [Soybeans] from my inventory.

[Soybean:

An important legume plant that produces protein-rich beans that is used to make a wide variety of products such as oil, soy sauce, tofu, soy milk, tempeh, miso, etc. Soybean plants also help improve soil productivity by enriching the soil with nitrogen.]

“We have soybeans? Why don’t we grow some in summer and give it to the chef? I’d love some soy sauce made from spirit soybeans,” said Lari.

“Nah, I’m waiting for my level 20 Farming. I’ll unlock some new machines, and then I’ll make soybean products myself,” I said.

“I feel a little discouraged that Teacher doesn’t need the harvest anymore, now that she can cook,” said Mo.

“Cheer up. I never actually needed to farm…” That was a fact. From day one, I’d had tons of useful items in my inventory. I patted Mo on the shoulder. “I want to farm.”

“Me, too!” said Mo.

“I love farming,” said Kharli. “And Lari loves the money we make from farming.”

We all laughed, even Lari.

“You girls love money, too,” said Lari. “You spend as much time shopping as I do.”

“We don’t love gold as much as you do. I bet you would sleep in a pile of gold coins if you could.” Kharli gestured vigorously with her woodcutting ax which almost flew out of her grasp, but she got hold of it in time with her other hand. She gave Lari a sheepish look. “Oops.”

“That’s it, this discussion is over. Let’s focus on woodcutting now.” That was my fault. I shouldn’t have had such a long conversation that took our attention away from our task.

“Yes, Teacher,” my apprentices chorused.

In the next five days, we cut down as many trees as we could after watering and weeding the crops. Once we had a decent-sized open field, we planted [Spirit Grass] and [Wild Seed Mix] in alternating rows. Then we spent five more days cutting down more trees and planting [Buckwheat] and [Soybeans].

The next day, the chickens were sold. The next batch of animals that hatched included a special chicken breed.

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[Black-Boned Silkie:

A striking breed of chicken known for its fluffy plumage that is silky soft to the touch. Silkies are docile and have a strong maternal instinct which makes them a great choice for taking care of their own as well as other breeds’ eggs and chicks. Though its egg-laying ability is not as good as most other chickens, its black meat and bones are considered gourmet ingredients with curative properties.]

“This seems quite valuable,” I said.

Fengying, who had come with the rest of the staff to watch the hatching, nodded. “My lady, you should keep this in your storage for now. You should sell this to whoever manages to raise the best chickens.”

“Good idea.” Based on what I had been told about spirit animals, they were quite difficult to raise. It would be a waste to give this [Black-Boned Silkie] to someone who might not have the ability to take care of it properly.

“Lord Shuye sent word this morning that the [Red Junglefowl] was auctioned off to the Raccoon Clan,” said Fengying. “They have a wild population of junglefowl in their territory in a place called Emerald Hill. Of course, the [Red Junglefowl] will be kept in a special enclosure and fed with the [Animal Feed] you’re providing until it grows to maturity before being introduced to the flock.”

“Nice. I hope our little chick has a great life,” I said.

***

One week later, the rice seedlings had grown tall enough that it was time for the next step.

“Now for something fun! It’s time for us to start our Rice-fish Culture System.” I was excited because I was close to a Farming level and the quest reward would probably make me level up.

[Two-In-One:

Develop a Rice-fish Culture System on your farm.

Reward: Farming Exp]

I read the quest information out loud for my apprentices.

[Rice-fish Culture System:

The water in a rice paddy can be used for more than just growing rice. Farmers can also stock it with fish in order to secure an easy source of protein. Furthermore, the fish will improve soil quality by softening the soil and providing nutrients via their excrement. It is also good for pest management since fish eat insects, snails, fungus, weeds, etc.]

When I finished reading the System’s explanation out loud, I showed them the [Rice Carp] and [Cleaner Shrimp].

[Rice Carp:

A special fast-growing variety of carp that has been bred to grow in the shallow water of rice paddies. It eats aquatic insects, insect larvae, algae, weeds, and snails. One fish can eat up to 1,000 snails a day. Growing these fish alongside rice will increase crop yields and quality.]

[Cleaner Shrimp:

A tiny freshwater red shrimp that glows in the dark. These hardworking scavenger shrimp are very useful because they eat algae and detritus, as well as ectoparasites from fish.]

“Isn’t that amazing?” I beamed at my apprentices.

“Amazing,” echoed Mo.

“Teacher, we know about a similar system,” said Kharli.

“Oh? What is it?” I asked.

“You know that the White Tiger clan’s primary source of wealth is silk production?” asked Kharli.

I nodded. Prince Baiyu told me about that. The reason why he was always wearing fine silk robes was because it was a good advertisement for the clan’s products. They raised silkworms and had a whole silk industry including weavers, dyers, embroideries, tailors, and so forth.

The most prized type of silk was Ironblood Silk, made from the cocoons of the Ironblood Silkworm, which had a strong defensive power akin to that of the finest enchanted steel. I asked Prince Baiyu why it was called Ironblood instead of Steelblood, but he just shrugged and said it was just what it was called.

“Farmers grow mulberry trees and have fish ponds on their farm. They feed the mulberry leaves to the silkworms and the silkworm pupae and excrement to the fish.” Kharli smiled at my startled expression.

“Wow, that's very interesting. Yes, we’ll be doing something similar. Wait a moment while I prepare the paddies for the fish.”

Lari, Kharli, and Mo watched intently as I used the System’s building tools to build [Fish Refuges] around the paddies.

[Fish Refuge:

A deeper area in the Rice-fish Culture System that serves as a refuge for the fish in case the water level drops. It can take the form of trenches, ponds, or pits, but trenches are preferred since they also provide the fish with passageways for feeding in the rice field.]

Glowing golden lines and magical runes appeared on the ground. I adjusted the lines to fit the area better. The water in the paddies was currently elbow deep, and the System guided me to dig trenches to twice that depth. The glowing lines and runes disappeared in a flash of light and the loud percussive sound of a jackhammer, leaving behind empty trenches dug on the ground.

“Done. Now we have to open the irrigation water gates to flood the trenches.” I theatrically wiped my forehead with a crisp white handkerchief even though I hadn’t sweated at all since the System did all the work for me.

“Me! I’ll do it.” Mo eagerly volunteered for the task and ran off without even waiting for my permission.

“She’s quite lively today.” I raised an eyebrow at my other apprentices.

Kharli smiled. “She drank that coffee drink you like so much, Teacher. It makes her restless.”

“She doesn’t even like the taste of coffee,” said Lari. “She only drinks it because she wants to imitate you, Teacher.”

I was a bit flattered by that. “You never know, she might develop a taste for it.”

“Tea is more refined,” muttered Lari beneath his breath.

I waited until Mo came back before setting up chairs, a canopy, and a small table beside the rice paddies. We had to watch over the process of filling the trenches to make sure that the water flowed slowly enough that it didn’t wash away the crops.

Before we sat down to eat some snacks, I took out baskets of fingerling [Rice Carp] and [Cleaner Shrimp] and half-submerged them in the water of the paddies.

“The baskets are watertight at the bottom, but the top part will let in a little water. I’ll put this in to gradually balance the water temperature inside and outside the basket. That way, the fish will get acclimated. When the basket is full, it will sink and the fish will swim out by themselves,” I said.

“The System is so clever,” said Kharli.

Lari was walking around the trenches with a frown on his face. When he finished his inspection, he joined us at the table and said, “Teacher, I’m afraid that the water will overflow if it rains. Shouldn’t we raise the ground around the trenches and put some drainage holes?”

“We had a pond in the orphanage that always overflowed whenever it rained,” said Mo. “But the staff were too lazy to fix it.”

“...I hadn’t even thought of that. Okay, I’ll do that.” I used the build tools on manual mode to modify the trenches as Lari had suggested, adding some drainage pipes for good measure.

We spent an hour playing Connect Four and chatting about this and that while munching on the Demon Chef’s excellent pastries and drinking tea or coffee.

When the water level reached the desired height, I added the [Fish Feed Box] to each rice paddy that would automatically release [Fish Feed] as needed. The fingerlings probably wouldn’t need it, but as the fish grew, the [Fish Feed] could supplement their diet and make them grow bigger and fatter for the fish harvest.

The moment the last fish swam out of the last basket, I received the System notification that I had been waiting for.

[Two-In-One: Quest Complete

Reward: Farming Exp]

The System’s fireworks exploded around me.

[Congratulations you just advanced a Farming level!]

[Your Farming level is now 20.]