Cultivating Farmland in a Fluffy S-Rank Game – CH54

Chapter 54: Restart

Just as Chu Jiu looked at everyone in confusion, Douglas’s face lit up: “Little Jiu!”

Chu Jiu: “Huh?”

Douglas: “Actually, that’s what I was thinking too.”

“The Association is going too far, just for their bit of ‘face’, they actually want to destroy an entire village and take so many lives.”

“This kind of organization—even if I don’t have my powers anymore, I will absolutely not let this go. I won’t let them harm other innocent people.”

Chu Jiu: “Ah…”

The old village chief also sighed deeply and said, “I originally thought that in our small village, it would be enough if everyone could have enough food and clothing, and a place to live that doesn’t leak wind or rain.”

“But I never thought that just wanting to ‘live a good life’ would also be resented.”

“We… we Bean Village are poor and weak, but who says old people should just lie down and wait to die, waiting to be abused, waiting to be swept away like garbage?”

“What’s more, there are still so many children!”

“These children who survived the claws of monsters with such difficulty, they are all smart, resilient, and ambitious. Why shouldn’t they live a better life?”

“I want those bastards high up there to see that our Bean Village, our insignificant Bean Village, also has its own backbone!”

“One day, just like Chu Jiu said, we will become Bean City, a place they dare not bully!”

After the old village chief finished speaking, the rest of the villagers also looked solemn, some with red eyes, some turning their heads to wipe away tears.

Douglas looked around at everyone and said, “In that case, we’ll choose the second path then?”

“The second path, the most difficult, but also the most hopeful path?”

Hearing this, Chu Jiu’s heart pounded again and again, and he looked at everyone with some apprehension.

As a result, everyone’s eyes shone brightly, and they replied firmly, “Yes!”

Chu Jiu clenched his fists, feeling a mix of emotions he couldn’t quite describe.

If that’s the case…

Then I’ll do what I can, earn more development points, build more facilities, and strive to raise Bean Village’s development level to the highest!

*

These elderly people, whose average age was several times Chu Jiu’s, were not impulsive people who only made empty promises.

Their enthusiasm didn’t stop at just “making a decision.”

Everyone discussed for a long time, proposing various ideas on “how to develop Bean Village.”

Chu Jiu listened silently, nodding frequently, occasionally adding things he could do.

As they discussed, Chu Jiu noticed—

On the surface, Douglas was the one who spoke the most, but in reality, he greatly valued Lu Qingyan’s opinion. For example, when he mentioned some details, he would subconsciously look at Lu Qingyan, as if waiting for Lu Qingyan to point out any impropriety.

It had to be said, Lu Qingyan was indeed very capable.

He rarely spoke. But whenever he did, he always hit the nail on the head.

So, what mysterious ability organization did this person come from?

…Since Douglas respected and trusted him so much, perhaps Douglas knew his real identity?

Chu Jiu thought to himself.

*

Everyone chatted enthusiastically for an afternoon.

When it was getting late and they were preparing to leave, Chu Jiu noticed something and asked Douglas with some surprise, “Are you planning to stay in Bean Village permanently?”

Douglas had just mentioned “persuading others to move to Bean Village as well.” At the time, Chu Jiu hadn’t realized it, but now it dawned on him.

Douglas smiled and said, “Yes.”

“We’ve all gotten very used to living here. Mary also likes it here. She even goes to the old village chief every day to learn to read and write, which is more convenient than in Emerald Town.”

“We really have no reason to move.”

Chu Jiu’s eyes lit up: “That’s great!”

The permanent population of Bean Village had increased!

Just as Douglas was about to say something else, Irene kicked his calf from the side: “Doug! Come help in the kitchen.”

Douglas was dragged away by Irene just like that.

The once lively living room was now left with only Lu Qingyan walking out.

Chu Jiu subconsciously said, “Lu Qingyan!”

Lu Qingyan paused slightly and turned around to wait for Chu Jiu.

Chu Jiu ran to his side, walking and saying, “Thank you for the past few days!”

Lu Qingyan: “No need.”

Chu Jiu bit his lip lightly, his mind a little muddled for some reason, and for a moment he didn’t know what to say. Finally, he blurted out, “Where… where do you live?”

Lu Qingyan: “I have a place to stay.”

Chu Jiu: “Oh, oh…”

He added, “Have you had dinner yet?”

As soon as he asked this, Chu Jiu’s face flushed red: What nonsense am I talking about? Everyone has been here all afternoon, how could Lu Qingyan have eaten?

Fortunately, Lu Qingyan didn’t show the slightest “how can this person be so stupid” expression, and simply said, “Not yet.”

Chu Jiu: “Do you want to have dinner at my place? I… well, it’s almost dinner time anyway, I can just make an extra portion.”

The corners of Lu Qingyan’s lips curled up slightly: “Probably not today.”

Chu Jiu scratched his head: “Yeah, yeah, then… then I’ll go back first.”

Lu Qingyan: “…Next time. Next time I come here, I’ll definitely have a meal.”

Chu Jiu was first overjoyed: “Really?”

In the twilight, Lu Qingyan slowly replied, “Really.”

Chu Jiu smiled and nodded repeatedly: “Okay, okay, next time I’ll cook a few more dishes—”

Speaking of this, he suddenly reacted and added, “You’re leaving? Today?”

Lu Qingyan: “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow morning I still need to discuss some details with Douglas.”

Chu Jiu thought for a moment and said, “Then when you leave, would it be convenient to take some… local specialties with you?”

This time, even the corners of Lu Qingyan’s eyes curved slightly: “What specialties? Honey?”

Chu Jiu said seriously, “Ah, the honey here is indeed good—I’m not talking about the kind Grandpa Du makes, I mean, um, the kind of honey that the capybara Kakaba helps me make.”

The honey Grandpa Du makes is all pre-ordered for Marco’s side, and can’t be given away. But the honey Kakaba makes is different.

Hearing the words “capybara Kakaba,” Lu Qingyan’s expression became slightly subtle.

Chu Jiu added, “But what I initially thought of wasn’t honey—it’s just, didn’t you say last time you wanted to eat grilled dried fish?”

For some reason, Chu Jiu had a feeling that Lu Qingyan would really like eating dried fish.

Lu Qingyan: “Hmm…”

Chu Jiu: “The dried fish I make is originally exclusive to Little Can. I want to go back and discuss it with it to see if it will agree to give you a little.”

After saying that, he quickly added, “Little Can is actually very reasonable. If I tell it it’s for you, it will probably agree!”

Lu Qingyan: …

After a moment, Lu Qingyan’s hand formed a loose fist and he coughed lightly behind it:

“I look forward to it.”

“No need for honey. If it’s dried fish… I’ll come find you to get some dried fish before I leave.”

Moonlight reflected in Chu Jiu’s eyes as he repeatedly said, “Okay, okay.”

At this point, the two had already reached the edge of the village.

In the past two days, the villagers had thoroughly cleaned and tidied up this area, erasing all traces of the previous battle.

Chu Jiu pointed towards the road sign and said, “I’ll go back first.”

Lu Qingyan: “Okay.”

Although Lu Qingyan responded, he didn’t seem to intend to turn around and leave, still standing in the same spot.

Chu Jiu: “I’m going back.”

Lu Qingyan: “Mm.”

Chu Jiu then stepped onto the small path.

After walking quickly for a few steps, a thought struck him, and he suddenly turned his head back.

Lu Qingyan was indeed still there, standing in the silver moonlight, steadily looking this way.

Chu Jiu couldn’t help but smile again, waving at Lu Qingyan:

“I’m leaving!”

“See you tomorrow!”

Lu Qingyan: “See you tomorrow.”

Only then did Chu Jiu turn back and jog towards the pioneer’s hut.

*

That night, taking advantage of Little Can waking up in the middle of the night, Chu Jiu handed over the fragrant dried fish.

Little Can ate slowly and deliberately.

“Little Can?” Chu Jiu rested his chin on the table, looking at the kitten with starry eyes.

Little Can: “Meow?”

Chu Jiu: “Well, Lu Qingyan who saved me before…”

“I guess he would really like to eat dried fish, so I was wondering if I could make some dried fish for him too?”

Little Can blinked its beautiful blue eyes without saying a word.

Chu Jiu: “I know you said ‘don’t share dried fish with others’.”

“But this situation is quite special, so I wanted to discuss it with you…”

Little Can: “…Is he very special?”

Chu Jiu replied very firmly, “Yes, special.”

He saved me twice, of course he’s special.

Little Can’s tail reflexively swished twice behind him.

But its cat face still had no expression, and its blue eyes didn’t seem to hold any emotion.

Little Can remained silent for several seconds before finally saying, “Okay. But you can only give him one, just wrap it in a bamboo leaf.”

After saying that, it yawned, jumped back into its cat bed, and curled up into a ball.

*

The next morning.

Chu Jiu clicked into the backend and found that he still hadn’t received any prompts.

Yesterday, he heard Douglas say that “their whole family will live permanently in Bean Village.” According to the rules previously given by the system, if Bean Village’s permanent population increased, then its development level would rise.

But the system had no reaction at all.

Not only that, Chu Jiu also found that all his “active skills” had turned gray and couldn’t be used.

…It seems the system really crashed.

Fortunately, passive skills and spirit beast skills were not affected.

Chu Jiu made a few plans and began to “assign tasks,” officially restarting his pioneering work.

According to the plan everyone discussed yesterday, Douglas was responsible for “recruiting people” in Emerald Town, while the old village chief and the others would arrange for the newcomers to farm, weave, make tofu, brew soy sauce…

But this was not enough.

To “retain people,” to attract more people, and to gradually expand the scale of Bean Village, more “facilities” were needed. Moreover, these facilities needed to provide enough jobs and decent income.

After a moment of inventory, Chu Jiu had a clear plan in mind for what facilities to build first.

He closed the previously temporarily reclaimed [Farmland], reselected suitable locations, and opened up [Farmland] and [Woodland].

Then, he handed the [Complete Sugarcane Dug from the Ground] to Rawr Rawr Rabbit and asked it to start [Creative Breeding].

The “sugarcane” collected in the Sanctuary Valley was not marked as “cultivable,” which meant it couldn’t be planted outside the collection site.

If Rawr Rawr Rabbit could cultivate “normally plantable sugarcane seedlings,” then sugarcane could also be promoted in Bean Village—

Once sugarcane was grown, a “sugar workshop” could be built in Bean Village!

Even if it couldn’t mass-produce the semi-transparent refined sugar blocks, and could only make the simplest “sugarcane maltose” or “handmade brown sugar,” it would be a unique product, the only workshop of its kind!

Such a facility would definitely bring substantial income and allow newcomers to settle down in Bean Village with peace of mind.

*

As before, [Creative Breeding] automatically triggered Chu Jiu’s passive skill [Master of Details]:

[Please describe the aspects in which you hope the spirit beast will focus on cultivating this plant.]

Chu Jiu chose [Plantable Area].

According to Chu Jiu’s understanding, besides tropical regions, sugarcane can also grow in temperate regions. For example, in the southwestern countryside of China, there are many places where sugarcane is planted.

Therefore, growing sugarcane in Bean Village was not an operation with almost zero possibility, like “insisting on planting coconut trees in the frigid zone.”

After waiting for a while, Chu Jiu saw the prompt:

[Limited by plant characteristics, light conditions, soil conditions, etc., the success rate of this cultivation is less than 20%.]

…Such a low success rate.

When [Canna] was cultivated before, the success rate was higher than 80%.

After receiving this instruction, Rawr Rawr Rabbit’s long ears twisted together in distress: “Roar roar, I’m worried I won’t be able to cultivate it successfully…”

Chu Jiu squatted down to help untangle its ears and encouraged it, “It’s okay, this is called ‘trial and error’.”

“If it fails, Rawr Rawr Rabbit, as long as you record the factors that led to the failure, then this cultivation will be fruitful!”

Only then did Rawr Rawr Rabbit regain its energy: “Roar roar, okay, I will work hard, roar roar!”

After arranging Rawr Rawr Rabbit’s work, Chu Jiu asked Glup-Glup to re-dig a road that crossed the [Trap Isolation Zone] and connected to the Forgotten Forest.

Developing Bean Village was important, but the development of the original wasteland couldn’t stop either!

Black-hearted capitalist Chu Jiu thought to himself as he handed the facility recipe for the [Unidentified Empty House] to Glup-Glup.

This recipe came from the ?Pioneer’s Hut Renovation Guide?:

[Unidentified Empty House: A small house, it is unknown what it can be used for. Because the floor area is indeed very small, it can be placed anywhere.]

After Chu Jiu comprehended this recipe before, he couldn’t think of any use for building such an empty house, so he had been putting it off.

Now, he told the little sapling, “Glup-Glup, let’s try to transform this empty house into a ‘selling point’.”

Chu Jiu hadn’t forgotten that he had promised the chestnut sprites to build a selling point next to the pioneer’s hut so that they could directly exchange for daily necessities such as cloth, seasonings, and pottery.

“Glup-Glup! Transform! Transform!”

Upon hearing that it could transform a facility again, Glup-Glup was so excited that its tentacles swayed back and forth, and its small leaves spun happily.

Unsurprisingly, [Master of Details] was also triggered on Glup-Glup’s side, allowing Chu Jiu to set the details of this empty house according to his own preferences and wishes.

Chu Jiu added shelves, counters, and a signboard to the empty house, and also modified the shape of the windows and doors.

In less than an hour, a “selling point”—or rather, a “shop”—appeared outside the fence of the pioneer’s hut.

The walls were made of logs, the roof looked like an upside-down flowerpot, the windows and doors were cute circles, and a wooden signboard hung at the entrance:

[Chu Jiu’s Little Shop].

Chu Jiu had originally wanted to write “Little Shop for Sprites,” but then he thought that the customers might not only be sprites, so he simply wrote his own name on the signboard.

The shop didn’t have many items yet. Upon entering, there was a large counter.

The outer layer of this counter was made of wood, and the middle was filled with ice and cotton. It was a [Simple Ice Box] that Chu Jiu had figured out himself.

This way, all kinds of seasonings needed by the sprites could be placed in the counter in different categories, without worrying about spoilage.

Next to the counter were two rows of bamboo and wooden shelves, on which linen cloth and pottery were placed.

These pieces of pottery looked like toys, and would definitely have no practical value in the eyes of humans, but they were just right for the little chestnut sprites.

Chu Jiu stared at these miniature pottery pieces for a while, and a different idea came to his mind.

By the time the vending shop was set up, it was noon.

After a simple lunch with the spirit beasts, Chu Jiu continued working.

He spread out the [Underground River Adventure] that the blacksmith squirrel had given him, preparing to see what kind of great adventure the old man from the candy store and the blacksmith squirrel had experienced in the underground river area, and if there was anything noteworthy.

Before he even had time to look, Chu Jiu heard a knock on the door.

A knock, not the sound of a bell?

Then it definitely wasn’t a villager from Bean Village. The villagers of Bean Village wouldn’t voluntarily walk into the small courtyard.

Had Lu Qingyan come?

Chu Jiu jogged to open the door.

However, there was no one at the door.

Just as he was feeling strange, Chu Jiu heard a crisp greeting, “Teacher Chu Jiu! It’s us!”

Ah, that voice!

Chu Jiu quickly looked down: sure enough, it was the chestnut sprites!

Sheldon tried hard to jump up and down: “Teacher! Great, you’re okay!”

It turned out that the chestnut sprites in Sunny Plateau had also felt the unusual riot in the Forgotten Forest.

They were very worried that something might have happened to Chu Jiu, and set off towards the Forgotten Forest that very night.

Hearing this, Chu Jiu looked at these little chestnut sprites who clearly didn’t have high combat power but still came to see him regardless of their safety. His heart softened, and he squatted down and said gently, “Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’m fine—”

“Coincidentally, I just finished setting up the vending shop. In the future, if I’m not home, you can just go to the vending shop to pick up goods.”

After saying that, he took Sheldon and the others to “Chu Jiu’s Little Shop.”

“Wow… so many things! These are all the things we need!” The little chestnut sprites floated around the shop happily.

Because the shop was too small, Chu Jiu carefully took a step back to avoid being poked by the overly excited little chestnut sprites.

When Sheldon saw the row of small, delicate bottles and jars, his little eyes narrowed into two lines with a smile: “Such wonderful pottery!

As expected of human artisans! The tribe will definitely like them very much!”

Chu Jiu smiled and said, “Actually, these pottery pieces weren’t really made by human artisans.”

These were fired by the pottery makers among the dwarf beastmen in the underground city of the Sanctuary Valley last time, in exchange for nuts.

Chu Jiu examined the finished pottery and concluded that it was no worse than that made by humans. Some details were even better than those of human artisans.

He frankly told the little chestnut sprites that the dwarf beastmen in the Sanctuary Valley could make pottery and only needed nuts as payment.

If the little chestnut sprites needed more pottery, they could directly contact the dwarf beastmen and even discuss the specific shapes and sizes with them in person.

Sheldon was initially very happy: “Ah, that’s indeed more convenient for us!”

Then he looked a little confused: “But… we haven’t interacted with the dwarf beastmen for a very, very long time…”

“I… I will tell Mom!”

Chu Jiu nodded in agreement.

In fact, Chu Jiu was very clear that if the chestnut sprites and the dwarf beastmen traded directly, he would definitely earn less of a price difference.

But anyway, the money earned here couldn’t be taken back to China as cash, so earning more or less didn’t matter much.

After the chestnut sprites left happily with their goods, Chu Jiu returned to the workshop, preparing to read the [Underground River Adventure] again.

However, he had only just sat down and read the beginning when he heard another knock on the door.

This time, it should be Lu Qingyan, right?

Chu Jiu jogged to open the door.

Standing outside the door was actually the white-eared little squirrel.

“Mr. Blacksmith!” Chu Jiu was slightly surprised.

Since returning from Sea Moon City, this dwarf beastman hadn’t left on his own but had been living in an empty house in Bean Village.

Chu Jiu thought for a moment and quickly squatted down, saying, “Are you planning to go back to the Sanctuary Valley? My abilities haven’t fully recovered yet, I’m afraid we’ll have to wait two more days before I can ask the dodo to take us back.”

His active skills were all unusable, and venturing into the wilderness now would be too risky—not to mention anything else, just the inconvenience of “not being able to summon the little hamster and find a suitable campsite” was too much.

Unexpectedly, the white-eared little squirrel shook his head: “No.”

He looked directly at Chu Jiu and took out several leaves: “This, for you.”

Chu Jiu: “?”

White-eared little squirrel: “You, friend; Bean Village, good people.”

“Me, help friend.”

Chu Jiu quickly picked up a leaf to examine it—

Painted and drawn on the leaf was actually the [Forging Workshop Construction Diagram]!

Chu Jiu was so surprised that he couldn’t speak for a moment, and he didn’t even fully understand what the white-eared little squirrel meant.

Wasn’t iron smelting an exclusive racial skill of the dwarf beastmen? Mr. Blacksmith clearly had a great forging workshop in the underground city, so why would he give this construction diagram to him?

The white-eared little squirrel slowly explained:

That’s right, the dwarf beastmen were indeed much better at smelting and forging than humans.

A long, long time ago, there were dwarf beastmen who opened blacksmith shops in human cities, attracting many, many customers, with orders lined up from the beginning of the year to the end.

He had now heard that the villagers of Bean Village wanted to turn this small village into a town, into a city.

In that case, he was willing to help a little.

As long as Chu Jiu could build the forging workshop according to the requirements of the facility diagram, then the dwarf beastmen would come here to open a blacksmith shop.

Chu Jiu stared blankly for several seconds, feeling like “a pie had really fallen from the sky.”

No, not a pie, but a fluffy angel.

A dwarf beastman’s blacksmith shop!

What did this mean? It meant that the wealthy people in the entire Emerald Town, Amber Town, and even Sea Moon City, anyone who needed to forge metal tools, would try their best to come to Bean Village!

Chu Jiu said excitedly in rapid succession, “Thank you, Mr. Blacksmith! I’ll go take a look at how to build the forging workshop right away!”

Holding the leaves that the white-eared squirrel had given him, Chu Jiu excitedly returned to the workshop.

Okay, let’s take a look at what the forging workshop needs…

The knock on the door sounded again.

Ah, perhaps Mr. Blacksmith had some more details to explain.

Chu Jiu quickly ran to open the door:

“Mr. Blacksmith—”

“Eh…?”

This time, it really was Lu Qingyan standing outside the door.

Lu Qingyan tilted his head slightly, asking with a hint of curiosity, “Waiting for someone?”

For some reason, Chu Jiu’s face suddenly turned a little red.

He quickly explained that the dwarf beastman blacksmith had just come and left behind very important design drawings.

Speaking of this, Chu Jiu couldn’t stop himself and rattled off a series of things related to repairing facilities and starting workshops.

After chattering away for a while, Chu Jiu finally remembered: Ah, what am I doing, just standing at the door chatting with someone?

He hurriedly invited Lu Qingyan in, thinking that if Little Can woke up and came downstairs, he might be able to see the beautiful scene of Lu Qingyan and Little Can sitting side by side!

However, Lu Qingyan only smiled and said that he was too pressed for time today and wouldn’t go in.

So he just wanted to take the dried fish and leave?

Chu Jiu quickly took out the dried fish wrapped in bamboo leaves from his backpack: “This is still warm. You can have it as a snack on the way back.”

Lu Qingyan took the dried fish: “Okay.” For a moment, neither of them spoke.

A few seconds later.

Chu Jiu: “Next time—”

Lu Qingyan: “Next time—”

The two of them spoke at the same time again.

Chu Jiu didn’t continue, but looked at Lu Qingyan somewhat blankly, into those eyes that were like a lake beneath an iceberg.

Lu Qingyan also paused, and after a moment said, “You go first.”

His voice was particularly gentle at this moment.

Chu Jiu bit his lip:

“I wanted to say, next time, next time you come here again, I can fry some fish, make some fries with ketchup, stir-fry some chestnuts, and serve it with hot fruit juice…”

“Can we… can we play checkers together?”

Lu Qingyan didn’t reply immediately.

After a long while, he said, “What a coincidence, I was just about to say that.”

This might just be a very conventional polite remark, but Chu Jiu’s heart almost skipped two beats.

Strange, what’s wrong with me?

It’s just inviting a friend to eat fries and play checkers.

His hand unconsciously went behind his back, and his fingers twisted together as he said to himself, “Yeah, winter, especially when it snows, eating stir-fried chestnuts and drinking hot fruit juice would be so wonderful.”

Lu Qingyan lowered his eyes, looking at the young man with slightly flushed cheeks: “Then when it snows.”

Chu Jiu: “Huh?”

Lu Qingyan: “When it snows, I should be able to come here again.”

Chu Jiu’s eyes slowly curved into crescent moons: “Okay. See you when it snows.”

---

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