Lords of the Heavens

Chapter 118 The Catcher in the Rye

Around one o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was blazing like fire, and the world was like an oven.

Li Wei, carrying a backpack, along with his usual water bag, quiver, bow case, iron spear, shovel, and hoe, went to the northeast corner of the camp.

He plans to cultivate private land here.

It's worth mentioning that the blueprints created by Fila in the previous version are still valid in this version. Once a location has been determined, private land cannot be cultivated, even if there is no head of household. As long as you cultivate it, it will automatically become public land.

In addition, in Fira's blueprint, there are a total of eight acres of arable farmland on the west bank of the creek, which will all be terraced.

Currently, six acres have been reclaimed.

Two acres of winter wheat, to be harvested next month.

Two acres of spring wheat, harvested four months later.

The remaining two acres are sown immediately after the winter wheat harvest because of a lack of wheat seeds.

There are still two acres that need to be reclaimed before planting.

The private land that Li Wei wants to cultivate is located north of these eight acres of terraced fields. He also plans to build it into a terraced field, but the amount will not be too large, one or two acres will be enough.

But we need to be quick, because once the head of the household is in place next month, there will be virtually no more opportunities to cultivate private land.

In addition, it's too late to cultivate the land.

Speaking of which, the last acre of wheat he planted last year was about fifteen days away, which is early June. Considering the temperature changes in this area, he could barely harvest it before the frost, but the yield would definitely be reduced.

At this moment, Li Wei put his backpack aside, strung his two-star compound bow and put it back in his bow bag, and stuck his iron spear aside. These small details might not be of any use for several months, but they might come in handy sometime.

He then switched to the Bear Hunter title, gaining +1 Strength. When it comes to clearing wasteland, Strength is the priority.

For this land reclamation, he used very sharp tools, including the most suitable digging hoe, to dig through the soil layer covered with dense grass roots. It was like heavy infantry clearing the way; the speed was not fast, but the efficiency was extremely high.

The second layer is dug with shovels, and the dug soil is broken up and exposed to the sun for several days. At the same time, grass roots are cleared away. In the edge areas, pits are dug to build stone walls. This is partly to form terraces and partly to prevent the spread of grass roots.

In short, Li Wei was already very skilled at this routine; all that was left was to expend a lot of physical energy.

Previously, Li Wei could only cultivate less than a few dozen square meters of land in a day, but now he can finish cultivating almost an acre of land in an afternoon.

15 points of strength and 200 points of stamina, that's truly amazing.

And so, after dinner, he rested for less than an hour and was back to his energetic self, able to go on night patrol again.

In this way, over seven consecutive days, Li Wei had completed the steps from initial soil turning to clearing grass roots, shaping the terraces, and irrigating with stream water.

Two mu of private land and two mu of public land were thus formed.

The public fields need to wait for wheat seeds, while the private fields can plant spring wheat, flax, and beans before the end of the month. As for the one pumpkin, he thought about it for a long time and decided to keep it and see what happens. It's never a bad thing to be more careful.

Besides, he doesn't need to contribute pumpkins anymore.

On the eighth day, which was the twenty-third day of the month, after lunch, Li Wei picked up his axe and headed straight for the east bank of the stream to begin his daily logging. All the logs he had cut down before were still there; not a single one was missing. As long as it was still the month, he could transport them back at any time, and they would all be his private property. However, once the monthly summary was over, they would no longer belong to him next month and would be ownerless.

Therefore, he needs to plan how to bring it back.

By felling a large tree in one go, removing its crown and branches, and cutting it into logs, you can easily gain 10 logging experience points. The whole process is easy and enjoyable, and the buff from the one-star lumberjack is very effective.

Even the physical exertion was less than half of what it used to be.
Next, Li Wei divided the log into two sections for easier transport; without an ox, he had to carry it himself.

Moo! The 108th day of remembering Old Niu...

Throughout the afternoon, until evening, Li Weiyi gained a total of 10 logging experience points. After transporting two logs back and donating them to his family, he successfully earned 1 contribution point.

The physical exertion was not great, only 120 points.

It's fine, calm and unhurried, like someone who's just lying down.

After dinner and a quick wash, Li Wei went out full of energy. He was going to patrol the fields at night and guard his wheat fields without letting his guard down.

Even daily archery training has been suspended. There are priorities, and we cannot afford to make any mistakes.

As the winter wheat matures, its rich aroma attracts many birds, and it's hard to guarantee that pigs or weasels won't come to scavenge for it.

This is absolutely not allowed.

Li Wei brought his two-star Bloodthirsty Spear with him, exuding murderous intent. He stopped patrolling the city wall and went straight to the wheat field.

No matter who it is, even if the black-robed witch comes, he'll stab a hole in her!

Several days passed like this, during which there was a moderate rain, but it wasn't a big problem.

The winter wheat is growing better, and Li Wei has already begun to sharpen his knives, ready to harvest at any time. He no longer goes to cut down trees during the day, and more and more birds are coming to plunder, along with flocks of pheasants, which even scarecrows can't scare away.

These hairy beasts were very clever and knew that wheat tasted better. Li Wei's response was to go all out, using his two-star composite bow to control the entire field. He killed them one by one, and if a group came, he only needed to shoot one down to scare the rest away.

All the pheasants and birds that he shot were donated, and with the donation of logs, he reached exactly 99 contribution points. If he could hand over the one kilogram of salt at the last minute of the month, his total contribution points would reach 109.

By the twenty-seventh day, even Old John and Fila had joined in. Old John could easily shoot birds and pheasants, seemingly wanting to compete with Li Wei.

For the time being, they are still evenly matched.

Li Wei was very modest about this, and he was even willing to admit that he was slightly inferior and concede defeat.

What's wrong with acknowledging the facts? What's wrong with admitting we're behind?
However, these are all details; the real anxiety comes from the threat of the weather.

It's basically early summer now, with scorching heat and the possibility of torrential rain at any time. Heavy rain is fine, but hail or strong winds are a real concern.

"George, I think we should choose a good day and harvest the wheat while the weather is good now?"

During breakfast, Fila earnestly advised her, saying that she really didn't have any bad intentions and was genuinely worried about the winter wheat being hit by natural disasters.

Therefore, even though some of the wheat was not yet ripe, she still wanted to choose the safest method.

Li Wei could only force a smile, "Mom, don't worry, if the weather changes, we can still harvest in time."

“Yes, Aunt Fila, George is right. We’ll all work together; it’s only two acres.” Sophie smiled sweetly, though the steel sickle she had specially commissioned Clyde to make behind her betrayed her.

Yes, now every family has one, sharpened to a gleaming shine, incredibly sharp, capable of cutting a hair with a single blow.

If anything goes wrong, everyone can rush into the wheat field.

This is perfectly reasonable. At this point, it's not about prioritizing three-star farmers. It doesn't matter if you're the head of the household, whether you're a farmer or not, or your experience level. This is about the food supply for the whole family for the second half of the year.

This anxiety contained no element of schadenfreude.

With two days left until the end of the month, Fila had urged Li Wei more than a dozen times. Even Penny, Old John, Sophie, and Leon had advised Li Wei, "Really, it's better to secure your profits first. You should start harvesting now, and we can just watch."

This pure white, first-grade wheat is so tempting, we can't help but drool!

But Li Wei remained unmoved.

He knew very well that if he harvested now, it would be difficult for these two acres of winter wheat to produce wheat of two-star quality.

In this kind of weather, every minute and every second, the winter wheat is ripening and its quality is improving.

We must stabilize the situation.

So in the end, the family stopped trying to persuade them and finally began to prepare for the battle at the end of the month, for the competition to become the head of the family next month.

Family members Clyde, Lyon, and Sophie jointly produced 1,800 one-star quality refractory bricks, which they donated to the family. These refractory bricks can be used to build a one-star quality blast furnace, capable of smelting 300 catties of molten iron per day. According to the value rules, they will receive 180 family contribution points, averaging 60 contribution points per person.

[Family member Penny discovered wild castor beans during a wilderness exploration. She collected some castor bean seeds and made some rope, which she donated to the family, earning 10 contribution points.]

[Family member Fila has developed a new recipe—herbal meat porridge! This recipe increases resistance to plague. After consuming it for six months, or 120 meals, it will increase health by 10 points. She donated this recipe to the family, earning 20 contribution points.]

……

Li Wei remained unmoved by this wave of donations.

He didn't even care about being the head of the household next month; he devoted himself entirely to those two acres of winter wheat, as if he were breathing and growing with the wheat.

It was a wonderful feeling; standing in the wheat field, he felt as free and comfortable as if he were in a forest.

On the afternoon of the last day of the month, Li Wei was waiting in the wheat field when Old John came over. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he immediately activated a one-star conspiracy card.

Sure enough, those old guys couldn't hold back any longer.

Because a new head of household will be chosen each month, and the head of household can trigger new special missions. If these missions are related to the city of Kahe, then relevant preparations must be made.

"Young man, we can talk."

Li Wei glanced around. "Aren't you worried about the bugging card?"

"Haha, the eavesdropping card is only effective within fifty meters. Right now, the only people within fifty meters are you, me, Penny, and Fila. They are my allies, so I won't beat around the bush. I want to know the intelligence about Kahe City. I need everything you know. Name your price."

Hey!
What a rich and carefree seasoned guy!
Also, are Fila, Penny, and Old John allies? Interesting! And Sophie said Old John's quest might be a title quest, but we can't jump to conclusions.

"So I can ask for whatever price I want?" Li Wei laughed.

Old John shook his head.

“We are all smart people, and we know when to stop. Although this task is a competition, it is not an independent competition between you and me. So unless we are absolutely sure, no one will offend someone to death from the very beginning.”

"I believe you can understand the goodwill I'm showing, and you're willing to show me goodwill in return. Even a short-term collaboration is still a collaboration, isn't it? You can name your price based on your understanding, without worrying about offending me. Whether you can afford it, or whether I think it's worth it, is up to me."

(End of this chapter)