novelraw Chapter 9: My Own Farmland
Chapter 9: My Own Farmland
The location for clearing the farmland had long been chosen by Li Wei, right next to the initial shack camp, about a hundred steps from the small stream and thirty steps from the newly built house. The terrain was slightly higher than the stream's water level, relatively flat overall, which would be beneficial for future irrigation and harvesting.
Of course, Li Wei wouldn't start by immediately showing his intention to clear farmland. Following Penny's suggestion, he dug half-meter deep holes every three steps.
He didn't actually dig half a meter deep either. Instead, he first removed the surface turf, accidentally expanding a bit here, expanding a bit there.
After digging ten holes horizontally and ten holes vertically, he then connected them. This way, the outline of a farmland roughly thirty meters on each side began to take shape.
Next, Li Wei would push forward toward the center in one go, forming a farmland of about one and a half acres.
Of course, the progress wasn't that fast. In fact, before noon, Fila noticed something was wrong. She walked over, watching Li Wei sweating profusely as he turned soil and dug earth, her gaze serious and thoughtful. Then, without saying anything, she went to cook her wheat porridge.
When Penny returned for lunch, it was clear she immediately became furious. Her angry gaze seemed like it wanted to tear Li Wei to pieces.
But in the end, she restrained herself and asked in a calm tone.
"George, didn't we agree to build the wall first?"
"That's what I thought too, but while digging holes this morning, I felt I could conveniently clear out a piece of land for planting wheat. It's summer now, so planting earlier means better harvest in autumn. Mom, what do you think?"Li Wei asked with an innocent expression.
Fila remained expressionless. Penny looked back at her, her gaze murderous, so Fila immediately spoke up, her smile quite affectionate.
"That makes sense. Farming yields much more stable returns than hunting, with greater harvests too. George, my dear child, you've really grown up."
But almost simultaneously, Li Wei also received a transaction message.
[Apprentice Cook *** sells you three kilograms of wheat as seeds. You need to pay 20 points of experience]
Although unsure whether this pricing was fair, Li Wei still agreed without hesitation, paying all his current 19 points of Logging Experience and 1 point of Gathering Experience to complete this transaction.
Next, as long as the farmland clearing was finished, he could go get the wheat from the ox cart.
Penny didn't say anything more. Under such plot circumstances, if she raised objections, it would violate the rules, because Li Wei developing the farming plot was reasonable and logical, just like how she developed the house-building plot.
This matter seemed calm on the surface, but Li Wei estimated that Penny would vote for Plot Kill against him at some point, especially if Fila also wanted to eliminate him.
After lunch and a short rest, Li Wei stopped hiding his intentions and began digging turf, turning soil, and clearing farmland on a large scale.
This work was no easier than tree chopping. For Li Wei to completely clear it all would take some time.
The good news was that as the area he turned soil and cleared increased, he started gaining Farming Experience. Roughly every five square meters of turned soil earned him one point of Farming Experience.
The bad news was that due to too many weeds, dense grass roots, and inconvenient tools, he could only turn about a hundred square meters of soil per day at most, barely earning around twenty points of Farming Experience per day.
Well, it was still more cost-effective than logging.
By evening, Li Wei sat dejectedly in the soil. Before him lay the completely broken shovel, split in the middle into two pieces of iron.
He had used too much force. This shovel's durability was clearly inferior to that axe.
Additionally, because the shovel broke, he lost one point of Family Contribution, leaving only six points remaining.
The reason given was that he damaged the tool.
"Indeed, imagination is beautiful, but reality is cruel. Nothing is that simple."
He had desperately turned soil all day, managing only about 150 square meters by now, far from what he had imagined.
His current resources were even worse: six points of Family Contribution, 30 points of Farming Experience, and 2 points of Construction Experience. If he couldn't continuously gain experience, he wouldn't even be able to afford his food expenses.
"Oh, my dear brother, it's just a tool. Don't be too upset. Actually, I'm not much better off. The axe father left us—I accidentally broke its wooden handle. It wobbles now like a little duck."
Penny walked over, sat beside Li Wei, put her arm around his shoulder, and comforted him sincerely, though it was unclear whether she did it deliberately or intentionally.
Li Wei turned to look at her. He could clearly see Penny's eyebrows wriggling like two caterpillars, resembling some great storm queen. Anyone could tell she was gloating.
A surge of inexplicable anger rose within him. Li Wei really wanted to slap this bitch to death, but ultimately he restrained himself, even pretending to be grief-stricken. He couldn't be provoked, nor could he say anything unrelated to what was currently happening. The words "bear the consequences yourself" were deadly serious.
If he really lost his temper, he would fall right into her trap.
——
After dinner, paying two points of Construction Experience for food expenses, Li Wei made a decision. He said to Fila sincerely.
"Mom, I want to plant wheat in the farmland."
"Oh, is my little George ready to become a farmer? That's wonderful."
In the firelight, Fila's smile was very kind. Then she stood up, carefully lifted the tarpaulin from the ox cart, took out a small bag from a small wooden box, used a square wooden box to scoop wheat three times from a bag, each time not forgetting to shake it vigorously. Forget about overflowing—it even sank inward.
Could she even skimp on this?
Were you a landlord's wife in your previous life?
Li Wei watched speechlessly but helplessly.
Then he carried this small bag containing at most five jin to his simple farmland. By starlight, he first used a hoe to create furrows about five centimeters deep, then planted the wheat, finally covering it with about three centimeters of loose soil by hand.
He had never farmed on Earth, but he understood the basic logic.
Especially since the soil here was very moist, combined with his Farmer Card's innate professional talent, it should be fine.
Anyway, this time he was truly gambling.
There was no choice. This seemingly simple, seemingly easy task was actually extremely difficult.
Li Wei worked until midnight before planting all the wheat. But he didn't dare to sleep, even ignoring mosquito bites as he stood guard by the wheat field with a stick. It wasn't that he feared Penny would sabotage it—that would violate plot logic.
He just worried that rats, wild boars, or other creatures might come steal his hard-earned seeds.
He stayed awake like this until daybreak, feeling completely drained, when suddenly several lines of information silently appeared.
[You have successfully cleared a small piece of farmland and successfully planted seeds. Due to your professional talent, this wheat field's fertility has increased by an additional 30%. Due to suitable temperature, suitable humidity, and well-preserved seeds, your wheat field's predicted germination rate is 98%. You have received the first stage reward. Reward is being calculated...]
[You have obtained 15 points of Farming Experience]
[Friendly reminder: You can contribute this wheat field to the family. You will receive five points of Family Contribution.]
[Friendly reminder: This wheat field requires continuous investment. Only after going through the four stages of germination, growth, earing, and harvesting will you obtain the harvest. The total process is expected to take three months. During this period, any external factors may cause reduced yield or complete crop failure!]