Chapter 8:

Six-and-a-half-year-old Jung stood next to his mother as he picked his nose. He looked adorable bundled in his heavy winter clothes. It is still fall, but the locals already knew it will become a very, very cold winter soon.

"What cha doing?" Jung Hee asked as he continued picking his nose. There is one particularly dug deep that he is having problems with.

His mother, Kim Jin Ae, looked at her son with an exasperated expression. She was kneeling in their backyard and planting kale seeds in the soft soil she had just tended hours ago.

"I'm planting vegetables," she finally said.

Jung blinked innocently. "But why?" he asked again. Despite her young age, Jung knew intimately the planting seasons on the wide farms outside the town, and winter is definitely not a planting season. He is still the son of a farmer, after all.

Jin Ae felt one edge of her mouth lift slightly upward. "I'm planting vegetables because I want fresh greens in the winter."

Jung opened his mouth, but his mother anticipated his questions. "Gardening is different from farming, son. For one, the plants you grow are rather limited and therefore you have more control over them. Besides, vegetables grow much faster than rice, corn, or wheat. If you know how to care for them properly, vegetable gardening can be done all year round."

Jung's eyes grew big as his interest was scratched. He asked a few more questions, and his mother patiently answered all of them. In her own way, Jin Ae is used to this. Her son is a huge bundle of curiosity. A fathomless void of insatiable questions and inquisitiveness. Sometimes her son’s questions annoy her, especially at times when she is really busy, but most times it is a source of joy and pride that her son is really smart. What she didn’t know was that her son's intelligence is even way beyond what she could imagine.

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After a dozen or so questions later, there was a moment of silence that enveloped both of them.

"Can I help?" Jung asked out of the blue.

Jin Ae stared at his cute son, who solemnly stared back at her with his big brown eyes. A small smile formed on her lips and her eyes brightened. It wasn’t planned, but the moment her son asked questions about her garden, she wanted to see if she could entice the little man into helping her in her hobby. She nudged her head over, and Jung happily joined her in the dirt.

For the next 30 minutes, she explained the basics of gardening to her son. She directed Jung in planting his first seeds and then patting the soil over to cover them. With his small tongue out, Jung concentrated on his task with a singular focus, not even noticing the smudge of dirt he unconsciously placed there as he brushed his cheeks.

Congratulations!

You have unlocked the general skill, "Gardening."

Requirements:

Body 1(already met), Endurance 1 (already met), Agility 1 (already met)

Current level: 0

Needed skill points to upgrade to the next level: 1

Remaining Skill Points: 24

Jung Hee read the message and frowned. He took a moment before turning back to his mother. "Is gardening important?" he suddenly asked.

His mother blinked at the seemingly random question. To her surprise, she then thought about the question even more. "Well," Jin Ae said carefully. She wasn't sure exactly what her son wanted to hear, so she just answered him as truthfully as she could.

"... it is to me," she finally concluded with a smile.

Jung thought about it, and nodded to himself almost unconsciously. He didn't see the smile quirking in his mother's face, as she found his frowning face so adorable.

Jung smiled back at her. Then he spent a skill point on gardening. With the point invested, the skill was upgraded.

Congratulations! You have activated the general skill "Gardening."

-10% increase in the growth speed of any plant you take care of directly.

-10% percent increase in the resistance of any plant you take care of, against insects, temperature, and the environment.

Current level: 1

Needed skill points to upgrade to the next level: 1

Remaining Skill Points: 23

Jung nodded at his screen with satisfaction. Then he turned to his mom brightly and said, "So, what's next?"