Chapter 138 - 129: Abundance
He got up and went to the farmland.
Qin Ziwen took out the Building Enhancement Card.
The yellow Card’s surface glowed with an orange-gold luster. Its face depicted a scene of a bountiful harvest.
[Building Enhancement Card] Bountiful: Can bestow the special effect "Bountiful" upon an agricultural building.
Bountiful: The yield of all crops from this building is increased. Additionally, the area no longer requires fertilization or soil conditioning and will remain perpetually fertile. Some plants with special growing conditions will have their requirements ignored.
The most suitable target for this Enhancement Card was the Level 3 Farmland.
Qin Ziwen used it on the farmland.
𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
As the light faded, the farmland looked the same as before.
[Level 3 Farmland: Level 3 Growth Acceleration, Level 3 Fertile] (Special Effect: Bountiful)
But through Insight, he could see that the enhancement had taken effect.
"Hm?" He looked toward the mysterious tree in the corner of the farmland, the one transplanted from the Giant Toad’s lair.
It had been dormant ever since it was moved, but after the "Bountiful" effect activated, the tree’s leaves seemed to be unfurling.
Walking over, he noticed something strange about the tree’s roots. He had previously assumed it liked rocky environments, since it had been growing in the crack of a rock.
Thinking it might prefer that kind of environment, he had specifically brought over some stones and placed part of its root system on them.
But now, the roots had almost completely pulled away from the stones, bypassing them to dig deep into the soil. They seemed to "disdain" the rocks.
’So... it wasn’t that it liked rocks, but that it had no other choice back in the cave?’
Realizing this, Qin Ziwen fell silent for a moment before moving the stones away.
As he bent down, he glanced up. "Hm?"
Beneath the branches, tiny little flower buds had quietly formed at some point. They were hidden under the leaves, impossible to spot without close inspection.
"It’s already about to bloom? I’ll have to see what its effects are after it bears fruit." Qin Ziwen was filled with anticipation. He suspected the Giant Toad’s immense size might be related to this fruit, though, of course, that was just a guess.
He checked the other crops in the farmland again. They were developing very quickly. The transplanted cherry tomato plant had already started to bear fruit. Although the fruits were small, at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before they were ready to be harvested.
"So this is a Level 3 Farmland," Qin Ziwen marveled. ’This speed is honestly absurd.’
Just then, a knock came from the door.
After Qin Ziwu opened it, Zhao Pu, who was standing outside, said he had something to report to Mr. Qin.
Qin Ziwen came out when he heard. Zhao Pu stepped forward and said, "Mr. Qin, I found someone selling fish. He has some at his place, and he agreed to the price you suggested: an equal weight in cured meat."
"Alright, let’s go." Qin Ziwen put on his jacket and followed Zhao Pu out.
By the river in the gated community, a crowd had gathered on the bank, creating a lively scene.
As he got closer, Qin Ziwen realized they were all watching the alligator in the river.
On the water’s surface, an alligator about five meters long floated like a dead log, its head exposed as it stared at the crowd on the shore.
SPLASH!
Someone threw a rock into the river.
It nearly hit the alligator, sending up a spray of water.
GLUG GLUG GLUG...
The alligator submerged, disappearing beneath the surface.
Qin Ziwen noticed that it wasn’t just him; many people’s fear of the alligator seemed to have diminished significantly.
Of course, they still showed it a healthy dose of respect.
As the alligator dived, some people who were closer to the river’s edge quickly backed away.
A few men who had been fishing cursed under their breath, reeled in their lines, and retreated up the bank.
One of them waved to Zhao Pu. "Over here!"
Zhao Pu led Qin Ziwen over.
Zhao Pu introduced him to Qin Ziwen. "Mr. Qin, this is Old Xiang, the master fisherman of our gated community. I only found out recently, but before we crossed over, he was a fishing vlogger with over a hundred thousand fans."
"Heh, that’s all in the past," Xiang Hongtao said, waving his hand dismissively.
Qin Ziwen gave him a second look, feeling that he seemed familiar.
Suddenly, it clicked. He remembered.
’He’s the guy who was selling fishing rods downstairs on the first day after we crossed over.’
He immediately asked, "Brother Xiang, you were selling fishing rods before, weren’t you?"
Xiang Hongtao waved his hands hastily. "Not anymore, I’m not selling them anymore."
Seeing the looks on their faces, Xiang Hongtao realized he had been overly sensitive.
He sighed and explained, "The other day, after I sold a rod to a woman, she broke it while fishing and came back to find me, claiming I sold her a counterfeit.
It was a brand-name product! I even had the receipt! I’d only bought it three months ago, how could it be a fake?
She demanded I give her a new one. When I refused, she just camped out at my door and wouldn’t leave, constantly knocking."
Zhao Pu was surprised. "So you gave it to her?"
Xiang Hongtao was silent for a moment. "Yeah."
"She demanded it, and you just gave it to her?" Zhao Pu was even more surprised.
Xiang Hongtao sounded aggrieved. "What else could I do? She brought her whole family to squat at my door. They were all cut from the same cloth, especially her father. They can go without sleep, but my family needs to rest."
Not wanting to dwell on the topic, Xiang Hongtao lifted the bucket in his hand. "You said you’d trade cured meat for my fish by weight. I caught three this morning, and I have a dozen or so more at home. If you want them, you can come back with me now to get them."
Zhao Pu looked at Qin Ziwen, who nodded. "We’ll take them."
"Let’s go."
Xiang Hongtao led them to Apartment 901, 9th floor, Unit 1 of Building 8. He had converted his kitchen’s laundry sink into a small fish tank, lining the bottom with river mud and adding some aquatic plants and stones.
Crucian carp, common carp, and grass carp swam lazily in the tank.
Xiang Hongtao looked at Qin Ziwen, having already figured out that the young man was the one in charge. "There are twelve in here, seven in another tank, plus the ones I caught this morning, that’s twenty-two fish in total. Are you sure you can trade with cured meat?"
"No problem," Qin Ziwen nodded.
"Alright then, I’ll weigh them now." Xiang Hongtao found a digital scale in his home.
He first filled a basin with water and weighed it, then added the fish, subtracting the weight of the water to get the weight of the fish.
After weighing them in several batches, Xiang Hongtao gave a number. "Thirty-three pounds. I’ll round it down for you, let’s just call it thirty pounds."
"Wait here, I’ll go get the meat now."
Their apartments weren’t far apart. Qin Ziwen crossed over from the rooftop directly to Unit 2, then went home to get the meat and weigh it.
He then completed the trade with Xiang Hongtao.
Qin Ziwen obtained twenty-two live fish.
In return, Xiang Hongtao received cured meat, which had a longer shelf life. Besides, the weight of the fish included guts, bones, and scales; getting seventy to eighty percent of that in pure meat would be a good yield.
For both parties, it was a win-win situation.
Qin Ziwen rushed back home. These fish had been kept out of the river for some time, so he first put them into his pond.
The fish entered the water, flicked their tails, created ripples, and vanished beneath the surface in the blink of an eye.
He took out the Level 1 Fishpond Card and used it.
Light enveloped the entire Fish Pond. As it faded, the pond’s edge had transformed. The original earthen bank was now a platform built of stacked bluestone.
Furthermore, a wooden deck extended out from the front.
Hanging from the side posts of the wooden deck were a fish basket, fishing nets, Earth Cage, and a scoop net, among other things.
The pond water was placid, its color now deeper, and the entire Fish Pond seemed to have gained depth.
He picked up a long-handled scoop net to test it.
He quickly confirmed that the Fish Pond’s depth had indeed increased. It was now nearly 3 meters deep, a full meter deeper than before.
Not only that, but the waterweeds, duckweed, and other plants in the pond had also become much lusher.
[Level 2 Fish Pond: Level 1 Fish Comfort, Level 2 Fish Growth Boost, Level 1 Lush Waterweeds]