A Stardew Valley farmer came to Gensokyo.

Garlic: 4 coins/serving, 300 servings total 1200 coins

With 9700 seeds, totaling 36000 coins, Xia Xun took out all his possessions, but was still short 9680 coins.

He frowned and began to consider which product categories to cut.

Potatoes are a staple food, store well, and can be used to make alcohol, so they must be grown in variety. Soybeans have many uses and are easy to sell, so their production should not be reduced. Peanuts are used to extract oil, and soybean meal can be used to feed livestock, which is equally important...

Just as he was racking his brains, Morichika Rinnosuke's gentle voice rang out:

"Don't worry, you can take these seeds and use them first."

"Really, Boss Mori?" Xia Xun looked up in surprise, but hesitated for a moment. "But I'm still short nearly ten thousand coins, this..."

“It’s alright.” Morichika Rinnosuke smiled slightly, looking at Natsumi in a calm tone, “You are Marisa and Reimu’s friend, I trust you. You can pay me back the rest of the money after you’ve collected your earnings.”

Xia Xun nodded in agreement without further hesitation.

He desperately needed these seeds.

He bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for your help. I will definitely pay off the debt as soon as possible!"

"No rush, take your time." Morichika Rinnosuke waved his hand, then his tone softened. "However, in exchange, please be patient with Reimu if she is sometimes willful and mischievous."

“She has lived alone at the shrine since she was a child, so she is inevitably a bit solitary, but she has a good heart. I am very happy that she can make a friend like you.”

As he spoke, his voice became somewhat sentimental, like that of an old mother entrusting her troublesome daughter to someone else.

Are you a male mother from somewhere?

Xia Xun looked at Morichika Rinnosuke, who exuded maternal warmth, and was momentarily at a loss for words.

But since the other party was a major benefactor who was offering help in his time of need, he could only obediently nod and say, "Don't worry, I will."

Morichika Rinnosuke smiled with satisfaction.

Just then, a lazy, urging voice came from the shop:

"Natsumi—Rinnosuke—aren't you ready yet—?"

The drawn-out ending of the syllable clearly conveyed impatience.

—Author's Note—

P.S.: Thank you to all readers for subscribing, tipping, and voting.

Ugh, I got up at 6:30 this morning to go mushroom picking and just got back. I wanted to post some pictures to show off, but the photos are too big to upload.

OK, the modification was successful.

Chapter Seventy: Watch Me Test the Waters

10:00 AM.

Xia Xun arrived at Stardew Valley Farm carrying a wooden box full of seeds.

He emptied his backpack, filled it with all sorts of seeds, and then began the tense and exciting work of sowing.

With his swift and rapid steps, seeds fell precisely into the already cultivated and leveled land. Xia Xun was like a tireless seed planter, shuttling back and forth between the neat rows of fields.

Reimu Hakurei sat in the same shade of the tree as yesterday, her head down as she flipped through the detective novel in her hand, occasionally glancing up at the busy figure in the field.

However, an hour passed, then two hours passed... Xia Xun, like a tireless machine, continued to run back and forth across the field, sowing seeds.

Thanks to the Stardew Valley system, sowing was not a particularly strenuous or time-consuming task. In less than three hours, Xia Xun had planted all the seeds.

He stood on the edge of the field and opened the wooden box, which was already mostly empty. There were only 13 mixed seeds left inside; the rest had taken root in the soil.

"Next, we need to deal with the scarecrow problem."

Looking at the vast fields of farmland that had been sown, Xia Xun raised his head and looked up at the sky. Flocks of birds flew out of the magic forest and circled above the fields.

This situation made him feel a sense of urgency, and the protective work could not be delayed.

A scarecrow's protected area is a 17x17 square meter area centered on itself, which is 248 square meters. One mu (a Chinese unit of area) is about 666 square meters, and fifteen mu is about 9990 square meters. This means that a total of 41 scarecrows are needed.

After deducting the one that had already been made, he still needs 40 more.

每個稻草人需要50單位木材、1單位煤炭和20單位纖維，算下來，總計需要2000木材、40煤炭以及800纖維。

"It's numb..."

After roughly calculating the bill, Xia Xun felt somewhat dead.

How many trees would we have to cut down and how much grass would we have to mow to gather all that?

Moreover, his axe is still being upgraded at Tatara Kosuke's place, and it's unclear whether it's finished yet.

Thinking of this, Xia Xun turned to look at Reimu Hakurei under the shade of the tree: "Reimu, could you go to the shrine and ask Umbrella if the axe has been upgraded yet? I need to use it later."

"Ugh, this is so troublesome." Reimu Hakurei grumbled, feeling a little sleepy, but she still closed the book, stood up, brushed the grass clippings off her shrine maiden clothes, and then lightly flew into the air.

"This girl..." Xia Xun couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at the girl's tsundere expression.

He then went to the land where he had first cultivated the crops. Three days later, the crops there were ready to be watered again.

Xia Xun stepped forward to carefully examine the growth of various crops. Apart from those that ripened early due to the gifts from the fairies, the other crops were growing well. Crops like strawberries and cucumbers, which could be harvested multiple times, were already laden with fruit. In particular, the cucumber trellis was covered with tempting green and tender little cucumbers.

"Click".

Xia Xun casually picked one, ate it in a few bites, and nodded with satisfaction: "Hmm, it will be ripe to pick tomorrow."

Immediately afterwards, he mobilized the magic power within his body, and a pale blue light emanated from his body.

A stream of water rose into the air, steaming and flying towards the farmland.

The water elements in the air quickly gathered and merged with the rain, forming a rain cloud that covered about an acre of land in the blink of an eye. The rumble of thunder could be heard faintly, and the raindrops fell with a patter, nourishing the slightly dry soil below.

After finishing the spell, Xia Xun staggered and collapsed to the ground. His magic power was almost completely drained, leaving only his spirit to barely maintain the rain spell.

"Hiss... My head feels like it's going to split open."

He rubbed his forehead and gasped for breath.

This was the first time he had used the rain spell with such full force, and the energy expenditure far exceeded his expectations.

However, the effect is indeed remarkable. Once a large-scale rain spell is successfully cast, it can automatically draw water from the surrounding water elements to maintain its power. Xia Xun only needs to use less magic and mental energy to guide and control it.

The rain continued to fall, and Xia Xun held a watering can in his hand, occasionally trying to water the fields to see if they had been fully soaked.

About ten minutes later, when he tilted the watering can again but no water came out, and after trying several different places with no response, he confirmed that the watering of this acre of land was complete.

"Indeed, magic is the primary productive force."

A look of joy appeared on Xia Xun's face. He then manipulated the rain cloud, slowly moving it towards the next acre of farmland waiting to be irrigated.

Half an hour later, Reimu Hakurei descended from the sky.

She held a bronze-lustered axe in her hand, but her gaze was first drawn to the scene on the farm.

"Here's your axe." She walked to Xia Xun's side and handed him the axe. She then noticed his slightly pale face and couldn't help but ask with concern, "Are you alright? You've only been learning magic for a few days and you're already acting like this?"

"I'm fine. On the contrary, I feel great." Xia Xun casually took the axe and put it in his backpack, his mind still focused on maintaining the rain spell above.

This unprecedented experience of casting spells over a large area for a long time and with high intensity gave him a wonderful feeling that he was gradually understanding the nature of the water element.

“You know what, Reimu,” Xia Xun’s voice was somewhat ethereal, filled with excitement and focus, “I feel like I’m understanding magic, the core of the water element.”

"This kind of experience is absolutely amazing!"

"Really."

Reimu Hakurei responded calmly, but her gaze was filled with suspicion as she looked Natsumi up and down.

This guy seems a bit too excited today, kind of like Marisa Kirisame.

She subconsciously reached out and touched Xia Xun's forehead. It wasn't hot; she wasn't sick.

But she found the cause of her illness.

This guy's mental energy is almost completely drained!

Before she could say anything, Reimu Hakurei raised her hand and delivered a swift chop to Natsume's neck, knocking him unconscious instantly.

Reaching out to catch the collapsing Xia Xun, Reimu Hakurei looked down at his still pale face in his unconscious state and sighed softly.

Why is this guy pushing himself so hard? He could just stay alive, wouldn't that be enough?

As the rain clouds gradually dispersed, she carried Xia Xun in a princess carry to the shade of a tree, then sat down cross-legged and let him rest his head on her lap.

A gentle, peaceful spiritual energy emanated from her palm, slowly flowing into Xia Xun's body, nourishing his overexerted spirit and body.

Half an hour later, Xia Xun slowly woke up.

In a hazy state of consciousness, he felt as if he were lying in a soft and fragrant flower garden, surrounded by a delicate fragrance.

This is Reimu's aura!

He suddenly snapped out of his daze, opened his eyes, and met Reimu Hakurei's lowered gaze.

"Good morning." The girl's voice was as lazy as ever.

Xia Xun sat up and realized that she had just been resting her head on Hakurei Reimu's lap.

"What just happened?"

Reimu Hakurei rolled her eyes at his bewildered expression: "You bastard, you really have no magical knowledge at all."

“You almost completely drained your mental energy by forcibly maintaining the magic. When I came back, you were already talking nonsense.”

“Remember this, you absolutely cannot act recklessly like this again. Exhausting your mental energy can really turn you into an idiot.” She rarely adopted a serious tone, and solemnly said, “If that happens, I won’t get my wages.”

"Huh?" Xia Xun was stunned, her face full of disbelief.

Was he just doing something so dangerous?

In my vivid memory, that feeling was so exhilarating, as if I had become one with the water, and I could perceive the transformation and resonance between magic and the elements.

Even now, thinking back on it still gets me excited, just like when I first became addicted to games and wanted to stay glued to the computer for three days and three nights.

hiss--!

A similar experience suddenly flashed through Xia Xun's mind, and she instantly broke out in a cold sweat, fully realizing the danger of her previous actions.

Because that time, he really stayed in the internet cafe for three days and three nights, and almost fainted the moment he stepped out.

“I understand.” Xia Xun nodded, her eyes filled with gratitude as she looked at Reimu Hakurei. “Thank you for saving me.”

“It’s nothing, after all, I’m your personal bodyguard now…” Before Reimu Hakurei could finish speaking, she saw Natsumi stand up and walk back towards the farmland.

"Xia Xun, what else do you want to do?" she couldn't help but ask.

“Watering it.” Xia Xun turned around and smiled, but she could read the worry in her expression. “Don’t worry, I’ve had an extreme experience once, so I know my limits.”

"Besides," he blinked, his tone relaxed, "you're still here, aren't you?"

Upon hearing this, Reimu Hakurei clenched her fists angrily, glared at Xia Xun, and gritted her teeth, saying, "You bastard, isn't this just arbitrarily increasing my workload?!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Xun raised his index finger and said, "I'll increase the pay; the daily wage will be one hundred coins higher."

"Deal!" Reimu Hakurei's expression changed instantly. She stood up decisively, grasped Xia Xun's hand, and her expression was resolute.

"A greedy shrine maiden," Xia Xun retorted with a laugh.

"Hmph, liking money is human nature." Reimu Hakurei curled her lip and retorted, "Don't you like money?"

"I like it." Xia Xun nodded seriously, then added with a smile, "However, I also like beautiful girls."

Reimu Hakurei's body froze instantly.

She sat back down in the shade of the tree, somewhat dazed, and picked up the novel again, but couldn't concentrate on reading a single word.

Her gaze involuntarily drifted to Xia Xun's retreating figure in the distance, her mind a jumble of thoughts that began to wander uncontrollably.

Could it be that he likes me? Was that... a confession?

No, no, I am a priestess who serves the gods, and we haven't known each other for very long.

However, it seems that liking something and the length of time they last have no absolute relationship?

I think I might have a little bit of a crush on him?

On the other side, Xia Xun stretched her body vigorously, feeling that her energy had been fully restored, and even the energy value on the system panel was full.