Spirit Plant Entry: Immortality Begins with Farming

Under the moonlight, the three of them looked at each other from five steps apart.

"The seeds cannot be divided," Chen Yuan said calmly. "If they are divided, none of the eight acres will survive."

"That's your problem," Li Xiong grinned. "I only want half. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself."

"No room for negotiation?"

"There's no room for negotiation."

Chen Yuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Fellow Daoist Liu, what do you think?"

Liu San Niang was taken aback by his sudden question and paused for a moment before laughing, "Fellow Daoist Chen, Brother Li is right. We've never seen your method before. If it fails, none of us will benefit. Why not share half with us, and we'll help you protect your fields? It'll be a win-win situation."

"A win-win situation?" Chen Yuan repeated the word, then laughed. "I provide the seeds, the Spirit Rain Technique, and the method. What do you provide? Your strength to trample my seedlings?"

Li Xiong's face darkened: "Kid, don't push your luck—"

"Let me do the math for you," Chen Yuan interrupted him. "Forty catties of improved rice seeds cost ten spirit stones. If you plant them on eight mu of land, and even with the minimum yield of thirty catties per mu, that's a total of two hundred and forty catties. Yellow sprout rice is worth one and a half spirit stones per catty, so you can sell it for one hundred and twenty spirit stones. After paying seventy percent in taxes, you'll have thirty-six spirit stones left. Divide that among the three families, each family will get twelve spirit stones."

He looked at Li Xiong: "If you take twenty catties of seeds now, can you grow them yourself? Do you have the second level of the Spirit Rain Technique? Do you have a way to cleanse the foul air? No. Take them, either sell them cheaply for five or six spirit stones, or plant them and they won't grow and will rot in the ground."

Li Xiong remained silent.

"But if I succeed in planting them," Chen Yuan continued, "of the 240 jin harvest from eight mu of land, you'll get 10%, 24 jin, worth 12 spirit stones. You won't have to do anything, just wait to collect the money. That's a win-win situation."

Liu San Niang's eyes darted around: "One-tenth is too little. Thirty percent."

"One and a half percent," Chen Yuan said. "No more than that. I still need to buy fertilizer, medicine, and bribe Fan Bapi."

Li Xiong and Liu San Niang exchanged a glance.

"Twenty percent," Li Xiong said, "plus your method of purifying the foul air."

"I can't teach you the method." Chen Yuan shook his head. "Fire ore powder mixed with spirit rain—the temperature, concentration, and timing—if it's even slightly off, it'll be ruined. You won't be able to learn it."

"Then let's take 20% of the harvest," Liu Sanniang said before Li Xiong could speak, "but we need a written agreement. A written contract in black and white, so you won't renege on your promise later."

Chen Yuan looked at her for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."

The document was written by Liu San Niang. This woman was actually literate, and her handwriting was quite elegant:

[The signatory, Chen Yuan, voluntarily agrees to divide two-thirds of the harvest from the three families' fields among Li Xiong and Liu San Niang. The two must ensure the safety of the fields and prevent damage by people or livestock. Settlement will be made on the spot after the harvest. Any breach of contract will be condemned by Heaven.]

Chen Yuan pressed his fingerprint.

Li Xiong pressed the button, then folded the document and stuffed it into his pocket. He patted Chen Yuan on the shoulder and said, "It would have been better if you had agreed so sooner. Alright, from today onwards, I'll keep an eye on your eight acres of land."

The two left.

Chen Yuan stood in the courtyard, watching their figures disappear into the night, before slowly squatting down to examine the golden ginseng.

The two mutant plants were intact. But of the three ordinary plants next to them, one had its leaves trampled and a half-shoe print on its stem.

He carefully straightened the plant and patted the golden leaf with the "weak growth-promoting" effect from his sea of ​​consciousness onto the injured ginseng seedling.

As the golden light seeped in, the leaves stood up at a speed visible to the naked eye, and new green sprouted from the wounds.

But the entries have all been used up.

Chen Yuan straightened up and looked at the dark, gloomy Sanjiatian in the distance.

At daybreak, Old Zhao and Widow Li arrived one after the other.

Chen Yuan recounted what happened last night, without mentioning any written agreement, only saying that Li Xiong had promised not to cause any more trouble.

After listening, Old Zhao squatted on the doorstep, smoking his pipe for a long time, before asking in a hoarse voice, "How much did you promise them?"

"A 20% harvest," Chen Yuan said truthfully.

Old Zhao slammed his pipe against the threshold and muttered, "Foolish!"

Widow Li grew anxious: "Fellow Daoist Chen, two-tenths... that's not even enough for us to eat!"

"If we don't give them that 20%, they'll come and trample on our seedlings every day, and we won't get a single cent," Chen Yuan said. "Now at least we can farm with peace of mind."

"Reassured?" Old Zhao stood up. "I know Li Xiong! He's insatiable! Today he wants 20%, tomorrow he'll want 30%! You're asking a tiger for its skin!"

"So what does Old Zhao suggest we do?" Chen Yuan asked. "Fight? I'm at the third level of Qi Refining, he's at the fifth level, and we have Liu San Niang to help us. Sue? Who can we sue? Fan Bapi is just hoping we'll make a scene; he'll enjoy the laugh."

Old Zhao opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Widow Li held her child, tears welling up in her eyes again: "It's all my fault... If it weren't for my two acres of land..."

"Don't blame yourself," Chen Yuan interrupted her. "Blame the world. Over three hundred people in the shantytown are fighting tooth and nail for a little bit of resources. If it's not Li Xiong today, it will be Zhang Xiong or Li Xiong tomorrow."

He walked into the courtyard and began to prepare the spiritual rain needed for the day: "Elder Zhao, Fellow Daoist Li, things have come to this point, arguing is useless. We only have one path left now—to cultivate the land well, to cultivate it to a high enough yield that even if we give away 20%, the three of us will still be able to survive."

Old Zhao stared at him for a long time, then finally sighed heavily, picked up his hoe, and said, "...Get to work."

The three of them remained silent that day.

Chen Yuan was in charge of watering the spirit rain, while Old Zhao and Widow Li sowed the seeds.

The improved rice seeds have plump grains and carry subtle spiritual energy fluctuations when planted in the soil.

By noon, Widow Li had finished planting her two mu of land.

Old Zhao straightened up and wiped his sweat: "Young Chen, isn't your 'spiritual rain' a bit too thick?"

Chen Yuan was watering the soil for the third time. A light drizzle fell, the rainwater tinged with a faint blue. Instead of seeping into the soil, it stuck to the surface like glue and slowly seeped down.

"This is 'Glue Rain'," Chen Yuan explained. "It's a change from the second level of the Spirit Rain Technique. The concentration of water spirit energy is high, and evaporation is slow, which can keep the soil moist for longer."

"How long can it last?"

"Three days."

Old Zhao was stunned: "Ordinary spiritual rain lasts for at most one day..."

"So we don't need to water it every day," Chen Yuan said. "We can save time and do other things."

"What are you doing?"

Chen Yuan looked towards his own yard in the distance: "Take care of the golden ginseng, and... keep a close eye on Li Xiong."

The golden thread ginseng has grown to five inches tall.

The leaves of the two mutant plants turned completely dark gold, with molten gold flowing through the veins.

The other three plants are also growing well, but their color is just ordinary light gold.

Chen Yuan squatted by the experimental field and activated the alert for the status of the spiritual plants.

The condition of the five ginseng seedlings became clearly visible in the field of vision:

【Name】: Golden Thread Ginseng (Infected by Fire, Growth Stage)

[Entry]: Weak growth promoter (extracted)

[Status]: Healthy, growing rapidly (expected to mature in 12 days)

[Warning]: The root system is developing too rapidly, and the soil nutrients are about to run out. It is recommended to supplement with fire-attribute fertilizer.

fertilizer……

Chen Yuan rubbed his temples. The cheapest fire-attribute fertilizer was "firebird dung," which sold for three spirit stones a bag at the market.

Just as I was worrying, I heard footsteps outside the courtyard gate.

It's Liu San Niang.

The woman was wearing a light red dress and carrying a small bamboo basket. She walked in with a smile: "Fellow Daoist Chen, busy at work?"

Chen Yuan stood up: "Fellow Daoist Liu, is there something you need?"

"I'm bringing you something." Liu San Niang placed the bamboo basket on the ground and lifted the cover. Inside were not cakes, but several dark red stones and a small bag of grayish powder.

"Firestone powder?" Chen Yuan recognized it.

"And some fire phosphorus," Liu Sanniang said. "I saw you wandering around the entrance of Baicaotang yesterday when I went to the market. You seemed to want to buy fertilizer but didn't. I guess you were short of money. Here, these will be enough for you for a while."

Chen Yuan didn't answer: "What price?"

"It's free," Liu Sanniang smiled. "Just consider it an investment in your 20% harvest. If the land is cultivated well, we'll get a bigger share, won't we?"

Chen Yuan looked at her.

The woman's smile was flawless, and her eyes were so sincere that she seemed genuinely concerned for him.

"Thank you very much then." Chen Yuan accepted the bamboo basket.

Liu San Niang didn't leave immediately. Instead, she squatted down and carefully examined the golden ginseng plants: "They're growing so fast... I heard that golden ginseng takes at least three months to grow, and yours has only been growing for a few days?"

"The soil is good, the water is good," Chen Yuan replied simply.

"Really?" Liu San Niang reached out to touch the mutated plant, but Chen Yuan coughed.

Her hand paused in mid-air, she smiled, and withdrew it: "Fellow Daoist Chen, who... learned your skills from?"

"I figured it out myself."

"You think you can figure out how to make ginseng grow from fire by yourself?" Liu San Niang tilted her head and looked at him. "You might be able to fool Old Zhao with that, but to fool me... that would be too distant."

Chen Yuan's heart tightened.

Liu San Niang stood up and patted the dirt off her skirt: "Alright, I won't keep you from working. Let me know when you run out of fertilizer, I have other options."

she left.

Chen Yuan stared at her back until she disappeared at the alley entrance before squatting down to examine the fire phosphorus and mineral powder.

The stone is real, and the powder is fine too.

But Liu San Niang's last words were like a thorn stuck in his heart.

Chen Yuan didn't sleep at night.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, his consciousness sinking into the sea of ​​knowledge.

In the hazy space, the sapling had grown to the height of a palm, with two tender leaves fully unfurled and a third leaf bud emerging.

Below the sapling, several points of light floated in the gray mist—fragments of entries extracted from the spiritual plants over the past few days.

It's too fragmented to form a complete entry.

【Wanxiang Tree】

【ability】:

1. Keyword stacking (unlocked)

2. Spirit Plant Status Alert (Unlocked)

3. Collection of entry fragments (in progress)

[Hint]: Collect ten fragments of the same type to synthesize a complete entry.

Chen Yuan thought about it for a moment.

So its name is the Mangrove Tree. Hmm, that's interesting.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes and looked out the window.

The rice seeds in Sanjiatian should have sprouted by now. I need to go check on them tomorrow.

There's also golden thread ginseng... it matures in twelve days, just in time for conscription and inspection.

But Liu San Niang's words kept echoing in my ears: "You might be able to fool Old Zhao with those words, but to fool me... that would be too distant."

What does she know?

What did you guess?

Chen Yuan lay down and closed his eyes.

The night was still deep.

The sound of the night watchman's drum came from afar; it was past midnight.

He suddenly remembered the world he lived in before he transmigrated. Back then, his biggest worries were incorrect experimental data and unfinished papers. Now, thinking about it, what kind of worries were those?

At least you don't have to worry about how to survive tomorrow every day.

At least you don't have to be wary of the people around you.

At least……

A cool breeze seeped in through the crack in the window.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes and placed his hand on the short knife under the bed.

There was movement in the yard again.

This time it wasn't a person—it was an insect.

The dense crawling sounds were like countless tiny feet rubbing against the sand.

He rushed to the window and, by the moonlight, saw a layer of dark red insects swarming in from the cracks in the fence onto the surface of the soil in the experimental field.

Fire aphid.

Hundreds or thousands.

They had a clear objective and headed straight for the five golden ginseng plants.