"Boss Sister, boss sisterrr~"
Althea turned to look at two dumplings running towards her with their little legs, propelling them forward with their boundless energy.
Fufi had already bolted some time ago and was now running alongside them.
Maya was ambling towards her with Theo in hand. They had bright smiles on their chubby cheeks and the adults (the farmers and their helpers) who saw them couldn't help but watch them fondly.
With the current situation and the tragedy everyone went through, even if the kids stood motionless for an hour, there would be someone to dote on them.
Even if it was visualizing the children they lost on them, there would definitely be someone tearing up in the vicinity.
There were also animal lovers, with the survival rate of domestic animals even worse than children. There was definitely no lack of people spoiling Fufi. He had gained a lot of weight and she swore to get someone to train him soon so he didn't get too unhealthy.
Althea looked beyond them and saw there wasn't anyone behind the children. Seeing that they were alone running around the territory, Althea knew that the adults had already started working on their respective tasks.
Fortunately, the territory was very safe, and any damage or danger to residents would actually alert the 'authorities', i.e. currently, just the lord or Drake, whom she assigned as such.
All dangerous flaura, fauna, and insects were also expelled in the area when she created her territory. She found this out when Sheila no longer applied her insect repellant and asked permission to sell only to people going outside, instead.
"Children." She said, patting their little heads as they entered her arm's length. "Do you want to watch them farm?" She asked, head pointing at the hardworking men (and women) who were occasionally looking in their direction.
"Are they farming now?" Maya looked on with interest. "Like what me and Papa did in the house!"
"Yes," she smiled. "It is indeed very similar to what you did yesterday."
"What are we planting?"
"Rice and wheat. The beef rice meal you like so much couldn't happen without these."
"Ooooohh." Maya said, fascinated. Theo also had his mouth with an o-shape, showing off his shaky front tooth, also expressing his feelings. It was adorable.
The group of four walked around the fields with interest, and she introduced the kids to the friendly farmers.
Of course kids will be kids, so they did eventually get bored. Seeing this, Althea smiled and looked to a direction, to the undeveloped area of the territory. "Shall we walk around the forests?"
And of course, the kids agreed with glee, and they (including Fufi) bounced about as they followed Althea to the nearby forests.
The perks of under developed territory was that resources were everywhere, and it was safe.
For now, while the population was still small, she didn't limit the harvesting of resources within the walls too much. At least for now.
The refresh rate was amazing anyway. She'd just add the rule of prohibiting taking the roots.
Although it was difficult for her to lean down, the two children were very good and helped her. She taught them some basic knowledge on how to handle the digging, and how to make sure every harvest was sustainable, in the process.
Surprisingly, Theo's pick up was even better than Maya. Too bad he couldn't speak, otherwise he'd have been asking a lot of questions now.
"Can you get me that, Maya?" She asked, as she distracted the kids to handle a safe plant.
This was because next to them she saw an unknown pink plant attached to a tree like a fig.
She was afraid the children would touch it accidentally. She had already analyzed with her skill it and saw its use.
[Soft Vine (Lv2): Muscle relaxant]
Not only could this be used in medicine, but there was also a more important use (for her, anyway).
But touching it could have a few side effects…
She took out her gloves and took some samples, for use as well as to replant and propagate back home.
The moment they got back home, she went to the kitchen and walking to Harold who was preparing some ingredients for their next meal.
"Boss?"
She handed a basket of pinkish plants and placed them on the counter. "Try to soften monster meat with this, we can't be dependent on your pressure cooker forever."
Especially, it wouldn't be able to handle the amount of orders when the restaurant opened.
As she pointed at the plants, she looked at him with a mysterious smile. "Try not to handle too much bare-handed though, lest your muscles soften too much."
"What?"
"Mix it when you marinate, but don't soak your hands on it."
"Oh, okay." Harold said, blinking, the use of the thing slowly dawning on him.
When it did, his shoulders immediately tensed in excitement. "Let's try it for dinner." Harold said, excitedly handling the meat and marinated it with the new plant.
Of course, because it was new he also experimented in the concentration with varying success.
When the meat was served that dinner, everyone pretty much drooled.
Today's meat dish was Stormdoer meat stew. There was a combination of vegetables and herbs (vouched safe by Althea) with a scent that permeated the air.
The meat was tender morsels that oozed of fragrance, begging to be chewed. When it entered their mouths, the meat melted, and their eyes shut as they appreciated the taste.
Indeed, the meat served was even better than before! It had a special floral aroma to it that fit well with the traditional taste of meat.
She also tested the dish and there weren't any volatile reactions at all. If anything, it blended really well with the other ingredients.
Dinner was sumptuous and that night's rest was estimated to be particularly nice.
And it was made even happier… because Althea finally received her long-awaited notification.
[Detected! Conditions for upgrading Village Center had been met! Would you like to upgrade?]