[Soft soil: suitable for planting basic crops]
After digging and loosening the soil for a while, Ye Fei finally saw the little patch of ground before him reach the condition he needed.
"Dig a hole, put in a seed, sprinkle on some water, cover it with soil..."
Ye Fei took out two Tomato Seeds and planted them about half a meter apart.
He used roughly the same spacing for the Chinese Cabbage Seeds. After planting all five, he had a small vegetable patch in his yard.
[Planted soil, not yet sprouted]
The patch was half a meter wide and a little over three meters long. After Ye Fei stared at it for a while, a new label appeared.
"Yip~ Yip~"
Qingxue the Little Fox rubbed against Ye Fei's cheek, then raised a little paw and pointed toward the house. She had smelled something delicious.
"Let's go. Time to head back and get ready to eat!"
Ye Fei checked the time. The frozen ground had been truly hard to dig. That tiny patch had taken him more than half an hour.
Half an hour had passed, and when he opened the door, the house was already filled with the aroma of chicken soup.
"Yip~"
Little Dumpling jumped over beside the bed as soon as she entered and lay down obediently, waiting for Ye Fei to tell her she could eat.
As far as she was concerned, this human would never let her go hungry. If he hadn't given her food yet, that meant she needed to wait a little.
After taking care of his personal needs, Ye Fei washed his hands. When he came out, he switched off the power and began preparing lunch.
The man and the fox cub ate half a chicken and a basin of chicken soup, then headed out again without needing a rest.
Before leaving, he checked the seeds in the ground. They still hadn't sprouted, and there was no time displayed either.
He did carefully inspect the Pine Tree seedling, though, and confirmed that it had grown about three centimeters taller. Even so, it still only reached his lower leg.
This wasn't the real world, after all.
The change in the Pine Tree seedling convinced Ye Fei that the vegetables he had just planted would be ready for the pot before long.
"Awo!"
After being quiet for a while, Qingxue the Little Fox suddenly stood up on Ye Fei's shoulder, raised a little paw, and pointed to the right.
"Over there? What's there?"
Ye Fei looked over. That direction led uphill, somewhere he hadn't been yet.
"Yip! Woo... yip~"
The little fox couldn't understand Ye Fei's question, but she could tell from his eyes that he was asking her what was there.
Unfortunately, Ye Fei couldn't make any sense of her cries and wobbling gestures.
"Awo!"
Unable to explain, Qingxue the Little Fox jumped off his shoulder and ran in that direction. He couldn't tell whether she was angry with Ye Fei or frustrated by her own inability to make herself understood.
"Slow down..."
Ye Fei hurried after her. Watching the little fox dart away, he was now absolutely certain that he really couldn't run as fast as a fox cub...
After following her for about ten minutes, Ye Fei saw what the little fox was aiming for.
A Supply Crate, and a Green-Quality Supply Crate at that.
He went over and dug away the snow. Under the little fox's expectant gaze, Ye Fei put the crate straight into his inventory.
Of course, if he opened a Supply Crate and put its contents away, matching items could be stacked.
But this was a Green-Quality Supply Crate. Its contents couldn't possibly be the same as a white-quality one's. If several different items came out, he would be in trouble.
"Qingxue, you're amazing!"
Ye Fei scooped the little fox up again. Seeing the proud look in the little thing's eyes, he praised her, set her back on his shoulder, and continued searching for anything else nearby.
[Dying Pine Seedling] [Ice]
When Ye Fei found another Pine Seedling, he also picked up something that should have been plentiful around here, yet this was his first time collecting it.
Ice.
"This stuff..."
Ye Fei stared at the ice, dumbfounded. Surrounded by ice and snow, he had actually gotten ice as a drop...
[Ice (white): material, gathering drop]
This ice was white quality, something entirely different from the ice and snow covering the ground.
Ye Fei could only put it away for now and worry about it when he needed it.
His inventory had had a few empty slots when he left, but now it was full again.
"Let's go. We'll head home and plant the tree first."
With no space left in his inventory, Ye Fei stopped searching and headed straight home.
The little fox obediently returned to his pocket and curled up. She didn't concern herself with where Ye Fei was taking her.
After running straight home, Ye Fei picked up the farming tools in the yard and continued digging a hole to plant the tree.
[The second tree in the snowfield: you planted a second tree in your yard, bringing your Greening Points to 10. Reward: 10 survival points]
Having unexpectedly completed another task, Ye Fei opened his house's stats to check. Sure enough, a Greening Points entry had been added.
[Greenery: 10 points (increasing greenery brings vitality to your home. The higher your Greening Points, the faster plants within your home will grow)]
Greening Points represented the growth rate of the plants he would grow at home. That was something Ye Fei hadn't anticipated at all.
Still, everything was moving in a good direction. The plants he had put in hadn't sprouted yet, so he figured two trees didn't have much effect.
What made him happiest was his current survival points total: 15.
Another five points, and he could buy other items. Although he didn't know what the semifinished goods could be used for, they were sure to be necessities later.
"Qingxue, eat these two Heart Pills. We're not looking for Supply Crates this afternoon. Your master is going to chop trees!"
Looking at his nearly full inventory, Ye Fei opened the survival pack he had received at noon. As before, it contained two of each of the three medicines.
The Blood-Replenishing Pills and Spirit-Restoring Pellets could be stacked, so he gave both Heart Pills directly to the little fox.
"Yip, yip~"
The Little White Ball opened her mouth and ate both Heart Pills, rolled around in Ye Fei's palm, and was then tucked back into his pocket.
[After taking Heart Pills, your pet "Qingxue" gained 6 loyalty points and 28 happiness points] [Pet happiness has reached its maximum. Growth speed increased by 100%]
The sudden notifications appeared. Her happiness had reached its maximum, triggering a boost to her growth speed.
Her loyalty had risen quite a bit too. It was already at 75.
Only another 25 points were needed to reach maximum loyalty. Ye Fei was now rather eager to find out whether the little fox might undergo some special evolution once it was full.
Something like being able to understand human speech.
Before you continue