Wheat Harvest

Li Wei spent the morning felling six trees. He returned for lunch, then spent the afternoon trimming the branches and dragging them back. In between, he even had time to hunt a couple of pheasants or rabbits.

That was right. As his archery skills improved, his list of prey had expanded once again.

With a bit of luck, he could even hit a rabbit on the run.

Of course, that had only happened once. Rabbits were too fast, and the tall, dense grass made it hard to get a clear shot.

Pheasants were still stupid enough, and slow enough.

A few days passed like this. Mixi's Straw Shoes arrived, and Li Wei managed to gather enough wood to expand the house, as well as two units of game. Now all that remained of his monthly Main Quest was harvesting the Wheat Field and reinforcing the camp walls.

The former would take another eight or ten days. The wheat was still a little green and not quite ripe.

As for the latter, he would need to fell at least fifty saplings. Fortunately, some thicker, straighter branches could also be used to reinforce the walls. There were no particularly strict requirements.

In short, he should be able to complete the monthly Main Quest within a month.

The only somewhat uncontrollable risk was a storm with strong winds and torrential rain devastating the nearly ripe Wheat Field. But at this time of year, that seemed unlikely. Besides, judging by the past three months, the region had plenty of rain, but its climate was certainly nothing like the coast.

The more troublesome, but still manageable, risk was birds and beasts ravaging the Wheat Field.

By now, Li Wei had made twenty-four scarecrows of various kinds and set them up in the Wheat Field to frighten away birds looking to steal a meal. Sometimes he even hid around the field and, when a bird stubbornly tried to swoop down, he would fire an arrow and send the whole flock scattering. Actually hitting one was rather difficult, though.

Then there were all sorts of little beasts. As the wheat ripened, they seemed to instinctively know that the grain here was delicious. Flocks of pheasants, rabbits, and all kinds of strange little creatures showed up.

Most of them were blocked by the stone wall and fences. And since Li Wei would occasionally play the sneaky ambusher and lie in wait to shoot them, he could keep them under control.

Most days, he cut trees during the day and lit a bonfire around the Wheat Field at night. He would patrol until well past midnight before finally falling into a deep sleep.

It was manageable in the short term, but keeping it up for long was exhausting.

Fortunately, Phila had promised him a bowl of Mushroom Meat Soup every day this month. It sounded like an ordinary One-star Dish, but it was actually quite good. It quickly eased fatigue and restored his strength, keeping Li Wei's physical condition from falling to the breaking point.

Yes, there really was a breaking point.

It was the limit that Level One Awakening of Health Points could hold.

Penny was the clearest example. Every day, she made a round trip from the camp to the iron mine, carrying back a hundred pounds of Iron Ore. That was one unit, and it was pure hard labor. In just half a month, she had carried back fifteen units of Iron Ore and was already exhausted enough to look like a little old lady.

Without a bowl of Mushroom Meat Soup every day, she probably would have been too tired to get back up.

"The fences around the farmland still aren't high enough. It'd be great to have a sturdier stone wall."

Sometimes, as he looked at the heavy heads of wheat in the field, Li Wei felt happy, but couldn't help worrying, too. The fences could keep out small beasts, but what if a herd of wild boars showed up? That would be a devastating disaster.

"So this wall really isn't up to standard. It won't be enough for the family's future development."

"I have to find a way to upgrade it to a stone wall. But then I'll need to find a suitable quarry. I'm afraid I'll have to get Penny, the professional craftswoman, to scout it out, since that's related to her profession. But according to the rules, there's also a chance the farmland I've planted could yield higher-quality crops."

"So we still need to cooperate. Even having two professions doesn't let one person cover everything."

"Still, given the situation right now, actually working together might be difficult. There's no point talking about cooperation unless you're the head of the family. But that involves interests and compromise, so it all depends on the head of the family's ability."

"So this is a Head of the Family Simulator, huh?"

Li Wei grumbled.

In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed. They were lucky: it hadn't rained, and the sky was clear, with crisp autumn air. The wheat in both plots was almost fully ripe, and the birds and beasts had done little damage.

Li Wei sharpened his sickle in advance and got up at dawn to harvest. First, he picked out the ripest, plumpest ears of wheat to save as seeds for next year. He filled two sacks, about sixty pounds in all—enough to plant three mu of land.

The moment he carried the two sacks of wheat back to the camp, everyone received a message, including the newcomer, Lyon.

[The Wheat Field planted by the Professional Farmer has yielded six units of One-star wheat seeds. He has earned an additional 6 Family Contribution Points. Friendly reminder: wheat seedlings grown from these seeds will be sturdier and produce a higher yield. If used to make food, there is a very high chance of producing One-star food.]

[Friendly reminder: Although the farmland was donated to the family, only the basic harvest from the farmer's cultivation belongs to the family. Any extra yield is like overtime work and earns additional Family Contribution Points. Likewise, the chef is responsible for preparing the family's three meals a day. Being fed is a basic requirement, but preparing a One-star Dish earns additional Family Contribution Points. The same applies to the artisan and tailor professions. Even if they use the family's supplies, producing One-star equipment will earn them extra rewards.]

Oh, this was great news. At last, Li Wei's farming profession had a brighter future.

But now wasn't the time to dawdle. After setting down the wheat, he practically sprinted out of camp and began harvesting in earnest. He only had time to come back for a quick bite before rushing straight back to work, not daring to take a break. This was important. The sooner he brought the harvest in, the sooner he could put his mind at ease.

Still, there was less than one and a half mu of wheat. By around four in the afternoon, Li Wei had finished harvesting it all and tied the stalks into bundles, making them easier to carry and dry.

As long as it didn't rain, a dozen or so days would be enough to dry them. Then he could thresh them and collect the grains.

After that, he made a rough estimate. There had been no fertilizer, and the seeds weren't particularly good, but thanks to the Two-star Farmer Card, and the incredibly fertile black soil here, the yield was surprisingly good—around four hundred pounds per mu. After setting aside seeds, the two plots should still yield at least six hundred pounds of wheat.

It was hope for the winter.

That evening, Phila, Mixi, Penny, and Lyon all came to take a look. Food was an important strategic resource at any time.

"With food in hand, you can rest easy. George, this is thanks to you."

Phila beamed as she praised him. This was a major boon for her, too. With more food and a greater variety of ingredients, she would have more room to show her skills as a chef and prepare better dishes. That would earn her more experience and more Family Contribution Points.

She especially treasured the six units of One-star wheat. Once it was in her hands, making a new One-star dish would be a breeze.

Maybe even a Two-star one!

It was far better than One-star mushrooms, which were difficult to gather and yielded inconsistently.

What a shame she couldn't use it!

These were seeds!

The others were all smiling, too. They certainly wanted to develop their own professions, but not at the cost of going hungry.

One thing worth mentioning was that, over the past twenty days, Lyon had gone fishing and foraging with Phila the whole time. He had clearly obtained a One-star Fisherman Card, but he still hadn't had a chance to reveal what his first profession was.

All this time, everyone had mostly kept quiet, and Lyon had been practically invisible.

But as time passed, once Lyon advanced to a Two-star Fisherman, he might be able to catch One-star fish and shrimp. That would be another boon for Phila, the chef.

In fact, it was only today that Li Wei understood Phila's original intentions. She really had planned far ahead.

But once Lyon figured out how the rules worked, he would probably break free of her control.