[Cozy Fantasy] [Farming LitRPG] The Chronicles of Emberstone Farm

Chapter 63 - Unbe-leaf-ably Sap-erior Tree Cultivation

🙞❤︎🙜

 

Obviously, the magic circle in the sky attracted a lot of attention, so I had to spend the rest of the day hiding inside the house while the prince and his staff took care of all the visitors who arrived asking about it. They managed to intercept all of the curious clan members who came flying to check what was happening before they arrived at Blossom Valley. Prince Baiyu had to delay his return to the Fall Hunt, but his people agreed that it was for the best.

 

“I’ll have to stay here for the entire seven days because no one else has the authority to ask important clan members not to enter the Valley,” said Prince Baiyu.

 

We were walking around the garden since there wasn’t much else to do inside the house.

 

“I’m sorry it’s been so inconvenient for you,” I said.

 

“Not at all. I think what you’re doing here is immensely important. You know, my father’s family lost their ancestral land when this place became cursed. Believe me, everyone will be pleased if you manage to reclaim Blossom Valley.”

 

“Then I’ll rely on your protection.”

 

“The people who were here will spread the word that you are not to be disturbed, so you should be able to go outside by tomorrow.”

 

“Thank goodness for that! I want to get started on the rest of the things I plan to do,” I said.

 

***

 

Late into the afternoon of the next day, when I was finally given the all clear by the prince, I walked to the other side of the valley with my apprentices, Prince Baiyu, and a few observers from the White Tiger clan.

 

Mo and Kharli were so glad to be finally out of the house that they started running instead of walking. The two girls spread their arms and raced each other while screaming, “Wheee!” and “Yaaay!” with their long hair streaming behind them. They didn’t seem to care that the hot sun was beating down on us or that the grass they were running on was dry and brittle.

 

“What are they so happy about?” asked Prince Baiyu.

 

“Well, you know they grew up in an orphanage in the city. Since then they’ve been staying in the forest with me. I think this is the first time they’ve seen such a wide open space,” I said.

 

“The entire cursed land is just one big open space.”

 

“Yes, I noticed there aren’t many trees.” And the very few that I saw were only waist high and scraggly.

 

“They’re kicking up a lot of dust.” He handed me a handkerchief and motioned that I should use it to cover my mouth and nose.

 

“Aw, it’s okay. They’ll get tired soon enough.”

 

I was wrong though. The two girls had so much pent up energy from staying inside for so long that they actually did run all the way to the other side of the valley. Once we got there, they put their hands on their knees and panted heavily.

 

“Tsk tsk, I hope you haven’t tired yourselves too much. How’s your energy?” I asked them.

 

“Still full,” said Kharli.

 

Mo was too out of breath to say anything, but she nodded her head.

 

“All right. There’s not much to do here. I’m just placing the [Lizardwing Eggs] in a pen,” I said to them.

 

“In a pen? Not an incubator?” asked Prince Baiyu.

 

I shrugged. Putting the eggs in an incubator was the logical thing to do, but putting them in the pen was the way things worked in Adventure Incarnate.

 

“Okay, here goes nothing!” I navigated to the [Animal Husbandry] System tab and chose a [Small Pen] which I placed on the ground in front of me. Then I put the [Lizardwing Eggs] inside it. “That’s it. We’re done here.”

 

I started walking back to the house, but no one followed me.

 

“Why are all the eggs different if they are all Lizardwing eggs?” asked Kharli.

 

“No, the real question is ‘what are Lizardwings?’ in the first place,” said Mo.

 

“I feel an ominous qi coming from those cursed eggs,” said one of Prince Baiyu’s men.

 

“What kind of demons do you think will hatch from them?” Another of Prince Baiyu’s men put his hand on his sword hilt.

 

“Perhaps a flying demonspawn,” said the first guy.

 

Why was everyone always so dramatic?!

 

I turned back and explained, “Those aren’t cursed demon eggs. They’re [Lizardwing Eggs], and spirit beasts that look like a cross between a chicken and a lizard will hatch from them.”

 

The others, including the prince, gave me disbelieving looks.

 

“Am I the only one who can feel an unnatural, malevolent aura coming from the eggs?” asked the first of Prince Baiyu’s men who had spoken.

 

“No, I feel it, too,” said one of the other clan members.

 

“It’s just your imagination. These are just regular spirit beast eggs,” I said.

 

“Why are we hatching those beasts, teacher?” asked Kharli.

 

“Well, they’re called [Lizardwings], but actually their nickname is…” I moved closer towards my two apprentices and whispered it in their ears. “Poop Machines!”

 

“Ew!” the two girls chorused.

 

They recoiled in disgust from me, but I laughed diabolically and said, “My dear, dear apprentices. Now is the time for you to prove your worth! I’ve actually never seen a Lizardwing, but they say that all they do is poop, and the stench of their droppings is unbearable. I’ll be counting on you to take care of them.”

 

I laughed again at the look on their faces.

 

“And you are raising these stinky creatures for…?” Prince Baiyu raised an eyebrow. It made the purple lotus birthmark in the middle of his forehead wrinkle adorably.

 

“Spirit beast manure is a powerful soil enricher. Look around you.” I waved a hand at the sparse brown grass that covered most of the valley. “The soil here is of poor quality, and this will help.”

 

“Ah.” He didn’t look convinced.

 

“You’ll see.”

 

In Adventure Incarnate, the player spread the manure around here to make the grass grow green and lush, and, after a while, thousands of wildflowers started blooming, as befits a place called Blossom Valley.

 

One of the observers coughed and said to me, “But, Baroness, aren’t you leaving in seven days? What will happen to the animals then?”

 

“Hmm. I was going to ask if I could hire a few people to take care of them,” I said.

 

“That can be arranged,” said Prince Baiyu.

 

“I was thinking that the clan could take care of the spirit beasts. Later, I can sell breeding pairs,” I said.

 

“If the… product… proves to be effective, then I’m sure my father’s relatives will agree.”

 

“Just make sure not to keep them too near any human habitation or you might end up with a rebellion on your hands.” I giggled at the thought. “Let’s go back to the house.”

 

“What’s next?” asked Prince Baiyu.

 

“I’m going to plant some trees,” I said.

 

It was time to introduce the White Tiger clan to the [Dendrological Cultivation Chamber].

 

I thought the girls had already had their fill of running around, but I was wrong. They raced each other back to the house while the rest of us followed at a more sedate pace. When we arrived, I smiled at the sight of my two young apprentices lying on the ground and gasping like landed fish.

 

“You shouldn’t overdo it,” I said.

 

We walked over to the side of the house where I had placed a few chairs under a small canopy that shielded us from the sun. While we waited for my apprentices to recover, Fengying and two maids offered us water for washing. The housekeeper poured a pitcher of water into a basin while I washed my face and hands then toweled off with the clean, white cotton cloth that she provided. The others followed suit though they preferred to serve themselves.

 

Should I not have accepted Fengying’s help?

 

No, I decided. She would not have offered if it was not appropriate.

 

When everyone was ready, I took out a [Dendrological Cultivation Chamber] from my inventory.

 

I patted the white box and explained its use. “This is what we will use to plant trees. It’s made of cardboard, which is heavy duty paper, and has a hole in the middle that runs from the top to the bottom where the sapling will grow. It’s hollow.”

 

Carefully unscrewing the top part, I showed them the empty space inside. “As you might’ve guessed, this will be filled with water.”

 

“Is it a new type of watering device?” asked Prince Baiyu.

 

Of course, I had already explained everything to my apprentices, so this lecture was for the sake of the White Tiger clan members.

 

“Correct.” I turned the box over to show them that there was a wick underneath it. “Water from inside the box will slowly drip down through this little wick.”

 

“It seems clever.” Prince Baiyu seemed mildly interested.

 

“This isn’t a miracle solution or anything. The box will act like an umbrella by protecting the soil around the tree sapling from the hot sun, and the water inside of it will keep the soil moist.”

 

The others nodded and Prince Baiyu said, “And you won’t need to water it every day.”

 

“Yes. The water inside should last for around two weeks, and possibly for much longer. I’m told that it does rain here, and when it does, there’s a hole on the lid where rainwater will fall down and replenish the water inside the box.”

 

The others politely made some encouraging remarks. However, I could tell that they weren’t really impressed.

 

That was fine. I didn’t even know if it would really work. Explanation done, my apprentices and I got started digging holes and planting trees.

 

If I had been disappointed by the reception that the [Dendrological Cultivation Chamber] got, their reaction to the tree planting itself would have more than made up for it.

 

“Are those all spirit trees?”

 

“They must be! The air is thick with the powerful qi they’re giving off.”

 

“That one looks like the Crimson Monarch Tree from the legends!”

 

“How can one person have so many rare spirit treasures?”

 

That last comment made me a bit nervous, but I had to focus on the task at hand. We took out shovels from the System toolbelt and used them to dig holes in the ground. Thankfully, with just a little bit of force, the tools provided by the System quickly did the job. We dug holes two feet deep and a foot wide. My apprentices and I watered the soil then placed a large sapling and [Dendrological Cultivation Chamber] in each hole before covering it back up with soil, leaving three inches of the box above the ground. The last thing we did was to fill the box’s chamber with water and add a 2-inch layer of mulch around the planting area. The mulch probably wasn’t needed because we were using the box, but it wouldn’t hurt.

 

Since this was our first time planting trees, I wasn’t sure how many we could place before our energy ran out. I was able to plant six fertilizer trees while my apprentices were able to plant three each, for a total of twelve for all of us. Mo pouted a little when we placed the wooden signs with the names of the trees next to the new plantings. She never liked it when we did anything that involved writing or reading.

 

Not bad. We now had Shadow Locust, Dreamweaver Mimosa, Elderwood, Rosebud, Autumn Starfruit, Onyx Coffee Tree, Golden Chainwood, Arcane Acacia, Midnight Mesquite, Autumnal Ambrosia, Skythorn, and Dragon's Eye trees planted a small distance from the house.

 

“You’re done?” asked Prince Baiyu.

 

“Yes. We’ve planted twelve different species of trees that I think will be beneficial in renewing the land.”

 

“You’ve worked hard.”

 

“Let’s go back to the house. I’d like to rest,” I said.

 

“I’ll escort you. Do you mind if I go back to the other side of the valley to watch the eggs for a while?”

 

Was he still worried about that? I giggled. “Suit yourself.”

 

I hoped he wouldn’t be too shocked when the eggs finally hatched.