Chapter 84: The Farm Has Secretly Upgraded

It was Fang who secretly told her daughter-in-law—the assistant who went out with Li Sheng was wearing a sweater knitted by his own wife. Because of that, Li Sheng wanted one too, and wanted it very much. But why didn't he say so at first? He acted aloof, making Tang Xin chase after him several times, as if she was begging him to accept a gift. Hmph, such a reserved and sulky man!

Oh heavens, knitting a sweater is no easy feat. Yet Tang Xin considered herself a gifted student; such a small thing shouldn’t stump her. So she specifically went to the brigade leader’s house to learn from his daughter-in-law for a few days. There was no other way—her mother-in-law was a traditional, old-fashioned woman, skilled at making clothes and embroidery, but knitting, with its hint of novelty, was beyond Fang’s abilities.

Tang Xin was troubled. Clearly, when she watched Sister Fang from the brigade leader’s house knit, it seemed simple enough; why was it so difficult when she tried herself? She frequently made holes and missed stitches. She struggled through one sleeve, nearly on the verge of collapse. She forgot to leave an opening, so both sides of the sleeve were sealed tight—how was anyone supposed to wear it?

Even the honest Fang struggled to suppress her laughter, pressing her lips together to keep from smiling. Li Kai and Li Xiyue laughed outright, teasing her mercilessly. Yet it only fueled Tang Xin’s determination. The key was, she had already bought the yarn, and her husband had specifically requested the sweater. She had boasted confidently in front of him. She dug her own pit—now she had to fill it, no matter what, even if it meant crying over it.

Tang Xin hid under the covers, pounding her husband’s chest, “It’s all your fault, all your fault.” Of all the gifts he could want, why a sweater—one that had to be hand-knitted by her, no less. Of course, Tang Xin conveniently forgot that she was the one who first insisted on giving him a gift.

Li Sheng laughed, deliberately catching her small hand and asking seriously, “What’s wrong?” Her little punches didn’t hurt him in the least; it was other things that pained him.

If she kept hitting him like this, they’d soon be turning off the lights and getting into bed. But it was still early; Li Sheng was in good spirits and full of energy. He just worried that his feisty little wife would cry again in the morning, refusing to get up and blaming him for everything.

Tang Xin pouted, refusing to speak. Li Sheng stroked her hair and said, “Silly girl, did you really take my words to heart? If you find it hard, don’t knit it. I’m warm enough; I don’t need a sweater, and I still have my cotton-padded jacket unworn.”

That wasn’t true. If her mother-in-law hadn’t told her the truth, Tang Xin might have believed Li Sheng. But now, “No, nothing in the world is too difficult for someone determined. Since I’ve started, I must see it through to the end. Hmph, just you wait—I’ll finish this sweater before the New Year.”

She spoke with such conviction, but Li Sheng wasn’t so sure about her knitting skills. The main thing was, a sweater knitted by his wife would be warm and comfortable, but if she wasn’t happy while making it, he’d rather not have it. Yet Tang Xin was stubborn; now that things had reached this point, she refused to give up.

So, for the days that followed, Tang Xin battled with her yarn, Fang was busy making clothes, and the rest of the family busied themselves with preparations for the New Year and the final harvest. Everyone was occupied.

And during this time, something major happened that took Tang Xin completely by surprise. Her Happy Farm suddenly upgraded, without any warning.

One night, as usual, she went in to tend her crops and wander around the processing workshop, looking for something suitable for the New Year. It had to be delicious and practical, but not too conspicuous. The key was, nothing could appear that didn’t belong to this era, and even if she brought something out, using it openly was tricky.

According to the previous layout, there was a large meadow and woods, and behind that her warehouse. But tonight, she discovered that a vast empty field had suddenly appeared beyond what used to be the edge of her warehouse. And on it grew the pasture seeds she had harvested before but never had a place to use.

So Tang Xin realized—this was her Happy Ranch. It was just like when her farm upgraded in the game she used to play. She didn’t know when the pasture had been sown, but some of the grass was already mature. Tang Xin clicked “harvest all.”

Just as the farm originally had only two plots and basic crops like radishes and cabbages, the ranch started with the lowest-level animals—a dairy cow and a goat. Now that the farm could upgrade to include a ranch, perhaps the processing workshop would one day upgrade to a restaurant.

Who knows, perhaps she could unlock other features in the future—like a beehive or a fish pond. Thinking about how she could drink milk, eat beef stew and roast lamb skewers or even a whole roast lamb, Tang Xin was nearly dizzy from happiness.

She felt she could keep growing and developing—everyone in the family, young and old, could drink milk. Milk could also be used to make other delicious foods. The thought made her mouth water, and her sense of happiness soared.

Even though the vast field had only a solitary cow and goat for now, Tang Xin wasn’t impatient. For a richer material life, she was willing to wait and work. She just needed to keep sowing pasture and eventually raise more cows and sheep. She studied the various buttons in the pasture’s toolbar.

Similarly, the pasture land needed care—watering and fertilizing from time to time. The grass she had stored in her warehouse could now be used, and her farmland had expanded to sixteen plots, with more to come. So she could easily spare a few plots for pasture.

And just like before, the pasture had a “harvest all” function, meaning she didn’t need to milk the cows or goats herself. Ahem, Tang Xin hadn’t learned those magical skills, and doubted she ever could.

With the farm’s upgrade, the processing workshop also gained more functions. As long as she accumulated enough points, she could produce things herself. Heavens, these were so much tastier than simple farm produce—milk powder, milk candy, yogurt, milk pudding, cheese, milk tofu...

Tang Xin didn’t know how to make any of them! But it didn’t matter; the workshop could provide everything. The number of points needed varied, but as long as she kept planting vegetables and raising cows and goats, she could accumulate enough produce to exchange for points.

Wow, what did Tang Xin see? She could hardly believe her eyes—the workshop really was magical, multifunctional in every sense. For ten times the raw materials and 25 points, it could even make double-skin milk for her?