In ancient times, food was scarce and yields were extremely low. The Nine-Ear Grain randomly produced one type of crop every four months, and the uncertainty was too high. Who knew how long it would take to roll a high-yield crop like sweet potatoes or potatoes?
Furthermore, even if she did get them, she knew absolutely nothing about planting sweet potatoes or potatoes. How was she supposed to teach those refugees, who had never even seen such crops, how to grow them?
After considering it for a long time, Yun Shu decided to take a gamble. She desperately needed the set skill of the Goddess of Harvest Set.
She did thirty pulls in a row, and the prize pool erupted in a brilliant golden light.
Looking at the cards lined up before her, Yun Shu clenched her hands nervously. The last time she had been this tense was during her first commendation ceremony at the police academy.
Please let me be lucky just this once!
She was willing to trade her lifelong romantic prospects for it.
Even if it meant she had to remain single forever, becoming a lonely person without children, never experiencing the beauty of love or the fulfillment of raising a family, she was willing.
Yun Shu prayed silently in her heart.
【Congratulations, Host, for obtaining a Goddess of Harvest Set accessory (2/4): Jade of Plentiful Years.】
【Item Description: While wearing this, within a radius of eight hundred meters, crops will ripen early and the seasons can be shifted.】
...
【Congratulations, Host, for obtaining a Goddess of Harvest Set robe (3/4): Bountiful Harvest Robes.】
【Item Description: Wearing this robe, wherever you tread, dry soil will become moist and barren land will become fertile.】
...
Perhaps Yun Shu’s prayers had worked, as the first twenty pulls yielded two pieces of the Goddess of Harvest Set.
Ten pulls left!
【Congratulations, Host, for obtaining a Pomegranate Abundance Set handheld item (1/4): Multi-Jeweled Pomegranate Branch.】
【Item Description: Eat its seeds for prosperity and flourishing descendants (one-month cooldown).】
【Set Skill: Collect all parts to unlock the Granting Children skill. Allows those without descendants to bear children.】
“Refund my money, I’m quitting!”
Yun Shu felt her vision go dark. “System, can I apply for a minor's refund?”
System: “...”
“Host, you are an adult.”
Yun Shu felt her heart turn to ash. Just when she thought she was going to lose everything as a gambler, the final card flipped over.
【Congratulations, Host, for obtaining a Goddess of Harvest Set headpiece (4/4): Echoes of Shennong.】
【Item Description: Wearing this crown increases the vitality of nearby crops.】
...
Yun Shu suddenly came back to life. She picked up the little fox and gave it a kiss. “Going all-in truly is a form of wisdom!”
The system covered its face with its fluffy paws and said shyly, “Oh, Host, why did you suddenly kiss me? I’m not that kind of easy system...”
It wiggled its fox tail bashfully.
Yun Shu didn't pay it any mind at all, excitedly changing into the Goddess of Harvest Set she had just pulled.
In the blink of an eye, her appearance transformed completely.
She wore a pale gold, wide-sleeved long robe embroidered with exquisite golden patterns. A wide, crimson-and-gold woven sash served as a waistband and decorative trim, making the overall look both luxurious and ethereal.
A delicate jade pendant hung at her waist, made of lustrous white jade with bas-relief carvings of the five grains.
Her headpiece was a pure gold crown engraved with grain patterns, with fine gold chains hanging from both sides adorned with tiny pearls that swayed like ripening grain with every movement.
And the Nine-Ear Grain in her hand now had a stem of pure gold, leaves of green jade, and fruit of red gems, the ears full and plump.
The moment she put on the set, the plants within an eight-hundred-meter radius centered on her began to change quietly.
Wild vegetables sprouted in batch after batch.
A peach tree that was already close to fruiting suddenly produced green wild peaches, which then slowly ripened...
Seeing this, Yun Shu’s phoenix eyes widened in surprise.
After reacting, she plucked a wild peach from the tree. “The skill of this set is seriously overpowered!”
System: “Host, it’s not just that the set is powerful. The difference in effect between wearing a full high-level set and wearing only one or two pieces is huge.”
“If you were to collect the full Floating Dream Set and use the Dream-Entering Bell and Orchid of the Blue Void together, the healing and dream-weaving effects would also double.”
Yun Shu: “I see.”
Her luck seemed pretty good today. Why not try to see if she could roll a high-yield crop?
With that thought, she waved the Nine-Ear Grain.
The next second.
A pile of sweet potatoes appeared on the empty ground in front of her.
Yun Shu: “...”
How did she suddenly become so lucky?
She got exactly what she wanted. Could she have spent all her luck for the foreseeable future in advance?
The little fox blinked its eyes.
“Host, it’s sweet potatoes! Let’s start a fire and roast them to eat!” It licked its lips.
Lately, it had been eating nothing but white porridge, roasted fish, or roasted fruit every day. It was tired of it.
Yun Shu held down the little fox’s paw as it reached for the sweet potatoes. “You’re a system, how can you be so greedy?”
The little fox said sheepishly, “I used to be a ball of light and couldn't eat anything. Now that I finally can, I just want to eat everything I see...”
Its voice grew quieter as it spoke.
Yun Shu rubbed the little fox’s head. “We can't eat these sweet potatoes. I need to use them as seeds.”
The system didn't think much of it.
It just assumed Yun Shu wanted to plant all the sweet potatoes first so that later, the two of them would have an endless supply to eat.
As expected, the host was far-sighted.
Its own perspective was too narrow, only focusing on what was right in front of it.
“Host, you actually know how to grow sweet potatoes?” Its eyes sparkled with admiration for Yun Shu.
Yun Shu was speechless.
“I graduated from the police academy, not an agricultural university. How could I possibly know how to grow sweet potatoes?”
This was also her biggest headache.
In the Yong Dynasty, the north relied on barley, millet, and soybeans as staples, while the south relied on rice.
Even in years of peace, the yield per mu for barley, rice, and the like was only about two hundred jin.
Now, with constant natural and man-made disasters, the grain yield per mu was likely struggling to even reach one hundred jin.
A sweet potato yield, however, could reach as high as two thousand jin per mu. But knowing the yield was useless if she didn't know how to plant them!
It felt like sitting on a mountain of gold and silver with nowhere to spend it—very frustrating.
“Host, I have a solution!” the system suddenly said. “One of my previous hosts wrote a sweet potato planting tutorial. Originally, she wanted to give it to the male lead as a tribute to gain favorability, but then she discovered there were no sweet potatoes in that world at all.”
“In the end, nothing came of it.”
“I remember I should have stored it in the system inventory. Wait a second, let me look for it.”
It rummaged through the system inventory.
“Found it! This is it!”
“Host, take a look.”
Looking at the words on the paper, Yun Shu’s eyes lit up brighter and brighter.
“System, you really are my sweetheart.” She pulled the little fox into her arms and gave it another big kiss.
The little fox’s ears turned bright red.
Yun Shu set the little fox down, picked up the pile of precious sweet potatoes, and sat by the stream to think.
She had to find a way to give these sweet potatoes and the planting tutorial to the refugees.
And then, she would harvest a massive wave of Shock Value.
What did it matter if she had bad luck sometimes? As long as she had enough Shock Value, was there anything she couldn't pull?
Earning Shock Value was a top priority!
...
Meanwhile, in a dim little forest to the south.
A man sat leaning against a coarse tree root. The left side of his dusty, short tunic was a much darker shade than the right, the dampness spreading from his shoulder blade all the way to his waist.
It was blood.
There was a visible gash in his shirt, the edges frayed, revealing the flesh beneath.
The wound was not shallow; he had been stabbed from a diagonal angle behind him. The blade had missed by half an inch, failing to take his life, but it had caused him to lose so much blood that it was difficult for him to walk out of this forest.
This was the fifth assassination attempt he had faced.
Ever since he left the capital, the people pursuing him had never stopped, and they seemed to have perfect knowledge of his movements.
No matter how he disguised himself or how hidden a place he found, they were always able to find him quickly.
The man lowered his head, his chin almost touching his chest.
His loose hair was messier than before, with several strands stuck to his neck and cheeks by sweat.
The dust on his handsome face had been streaked by sweat, revealing the pale complexion underneath. Below his cheekbone was a small splatter of blood that had already dried.
His breathing was very shallow, his chest barely showing any movement; he was conserving every breath.
Suddenly.
The faint sound of a branch snapping drifted from within the forest.
It was more than one person.
The man’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Rate on N.U.
