Farmers

Pfft—

"Wuya."

Roundball let out a comfortable sound, its fluffy body emitting wisps of heat.

Watching Roundball's contented state, Aurelian Sol finally recalled what was happening.

Damn it, isn't this taking a dump?!!

It was one thing for you to eat the wheat seeds, but to do your business right in front of me? I can't take this anymore!

Do you not want those two hundred cookies anymore?

Roundball let out a startled cry as he hoisted it into the air.

Then, a pile of blue objects fell out, catching the corner of Aurelian Sol's eye.

"What is this?"

Ignoring Roundball's struggles, he squatted down and, not minding the filth, picked up the blue items to examine them closely in his palm.

They were actually the wheat seeds Roundball had just swallowed, only now these seeds were flowing with an icy blue light.

He could feel that it was Frost magic.

"So that's how it is. By assimilating the seeds with highly compatible Frost magic, other seeds could be assimilated in the same way to sprout in the Frostlands. Even crops originally unsuitable for northern cultivation could be grown here, or even magical herbs with extremely harsh planting requirements!"

Aurelian Sol said excitedly. He envisioned every type of crop from the Star Kingdom being planted in vast fields across the Frostlands, his warehouses overflowing with magical herbs, flowers, and grain.

"I've really struck gold this time."

Aurelian Sol stared at the still-struggling Roundball, his eyes gleaming as if he were looking at a towering mountain of gold.

He knew that with Roundball, he had the foundation to gain a foothold in the Frostlands, a chance to stand firm and even develop his territory.

With the memories of his past life, he knew clearly that if he could develop the Frostlands to their limit, they might not be inferior to the Star Kingdom within the Great Wall.

The Frostlands were simply too vast; even excluding the Mount Abif mountain range, which was a forbidden zone for life, the area to the south alone was as large as half the Star Kingdom.

Because of the Great Wall, the nobles of the Star Kingdom had little influence here, limited only to the small human settlements near the wall in the south.

"Hume, hurry and transport all the seeds over. Not just wheat seeds, others will do too—even those that require warmer temperatures to grow, bring them all over!"

Aurelian Sol turned his head and said excitedly to Hume.

"Understood, My Lord. I shall have people see to it immediately."

Hume noticed that his master was very excited, though he didn't understand what had happened—perhaps the problem of the seeds failing to grow had been solved.

But as a shrewd administrator, he knew that as long as he followed the Lord's instructions, he couldn't go wrong.

He lifted his quivering rolls of fat and, moving his short legs, ran toward the warehouse where the seeds were stored.

It must be said, although Hume was fat, he didn't run slowly; as it turned out, fat people could be quite agile.

Aurelian Sol turned back to look at the Roundball in his hand, placed it gently on the ground, and said in a coaxing tone.

"Roundball, work hard. Once you've finished with the seeds, I'll have the head chef bake you a whole room full of bread. You can eat as much as you want."

"Wuya!"

Roundball shook its head frantically.

"I'm not exploiting you; this is for our bright future."

Aurelian Sol said with a straight face. He was absolutely not exploiting it.

How could this be exploitation? This was hard-working, plain-living entrepreneurship, striving for a beautiful future.

To summarize in eight characters: this was self-improvement and arduous struggle!

As for why Roundball understood the meaning of exploitation, Aurelian Sol could only shrug; perhaps it was born with knowledge—it was a genius.

"Roundball, this is for our future. As long as you work hard, I promise you'll have endless bread and cookies in the future, in any flavor you want. How about that? Don't you feel like you've reached the peak of your ball-life?"

He spoke in a seductive tone, looking exactly like a creepy uncle luring a little girl to come see his goldfish.

"Wuya!"

"What? You want delicious cakes too? Of course, you'll have them. There will definitely be such a day, I, Aurelian Sol, promise you."

Aurelian Sol's face was full of smiles.

Why was there a sense of guilt in his heart? Was this the thrill of deceiving a child?

I love it.

Aurelian Sol pursed his lips and felt happy.

"Coming, coming, Lord Aurelian!"

Panting, the fat man Hume brought a group of serfs, pushing several wooden carts as they ran over quickly.

"The seeds are all here."

Fatty Hume wiped the sweat from his face and said, sounding exhausted.

Aurelian Sol looked closely, his face showing disappointment as he said, "How can there only be a few bags, and all of them are wheat seeds? Are there no other seeds?"

"That is all there is, My Lord. The original seeds were already sown by the serfs, but unfortunately, they have all turned to charcoal."

Hume shook his head, looking at Aurelian with a helpless expression.

"Sigh, let it be. When there is an opportunity, we shall go outside and buy some more."

Aurelian sighed; it seemed he had rejoiced too soon.

These few bags of wheat seeds would likely not even be enough to cover the reclaimed farmland, and the harvest would surely be meager.

"My Lord, what I am worried about is whether there is enough time for the wheat to mature. There are only three months left until winter arrives, and Star Wheat requires four months to grow, even in the south."

Hume's fleshy forehead furrowed as he offered his reminder from the side.

"We must try regardless; this is our final chance. Rest assured, I will not abandon this territory."

Saying this was, of course, intended to comfort Hume. If he, the lord, lost all hope, his subordinates would likely lose their drive as well, leaving their hearts filled with nothing but despair.

If that happened, they would truly have no choice but to wait for death!

"Roundball, stop watching. It all depends on you. Hurry up and finish eating these, then get to work."

"Wuya! Wuya!"

Roundball shrieked, using its voice to express its stance.

"Refusal is invalid. You must work."

"Ah, this..."

Hume watched his lord conversing with that magical creature, his face full of question marks. How could his lord possibly understand it? The creature only knew how to make that 'wuya' sound.

"Less talk, more work. Roundball, hurry up and get to it. We don't keep idlers here."

Aurelian tried his best to look stern as he urged Roundball on.

Roundball's intelligence was no lower than a human's; otherwise, it would not be bargaining with Aurelian.

Seeing that it had to work, it could only let out a sigh and crawl toward the wooden cart filled with wheat seeds.

The serfs standing by the cart widened their eyes. What had they just seen? This ball-like creature had actually sighed just like a human!

Seeing Roundball approach, the ignorant serfs quickly retreated, keeping a distance of several meters from the bizarre creature.

Roundball merely snorted with haughty disdain, they don't understand my cuteness.

Exerting force with its four limbs, it leaped into a sack filled with wheat seeds.