They say there ain’t no rest for the wicked. The same is true for farmers, at least during the preparation phase.

Planting time came immediately after the allotted time for harvesting. There was no break in between. Fortunately, I didn’t lose any planting days when I went to Anwei because harvest time lasted for two weeks, and I had only needed one day to harvest my potatoes.

According to the System calendar, there were twelve days left of the harvest period. After that, my apprentices and I would have two weeks to plant crops.

In the meantime, what we had to do was to clear more land for the four of us to use. I consulted the three youngsters as to whether they each wanted separate fields, but we agreed to take care of all the crops together.

“Look at this map,” I said to them. They all gathered around me and looked at my roughly drawn sketch. “I placed the house on high ground, and this field here is closest, but I think that we should use the other parts of the forest instead of just expanding this field.”

“Teacher, do you mean to say you want fields that are farther away? Wouldn’t it be more convenient to just make this field bigger?” asked Lari.

I guessed that since he had the [Lazy] attribute he was the type who liked to look for the most convenient method. I patiently explained my reasoning to him, saying, “Different crops grow better in different conditions. It’s worthwhile to have more than one site.”

Pointing to different parts of the map, I said, “We will be using the existing field I cleared and making a new one farther away. In the future, I plan to have orchards and a kitchen garden near the house.”

Kharli nodded in understanding. “Because the house should be a quiet place? The maids already warned us we shouldn’t be rowdy.”

“Yes, it’s because I want the house to be a place of calm. Though in the future, I want to have my own small house that’s separate from the main house,” I said.

Then I pointed to the part of the farm allotment that was farthest from the residence. “This part is reserved for the farm animals. I want them there because I don’t want to be smelling horse manure when I’m eating my meals.”

“We’re going to raise animals? That’s great! I heard farmers make more money from raising pigs than from selling crops,” said Lari.

“Yes, but for now, we need to focus on raising your farming levels. Our current task is to expand this field. When it’s big enough, we will create another field in a different part of the forest,” I said. “It’s time to start. Now focus your mind and summon the System. Can you see it now?”

I waited a few minutes until they all said they could see the System screen.

“Do you see the little square that looks like a brown belt? That’s your toolbelt. Focus on it and think of an ax for woodcutting,” I said. “It should appear in your hand.”

“Ow!” Kharli was so startled when an ax really did appear in her hand that she dropped it and the handle hit her toe. She hopped around for a few minutes, holding her foot.

“… Are you okay?” I asked.

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“I’m fine,” said Kharli. She picked up the ax, and we waited until the other two also had their tools.

“What metal is this made of, teacher?” asked Lari, who was examining the ax with great curiosity.

“I have no idea. It’s probably an alloy of some sort,” I said.

“What’s an alloy?” Lari asked.

“It’s a mixture of different metals,” I said. “Now watch me. All you have to do is swing the ax and hit a tree three times.”

My three apprentices were amazed when the top of the tree disappeared after I hit the trunk with my ax.

“It’s magic!” said Lari. His eyes were as wide as saucers.

“It’s amazing!” said Kharli. Her mouth had fallen open.

“…” Mo didn’t say anything, but her expression was also one of shock.

I continued hitting the tree twice more until only a stump was left. Then I hit the tree stump once to clear the land. “It’s that easy. Why don’t you three give it a try? Who wants to go first?”

To my surprise, Mo was the one who stepped forward. Perhaps she thought she had something to prove because of yesterday’s debacle. The other two apprentices cheered when Mo cut down her first tree.

“Well done,” I said. “Next.”

The other two were also able to cut down trees without incident.

“That’s perfect,” I said. “Congratulations on cutting down your first tree. I will be doing the same thing in the next eleven days, because we have to clear as much land as we can before the planting season.”

They continued with their work, but I was disappointed when each of them could only cut a total of three trees. When their energy ran out, they became too tired to even lift their axes. Lari and Mo even collapsed on the ground, panting. Kharli was not much better, but she was at least able to sit up.

“Teacher, I think we already used up all our energy,” said Lari.

I eyed their prone forms. “I can see that. Just rest there for a while. Every day that you work on the farm, your energy should increase slightly. Make sure that you sleep early and eat well.”

One couldn’t expect too much from three teenaged orphans who were probably undernourished. They should improve after a while. I continued woodcutting until my energy ran out, then we went back to the house for another of the Demon Chef’s excellent lunches.

That was the first meal I had with my apprentices, and when we finished, I called Fengying over.

“My apprentices need some lessons in table manners,” I said to her. “Can you do it, or do we need to hire a tutor?”

“Miss, don’t worry about it. I can teach them,” she said. “Chopsticks or northern style?”

“Both, of course,” I said.

“Northern style” meant using a knife and fork. We had used chopsticks at lunch, but given how horrible their table manners were, I was pretty sure that they didn’t know how to use a knife and fork either. I almost couldn’t eat my lunch because of how they, especially Lari, ate with their mouths open. Also, they ate way too fast, as though they were afraid the food was going to disappear if they didn’t shovel it into their mouths fast enough. That was undoubtedly because they had grown up in an orphanage, but I thought it was time for them to learn some manners.

“Aw, teacher, do we really have to? We’re just farmers,” said Lari. The fat little guy looked mutinous.

“If you don’t want to learn, you don’t have to, but you can’t eat at my table without learning proper table manners,” I said.

Kharli elbowed him hard in the ribs, muttering under her breath, “Shut up, you idiot. Do you want to be sent back to the orphanage?”

“An apprenticeship is a time when you learn not just work skills, but also the social graces,” I said. “Besides, a farmer with a prosperous farm is a respectable type of person. One day you could be dining with wealthy merchants, or even nobles, so it would be good for you to learn table manners.”

“Nobles?” Lari looked interested at this notion.

“Why not?” I asked. “Fengying, did the last spirit farmer dine with nobles?”

“Not only did he dine with nobles, he was a noble himself because the Lady granted him the title of Duke,” said Fengying.

“Really? He lived a few hundred years ago, you said. What happened to him?” I asked.

“He lived to be over two hundred years old, and his descendants are the most famous noble clan in Xishan today,” she said.

“There, you see? I’m not just asking you to do manual labor on my farm, I’m preparing you for a glorious future.” I gave my three new apprentices a big smile. “Now be good and be sure to learn properly from Fengying.”

I meant it, too. Now that I knew that I was the only spirit farmer in the Westerlands, I had no doubt that my Three Stooges could very well become important people in the future.

That’s why it was important to raise them well.