Operating A Stall (1)

"Oh... The bun is still warm. Did you make them in the morning?" Old Wen asked. Based on his words, it seemed like a surprise for him because the elder hardly had something freshly made in the morning.

"Do you mind holding my shovel while I eat them now? It's not good to leave freshly made food to get cold, correct?" the appetizing look from the two steamed buns somewhat made the elder drools. Unable to keep his appetite from bursting out from the inside, he asked if Long Yuan was willing to hold his farming tool while he gave the bun a taste.

"Of course, Old Wen. I'll give you a hand while you're eating. I Might as well learn a few tricks on how to grow the Sweet Emerald Grass properly." Long Yuan replied subtly. This mannerism that he learned when he was younger was well-matched with the body's age he possessed right now.

"This brat... Did getting attacked by the ferocious beast make you smarter?" the elder asked. He finds that Yuan Long's attitude seemed to be matured by a considerable gap.

"Maybe?" Long Yuan answered.

His response to the elder packed a hint of denial regarding his sudden maturity. And since the changes were leaning more towards a positive side, their conversation did not linger around this topic.

With the farming tool in Long Yuan's hand, the elder patiently taught the youth what should be done and what's not. The elder notices the improvement and changes in Long Yuan's cultivation, which explains why this child is doing much better than before.

If it was the Long Yuan from yesterday, he would be exhausted after going so strong with the shovel at the start. But for the current Long Yuan, his strength was just right for him to plow the field properly.

It was said that the soil around the Sweet Emerald Grass has to be constantly loosened for the plant to grow properly. From Old Wen's recollection, the Sweet Emerald Grass also comes in a few categories. Each yields a different result and price when sold in the marketplace.

But looking at what Old Wen had on his field, it was evident that all the Sweet Emerald Grasses he had were in their lowest category. Of course, it's not like he's any better or seen anything above that category.

Long Yuan's judgment merely comes from his experience handling the same ingredients where he originated. And if he's not mistaken, the Sweet Emerald Grasses before him was no other than the chives back in his own world.

But calling it a chive was a mistake because only the appearance matched what he had seen. Almost everything was different aside from how it was grown.

While those chives he knows had a few blades on one plant, the Sweet Emerald Grass before him looked like a ferocious porcupine plant. The grasses might not be as long as the chives he knew. Still, it shouldn't be underestimated since everything in this world can advance further with luck, opportunity, and passage of time.

A mere Sweet Emerald Grass could look like a porcupine plant right now. But, there's a possibility it could grow into a cabbage after a year, a fruit after hundred years, and a tree after a thousand years.

"Alright, listen to this old man carefully." Old Wen made his way closer to one of the ten or so Sweet Emerald Grasses he grew around his field.

'Looks like loosening the soil for the plant was just the first stage. Let me see what else had to be done to grow these chives properly.' Long Yuan nodded in response to the elder's word. But he was thinking about something else in mind.

The elder subconsciously tried to take another bite at the food in his hand while kneeling but soon noticed that he had already finished the steamed buns long ago.

Embarrassedly, Old Wen took a dagger out and imbued it with some Spiritual Essence. The tool was sharpened by a level as he began to tend the grasses that started to turn brownish.

"Remember, brat. Always make sure to tend the grass that starts to get brownish before it gets to the stalk. Letting the rust reach the stem would make the plant mature earlier, which would lower the price."

"Furthermore, you have to be careful to not injure the plant. The quality of the Sweet Emerald Grass is very dependent on how well each and every blade of grass was grown. If too many injuries were on the plant, their flavor would be diminished."

Old Wen patiently explained what he remembered to Long Yuan without a hint of keeping something aside. What he did was magnanimous, considering that Yuan Long and Yuan Ling were unrelated to him in blood and flesh.

To repay for the kindness from Old Wen, Long Yuan helped the elder tend all of the Sweet Emerald Grasses he had before making his way towards the wheat field.

Long Yuan took a detour since he's not in a rush today.

For the first time after he got isekai-ed into this world, Long Yuan made his way to the Huangshan Valley, where the field tended by Yuan Long was located.

Long Yuan had a feeling that he was called over there for a reason. But at the same time, he couldn't describe the feeling with words. It was akin to an impression, a lingering memory, or mere curiosity.

It was said that three hills were positioned near this Sprouting Village.

Huangshan on the northwest, Qingshan in the north, and Horn Mountain at the south. There's no doubt that the Horn Mountain south of Sprouting Village was the most fertile, while Huangshan was the least.

Precisely because of this reason, the arable field around the Huangshan is open for poor farmers to grab.

Since there are no dictated rules that only those with a land deed could farm around this foothill, Huangshan ended up becoming the gathering point of poor farmers.

Almost everything was allowed to grow here, except those believed to be narcotics and poisonous.

Long Yuan was immediately greeted by a vast, messy field enough to plant twice the size of the Jinqian Wheat. But following along with this sight was the terribly handled, unsanitary, and abandoned fields here and there.

Evidently, many had tried their hand at farming, and more had failed. The mark of abandoned fields scattering around was the best proof that there's hardly a proper system here.

But while there are plenty of miserable failures as far as Long Yuan can see, a few successful fields are scattered here and there. They all had a similarity, that's the number of people working in that field.

More people means there's more they can do in that field of that size.

"Hey, brother Yuan Long!" it seems that his arrival also caught the attention of the farmers there.

The call from one of the farmers got Long Yuan to make his way over to that field. From the look of the crops, this field seems to be planting something similar to potatoes.

"Eh? Did your cultivation advance slightly? It seems you're no longer stagnated at the introduction stage." the farmer about a year or two older than Yuan Long said.

"I think so?" Long Yuan simply nodded in response. He had no idea at all in the conversation related to cultivation.

But it's not like the farmer is anywhere better than his current self. Because most of the farmers around here are illiterate, they hardly had any idea about the topic related to cultivation.

Perhaps, gauging the depth of someone's cultivation and using the Spiritual Essence in their daily life was the extent of it. As for application further than what was mentioned, there's no reason for them to bother right now.

"How lucky... Should I get mauled half-dead by the ferocious beast too? Perhaps I would have a chance to get promoted to the second stage after I recovered?" the farmer jokes. Even if there's a possibility he would be promoted, he won't be using that method for sure.

"What are you doing here? Are you interested in starting a farm again?" the farmer asked.

"Just taking a look around. I've yet to decide on what to do next." Long Yuan replied. And even if he knew, it doesn't mean he had the resources to start right away.

"In that case, feel free to come for the sprouts if you needed them." the farmer said. And before he could continue with the pointless chat, the others had started to yell at him and call him over to help.

"I'll back to work first, little brother. If you have anything to ask, just come to my house later." the farmer slapped Yuan Long's back and returned to work.

Long Yuan made his way back to the Qingshan Foothill afterward since there's nothing else for him to do over here.

The place was still the same no matter when he made his visit. Plenty of people were here to harvest the wheat, which seemed to be growing all year long.

Because he had some time to look around before going straight to work, Long Yuan noticed that not everyone was here for the sake of the wheat. Some of them seem to be coming here for the straws.

'Could they be collecting the straws to make blankets, roofing, and housing accessories?' Long Yuan asked himself. He would definitely consider buying something comfortable from their shop to increase his sleeping experience if they do.

"Oh? Someone is being lazy today, huh?" suddenly, a familiar voice came from his back. His sentence made Long Yuan quickly turn around to look at this individual.

"Mister, had you eaten this morning?" Long Yuan smiled when he found out that this person was precisely the middle-aged man that's been guiding him over the few days.

"Breakfast?" the middle-aged man smiled. A hint of surprise can be seen on his face after hearing what Long Yuan said.