Spirit Spring

The village chief wanted two-year-old loquat saplings, while Zhao Danshi wanted only three-year-old ones. There were twenty in total: the village chief bought two, Zhao Danshi bought fifteen, and the other three one-year-old saplings were a gift from Huazhi's uncle.

The loquat saplings cost Zhao Danshi nine hundred yuan altogether, swallowing up all the money he had made selling vegetables over the past two days.

The old man felt the three-year-old seedlings that had just been delivered by tricycle, his eyes full of distress. "These saplings are really expensive!"

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

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

The loquat saplings they had bought were only around one and a half meters tall, with thin, scraggly branches. Even if they could flower and fruit, they would not bear 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 is fine. As long as the loquats are good quality, waiting another two years is nothing. Grandpa, stop feeling bad about it. These saplings are expensive, but loquats are expensive too. Go look at the market—early loquats sell for more than ten yuan a jin. We'll sell ours for that price too. We should 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 very early either."

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

The household used a great deal of fertilizer. There was still plenty of chemical fertilizer bought outside, but the Spirit Fertilizer was almost used up. Once these loquats were planted, Zhao Danshi planned to apply some base fertilizer first.

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

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

It was the first time Zhao Danshi had heard it mention such a thing, and his interest was piqued. "What does Spirit Spring Water do?"

Watcher perked up. "It has plenty of benefits. It can nourish living things. Spirit Spring Water can be poured into the pond, but it is also good for you to drink every day. It strengthens the body and extends life. Don't you have an old man and a child at home? Wouldn't it be great to buy some for them to try?"

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

"Drinking it once has the effect of drinking it once, and drinking it every day has the effect of drinking it every day." Watcher coaxed him patiently. "Its effects are most obvious on the elderly and children. Try drinking 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 set down what he was holding and walked over. "What is it?"

Zhao Danshi pointed at the silver-white Watcher floating in midair and turned to Li Ping. "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 it.

When Watcher met Li Ping's eyes, it slowly drifted backward, putting some distance between them.

Li Ping raised an eyebrow. "You're selling even basic supplies at such a high price?"

There was unmistakable disdain in his tone.

Watcher refused to be outdone. "No matter how expensive it is, can it be more important than 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, most people do not need it under normal circumstances. Who goes out of their way to take supplements? Besides, who else can you sell this Spirit Spring Water to except us? Your price is so high that there's no market for it."

"Price reflects value. If it sells for less than that, I might as well leave 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 others."

Li Ping did not argue with it. "Twenty-five Bio-Energy per jin. If you're willing to sell, we'll buy a few jin to try. Any higher, forget it. You know our situation. We can't afford one hundred Bio-Energy per jin."

Watcher: ...He had cut the price by three quarters in one go. Which profiteer had taught him this?

Watcher spun around twice in midair, just about to refuse. Selling it for so little Bio-Energy would be too much of a loss.

Li Ping said leisurely, "You should think it over. If you don't sell it to us, it'll just sit in your storage 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 doesn't give up a little profit first to attract customers? Why don't you learn from that?"

Watcher was still hesitating.

Li Ping continued, "Twenty-five Bio-Energy is not low. The vegetables we usually grow only sell to you for around zero point five Bio-Energy per jin, while they 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. There isn't even much water in a jin. You still think that price is low? You aren't just asking an outrageous price, are you?"

After hearing his calm, unhurried argument, Watcher actually reflected on itself for several seconds.

Watcher considered it. "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 and asked Zhao Danshi, "Danshi, how much Bio-Energy do we have left on our account?"

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

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

"Of course. This is only Lower-Grade Spirit Spring Water. You can give it to Dou Dou without worry. It definitely won't cause 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 cleaned bucket for Watcher to pour the Spirit Spring Water into.

Zhao Danshi carefully carried the bucket back to his room and told the old man that it contained newly bought divine water, that it was extremely expensive, and that 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 each for himself and Li Ping. If there were no adverse reactions by evening, he would give some to the old man and Dou Dou.

Sure enough, the Spirit Spring Water was truly clear and sweet. As it flowed down his throat, it brought an entirely different kind of enjoyment.

Seeing them buy so much in one go, Watcher finally realized that they did not dislike it—they were merely short on funds. It decided that it absolutely had to raise the price next time it sold Spirit Spring Water. Twenty-five Bio-Energy was far too little. Its colleagues had traveled across so many worlds, yet it had never heard of anyone selling Spirit Spring Water for only twenty-five Bio-Energy per jin.

Zhao Danshi paid no attention to its inner thoughts. Ten jin of Spirit Spring Water was enough for them to use for quite a while. At such an expensive price, he did not know 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 the fish hatchery and bought one thousand fingerlings, including grass carp, black carp, silver carp, bighead carp, and other varieties. 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 once-barren hill changed dramatically in a very short time. First, they dug a pond and led in the clear stream water. Then they planted a ring of loquat trees around the pond. Clear water, green trees, blue sky—after only half a month, the place was already quite beautiful.

Li Ping captured all of it on camera. Even with only simple editing, watching the transformation was extremely interesting.

Based on the footage, Zhao Danshi quickly decided what this episode would feature. He planned to edit together the entire pond-digging process, then make boiled fish with pickled mustard greens to show viewers the future bounty of the pond.

Boiled fish with pickled mustard greens was easy to make. Most fish sold by fishmongers around here were farm-raised, but they were rarely fed commercial feed.

The best fish were raised in reservoirs. The water quality was good, the fish got plenty of exercise, and their flesh was firm and sweet. They had no fishy smell at all and were instead exceptionally fresh and delicious.

Zhao Danshi and Li Ping went to the market to pick out fish. They specifically chose the stall selling reservoir fish and bought a snakehead weighing more than three jin.

They chopped up the pickled mustard greens, drained them dry, and slowly stir-fried them in a wok without oil or salt. Once the last bit of moisture had cooked away, they added chili peppers, garlic, sand ginger, and other ingredients, stir-fried them until fragrant, and set them aside.

They sliced the fish meat into thin pieces, reserving the bones, head, and tail. They chopped those into three sections and fried them in oil until both sides were golden, then added dried red chilies and ginger slices, poured in the prepared meat stock, and brought it to a boil over high heat. Once it had cooked for a while, they added the pickled mustard greens and finally slid in the fish slices.

After serving everything in a large basin, they scattered dried chilies, chopped scallions, and Sichuan peppercorns over the top. A drizzle of hot oil made the entire basin of boiled fish with pickled mustard greens sizzle, and a rich, savory fragrance rose up. Even through the camera, one could imagine how fresh and delicious the fish was.

Li Ping was highly skilled at filming and editing. Zhao Danshi felt that he had performed decently, though not exceptionally well, yet after Li Ping filmed him, his movements in the video were smooth and flowing, his expression leisurely and composed. Even mundane tasks like digging pits, planting trees, and cooking fish took on an otherworldly air. Even Zhao Danshi himself began to yearn for the pastoral life in the footage.

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

Through Li Ping's lens, their village had clearly become a paradise hidden from the world. The sky was a vivid blue, and the trees were lush and green. The stream, swollen in mid-spring, was especially charming. It lay along the riverbed and flowed all the way down like it was singing, splashing and murmuring, practically perfect as white noise.

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

"That's true. Looking at it from another angle, this place really is incredibly beautiful."

"Since you're satisfied, let's upload the video." Li Ping stretched lazily. "From now on, let's keep to an update schedule of once every two weeks and try to fix the release time to attract followers."

Zhao Danshi had no objections. He nodded vigorously. "All right, then 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 collecting stone snails. I've noticed people are especially interested in things that come for free. Collecting stone snails will definitely bring back childhood memories for plenty of people."

"We have stone snails here?"

"Of course. They're in Stone Creek up in the mountains. I asked Brother Spoon. He said no one has gone up there to collect stone snails in years. I took a look last time, and the stone snails in the stream are already quite large. It's the perfect time to collect them and eat them."

Stone snails had tastier flesh than field snails and lacked that muddy, earthy smell, making them very popular. However, stone snails mostly grew in colder waters and grew rather slowly, unlike field snails that could mature within a year. Zhao Danshi had been away for so many years that he had not eaten stone snails in a long time. Thinking of that flavor now made him a little hungry.

"All right, then next time we'll go collect stone snails to eat. Let's first see how this episode performs."

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 very good.

At first, Zhao Danshi had been a little worried, afraid that he simply was not suited for this. They had spent so much time and energy on it for nothing and even wasted money buying equipment. Li Ping told him not to rush. This sort of thing depended on slow accumulation, and rushing would not help.

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

Zhao Danshi simply stopped paying attention to it. He shut down the computer and planned to begin planning the content for the next episode.

They needed to make a production plan for filming videos too. They had to figure out when to shoot, where to shoot, roughly how long 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 both of your recent videos have been food videos?"

"Hm?" Zhao Danshi did not understand. "What exactly are you trying to say? Why not just say it directly?"

"I think your videos aren't perfect enough." Watcher said bluntly, "The food in your videos is all rather 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?"