Chapter 70: Preparations Before Planting

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Preparations Before Planting

"What just happened? I think I saw a flash of blue light."

Mrs. Shaven walked out of the kitchen, a rag in her hand. A moment ago, while inside, she had caught a fleeting glimpse of azure flashing through the dark night out of the corner of her eye.

"Blue light?"

Vili turned to look at Mrs. Shaven, a trace of confusion appearing on his face. He shrugged. "There was no blue light. You must have been seeing things."

A strange expression appeared on Mrs. Shaven’s face, but she quickly shook her head, assuming she really had just imagined it. She looked up at the sky again and found no signs of an approaching thunderstorm; there were no dark clouds, and the stars were still twinkling brightly.

She turned and went back into the kitchen to supervise poor Vilia as she did the chores.

Vili shifted his gaze back to Wally.

This little white bear was one step closer to becoming the Thunder Demigod of Freljord.

He thought, "It seems it’s time to let Wally let loose..."

Vili had realized that this little white bear’s strength had unwittingly reached an inconceivable level. He knew very well that the cub was a tremendous asset. As the Lord of Diamond Town, Baron Kels had expended agonizing efforts just to capture a single Magical Beast. Furthermore, because that Snow Pattern Deer was already an adult, it was completely untamable.

In contrast, a highly intelligent mutant like Wally—a cub that also possessed innate loyalty—was simply a treasure.

"No! No discharging electricity!" Vili repeated the word "no" twice and emphasized his tone. Otherwise, if Wally got excited and only heard the word "electricity," Vili was afraid he would be roasted to a crisp. Although he didn’t know exactly how powerful those electrical arcs were, judging by the display, they definitely wouldn’t leave him completely unscathed like last time.

Upon receiving Vili’s new command, Wally instantly lowered his head. His two snow-white little ears drooped, making him look extremely unhappy.

"Don’t worry. In a few days, I’ll take you into the Bole Forest and let you play to your heart’s content," Vili muttered in a low voice, petting Wally’s head.

However, the moment Vili’s words fell, Wally’s ears perked right back up with a SWISH, and the deep blue light in his eyes flashed once more.

"This..." Vili shook his head. "Can you understand Human language?"

Wally simply grinned, wiggling his round, chubby body.

Vili was full of doubt.

"Go back to sleep." Vili pointed at the bear den, testing the waters.

Wally hesitated for a moment. Looking back with every step, he reluctantly returned to the large bear den next to the house.

The bear den was still a small wooden house, but it was now more than three times its original size. The wooden structure still had a handle, but it no longer required Vili’s help to close. After Wally entered the den, he hooked his hind leg and pulled the door shut behind him.

He thought, "Mutants really are a good thing."

Vili didn’t know how many times he had repeated this thought. He was now certain that although Wally might not be able to understand all Human speech, the bear comprehended simple commands thoroughly.

After exchanging a few more words with Mrs. Shaven, Vili also returned to his room. Having spent five hours traveling back and forth on the road today, he was feeling a bit tired. Besides, he had to make preparations for planting the Star-Spotted Snow Root tomorrow, so he needed to rest early.

The next day.

The sun had just risen. On the fields of Fandou Village, the land was already filled with bustling farmers. Vili, Lake, and Old Yor stood beside a newly reclaimed plot of land that had yet to be sown.

"Thank you for your hard work, Old Yor." Vili expressed his gratitude in a practiced manner. Now that they had escaped the plight of starvation, encouragement from the Village Chief served as a greater motivation than material goods. "My father already told me. During the days I was away from Fandou Village, it was entirely thanks to your assistance that everything in the village remained in perfect order."

Hearing this, Old Yor hastily bowed in a display of humility, though the unconcealable smile on his face betrayed his true emotions. "It is all my duty."

Today, thanks to Vili’s charity, the living standards of the Fandou Village villagers had undergone a massive transformation. As one of the original elders of the village, Old Yor’s heart was filled with joy and hope. While working, Old Yor would always take the opportunity to remind the villagers to remember the kindness of the Lord Village Chief.

Without realizing it, Old Yor had become Fandou Village’s chief propaganda officer.

"By the way, I brought back a new type of crop seed from Storm Town this time," Vili said to Lake and Old Yor. "I’ve decided to allocate a portion of the reclaimed land to plant these new crops."

Old Yor’s eyes lit up. New crops meant new yields. The villagers weren’t afraid of extra manual labor; they were only afraid of having no food to eat.

Lake had only learned of Vili’s return after waking up this morning. Their earlier conversation hadn’t touched on the topic of planting the Star-Spotted Snow Root, so this was the first he was hearing of Vili’s idea.

"What are you going to plant?" Lake asked. He wasn’t worried about land usage; there was plenty of wasteland outside Fandou Village. If they didn’t have enough, they could simply keep reclaiming more.

Vili replied, "I’m going to plant an herb—an herb called the Star-Spotted Snow Root."

"Star-Spotted Snow Root?"

Old Yor and Lake exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in the other’s eyes. There were many places that grew herbs under Diamond Town’s jurisdiction, so neither of them found the concept strange. It was just that they had never heard the name ’Star-Spotted Snow Root’ before and had no idea what it was.

"The Star-Spotted Snow Root is a very precious medicinal material. It’s incredibly rare." Before the two could ask, Vili explained directly, "It’s good stuff, because once it’s grown, it can be sold for a lot of money."

"A lot of money?" This clearly piqued Lake and Old Yor’s interest.

"At least ten times that of Beans," Vili added, throwing more fuel onto the fire.

Ten times!

Old Yor’s eyes widened into saucers, his mouth falling open unconsciously. Lake didn’t fare much better; although his family possessed vast wealth, this method of generating revenue was still breathtaking.

"Plant it. We’ll plant it right now!" Lake immediately voiced his support.

"Lord Lake is right!" Although he didn’t know how much profit Vili would share with the villagers, Old Yor knew that Vili was a generous man. He didn’t ask for much; even if Vili only distributed ten percent of the income to the villagers, that would be satisfying enough.

Seeing Old Yor so excited, Vili decided to clarify the profit distribution first. "The seeds of the Star-Spotted Snow Root are extremely precious. I paid an enormous price to get my hands on them. Therefore, the profit margin left for the villagers will only be twenty percent."

Hearing this, Old Yor paused for a moment before hurriedly responding in a humble tone, "Even if the profit is only twenty percent, it’s still twice as much as planting Beans. On behalf of all the villagers, I thank you for your mercy and generosity."