Chapter 3: The Roots Beneath the Dust
Chapter 3: The Roots Beneath the Dust
The morning after sowing her first seeds, Shen Ci woke up sore in places she didn't know had muscles. Her arms ached, her back groaned, and a stubborn blister bloomed on her palm like a badge of honor.
But when she pulled back the curtains and saw the dew glistening on her freshly turned field, she smiled.
Progress. It wasn't flashy. It wasn't loud. But it was hers.
The system flickered awake.
[Soil nutrient level: Adequate.]
[Projected sprouting time: 6 days with optimal conditions.]
[Weather forecast: 40% chance of rain. Mild wind. Ideal for crop respiration.]
Honestly, the system was like having an invisible assistant with a PhD in agriculture and an obsession with micromanagement. She didn't hate it.
Yet.
---
By mid-morning, she was at the edge of the forgotten forest, the land deed tucked in her pocket and a coil of rope slung across her shoulder like a sword. Shen Ci wasn't here to picnic. She was here to stake her claim.
The trees loomed tall and old, their trunks thick with moss and silence. No one in the village came out this way anymore—not since the wild dog rumors, not since Old Man Li swore he saw a glowing stone in the ground and went half-blind.
Which meant, of course, it was exactly where she needed to be.
The system pinged softly.
[Anomaly detected. Coordinates locked.]
She followed the signal until she reached a small clearing choked with wildflowers and thorns. At the center was a mound of dirt barely noticeable unless you were looking.
She was looking.
Kneeling, Shen Ci pulled out a spade and began digging. The earth resisted at first—clumped, dry, unwilling to yield. But as she dug deeper, it loosened, darkened. It began to smell like stories.
Then—clink.
Her spade hit something hard.
She brushed away the soil with her fingers until a rusted iron box emerged, sealed with a heavy latch and covered in decades of silence. It looked ancient. Out of place.
She cracked it open.
Inside: several polished stones with metallic luster, a cloth-wrapped bundle, and a notebook with yellowing pages. The stones glowed faintly under sunlight.
[Rare Earth Element detected: Neodymium.]
[Estimated market value: 17,000 USD per kg.]
[Note: Illegal to export without government license. Recommendation: Process locally or conceal until policy opens.]
Well, damn.
She wasn't just sitting on farmland.
She was sitting on a goldmine.
Literally.
---
The cloth bundle revealed something even stranger: seed pods. Not the kind you find in a store—these were black, dense, almost humming with energy.
[Anomalous Seed Type: Non-native. Classification unknown. Would you like to run a compatibility scan with local soil composition?]
"Yes," she whispered.
[Scan complete. Viable growth potential: 64%. Results may vary.]
She tucked two pods into her satchel and resealed the rest. No need to get greedy yet.
This was the kind of secret you guarded like a wounded heart.
---
That night, after marking the spot on a handmade map and dragging the iron box back under tarp, Shen Ci returned to her house with dirt under her nails and triumph coiled in her spine.
She made rice porridge with a dash of sesame oil—humble, but rich in its own way. As she ate, she jotted down notes in her growing ledger:
Perilla growth: on track.
Funds remaining: 9,100 yuan.
Next steps: source discreet buyers for rare metals.
Research: Neodymium use in tech sector. Potential play?
It felt like building an empire with chalk and twine—but she didn't mind. Empires didn't rise in daylight.
They grew underground first.
Like roots.
Like revenge.
---
Just as she was about to close her book for the night, the system pinged again.
[New module unlocked: "Skill Assimilation." Would you like to preview available skills?]
She paused.
"Preview."
Available Skills:
1. Basic Metallurgy
2. Advanced Foraging
3. Micro-Financing Strategy
4. Herbal Infusion Crafting (Traditional + Modern)
She chose Micro-Financing Strategy.
Suddenly, numbers made more sense. Compound interest became a language. She could see, with painful clarity, how to loan out just 500 yuan at the village mahjong table and net triple in three weeks.
And just like that… she had her next hustle.
---
The next morning, she dressed simple—braided hair, no makeup, a slightly pitiful look on her face—and walked into the village square carrying a small jar of pickled perilla leaves and a bright, sheepish smile.
"Jiang Aunty! I made these from the trial patch—would you taste them?"
The gossip-loving women crowding the square were instantly intrigued.
By the time she left, she'd sold every jar and gathered three small investors for her "herbal snack sideline."
It wasn't much.
But it was proof.
The village was watching.
And this time?
She'd make damn sure they remembered her name.
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End of Chapter 3
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