A Stardew Valley farmer came to Gensokyo.

"Yes, thank you, Ms. Hieda." Xia Xun smiled upon hearing this. "Thank you for your kind words. Yes, this time, I'm determined to live a new life that will satisfy me!"

Looking at Natsumi's hopeful smile, Hieda Akyuu's sadness was instantly replaced by a surge of energy.

She clenched her small fist, her eyes regaining their bright light, and said firmly, "Then please allow me to take charge of recording Mr. Xia Xun's new life that is about to unfold! I will observe and record even more diligently, and I will never miss any of the wonderful parts!"

"Also, Mr. Natsumi, please just call me 'Akiu' from now on. It's too formal to keep calling me 'Ms. Hieda'."

“Okay.” Xia Xun readily agreed, nodding with a smile. “Then I’ll leave my life record to you, A Qiu. In return, A Qiu can just call me ‘Xia Xun’ directly, without the ‘Mr.’ title.”

“Then, let’s not delay,” Xia Xun said, her eyes sparkling with anticipation and a sense of urgency.

He picked up the wooden box beside him with both hands and gently placed it on the low table between the two of them.

He looked up, his gaze fixed intently on the young woman who had just become his "historian" and friend.

"Can I ask you for a favor right now?"

“Of course, please speak.” Hieda Akyuu nodded immediately, his expression focused.

Xia Xun stretched out her finger and gently tapped the smooth lid of the wooden box.

"Could you try opening this wooden box yourself?"

Chapter Twenty-Six: Selling and Buying New Seeds

The entrance to the Magic Forest, Xianglin Hall.

dong dong dong.

The light sound of knuckles tapping on the wooden door was particularly clear in the quiet forest. Xia Xun stood in front of the slightly old shop and spoke directly without much formality.

"Mr. Mori, are you there?"

Before he finished speaking, he had already reached out and pushed open the half-closed shop door, carrying the wooden box as he stepped into the shop.

Behind the counter, Morichika Rinnosuke, who was engrossed in reading a thick ancient book, looked up at the sound. His gaze, behind his silver-rimmed glasses, fell on the young man who walked in, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He remembered this young man who had come to Gensokyo a few days ago to buy a grimoire from him.

But at this moment, Xia Xun before me was subtly different from when we first met a few days ago. A faint but successfully condensed magical energy was flowing around him.

“I remember your name is Xia Xun.” Mori Chika Rinnosuke put down the book in his hand, adjusted his glasses, and said with a hint of inquiry in his tone, “I didn’t expect that you would have cultivated magic power in just two days.”

His gaze swept over Xia Xun, and he naturally inferred, "Did you come here today to buy a new magic book?"

"It's not for buying books." Xia Xun shook her head quickly, her face showing a complex expression of expectation and resentment. She handed the wooden box she was holding towards the counter, her tone urgent:

"Mr. Morichika, I remember you have the special ability to 'identify the name and purpose of an item,' right?"

"Could you take a look at this wooden box for me? Can you tell if it has any special abilities or value?"

Upon hearing this, Morichika Rinnosuke's eyes showed confusion. A wooden box?

Nevertheless, he still turned his gaze to the wooden box in Xia Xun's hand as instructed, and at the same time, his innate "item recognition" ability quietly activated.

In his unique perspective, the outline, texture, and material details of the wooden crate are revealed in exquisite detail, but the feedback he provides is disappointingly simplistic.

A sturdy, ordinary wooden box. Purpose: To store items.

That's all.

Morichika Rinnosuke looked up at Natsumi, whose face was full of expectation, and calmly said, "This is just a wooden box, a wooden box that can hold things."

"That's...that's it?" Xia Xun's voice was filled with resentment.

“That’s it.” Morichika Rinnosuke nodded affirmatively.

Xia Xun was still unwilling to give up.

He placed the wooden box on the counter and gestured to Morichika Rinnosuke: "Boss, could you open it yourself and take a look? Maybe you can see something different after opening it?"

Although Morichika Rinnosuke didn't understand why Natsumi was so fixated on an ordinary wooden box, he still did as he was told, extending his slender fingers to the edge of the lid and opening it with a little force.

The box was empty, except for the smooth inner walls and a faint smell of wood.

An ordinary, empty wooden box.

As Xia Xun watched this scene, the last glimmer of hope in her eyes dimmed, and her shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly.

His plan to make a fortune by selling storage boxes was completely thwarted at this moment, thanks to the authoritative appraisal result from the owner of Xianglintang.

He had been full of anticipation at the Hieda residence not long ago.

When Hieda Akyuu opened the wooden box that looked like a four-dimensional pocket in his hands at his request, it was just an ordinary empty box with nothing inside.

It was completely different from the state of time standing still and the extraordinary capacity that it possessed when it was in his hands.

Hieda Akyuu was quite understanding at the time and gently explained to him: the wooden box itself may not be special, but what is truly special is Natsumi's own ability.

This wooden box is likely just a "vessel" or "medium" for him to use his abilities.

The wooden box only reveals its magic when he uses his abilities; when others touch it, it is just an ordinary, well-made container.

Xia Xun understood the reasoning, but the disappointment of not being able to make money from it still made him sigh.

Hieda Akyuu excitedly recorded this new discovery about his ability's characteristics in detail on the draft of "Gensokyo Origins," and said that he would notify the Hakurei Shrine Maiden to come and check the new record later.

This is also one of the duties of a shrine maiden.

"Ugh……"

A soft sigh echoed in the quiet general store.

Xia Xun shook her head resignedly and reached out to close the empty wooden box that Morichi Rinnosuke had opened.

Then he opened it again.

This time, in a field of vision that only he could see, a semi-transparent item panel appeared above the box.

There were still some vegetables inside, which he had deliberately left for gifting and selling.

Most of the agricultural products had already been bought up by Akyuu at the Hieda residence.

Around noon, when the Hieda family's chef carefully prepared a dish using those Silver Star quality vegetables, and Akyuu tasted it herself, this frail but unusually sensitive girl immediately realized the benefits these high-quality crops had for her body.

Although the fundamental limitations of the rebirth techniques cannot be reversed to extend lifespan, the abundant natural vitality they contain can genuinely improve her physical condition, making her healthier and more energetic.

Akyu immediately agreed to purchase most of Natsumi's harvest at a price far exceeding the market value, and promised that the Hieda family would continue to purchase any future produce at high prices.

If Xia Xun wants to open her own shop to sell agricultural products in the future, the Hieda family is willing to provide assistance.

Xia Xun kept some for gifting, and the following items were sold: 30 regular potatoes, 10 silver star potatoes; 5 regular cauliflowers, 2 silver star cauliflowers; 6 regular garlic cloves, 1 silver star garlic clove.

Regarding pricing, common crops are priced according to the highest quality prices at the Human Village Market: common potatoes are 5 wen each, common cauliflower is 12 wen each, and common garlic is 3 wen each.

Crops of Silver Star quality command prices tenfold: Silver Star potatoes are 50 wen each, Silver Star cauliflower is 120 wen each, and Silver Star garlic is 30 wen each.

This is quite different from the Stardew Valley game, where Silver Star crops are only 25% more expensive than regular crops.

In Gensokyo, things are valued for their scarcity, especially for buyers like Hieda Akyuu with genuine needs, where high-quality crops are worth far more than usual.

This transaction brought Xia Xun an income of 874 coins, making him so happy he almost jumped for joy.

He certainly understands that the current high price is largely due to scarcity, and that the price may gradually fall as production increases.

But before that, the start-up capital was enough for him to initially build up the farm.

The "storage wooden box sales plan," which was originally highly anticipated, unexpectedly failed. However, the agricultural products, which were supposed to be the focus in the later stages, took off ahead of schedule and brought in the first pot of gold.

Let my thoughts return to the present moment.

Xia Xun began to take out the reserved goods one by one from the wooden box panel that only he could operate, and placed them on the counter of Xianglintang.

"Mr. Morichika, these are gifts for you, to thank you for your help before." Xia Xun first pushed twenty bright red strawberries and a piece of excellent-quality silver star parsnip in front of Morichika Rinnosuke.

Then, he took out various common wild plants he had collected yesterday outside the Magic Forest—dandelions, red berries, wild wasabi, common mushrooms, etc.—and neatly arranged them to the side.

"Boss, do you buy these collected items here? Just pay the market price."

Morichika Rinnosuke glanced at the obviously high-quality strawberries and parsnip presented as gifts, then at the freshly gathered items, and nodded: "Well, I can buy these wild vegetables and mushrooms at market price, but I'll shamelessly accept the gifts, thank you."

After inventory and settlement, these collected items brought Xia Xun an income of 426 wen.

At this moment, his total funds reached 1396 coins.

Xia Xun left 396 coins as daily reserve funds and exchanged the remaining 1,000 coins for new seeds.

He stood in front of the counter, his gaze sweeping over the seed catalog provided by Xianglintang, quickly planning his next planting steps:

Strawberry seeds: 12 coins per pack, each pack contains 12 seeds. They mature in 24 days, and can be harvested again every 12 days thereafter. Buy 50 packs.

Cucumber seeds: 4 coins per portion, 4 seeds per portion. They mature in 15 days, and can be harvested again every 4 days thereafter. Buy 10 portions.

Peanut seeds: 8 coins per portion, 6 seeds per portion. 24-day growing cycle, one-time harvest. Purchase 40 portions.

Lettuce seeds: 2 coins per portion, 8 seeds per portion. 12-day growing cycle, one-time harvest. Buy 20 portions.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Stop fighting!

"Wow...that's so far."

On the path of monsters and beasts, Xia Xun stopped and raised his arm to wipe the fine beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

As for the wooden box that he had been holding in his arms, it was nowhere to be seen. Just now at Kōrin-dō, Morichika Rinnosuke bought it for two hundred mon.

The half-demon shopkeeper witnessed Xia Xun continuously taking out various items from that seemingly ordinary wooden box, clearly demonstrating some kind of spatial storage ability, and immediately became very interested.

When Xia Xuntan realized that the magic of the wooden box actually stemmed from his own abilities rather than the box itself, Mori Chika Rinnosuke was not disappointed at all. Instead, he became even more excited and insisted on buying it as a research sample.

Xia Xun had no reason to refuse if there was money to be made.

And now, he is walking alone on the mountain path leading to Hakurei Shrine.

Even though this was the second time Xia Xun had walked this road, she was still speechless.

He remembered that Reimu Hakurei always complained that the shrine was not popular and was dirt poor. Didn't she always hope that the villagers would come to worship and make offerings?

Why can't this animal path leading to the shrine be properly repaired?

Do you really think everyone can fly?

"When I see Reimu this time, I must remind her about this issue." Xia Xun panted as she stepped over another patch of exposed tree roots. "Now that the road is repaired, it will be easier for me to walk here next time."

swish swish —

Suddenly, an unusual rustling sound came from the dense woods beside the road.

"!"

Xia Xun froze, almost reflexively shuddering, and mentally locked onto her backpack to retrieve the items.

With his right hand gripping a sharp-edged stone and his left hand clutching the amulet that Reimu Hakurei had given him, he quickly turned around and warily scanned his surroundings.

The attack by the wolf demon in the Magic Forest had left him with a psychological scar, and now any slight movement could make his heart race.

Holding her breath, Xia Xun listened intently.

Time passed second by second, but the expected attack did not come.

Only a few clear and melodious bird calls echoed through the woods, melodious and lingering, as if inviting passersby to explore the source of the songs.

Normally, Xia Xun might have stopped to admire it, but now he was completely at ease.

"Is that the sound of the wind, or some small animal?"

After waiting a while longer and confirming that no monsters suddenly pounced out, Xia Xun slowly exhaled, and her tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

But he dared not linger any longer and quickened his pace, almost jogging, towards the Hakurei Shrine.

Shortly after Xia Xun left, the branches and leaves of a large tree by the roadside swayed gently in the dense canopy.

A girl with long pink hair and a pair of small wings on her back quietly peeked out.

She watched Xia Xun's retreating figure, a clear look of regret appearing on her face.

"I wish it were at night..."

The night sparrow demon murmured to itself, its voice barely audible.

Daytime is not a good time for her to entertain guests.

She shook her head, then retreated back into the shadows of the tree canopy, her figure blending into the dappled light and shadow of the forest and disappearing from sight.

1:31 PM.