Adrian felt satisfied after setting up the rock salt quarry. He still had one more important card to use before the day ended.
He took out the uncommon green farmland card from his inventory and looked around the settlent. His eyes stopped on a flat, open area next to the longhouse.
With the fence limiting the area for construction, it was the only place big enough to accommodate the farmland. A familiar green glow appeared from the card as it disappeared, and at the sa ti the farmland appeared next to the longhouse.
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Item: Fertile Farmland
Type: Structure
Grade: Uncommon (Green)
Structure Stats:
⬩ Cultivation Area: 15 × 15 ters (225 m²)
⬩ Maximum Assigned Workers: 2
⬩ Soil Quality: Rich loam
⬩ Crop Capacity: Up to 225 planting spaces (depending on crop spacing)
⬩ Durability: Permanent (land cannot be destroyed through normal wear)
Passive Skills:
⬩ Rich Earth: Crops cultivated within the field grow 20% faster thanks to nutrient-rich soil and excellent drainage.
⬩ Healthy Soil: Soil degradation from repeated cultivation is reduced by 35%, allowing more harvests before fertility drops to zero and requires restoration.
⬩ Pre-Furrowed: The land is properly tilled, which reduces planting and harvesting labor. Assigned workers consu 15% less stamina while working in this field.
Unique Skill:
⬩ Nature’s Favor: The crops planted yield an additional 10% harvest and enjoy a significantly reduced chance of early growth failure caused by poor germination.
Warnings:
The field does not provide seeds, farming tools, irrigation, fertilizer, or protection from pests and wildlife. Neglected farmland will gradually beco overgrown, reducing efficiency until cleared again. Extre weather may still damage crops.
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Naturally, the won were curious after seeing the strange plot of land. Adrian knew they would ask about it, so he told them beforehand.
"This is a farmland," he explained. "I created it so we can grow our own food, like those berries we eat."
"So... we won’t have to search for food so far away anymore?" Amiya asked.
Adrian shook his head. They would still have to forage for a while as the planted crops wouldn’t grow overnight. It could take weeks, if not months.
Besides, it wasn’t like there weren’t other problems. Although the farmland had many abilities, self-irrigation wasn’t one of them. Which ant they would need to water the crops manually.
Similarly, the salt quarry produced impure salt. It had to be processed before using it for curing at or using it as seasoning.
There was an easy thod to do that. All one needed was to break the large chunks of rock salt into powder, then mix it with water. The salt would dissolve in water, leaving impurities behind.
The impure brine solution could then be filtered using animal hide, dry grass padding, and sand. The triple filtering would get rid of most impurities.
As for impurities that dissolved in the water along with the salt, just boiling the water would get rid of them. It was the most primitive thod of purifying salt that Adrian knew of.
However, this thod had two problems.
First was the fuel needed to boil water till only salt crystals were left behind. It would naturally require a lot of wood to do it. But Adrian wasn’t worried about it since the fire pit didn’t need any fuel to burn.
What worried him was the lack of utensils to boil water. There was a similar issue with irrigation. Though they had a stream nearby, getting water from there to the farm wasn’t easy.
If that had been the case, the tribeswon wouldn’t need to run to the stream whenever they felt thirsty.
"The water bottles can store water, but irrigating the farmland one bottle at a ti would be unnecessarily ti-consuming. Not to ntion, I can’t boil brine in plastic bottles."
Adrian stood in the middle of the settlent, scratching his chin while waiting for an idea to hit him.
He thought about how people in the old days stored and carried water before plastic bottles or tal cans existed. The answer ca to him naturally.
"Earthen pots would be perfect for carrying water and boiling brine!" he smiled, but it didn’t even last a second on his face.
While the idea was a good one, he had no idea how to actually make pottery. He didn’t know where to find the right clay, how to shape it, or how to fire it properly.
While he was lost in thought, thinking of another way, Sera walked up to him. Unlike other won, she was a player and knew the worth of the farmland, but also the obvious problem.
"Master, how will we carry water to the farmland? The stream is not too far, but carrying enough water with just bottles will be very tiring."
Adrian looked at her in frustration. His mind was already occupied, and then she ca to him to repeat the sa thing. Yet, he calmly sent her a ssage, telling her that he was thinking the sa thing.
"Why don’t we try making earthen pots?" she suggested. "They can hold a lot of water, and we can even use them for cooking."
If he didn’t know her class, he’d think she was reading his mind and then telling him the sa thing to irritate him. Still, he reigned in his temper and texted her.
"I don’t know how to make pots? Um... you don’t have to," she said, pointing at herself. "I used to take pottery classes back on Earth for bonus credits."
Adrian’s eyes widened in surprise. He did not expect Sera, of all people, to have this kind of useful knowledge, given that she had been nothing but a trouble magnet for him.
Well... she had helped us a bit.
"I’m not an expert, but I know the basics. So... the pots might not be perfect, but they should be usable."
"Really?" he said out loud, forgetting to type for a second.
For the first ti, he didn’t have to, as his expression conveyed the words to Sera.
"Yes, Master," Sera nodded enthusiastically. "If we can find good clay near the stream or the river, I can try to make so pots. It might take a few tries, but it should work."
Her words took a huge weight off Adrian’s shoulders. He was wondering if he should have a talk with his ancestors to solve the issue, but Sera ca in clutch.
He was so relieved that he even patted her shoulder before sending her a text, telling her that she was in charge of finding clay and making pots.
With the farmland ready and a plan for water storage forming, Adrian felt even more confident about the tribe’s future. Now all that was left was to give the won their respective roles.
"Three people can work in the mine, and two can work on the farm. I don’t think there’s a need for three people for mining until Sera gets the pots made."
In the end, Adrian assigned Amika and Amiya to work the fields and Rixxa to the mine. Though none of them would start working any ti soon.
It was a good thing. After all, first and foremost, they needed to learn how to wield weapons. Thankfully, he knew the right teacher for it.
"Mika, can I talk to you for a mont?"
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