Chapter 162. Doing the farming right (4)- This Month’s Share

The cucumber seeds came out of Cold Storage after the morning meal.

Mira carried the protected packets herself. Carlos followed her toward the Rare Farmland while Rowan and the farmers finished making the new climbing frames.

The original cucumber bed stayed where it was. Four Water-touched vines grew there, including the one Rowan had matured with Life Bloom, and the Living Scarecrow was already walking around its assigned path.

“These are the protected four,” Mira said, handing Rowan the packets. “The other four stay back until you tell me what happened here.”

Rowan read each label before opening it. Carlos remembered when all twelve seeds had come out of one cucumber and everyone had argued over how many could be planted.

Now they had four healthy test vines, Rare land, and a farmer who could feel something inside a plant before it even showed on the leaves.

They had taken longer than he liked, but the seeds were finally going somewhere useful.

Rowan pointed out the spacing to Tarin while Sela brought ordinary water. The new frames stood far enough apart that Carlos could walk between them without turning sideways. A shallow path carried water along the outer edge, then split toward each marked planting spot.

“Blue does not need to water these?” Carlos asked.

“Ordinary water first,” Rowan replied. “The trait is already there. I want to see what the soil and my connection do without adding something else.”

Blue floated near the old bed, watching them. Carlos lifted his hand toward it, then pointed back to the wheat seed rows. It understood and drifted away without needing more explanation.

He helped Sela carry the last pot. The water ran into the prepared dips slowly, soaking the ground around the seeds while leaving the walking strips dry.

Rowan adjusted one of the smaller channels with his hand and watched it settle.

“Can you feel them already?” Carlos asked.

“The seeds? A little. It becomes clearer when the roots start.”

“And can you feel every crop in Ironroot?”

Rowan looked across the fields before answering.

“If I pay attention. Not every leaf at the same time. I would go mad listening to all that.”

Carlos could believe it. There were enough plants complaining about water and space without having them all complain directly to one person.

He watched Rowan set the last marker and then inspected the planted row.

The seeds were recorded as Water-touched Clearwater Cucumber Seeds.

Their development had begun, but the inheritance result still needed observation after growth.

Carlos left the record open long enough for Mira to read it, then closed it when she asked about the older mature vine.

“Can we take seeds from that one today?”

“When they are ready,” Rowan said. “Life Bloom matured the plant and fruit. The seed assessment is still running.”

Mira accepted that, though Carlos could see she would have liked a quicker answer.

She had been patient with this cucumber line for longer than almost anything else in Ironroot.

Carlos asked Rowan about the small water paths. They had formed with Worldroot, but someone still needed to decide how much water entered them.

“Does Root Network handle all of that for us?”

“It helps the soil use what reaches it,” Rowan replied. “If Tarin leaves a channel open all night, I still have to close it. You cannot drown a field and ask the roots to enjoy it.”

Tarin heard his name from the other side of the frame and looked up. Rowan pointed toward the channel, then asked him to check its lower end. Carlos followed and saw that the water had slowed where loose soil gathered beside a marker.

They cleared it with their hands instead of bringing a shovel through the planted row.

The flow became even again, and Rowan made Sela add the spot to her watering checks.

Carlos thought of Marcus’s sunken gate while he watched. Their route could be upgraded, but that did not make every path around the crops impossible to damage.

Having Rowan feel trouble earlier would save them work, especially once the fields grew larger.

“Teach them what you are finding,” he said. “You should not have to close every channel yourself.”

They left Rowan to examine the new row and walked toward the storage buildings. Some of Marcus’s wheat sat in tied sacks in the dry warehouse section.

Mira had reserved the Cold Storage shelves for foods that needed its protection most, with a smaller amount of grain kept there as well.

Carlos stopped near the doorway and looked at the available space.

“We will have more coming soon,” he said.

“I know. The vegetables are growing faster too. I can change the shelves, but I cannot make the building larger by moving baskets around.”

Carlos opened the Cold Storage panel. It was still Level Two, Rare grade, with a capacity of three thousand units and freshness loss reduced by ninety-eight percent.

He remembered being proud when he first upgraded it. Three thousand had looked like enough room for anything he could possibly grow. Now a single outside payment had made him question that.

“I will look into it,” he told Mira.

He went toward the Lord’s Hut and opened Arthur’s message panel.

The family had promised he could ask for resources and advice. Carlos had been so busy with Marcus’s fields and Rowan’s evolution that he had barely used the opportunity.

—

[Carlos Goldwin]- Uncle, our production is increasing. I want to improve one of the buildings before the storage becomes a problem. What should I submit when asking the family for upgrade resources?

—

Arthur did not answer immediately. Carlos spent the wait checking the wheat count with Mira, then asked a Hearthkeeper to show him where the newest vegetable baskets had been placed.

He understood her problem better when he saw how often someone had to move one container to reach another.

His panel opened before he left.

—

[Arthur Goldwin]- Send the building’s current panel and its upgrade requirements. As a Level 4 Potential, you are entitled to the resources for one building upgrade each month. This month’s allocation is available.

—

Carlos read the message twice. He had asked how to make a request, and Arthur was telling him something had already been set aside for him.

—

[Carlos Goldwin]- Every month?

[Arthur Goldwin]- Every month while your Level 4 recognition remains active. We support the people we expect to grow. The office should have explained the allowance with your contacts.

[Carlos Goldwin]- I have not checked everything Evelyn sent yet. That is my fault. Thank you, Uncle. Does the building choice matter?

[Arthur Goldwin]- Choose what your territory needs. The allocation covers upgrade materials. A special blueprint, unique promotion item, or achievement requirement is a separate request.

—

Carlos smiled at the panel. That was reasonable enough. If he needed stone and wood, they could send stone and wood.

If the System asked him to win a conquest first, the family could hardly put a completed conquest in a box.

He asked about receiving the supplies before making his choice.

—

[Arthur Goldwin]- A Goldwin supply Lord will contact you after the request is approved. The materials will be transferred within the Lord World. Submit only the building information needed for the upgrade.

[Carlos Goldwin]- Understood. I will send the choice after speaking with my people.

[Arthur Goldwin]- Good. And how is Elena?

—

Carlos looked up from the panel. His mother had seen enough of the family office to be uncomfortable there, but Arthur still asked about her.

Carlos did not know whether she would appreciate it. He could at least answer honestly.

—

[Carlos Goldwin]- She is well. Being able to visit Ironroot has helped. I think she likes seeing the people here herself.

[Arthur Goldwin]- I am glad. Tell her she can contact Evelyn if she needs anything on Earth.

—

Carlos thanked him and closed the panel. He wanted to tell Elena about Rowan’s new appearance too.

She had explained the value of an older troop when she first met him, and Carlos wondered what she would say when that same troop looked younger than her son.

He returned to the fields before sending any building record. Kaia had come to inspect the tomato fence, and Rowan was beside the newly planted cucumber row.

“The family gives me one building upgrade’s resources every month,” Carlos told them. “We need to decide what helps us most right now.”

Kaia looked toward the barracks immediately. Rowan looked toward the kitchen and storage.

Carlos knew the discussion was going to take longer than one answer.

Before either of them spoke, Cosmic’s message appeared.

—

[Cosmic Merchant]- I spoke to a verified buyer about oil. An older Lord has an unused Common Grain Mill Blueprint. He supplies other territories and wants to know what you can provide regularly. Should I hear his terms?

—

Carlos looked from the message to Mira, who had just reached them with her storage board.

A mill had been sitting on their requests since before the first big territory meeting.

“Stay a little longer,” he told her. “There is something you will want to read.”

Power Ranking Weekly #1

Oct 16, 20:30 – Oct 31, 18:30

Mass release 20 chapters

Power Ranking Weekly #1

Oct 16, 19:30 – Oct 31, 17:30

Mass release 20 chapters