“Have you heard that the chefs at the Eight Treasures Tower can make vegetarian dishes taste like meat? Is there really such a skill?” Shang Huan asked.
“It can be done,” Chen Mu nodded.
“Provided there are the right spices and sufficiently exquisite culinary skills.”
Chen Mu could do it himself.
“These chefs are indeed amazing, being able to freely change the taste of ingredients,” Shang Huan said with a look of surprise on his face.
The three of them talked while they ate.
Before long, they turned to the topic of exotic beasts invading the medicinal fields and the rise in the price of medicinal herbs.
“If I had known, I would have stocked up on some,” Shang Huan said ruefully. “The price of some key herbs has at least doubled!”
What a great opportunity to make money.
“The Lower Courtyard isn’t stupid; the Hundred Herbs Pavilion reacted much faster than you,” Old Hao smoked and chatted.
Chen Mu realized; no wonder the Underground Market had run out of Nightshade Grass.
“Is it easy to grow medicinal herbs?” Chen Mu asked quietly.
Herbs grown in the Lower Courtyard were different from ordinary worldly herbs. Just like Yellow Bud Rice, you couldn’t grow it outside.
“Anyway, our land here isn’t suitable,” Old Hao shook his head.
“Does growing medicine also depend on Feng Shui?” Shang Huan, who knew nothing about farming, teased with a giggly smile.
Old Hao snorted softly and gave the farming novice Shang Huan a sidelong glance: “It doesn’t concern wind, but it does concern water!”
Water?
It’s Earth Spirit Vital Energy!
Does growing medicinal herbs require more Earth Spirit Vital Energy?
“You thinking about growing medicine?” Old Hao saw through Chen Mu’s plan in a glance.
“Just learning for now. Didn’t you also say that there’s no future in growing Yellow Bud Rice?” Chen Mu said with a smile and a nod.
“It’s a waste of effort; our water here just won’t sustain it,” Old Hao shook his head.
The water may not be good enough, but I have the White Jade Plate.
Chen Mu smiled and said nothing.
…
Tongtian Square, the Lower Courtyard residence.
Chen Mu walked out of the Scripture Transmission Institute and glanced back at the octagonal wooden tower with the Bronze Wind Chime hanging: “So expensive.”
Reading for an hour cost one White Jade Coin.
Thereupon Chen Mu just shrugged his shoulders, “It’s a bit expensive, but it’s better than not having anything to read.”
The Lower Courtyard was the resource production base of Jilong Road; in addition to the Secret Technique Jade Scrolls, the Scripture Transmission Institute also held a variety of miscellaneous books and scrolls.
He had come here looking for information on cultivating medicine.
After leaving the Scripture Transmission Institute, he went to the Hundred Herbs Pavilion and spent one White Jade Coin to buy thirty Nightshade Grass seeds.
He got home and used a wooden strip to make a cultivation trough, one meter long, half a meter wide, with a height roughly up to the knee.
He prepared the planting soil, sowed the seeds, and watered and fertilized them.
In the end, he placed the cultivation trough next to the White Jade Plate to ensure a sufficient concentration of Earth Spirit Vital Energy.
“All set!” Chen Mu clapped his hands contentedly.
Now he just had to wait for the seeds to germinate into seedlings, then he could try transplanting them.
…
Half a month later, inside the Low Hill Courtyard, on the west side of the courtyard.
Chen Mu stood under the wooden shelter of the stove, looking at the small patch of raised beds before him with an unsightly expression.
The raised beds contained the transplanted Nightshade Grass seedlings.
Out of thirty seeds, twenty-five had sprouted. Yet not a single seedling had survived the transplant.
The last tender seedling had completely withered just this morning.
“I can’t try blindly.”
Chen Mu couldn’t help but click his tongue; one attempt had cost him two White Jade Coins, enough to cover his food expenses for a month.
“But I still have to keep trying.”
Whether it’s the Lower Courtyard or the Ling Boat, crucial medicines like Nightshade Grass had stopped being sold retail.
The ten pounds he had would last only half a year.
Chen Mu looked at the gray wall.
Cloud Mirage Spirit Armor Technique: 5257/10000/Eighth Rank;
Planting: 9260/10000/Second Rank;
Sand Containing Technique: 3790/10000/Fourth Rank;
Hundred Intentions Spirit Light Technique: 3232/10000;
Spirit Armor Technique didn’t need attention, it would cultivate itself.
The Sand Containing Technique wasn’t specifically arranged for cultivation either, it was just used to pass the time for entertainment.
“The time spent on cultivating the Spiritual Light Technique can be cut down a little,” Chen Mu pondered to himself.
Even if he cultivated with all his might, perfection was still far away.
“Then I’ll allocate a few days to farm planting experience.”
“Second Rank isn’t enough, Third Rank should be doable.”
“Isn’t it just about hard work?”
At the original pace, dealing with the Yellow Bud Rice Fields each day could bring him about thirty experience points.
To advance, it would take roughly twenty-four or twenty-five days.
But besides hands-on practice, there was actually another method to gain experience.
“It’s just going to cost money.”
…
Six days later, Chen Mu, sporting an unfamiliar face, walked out of the Scripture Transmission Institute.
He had spent six consecutive days there, constantly browsing through books on seedling cultivation, transplanting, pest killing, weed removal, fertilizer preparation, and the properties of medicinal materials,
not only had his Planting Technique reached the Third Rank, but he also farmed over three hundred points of Pharmaceutical Technique experience.
“Come a few more times, to max out the Pharmaceutical Technique?” Chen Mu was tempted.
But after giving it some thought, he couldn’t help but shake his head.
The Pharmaceutical Technique was just barely over halfway. He didn’t have that many White Jade Coins.
Even if he did, he wouldn’t dare to come. What if someone took notice of him?
He had a proficiency cheat, he would eventually farm enough experience.
He would even cultivate to perfection faster and better than others.
“No rush.”
“First, I should plant the Tubenight Herb.”
This matter was related to whether he could have a stable source of income in the future.
…
As he was about to leave the Lower Courtyard residence, a crowd of people gathered in front of the Inspection Courtyard drew Chen Mu’s attention.
He walked to a distant shade and, along with a few people under the tree, stopped to watch.
“Not filled up yet?” Chen Mu asked with surprise, casually striking up a conversation with the people under the tree.
Before his frequent visits to the Scripture Transmission Institute to read, the Inspection Courtyard had already been recruiting people. Six days had passed, and the recruiting spot was still packed.
“They say the exotic beasts in the mountains are restless, and they’re short on hands,” replied an old farmer-looking man in his fifties.
“It’s a pity my secret technique isn’t perfected, otherwise I’d definitely sign up,” said another burly man in his forties with a bristly beard in a deep, resonant voice.
“Five White Jade Coins for the stipend each month.”
“And you can get a share of the money for killing exotic beasts.”
“You can easily earn ten White Jade Coins a month!”
“You have to be alive to get that money,” the old man glanced at the other, “Exotic beasts are not sheep or pigs on the chopping block.”
Chen Mu nodded silently.
Because the Lower Courtyard was rich in Earth Spirit Vital Energy and resources, it was often attacked by exotic beasts. Hunting and killing these beasts was one of the duties of the Inspection Courtyard.
The job paid well, but it was indeed dangerous.
“Didn’t we come here to advance further?”
“But you need White Jade for food, White Jade for secret techniques, White Jade for auxiliary elixir pills, White Jade for practicing at the Dao Field!”
“Without White Jade Coins, how can you advance.”
“Planting Yellow Bud Rice gets you only two coins a month, just enough to buy a bag of Yellow Bud Rice and a bottle of Calming Pill.”
“Renting twenty acres of land, even with the best harvest, only gets you twenty to thirty White Jade Coins a year.”
“With this little money, what can you do!” the bearded man resentfully stared at the Inspection Courtyard, “Fortune comes with risks, but pity…”
Chen Mu couldn’t help but echo, “It’s tough for us farmers!”
The old man’s face also looked grim, “With the pest outbreak, everyone’s losses this year have been substantial.”
“In the coming years, we may have to work for nothing.”
“Indeed substantial,” Chen Mu empathized.
The green beetles had damaged several acres of land.
He had yet to see a trace of the Tubenight Herb, but had already spent eight White Jade Coins.
“It’ll probably take quite some time to recoup these losses,” Chen Mu mused and couldn’t help but sigh.
It would take at least three days!
He had to wait until he delivered the newest batch of Calming Pills to Shang Huan.