"Farming Brings Glory to the Clan, Raising Pigs Honors the Ancestors"

Tonight was the third night since the Rainy Season arrived.

Chen Fan led Crippled Monkey and the others in standing guard atop the City Wall, prepared to face tonight's crisis. Zhou Mo and the others, who had spent the day running about, had been ordered by him to sleep early.

Yet—

As they kept watch, dawn came.

"..."

Chen Fan frowned slightly and looked toward the darkness rapidly receding like the tide. The night had already passed.

Dawn had come.

Last night could even be described as calm and tranquil.

There had been no Meatworm Wraith Tide, no female wraith sitting in a sedan chair, not even any passing Strange Entities. The surroundings of the camp had been utterly silent, without the slightest sound.

That should have been a good thing.

But—

He couldn't handle it if there were too many Strange Entities, but too few wouldn't do either. He had specifically built ten new Arrow Towers, intending to welcome the onslaught of Strange Entities during the Rainy Season. Yet he had not seen a single Strange Entity last night. Where had they all gone?

Killing Strange Entities was currently his primary source of Eerie Stones.

If he could not even find a single Strange Entity, where was he supposed to get Eerie Stones?

After narrowing his eyes in thought for quite some time, he looked at Crippled Monkey and the others, who had stood with him on the City Wall in the rain all night. "All right, it's dawn. Clean yourselves up and go back inside to sleep."

This was not reasonable.

The Rainy Season could not possibly be this calm and tranquil.

When something was abnormal, there had to be a demon lurking beneath it. They needed to make even more thorough preparations tonight.

Just then—

He looked toward the Farmland outside the city and suddenly smiled. Under the first ray of sunlight, the seedlings in the Farmland abruptly began growing at a rapid pace, bearing abundant fruit. Each one was plump and round, looking exceptionally delightful.

The first batch of crops had matured. It was time to harvest them!

"Station Chief."

Zhou Mo, looking brimming with energy, jogged up the stairs to the City Wall. "The few of us have slept our fill. What tasks do we have today?"

Chen Fan looked at Zhou Mo and Qi Chong standing behind him, pausing briefly before continuing.

"Qi Chong, don't go out on field duty today."

"Later, pick all the fruit in the Farmland."

"Zhou Mo, you'll be responsible for moving the resources from the nearby destroyed stations back to the camp today. The closer ones were mostly moved away by Wang Kui and the others at the beginning. The remaining stations are all farther away. Don't be greedy for too much. Safety comes first."

"Understood!"

Zhou Mo stood in the pouring rain, grinning broadly and shouting with vigor.

"Station Chief... I..."

Qi Chong, standing to the side, had a trace of shame and embarrassment flash through his eyes. He could not help lowering his head. "I..."

"It's fine."

Chen Fan shook his head and smiled as he patted Qi Chong's shoulder. "There are plenty of things to do inside the camp too. Their value to the camp is no less than going out on field duty."

Qi Chong had been sent out to carry out this task yesterday.

Only—

He had not brought back even a single Eerie Stone.

Not long after Qi Chong left the camp holding the Ghosthide Map, he failed to grip it tightly enough. The map was blown away by the strong wind, leaving him completely directionless as he wandered through the storm for an entire day.

Only when Eternal Night was about to descend did he luckily find the camp.

He had been fortunate.

He had somehow not died from that.

The Ghosthide Map was a nonrenewable resource for the camp. Including the one in Chen Fan's hands, they only had five in total. Qi Chong had lost one, leaving only four. Chen Fan did not dare send Qi Chong out on field duty again.

What if he lost another map and got two more people killed?

That would be a huge loss.

"I..."

Qi Chong's lips moved a few times, but in the end, he still could not say a single word. He merely lowered his head, not daring to meet Chen Fan's gaze at all.

"Then I'll be off, Station Chief?" Zhou Mo asked with a cheerful grin from the side.

"Go on."

Crippled Monkey and the others had already gone to sleep.

Chen Fan stood beside the Farmland, looking thoughtfully at Qi Chong, who had rolled up his trouser legs and was busily picking fruit in the fields. To his surprise, this fellow was actually quite skilled at farm work. He casually asked, "You used to farm?"

"Yeah."

Qi Chong wiped the rain from his face and hurriedly rose to answer, "After Eternal Night descended, farming became very troublesome. Although Strange Entities would not destroy the Farmland, farmers had to travel back and forth between the city and the Farmland outside it, which took a long time."

"Many merchant associations therefore opened farms within large natural Safety Zones. Before joining the Wild Wolf Gang, I worked at a farm under the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association in Jiangbei City."

"They were all ordinary crops."

"I've never grown anything like this."

"Very good." Chen Fan smiled and nodded lightly. "You'll be responsible for this Farmland from now on."

He then turned his gaze toward the subordinate behind Qi Chong. "Your brother is quite quick with his hands too. What's his name?"

"Station Chief."

This rough-looking man answered in a muffled voice, "My name is A Le. I used to work at the same farm as Brother Qi, where I was responsible for raising pigs. Later, I left the farm to follow Brother Qi."

"Raising pigs?"

"Mhm, mhm."

"Good."

This time, Chen Fan could not help laughing. One of these brothers farmed while the other handled livestock. They happened to complete the set for him.

"You'll be responsible for livestock in the camp from now on. There's nothing for you to raise for the time being, so follow Brother Qi and farm first. Once we have something, you'll take charge of the livestock."

"I'll listen to Station Chief."

"Put these fruits and the Ghost Materials unloaded yesterday in that Wooden Hut over there later."

"Got it."

He took out two Eerie Stones and built a Wooden Hut inside the camp outside the City Wall, planning to use it as a warehouse in the future.

They had killed quite a few Mantis Entities last night.

Their Mantis Arms were Ghost Materials.

They could be used for forging.

He had no use for them for the time being, but he could collect them first and use them later.

It would still take some time to finish picking everything. Chen Fan did not wait any longer and turned toward the Wooden Hut, intending to sleep first and deal with the rest after waking up.

He pushed open the door and entered.

With the support of the "1.0 Heating System," the room was exceptionally warm, without the slightest chill. It was still somewhat damp, but much less so than before.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the "Rainy Season Countdown Calendar" on the wall, where another day had been crossed out. He smiled but said nothing.

Zhou Mo had probably marked it before heading out.

That fellow—

He really had a sense of ceremony.

"Brother Qi."

In the camp's Farmland, A Le carefully picked the fruit dampened by rain while asking in a muffled voice, "We failed to finish the mission yesterday and even lost the Ghosthide Map. Did the Station Chief scold you this morning? When I woke up, I saw you talking on the City Wall, so I didn't dare go up."

"No."

Qi Chong shook his head. "But he probably won't let me go out on field duty anymore. You heard it just now too. The Station Chief told me to be responsible for this Farmland from now on."

"Isn't that a good thing? I think farming is much safer than field duty. We almost didn't make it back yesterday. Besides, Brother Qi, you were good at farming to begin with."

"But I joined the Wild Wolf Gang precisely because I thought farming had no future. Now I've become a farmer again. Didn't you also think raising pigs had no future, which was why you came to rely on me?"

Qi Chong sighed helplessly. He truly wanted to rise above the crowd. Otherwise, he would never have become a station chief. Being a station chief was no safe job, after all. But he seemed to have realized that he truly did not possess that kind of ability.

"No."

A Le shook his head. "I never thought raising pigs had no future. Raising pigs is skilled work. The pigs I raised were always the heaviest when they went to market, and the survival rate of the piglets was also the highest. With this skill, I wouldn't go hungry anywhere."

"It was only because Brother Qi left, and no one talked to me anymore. I felt a little lonely, so I came to find you, Brother Qi."

"And this farming is different from the farming we did before."

"Who was your superior before, Brother Qi?"

"A minor supervisor at a farm under the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association."

"And now?"

"A Builder..."

"What you do isn't important. Who you do it for is what matters."

A Le busied himself as he spoke in his thick voice. "Follow the right person, and you'll get promoted. Do the right thing, and you'll make money. Follow the right person and do the right thing, and that is promotion and fortune."

"..."

Qi Chong froze where he stood, staring blankly at the busy A Le. Only after a long while did he finally come back to himself. The countless thoughts in his mind instantly became clear, like enlightenment pouring over his head. He felt overflowing with energy from head to toe. Never in his life had he felt so driven about farming. He grinned and cursed.

"You brat..."

"Now that you mention it, if the camp can survive the Rainy Season and the Farmland keeps getting bigger in the future, wouldn't my position be far greater than that of a Wild Wolf Gang station chief?"

"It would definitely be much, much greater."

"Then wouldn't you get to be a high-ranking official too?"

"Hehe."

Only after seeing that Brother Qi had come around did A Le finally smile foolishly.

"Farming brings glory to the clan, raising pigs honors the ancestors. The two of us together will bring glory to the clan and honor the ancestors."

(End of Chapter)