The Hardships of Farming

Well, well. Phila had actually become the head of the household.

And she had exercised that authority.

Li Wei was utterly shocked. So this was what a veteran player was like.

As for Penny, after staring at Phila for a full two or three seconds, she finally steadied her emotions. "Fine. I'll handle building the walls, cowshed, and warehouse. George, you go farm."

Li Wei did not want to say anything, but under the circumstances, he could only nod in agreement. He did not have the Professional Craftsman class bonus. All he could do was reclaim farmland.

It was his only choice.

"Come, my children. I made barley porridge with meat. It smells wonderful." Phila called them over with motherly warmth, her face piled high with smiles. Ah, what a loving family they truly were.

But this time, both Penny and Li Wei felt a chill in their hearts. This was a veteran player—a truly devious old hand!

After breakfast, Penny took out that wobbly axe and repaired it in no time. Building the walls, cowshed, and warehouse would require a great deal of lumber, and she could not do without an axe.

Then she gave Li Wei a friendly glance and headed into the forest with the axe. Logging also yielded considerable Logging Experience. Naturally, she would not give up such a lucrative job.

As for repairing Li Wei's shovel? Dream on. If she could build a Brick Kiln, make charcoal, advance to Professional Craftsman, and construct a Blacksmith Shop, then it was not impossible for her to repair it. But now? Heh heh heh!

Without a shovel, let's see how you reclaim farmland.

Li Wei himself had a headache. He turned to look at Phila. I saved you yesterday. As a veteran player, you could at least give me some advice, right?

But Phila seemed to have turned back into an NPC. She led the cow away to graze.

With no other choice, Li Wei returned to the Ox Cart and carefully lifted the rain tarp. The tools were still the same few items: a sickle for cutting wheat and two hoes.

Their household now had only six shared tools. Penny had claimed the axe, keeping it by her side even when she slept, hugging it like a beloved little toy.

Li Wei sometimes needed the chipped short knife when hunting, but when they dealt with the Alpha Wolf this morning, Phila had taken it away. Perhaps yesterday's lone wolf attack had greatly diminished her sense of security, because she now wore the knife at her waist as well.

There was also the shovel, but it had cracked down the middle and was no longer usable.

The only tools remotely suitable for reclaiming farmland were the two hoes. But they were not really suitable either, because they were weeding hoes rather than hoes for turning soil.

The difference between the two was huge. Weeding soft soil was one thing, but using them to clear wasteland would probably destroy them in no time.

Weeding the Wheat Field would also be important in the future. Li Wei did not want to cut off his own path.

"Damn it, that old hag is still trying to restrict and weaken me!"

Li Wei cursed inwardly. If the shovel had not broken, reclaiming farmland would have been an easy, rewarding job for him. But now?

For a moment, he even wanted to keep hunting at the edge of the forest or go fishing instead.

But the problem was that reclaiming farmland was an assignment Phila had issued as head of the household. He could not defy it, or he would bear the consequences himself.

Left with no choice, Li Wei picked up the shovel, now split into two iron sheets. He had no alternative.

When he arrived at his Wheat Field, he surveyed the surrounding terrain. Taking into account the risk of flash floods washing it away and the convenience of later irrigation, he decided to reclaim land east of the field. As for tools, he would use those two iron sheets, gripping them directly in his hands to dig.

The efficiency was undoubtedly terrible, and it was easy to injure his palms as well.

After trying for a while, Li Wei decided it would not do. After some thought, he took the Wolf Skin, found a sharp-edged stone, chipped part of it off, and used it to wrap the broken shovel pieces.

Then he knelt on the grass and began frantically reclaiming and turning the soil, in a manner that was practically self-torture.

There was not much to complain about, really. His lack of experience was the real issue.

The whole household had only one battered shovel. A few days ago, he had used too much force while clearing and turning the soil, not knowing how to take care of it, which had caused it to crack.

Whether Phila and Penny were targeting or supporting him, they truly could not conjure a sharp shovel out of thin air. Those were simply the conditions, unless he did not want to level up his Farmer Card.

Still, this method of reclaiming and turning the soil was indeed agonizing. Although Li Wei's hands were covered in calluses and he no longer feared blisters or bleeding injuries, his arms and waist soon ached unbearably.

He could only rest briefly after turning roughly one square meter of soil, all while trying to find a less strenuous and more efficient method.

In the end, he really did find one: imitate a Groundhog.

He stopped trying to cut down into the soil from above. That meant confronting the massive root systems of the weeds head-on, which was incredibly difficult, like chiseling through a city wall.

So now, after breaking open a cross-section, he worked from beneath it. He no longer tried to take too much at once, cutting away only a little soil each time and removing part of the weeds' roots and stems.

Once he hollowed out the underside, he stood up and delivered a heavy kick, knocking down the layer of turf above.

He carried these half-square-meter chunks of turf to the edges and stacked them into an Earth Wall. This Wheat Field would need a fence in the future to keep small animals from damaging it.

Just because the Wheat Field had become communal property did not mean it could be treated differently. After all, his own interests were tied up in it too.

Besides, Farmer was still his main class. Improving the farmland would bring him tremendous benefits as well.

By the end of the day, Li Wei was utterly exhausted, every inch of him aching, miserable beyond words. Yet he had managed to reclaim roughly twenty square meters. At one point of Farming Experience per five square meters, he had at least earned enough to cover his food costs.

However, he would not use Farming Experience to pay for meals. He would always prioritize using other kinds of experience first.

Another thing worth mentioning was that although they now had some wolf meat, their daily barley porridge and Wild Vegetable Porridge remained indispensable. The only difference was that the porridge now contained a little Minced Meat, which slightly increased fullness and restored more stamina.

That night, as Li Wei lay in a corner of the house and was about to drift off, several lines of information silently appeared.

[Your exclusive Wheat Field has entered the second stage—Sprouting]

[Sprouting rate: 97%]

[Calculating rewards for the current stage]

[You have obtained 15 Farming Experience]

[You currently possess 64 Farming Experience...]

That was truly good news!

Li Wei smiled faintly. All the hardship he had endured before had been worth it. But should he go out and keep watch tonight?

After hesitating for a few seconds, he quickly fell asleep anyway. He was simply too exhausted.

When he woke, it was already the next morning. Neither Phila nor Penny was anywhere to be seen.

Phila had naturally gone to make breakfast, while Penny, that crazy woman, had gone to chop trees. Her personal attributes were undoubtedly far better than Li Wei's.

Li Wei's best record was six trees in one day, but Penny could actually chop down ten in a single day.

A true iron woman.

That also meant she could earn 10 points of Logging Experience in a day. Compared to Li Wei's 4 points of Farming Experience, it was an absolute crushing advantage.