Shane's brow furrowed slightly.
“I've tried that tree before.”
He withdrew his gaze. “Whether it was taking cuttings or transplanting it, everything failed. Even Elon's Living Soil Pouch didn't work.”
“Yes, I know.”
Eileen said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Of course you failed.”
Shane tilted his head to look at her, not quite understanding her meaning.
“Because you did too good of a job.”
“What?”
“You grew the pioneer species too well.”
Eileen walked over, squatted in front of Shane, and pinched a handful of sandy soil, holding it up before him. “Look, the root systems of the Red Willow have already locked the sand here firmly in place, and the same goes for the Suosuo. They've stabilized this soil exceptionally well, and they're absorbing the nutrients and moisture in it perfectly.”
“But that's exactly the problem.”
She patted her hands clean and stood up. “Arbor trees grow differently than these pioneer species. Their root systems go straight down instead of spreading outward; they need to absorb water and nutrients from the deeper layers of soil.”
“But you've nurtured the topsoil too well. The root systems of the Red Willow and Suosuo are absorbing all the nutrients and moisture on the surface. When the arbor tree's roots try to dig down, they can't compete with them at all.”
Shane's eyes widened slightly.
His desert reclamation experience from his past life indeed hadn't covered this particular detail. Most of the desert reclamation projects he had dealt with back then involved planting arbor trees directly onto shifting dunes; he had never encountered a multi-stage ecological succession where one had to first lock down the sand with straw checkerboards and shrubs before planting arbor trees.
“So you mean...”
“Arbor trees and pioneer species are supposed to have a symbiotic relationship, but you've broken that symbiosis.”
Eileen put her hands on her hips, speaking with absolute confidence. “You've nurtured the pioneer species too well, and they've already locked in the upper limit of this soil.”
“It's like you built a single-plank bridge. You built it incredibly well and made it extremely sturdy, but because it's a single-plank bridge, carriages can't cross it anymore.”
Shane fell silent.
He looked down at the sand beneath his feet, then looked up at the crooked-neck tree by the distant pool.
The experiences from his past life suddenly rearranged themselves in his mind.
As it turned out, it wasn't that the tree species was at fault; it was that he had planted it too early.
Yet, he had also planted it too late.
Planted too early, the arbor tree couldn't compete with the seabuckthorn and Red Willow.
Planted too late, the seabuckthorn and Red Willow had already locked down the upper layer, leaving no room for the arbor tree to survive.
The reason the crooked-neck tree by the pool could survive was because it had arrived here before all the pioneer species.
“So, what do you suggest we do?”
Shane asked, a rare instance of him taking the initiative.
Eileen's eyes lit up.
This was exactly the question she had been waiting for.
“Well, for anyone else, this would indeed be a difficult problem.”
She said as she reached to her waist and pulled out a neatly folded piece of parchment. “But for me...”
Shane's gaze fell upon the parchment, where he could see dense rows of elven writing.
“You were prepared for this?”
“I'm a person who likes to keep things organized.”
Eileen unfolded the parchment and held it out to him. “Here, take a look.”
Shane took it and scanned it. It was a contract of sorts, neatly phrased and strictly formatted. It outlined the rights and obligations of both parties: Party A would provide technical support and an arbor tree cultivation plan, while Party B would provide room and board, security, and “appropriate financial support.”
He flipped to the second page and spotted a clause: “During her stay at Silver Sand Lake, Party A shall enjoy the same living standards as Party B, including but not limited to food, drinking water, lodging, and necessary clothing supplies.”
Flipping further down, there was another clause: “Party A has the right to participate in discussions regarding the oasis planting plan of Silver Sand Lake, and her opinions shall be given reasonable consideration by Party B.”
Finally, there was the signature block. Eileen's side was already signed.
Her handwriting was neat and elegant, completely different from her usual carefree attitude.
Shane's gaze lingered on the parchment for another moment.
“Sign it, and I'll help you solve the breeding problem of that tree.”
Eileen clasped her hands behind her back and stood slightly on her tiptoes, a sly yet earnest smile playing on her lips. “Don't hesitate. This is professional advice, you know. It doesn't come cheap.”
Shane glanced at her.
Then, he took the charcoal pencil she offered and wrote his name in the signature block.
He signed so quickly that even Eileen was momentarily stunned.
“You're not going to read the fine print?”
“I did.”
“Carefully?”
“Very carefully.”
“Aren't you afraid I hid some kind of trap in there?”
Shane handed the charcoal pencil back to her. “Would you?”
Eileen blinked, then let out a brilliant smile. “Of course not!”
“Once you sign, we're on the same team.”
She patted Shane's arm. It wasn't hard, but it carried a joyful sense of having finally succeeded. “Don't worry. I might talk a lot of nonsense usually, but when it comes to planting trees, I'm dead serious.”
“Your...”
“Wait a minute!”
Elon suddenly darted out from behind a nearby shadow. It was unclear how long the old druid had been eavesdropping, but he was currently staring at the signed contract in Shane's hand with an extremely complex expression.
“You just signed it like that?”
Elon's voice was filled with sheer exasperation. “She's only been here for five days! Five days! You don't even know what crime she committed to end up in the Golden Sea, and you just signed a contract with her?”
Shane tilted his head to look at him. “She said she knows how to plant trees.”
“And you just believe her because she said so?”
Elon pointed at Eileen, his finger trembling. “She talks absolute nonsense! Not a single word out of her mouth is true!”
“Yes, and?”
“Aren't you afraid she'll sell you out?”
“She's in charge when it comes to planting trees.”
Shane said as if it were obvious, “Nothing else matters.”
Elon opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and closed it once more. Finally, he took a deep breath and turned to Eileen.
His gaze looked as though he wanted to flay her from head to toe.
“Let me see the contents of this contract too.”
Eileen handed the parchment over with a beaming smile. Elon snatched it and read it word-for-word, twice, his fierce expression gradually softening into something subtle.
“Done reading?”
Eileen kept her hands behind her back, her toe lightly tapping the ground.
Elon didn't answer. He folded the parchment and handed it back to Shane, saying in a low voice, “Fine, you've signed it.”
He sighed and added, “I just think you should have asked me first.”
Shane glanced at him. “Would you have agreed?”
Elon fell silent.
Of course he wouldn't have agreed.
An elf of unknown origin who spoke nothing but lies, wanting to sign a contract after only being here for five days—what sane person would agree to such a thing?
Shane patted Elon on the shoulder. “Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.”
Elon looked at him, then at Eileen, who was smiling so widely her eyes curved into crescents, and let out a deep, heavy sigh.
He could already foresee that the days ahead would be anything but peaceful.
Rate on N.U.
