Chapter 23 – Year 1 Spring Harvest

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Harvest day! Also known as Happy Day!

Today was the day that everything that I had done in the past three months became worth it.

Tilling, planting, watering, and weeding all gave experience, but only small amounts. Harvesting was the only real way to level up farming because it gave much more experience compared to the other skills.

Fengying, Deming, and the other staff clapped as I walked to the potato plants.

“You guys, stop mocking me. You’re not expecting fireworks, are you? I’m just gonna pull up these plants,” I said.

They were going to be badly disappointed because farming skills were never flashy.

I inspected the crop one last time and confirmed that it was ready.

A few days after the potato plants fruited, the foliage withered, with the leaves turning yellow and the stalks drooping. That meant that the tubers should be big enough to harvest now.

I put on my gardening gloves and walked to the end of a row. I started by loosening the soil around the potato plants with my spading fork. Then I carefully dug under the plants with a spade to lift the potatoes out of the ground. The potatoes went into a waiting wheelbarrow while the plants went into my inventory. I could use the leaves, roots, and stalks to make compost later.

The freshly harvested potatoes were the size of my fist and a beautiful golden brown color. They smelled earthly and fresh. I had been wondering if the tubers would also glow, but I saw nothing of the sort. Maybe they were just ordinary potatoes?

I brushed off the dirt from one and used a pocketknife to cut into it. The flesh inside was white and firm. Deming approached, and I handed it to him. He scratched the skin, sniffed it, and licked the inside. We all waited for his judgment with bated breath.

Finally, he put the potato down and said, “Alabaster Spirit Potato, low grade.”

Everyone except for me cheered. I didn’t think an ordinary crop was worth celebrating. Of course, I already knew that these were low-grade because I was still a newbie, and players could only harvest mid-grade crops after at least five growing seasons.

Deming didn’t explain what an Alabaster Spirit Potato was, but everyone seemed satisfied, so I said a few words of appreciation to the Demon Chef and continued harvesting potatoes until I had filled one wheelbarrow. The staff then took the harvest inside to wash off the dirt and pack it into sacks after it had dried. Shuye would be arriving at noon the next day to bring them to market.

Harvesting was hard work, but it was worth it because I got a ton of experience. I was able to fill four more wheelbarrows with potatoes, and at the end of it, I had leveled up quite a bit.

[Player Name: Violet

Farming Skills:

Farming Level 12, Fishing Level 8, Woodcutting Level 12, Cooking Level 1, Herblaw 3, Foraging 3, Hunting: 1, Mining: 1]

I had leveled up so much in such a short amount of time that I felt a little giddy. Since I had been doing a lot of woodcutting to clear more land for planting, I had a lot of experience in that skill. Fishing was still a fun hobby for me, but I hadn’t been fishing as much lately, so that was lagging behind a little.

When the field was empty, I wiped the sweat off my brow with a clean handkerchief and drank some water. Then I used the System’s special cover crop seed packet.

[Wild Seed Mix:

A mixture of seeds, mainly wildflowers, grasses, and legumes that are used as cover crops. These plants protect the soil from erosion, improve soil structure, and add nutrients to it. The flowers also attract pollinators, and the grass is good for pasturing animals.]

Normally, one couldn’t plant during the harvest season, but cover crops were an exception. They didn’t give any farming experience and were a hands-off type of farming. I didn't even need to water them. All I had to do was to sow the seeds and allow them to grow on their own for a few seasons to protect and nourish the soil. The flowers would also serve as food for my bees.

I ripped the [Wild Seed Mix] packet and simply flung the seeds out into the field. The seeds shot out from the hand and embedded themselves in the soil. I did that a few more times until the entire empty field was planted with wild seeds.

When I was finished, Fengying came to me and said, “Deming is asking how much we can keep for ourselves?”

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“Ah, er, I actually promised Shuye the entire harvest,” I said.

Fengying cleared her throat and said, “It’s customary for farmers to keep some of their harvests for their personal use.”

That sounded plausible, but it was a fact that I had already made an agreement with Shuye, so I was forced to disappoint Deming and Fengying. I hoped this wouldn’t come back to bite me later on.

The thought of an unhappy Demon Chef was absolutely terrifying to me.

I was able to escape from the uncomfortable conversation by pleading fatigue and retreating to my rooms for a good rest before going to the hot spring facility at the back of the house for a nice soak and some privacy. After I finished bathing, I took care of Mr. Bear first before going back to the main house.

The reward for reaching the level 10 farming milestone was a puppet upgrade that increased the puppet’s overall abilities.

“Here you go, Mr. Bear,” I said as I took the ruby heart from the System’s rewards tab and stuck it on the plushie’s chest. “Now you’re stronger!”

[Puppet Name: Mr. Bear

A magical plushie unlike any other. This cute and cuddly bear is made of a special type of plush cloth and magical stuffing that gives it special powers. When its owner is in danger, this bear will come to life.

Though Mr. Bear is a wizard type, this puppet is also equipped with hidden metal claws and teeth.

Type: Magic

Base spell: Fireball

Upgrades: 1/99]

Though the upgrade undoubtedly made my puppet stronger, I wasn’t sure how to compare it to this world’s existing dangers.

Was Mr. Bear strong enough to deal with a demon chicken, for example? How about a demon pig? I wasn’t expecting to find dragons or anything like that, but I should at least be able to fight off the wildlife with my puppet.

That shouldn’t be too much to ask, right? I pondered these things as I dried and combed my hair. I was in the hot spring’s waiting room that now doubled as a salon since I had placed some cash shop items here for beautifying one’s hair and skin. There was even a funny dome-shaped thing that went over my head and changed my hairstyle for me whenever I wanted, which was great because otherwise I would have to spend maybe an hour or more having my hair styled by a maid. Apparently, going outside my room with wet, unstyled hair was considered a social faux pas.

To my surprise, I was met by Fengying’s beaming face when I exited the onsen.

“Shuye is here, and he agreed we should keep some potatoes for ourselves,” she said.

“Okay, if you say so,” I said. I hoped she hadn’t twisted his arm or something. The three sacks of rice that I produced daily were enough to keep me solvent, so I wasn’t worried about money anymore.

“Deming knows quite a few good potato dishes,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll like them.”

It seemed to me that it wasn’t worth arguing about the potatoes anymore. If she and the Demon Chef were happy, then so was I.

“Happy chef, happy eating,” was an excellent motto to live by.

***

The System calendar showed the harvest time lasted for two weeks. That was barely enough time for high-level farmers to harvest all their fields, but it was overkill for a newbie farmer like me. Since I now had some free time, I decided it was best if I could go to the nearest city on the flying cart that Shuye was going to use to bring the harvest to market.

But when Shuye arrived with the flying vehicle the next day, it turned out that I wouldn’t be using it.