6 Reclaiming Farmland

In just a single morning, the number of farmers in Little White Village had grown to six. Including the five players, there were now eleven laborers in total. To seize the farming season, Zhan Xiaobai himself rolled up his sleeves and pant legs and, together with the village’s founding pioneers, began to reclaim the wild fields in the agricultural district, heads bowed and hands busy.

The window for sowing crops lasted only for the first five days of each month—miss it, and you’re out of luck. The first day of the public beta had been January 1st; now it was the second day, leaving three and a half days to reclaim land. Once the farming season was missed, there would be no remedy.

During a break, Zhan Xiaobai specifically checked the system for the number of player villages. Across China, more than a thousand small villages had already been established, and it was estimated that another two to three thousand would be created in the next three days. Those founding their villages later would miss the crucial early five days and face a difficult start.

The competition for grain in the first month would be fierce. As the very first village in the land, Little White Village enjoyed a slight lead in construction progress, already boasting three thatched huts and a carpenter’s workshop. Most villages had only one or two huts, and very few could claim a craftsman like Little White Village.

The current priority was reclaiming farmland.

Zhan Xiaobai and his companions had rarely worked the fields before; their first attempt at reclamation was lively and full of spirit.

“Let’s keep it up, everyone!”

“Ugh, this morning I was a carpenter, and now I’ve transformed into a farmer. According to the ancient ranking—scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant—my social status has clearly improved,” Ah Fei joked, self-deprecatingly.

Zhan Xiaobai gripped his bronze blade, digging forcefully into the earth. The other four did likewise, since they had no hoes to use.

The six farmers each brought their own hoe.

Little White Village had only one carpenter’s workshop, lacking a blacksmith’s forge and thus unable to produce the iron mallet needed for making hoes. The wooden ploughs crafted by the carpenter could only be managed by farmers, and their efficiency was low.

There was a point worth explaining. Players began at level 0, with 10 health and 5 strength. Ordinary farmers started at level 10, with 100 health and 10 strength. Thus, in the early stages, farmers were much more capable than players. Players leveled up mainly by hunting wild beasts and gaining work experience; farmers leveled up by farming. A player needed to reach level 10 before matching a farmer’s strength.

Zhan Xiaobai wore a weary expression as he thrust his bronze blade into the soil and continued digging. Reclaiming land was no easy task; after just one plot, he was panting, his enthusiasm vanished. If not for the labor shortage, they wouldn’t have been forced to work the fields themselves.

“Squeak, squeak!”

A sharp cry, and a gray shadow darted from the earth, standing atop the field ridge. Its pointed head, plump body, and tiny, sharp claws glared furiously at Zhan Xiaobai.

Zhan Xiaobai stared in surprise. What was this creature? It looked like a rat, but not quite.

“A rat!” Ah Fei, closest to Zhan Xiaobai, exclaimed in delight, dropping his tools and lunging at the plump animal.

“Wrong, it’s a great rat,” Autumn Water corrected. “Also known as a field mouse, or shrew. Different from house mice.”

“Doesn’t matter what kind of rat—it’s a great source of experience!” someone declared.

Ah Fei pounced, ready to strike. Zhan Xiaobai chuckled and, unwilling to let the opportunity slip, swiftly swung his blade first.

“Squeak!”

The robust great rat was reduced to a pile of meat under his bronze blade.

System prompt: “Killed a level 0 great rat, gained 1 experience point.”

Zhan Xiaobai was satisfied. “Not bad—a field mouse gives 1 experience point. Just nine more to reach level 1 as a commoner.”

Ah Fei, having missed his chance, got up and complained, “Brother, your reflexes are too fast—beat me by 0.01 seconds! Now I have to make up for that lost experience.”

Everyone laughed.

Zhan Xiaobai crouched where the rat had emerged, examining the area. “There’s a field mouse nest here—probably more than one. Let’s split up, continue our work, and clear out all the field mice. That’ll earn us some experience as well.”

Excited, everyone began searching for mouse nests.

To their surprise, the wild fields of the village had plenty of nests. Across more than a dozen hectares, they found dozens of field mouse burrows. It was a veritable feast of experience; each nest held at least a dozen mice, and everyone leveled up by more than one. Chasing and slaying field mice brought them endless joy.

The old village head, Li A-san, didn’t work the fields; he wandered the village, occasionally checking the farmland. Upon seeing piles of dead mice, he was shocked and cried out, “A plague of mice! If we don’t eradicate them thoroughly, by month’s end we might harvest nothing! Lord, please take this seriously and purge all mouse plagues in the village!”

Zhan Xiaobai laughed inwardly—they had, by accident, accomplished something important. Since the five of them could barely reclaim one acre a day, they might as well devote themselves to exterminating the field mice. The work was easy, and it earned them experience.

“Everyone, obey orders—eradicate the mice with all your might. No mistakes allowed!”

“Yes, sir!”

They turned the village upside down: administrative courtyard, craftsman’s district, trading area, residential huts, fields, corners, even five meters beyond the fence. Not a clue was missed as they hunted the mice. To seize a mouse nest, they competed to dig burrows.

On the second day, Zhan Xiaobai pulled the last baby field mouse from a burrow more than a meter deep, holding it in his hand.

“Ah, I can hardly bear to kill you—so small, so pitiful. But if I let you live today, a month from now I’ll have nothing to harvest. Come, Ah Fei, administer the ultimate penalty!”

He tossed the baby mouse to Ah Fei. Having slaughtered mice until his hands were numb, he didn’t mind letting Ah Fei finish this one.

Ah Fei, eyes brimming with tears, cried, “Brother, you’ve found your conscience!” Gratefully, he grabbed the mouse and, with a swift stroke, finished it.

“Ding!” Level up. Ah Fei became a level 2 commoner.

To reach level 2 by killing field mice required at least sixty kills; the villagers of Little White Village had all become mouse eradication experts. Even Autumn Water, the beauty with a penchant for cleanliness, reached level 2, not to mention Sword Tyrant and Spring Autumn Young Hero. Ah Fei suffered the most, always trying to compete with Zhan Xiaobai for mice, but losing out and ending up at the lowest level.

When the mouse eradication campaign ended, Little White Village already had fifteen farmers.

Due to the poor quality of tools, each farmer could only reclaim one acre per day. From yesterday to today, they’d managed to reclaim nineteen acres.

Zhan Xiaobai often stayed behind to inspect the quality of the fields, only to discover, disappointed, that they were all inferior plots, with yields reduced by thirty percent. Normal fields yielded fifty pounds per acre; his yielded thirty-five pounds per acre. (Because this was the January harvest, yields were low; calculated over a year, the actual yield would be much higher.)

The natural conditions in Xiliang were harsh, just as expected.

During the closed beta, he’d established a village in the fertile lands of Jiangnan, where fields yielded thirty percent more, up to sixty-five pounds per acre. That was the difference—a village in Jiangnan could easily be rich in grain and wealth, making it easier to develop infantry.

Zhan Xiaobai had considered this, but Xiliang had its own advantages: access to strategic resources—warhorses. This could lead to a powerful cavalry force, dominating the land. The importance of horses outweighed the lack of wealth. In Jiangnan, warhorses were extremely rare.

To compete for supremacy, he could not be swayed by Jiangnan’s early advantages.

Zhan Xiaobai rubbed his nose and chuckled dryly. All that was too far ahead; for now, the key was to secure grain and support more farmers. With only nineteen acres reclaimed, the maximum monthly output would be a mere 665 pounds.

“Lord, we have trouble!” Li A-san hobbled over in a panic.

“What’s the matter?” Zhan Xiaobai asked, puzzled. Whatever disaster arose, he could handle it; there was no need for panic.

Li A-san rushed over, repeating, “Wild boar! A wild boar is attacking the village’s fence!”

Zhan Xiaobai thought to himself: so it’s just “a” wild boar. He’d feared worse.

“Let’s go take a look!”