Harvesting Wheat For Steamed Bun (1)

Long Yuan soon shifted back to his own bed that night. It seemed that his wound was closing pretty well after applying the ointment Yuan Ling mixed for him. At first, the cold sensation made him crave to scratch around the scar, but the feeling quickly subsided.

But when midnight came, the pain bug suddenly returned and woke Long Yuan up from his slumber.

The torturing pain hits him harder than he initially thought. To make it worst, it just had to be around midnight, where everyone was in the deep of their slumber.

Luckily, Yuan Ling had purposely left the last dosage of the ointment on Yuan Long's bedside table before she went to sleep. Since she was soundly asleep, Long Yuan had no other choice but to apply the paste independently.

He was partly shocked by the recovery speed after applying the ointment. The scab had actually grown all around the wound about the length of his palm.

'What kind of magical ointment is this? To think a wound that deep this afternoon can recover to this extent. I could be fully recovered if there were two more dosages of this ointment.' Long Yuan muttered to himself.

After applying the remainder of the ointment, Long Yuan slowly made his way outside the wooden hut to take a breath of the air outside. Just as he assumed, the weather here was quite humid.

The weather was about the same as where he came from.

'It seems... I really get Isekai-ed to a different world... Even the surroundings look different from the noisy and bright eatery district where I lived for twenty years.' Long Yuan was speaking to himself. He had no idea what really happened between this time and was also curious about why he retained those memories in his head.

Long Yuan randomly checked his surrounding after he had his share of fresh air. With his sight slowly getting used to the darkness, he could see much further than before.

It seems that their wooden hut was not the only building here. Including Long Yuan's house, there are about ten wooden buildings nearby. Most of the buildings were about the size of his house, except one.

'I wonder why that building is much bigger than the others. But looking at the road condition and lack of underground well, I suppose this part should be considered the outer section of Sprouting Village?' Long Yuan blinked a few times and moved closer to a machine nearby.

He believes this machine should be a threshing tool to pull the wheat grains out from the stalks. But in terms of efficiency, it was a few generations older than the one he knew, seen, and used before.

This machine wasn't the only thing they had nearby. There's also a quern for milling the wheat into flour. But again, it can be said to be highly inefficient.

Based on what he has seen here, it was easy for Long Yuan to guess what natural crops were available to them here. But he's still surprised by the machinery they're still using. It would be considered traditional if these machines were brought back to the world he came from.

'Heaven...' Long Yuan was unsure if he should complain or be grateful for what he had. He was afraid that the more emotional he got, the worst the pain on his chest would be. Still, that was not enough to stop him from thinking deeply.

A hint of regret came to mind when Long Yuan gave the bet he made with his sister another thought.

'I am indeed too reckless. With all these tools here, how long would it take before I managed to prepare a plate of delicious soft bun ready for my sister?' Long Yuan complained. But at the same time, he knew that he couldn't have the best of everything.

But there's one thing he knew, and that's everything he knew and learned in the past 20 years, can be applied here in this Shiyuan Continent.

At most, the feeling would just be like going from a wealthy family to a poor one. Furthermore, he wasn't the only one to experience such a hardship. Although it was dark, he could see a quern in each household.

Also, based on the husk left on the holding pouch under the quern, Long Yuan could easily guess when this machine was used.

Honestly said, he had no idea if it was normal or Yuan Ling was merely inexperienced. It seems that his sister was milling the wheat grain while without removing the husk first, based on the leftover flour inside the holding pouch.

This discovery answered part of his suspicion about why the soft bun his sister made tasted weird.

'I should return to rest and get ready to work hard tomorrow. Hopefully, the wound recovers quickly, so I can start making something nutritious to feed this lass.' Long Yuan told himself while making his way back into the wooden hut.

But his surprises do not end here.

Inside the wooden hut, a layer of a verdant hue of force wrapped around Yuan Ling like it was an air pocket of its own. The energy also seemed to be aligned with Yuan Ling's breathing while she slept soundly.

"Is this perhaps... The Spiritual Essence recorded in the scroll I've read earlier? Maybe meditation and sleeping are some of the best ways to consolidate someone's cultivation?' Long Yuan made a curious guess.

But with everyone in their deep slumber right now, there's no one else who could answer this question for him.

Long Yuan returned to his bed a few minutes later and calmly put his mind into his own deep thoughts. And in less than an hour, he fell asleep and slept all the way until sunrise.

"Rise and shine, Smelly Long-Gege! I'm leaving for school!" Yuan Ling rocked her brother to wake him up before leaving for school. From her action, it seemed to be part of her daily responsibility.

A bucket of hot water was already waiting by the side of his bed when Long Yuan woke up.

Using the cloth provided to wipe his face and body, Long Yuan was the next and last person to leave the house.

"Boy! Are you much better today? Don't you need to rest?" a kind-looking elder asked the moment he caught Yuan Long coming out of the house.

From the bamboo-woven basket on his back, even a kid could guess what Long Yuan was trying to do early in the morning.

"I'm much better, elder. Thank you for asking." Long Yuan casually entertained the elder as he was unsure how the actual owner of this body behaved. But again, he was sure about one thing.

Since the elder took the initiative to talk first, the original Yuan Long shouldn't be a bully or a pushover around this area. This allowed him to have a clue about how he should carry himself properly.

"What elder... Had getting hit by the Ferocious Beast made you afraid of this old man as well? Just call me Old Wen like how you always did." the elder said. He looked a little awkward from hearing how Long Yuan greeted him.

"By the way... What are you thinking of doing today? All the Sweet Emerald Grass you've planted was eaten by the Ferocious Beast last time, did you forget?" Old Wen said. From his words, this elder was around when the original Yuan Long was getting mauled by the monster.

"Yes. I heard about that from my sister after I woke up. The house is out of wheat, so I thought of harvesting some to make myself some flour for tonight." Long Yuan tried to act as naturally as he could while replying to Old Wen.

"In that case, go to the Qingshan foothill. The Jinqian Wheat over there should be mature enough for harvest. If you feel like doing this old man a favor, what about milling some for me too? I'll give you some when the Sweet Emerald Grass in my field sprouted." said Old Wen.

"Sure. I'll collect a little extra this time then." Long Yuan replied.

"Old Wen... Which direction should I follow to the Qingshan Foothill again?" Long Yuan asked in a tone as neutral as possible, without making the old man question him why.

"Afraid of the ferocious beast now, huh? Just follow this road until the junction, then choose the right side of the road. Just make sure you don't take a left, as that will lead you to the Huangshan Valley." Old Wen replied.

"You'll notice the Jinqian Wheat growing all around the foothill once you turn right, so don't worry about getting lost. But remember to harvest what you can bring back, don't be greedy," he added.

"Alright, Old Wen. I'll make my way there first." after giving the old man a nod, Long Yuan hurried as he followed the old man's direction towards the so-called Qingshan Mountain's Foothill. But he soon noticed that he didn't even need to ask, as plenty of farmers came and went with a basket full of wheat on their backs.

The elder mentioned not being greedy because the Jinqian Wheat seems slightly different from what Long Yuan knew. The Isekai-Notice was ringing loudly in Long Yuan's head as he was greeted with a vast field of wheat, with a grain size about the size of a corn kernel.

Each stalk of the Jinqian Wheat seems to have the same number of kernels on them. And from the look, there's plenty of work waiting for him when he returns home.

But before this, there's a hurdle awaiting Long Yuan.

It seems that harvesting the Jinqian Wheat wasn't as easy as he thought. The sickle in Long Yuan's hand literally bounced away the moment he swung it toward one of the stems.

"Is this stem or rubber? What the hell with this durability?" Long Yuan complained.