Since the conversation had naturally turned in that direction, I probed Shuye for more information about it, and he told me he had been married for three decades, but still didn’t have any children.
“It’s a common problem. For the past few generations, the clans’ birth rate has declined significantly,” said Shuye. “Fortunately, there have been no wars or calamities that might have made our overall population too low to govern the Westerlands.”
“What do your doctors say?” I asked.
“This and that.” Shuye shrugged. “If we knew what caused it, we wouldn’t have the problem.”
I couldn’t tell Shuye how I knew, but I made a simple suggestion. “Did the problems start when the clans started refraining from eating ‘human’ food?”
“You’re not the first one to suggest that, and there might be some truth to it. You know, the traditional method of solving an infertility problem is for the couple to go on a retreat where they consume a certain diet which is different for each clan.”
“You’ve tried it?” I asked.
“It didn’t work for us, but it does work for certain couples. The Lady and her consort, for example, had Prince Baiyu when they tried that method. It’s a pity that it only worked for them once,” said Shuye.
“I see.”
The conversation moved on to other topics, and I didn’t mention that I might be able to help Shuye. The System’s solution required a lot of time.
[Curing Infertility:
Help the God Beast Clans with their fertility problem. Find five Dusk Dandelions.]
I knew where to find Dusk Dandelions, but I didn’t have time to do that right now because I needed to prepare for planting season. The quest didn’t have a deadline. Therefore, I decided to put it off until after I had planted the summer crops.
***
Since Shuye had warned me not to cease production of milled rice, I had to change my plans of planting sugarcane. The talk with him made me reconsider because it really seemed like people wanted ordinary food crops more than a luxury item. If people wanted to eat spiritual crops so much, it would be better to offer them something healthier and more hearty than sugar.
“I think I’ll use the nearest field to plant a good variety of crops for our household’s use. Also, instead of sugarcane, I’m thinking of planting either corn or wheat,” I said.
“Why not rice?” asked Lari.
We were eating fried potato chips in the outer courtyard during our afternoon break. I’d specifically requested this snack from the Demon Chef because I’d rarely been allowed to eat something this greasy by my mother, may she rest in peace.
Homemade potato chips were one of my top guilty pleasures, and I hadn’t been able to enjoy them ever since I was transmigrated into this world.
I picked up a hot potato chip, fresh out of the Demon Chef’s fryer, and dipped it into the ketchup from my inventory. The salty, savory, slightly greasy taste was like nothing else in this world, and I kept eating until my plate was clean, forgetting to answer my apprentice’s question.
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“This is amazing,” said Kharli.
All of us nodded in agreement, and I asked for another plate. I think these potato chips might be addictive. Kharli, Mo, and I smiled at each other when Lari asked for a third plate of potato chips. We all liked the snack, but Lari really took it to another level. It was only after I had finished off all my potato chips that I remembered what we were talking about.
“Rice isn’t particularly easy to grow, and you guys are only level 1,” I said.
[Rice:
A grass from the Poaceae family, which includes other grasses such as millet, wheat, maize, and barley. They are typically grown in wet, flooded fields, known as paddy fields, that are kept under water by using a system of canals and dikes.]
I suppose I could flood the second field, but that would mean that I could only grow rice in it. Three out of four of us were level 1 farmers, which meant that it was possible for some crops to fail. Players’ crops almost never failed, but apprentices’ did if their level was low. The usual strategy to avoid that was to plant at least three different crops.
“Wheat sounds nice,” said Kharli. “I’m sure there will be a lot of demand for it.”
“Yes, I think so, too,” I said.
[Wheat:
A cereal plant with a lot of different species, such as durum wheat, emmer wheat, spelt wheat, and common wheat. The plant has a deep root system that helps it to withstand drought and soil erosion. It is a relatively easy crop to grow, and it is tolerant of a wide range of climates and soil types.]
“Is corn more expensive than wheat?” asked Lari.
[Corn:
A plant in the grass family Poaceae that is also called maize. Corn is an easy plant to grow, and does not require much care.]
“Not usually, but spirit crops are different from normal corn and wheat. We don’t know what the prices will be until we bring them to market,” I said. “It depends on the quality of our harvest.”
There were nods all around. I had previously impressed upon them the importance of “quality” rather than quantity. Three sacks of low-quality potatoes would definitely sell for much less than half a sack of good quality potatoes. As for high or excellent quality ones, they were so rarely seen that no one knew what they would sell for.
“Are you done eating?” I asked Lari.
After he finished his plate, we all went to the second field to cut more trees to clear more land. We were all tired from this morning’s work, but the day after tomorrow was the first day of planting season, and we were eager to have as much farming space as possible.
***
The next day, I woke up bright and early at dawn after a delightful dream of playing with my baby dragon. The dreams were really nice, and I noticed that my dream dragon was growing up rapidly, which actually made me a little sad because the tiny, newly hatched version was my favorite.
Since planting season started tomorrow, I had given the kids the day off, instructing them to eat and rest so that their energy gauge could refill to the max level. I reckoned we had cleared enough land, and that it would be a waste of time to cut more trees, since my apprentices’ limited abilities meant they wouldn’t be able to till and sow as much as I could.
While the Three Stooges were resting, I planned to spend the day getting my first kills, because I was bored with spending all that time woodcutting.
When I first started practicing archery, I had promised myself that I would train at least three times a week. I mostly kept that promise, but was getting too monotonous. Hence, I’d asked my Farm Guide to accompany me to the Horned Rabbits’ Valley.
Chapter 29.5
An excerpt from the journal of Shuye Skullcrusher, Guardian of the Ancient Hill Forest:
What a waste! I saw Violet’s new apprentices summoning items from their soul space and using the bloodline inheritance she granted them, and I could only shake my head at the folly of it all. I told her I could very easily find apprentices from noble families and famous cultivation clans, but she insisted on taking in some orphans with no money, connections, or talent instead.
Today, she told me the real reason why she refused my offer.
“I don’t think noble children would like living in my humble farm,” is what she said.
That doesn’t make sense. She provides spiritual rice, vegetables, and fruit as well as demon meat at every single meal. Since the orphans came to her with nothing, she also bought them the finest silk clothing from Anwei. The apprentices live in a house full of magical items. She even provided them with a hot spring full of spirit water that boosts cultivation greatly.
What sort of place did she live in before she came here that she thinks this lifestyle is a modest one?