Special Breakfast?

In the Farm Courtyard.

Ye Tian, Bibi Dong, and the others sat on stone stools around a stone table, eating breakfast.

Breakfast was simple: Fried Dough Sticks and Spicy Soup.

There were also two plates of pickled vegetables on the stone table: Spicy Kelp Strips and Black Bean Yellow Croaker.

Pickled vegetables counted as a side business of the farm. The East Sea Coast was close to the shore; while there was not much else, kelp and yellow croaker were plentiful.

During the farming off-season, the farmers who could not sit still would take their small boats and head out in groups to gather kelp and catch yellow croaker in the nearby sea.

Although their fishing methods were still primitive, after a month of hard work, they could not only keep enough for daily use but also sell the surplus to merchants for a small extra income.

For people in Coastal Areas, kelp and yellow croaker were among the few vegetables and meats they could eat year-round.

Two years ago, after Butterfly Farm was established, Chen Jian used the farm's surplus funds to purchase several large ships.

From then on, the nearby farmers' gathering and fishing teams gradually became professionalized.

Whether it was trawl nets designed specifically for catching fish or encirclement tactics used to pursue schools of fish, both became increasingly refined.

Dedicated workers went out to sea every month to gather yellow croaker and kelp.

By now, this industry supported nearly half of the farm's income.

At the time, the kelp and yellow croaker they gathered were dried and sold directly.

Kelp was fine. Once soaked in water, it tasted almost the same as when it had just been gathered.

But yellow croaker was different. After drying, it became dry and flavorless—too bland to eat, yet too wasteful to throw away.

After Ye Tian learned of this, he thought of the pickled vegetable-making techniques from Blue Star.

Pickled vegetables could preserve the freshness of food to a certain extent.

Before this, he had obtained many crop seeds from the system, including common seasonings such as chili peppers and soybeans.

And under his name was a large workshop like the Salt Drying Field. Salt, which ordinary people considered expensive, was no different from sand or dirt to him.

By putting those resources to use, a new industrial chain quickly took shape.

Thus, Butterfly Farm's Pickled Vegetable Workshop was born.

Moreover, seasonings that had never appeared before, such as chili peppers and black beans, quickly conquered everyone's taste buds.

People rushed to buy them, to the point that the pickled vegetables could not keep up with demand.

Now, even on the East Sea Coast, where they were produced, pickled vegetables had become synonymous with luxury goods.

In distant places, Scalpers could even sell a jar of pickled vegetables for the exorbitant price of dozens of Gold Soul Coins.

Across from Ye Tian, Hu Liena's chopsticks barely stopped moving.

"Mm, mm, mm!"

Her mouth was stuffed full, yet she still made muffled, indistinct sounds.

"Crispy and refreshing—this is really kelp? It's far too delicious!"

She stared longingly at the small plate of Spicy Kelp Strips as it neared empty.

Only then did Hu Liena reluctantly pull her gaze away and look at Ye Tian in amazement.

"And this fish—how come I've never eaten it before?"

The sight made Bibi Dong, seated beside her, laugh.

"Na Na, you've only been at the East Sea Coast for two days, yet Teacher thinks you've already put on a whole round of weight."

"Ah!"

Hu Liena hurriedly lowered her head to inspect herself and patted her stomach. It was still slim and well-proportioned.

She quietly breathed a sigh of relief. No panic, the problem was not serious.

Ye Tian leisurely soaked a Fried Dough Stick in the Spicy Soup and smiled. "Na Na, little sister, can't you even tell kelp strips from yellow croaker?"

"But they taste completely different! Especially this yellow croaker—it has a fresh, salty fragrance and melts in your mouth. It definitely isn't a flavor yellow croaker could produce on its own." Hu Liena's eyes shone as she tapped the plate with her chopsticks expectantly. "Is there any more?"

"No." Ye Tian shot Hu Liena an exasperated look. "You can't eat too many pickled vegetables."

He slowly lifted the bowl of Spicy Soup, took a sip of the steaming broth, and only then said:

"This is the flavor brought about by different seasonings."

"The flavor of Black Bean Yellow Croaker mainly comes from the black beans. As for Spicy Kelp Strips, Pickled Peppers, garlic, Sichuan Peppercorns, and other seasonings create a unique flavor after fermentation."

"Hm? Why have I never heard of any of those?" Hu Liena was full of confusion.

In her understanding, salt seemed to be the only seasoning.

Ye Tian smiled. "As long as it tastes good, that's enough. Not understanding the principles behind it won't stop your taste buds from being won over by delicious food."

"That's true." Hu Liena giggled, though her expression showed a struggle. She picked up a Fried Dough Stick and ate it, saying indistinctly, "Brother, if such delicious food were sold, it could make a lot of money!"

Ye Tian put down his chopsticks and praised her. "You've got quite the business sense!"

Chen Jian, standing behind him, explained kindly, "Miss Hu Liena, pickled vegetables have actually long become popular in the cities around the East Sea. Almost every batch is sold out within a day of leaving the workshop."

"Then it must make quite a lot of money, right?" Hu Liena asked casually.

Chen Jian smiled. "Not much. It only brings in around one million Gold Soul Coins a year."

Seeing Chen Jian casually mention a million with such composure, Hu Liena could not help widening her eyes. She blinked and cried out, "One million Gold Soul Coins!"

One had to know that the annual budget for supporting the Pope's Hall Knight Order, the Pope Palace's most elite force, was only one million Gold Soul Coins!

Did that not mean Ye Tian could support the most elite knight order on the Entire Continent simply by selling pickled vegetables?!

"Th-this... isn't this just ordinary yellow croaker and kelp strips?"

Hu Liena was beginning to doubt herself. She had never imagined that kelp strips and yellow croaker could be worth a million Gold Soul Coins.

This was not selling pickled vegetables at all. It was practically robbery!

"Things are precious because they are rare." Chen Jian spoke earnestly. "On the Entire Continent, only Butterfly Farm can produce pickled vegetables, so naturally their price is high."

"However, as the workshop expands, the price is steadily falling. I believe it will not be long before they enter ordinary households. That is also what Young Master Ye Tian hopes to see."

Young Master Ye Tian often reminded him that whether they made money did not matter.

What mattered was that the products could enter ordinary households.

It was simply that the current production scale was too small, and the Scalpers were too rampant.

If they did not raise prices, the money would only end up in the Scalpers' pockets.

So rather than letting the Scalpers profit, it was better to raise the prices.

Once production increased, they could gradually lower them again.

Hearing this, Bibi Dong looked at Ye Tian with her beautiful eyes and sighed in admiration. "Xiao Tian, your mind truly has no equal. Just two plates of food can generate profits worth a million Gold Soul Coins."

"It's all nothing important." Ye Tian smiled.

To be honest, selling pickled vegetables had merely been a spur-of-the-moment idea.

He had hardly participated in the process at all.

Chen Jian had been responsible for the production and sales.

An annual income of one million Gold Soul Coins was barely worth mentioning to him.

While the two spoke, Hu Liena took advantage of everyone's inattention to secretly eat another Fried Dough Stick.

Pretending nothing had happened, she picked up her Spicy Soup and slowly drank it.

The moment it entered her mouth—

Her eyes went wide.

What kind of soup was this?

A faint spiciness, a rich aroma.

Once it slid into her stomach, warmth spread through her body.

This feeling was incredible!

She had not expected even the farm's breakfast soup to be so exquisite!

At Spirit Hall, her breakfast was said to be on the same level as her teacher's, among the most luxurious standards in Spirit Hall.

Yet she had never eaten such a delicious breakfast!

Whether it was the side dishes, the staple food, or this seemingly casual soup, all of them had successfully conquered her taste buds.

Hu Liena revealed a touched expression, her face flushed red as she looked at Ye Tian. "Brother, did you specially prepare this breakfast for us? You're so thoughtful..."

Yet Ye Tian's expression turned strange. Leaning back, he looked at Na Na across from him.

"Little sister, what kind of look is that? This is merely the farm's standard breakfast. There's nothing special about it at all."

Hu Liena was stunned, and she could not help feeling somewhat disappointed. So it was just a standard breakfast...