Chapter 96: Thief

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Thief

Accompanied by Yadon, Vili arrived at the plot of land where the Star-Spotted Snow Roots were grown.

"Lord Village Chief."

A villager around Yadon’s age bowed to Vili. He had been on watch with Yadon last night. With something like this happening, he was extremely nervous. A loss of sixty Gold Rums... even if they sold both him and Yadon, it wouldn’t cover a tenth of it.

Vili gave him a slight nod in acknowledgment.

This settled the young villager’s nerves a little. At least he couldn’t see any trace of anger on the Lord Village Chief’s face.

"Lord Village Chief, the two gnawed-on Star-Spotted Snow Roots are over here."

Yadon led Vili through the fence, pointing to a spot in the corner.

Vili and Yadon walked over together, and Vili crouched down.

"Right here."

Yadon pointed at the ground. The two Star-Spotted Snow Roots, their roots chewed through, had been left in the soil. He had done this fearing he might disturb the scene and make it harder to find the cause.

Vili lowered his head slightly.

He saw two Star-Spotted Snow Roots slumped over in the dirt. The upper stems and leaves were intact but had already withered and yellowed. The lower parts—the roots that had been growing in the soil—had been completely gnawed away, exposing the empty space underground.

Vili’s brow furrowed slightly. ’This thief seems to know what it’s after.’ The main nutritional components of a Star-Spotted Snow Root were all concentrated in its root. The upper stems and leaves had very limited nutrients.

Vili picked up one of the Star-Spotted Snow Roots and carefully examined its rootstalk.

He found rodent-like gnaw marks on the root.

"It looks like marks left by a rat..."

Yadon had also noticed the shape of the bite marks.

Vili shook his head gently. ’It couldn’t have been a rat. If it were, they wouldn’t have just eaten the rootstalk and left the stems and leaves. They would have eaten the leaves clean first, then dug up the root to eat it.’

Besides, there were no signs of disturbed soil around the two Star-Spotted Snow Roots. And if a rat really had been digging, the two of them would have surely heard it.

"Hm?"

Vili subconsciously pressed down on the soil and suddenly discovered that the earth beneath where the two Star-Spotted Snow Roots had been planted was soft and loose.

He scraped at it a couple of times and easily turned the soil over.

’Something’s not right. It’s as if this soil was deliberately dug up from below.’

Vili grabbed a handful of soil and shifted it around. Suddenly, a small black pellet surfaced at the top.

"This is..."

A strange look flashed in Vili’s eyes.

He placed the small black pellet in his palm, sniffed it gently, then crushed it. A faint medicinal fragrance wafted out.

Vili suddenly smiled. He never would have expected such a little fellow to show up in Fandou Village.

"Lord Village Chief, what is that?"

Seeing a smile appear on Vili’s face, Yadon found it incredibly strange.

’We’ve suffered such a huge loss, and we don’t even know what culprit was behind it. How can the Lord Village Chief not be worried at all? In fact, he even seems a little pleased?’

"Animal droppings."

Vili placed the small black pellet in Yadon’s palm.

"These are droppings?"

As a boy who had grown up in the countryside, Yadon wasn’t bothered by such grimy things at all.

He took the small pellet, and a faint, clean scent reached his nose.

"How is that possible?"

Yadon looked at Vili in astonishment. The small black pellet looked very smooth and was even fragrant. ’What kind of animal’s droppings aren’t foul-smelling but actually have a medicinal scent?’

"What animal is it?"

Yadon asked Vili, puzzled.

Vili shook his head gently and didn’t answer directly. "Don’t worry. I’ll keep watch with you tonight. We’ll catch this little thief."

"Tonight..."

Yadon was stunned by Vili’s calm and composed demeanor, as if he had everything under control. ’As expected of the Lord Village Chief. Not only is he unfazed by the loss of sixty Gold Rums, but he’s also so knowledgeable. It’s truly a great honor to be able to work under him.’

"Oh, right. Dig a little deeper in the soil beneath these two Star-Spotted Snow Roots. You should be able to find more of these little droppings. Don’t throw them away; they’re a high-grade natural fertilizer. Collect them, dry them in the sun, grind them into a powder, and add them to wood ash. You’ll get some unexpectedly good fertilizing results."

Vili ordered methodically, "Also, don’t throw away the stems and leaves of these two Star-Spotted Snow Roots. Save them and sell them to the Divar Family for ten Gold Rums. They’ll take them."

Although the main nutrients were in the rootstalk, the upper stems and leaves still had some value, so of course, they couldn’t be wasted.

"Yes, Lord Village Chief."

Yadon called over the other young man, and together they began to dig at the soil.

The sky was growing brighter, and the people of Fandou Village were already starting to arrive in the fields to work.

Although the main crops were all planted, the hardworking villagers of Fandou Village still insisted on waking up early to fertilize and water the beans, as well as plant some simple, fast-growing small vegetables.

When the villagers saw Vili, they all greeted him. They were just very curious why the Lord Village Chief had come to the fields himself. It was a rare sight, as he seldom handled the specific affairs of Fandou Village personally.

"Yadon!"

Vili was just about to head home for breakfast when he suddenly heard Old Yor’s furious shout from a distance.

Old Yor was seen rushing over, a thick, long wooden stick in his hand, fuming with anger.

Just a moment ago, Old Yor had heard from a neighbor that there might be a problem with the planted Star-Spotted Snow Roots and that even the Lord Village Chief had gone to inspect it personally.

Old Yor exploded with rage when he heard. Yadon was the one on watch last night. ’That damn brat, he actually let the Lord Village Chief down!’

’Not working hard, neglecting his duties... I have to teach Yadon a good lesson, or the Lord Village Chief will think I don’t know how to raise the younger generation.’

When Yadon heard Old Yor’s voice, he flinched but steeled himself and continued to dig at the soil.

"Lord Village Chief..."

Old Yor suddenly saw Vili and managed to rein in his explosive temper with great difficulty. "My apologies, Lord Village Chief. The Star-Spotted Snow Roots had a problem because of Yadon’s negligence. I will definitely teach him a good lesson, and then..."

Seeing Old Yor like this, Vili let out a laugh. He clapped Old Yor’s shoulder, signaling for him to calm down. "Yadon did a fine job. He didn’t make any mistakes. On the contrary, he brought me some good news."

"Huh?"

Old Yor was momentarily baffled, but seeing as Vili said so, he put the wooden stick behind his back.

Yadon glanced timidly at Old Yor, but Old Yor caught him and bellowed, "Focus on your work! Don’t get distracted!"