Chapter 35: Chapter 35: "Farming Glorifies the Clan, Pig-Raising Honors the Ancestors.
Tonight was the third night since the rainy season began.
Chen Fan stood guard on the City Wall with Lame Monkey and a few others, preparing for the night’s crisis. Meanwhile, Zhou Mo and the others who had been busy all day were already asleep under his orders.
However...
They watched and watched, and then it was dawn.
...
"..."
Chen Fan’s brow furrowed slightly as he watched the darkness recede like a swift tide. An entire night had passed.
Dawn had broken.
Last night could even be described as peaceful and quiet.
There was no Meat Worms’ Ghost Tide, no ghostly woman in a sedan chair, not even a single passing Ghost Object. The area around the camp was silent, without a single sound.
It should have been a good thing.
But...
’I can’t handle too many Ghost Objects, but having too few isn’t good either. I specifically built ten new Arrow Towers to face the onslaught of Ghost Objects during the rainy season. Why didn’t I see a single one last night? Where did they all go?’
Killing Ghost Objects was currently his main source of Ghost Stones.
’If I can’t even see a single Ghost Object, where am I supposed to get Ghost Stones?’
He narrowed his eyes in thought for a long moment before turning to Lame Monkey and the others who had stood with him in the rain all night. "Alright, it’s dawn. Pack it up and go get some sleep."
’This isn’t right.’
’The rainy season can’t be this calm.’
’An anomaly like this is a bad omen. We’ll have to be even more prepared for tonight.’
Just then—
He looked out at the Farmland beyond the wall and suddenly broke into a smile. Under the first rays of sunlight, the seedlings in the fields began to grow rapidly, bearing plump fruits. The round, bountiful produce was a delightful sight.
The first batch of crops was mature. It was time to harvest!
"Chief."
Full of energy, Zhou Mo jogged up the steps to the City Wall. "The few of us have had more than enough sleep. What’s the mission for today?"
Chen Fan glanced at Zhou Mo and Qi Chong, who was standing behind him. He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Qi Chong, you’re staying off field duty today."
"In a bit, I want you to harvest all the fruit from the Farmland."
"Zhou Mo, your job today is to bring back resources from the nearby fallen stations to the camp. Wang Kui and the others have already cleared out most of the closer ones. The remaining stations are farther away. Don’t get greedy—safety first."
"Understood!"
Zhou Mo stood in the downpour, brimming with motivation, and shouted with a wide grin.
"Chief... I..."
Standing to the side, Qi Chong’s eyes flashed with shame and embarrassment. He couldn’t help but lower his head. "I..."
"It’s fine."
Chen Fan shook his head and patted Qi Chong’s shoulder with a smile. "There’s plenty of work to be done inside the camp, too. It’s no less valuable to the camp than field duty."
Yesterday, Qi Chong had been sent out on this mission.
However...
He hadn’t brought back a single Ghost Stone.
Not long after leaving the camp with the Ghost Map, he had lost his grip, and the map was blown away by a strong gust of wind. He ended up wandering around in the storm all day like a headless chicken.
He had only managed to find his way back to camp by a stroke of luck just as the eternal night was about to fall.
He was lucky.
Lucky he hadn’t died.
For the camp, Ghost Maps were a non-renewable resource. Including the one in his own hands, they only had five in total. Now that Qi Chong had lost one, only four remained. Chen Fan didn’t dare send him out on field duty again.
’I can’t risk him losing another map and getting a couple of people killed.’
’That would be a huge loss.’
"I..."
Qi Chong’s lips trembled, but in the end, he couldn’t get a word out. He just buried his head, not daring to meet Chen Fan’s gaze.
"Then I’ll be off, Chief?" Zhou Mo asked with a cheerful smile.
"Go on."
...
Lame Monkey and the others were already asleep.
Chen Fan stood by the Farmland, watching Qi Chong, who had rolled up his pant legs and was busy harvesting fruit. He looked thoughtful. ’He’s actually quite skilled at this farm work.’ He asked casually, "Were you a farmer before?"
"Yeah."
Qi Chong wiped the rain from his face and quickly stood up to answer. "Farming became a lot of trouble after the eternal night fell. Ghost Objects don’t destroy Farmland, but farmers have to travel back and forth between the city and the fields outside, which takes a long time."
"Many commerce associations started their own farms in large, natural safe zones. Before I joined the Wild Wolf Gang, I worked at a farm in Jiangbei City under the Pingtian Commerce Association."
"It was all just Ordinary crops."
"Never grew anything like this."
"That’s good."
Chen Fan smiled and nodded lightly. "From now on, you’ll be in charge of this Farmland."
Then he turned his gaze to the man behind Qi Chong. "This brother of yours is a quick worker, too. What’s your name?"
"Chief."
The rough-looking man spoke in a deep, booming voice. "My name is Ah Le. I used to work with Brother Qi at a farm, where I was in charge of raising pigs. Later, I left the farm to join him."
"Pig farming?"
"Yup."
"Perfect."
This time, Chen Fan couldn’t help but laugh. One brother for agriculture and one for animal husbandry; they were a perfect set for him.
"You’ll be in charge of animal husbandry in the camp from now on. We don’t have any animals for you to raise just yet, so for now, you can help Brother Qi with the farming. When we get some, you’ll take over the livestock."
"Whatever the Chief says."
"Put these fruits and the Ghost Materials we stripped yesterday into that Wooden House over there."
"You got it."
He had used two Ghost Stones to build a Wooden House inside the camp, just beyond the City Wall, intending to use it as a Warehouse in the future.
They had killed a good number of Mantis Ghosts the night before last.
Their Mantis Arms were Ghost Materials.
They could be used for forging.
He had no use for them at the moment, but he could collect them now and use them later.
It would take some time to harvest everything, so Chen Fan didn’t wait. He turned and walked toward the Wooden House, planning to get some sleep and deal with things after he woke up.
He pushed the door open and went inside.
Thanks to the "Heating System 1.0," the room was extremely warm, without a hint of cold. It was still a bit damp, but much less so than before.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the "Rainy Season Countdown Calendar" on the wall, which had another day crossed out. He smiled but said nothing.
’Zhou Mo must have crossed it out before he left.’
’That guy...’
’He sure loves his little rituals.’
...
"Brother Qi."
In the camp’s Farmland, Ah Le carefully plucked the rain-soaked fruit, speaking in his deep voice, "Brother Qi, yesterday we failed the mission and lost the Ghost Map. Did the Chief say anything to you this morning? I saw you guys talking on the City Wall when I woke up, but I didn’t dare go up."
"No."
Qi Chong shook his head. "But he probably won’t let me go on field duty anymore. You heard him just now. The Chief wants me to be in charge of 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, you’ve always been good at farming, Brother Qi."
"But I joined the Wild Wolf Gang precisely because I thought farming had no future. Now I’m back to farming. Didn’t you think raising pigs was a dead end, which is why you came to join me?"
Qi Chong sighed helplessly. He truly wanted to make a name for himself; otherwise, he wouldn’t have become a station chief in the first place—it was anything but a safe job. But he was discovering... he just might not have what it takes.
"That’s not it."
Ah Le shook his head. "I never thought raising pigs was a dead end. It’s a skilled trade. The pigs I raised were always the heaviest when they went to market, and my piglet survival rate was the highest. With a skill like that, I’ll never starve, no matter where I go."
"It’s just that after you left, Brother Qi, there was no one to talk to. I got lonely, so I came looking for you."
"Besides, farming this time is different from before."
"Who was your boss before, Brother Qi?"
"A junior supervisor at a farm under the Pingtian Commerce Association."
"And now?"
"An Architect..."
"It’s not what you do that matters, it’s who you do it for."
Ah Le continued in his booming voice as he worked, "Follow the right person, and you get promoted. Do the right thing, and you get rich. Follow the right person *and* do the right thing, and you get promoted *and* rich."
"..."
Qi Chong froze, staring blankly at the busy Ah Le. It took him a long moment to snap out of it. The jumbled thoughts in his mind suddenly cleared as if he’d been struck by enlightenment. He felt a surge of motivation course through him, a passion for farming he’d never felt before in his life. He grinned and cursed playfully.
"You little rascal..."
"You know, if the camp can survive this rainy season and the Farmland keeps expanding... won’t my position be much bigger than a station chief in the Wild Wolf Gang?"
"Of course! It’ll be way, way bigger."
"Then wouldn’t you get a big position too?"
"Hehe."
Seeing that Brother Qi had come around, Ah Le let out an honest, simple laugh.
"Farming brings honor to the family, raising pigs brings glory to the ancestors. The two of us together? We’ll bring honor *and* glory to our ancestors."
