“These are, of course, ordinary spirit herb seeds. I mean, they won’t grow into Immortal Herbs that are used for making miraculous pills.” Opening a seed packet, I poured the contents on the table. The seeds were of various shapes and sizes, from normal-looking brown ones to large pearly glowing ones that smelled of mint.
In the game, these mostly grew into herbs that I knew like mint, basil, and chamomile, but there were also a few that were unknown on Earth like whispering thistle, sundew blossom, pearlstem grass, echoreed, strange vines, etc.
The funny thing was that the [Herb Garden] was old content, and when the herbs grew, they all looked the same since the developers just copy-pasted the same graphics. Only the color palette was changed to distinguish between the different types of plants. I was looking forward to seeing their real appearance outside of a computer monitor.
“Teacher, why are we only making an [Herb Garden] now?” asked Kharli.
The three of them were busily sorting the seeds, which wasn’t an easy job since a lot of them were quite similar to each other.
“This is the first time we have enough space. What do you think?” In fact, there were other garden and house features players could add. They weren’t always very useful or valuable, but they were fun. For example, one could add a small fishing pond, hydroponic greenhouse, rain garden, weather monitoring tower, petting zoo, astrology observation platform, perfumery, etc. Even in Adventure Incarnate, players had trouble finding enough space for all of them. “I also had to wait until we had enough energy to manage everything.”
“We do have a lot more energy now, and we don’t need much during the growing season since the rice paddies don’t need watering.” Mo stirred the pile of seeds in front of her. “Are these rare seeds?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to plant them and find out!” I gave them a few more packets. “Isn’t this fun? Pick the seeds you like.”
I pointed at the design I had drawn on the whiteboard with Kharli’s help. “We can each take a square and plant the seeds we think are good. The middle circle will be planted with random seeds. Whoever has the best square will be crowned the king or queen of summer this year!”
For the first time, Lari looked interested. “Is there a prize, Teacher?”
“Yes, whoever ‘wins’ will be feasted with all of their favorite dishes, and I’ll give them this.” I showed them a circlet made of silk leaves and flowers. Fengying had bought this for me when I asked her to buy a prize that was suitably tasteful.
“May I?” Lari held out his hand.
“Sure.” I gave him the circlet.
He inspected the circlet closely. “The beads in the middle of the flowers?”
“Ivory beads.”
“The wire?”
“Silver-plated alloy only. It’s not that valuable since this is just a fun little contest.”
Kharli, Mo, and I laughed at his disappointed pouting.
“I like it,” said Kharli. “Give it to me, I wanna try it.”
Kharli and Mo took turns putting it on.
“It’s okay,” said Mo.
She handed it to Kharli.
“I’m a pretty princess!” Kharli put it on and then sat up straight, lifted her chin, and waved regally as though she was in a procession.
We talked a little more about minor matters then parted ways. I went to play with Cutie for a while before going to my house to train my Alchemy a little. The staff really liked the mochi, aka basic nourishing qi pills, I made. I also used the System’s wood chipper, shredder, and mulcher to prepare wood chips, shredded leaves, and green mulch for the [Herb Garden].
***
Summer had come, and I chose a bunch of lightweight cotton robes and thin trousers to wear. The kids liked to wear sleeveless tops, while I preferred the loose long-sleeved ones since they protected my skin from the sun.
It was pleasantly warm today. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the trees in the Ancient Hill Forest, carrying with it the sweet fragrance of wildflowers and the scent of the river to the south.
My apprentices and I inspected the tea and rice plants, weeding where needed, and watering the crops. The seeds had sprouted overnight, and in each field, the delicate green shoots reached tentatively toward the sunlight. A few already had tiny little leaves that were still furled.
Once we finished watering the crops, we gathered together east of the main house.
“I’m going to put up the walls of the [Herb Garden] first, okay?” I said to my three apprentices and my household staff, who had asked permission to watch. They just never got tired of the System’s magic. A glowing magic circle appeared on the ground in front of me. “Stand back, please.”
The people behind me sighed in wonder. Seconds later, the magic circle flashed twice and disappeared, leaving behind the [Herb Garden]. Everyone except for me clapped.
I bowed. “Thank you, thank you! Let’s go inside.”
I opened the ornate iron gates adorned with white and red climbing roses, their velvety petals brushing against my fingertips and releasing a sweet, lingering fragrance into the air. My staff all filed inside the garden, but there wasn’t much to see yet. Four stone walls encircled an area that was roughly 25 feet by 40 feet.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Yesterday, I had arranged the garden the way I had shown my apprentices. As visitors entered, their eyes were drawn to the raised beds meticulously arranged within. Four diamond-shaped plots flanked the garden's perimeter, their edges lined with weathered stone. At the garden's center lay a circular plot, also lined in stone, as well as a small marble fountain where water flowed from a playful fairy’s upraised wand. At her feet was a sleeping dragon made of blue ceramic mosaic tiles. Grass-lined pathways tiled with elegant white marble veined with blue and gray crisscrossed the garden, and at the far end was a small roofed area with a comfortable bench designed for relaxation. Ivy and climbing roses decorated the walls, here and there, adding splashes of color to the gray stone.
Deming and his assistants took a quick look around and then left. The rest milled around for a few minutes checking to see if there was anything interesting until Fengying told them to go back to their work.
“It looks lovely, my lady, and I’m sure it will look even better when the herbs start growing,” said Fengying. Today there was a little bounce in her step and her cheeks were rosy with health. Ever since she got the fairy’s blessing, she seemed to be aging backward.
“We’re sending the wedding gifts to Yinuo today, right?” My maid had sent word she was getting married as soon as possible, and I’d asked Fengying to arrange for some silver to be sent to her.
“Yes, and the staff all contributed money to buy a few sets of good quality bed linens,” she said.
“I can’t wait to meet her husband.” Yinuo had sent word that the matchmaker’s promise of a handsome husband had exceeded her expectations. “I heard he’s really, really handsome! Yinuo boasted that I could die of shock when I see who she married.”
Fengying didn’t quite roll her eyes, but I got the distinct impression she was exasperated. “That girl! I told her to beware of good-looking men. She shouldn’t have married in such a rush.”
“She was probably afraid someone else would snatch her gorgeous betrothed away from her if she didn’t work fast.”
Fengying shook her head and gave me some demon pork dumplings wrapped in banana leaves for a morning snack before leaving. I shared them with my apprentices before we started our work.
“Now for some fun! Did you all remember to bring your chosen seeds?”
They all took out the seed packets from their pockets or inventory.
“I’ll start. Watch what I do.” I went over to the Western plot of land and laid down a layer of cardboard on it. “This time, we won’t till the ground. Instead, we’ll add layers of materials over the soil to make a raised bed. First, we will cover the ground with this cardboard. This will suffocate the weeds and grass. Now I’ll wet it.”
I used the watering can from the System to thoroughly soak the cardboard.
“Next, we will add brown and green stuff in alternating layers. There should be twice as much brown stuff as green stuff. This is the brown stuff. It’s made of shredded old leaves, wood chips, twigs, straw, and corn stalks.” I took out buckets of the material I had prepared beforehand. “Help me pour it over the cardboard please.”
We dumped the stuff on the cardboard and I spread it around to make an even layer four inches deep. Then I took out buckets of compost and manure. “Add this. Be careful, don’t just throw it in willy-nilly or you’ll get it on your clothes.”
The smell was incredibly bad, but it had to be done. When we finished, I took out more buckets. “These are the green materials. I put green leaves, grass, vegetable scraps, and coffee grounds through a mulcher to make it.”
We quickly poured the green mulch over the compost and manure. I wiped my forehead. The summer heat was making itself felt though it wasn’t too uncomfortable yet since it was still early in the season.
“And so we’re one-third of the way done. We need to add two more sets of brown material, compost, manure, and green material layers.” I expected them to groan or complain about it, but they reacted stoically. “Then we need to do the four other areas.”
“Teacher, please put this hat on.” Kharli handed me a conical farmer’s hat made of rice straw.
I put it on and said, “Thanks, the sun was burning the top of my head.”
We were mostly silent as we worked. My back started aching when we were halfway through.
“Teacher, why don’t we just fill it all with soil?” asked Lari.
“That’s a good question. In the future, when you make your garden away from Emberstone Farm, you can do that.” I continued to pour buckets of compost. “However, the [Herb Garden] is a special place for using this technique. Notice that the stuff we are using is mostly made of waste materials that would otherwise be thrown away.”
“I see.” Lari’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
He seemed skeptical, so I explained a little more. “Not every place has good soil. What about the desert? We could use this method there.”
Lari was silent as he thought about it. Eventually, his furrowed brows relaxed, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “We could add some chopped fish parts, too.”
“Yes, we can experiment later on,” I said.
Mo straightened up and put a hand on her lower back. “My back hurts from bending down too much. This is more tiring than plowing a field, but my energy bar isn’t depleting.”
“I guess we’re using muscle power, not System energy,” said Kharli. “Teacher, why don’t you sit down and rest? We can finish the rest.”
She must have noticed I was slacking off a little. “Thanks, but four will work faster than three.”
By the time we finished, our clothes were soaked in sweat and covered in dirt. I looked up at the clear blue sky and smiled. Though I was worn out, it was a good kind of tired, the type where one had worked hard all day and accomplished something good. “Finally! We’re done here. Let’s wash up and have lunch.”
“But, Teacher, aren’t we going to plant the seeds before we leave?” asked Kharli.
I stretched my arms above my head and rotated my head from side to side before answering. This kind of work was tough on the back and neck. “I almost forgot to tell you. These layers will need to decompose before we can plant the [Herb Seeds]. Outside of this [Herb Garden], you would probably have to wait a few months, but our garden is special. It should be ready before the end of the day.”
Mo’s eyes sparkled. “System magic!”
“System magic,” echoed Kharli. She wrapped her arm around Mo’s and they walked off together.
Lari and I followed behind them.
“It’s past noon. Thank goodness we had those dumplings or I’d be starving,” said Lari.
I rolled my shoulders. They felt stiff. “I’ll clean myself up at my house. See you guys later.”
I picked up Cutie on the way and brought her into the [Ranch House] with me. As I showered, I wondered why my body ached. Surely a young, fit woman shouldn't be this tired after a bit of garden work?
After some thought, I decided that it was probably because I had pushed myself too hard in the past month. Two weeks of harvest and two weeks of planting in which I used up all but a sliver of my energy meant that my fatigue had accumulated. Therefore, I resolved to take the day off tomorrow.
Lunch was a delight. The freshly harvested vegetables were made into a salad drizzled with a roasted sesame sauce, and the Demon Chef had made an incredible beef bacon with the demon cow Prince Baiyu had sent over last week.
“Teacher, you look tired. Why don’t you rest before we return to the [Herb Garden]?” said Kharli.
“I look tired?” Was it really that obvious? “It’s fine, let’s finish up today and I’ll rest tomorrow.”
When we went back to the [Herb Garden], we saw that the raised beds looked the same as when we left earlier, so we settled down on the bench and chatted about this and that until I got a System popup.
[The Herb Garden is ready for planting.]