Gardener

Ma Hongjun was panting heavily, yet he still stubbornly retorted, "Teacher Zhao, what does running have to do with increasing Soul Power? Running doesn't raise my Soul Power Level. If you really want to look after me like this, you might as well let me stop running and go meditate to cultivate my Soul Power instead."

"Hey, you little brat, I think your skin is itching for a beating, daring to talk back! Lu Fan, Oscar, you two go off to cultivate. Hongjun, pick up the pace for me!"

"Don't do this, Teacher Zhao!"

"Hahahaha, that's what you get for having a loose tongue, kid."

Watching Lu Fan and Oscar walk away while snickering, Ma Hongjun wore an expression uglier than if he had died.

"Oscar, do you have anything else to do right now?"

Lu Fan asked.

Oscar thought for a moment and shook his head: "Nothing much, why, Brother Fan?"

Lu Fan nodded: "Do you want to earn some extra money?"

Oscar's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, yes! Brother Fan, what kind of path do you have to help your little brother out?"

Lu Fan revealed a smile that suggested the boy was teachable.

"Dean Flender has already agreed to let me plant flowers on the back hill. Come help me plant them; I won't cheat you. How about one Copper Soul Coin for every five seeds buried?"

Oscar was naturally happy to hear this.

For a task that could earn a Copper Soul Coin so easily, no normal person would refuse.

Seeing Oscar agree, Lu Fan led him toward the back hill.

They arrived at a flat patch of land.

Looking at the eager Oscar beside him, Lu Fan smiled and poured a bucket of cold water on his enthusiasm: "Don't get too excited, our task is quite extensive."

"Dean Flender helped me get about four thousand seeds, and we need to plant a full acre of land."

"I'll buy more seeds in the future, and my personal goal is to plant as much as eight acres. However, I won't force you to help then; after all, as Soul Masters, our primary focus should be our own cultivation."

Hearing this, Oscar shook his head: "It doesn't matter, Brother Fan, you're offering me such high pay."

Lu Fan nodded: "The main reason for coming here this time is to check the condition of the land. I plan to go back to the village first to recruit some villagers with farming experience to help."

"Isn't it enough with just the two of us?"

Oscar was a bit confused, as he had never farmed before and didn't quite understand.

Lu Fan shook his head: "Before planting, we need to till the soil and clear the weeds. Even after finishing that, at our speed, it would be quite impressive if the two of us combined could plant five hundred seeds a day."

"Let's go, let's head to the village and take a look."

Lu Fan led Oscar toward the nearest village.

"By the way, Brother Fan, why do you want to plant so many flowers?"

Oscar asked the question that had been weighing on his mind.

Lu Fan's Martial Soul was a flower, so it was normal for him to love flowers.

But no matter how much he liked them, it shouldn't require planting so many all at once.

Lu Fan smiled upon hearing this: "Loving flowers is one aspect, but it's mostly for cultivation."

"What does planting flowers have to do with cultivation?"

"I am building a simulated cultivation environment. Cultivating in a suitable simulated environment can significantly increase a Soul Master's cultivation speed."

"Our academy can't afford the equipment to build a simulated environment, so I decided to hand-craft one that suits me."

After hearing Lu Fan's explanation, Oscar's eyes lit up: "Then Brother Fan, do you think there is a suitable simulated cultivation environment for me?"

This time, it was Lu Fan's turn to be stunned.

"As for that... I really don't know about a simulated cultivation environment for a Food-type Martial Soul. Could it be a kitchen or something? Perhaps you could try making more Sausages and selling them to see."

Oscar nodded.

Uncle Big Sausage was about to go online.

The two arrived at the village, and Lu Fan led him straight to the fields.

Looking at the farmers toiling in the fields below, Lu Fan shouted: "Hiring workers! Tilling, weeding, and planting all in one go. Hiring two people. Requirement: within three days, till and weed one acre of land and plant 4,000 seeds together. The reward is 1 Silver Soul Coin per person."

Hearing this, the farmers immediately became restless.

However, when they saw that the person speaking was just a child, they felt that he might be there to cause trouble.

Seeing this, a hundred-year Soul Ring lit up at Lu Fan's feet.

Seeing that Lu Fan was a Soul Master, those who were originally afraid that he was a swindler immediately beamed with joy, all scrambling to compete for the two available spots.

"I've been farming for eight years, I'm an absolute expert at it, pick me!"

"Get out of the way, you're embarrassed to call yourself an expert with only eight years? I've been farming for 15 years!"

"Sigh, you two youngsters get lost. I started farming at six, and I'm over thirty now. I've been farming for over twenty years; this job should go to a veteran like me!"

Lu Fan, standing to the side, decisively chose this veteran.

Under the man's introduction, he also selected another fellow with over twenty years of farming experience to join them.

Bringing the two to the back mountain, Lu Fan pointed to the acre of land before them and said, "This is the plot. I'll pay you a deposit of one silver coin first, and the rest will be given to you once you've finished."

"However, I must state beforehand: if you don't finish planting in three days and it takes you four or even five, the payment will be reduced accordingly," Lu Fan reminded them.

For these two veterans, planting 1,800 seeds a day between the two of them was not a difficult task at all.

Plus, Lu Fan and Oscar would also be coming to help.

With four people working together, it stood to reason that they could finish the job in about two days.

After the two men discussed it, one went to clear the weeds while the other began tilling the soil.

Meanwhile, Oscar and Lu Fan began burying seeds in the ground that had already been prepared.

Three hours later, the man clearing the weeds had finished cleaning the plot and began joining the other to till the soil.

An hour later, the land was fully tilled, and the two men came to Lu Fan to collect the seeds and join the ranks of the planters.

With the addition of the two veterans, the speed of planting soared several times over.

Lu Fan and Oscar had also been here for a long time; after all, they were Spirit Masters and still needed to prioritize the cultivation of their spirit power.

Lu Fan left the seeds behind and took Oscar back to the academy.

"Brother Fan, I planted 100 seeds," Oscar said, looking at Lu Fan with a grin.

Lu Fan nodded. "One hundred seeds would be 20 copper coins, but I only have gold and silver coins on me right now. Wait until I go buy some fertilizer tomorrow; once I get change back, I'll pay you."

Oscar nodded.

He trusted that Lu Fan wouldn't cheat him.

Just as they returned to the dormitory, they saw Ma Hongjun snap out of his meditative state, looking at the two of them with dissatisfaction. "You two are really disloyal. You actually left me behind to suffer while you two ran off to have fun."

Lu Fan waved his hand. "We weren't having it easy either; we went to the back mountain to plant flowers."

Lu Fan was feeling a bit tired, so he told Oscar to explain to Ma Hongjun what they had been doing.

He climbed onto his bed, intending to take a short nap.