Spirit Spring

The village chief wanted two-year-old loquat saplings, while Zhao Danshi bought only three-year-old ones—twenty in total. The village chief bought two, Zhao Danshi bought fifteen, and Huazhi's uncle threw in the remaining three one-year-old saplings as a gift.

The loquat saplings cost Zhao Danshi nine hundred yuan altogether, using up every cent he had earned from selling vegetables over the past few days.

The old man ran his hand over the three-year-old seedlings that had just been delivered on the tricycle, his eyes full of heartache. "These saplings are really expensive!"

"Expensive, yes, but they taste good. Didn't you say their loquats were the best within a hundred miles? Big, sweet, and with small pits."

"That's true, but these saplings are too small. They'll probably need another two or three years before they flower and bear fruit."

The batch of loquat saplings they had bought was only about one and a half meters tall. Their branches were thin and spindly, and even if they could bloom and bear fruit, they would not produce much. The old man felt that spending nine hundred yuan on such a pile of loquat saplings was a bit of a loss.

Zhao Danshi did not mind. "Two or three years, then. As long as the loquats are good quality, waiting another two years is nothing. Grandpa, don't feel bad about it. The saplings are expensive, but the loquats will be expensive too. Go take a look at the market—early loquats cost more than ten yuan a jin. We can sell ours at that price too. We should be able to make our money back in one season."

The old man shook his head. "There aren't many early-ripening varieties around here. These loquats probably won't ripen that early either."

Zhao Danshi was quite confident. With Watcher around, there was no way he could lose money.

The household went through fertilizer quickly. They still had quite a lot of chemical fertilizer left from outside purchases, but they had almost used up all the Spirit Fertilizer. Once these loquat trees were planted, Zhao Danshi planned to apply some base fertilizer first.

He had also sold some vegetables to Watcher recently, leaving him with more than three hundred Bio-Energy on his account. He bought two jin of Spirit Fertilizer and planned to mix it with nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate fertilizers before burying it farther away, so it would not burn the roots.

After making the sale, Watcher spoke to him in his mind. "Besides Spirit Fertilizer, do you want to buy anything else? For example, Spirit Spring Water. I have Lower-Grade Spirit Spring Water, Mid-Grade Spirit Spring Water, Upper-Grade Spirit Spring Water, and Premium Spirit Spring Water. Didn't you dig a pond? Put some Spirit Spring Water into it, and whatever you raise will thrive."

It was the first time Zhao Danshi had heard Watcher mention this, and his interest was immediately piqued. "What effects does Spirit Spring Water have?"

Watcher became enthusiastic. "It has all sorts of effects. It can nourish living things. Spirit Spring Water can be added to ponds, but it is also good for daily drinking. It strengthens the body and extends one's life. Don't you have an elderly person and a child at home? Wouldn't it be great to buy some for them to try?"

Zhao Danshi calmly asked, "Do you drink it once, or do you need to drink it every day?"

"Drinking it once has the effects of drinking it once, and drinking it every day has the effects of drinking it every day." Watcher coaxed him patiently. "The effects are most obvious in the elderly and children. Just let them drink it for a while, and you'll know."

"Then how much does Spirit Spring Water cost?"

"Mm, that's easy. Premium Spirit Spring Water costs one hundred thousand Bio-Energy per jin, Upper-Grade Spirit Spring Water costs ten thousand Bio-Energy per jin, Mid-Grade Spirit Spring Water costs one thousand Bio-Energy per jin, and Lower-Grade Spirit Spring Water costs only one hundred Bio-Energy per jin."

Zhao Danshi took a deep breath and called out, "Senior Brother!"

Li Ping put down what he was holding and walked over. "What is it?"

Zhao Danshi pointed into the air, then turned his head toward Li Ping and said, "Watcher is trying to persuade me to buy Lower-Grade Spirit Spring Water. One hundred Bio-Energy per jin."

Watcher had been introduced to Li Ping, and only Zhao Danshi and Li Ping in the household could see him.

When Watcher met Li Ping's eyes, he slowly floated backward, putting more distance between himself and Li Ping.

Li Ping raised an eyebrow. "You're charging that much for such basic supplies?"

His tone was thick with disdain.

Watcher refused to back down. "No matter how expensive it is, can it compare to the health of the elderly and children? Spirit Spring Water is far more effective than the supplements in your world."

"No matter how effective it is, people generally do not need it. Who goes out of their way to take supplements for no reason? Besides, who else can you sell this Spirit Spring Water to other than us? Your price is so high that there's a price but no market."

"Price reflects value. If I sell it for less than that, I might as well keep it in my Marketplace."

Li Ping asked, "How much Lower-Grade Spirit Spring Water can you produce in a year?"

"Eight hundred... pfft, Spirit Spring Water isn't produced by me. I'm only selling it on behalf of someone else."

Li Ping did not argue with him. He merely said, "Twenty-five Bio-Energy per jin. If you're willing to sell, we'll buy a few jin to try. Any more expensive than that, forget it. You know our situation. At one hundred Bio-Energy per jin, we can't afford it."

Watcher: ...He had just slashed the price by three quarters. What kind of crooked merchant had taught him?

Watcher spun twice in midair. Just as he was about to refuse, he thought about how little Bio-Energy that would bring in. It would be a loss.

Li Ping drawled, "You should think it over. If you don't sell it to us, it'll just sit there collecting dust and taking up space. You might as well sell it to us at a discount so we can try it first. If we think it's good, you can raise the price later. Maybe we'll grit our teeth and buy it anyway. What business on the market doesn't give up some profit first to attract customers? Why don't you learn from them?"

Watcher was still hesitating.

Li Ping continued, "Twenty-five Bio-Energy isn't low, either. The vegetables we usually grow only sell to you for around 0.5 Bio-Energy per jin, while they can sell for five or six yuan per jin at the market. By that calculation, one jin of your Lower-Grade Spirit Spring Water is worth fifty jin of vegetables—two or three hundred yuan. A jin of water is only that much, yet you still think the price is low? You wouldn't happen to be asking an outrageous price, would you?"

After Li Ping's calm, unhurried explanation, Watcher actually spent several seconds reflecting on himself.

Watcher thought it over. "Fine. This won't be our only transaction. Twenty-five Bio-Energy per jin it is. How many jin do you want?"

Li Ping turned back to Zhao Danshi. "Danshi, how much Bio-Energy do we have left in our account?"

"Two hundred sixty-three point seventy-five." Zhao Danshi had just bought Spirit Fertilizer, so he knew exactly.

Li Ping nodded. "Then we'll take ten jin. Are you sure even an infant can drink Spirit Spring Water?"

"Of course. This is only Lower-Grade Spirit Spring Water. Feel free to give it to Dou Dou. He definitely won't suffer indigestion."

Watcher was fairly trustworthy in this regard. Zhao Danshi transferred the Bio-Energy to Watcher, then went to the kitchen and brought back a clean bucket, asking Watcher to fill it with Spirit Spring Water.

Zhao Danshi carefully carried the bucket back to his room and told the old man that it contained newly purchased divine water that was very expensive, so he should not touch it.

The moment the old man heard the word "expensive," he immediately said, "Don't worry, I definitely won't touch it. What did you buy? You're even calling it divine water."

"It's just a special kind of water. You'll know once you try it later."

Zhao Danshi first poured a cup for himself and Li Ping. If they had no adverse reactions by evening, he would let the old man and Dou Dou drink it too.

Sure enough, the Spirit Spring Water was crisp and sweet. As it flowed down their throats, it brought an entirely different kind of pleasure.

Only after seeing them buy so much at once did Watcher realize that they did not dislike it—they were simply short on funds. He decided that he had to raise the price next time he sold Spirit Spring Water. Twenty-five Bio-Energy was far too cheap. His colleagues had traveled through so many worlds, yet he had never heard of anyone selling Spirit Spring Water for only twenty-five Bio-Energy per jin.

Zhao Danshi paid no attention to Watcher's thoughts. Ten jin of Spirit Spring Water was enough for them to use for a while. At such an expensive price, who knew when they would buy it again? If they did not buy it, then however much Watcher raised the price would have no effect on them.

After buying the Spirit Spring Water, Zhao Danshi and Li Ping, the two young men, planted all fifteen loquat trees in a single day.

They also went to a fish fry farm and bought a thousand fingerlings. There were grass carp, black carp, silver carp, bighead carp, and various other fish. After releasing them, Zhao Danshi planned to simulate a wild environment and let the pond fish grow slowly, then drain the pond and catch the fish next year.

Li Ping filmed the entire process. The barren mountain changed dramatically in an incredibly short time. First, they dug a pond and brought in clear stream water. Then, they planted a ring of loquat trees around the pond. Clear water, green trees, and blue sky—after only half a month, the place had become quite a sight.

Li Ping captured all of it on camera. Even with only simple editing, the transformation was immensely interesting to watch.

Based on the footage, Zhao Danshi quickly decided what this episode would be about. He planned to edit together the whole pond-digging process, then make pickled cabbage boiled fish to show viewers what the pond would yield in the future.

Pickled cabbage boiled fish was easy to make. Most of the fish sold by fishmongers in their area were farmed, and very few were raised on feed.

The best fish were those raised in reservoirs. The reservoir water was good, and the fish got plenty of exercise, making their flesh firm and sweet. They had no fishy taste at all, only exceptional freshness.

Zhao Danshi and Li Ping went to the market to pick out fish, specifically choosing the stall that sold reservoir fish. They bought a large black fish weighing more than three jin and brought it home.

They chopped the pickled cabbage, drained it dry, and slowly stir-fried it in a pan without oil or salt. Once the last trace of moisture had been cooked away, they added chili peppers, garlic, sand ginger, and other seasonings, stir-fried until fragrant, then set it aside.

They sliced the fish meat into thin pieces, saving the bones, head, and tail. They chopped those into three sections and pan-fried them in oil until both sides were golden. Then they added red chilies and ginger slices, poured in the prepared meat broth, and brought it to a boil over high heat. Once it had cooked enough, they added the pickled cabbage and finally slipped in the fish slices.

After all the food had been placed in a large basin, they topped it with dried chilies, chopped scallions, and Sichuan peppercorns. A drizzle of hot oil made the entire bowl of pickled cabbage boiled fish sizzle. Its rich, fresh aroma surged up, and even through the camera, one could imagine how delicious the fish was.

Li Ping was highly skilled at filming and editing. Zhao Danshi felt that he had performed decently enough, but not exceptionally well. Yet after Li Ping filmed him, the video showed him moving smoothly and effortlessly, with an unhurried, composed expression. Mundane chores like digging holes, planting trees, and cooking fish were filmed with an almost otherworldly air. Even Zhao Danshi himself felt a longing for the pastoral life in the video.

"Senior Brother, you filmed it so well. I never noticed that the sky here was so beautiful, or that the courtyard was so rustic and natural."

Through Li Ping's camera, their village had clearly become a hidden paradise. The sky was a deep blue, and the trees were lush and green. The stream, swollen by mid-spring rains, was especially lovely. It lay across the riverbed and flowed onward like it was singing, babbling all the way. It could practically be used as white noise.

Li Ping turned to look at him and smiled. "People who aren't working naturally think it's beautiful. When we're in the middle of it, creating this scenery with our own hands, the exhaustion makes even the most beautiful view lose some of its charm."

"That's true. But looking at it from another angle, this place really is unbelievably beautiful."

"Since you're satisfied, let's upload this video." Li Ping stretched lazily. "From now on, we'll maintain an update schedule of once every half month and try to keep the release time fixed so we can attract followers."

Zhao Danshi had no objections. He nodded firmly. "All right. We'll try to keep the release time fixed from now on. I've already thought of it, Senior Brother. For the next video, let's film ourselves gathering stone snails. I've noticed that people are especially interested in things they can get for free. Gathering stone snails will definitely bring back childhood memories for many people."

"We have stone snails here?"

"Yes, in that Stone Creek up in the mountains. I asked Spoon, and he said no one has gone up there to gather stone snails for many years. I went to take a look last time. The stone snails in the stream are already quite large, so now is the perfect time to gather them and eat them."

Stone snails were more delicious than pond snails and did not have that muddy, fishy taste, so they were very popular. However, stone snails mostly grew in colder water and grew rather slowly, unlike pond snails that could mature in a year. Zhao Danshi had been away for so many years that he had not eaten stone snails in a long time. Just thinking of the taste made him crave them a little.

"All right, then we'll go gather stone snails to eat next time. Let's first see how this video is received."

The video they had posted last time had been up for so long, yet it only had a little over two hundred shares and more than fifty comments. The results were truly not great.

At first, Zhao Danshi was somewhat worried, afraid that he was not cut out for this. He had spent so much time and effort for nothing, and even wasted money buying equipment. Li Ping told him not to rush. This sort of thing depended on gradual accumulation, and being anxious would not help.

After uploading the video, they refreshed the page several times. Sure enough, nothing new appeared.

Zhao Danshi simply stopped paying attention to it. He closed the computer and planned to start organizing the content for the next episode.

They needed to make a plan for filming videos as well—when to shoot, where to shoot, how much time each shot would take, and so on. Otherwise, they would take many unnecessary detours during the actual filming and might even have to come back to reshoot scenes.

Just as Zhao Danshi was thinking seriously, Watcher suddenly spoke in his mind. "Have you noticed that the past two episodes you made were both food videos?"

"Hm?" Zhao Danshi did not understand. "What exactly are you trying to say? You might as well say it directly."

"I think your videos aren't perfect enough." Watcher said bluntly, "The foods in your videos are all fairly basic. If you want to use that as a major selling point to attract viewers, I'm afraid it won't work."

Internet users these days had sharp eyes. If something was not good, they would not even bother paying attention to it.

Zhao Danshi's heart stirred. Tilting his head, he focused and asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"