New Home

Mid-October.

The house at Little Duke Farm had finally finished all its renovations, and the well had been drilled, with pipes connected throughout the property.

That very day, Duke brought Levin and officially moved into Little Duke Farm.

Of course.

Duke lived in the new three-story house with a basement, which he had named "Villa," while Levin moved into the first room of the staff quarters with the six Four-eared Hound pups.

"Woof, woof!"

"Woof, woof!"

After the cage door was opened, the six Four-eared Hound pups shot outside in a single streak, cautiously yet curiously exploring the surroundings.

Levin set out their food bowls one by one, then filled their water bowls to the brim.

After that, he came trotting over to help Duke organize the rooms. In truth, there was not much to organize. Most of it consisted of card-repair machinery, equipment, and materials.

"We're still short on a lot of spirit tools." Duke carefully placed the flowerpot on the balcony of the second-floor cultivation room. This was the Earth Orchid he had painstakingly tended. Even after being given plenty of Energy-Boosting Fertilizer, it still had yet to bloom and process its spiritual energy. "I'll make a list this afternoon. You can make a trip to the Duolong Spirit Tool Shop."

"Yes, Boss."

"Have Boss Duolong hire a cart to deliver everything here. Put it under my name," Duke said.

Around Second Vertical Street, his name carried some weight. He also dealt with the Duolong Spirit Tool Shop fairly often, having helped repair cards and even purchased goods on their behalf several times.

When the farms near Little River Bay were first developed, there had been nothing but straight, crisscrossing dirt roads.

That afternoon, Boss Duolong personally drove a small truck along the dirt road to Little Duke Farm.

His shop employees worked with Levin to carry the larger spirit tools into the Villa.

Duke and Boss Duolong, meanwhile, stood by the railing of the Villa's small attic, gazing out over the flat farmland stretching unobstructed into the distance.

"Not long ago, you were still the owner of Little Sam's Card Shop. And now, in the blink of an eye, you're running your own farm."

"It's pretty good. Free and easy."

"To be honest, I still preferred you as the owner of Little Sam's Card Shop. You were enthusiastic back then, and your prices were cheap. Now I can barely afford to repair my cards." Boss Duolong sighed. "That Luonka changes his prices every single day."

Luonka was Boss Lucius's nephew and was responsible for running Little Sam's Card Shop.

Duke replied, "What about Best's Card Repair Shop? I heard he turned it into an independent shop. They're all old neighbors, so maybe his prices are a little lower."

"Bullshit! Best isn't willing to take a loss. If other people raise their prices, he raises his too."

Boss Duolong complained for quite a while.

Prices in Snakehead Town were soaring at breakneck speed, causing the local residents no end of trouble. Although wages and such were rising along with them, they always lagged behind prices a little, leaving the residents grumbling bitterly.

"The Snakehead Tower should stabilize prices soon, shouldn't it?"

"Who knows? The Black Snake Family, huh... Maybe they stocked up on supplies long ago and are waiting to make a fortune while they can."

Snakehead Town was the Black Snake Family's fief. Boss Duolong did not dare say too much. After grumbling a few times, he immediately changed the subject. "Several spirit cards in my shop are broken, and I haven't even taken them in for repairs. To be honest, with the money it costs to repair them, I might as well replace them with new cards... Sigh, new cards are expensive too!"

Duke raised an eyebrow. "What kinds of new cards do you want to replace them with?"

"Spirit Storage Cards, Illusion Lamp Cards, Drive Cards... Quite a few, anyway. My shop has a lot of spirit tools, so naturally I need a lot of matching spirit cards."

"What about refurbished cards?"

"Refurbished cards?"

"Refurbished secondhand cards. They're not as effective as new cards, but they don't fall far short either. Compared with new cards, they're definitely much better value for money." As he spoke, Duke simply led Duolong over to inspect the cards. "You'll know once you compare them yourself."

He took out several refurbished Spirit Storage Cards and installed them on the spirit tools they had purchased right there on the spot. Their performance was indistinguishable from that of new cards.

"Hmm!" Boss Duolong's eyes lit up. "They really are pretty good. How much is each one?"

"A new Spirit Storage Card costs 10 Silver Dragons on the market. My refurbished cards are all priced at 5 Silver Dragons each. If one breaks within a month, just return it to me."

Refurbished cards cost half as much as new ones.

The key was that Duke's craftsmanship was excellent. It was almost impossible to spot any flaws on the refurbished cards from the outside, and their performance was extremely stable.

Boss Duolong thought it over, then nodded. "I trust your character, Boss Little Duke. Old Sam is never wrong about people. So, give me three Spirit Storage Cards, two Illusion Lamp Cards, and... How much is all of this together?"

"37 Silver Dragons."

"Deal."

"If you find them useful after taking them back, Boss Duolong, please help promote them when you sell spirit tools," Duke said.

"No problem."

After Boss Duolong drove away, Duke looked at the brand-new house and brand-new spirit tools, a sense of accomplishment rising spontaneously in his heart.

Compared with the cramped house converted from the warehouse at Little Sam's Card Shop and the shabby rental room, this Villa finally had a hint of modern home living. The large kitchen, spacious bathroom, broad living room, dining room, and workshop all made one feel refreshed and carefree.

"Chirp, chirp!"

Little Dou quickly adapted to its new home as well, running back and forth through the spacious cultivation room. It had grown quite quickly and already possessed the bearing of a spirit beast.

The fish tank had also been moved into the cultivation room. The 0-Ring Spirit Beast—the Golden Belly Ink Carp—swam around listlessly.

The Earth Orchid planted in the flowerpot stretched out its leaves and greedily absorbed the Free-floating Spirituality in the air. Unfortunately, it still could not yet inhale and process it.

"Levin, help me shovel over some soil." Duke tucked Little Dou into his pocket.

"Coming, Boss."

Levin carried a sack of soil into the cultivation room.

Outside the cultivation room was a corridor specially reinforced with waterproof materials. Duke planned to fill it with soil and plant flowers and grass there.

Of course, it was mainly for planting spiritual plants, making it convenient to process spiritual energy at close range and form a spiritual aura field on the second floor.

Fill the soil, water it, fertilize it.

Then transplant the Earth Orchid from its flowerpot.

"I'll buy some more Energy-Boosting Fertilizer later and practice the breathing technique nonstop every day. I refuse to believe the Earth Orchid can't process spiritual energy... When the time comes, I'll buy a few more 0-Ring Spiritual Plants and have them process spiritual energy together. They shouldn't fall too far short of a 1-Ring Spiritual Plant."

Practicing the breathing technique did not require Duke to do it personally.

All he needed was for Xiao Yi to add a new process and divert part of the power output to run it on standby.

"Boss, dinner's ready." Levin called up from downstairs.

Only then did Duke go downstairs to eat.

The meal was simple. Levin's cooking was far worse than Aunt Abby's, and it could not compare with Duke's cooking either, but it was enough to fill their stomachs.

"We'll still need to hire a few long-term workers later—to weed, water, fertilize, spray pesticides... Ideally, we should hire one who knows how to cook. I'm not picky, but I can't keep shortchanging myself every day." After finishing his meal, Duke took Levin out with him.

They were preparing to inspect Little Duke Farm, while also practicing the Rainfall Breathing Technique and resonating through breathing with the seeds in the soil.

That was the daily work of a Spirit Plant Master.

Duke did not intend to hire a Spirit Plant Master. He would handle the work himself, treating it as a daily walk outside.

At the same time, it was also cultivation for his qi sea.

"Boss, I'll bring Black Tongue and the others along too," Levin said.