Huo Po

Cheng Shuili nodded, "The strength is certainly there, the area is vast, and there is plenty of land, which is why I said the more, the better."

The old woman clearly did not believe her, asking with a soft, scoffing laugh, "Vast? How vast could it be? There isn't a word of truth in the mouths of you humans. Whenever I mention an inspection, you lot start bowing and scraping with apologies."

"It is truly vast."

Cheng Shuili's voice remained completely devoid of fluctuation, as if the person being questioned was not her at all.

This calm attitude made the old woman suspicious, but she remained steadfast in her belief. "There isn't a word of truth in the mouths of humans, unless I, this old woman, see it with my own eyes..."

"Then, please, go ahead," Cheng Shuili interrupted her directly.

Seeing it with her own eyes—she certainly had no problem with that, but this was her territory. Could this beastman really enter?

The old woman clearly had not expected this human to be so decisive. Whenever she used this method before, those guys would either hem and haw or simply confess.

Looking at it this way, what this human said was likely the truth.

Thinking of this, the old woman put away her snide expression and asked seriously, "How big is it exactly?"

Cheng Shuili knew when to stop, "At least over thirty thousand mu, I suppose?"

The old woman had already begun to believe Cheng Shuili's description of the territory being vast, but upon hearing this number, she furrowed her brows again, and her expression shifted. "Are you here to make a fool of this old woman?!"

She glared at Cheng Shuili, her cloudy yellow eyes filled with rage and the humiliation of being deceived.

"Over thirty thousand mu?! You human child, do you know what the concept of thirty thousand mu even is? What lord could possess such a vast expanse of stable land? Even at the peak of the beastman town, the amount of cultivated farmland never reached this number! How dare you speak such nonsense!"

Su Rui's brows furrowed as she took half a step forward, seemingly wanting to say something, but was stopped by a look from Cheng Shuili.

Cheng Shuili's face remained calm, and she looked back at the old woman placidly: "I am speaking the truth. My territory currently does indeed have over thirty thousand mu of arable land, and it is still increasing."

Her tone was so certain, and her gaze so candid, that it caused the enraged old woman to choke on her words.

The old woman suspiciously looked Cheng Shuili up and down, as if judging whether she had gone mad or if she truly possessed that much land.

After a long while, she let out a cold laugh. Her voice remained hoarse, but her anger had softened, replaced by deep suspicion:

"Fact? Empty words carry no weight! If you truly have thirty thousand mu of land, I, this old woman, would even give you my stock of seeds for free! But if you are lying to me..."

She did not continue, but the glint flickering in her narrowed eyes clearly did not promise anything good.

"It can be verified," Cheng Shuili said cleanly and decisively. "As long as you can enter a player's territory, you are free to tour it. Is that acceptable?"

The old woman was stunned for a moment, clearly not having expected Cheng Shuili to propose this solution. She pondered for a moment, the anger on her face gradually replaced by a complex calculation: "...I, this old woman, have my own ways to stay for a short time. But if you are lying and wasting my time and energy..."

"If I am lying, this bag of strawberries is just a small apology, and I will have greater gifts to offer later," Cheng Shuili replied.

"Moreover, even if it were only a portion of the land, our need for seeds is real and substantial. Establishing a long-term and stable trading relationship with a leader who possesses vast lands should not be a bad thing for you."

The old woman stared at Cheng Shuili, her fingers unconsciously stroking the plump strawberry. The red juice seemed as if it were about to seep out from the skin.

The sweet fragrance constantly tempted her.

Long-term, stable, substantial...

These words were fatally attractive to a seed merchant, especially one like her who could stably produce merchants.

What's more, what if... what if it was actually true?!

As long as what this human said was true! This old woman would never have to worry about selling seeds again!

She could even simply join this territory; that way, when she did research or the like, this human might even be able to provide her with some financial support.

After thinking for a long time, the old woman slapped her thigh, "Fine!"

"I, this old woman, will go with you! If it's true, everything is negotiable! If it's fake..."

She snorted and did not continue, but the threat was palpable.

"I will not let you down."

Cheng Shuili nodded slightly.

With the matter settled, Cheng Shuili operated the faction panel according to the old woman's requirements.

According to the old woman, this was called a temporary pass, which only a lord could issue. With this, she could follow Cheng Shuili into her territory.

Cheng Shuili had been completely unaware of this item before. Upon following her instructions, she discovered that applying for this required game coins.

One thousand game coins per pass, and each pass could only be used once.

The item was named 【Temporary Pass】, and its function was written right in its name.

Cheng Shuili glanced at the old woman a few times, feeling somewhat hesitant. After all, she was doing business; whether it was anyone else, paying one thousand game coins just to buy seeds would make them hesitate, right?

Yesterday, that Cai Bao who provided information had only been given two thousand game coins, and they had provided key intelligence, so Cheng Shuili naturally had to show some courtesy.

And now...

Cheng Shuili glanced at the old woman again. Before she could say anything, the old woman was already annoyed by the look.

"Is it going to cost one thousand game coins? Young person, being this stingy won't do. If you aren't willing to lose the bait, you won't catch the fish. If you want to make big money, you have to be willing to spend it first."

Was that how these idioms were used?

Cheng Shuili grumbled inwardly, but her words were not at all polite: "If you agree to definitely sell me seeds, I will apply for this pass for you. How about that?"

The old woman had originally thought that she was trying to hold her hostage, or that she was guilty and unwilling to let her enter the territory, which was why she was dragging her feet. She had not expected that it was because she felt she was losing money.

Moreover, these words sounded like those of someone who did business. The old woman did not really care about the one thousand game coins; she only cared about whether her time had been wasted and whether this human was deceiving her.

She only hoped to find a regular customer for long-term cooperation, or simply to join a reliable territory so she could study seed hybridization and mutation in peace. Now that she had luckily encountered such a capable human, she was naturally happy and had already thanked that little girl Zhou Zhuxing several times in her heart.

But in words, she certainly couldn't reveal her purpose so quickly.

"This little girl has a sharp abacus," the old woman snorted, but her expression softened. "Afraid that I, this old woman, will freeload your pass, wander inside, and then not sell you seeds?"

Cheng Shuili nodded candidly: "After all, one thousand game coins is not a small amount. Being cautious is never a mistake."

"Fine!" The old woman was straightforward. "I, this old woman, can promise you that as long as your territory is truly as vast as you say and allows me to see the potential for long-term stable cooperation, my warehouse's seeds will be supplied to you first, and the prices will be calculated based on those for regular customers! But I'll say the ugly things first: if you are bluffing, or if the land is barren and nothing can be planted, then don't blame me for turning around and leaving!"

"It's a deal."

Cheng Shuili wanted exactly this promise and immediately began operating the system interface.

【Do you wish to consume 1000 game coins to apply for a Temporary Pass (Single Use) for "Old Gardener - Huo Po"?】

Cheng Shuili chose "Yes".

A faint light flashed over Huo Po, and the system notified her that the application was successful.

"Let's go," Cheng Shuili signaled.

"You can return to the territory directly; I, this old woman, will follow you in."

Cheng Shuili nodded and chose to return to the territory. Su Rui naturally followed along.

When the scene appeared before them again, the two humans and one beastman stood together. The others in the territory had been busy with their own tasks, chatting from time to time, but upon noticing the situation here, they all stopped what they were doing.

"The Boss is back?"

"Boss!"

These were greetings, which could be said to be very polite.

There were also impolite ones: "Who is that old hag next to the Boss?"

As soon as these words came out, they were retorted by someone else: "That is an old grandmother!"

"Is it a beastman NPC? Is she here for business?"

"If you know it's for business, why are you gossiping? If the deal falls through later, you'll be finished!"

This was Xinxue's voice. Truly reliable.

Xinxue's voice was not loud, but it was enough to make the several members gossiping nearby immediately fall silent. They exchanged glances and lowered their heads to continue their work, though their eyes could not help but curiously glance this way.

Huo Po ignored the gossip and scrutiny, as her entire attention had been firmly captured by the scene before her.

She stood where she was, her cloudy yellow eyes now wide, her thin, gaunt body leaning forward slightly. Her nostrils flared repeatedly, greedily breathing in the unique aura of this land!

The fishy scent of fertile soil, the freshness of the newly sprouted buds, and the faint aroma of food wafting from afar...

All of this intertwined to form a vibrant world, completely different from the beastman town where she resided or the territory of the badger-race.

Such a world... was simply too rare.

Her gaze passed over the nearby land that had already been sown and was showing tiny bits of new green, casting toward the distance. Patch after patch of neatly divided dark brown ridges extended toward the horizon, almost beyond sight.

Further away, one could vaguely see more members working in the fields, and there was one familiar figure. It was that human girl she favored, Zhou Zhuxing; she was here too.

"This... this..." Huo Po's voice was dry and trembling. She subconsciously walked forward a few steps, squatted down, and used those hands covered in calluses and traces of mud to carefully scoop up a handful of soil.

The soil flowed through her fingers—soft, moist, and rich in humus.

It was clear that the person who tended this land had deep feelings for it.

"Good land... truly good land..." she muttered to herself. Her cloudy eyes actually welled up with a trace of moisture. "How many years has it been since I've seen such fertile land... So much... so much..."

She stood up abruptly, turned toward Cheng Shuili, and the previous arrogance, suspicion, and calculation had all vanished. Only excitement and a kind of near-pious fervor remained on her face: "Lord Leader! You... you did not lie to me! Here... this is simply paradise!"

The speed of this personality change was simply too fast, and Cheng Shuili did not know what expression to use toward her, so she simply did as before, politely and distantly stating: "Can we talk business now?"

"Talk business?" On Huo Po's face was genuine confusion. "What business is there to talk about?"

Su Rui was enraged: "What? Now that you see our territory is large, you want to go back on your word? We just agreed that you would supply seeds first and the prices would be based on those for regular customers!"

Only then did Huo Po react, hurriedly waving her hands, her face filled with an eager smile:

"Oh, it's a misunderstanding! Huo Po did not mean that! I meant, what is there to talk about regarding ordinary business!"

She turned to Cheng Shuili, her tone so eager it was nearly fawning:

"Lord Leader, do you think this will work? I, Huo Po, the best old gardener of the badger-race, will bring all my seed inventory and this bit of meager skill to join your territory directly!"

"Seeds? I will take them all out as a token of my allegiance! From now on, all seed supply, farmland planning, and crop improvement for the territory will be handled by me! I don't want anything else, I only ask that you mark out a plot of test fields for me so I can focus on my research and give me a bite to eat!"

This sudden submission left even Cheng Shuili slightly stunned.

She looked at the old badger-race woman who was trembling with excitement, the light flickering in those cloudy eyes being pure, near-obsessive love for the land and crops.

Su Rui was also stunned, her anger dissipating, replaced by a trace of sudden realization.

"So that's it, no wonder you insisted on seeing the territory. So you were thinking of marrying into the family!"

Marrying into the family?

Cheng Shuili was silent. Was this term used like that again?

Yet, Huo Po nodded with a smile, looking at Cheng Shuili with longing, "Let me marry into the family, Lord Leader!"

Cheng Shuili: "..."

But these were minor matters; the real business was what mattered.

Cheng Shuili did not answer immediately. She pondered for a moment and asked: "Your seed inventory, how much exactly is there?"

Seeing that there was a chance, Huo Po immediately listed them as if they were her own family heirlooms: "For staples, the high-yield wheat seeds are enough to plant about eight hundred mu, the drought-resistant corn seeds are enough for five hundred mu, and there are rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes... In total, covering two thousand mu is no problem! There are even more vegetable and fruit seeds—tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, radishes... and all kinds of cash crops, like cotton, flax... As long as there is enough land, I guarantee I can plant them all for you!"

This quantity far exceeded Cheng Shuili's expectations, enough to solve the immediate crisis, and could even be said to mean that she would never lack seeds in the future.

Self-sufficiency was beckoning to Black Feather!

Cheng Shuili already wanted to agree, and Huo Po's self-recommendation continued.

"As for my skills," Huo Po straightened her hunched back, her face bearing the pride belonging to a technician, "Lord Leader, you can ask that girl Zhou Zhuxing. What she learned from me is only skin-deep! Soil improvement, crop hybridization, disease-resistant breeding... I am not bluffing, in the entire beastman town, you won't find a second person who understands crops better than I do! If you keep me, you are keeping a happy life for the future!"