CHAPTER 180 - BLOOMING MARVELOUS
🙞❤︎🙜
“Let’s do this!” I pumped a fist in the air to hype up the last day of the harvest season, and the maids cheered and clapped politely.
“Exp!” yelled Kharli.
“Exp day!” echoed Mo more softly.
“Level up day for me!” Lari pumped a fist, too.
It was a lovely morning with a fresh breeze from the forest that was noticeably cooler than the day before, reminding us that autumn was right around the corner.
There were only a few rice plants left, therefore, despite Lari’s confident words, he didn’t level up.
“Don’t be disappointed. You’ll level up soon,” I said to Lari.
Since we still had some energy left, we plowed a field for tomorrow, the start of the two-week planting season.
“Okay, time to rest and recover our energy,” I said.
We put away our farming tools. Yinuo and the other maids handed us soft, fluffy towels to wipe our sweat off, and we were about to walk back to the main house when I finally got the System pop-up that I had been waiting for.
[Quest Available: Create an Insectary Garden]
I quickly clicked on the [Accept] button and raised a hand to stop the others from walking off.
[Create an Insectary Garden:
Using the Insectary Seed Mix, plant an insect-friendly sanctuary to encourage beneficial bugs that will help control pest populations.
Reward: Farming Exp]
Yes! More exp for me! This quest was only available during the player’s second year when the farm had expanded enough that there was plenty of space for the garden.
“Guys, wait up! We have a new quest.” I read the System text out loud for them, including the description of the [Insectary Garden].
[Insectary Garden:
A special garden that attracts pollinators and beneficial predator bugs that eat aphids, thrips, white flies, and other pests. Tough native plants that have flowers bloom for a long time and are full of readily available nectar are the foundation of this valuable part of the farm that boosts yields and improves the quality of crops. Using the Insectary Seed Mix will ensure that flowers will be in bloom all year round.
More than one Insectary Garden can be planted on the farm.]
“We can’t plant it now since it’s not the planting season yet, so let’s go have breakfast while we think of where to put it.” I gestured for everyone to start walking.
Fengying met us at the gate of the main house where she was supervising the tea and rice handover. The clan members in charge of the crop loaded the sacks of rice and tea into their ox carts, merrily congratulating us on another good harvest, and noting that many clan farmers had successfully used the rice we sold them in the spring to grow their own spirit rice crop. We added the sacks in our inventory to the pile and went on our way.
After a scrumptious meal of fried eggs, honey ham, spiced sausages, grilled tomato, sauteed mushrooms, baked sweet potatoes, salad, and steaming hot buns fresh from the oven, we settled down into the workroom with a map of the farm and a plate of fruit slices.
Kharli frowned as she held the map up. “How about the exact middle of the farm?”
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“I think we should put it beside the [Vineheart Fairy House]. The fairies will love it!” said Mo.
“Great idea! Who knows, they might be so pleased they give us more blessings.” Lari rubbed his hands together and grinned at the prospect of even more bonus exp.
Kharli put the map down and the three of them bent their heads over it while pondering the perfect location for the garden.
I handed over the [Insectary Seed Mix] and two more seed packets. “We will primarily use this, but we can also plant other flower seeds. How about adding [Sunflowers] and [Fairy Rose]?”
“I love [Fairy Rose]!” said Mo.
Lari rolled his eyes. “You’ve never even seen one.”
“Hey, are you saying we shouldn’t use it even though it’s called [Fairy Rose]?” asked Kharli.
“I wasn’t saying that,” said Lari.
I let the kids bicker for a few more minutes while I opened another [Insectary Seed Mix] to reveal a dozen packets inside. “Guys, check these out and sketch a garden plan.”
Unlike the mystery seeds for the [Herb Garden], these were all properly labeled with the names of the plants. Smiling, I pushed the [Goldenrod] packet to Lari.
“Teacher, are you giving me this because I like gold?” asked Lari.
“Are you saying you don’t like gold anymore?” I asked in turn.
“No, I love it!” he said.
We all had a good laugh.
[Goldenrod:
A flowering plant that, with its bright yellow blossoms, is a magnet for pollinators. Blooming in late summer to early fall, its large clusters of tiny flowers provide a good source of nectar for bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.
Perennial. Self-Seeding.]
“If you click on the words ‘perennial’ and ‘self-seeding’, you’ll get the System definition of it,” I said. “The garden won’t be too much trouble since ‘perennial’ means the plants will live for several years and they drop seeds that can grow on their own.”
My apprentices were silent for a few minutes as they read all the descriptions and definitions.
Kharli held up a red packet of seeds. “That [Goldenrod] seems nice, but this is the real prize.”
She read the System information out loud for us.
[Treasure Lily:
A stunning plant whose inflorescence is made of hundreds of tiny pink flowers with exposed nectar-producing glands that attract many beneficial insects. According to legend, the Treasure Lily was a gift from a benevolent forest spirit, who blessed it with the power to attract wealth and good fortune.
Perennial. Self-Seeding.]
“That’s nice, very nice.” I held up a seed packet for them to see. “But I think this could be my favorite. Check out this [Sugarbell].”
[Sugarbell:
A plant whose orange bell-shaped flowers emit a sweet, candy-like fragrance. The bees that feast on its nectar will produce honey with a rich, caramel-like floral flavor.
Perennial. Self-Seeding.]
“Wow, I can hardly wait.” Kharli took three large notebooks from the workroom shelves and said, “Let’s plan the garden.”
My apprentices' long exposure to my use of Earth slang had rubbed off on them, and they now used "wow" and "okay" a lot.
With my help, they drew a plan for a tiny garden with winding paths and an apple tree in the middle that would be great for picnics. We also went over the diagram for tomorrow’s work that we had previously made.
“Teacher, can we go out and pick a good place for the garden?” asked Kharli.
“One near the fairies,” added Mo.
“Sure, go ahead. I’ll see you at lunch.” I wasn’t going with them since I had my own plans.
Back at my [Ranch House], I withdrew the finished [Diamonds] from the [Nine Dragon Jade Cauldron]. Now that Shuye had asked me to make more enchanted gems for the clans, the cauldron was running on [Automatic Alchemy] mode night and day, half the time with [Firebird Feathers] and the other half with [Diamonds].
Of course, I knew that the clans would like more enchanted gems, but I hadn’t expected them to order one max enchanted [Diamond] for each noble family. I mean, I could do it, and I did want to help equip everyone for the demon extermination event. However, it hurt my player’s sense of efficiency when Shuye said they only wanted the best gems for now.
Just like how Adventure Incarnate had level requirements for equipment, in this world the most advanced items also needed a high level of skill and cultivation to use, which is why I offered to sell the lower-level gems first to help out the ones who needed it most. Not everyone was an elite warrior, after all!
This idea was decisively rejected by both Shuye and Prince Baiyu since they both claimed that nobles would be too embarrassed to be seen at the auction buying the inferior [Diamonds]. It would also be helpful to the Lady of the Westerlands because she needed the nobles’ support in the demon war. The auction of "legendary class items" would keep them happy, not to mention distracted by a sparkly new thing that they could show off.
Thankfully, this state of affairs was only temporary. Prince Shuye expected that once the aristocratic clan members had a max-leveled gem to keep in their family vault as a treasure, they would be more open to buying the lesser ones for everyday use, and the other clan members would follow their lead.
Well, if they wanted to empty their wallets and give me lots of money to buy my [Diamonds] as collectibles, who was I to protest?
***
The next day, I unexpectedly received another quest.
Had it been triggered by my doing so much Alchemy?
[Quest Available: Grove of the Harvest Goddess]